Love That's Sweet

Chapter Twelve

Eric POV

Serious about Lucas

Never in a million years did I think I'd be telling anyone that I'd fallen for a guy. It wasn't something I'd ever even considered before. But then again, girls never really caught my attention either. With Lucas, though, things were different—different in a way I couldn't quite explain. After spending weeks with him, I realized I couldn't keep this to myself any longer. I had to tell someone.

The first person that came to mind, strangely enough, had been good, old Grace, but it seemed too awkward to tell her. I knew Anthony and Andrew wouldn't be able to keep their big mouths shut about it, so that left only one other person, Michele.

While waiting for Michele by one of the exits, I noticed the rain had started coming down hard. Thankfully, I'd parked close enough to the door that it wouldn't be an issue. As soon as I spotted Michele walking into the hall, I knew there was no backing out. We slipped through the back exit, jumped into my car, and ditched school early.

At first, neither of us said a word. Michele was never much of a talker anyway, and since I was the one who invited him, it made sense for me to start the conversation. I had told him earlier that there was something I needed to say, but now that we were here, I couldn't find the words.

It wasn't hard to tell he knew there was something on my mind by the way he stared back at me, but there was no way I could just come out and say it.

Hey Michele, so guess what? I'm gay and I've been messing around with this guy for the last few weeks.

No, there was no way I could just tell him that.

"Wow," I finally said something, "a lot of rain."

He took a second to look out the window. "Yup."

"Funny, I don't think anyone expected it to rain this much. Funny how some things just suddenly happen, out of nowhere—"

"Are we going to talk about how you've been messing around with that Lucas guy, or are you going to continue rambling on about the weather?"

"WHAT?!" All three of us shouted out at once.

"You've been fucking a guy?" Anthony suddenly popped out from his hiding spot in the back of my car.

"I knew something was up!" Andrew followed, gloating about being right about his own suspicions.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ASSHOLES DOING HERE?!" I turned back to shout at them.

"ERIC!!!"

I turned back and saw a guy standing in the middle of the road. It was too late and I was going too fast to stop, so I swerved the wheel, hoping to avoid him. When I opened my eyes and didn't hear a loud thud, I figured I hadn't just killed someone with my car.

"Looks like you missed," Andrew took a second to check the back window.

"He's fine..." Anthony reassured the rest of us. "So what is this about Eric and a guy?"

"His name is Lucas, and it's nothing," I barked back at them, but then Michele looked back at me, and I knew there really was no point in hiding it. "Ugh, fine then. I'll admit it. I've been messing around with Lucas. I'm gay. Are you all happy now?!"

"Dude, what's the big deal?" Anthony laughed, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me frantically. "Who cares who you sleep with? The important part is that you got laid!"

"He's right, well mostly." Andrew added, resting his hand on my shoulder. "We are your friends after all."

Michele didn't say anything, but instead raised his hand and gave me a thumbs up.

It was such a great relief, a great weight off my shoulders, knowing I wouldn't have to hide the truth from these guys any longer. But just as I put my guard down, they made me raise it back up.

"So are you guys official or anything?" Andrew asked, sticking his nose into it.

"No," I replied, focusing on the road in front of me, "but I'd like to be."