I'm Gay, He's Straight -SERIES- [boyxboy]

Slash (1) I'm gay, He's Straight [boyxboy]

Taylor's POV

I keep having the same nightmare.

I'm living in this picturesque little house in suburbia with my beautiful, faceless wife and two adorable kids, a boy and a girl. Next door my best friend Jake Chaplain is living in an identical house with his wife, Jenny, and his kids, Gloria and Julian.

 I mean, I guess it's kind of horrific on some level that I know Jake's family details and not my own, but Jenny is his real life girlfriend and, since they've been going out for two years now, I guess it's not all that odd that she fantasises about and plans their future together.

And I suppose you'd think if I was gonna have a gay little dream about my happy-clappy future I might factor in, say, Kelly Chaplain, the hottest girl at school, as my future imaginary wife, but to be honest I can't see myself ever going out with somebody like Kelly Chaplain. I don't have such wicked self-confidence issues that I obsess about being out of her league – I haven't even thought about it like that. Let's just say, I'd be more likely to fall for her brother than for her. And, unfortunately, that's exactly what's happened.

It's a story as old as time. Or maybe, as old as being gay is socially acceptable. I'm the still partially-closeted gay guy in love with a straight guy who just so happens to be my best friend. But falling on love with your best friend, now there's a cliché. It happens so often that really, I think it was out of my hands. Jesus Christ, people should have expected it would happen. I should have expected it would happen. But I didn't see it coming until it actually hit me.

Jake and I have always been abnormally close, even for best friends. Not many best-guy-friends I know sleep over at each other's houses every weekend, much less sharing the same bed. Not many guys I know would choose to hang out with their guy friends over their girlfriends, but Jake does so just often enough to give me that cruel spark of hope that maybe he sees me the same way I see him – though, obviously, the logic half of my brain is always more than ready jump in with a sneering yeah, right.

All the same, it wasn't until two years ago, when I was fifteen and Jake had just turned sixteen the week before, that I realised I was attracted to him.

It was a Saturday morning and I had stayed the night at his. I had realised I was gay at age thirteen, and come out to my parents and sister the year after. Jake still doesn't know I'm gay, or if he does it's not because I told him. Kelly does, but she's sworn to secrecy, and I can't imagine my family would tell him either. I think he'd be okay with it, except the part where I'm in love with him.

Anyway, that morning I woke up and realised the bed was empty on his side. I stretched out, cat-like, groaned and rolled over so I was facing into the room. I could hear the shower running in Jake's ensuite and I snuggled down into the warmth of the bed, reluctant to get up. The shower stopped humming and I heard the door slide back and sounds of Jake moving around. I kept my eyes shut; maybe if he thought I was still asleep when he got out he wouldn't make me get up.

The door opened and I regulated my breathing.

'I know you're awake,' Jake said, deadpan, 'you're smiling.'

I scowled, giving up the fight, and opened my eyes. Jake was standing over me in a towel, arms folded, accentuating his toned biceps and drawing my attention to his defined abs. I could feel my eyes widening – how had I never noticed my best friend was hot before? I dragged my eyes away from his body and forced myself to look at his face; his black hair was wet and clinging to the side of his face, and I noticed for the first time how defined his cheekbones had gotten recently under his midnight blue eyes.