The professor had announced the ‘ten-minute warning’ about five minutes ago. Kit stared down at his midterm exam, re-reading the same paragraph over and over. He took a deep breath and tried his best to focus. Someone who sat behind him stood up and approached the front of the room to turn in their exam. Kit looked away from the student leaving and forced himself to stare down at the page. He had five questions left, and he didn’t want to leave more than one unanswered. Another person got up to leave. He skipped the one he was stuck on and proceeded to the next.

“Is everything okay, Kit?” His instructor asked. She looked concerned, probably aware that any other day, Kit would be the first person to have completed and turned in the exam. He stopped fidgeting and forced a smile.

“I’m fine.” He looked back down at the question and began to write just anything. “Midterm nerves. You know?”

She didn’t look away, instead approaching his desk. “You can talk to me if something is going on…”

Kit finished the couple sentences and closed the booklet. She wasn’t going to want to hear that he was having drama with his significant other. Who cared? Other people were going through worst, he imagined. “It’s okay. Here you are.” He extended the booklet and tried to smile once more when she accepted it. He then grabbed his things and quickly stood to his feet. “If there’s anything I can do for extra credit, please let me know.”

She nodded. “Alright. You know my office hours.”

Kit nodded back before rushing out of the room.

Before he could get too far, Noah reached out an arm to slow him down a bit. “Hey. You good?”

Kit was partially down the steps, but stopped at the sound of his friend’s voice. “Hey, Noah.”

“I was waiting for you for like thirty-minutes. Is everything okay?”

Kit slowly walked off. Noah wasted no time falling in line with him as they went.

“You know you didn’t have to wait for me.”

“Yeah, but you would’ve hung out and waited for me,” Noah answered. “Besides, I know you’re not feeling your best. Don’t want you to be alone.”

Kit was touched by that, but part of him did want to be alone. He pulled his cell phone out and turned it on. As they continued to walk, Noah looked down at Kit’s screen.

“I can’t stop thinking about him,” Kit said. “The whole exam, Noah. All I could think about was how upset he was.”

Noah stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets. “I’m sure he’s been thinking about you, too.”

“Then why won’t he answer my calls? I’ve been trying everything. Calling. Texting. Voicemails. Messaging him on fucking Facebook. He won’t answer me.”

Noah sighed. “Because for some reason – out of all the men in the greater Los Angeles area, you fell in love with the most stubborn one.”

Kit kicked at a rock as they walked, his head hung low. He honestly believed that Bentley was being unreasonable. He would never be unfaithful, not in this relationship or any other. It just wasn’t his style. “Noah… you do know that I would never entertain other guys behind Bentley’s back, right?”

“Hey – I believed you even before you had me read and re-read your conversations with that Peter dude.”

Kit smiled. “His name is Paulie. And thanks.” He relaxed when Noah threw an arm around him; the two walking towards the shuttle to their dorm. “Maybe I’ll try and call him one more time when we get in. If he doesn’t answer, I’ll take the hint.”

Noah nodded. “Maybe he just needs some time. He’ll come to his senses. Bentley always does.”

Kit thought about that for a moment. He took a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah. Professor Myra mentioned letting me do a retake. I also asked about extra credit. I really need to get on that or my Dad will kill me.”

Noah patted his back reassuringly. “I wouldn’t be surprised if distracted-Kit still got a fucking A.”

They laughed.

??

He’s still not answering?

[K] I stopped trying.

[K] I miss him more than I can even explain. And I know he had a meeting for another endorsement today. I thought he’d put our problems aside and tell me how that went, but… nothing.

[Tawny] Care to tell me why the hell you’d talk to Paulie? EVER?

[K] Whose side are you on?

[Tawny] You know I’m on your side, Kit! It’s just… you know I still feel responsible for you and Paulie ever becoming involved in the first place. I encouraged it a lot…

[Tawny] And when he did what he did, I was so angry. I don’t think he deserves to hear from you ever again.

[K] You know it’s not your fault. I made my own decisions.

[K] And I’ve decided not to be petty. The guy is struggling. I’d rather try my best to listen and give him advice, than have him put another person through what he put me through.

[Tawny] How are we friends? You’re so… nice.

[K] LOL. Well, you’re nicer than you care to admit.

[Tawny] You should’ve said something about talking to him, maybe. He should’ve heard you out regardless. You’re both being ridiculous, but I’m sure Bentley will come around.

[Tawny] He’s obsessed with you.

[K]  Whatever. I fucking miss him.

[K] Anywho… what would you like to do first when you get here? Well, besides the football game.

[Tawny]  BEACH! BEACH! BEACH!

[K] Well, that’s a given.

[Tawny]  And I’d loooooveto be front and center at my best friend’s fashion show??

[K] It’s the fashion club’s show, not solely mine. I’m just a freshman. My guests will probably be in the nosebleed seats lol??

[Tawny] I’ll deal. Oh – and you should probably fix things with Bentley because we need to party at his place. And… isn’t he your model?

[K] He’s my model. If he backs out because he’s mad at me after I custom-made these outfits with his body in mind, that’s just low. I’d really be pissed at him.

[K] And I’m sure you’ll be welcome at his place. I just don’t know about me. Lol.

[Tawny] Oh, hush.

[K] ??

[Tawny] I’m going to see you in 36 HOURS! Cannot wait, handsome!

[K] ☺️ Me neither, baby girl.

??

“You’re being pathetic. You should just call him, Bentley.”

Bentley swiped through another photo of himself with Kit – this one was of them in matching purple shirts sharing a kiss. He zoomed in on Kit’s face and exhaled.

Jonah rolled his eyes. “I think I’m going to leave…”

“Why?” Bentley looked up from the iPad and over at his best friend. “Why would you leave?”

“Because we’re not doing anything! You’re looking at pictures of your ex and crying –”

“He’s not my ex. And I’m not crying.” Bentley shook his head. He just knew they made plans for today before they had their spat. Rehearsals for the fashion show were probably over at this point. Kit hadn’t called to see if he’d come, and Bentley hadn’t reached out and asked him if he was still needed. This all sucked.

[Mom] Hey, baby. Come see me tomorrow. We need to talk.

Bentley wondered what his mother wanted to speak about as he replied.

[B] Sure thing, ma.

“Well, whatever it is. I’m not enjoying myself.” Jonah combed through his green-tipped hair before standing to his feet. “Kit did his part. He tried reaching out to you and apologizing, and you’ve been ignoring him. If you want to be an idiot, that’s fine. That doesn’t mean I should sit here and watch it.”

Bentley looked down at his iPad again. This photo was one he took of Kit sleeping; his head on his chest. “If you found out your girl was making plans with her ex, you’d feel a way, too.”

“Well, I might. But I’m mature enough to at least hear her out and not cut her off completely.” Jonah pocketed his comb. “But then again, I’ve been dating her for over a year now. You and Kit have only been together a month and some change. You’ll figure it all out.”

Bentley turned the iPad off and looked up at him. “Sit down, bro.”

Jonah shook his head. “I could be hanging out and enjoying myself. The beach is across the street –”

“Sit down for a minute, JoJo. Please?”

Jonah sighed, but eventually he complied. He sat on one end of the sofa and stared at the MTV show playing. “I’m listening.”

“I know I fucked up, but have you seen him? I know you’re not into guys or anything, but I didn’t think I was either. Then, there was Kit.”

Jonah nodded. “I’ve seen him. Kit’s a hot guy. You’re both unfairly attractive. What’s your point, here?”

“It’s not only the fact that I think he’s the most beautiful person I’ve ever laid eyes on. It’s the fact that other people see it, too, and many of these guys have things to offer that I don’t.”

Now, Jonah looked at him like he’d completely lost his mind.

Bentley scratched at his stubbly face. “Okay. If you go on his Facebook, or his Instagram, or his Twitter, all you’ll see is a bunch of guys vying for his attention.”

Jonah looked up as the lightbulb above his head went off. “Oh… I get it now. You’re jealous!”

Bentley shook his head. “Not jealous. It’s not like he’s entertaining them, much. It’s just that I know many of them are 100% gay men. He has things in common with them, some things I won’t understand. What if he realizes this? What if Pringles isn’t the first guy who’s been grabbing his attention?”

“You’re being paranoid and that’s going to cost you your relationship.” Jonah stood up again. “The guy is in love with you. You’re in love with him. He cares about you and who you want to be. Why isn’t that enough?”

Bentley was quiet, but that was perfect, because Jonah obviously wasn’t done yet.

“I imagine it was so hard giving a guy who’s attracted to women a chance. Imagine the things he must think when a pretty girl walks by you, or when he sees the countless women vying for your attention on Twitter and Instagram and Facebook. I imagine he must have insecurities as well, Bentley, but he trusts you. Maybe you should try trusting him, too. Kit’s not like that. Kit wouldn’t hurt you.”

“I never said he would.”

“Then why aren’t you two talking to one another?” Jonah asked.

Bentley didn’t have an answer. He knew he was wrong, and it wasn’t often that he had to admit that Jonah Fisher was right about something, but here he was. Kit probably had insecurities of his own, but he was willing to give the two of them a chance. Bentley rubbed a hand across his face.

“Just as I thought. You’ve got nothing to say,” Jonah replied. He sounded so smug that Bentley wanted to throw the pool table at him.

“I’m going to apologize when I see him at the game tomorrow,” Bentley said. “The things I need to say should be done in person.”

His iPad screen lit up, and he glanced down at it.

New Message: Paulie Madison

“Good. I’m going to the beach. If you want to be fun Bentley and not at all mopey, depressed-over-something-he-can-actually-control Bentley, then I will return and we can have our sleepover as planned.”

Bentley picked his iPad up. “Okay. Later.”

Jonah walked over and ruffled Bentley’s hair before turning to leave. “Call me if you need me.”

“Yeah.”

Bentley opened the message.

Hey.

I know there’s a high percentage chance that you will not be reading this, but I thought it was worth a shot. There’s also a high percentage chance that you hate my guts, and I would understand that as well. But, if you’ve gotten this far, I hope you will hear me out.

I broke Kit in high school. It’s my biggest regret. I used him. I allowed people to treat him like he was less than human, and I did nothing to stop it.

Somehow, for some reason, he was man enough to forgive me. But you see – Kit is the type of person to forgive everyone that hurt him. Do we deserve it? Fuck no. But that’s just who he is. He forgave me, and even though I do not deserve it, he’s been helping me through my personal issues.

You see, Bentley, I’m gay. I haven’t told anyone on this earth that, not even Kit. I believe he thinks that I’m bisexual, or maybe some other form of fluidity. I know that you can take this message and post it everywhere and expose the guy who abused your boyfriend in high school, but I don’t think you will. I hope you won’t.

I never reached out to Kit hoping that he’d give us a chance. I’m not stupid. I know you two are insanely into one another, as does the rest of this country. I just needed someone to talk to. Kit could’ve told me to go fuck myself and I would understand, but he didn’t. He was willing to talk me through it. I told him that my girlfriend was pissed at me (she had every right to be) and that I was interested in going to a gay club far away just to keep things under wraps. I wanted to know for myself if this was just some fluke with him, or if I am truly a gay man. Deep down, I already know that I am, but sometimes it helps when you can be with someone and know for sure. He told me that I shouldn’t go alone because of predators, lol. He said I should find a friend, someone to watch my back. The message you read was me asking him to go to a gay bar with me when I come there. I promise you that he wasn’t inviting me out anywhere behind your back, or offering me the opportunity to try things out with him again. He’d never do that to you, or to anyone. That’s not who Kit is. I imagine you already know this, though.

Long story short, I’m the one to blame. You can hate me. Don’t hate Kit. He’s a great guy, and I feel responsible for hurting him again. I’m sorry for causing you guys any strife. I apologized to him too, and he accepted it. He just wants me to stop messaging him. You have my word that I’ll back off.

I want to say one last thing – thank you. You probably don’t know how much you changed Kit’s perspective on people. I think you helped him trust again, and after what I did to him, that’s a big fucking deal.

- Paulie

Bentley read the message and took it for what it was worth. He didn’t like this guy, no, but he could understand the fact that he was struggling with himself. Like Kit told him, not everyone finds it easy to accept their interest in the same sex the way Bentley had. And Poster was right about one thing – Kit was far more forgiving than he needed to be. He just hoped that he’d forgive him for behaving like a psycho and ignoring him the past few days.