Page 86 of Sizzle
“Damn, man, she cheated?” I shake my head. Steve’s eyebrows just about clear the ceiling. “You cheated? Dude.”
I shake my head again.
“You’re gonna have to spell it out for me, El. I’m not tracking, here.”
I pour two more generous portions in our glasses and take a deep breath.
“I mean, there was a third person. In the relationship. We were all together, the three of us.”
I glance over at Steve to gauge his reaction. His eyes have gone so wide I’m afraid he’s going to hurt himself. His mouth moves like he’s trying to talk but no sound comes out.
“Please tell me it was Anna,” he finally whispers, making me laugh.
“No,” I say. I tip back my drink, draining the glass once more. “It was Alex.”
I wait in silence for my brother’s reaction. I don’t know what to expect and the suspense makes me feel ill. When I can’t stand it anymore, I look over.
He’s smiling.
“What the fuck are you smiling at, Steven?”
He picks up his own glass, sipping, still smiling. Actually, now it’s more of a smirk.
“Cheryl owes me five bucks, that’s what,” he says. Steve looks at me and laughs.
Fucker actually laughs. Whatever reaction I expected, it wasn’t this.
“We made a bet, years and years ago,” says Steve. “Cheryl swore Alex would never come out to you, but I knew he would.”
“Hang on. You’re telling me you guys knew he was bi? And you never said anything?”
“I don’t know about being bi,” says Steve, helping himself to more whiskey. “But I knew he was into you.”
My turn to gape.
“Seriously?” says Steve. “You seriously didn’t know? Jesus, Elliot. The guy’s been in love with you for years.”
“He’s not in love with me.” I know the lie for what is it the minute I hear myself utter those words.
“Dude.” Steve raises an eyebrow. “Don’t even start with that shit. The real surprise here is you. Since when are you into dick, too? Something in the water over at that house I should know about?”
“I… I don’t…”
Steve sits up fast.
“Shit, you’re in love with him, too,” he says.
“Fuck off already.”
“I most certainly will not fuck off,” he says. “Talk me through this. How does Joelle feel about all this?”
“She’s, uh—” I stammer, my face going hot. “She’s okay with it.” The memory of Joelle’s definition of “okay with it” has me hard in seconds.
“Then what’s the problem? All systems go, right?”
“Mom and Dad—”
“Oh,” says Steve. “Okay, yeah. That might be a small problem. Though personally, I think it hardly matters. They’re not exactly around much. If you’re worried about family in general, I think you already know what I think. And Cheryl flat out loves Alex.”