Riding With Brighton(33)

“You missed on purpose.”

“I don’t fuck up on purpose.” He connects with my next pitch and hits it to the outfield. “When’s your next game?”

“Why? You gonna come watch me play?”

“If you want me to.”

“Yeah, that’d be cool.” I can’t keep the goofy grin off my face. “You should bring Cooper. There’s some hot high school girls that he might be interested in.” He misses my next pitch.

“That’s not funny, Jay. I swear to God he’s gonna knock some girl up before he’s a teenager.”

“Uncle Brighton… that has a nice ring to it. Or would it be Uncle Brighty? Or Uncle Bri?”

“Funny. I can’t help that my name naturally lends itself to alterations. You have any nicknames?”

“Jay is my nickname.”

“Really?” he asks, relaxing his position and looking at me. “Are you trying to tell me I don’t even know your damn name?”

“I guess there’s probably a lot you don’t know about me.”

“Well, obviously, but your name is probably something I should know by now.”

“It’s Jayden.”

“Jayden,” he says slowly, like he’s testing it out. “I like it. It’s cute. Not as cute as Brighton obviously, but it’s good. Anyone ever call you that?”

“No. Never. Not even my parents.”

“Can I call you it sometimes if I feel like it?”

“If you feel like it?”

“Yeah, like if you’re naughty, I can say, get to my room right now, Jayden…. What’s your middle name?”

“Thomas.”

“Thomas, wow, super formal. Get to my room, Jayden Thomas Hall.”

“You’re big into punishment, huh?”

“Maybe I’m into torture.”

“I’ve been tortured by you already. It’s not fun.”

“It’s kind of fun.”

“Trust me, it’s not. But being tortured in your bedroom might be something I could get into.”

“See, you want it. The whole bondage experience.”

“Are you equipped to show me that?”

“Oh, for sure. I got all kinds of paraphernalia in my parents’ house—sex swing, whips, chains, tie-ups—store it all in my closet.” He laughs and I’m relieved. I can’t handle any more pieces of his life that my sheltered ass doesn’t know anything about.

My phone rings, and I force myself to pull it out of my pocket, therefore taking my eyes off Brighton. “It’s Sadie.”

“Well, answer it.”

“Okay, bossy,” I tell him with a smile. I hit the Answer button and hesitantly say, “Hey,” like it’s a question.

“Hi, Jay.” I wince at the sadness in her voice.

“How are you?”

“Um, I guess I don’t really know still. I just… I feel bad about how I reacted. It was kind of a shock, you know?”

“Yeah, of course I know. And you don’t have to feel bad. I’m the one who should feel bad.”

“No, you shouldn’t,” she says adamantly. “It’s hitting me right now—what you must be going through. This all has to be so hard for you. Telling me had to have been really hard, and I realize now that you didn’t have to do that. You could have just broken up with me with some lie, and I appreciate you being honest with me. I appreciate you trusting me with this.”

“I’m lucky that I have someone like you, you know, that I can be honest with and trust. This whole thing is shitty, and you’re probably still raw and angry, but if you can ever get past this, Sadie, I would really like to find a way to keep you in my life. I still love you. You still mean a lot to me.”

“Yeah, of course, Jay. And I’m not angry. At least I don’t think I am. I just feel a little stunned I guess.”

“Yeah,” I mutter, “I’m kind of feeling the same way.”

She’s silent for a few moments, and I can picture her biting on her bottom lip like she does when she’s thinking. “Now that you told me, I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised. You never pressured me to have sex, or to do anything actually. And we definitely spent more time talking than we ever did making out. I thought I had found the sweetest most respectful guy in the world. But oh God.” She pauses to laugh, and there’s no anger or bitterness in it. “You were just gay. I’m blind, aren’t I?”

I laugh too. “I tried really hard to convince you otherwise. You’re not blind. And, just so you know, it wasn’t torture or anything. I like the way you feel in my arms. Whoever you end up with is one lucky guy. What you said about giving up your virginity… don’t do that. Don’t change for anyone.”

“God, why do you have to be so sweet? And it’s true what they say, isn’t it? The hottest ones are always gay.”

I smirk at that. I’m officially on that list. “You’re pretty sweet yourself.”

“So, can I ask, who else you’ve told?”

“No one. I mean, Brighton obviously, but other than him, just you.”

“Are you going to tell people? I mean, your friends and your parents—are you going to tell them?”