Chapter Nine
Seth
“Where have your manners gone? I know your mother raised you better than this.”
I looked up from my phone. Brandon’s blue eyes were bright with amusement, and a lazy grin stretched across his face.
He traced a finger around the rim of his mug; inside was the blackest coffee I’d ever seen.
I was half-convinced Brandon must be some sort of eldritch being from another world.
What's the point of drinking coffee if it's bitter and black?
Why not drown it in sugar, syrup, and cream?
My coffee was a masterpiece—whipped cream, caramel, chocolate chips. The right way. “I didn’t invite you out to coffee, so you could stare at your phone,” Brandon said.
“You’re not my mother. I don’t have to listen to you.”
Brandon arched a brow. “Weak comeback, Seth.”
I pointedly turned my phone screen-down on the table. “Happy, Mother?”
“Hilarious,” Brandon deadpanned. “Who are you so interested in? Is it Troy?”
“Why would it be Troy?”
Brandon sipped from his coffee and shrugged. “I assumed. He’s a friend?”
“Just a friend. And completely uninterested in men.”
Even though Brandon was one of my best friends, I wouldn’t tell even him Troy’s secret. I’d promised I would tell no one, so I wouldn’t. Not even Brandon.
My phone beeped and, flashing Brandon a bright smile, I picked my phone off the table.
“You’re addicted,” Brandon observed.
“Hardly.”
It was Old Blue. We’d met on a car forum, and from there, we’d moved to Discord. Great guy—hard-working, sharp, self-professed awkward with people. My opposite, but witty and funny. And he knew a lot.
“I know you’ll probably say I told you so. But I guess I’ll admit it. You were right. I need to get out more. I had fun.”
“I think you are,” Brandon said.
I wrinkled my nose. “I get it, Brandon. Fire bad, Edison is Satan. Kids these days,” I replied, waving a hand.
Brandon grinned. “That is what it’s like with you sometimes. Like I’m dealing with a perpetual sixteen-year-old whose parents never taught him—”
“My parents taught me how to be utterly awesome,” I said. “Thank you for noticing.”
Although that wasn’t entirely fair. My nanny probably deserved some credit. As a businessman, my father was often away, and my mother liked to travel alone.
Brandon shook his head. “Impossible. It’s like talking to a lampshade, with the bulb turned off.”
I grinned. “But I’m your lampshade.”
“Unfortunately.”
“Hey, don’t forget that I made your movie career. Without my superb acting, your film would’ve flopped.” A complete lie.
Brandon’s film was good because he’d cared about it and worked hard on it, as had everyone else.
“When are you starting the next one?” I asked.
Brandon shrugged. “Depends on how much we get from crowdfunding. We did well with the first one. I might try doing some freelancing stuff in the meantime. Wedding videography, you know. Those sorts of things.”
“Sounds dull.”
Brandon chuckled. “Some of us have to work for a living, Seth.”
“I work for a living. I’m an actor,” I replied.
“With three whole acting credits to your name. And all of them in small shoots. Truly, you’re the definitive actor of our generation. I don’t know how you can even go out on the town without being swarmed by your fans.”
“I’m such a good actor that people don’t believe it’s me,” I replied.
Brandon downed the rest of his coffee. It was almost as if I could hear his taste buds crying in pain.
My phone beeped again.
“Maybe I should back up, though. I met this guy who I kind of like. At first, I thought he was an asshole, but I’m starting to change my opinion. We went to this thing together, and he was really nice. I mean, he was excited about everything, too. It was infectious.”
Hm. Good for Old Blue. His romantic pursuits seemed to be going much better than mine. Aside from a short fling with Celeste from Brandon's film, I’d been single for months. Maybe it was weird, but I wanted someone in my life—someone to be involved with.
And with a rush of embarrassment, I realized that Troy would’ve been great, but I really needed to rein in my enthusiasm. He wasn’t interested. Or if he was, he didn’t want to pursue a relationship, and I didn’t want him to think I was pushing too hard or in a direction he didn’t like.
“I’m glad,” I answered. “It’s good that you’re getting out and having fun.”
“But hopefully,” Brandon continued, “We’ll be able to work out some problems on the second film. At least, I’ll have some idea how it’s all supposed to work by then.”
I nodded. Admittedly, Brandon’s first film experience had been a disaster, chaotic. And while disorganization never bothered me, I’d seen the problems it could cause with a film production.
“Maybe your lead actress won’t drop out this time,” I said.
Brandon groaned and ran his hand through his hair. The poor man looked as though he was remembering some terrible nightmare, and really, he might be. “That was rough,” he muttered.
I leaned back in my chair, toying with my phone between my fingers. “We stayed up all night trying to fix the script around that,” I said, “And it was a huge mess with all of us working on it. Nothing made sense or fitted together.”
“But the end result,” Brandon said, “was quite good.”
His eyes shone with pride, and I nodded, unable to muster a snide remark. Brandon was proud of his movie, and rightly so.
“I’m glad you found your niche,” I said honestly, “And even if it meant having to cut ties with your parents, I still think you made the right choice doing that.”
“Thanks. I do, too.” Brandon sighed, his lips twitching into a soft, fond smile. “And of course, it helps that Alex is so supportive. He knows so much more stuff than me, too. It’s really quite incredible. Even though we’re the same age, I feel like he has his life much more together than I do.”
“Alex has a level head,” I said. “You’ve always been a bit…emotional. That’s not quite what I mean, though. Romantic, maybe.”
“That’s probably fair,” Brandon said. “I feel like Alex does a lot to bring me down to earth.”
Beep.
“So, when are the two of you going to get married?” I asked.
“I went to this movie premiere with a guy.”
I stared at my screen for a few seconds, as if waiting for the words to change. It couldn’t be. No way this was Troy. It had to be a coincidence. After all, going to movies was a pretty common date option.
“We haven’t talked about getting married,” Brandon replied. “Alex wants to take things slow and to get to a place where we can make ends meet without having to worry about money and such.”
Was this Troy? When I thought about it, the two of them did have quite a bit in common. Both of them were really into cars, and both of them professed to be awkward around other people. And now, they’d both gone to movie premieres on the same night.
But Old Blue had a hard time getting close to people because of his brother’s death or something like that. I wasn’t entirely clear on which or how the two related, but they clearly did in some way. If this was Troy, he’d be horrified I knew about his brother—and that wasn’t what he wanted.
“Seth?” Brandon asked. “You aren’t looking up engagement rings, are you?”
“No,” I replied slowly. “Actually, I was just looking at something a friend of mine said online. I think one of…I think this might be Troy.”
“You think?”
“I have this friend on Discord, who I follow and talk with sometimes. And I think he might actually be Troy.”
Beep!
“His name is Seth.”
I sucked in a quick breath. “Okay, it’s Troy.”
Troy liked me. A warm, fluttering feeling spread through my chest. I smiled and traced my thumb over my own name. This was…a pleasant surprise. A wonderful surprise, actually.
“Seth.” There was something cautioning in Brandon’s tone.
When I looked at him, his eyes narrowed.
“What?” I asked.
“Please, don’t do something stupid.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Like what?”
“Like…pretend you can read his mind or something, so you can mess with the guy. That would be mean.”
“I wasn’t going to do anything mean.”
I just… maybe wouldn't tell Troy I knew. Not yet. What was the harm in that? If we liked each other, would it really do any harm if I told him now or a few months from now? It wasn’t as if he’d have to know.
And although I felt a knot of guilt twist in my belly, it was so tempting to just ignore it.
It wasn’t like Troy would have any way of knowing that I’d found out about who he was. Or when I found out. And he was so more open about himself online!
“But I know you,” Brandon said slowly, “And that look in your face says you’re going to do something you shouldn’t.”
I toyed with my phone. “I know what you’re going to say,” I said slowly, “So spare me.”
“If you know what I’m going to say, you should also know I’m right. And that look indicates you think you’re right and not going to take my advice.”
I sighed. “All I was thinking was that maybe I don’t tell him I know it’s him. Just for a little. Today, tomorrow; in the scope of things, it really doesn’t matter that much.”
Brandon frowned and tilted his head, like he was trying to figure something out.
He suspected there was more going on than I was saying.
That much was clear. But maybe he didn’t know exactly what I wasn’t saying.
My pulse quickened. I couldn’t tell him everything.
And I knew exactly what Brandon would say.
He firmly believed that honesty was the best policy.
“It’s a bad idea,” Brandon said at last, “And I think Troy has a right to know that you are aware of this other side of him. You know that, too.”
“I do,” I admitted.
But could I really do it? I knew enough about Troy to realize he’d probably react badly to the revelation. And then I’d lose both the online friend I had for months and the new friend I’d just met. Moral or not, for now it was best.