Milo could have maybe thought that through before he gambled Bruno’s cards, but I also didn’t want to kick him while he was already so down on himself.

“I get it. You’re nervous. Coming out is a big deal no matter how old you are. And it’s hard enough even when you have a good support system.” The words tasted bland, like I was a one-person welcoming committee for our campus LGBTQ+ organization and reading off a pamphlet. But maybe it worked on Milo because he exhaled hard.

“You’re right. And yours should have been better. Should have included your best friend. I’m sorry.”

As far as apologies went, this was far better than the weak-ass one he’d tried to hand me via text. “I’m not going to say I forgive you because…it’s still a lot. But I understand better now. Thanks for that.”

“I don’t expect you to forgive me. Which is why I shouldn’t have kissed you. That was why I freaked. Mainly.”

“So…to recap, you freaked because you thought I didn’t want it?” I replayed his reaction again in my head, seeing it in a far better light now.

“You’re the one who said it was bad!”

“I already said it wasn’t terrible. It was…good.” I tried to balance how much praise the guy needed to hear against my own losing efforts to protect my emotions.

“It was? Maybe—whoa.” Milo sounded hopeful right up until the car wobbled. Not a full-out skid, but suddenly getting home in one piece needed to take priority over wondering whether Milo had been about to ask for a repeat. And if he had asked, what would I have said? Monitoring the road conditions seemed like a far better use of my time than trying to sort out the avalanche Milo’s revelations had caused in my brain.

Chapter Fourteen

Milo

So. I kissed Jasper. That was a thing that happened. And then I told him…well, not everything but close enough. Close enough that when we almost skidded off the highway, that wasn’t even the third most nerve-racking moment in the last hour or so. Traffic slowed down to deal with the increasingly dicey road conditions, and my grip on the steering wheel tightened. My leg ached from doing the clutch. I needed to deliver Jasper back to his dorm in one piece. That was all that mattered.

“Think we should take the next exit? Try to wait this out?” Jasper wrinkled his forehead, his expression, as always, a window into his emotions. I liked how he was so easy to read. There was no guessing with him. When he was happy, the whole world knew it. And right then, he was worried, same as me.