By the time the weekend horseback riding rolls around, I've got a plan for how to approach this whole Julie and Riley thing.

I know it's not my place to get involved. They'll figure it out and either the feeling will be mutual or it won't. On a conscious level, I know my interference isn't going to help that. In fact, it would probably only hinder it.

But I can't help feeling like I have to do something. I would've killed to have somebody in my corner pulling for me when I first figured out I was bi. I had to stumble through it on my own, and I'm just not a big believer in the school of hard knocks approach. We learn these things the hard way so we can teach the next generation. And maybe they still have to make their own mistakes and pave their own way, but at least the path isn't some overgrown tangle of misery like it was when I was hacking through it with a machete.

I'm her support system—her only support system in this part of her life. Julie's parents aren't bad people, but they're stuck in a world where people still have their heads buried in the sand to a lot of what's going on today. It might take them a lifetime to understand their daughter's sexuality, and as a teenager who already struggles with depression and feelings of inadequacy, Julie doesn't have that kind of time.

So I make a plan to do some recon during the session. I hang back in my usual spot, riding Domino behind the line of kids and adults trekking through the foothills. I use my strategic position to keep an eye on Julie and Riley, watching how they interact. Julie's still letting Riley ride Gloria, even though she adores that mare. I can tell it's a symbolic gesture, too, because she can't quite meet Riley's gaze when she hands over the reins.

They ride side by side, talking and laughing and having a good time. Their horses are so close together that their shoulders are nearly touching, and still both girls are leaning a little in the saddle. Trying to hear each other better, maybe, since they're speaking in hushed tones. Or maybe it's just an unconscious thing; an opportunity for them to be closer to one another.

There's a point during lunch where Julie must say something funny, because Riley just bursts out laughing. A full, uninhibited belly laugh that makes me smile. She claps her hand over her mouth like she's embarrassed, though, and I try not to be completely obvious as I watch.

To my surprise and amazement, Julie gently reaches for her hand and pulls it down, giving her a smile that definitely would've melted my heart were I a sixteen-year-old girl. It seems to work on Riley. She blushes a little and looks away, a secret smile on her face that I know should belong only to Julie.

In my eyes, it's pretty much confirmed: The feeling's definitely mutual. Just knowing that is a huge victory, and I wear a smile of my own as I enjoy my lunch.

Unfortunately with that settled, there's nothing to keep my attention from wandering over to David. He's been quiet today, mostly interacting with Riley and Shane and Travis. He did greet me this morning, but he looked away so quickly, I know he's still thinking about me in that towel.

I'm half-tempted to apologize, but we already went through that whole song and dance. Maybe it's even better if he avoids me a little at this point. It'll give my overheated brain a chance to calm the hell down.

Or it would if I didn't seek him out myself. My gaze finds him with ease, catching him while he's watching his daughter. There's a soft smile on his face, and I can imagine him with that smile while he's standing in her doorway late at night, watching her sleep.

My heart squeezes in my chest, and I don't know how long I spend watching him watch her. This is what I wished more of my parents were like, but it's more than that. Seeing him content and happy makes me feel… good. Like everything's right with the world.

"Hey, just a friendly tip," I hear Travis say out of nowhere as he sinks down beside me. "You might wanna break up the staring. Look at a tree or something for a little bit before you go back to ogling the hot dad."

He's speaking so quietly I know I'm the only one who can hear him, but I still feel a flush rise in my neck. This time when I look at David, it's to see if he somehow heard. But no, he's still only got eyes for Riley.

"I don't remember you practicing that one much with Shane," I shoot back.

Travis just grins. "Do as I say, not as I do?"

I roll my eyes, a smirk on my lips. For a moment, I'm caught up in it all. It has to be the solitude, the crisp breeze flowing in from the mountains, or maybe just the knowledge that Julie's not alone in her feelings.

Whatever it is, it takes a few beats for me to realize this isn't just some light ribbing between brothers. It can't be.

"David seems like a good guy," Travis says, gripping my shoulder and giving it a little squeeze. "You should go for it. And hey—if you do, could you maybe do it before the holiday break? I may have a friendly wager riding on it."

My gaze cuts to Shane and he gives me a flippant little salute, acknowledging what I already know. And as much as I want to sit here and be fake agitated at my brother and my best friend, I can't. There's a bigger issue underlying all of this.

“Well, I hope you didn't have a lot riding on it, because it's not going to happen. Not before the holiday break, not ever."

Travis frowns, his brow creasing in a way that reminds me a little of Dad. "Why not? He seems like your type."

He is. Right down to the glasses and the dad jokes. Or, at least, he became my type as soon as I met him.

"He's the father of one of my students, Trav. It's pretty frowned upon."

"Frowned upon. But not against the rules?" he asks hopefully.

So hopefully that I feel that spark light in me, too, despite how hard I fight it.

"It's not worth the hassle," I say dismissively, ignoring the fact that some part of me thinks it might be. "Besides, I'm pretty sure he's straight, and you and I both know how pining after a straight guy ends."

"With a blowjob and a promise never to talk about it again?" Travis jokes with a grin.

I can't help but laugh, and that sound finally breaks David out of his trance. He looks at me, that smile gone from his lips. But it slowly returns, making my heart pound in a frantic rhythm.

"Just know I'm around if you ever want to talk," Travis says, giving my shoulder a pat before he stands.

Some part of me wants to take him up on that offer; to talk to him the way he talked to me about Shane. To sit at my kitchen table and hash things out with my brother until they make sense. But we've never had that kind of relationship. Even now, it's him coming to me, not the other way around.

I prefer it that way. I'm not sure what I'd do if he put me on the spot.

Cleaning up the rest of my lunch, I get Domino ready for the ride back. I almost expect Shane to corner me next, but it's David who approaches. As I mount, he's already sitting high in the saddle. He still looks uncomfortable, and every movement his horse makes jostles him like one of those 25-cent airplane rides at the mall. But at least today he doesn't look like he's in any danger of falling off.

"Hey, I wanted to get your opinion on something," he starts. I follow his gaze back to his daughter. "What do you think of Julie and Riley?"

The side of my brain that apparently appreciates a good matchmaking scheme lights the hell up. He's noticed it too? Of course he's noticed. Riley's his kid. How could he not notice?

"I think it's great," I say, not shying away from my enthusiasm.

"Yeah," David says, fondness in his tone. "Riley… she's never been that great at making friends, you know? Takes after me that way. Definitely was Sid's thing, though. Sid was a 'stranger's just a friend you haven't met yet' type of person." He shakes his head, realizing he's rambling. "Anyway. I think it'll be good for her. Julie seems like a good kid."

"She is," I say reflexively, trying to untangle his jumble of words. As we start toward the trail, both of us falling to the back of the line, I realize we may have two completely different ideas of what's going on. "So all you see there is friendship?"

"What do you mean?" he asks, his smile only faltering a little.

Right. Straight people see the world around them as straight by default. I guess I'm going to have to be more explicit.

"I mean… I think they'd be good together. As a couple. If it's what they both want. Right now, though, it seems like they do."

My gaze finds Julie and Riley again, and they're riding the same way they were earlier. I'm not sure they could be any closer unless they were both on the same horse.

When I look back at David, his attention's on the pair of them, too. But when he meets my gaze again, I don't see realization dawn in his green eyes. If anything, he looks more confused. The smile's gone now, too.

"I don't really see whatever it is you're seeing," he says cautiously, almost defensively.

My hackles don't fully raise, but I'm bristling just a little bit.

"I know it's a perspective thing," I say diplomatically, "but sometimes it can be hard to spot if you're not used to seeing it."

"Not used to seeing it…? I know I'm not the most experienced person on the planet, but I think I can figure out what a crush looks like." His hands tighten on the rein and his horse tosses its head a little.

"When it's a girl and a guy, sure."

David's eyes narrow. "Are you going to tell me it's different for two girls?"

His tone is incredulous, and honestly, it should be. I just basically accused him of looking at the world through rosy, straight-tinted glasses; of being too straight to notice that his daughter's queer. And I'm pretty sure the only reason I'm jumping all over him is because I'm disappointed he can't see it.

"That's not what I mean. It's—"

"Maybe you're just projecting?"

That stops me dead. My heels even dig into Domino's flanks and he stops suddenly, sending me lurching forward in the saddle. David stops, too, and I know we're just moments away from causing a scene.

"That… came out a lot worse than I intended," he says, trying to cover it up with his awkwardness.

I'm not taking the bait this time.

"No, I get it. I'm projecting my queerness onto your daughter. I've definitely never heard that one before," I fire back, the weight of it crushing down on me.

There's a reason I keep my personal life a secret, and this is it. If parents knew I was bi, they'd assume exactly what David's assuming now.

Except… I know that's not the truth. I know he just tripped over his words. I'm letting my feelings get in the way here, and I can’t seem to stop myself.

"That's not what I meant," he says firmly. "I just think I'd know if my daughter was gay."

Movement stops ahead of us, and I see we've got an audience. Shane, Travis. Robbie and Curt. Even Riley and Julie have stopped talking, and I hope to God they haven't actually heard us.

I know I have to put an end to this conversation and ride on like none of it bothers me, but I just can't seem to let go of it. I want to believe David's the kind of dad who'd embrace his daughter regardless of her sexuality, but it's not like I have a good model for what that type of parent would look like.

"My father never did," I say simply before nudging Domino back into a canter.

Whether it's because of all the attention we earned or something else, David doesn't say anything to me the rest of the ride, leaving me to stew in a mess of feelings I just don't want to have.