‘Are you kidding?’ He laughs. ‘You’ve got good genes, Zach. Lift a few weights and you’d be bigger than me in no time.’

‘But you’re totally ripped,’ I say, my eyes trailing down to his abs, and snapping back up to his eyes before they travel too far south. Be careful, Zach.

‘That’s just low body fat,’ he says. ‘I can’t put on muscle to save my life. No matter how much I eat. No matter how much I lift. It’s a curse, really. Look, flex for me.’

‘What?’

‘Flex,’ he says, flexing his own arm to demonstrate.

I tentatively do as he says. I have never felt more self-conscious.

‘You see? Your biceps are bigger than mine, Zach.’

‘Huh,’ I say. He’s actually right. ‘I guess I never noticed.’

‘We’re all our own biggest critics.’

‘Well, I think you look great,’ I say, holding eye contact for longer than is sensible. It’s the closest I’ve ever come to making a move on him. I can feel my heart thundering.

‘Thanks, Zach.’ He smiles. ‘We should hang out later. Me, you. Chase. Bec.’

‘Yeah?’

‘Yeah. It’s funny – I feel like I should have made more of an effort to get to know you all these past two years. It just seemed like we had all the time in the world, you know? And now suddenly …’

‘We don’t.’

‘Exactly,’ he says. ‘We’ve still got tonight, though.’ He twists the tap until the water comes to a stop. ‘See you in a bit, yeah?’

And, with that, he strides back over to the lockers and throws a towel round his shoulders instead of his waist. I open my mouth to reply, but I’m cut off by a bunch of the other boys noisily filing into the room. They go about tearing off their clothes and making a mess of the place in rowdy straight-boy fashion, completely unaware of the gay romance playing out right under their noses. At least that’s what I’m calling it.

Even if it is just wishful thinking.

‘Looking forward to seeing your outfit later!’ Cameron calls over the noise, wrapping a second towel round his waist and heading for the door.

‘Yours too!’ I call back as he disappears and leaves me to the straights.

‘Are you kidding me?’ Chase says. ‘Of course he was flirting!’

‘It was just banter,’ I say. ‘Isn’t that what guys do in the locker room?’

‘What? Compliment each other’s bodies? That’s gay as hell, Zach.’

‘It’s a thing! I’m telling you. “Sick gains, bro.” The straight guys do it all the time.’

Chase rolls his eyes hard. ‘But Cameron’s not straight, is he? Of course he was flirting. I don’t know how he could make it any more obvious. The boy was literally naked!’

‘Is he supposed to keep his clothes on to take a shower?’