Chapter 27

Eddie glanced at him for only a moment before squaring off with Xander again. “He’s untrustworthy because he lies. He’s lied his whole life. He even lied to me, and I was supposed to be his best friend. Give him the chance, and he’s going to lie to you, too, Aaron. He’s probably already done it. I’ll bet he didn’t even tell you he was gay.”

“You’d be wrong,” Xander said, his voice low and even. “I told him the night of the storm. My only regret is I didn’t tell him sooner. Because he was more of a man about finding out than you were. He’s more of a man than you’ll ever be, Eddie.”

Aaron winced, though he couldn’t see Eddie’s face so he didn’t know if Xander’s words found their mark. “He didn’t want to lie to you, Eddie. Nobody does. Sometimes that happens when people are…scared.”

Eddie shook his head. “The only thing Xander’s scared of is not getting some fresh dick for Saturday nights.”

“You know I’m not like that,” Xander said through gritted teeth. “I never was.”