that blurred with hurt and frustration and distrust. He hadn’t believed Rae’s denial, had dismissed it instantly, but now he polished murky details until they shone like gems, and remembered…
The shock in her voice, as if she couldn’t believe what he was saying. The vehemence. And her obvious, tongue-tied discomfort, which he’d put down to their awkward conversation. Only now did it occur to him that Rae hated to argue in public.
He’d been so preoccupied that he’d forgotten that. Again.
“Hey.” Nate raised his voice, cutting through Zach’s concentration. “Are you listening to me?”
“No.”
That gave the other man pause. “Uh… are you sure you’re okay?”
Zach repeated, “No.”
Nate and Evan shared a look.
He ignored it. Possibility was dawning in him like some toxic sun. He shouldn’t stare directly at the light, but he had a suspicion that refused to let go, and he owed it to himself to prove or disprove it. Surely, he deserved that much.
Slowly, Zach said, “I need you guys to leave. I have something to do.”
Nate snorted. “I’m not leaving. You just dropped more than a few bombs on us, and I want to make sure you’re—”
“Listen,” Zach cut in, because he had something urgent to deal with. “I need you to go.”
“Zach—”
“By the way,” he added, “demisexuality is a way of feeling attraction that’s on the asexual spectrum. I’m demi, and I don’t give a fuck what you think about that. Even if—especially if—you don’t think it’s real, or that it matters. But I trust you, and neither of you are arseholes, so I’m 99% positive everything’s going to be fine. If you could both fuck off and Google it, so I don’t have to play teacher, and maybe text me to let me know you’re not gonna be dicks, that’d be amazing. Thanks.” He strode across the room, grabbed both speechless men by the arm, and dragged them with surprising ease toward the door. Apparently, they were too astonished to put up much a fight.
“Zach,” Evan tried, “do you think we could all just talk—”
“Later. I promise, later. I’m busy.”
“Wait,” Nate said. “Just so you know, I don’t give a fuck if you’re demi… uh, demisexual. I don’t know what it is yet, but I know I support you. Okay?”
Zach met his brother’s eyes, a slight smile curving his lips. “Okay.”
“Me, too,” Evan added.
“Good. Now piss off.” Zach shoved them out of the door with a quick goodbye, then went to grab his wallet and keys. He needed to buy a book.
But, before he could leave the house, his phone vibrated in his back pocket. He pulled it out and saw a notification that stopped him in his tracks. Someone had replied to his thread, the one about Rae.
WonderWomxn81: Been there. I know it’s hard to believe, but everything will be okay in the end. <3
He stared at the message for long moments, a bittersweet smile curving his lips. For some reason, this calm support from a distant stranger meant a hell of a lot. Maybe because the stranger, whoever they were, got it. Maybe because that stranger didn’t have to remain one. After a while, the bittersweet part of Zach’s pleasure faded, leaving plain old satisfaction and a brand-new strength behind.
Perhaps reading Kevin’s book would unlock some grand mystery that brought Zach and Rae back together. But if it didn’t—if he never truly had her, and this was really it—well. He’d survive.
Remembering that helped.
Rae wanted to find Zach and fix things. She did. Maybe she even could. But she’d decided, after four days spent working through the thorny tangle of her own fear, that she shouldn’t.
Their argument had started with a misunderstanding, but that in itself proved she wasn’t right for him. If she were, she could’ve stopped things before they went too far. Could’ve overcome all her layers of anxiety and taken control of the situation. If Rae was the kind of woman Zach needed, she would’ve whispered her secret in his ear, and said without hesitation that she trusted him, that she returned his feelings, and everything would’ve been fine.
But she hadn’t.
The most galling part of it all was knowing that she did trust Zach. After hours of lying awake in their hotel room with tears streaming down her cheeks, the realisation had arrived to crush what was left of her heart. She trusted Zach Davis like no-one else—which was why she’d made him her fake boyfriend in the first place, why she’d shared her secrets and her desire with him—but the feeling