Honey and Spice | ✔️

Chapter 26

Nathan

Crap, I shouldn’t have said that.

I feel Ryder’s body tense up and I chew the inside of my cheek nervously. So I blurt out, “And now I think they hate me.”

Ryder takes a while to process that, then his arms tighten around me comfortingly. “I. . . . Congratulations for coming out, Nate,” he begins. “But if your parents are gonna hate you for who you are, then that’s their loss. Fuck them - sorry, language - but yeah."

I laugh quietly, glad he’s not about to bash me for being gay. “Are you gay too?’ I ask without thinking.    

He’s silent for a while, and I mentally slap myself for being so obnoxious. But he sighs and leans his cheek on the side of my head. “Yeah. I’m gay too.”

“Um, how did your family take it?”

He chuckles. “I have an aunt who’s married to a woman! What do you expect?”

I laugh into his shoulder. Oops, my bad.

“Then, Aunt Cam tried setting me up with a boy from school. I think his mom is friends with her or something . . .” he continues, trailing off.

“How did it go?” I ask, trying not to feel bummed. I mean, he’s definitely boyfriend material. But I’m sort of curious why he didn’t end up being one.

Ryder shrugs, careful to not overdo it because I’m still leaning on his shoulder. “I declined. He wasn’t the right one for me.”

“Then who is?” I ask. “I mean, have you found the right one?”

His voice is barely a whisper. “Maybe I have.”

I gulp, hoping he doesn’t feel my erratic heartbeat at that.

Ryder

Nathan’s heart is beating just as fast as mine.

Oh god, did I really just say that? Well, I didn’t really say his name, right? I just hinted. Fuck this shit. My face is burning so much you could fry an egg on my cheeks. Thank god we’re still hugging, or else he would see my annoyingly red face.

I want to disappear right now. Please, invisibility cloak. Now.

Then I feel a vibration in Nathan’s thigh - a very strong one - and we both jump back, startled. He clumsily adjusts his round glasses and I awkwardly clear my throat.

“I think you should get that.” I tilt my chin towards his thigh.

He looks lost for a while, then he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone (which, surprisingly, isn’t spoiled for whatever reason). He looks at the caller ID and his now-brown eyes widen like saucers.

Nathan turns his gaze to me, brown eyes flashing to light blue in alarm. “It’s my mom,” he chokes out.

Oh shit. “Uh, don’t answer it!" I blurt out. Nathan throws his phone in the space between us in panic and we hold eye contact. Then, his mom hangs up.

And it rings again. We break our gaze from each other and stare at his phone instead. Nathan nervously toys with the hem of his shirt as I run my hand through my hair. “Okay, I think you should answer it,” I suggest.

He shoots me another panicked look. “But what if she’s going to yell at me?”

God, he’s right. “Then I’ll answer for you,” I offer.

Nathan looks from his phone to me, and back to his phone. Then he gingerly picks it up and hands it to me. I take a deep breath to collect myself and answer it.