Page 415 of A Matter of Time

“Not exactly.”

He wasn’t sure about me, and it was there in his face.

I reached out to pat his shoulder. “Thanks for the offer, but⁠—”

Before I could pull my hand back, he covered it with his, pressing it into his arm. The muscles were hard and corded, and I wondered vaguely if I was supposed to notice.

“Let me drive you wherever you need to go.”

“Ty,” Casey called over to him. “Maybe Jory⁠—”

“That’d be great,” I said quickly, because it would be faster, and I had a feeling I had very little time left.

“Good,” he said, walking beside me.

“Ty.”

“I’ll see ya later, Case,” he called back over his shoulder. “You and Gwennie be good.”

There was laughter from behind us.

As we walked toward the student parking area, Tyler asked me where we were going, I answered, and then I asked him how long he and Casey had been sleeping together.

He froze mid-step and stared at me.

“Aww, c’mon, man…gimme a break.”

“How’d ya know?” he asked breathlessly.

“Hard to miss.” I smiled at him.

He nodded slowly. “Three years, but it’s not exclusive. I mean, how can it be? He has a girlfriend.”

We reached his Honda Civic, and I moved to the passenger side. “So why don’t you guys tell everybody, and then you can just be together?”

He got in and unlocked the door for me. “It’s not as easy as it sounds.”

And I was sure it wasn’t, but I had no interest in hearing a story I’d heard a thousand times. I was sure they were both expected to marry and have kids and probably had parents who would no longer pay for school if their sons came out and told them they were gay.

“Jory?”

“So what does Casey think you and I are doing right now?”

“Screwing, I’m sure.”

I nodded. That was healthy.

“How long are you in town for?”

“I have no idea. I guess it depends on what I find in the apartment you’re taking me to.”

“Whose key is it?”

“Someone I know.”

“What if you find, like, a decomposing corpse or something?”

It was actually not far from what I had been thinking myself. “I have no idea.”