The Friend Scheme - Cale Dietrich Page 0,27
you like that. I love them.”
“Me too,” he says. “They’re my favorite. I love Harry Potter, but I kind of like that these are a little less known, you know? It feels like they’re mine, in a way. I’m not sure if that’s stupid.”
An ocean breeze hits us, and his eyelids flutter.
“It’s not. I totally get that. It’s less fun to love something everyone loves, for some reason.”
“For sure,” he says. “I can’t believe you’ve read them. We have so much in common; it keeps happening.”
“Yeah, it’s weird, right?”
I start feeling a little daring.
I mean, he’s my friend. He’s already come out to me, and he came here, just to support me.
I want to tell him about … me.
I’m not expecting more than his friendship. I think he’ll be okay with it. As far as I know, there aren’t any homophobic gay dudes. That’d be stupid.
I have nothing to lose and a lot to gain.
How do I even do this? What should I say?
I think about starting with We have something else in common, but that feels too obvious. This is my first-ever coming-out, but still, I don’t want it to sound totally naive.
“Um,” I say. “I think I want to tell you something.” I stretch my arms out in front of me. “Fuck, I’m really nervous.”
“Dude, it’s me. Don’t be nervous; you can tell me anything. You know that, right?”
I exhale. “Yeah. So you know how I said I like Donnie Darko?”
I say each word faster than I normally do. He nods.
“Well, it kind of had a big impact on me. More than I was saying before.”
“What do you mean?”
“When I was watching it, I sort of realized…”
I look into his eyes.
“Oh,” he says. “Are you saying you think Jake Gyllenhaal is totally hot?”
I nod.
It’s all I can do. I’m too scared to vocally confirm it. It’s enough, though. The job is done. I, Matt Miller, have officially admitted that I can find a guy hot.
“I mean, he is, right?” he says.
I laugh. “Yeah, he is.”
I just came out.
That sinks in. He knows about me now.
“Are you surprised?” I ask.
“Honestly, nope.”
I laugh. “And here I was, thinking I’m being stealthy.”
“It’s not that. It’s just I don’t tend to assume anyone’s sexuality. I’ve found it’s too hard to predict, anyway.”
I nod again. That checks out.
“What was it about the movie?” he asks.
“I noticed this energy about him. It’s, like, I was so drawn to him. For the first time I wanted to see what someone looked like with less clothes on. And I found myself having dreams about him. Not sex ones, just, like, normal dreams. I couldn’t stop thinking about him. It was really intense. I’ve never told anyone about that, it’s so embarrassing.”
“It’s not, I totally get you. It’s kind of magic, in a way.”
“What do you mean?”
“That another person can make you feel that much.”
I mean, agreed.
“And I’ve totally felt that, too, by the way,” he continues. “I had this devastating crush on Sam Winchester from Supernatural. I watched all the episodes, just for him.”
“Good choice. He’s hot.”
I’ve never said those words out loud. He’s hot.
It’s so simple, yet it means so much.
“Yeah,” says Jason. “He is. I think those feelings are what makes being gay worth it. Like, it’s hard, but who wouldn’t chase that feeling, you know?”
“For sure.”
He swats my shoulder. “But, hey, now we have another thing in common!”
“Yeah. I guess so.”
That lingers between us.
“Have you told anyone?” he asks. “Not about the Jake thing, about your liking guys.”
I kick my legs. “Nope. Just you.”
“Dude, I’m so honored. And, like, welcome to the family, I guess. I wish I had a rainbow flag I could wave.”
“Hey, let’s not go overboard.” I grin.
He puts his hand on my shoulder again.
“Congrats, Matt,” he says. “I know how hard it is, and you did really well. I promise, it does get easier.”
“Thanks. That’d be nice.”
We sit in comfortable silence. Jason really was right before. We can just be together, and it’s not awkward.
“Do you think you’ll tell your parents anytime soon?” he asks.
“God no. Baby steps, for now.”
He laughs. “Well, that suits me just fine. It can be our secret. But seriously, if you ever have anything you want to get off your chest, I’m around, okay? Anytime. You could even talk about your family, if you want.”
I flinch. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Oh, why?”
My mind is racing now. This all is just starting to feel a little too perfect. Here I have this gorgeous