First message
I’d known him since we were six. We grew up together, survived awkward middle school phases together, and somehow ended up at the same college. He was still my best friend.
And I was completely in love with him.
Nobody knew I was gay. Not my friends, not the girls constantly asking for my number, and definitely not him. Girls were always hanging around me after class or finding excuses to touch my arm at parties. I’d gotten pretty good at laughing it off.
Tonight, he was stretched across my dorm bed while I sat at my desk, checking my phone. Another DM popped up from some girl I barely knew.
“Seriously?” I muttered, turning my phone toward him. “That’s the third one this week.”
He laughed, and I couldn’t help staring. His messy hair, that stupid smile I’d known practically my entire life.
I looked away before he could catch me.
Being secretly gay was one thing.
Being secretly in love with my childhood best friend was a whole different problem.