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“I’m taking it exactly as seriously as it deserves.” Lee’s frown smoothed out and he stopped walking, shielding his eyes against the sun. “And just so we’re clear, I don’t have a problem with you looking both ways. That’s not what my reaction was about.”
“So it was really mostly about—well, a little about the whole…” Come on, it wasn’t that hard. “The whole kissing you thing. But mostly about how I didn’t tell you sooner.”
“Yeah.” A pause. “I kind of get it now, though. It’s not easy, first time you tell someone.”
“No kidding. It took me days to work up the courage, and then I still messed it up.”
“Just a little.” Lee held his thumb and forefinger apart by a small margin. “Anyway, though—I guess I’m honoured to be your first, so to speak.” A sly glance before Lee continued. “Why not Jeff, though? There’s no way he’d have an issue.”
“No. But he’d appoint himself my one-man army and would take offence easily.”
Lee chuckled. “Yeah, I see how that could be the case. He’s a good friend, isn’t he?”
“The best,” Alex said with emphasis. “I know he can come across as, you know … a lot. But if you need someone to have your back? He’ll be there with waving flags and a marching band.”
There was something assessing in Lee’s eyes as he studied Alex, and it took a moment to click. Then Alex laughed, feeling his entire body lighten with it.
“No. Just …no. I love the guy to bits, but not like that.”
“Just checking.” Lee’s eyes were bright, and holy hell, he was beautiful. Alex dragged a hand through his hair and focused on their surroundings—the undulating hills of the golf course, a stone bridge crossing a stream.
“Who did you tell first?”
“My sister Kira—she’s four years younger.”
“The one who studies biology, with the ticklish rats?”
“The very same. It was just before I left for Milan, so I was twenty-two, I guess. A bit younger than you now.”
About two years after Lee and Alex had first met—meaning that was how long it had taken Lee to move from realising he was gay to telling anyone about it. Alex had known he was bisexual since seventeen or so, and he’d needed six years to work up the courage. Then again, his closet might have left him with a tad more room given that dating women wasn’t a hardship.
“How did it go?” he asked.
The corners of Lee’s eyes crinkled. “She’d only just taken down her poster collection of hot guys—told me I could take my pick.”
Alex grinned. “Generous.”
“She thought so too.” Affection warmed Lee’s voice, and it wasn’t like Alex didn’t have people he could turn to—Jeff, for one, and a few friends from his childhood and Harrow who hadn’t grown into entitled pricks—but it must be different with a sibling. Not that Alex had an excessive habit of turning to people anyway.
“Which poster did you pick?”
“Yours. Who else’s?” Lee’s smarmy tone deserved a ‘slip hazard’ sign.
With a laugh, Alex started walking again, Lee falling into step. “Were you scared?” Alex asked. “When you told her.”
“Shitless.”
“Well, I was scared this morning.”
“You really thought I might react badly?” Lee sounded as though he was considering whether to take offence.
“Did you really think your sister would react badly?” Alex slid Lee a sideways glance, so he caught the moment Lee’s brows, previously knitted together, softened.
“Not rationally,” Lee said.
“But fear isn’t rational, is it?”
“I guess not.” A small chuckle. “Still, as far as coming out methods go, kissing your same-sex friend is not industry standard.”
