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silent. There's nothing but Hunter Willis taking that room two
steps at a time, heading straight toward me."
"Wow." Leah just stares at her brother, a kind of wonder in
her eyes. "It was love at first sight, then."
She's getting this, and I can't honestly believe it. She's
getting how hard we fell, how intense our attraction was from
the very first moment, that this couldn't possibly be a choice.
Max glances at me and I realize that I've twisted the hem
of my T-shirt in my hands.
"I had a crush on Hunter for years," he admits and I'm so
proud of him I want to give him a sloppy, full-mouthed kiss of
appreciation. He's telling her the truth, admitting openly how
long he wanted me. It's one step away from what he
confessed to me in his bedroom earlier tonight.
"Tell her about our first date," I suggest, and Max's
expression darkens unexpectedly.
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Taking You Home
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"She already knows about that." Max looks at her. "Leah
knows all about you, Hunter. How I asked you out, about our
beach trip, you moving in with me, all that."
Now, this is a surprise, and I glance between the two of
them, confused. "I thought, well, that you'd never really
discussed our relationship much."
"We haven't. Not much," she agrees, and her gaze is
trained right back on her brother.
"I sent her a letter," Max finally says, but he's not looking
at me. He's still staring at his twin sister. "Before we came
home. Telling her that I wanted the two of you to be friends.
To be close."
"Max, I should have answered," she says, that lower lip
trembling again.
There's something here that I'm missing. Maybe it's one of
those spooky twin things, the way they're staring at one
another so intently.
"But you didn't, Leah." He glances at me, almost like he's
trying to change the discussion. "What happened to the
cigar?"
"All gone."
"I know I didn't," Leah continues, ignoring our little
interchange. "I didn't know what to say. I was so
overwhelmed by...this."
"This," Max repeats, his voice rising. Warning bells sound
in my head and I know Leah had better tread carefully.
"By Hunter," she clarifies, her voice remaining quiet and
even.
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"Okay, so you were overwhelmed. Why not call me and tell
me that?"
"Because I didn't know how to respond."
"How about by telling me that you wanted to meet my
boyfriend, huh?" he snaps. "Not by ambushing us once we got
here, by rushing into our bedroom when you know for a fact
that we're lovers. What did you think? That by outing us, it
would change things?"
"That maybe, I don't know, this whole silence about it
would be broken," she admits in a small voice. "That you'd go
back to being who you were before."
"There's no before, Leah. There's only what I've always
been. The problem is that I was never who you wanted me to
be."
She hangs her head at that one, and even though he's
right, it's not the right time to say it.
"I love you, Max," she suddenly whispers with a loud
sniffle. "I love you and I don't want to hurt you any more
than I already have."
He just stares at her, dumbfounded I think, by the change
in her outlook, the sincerity of her words. I mean, he knew
we were connecting, that we all were, but I doubt he was
ready for this much of a change.
His expression softens as he leans forward in his chair,
looking only at her. "You hurt me by turning your back on
what I am."
"I know that." She's crying again now, wiping at the tears
as she nods her head. "But I want to understand now. About
your being gay, about what you feel for...for, well for Hunter."
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by Cooper Davis
"What about our marriage?" he asks, and I know he's
bracing for rejection. I see it in his eyes, on his face, and I
just hope he can handle it when it comes.
She says nothing, just rocks a little as she hugs herself. "I
want to be there. I want to be part of it, because it means so
much to you."
"You'll come?" The way his voice breaks over the words
causes my chest to tighten with emotion.
"Yes, I'd like to be there."
"I-I can't believe that you would."
"Well, actually, I can't either." She laughs, wiping at her
eyes. "But how can I not come? You're my brother and I love
you."
"Okay." He just kind of nods his head, dazed. "Wonderful."
"Yeah, that's cool. Now we have like six people instead of
four," I laugh, but she doesn't smile.
"What are you talking about?" she asks, turning to me in
dismay.
"Well, it's not like we're going to have a bunch of guests
there, Leah," Max explains, and his voice is edged with
sadness. "I mean, you know we can't share this with that
many people. It's why I wanted my family to be there."
"But only six?" she asks again, her eyes wide in disbelief.
"It's a wedding. You have to have more than that."
"Okay, so like ten, maybe fifteen," I admit honestly. "But
it's not a big group, I'll tell you that." What I don't say is that
we can't even come out to most of the people we know, so
we sure as hell can't invite them to our nuptials.
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"You need serious help with this," she announces, clasping
her hands neatly together. "You need my help."
Oh, no. Not sure I wanted this much acceptance. "We're
hiring a planner," I interrupt before she gets any bright ideas.
"No, don't do that," she insists with a little wave of her
hand. "I'm great with these kinds of things, really. Just ask
Max."
I don't ask Max because he's staring at her in such shock
that I'm not sure he'd be able to answer me. I give the arm of
his chair a little tap with my fingertips, and he stares down at
my hand.
"Max?" she finally prompts. "Tell him that I'm great at
planning events." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]