Something Like Rain (Something Like... Book 8) by Jay Bell

his car, William set his duffel bag on the trunk and spun around to face Kelly. “I did things. With a girl. That’s why I was late.”
    Kelly’s mouth dropped open. “But yesterday…” He raised his eyebrows and shook his head. “I thought we covered this already.”
    “I know.”
    “What did you do exactly?”
    “I kissed a friend of mine. Sort of. Not on the lips. Um.”
    Kelly’s eyebrows managed to climb even higher. “Then where?”
    “Not there . Just on the neck. She kissed me a little too. And we took off our shirts.”
    Kelly exhaled and looked across the parking lot to the horizon. “Did you like it?”
    “I don’t know. I, uh, reacted.”
    “You got hard,” Kelly said, eyes intense as they met his again.
    “Yeah.”
    “I had a similar experience once, and as I already told you, I know plenty of other gay guys who have too. I don’t know what you want from me. There isn’t a test to prove one way or another what you are, but if you’re more interested in men than—”
    “Maybe I’m bisexual,” William blurted out.
    “Fine,” Kelly said with a shrug. “Maybe you are. If so, what stopped you from going further with her?”
    William was looking at the reason right now, but he wasn’t about to admit that. “I started thinking of guys instead.” There. That was close enough to the truth.
    “Sounds to me like we’ve reached the same conclusion.”
    “I guess so,” William mumbled.
    “Are we going to do this again tomorrow?” Kelly’s tone made clear that he was joking, but William answered seriously anyway.
    “No. I’m gay.”
    “Congratulations. I’ll buy you an ice cream.”
    “Should I tell everyone?” William asked. “I don’t really want to.”
    “No ice cream then,” Kelly said with a sigh. He leaned against the rear of the car. “Who you tell depends on a number of factors. How do you think your family will react?”
    William thought of Errol and how upset their mother had been the first time she had caught him smoking pot. They had argued, and she even staged an intervention, but in the end she had accepted who he was and adjusted accordingly. Her love for him mattered more than a drug habit. Being gay wasn’t the same thing as being a stoner, and his family wasn’t religious. He couldn’t imagine her having any real objections. His father’s reaction was harder to predict, since William didn’t feel as close to him, but he did know he was loved.
    “They’ll be okay. I think.”
    “All right. And your friends?”
    William’s cheeks began to burn. This didn’t go unnoticed. “I don’t know. Two of them are interested in me. Maybe more.”
    Kelly smirked. “Wow. Most guys would love to have that problem.”
    “Not me!”
    “Keep that in mind the next time you start having doubts. Anyway, if they like you enough to want to be with you, I’m sure they’ll be willing to accept you for who you are.”
    William walked a few paces from the car. Then he spun around. “I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.”
    “I’m sure they’ll forgive you.”
    William wasn’t so certain. “If you liked someone and then found out you could never be with him, how would that make you feel? Maybe they’ll start hating me instead.”
    Kelly was quiet. Then his expression became defiant. “People like that aren’t worth your time.”
    William continued to stare at him, his own problems forgotten. “You and Jared stopped being friends because he’s a racist homophobe. Right? That was the only reason?”
    Kelly tensed. “I had feelings for him. Don’t ask me why. I’m just glad I wasn’t stupid enough to let him know. And don’t you dare tell him! Or anyone else!”
    “I won’t. I promise.”
    “Listen,” Kelly said, his posture relaxing, “it’s nice that you don’t want to hurt anyone, but sometimes it can’t be helped. I think your friends learning the truth now would be kindest in the long run. Besides, you’re not choosing some other girl