Page 22 of Zero Confusion

Miles gave him a sheepish smile and didn’t say any of those things.

Chapter 10

MILES

At first, Miles didn’t plan on mentioning what he’d seen. Zach was a private person—guarded even with Miles—and he’d clearly kept this part of his life a secret for a reason. Despite it being mostly an accident, Miles had invaded his privacy, and the smartest thing to do would have been to put it out of his mind and pretend it never happened.

That resolve barely lasted the walk home. Every time he looked over at Zach, tantalizing images crowded his brain, unspoken words dancing on the tip of his tongue. There was no way he’d be able to act like everything was normal for much longer.

Besides, he had questions.

“Do you…did you…how much did you read?” Zach choked out, beet-red and looking like he was about to pass out from embarrassment.

“Not a lot,” Miles rushed to reassure him. “Just what was on the screen, and…I might have scrolled up a tiny bit. A teeny, tiny bit, to see how the chat started!”

Zach closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then another. And another.

“Is there any point in pretending my laptop has a virus that opens random pages?” he asked. The familiar edge of his sarcasm was back, and Miles sighed in relief. Zach wasn’t pissed at him.

Yet.

“No, Zee.”

“Oh.”

“I could tell you’re SubZero. I’m guessing it wasn’t your first time there.”

Zach’s eyes flew open and widened. He looked so panicked that Miles couldn’t help lurching forward and gathering him in his arms.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, nuzzling Zach’s hair. “I didn’t mean to, I promise. I’d never go snooping on purpose. I got caught up in the moment and couldn’t help myself.”

Zach grunted into his chest, expressing either agreement or disbelief.

“What was that?”

Lifting his head, Zach grumbled, “Can we please never speak of this again?”

Miles was tempted to agree. He always wanted to give Zach anything he asked for, but the words refused to leave his lips.

He needed to know more.

“Can I ask a few questions first? A couple, that’s it. I promise I won’t mention it again.”

“Questions? Like what?”

Miles couldn’t fault him for the apprehension in his voice. This was far beyond the realm of their usual conversations. Some guys made a sport out of discussing their sex lives—Miles had run into plenty of those at college—but Zach had never been one of them.

Still, Miles had to know.

“I just want to understand you better.”

“Isn’t this weird?” Zach asked, “Talking about…this stuff?”

Miles rubbed his thumb in a circle around Zach’s hip, trying to think of a response.

“Is it? You don’t talk to Joel about it?”

Zach huffed. “It’s not the same, and you know it. Joel is gay.”