“I’m not sure when the attraction started, but once I realized, I fell hard and fast. I couldn’t get enough and I didn’t know when to stop. Or how to stop.” I wanted to keep talking, but couldn’t figure out how to say exactly how I felt.
I thought if I told Bill exactly how I felt, he would never talk to me again. In fact, I thought he would never even associate with me again. I didn’t want him to know I was interested in his brother because I knew he had been burned before by friends and ex-girlfriends. He thought anyone who he became friends with was only friends with him because his brother was popular.
“You interested in Jack? Is that what you are struggling to tell me?” I saw Bill tense, but he didn’t look my way. Shit. Apparently, I was not as smooth as I thought.
“Maybe you shouldn’t be so suspicious of all your friends. Not everyone is here just because they are interested in your brother. Some people actually like you for you, you know.” I knew I had to think fast. I couldn’t lose Bill as a friend because I knew I would never be able to be around Jack.
“Then who? Who are you so infatuated with?” Bill still stared at his phone as if he was waiting for my confession of love for his brother.
“Tyler Johnson.” I blurted out the first name that popped into my head.
“Mr. Johnson? The chemistry teacher?”
At that particular moment, I didn’t understand how terribly my fake confession would change the course of my life. Or that Bill would betray me. But, sometimes I was thankful. Especially when Mr. Johnson was finally put behind bars for unsubstantiated rumors and I finally found real love. With Jack.
Standing Room Only 