More Than Just Roommates (Book 1)

48. Try

~ Kyle

I opted for the lazy way of getting downstairs this morning, which ended up not being the best decision. As soon as I stepped into the elevator, I saw a person who has definitely made it onto my least favorite people list. Reed Garcia. And we were the only two people in here.

He sneered at me as the door closed. "Faggot," he muttered under his breath.

I shook my head, remembering what Jackson had told me the other day. Apparently Reed was totally in love with me. Hard to tell, right?

I turned to him. "What do you have against me, Reed?"

"You're a faggot. Faggots are disgusting. That means you're disgusting."

I nodded. "You know, they say that those who bully gays are secretly gay themselves."

His face turned red, but I wasn't sure if it was a blush of embarrassment or anger.

"I'm not a faggot like you, Whitaker."

"What happened? After last year. I know we weren't the greatest of friends, but we were roommates. Even before you found out I was gay, you never seemed to like me much."

The doors to the elevator finally opened to the ground floor. We both stepped out. I had expected him to leave me behind as soon as we walked out of the building, but instead, he kept walking next to me.

We walked in silence for a couple of minutes. I wasn't sure if I should say anything else or not, so I didn't.

Eventually, he spoke up. "I don't hate you, Kyle."

I stopped walking, and he stopped next to me. "What?" I still wasn't sure I had heard him right.

"I don't hate you." He looked down at his feet. "I actually like you. A lot." He mumbled that last part, but I was still able to catch it.

I stood there, shocked. I already knew that he liked me, but I never expected him to admit it. Before I had a chance to reply, he leaned forward, like he was about to kiss me. I placed a hand on his chest and pushed him away.

"Don't kiss me, Reed. I'm in a happy relationship, and I will not break that up for you. I'm sorry, but this, us, will never happen. Maybe if you had told me before everything, something might have happened between us. Instead, you lashed out, at me and my boyfriend. There's someone out there for you, Reed. That person isn't me, but you'll find them, eventually."

Reed shook his head and took a step back. He looked angry. "I'm not even gay. I don't even like you, faggot. Why are you talking to me?" Without another word, he stormed off, in the opposite direction than what we had been walking in.

I hadn't even moved yet when someone started talking to me from behind me. "Hey, babe. Doing alright?" I turned to see Jackson walking closer.

I nodded. "Reed tried to kiss me," I blurted out. "I didn't let him, though."

He placed a hand on my shoulder. "I know. I saw. What did you say?"

I just shrugged and glanced around. We were still standing in the middle of the sidewalk, and people kept having to go around us. I grabbed his hand off my shoulder and pulled him to one of the picnic tables that were nearby.

Once we were sitting, I started explaining what had just occurred between me and Reed.

"Then he storms off after saying he hates me and that he's not even gay," I finished, laughing at how ridiculous the whole thing was.