Chapter 15: Luis’s POV

Luis’ POV

“Your old man is such a bore.” Chen looked like he was about to cry because he had only won against me once out of the several games we played, and the only times he came close to winning were the multiple draws we had.

“You can leave through the window when he gets in. I’m going downstairs.”

“Do you need to go welcome them from a family outing you weren’t invited to?” My best friend looked genuinely upset for me, and I was grateful, but…

“I didn’t have breakfast or lunch yet. He’s going to be mad that I didn’t eat his wife’s food. It could get really ugly,” I said as I turned the knob.

“Okay, I’ll be waiting,” he took out his phone and bounced on the bed. Thank God I’d changed the sheets.

“Waiting for what? It’s already evening,” I stopped where I was standing by the door.

“I got invited to a party, and I’m going with you as my plus one,” he said, and I immediately slammed the door shut behind me and reentered the room.

My dad could get mad for all I care. I was used to it, but no way in hell would I allow Chen to drag me to another party again.

“No thanks, you can leave now. I refuse to attend another party with you,” I said as I stood in front of him, watching as he sat up with my pillows so he could rest his head on the headboard, all while looking unbothered.

“What are you afraid of?” His eyebrows were furrowed in a slight frown, but not out of concern, because there was a teasing smile playing at the edge of his lips. “None of our schoolmates would be present. It’s more of an adults-only party, don’t worry.”

I wanted to roll my eyes and just punch him when I remembered how things had ended the last time I decided to hang out with him.

Because I could have avoided the club, avoided meeting drunk Garber, who just wanted to explore his curiosity in his drunken state, and spared myself all the heartbreak I’d gone through these past three days.

“That’s even worse. No means no.”

“Come on, please. I got an invite from a guy I met at the club last time. It’s a hidden gay club, and who knows, we might find our soulmates together,” he was on his knees at this point, kneeling in front of me with his best attempt at pleading doe eyes looking at me.

“You look like you’re cross-eyed, stop it,” I wrinkled my nose at his attempt at being cute.

“Okay then, will you come with me if I stop?” He didn’t stop kneeling, but at least his eyes looked normal now.

It was safe to say that Chen didn’t have a single cute bone in him.

“No! Jesus! What makes you think I’m gay in the first place? Yes, I’ve been single all my life, but I’m just 19, and it’s no big deal,” I defended, my heart racing so fast and loud against my chest that I could hear it in my ears.

I stepped away from him, too, in case it was that loud.

“In your case, no, it’s not normal for a good-looking 19-year-old boy like you to have been a virgin all his life, never had a one-night stand, and never had a crush on any girl before,” he said and crossed his leg.

Okay, I wasn’t ready for this conversation, but I needed to defend myself as much as I could. “What if I had a crush on someone and just didn’t tell you?”

“Bro, we are best friends. Don’t forget that I know you a lot more than you probably know yourself,” he said, and at that point, I just wanted to brag to him about how he had no idea that I wasn’t a virgin and that I’d lost my virginity in the most sultry and gay way he could ever think of.

“Oh really?” I just looked at him, amused and glad that my secret was safe.

“Yes, because if you had a crush on my sister, I would have known it,” he said, and I couldn’t help but laugh in his face at how ridiculous his speculation was right now.

“A… and since when did your sister become a metric for knowing if someone is gay or not? Look, stop being funny,” I continued laughing as I doubled over while holding my stomach.

I’d laughed so hard that it was starting to hurt, so when I straightened up and saw that he was suddenly in front of me, I couldn’t help but feel startled and push him onto the bed.

“What was that for, bro?” He looked confused but reacted quickly, grabbing onto my arm and pulling me onto him so I fell right on top of him—just in time for my stepmom to push my door open.

“Oh my god,” she gasped. “I didn’t mean to interrupt,” she said as she turned around, and before I could get off Chen, she had slapped the door shut and gone out.

“Oh, you bastard, look what you caused,” I got off him and wanted to go after my stepmom when I heard my dad’s angry voice ask, “So what is his excuse for not eating the food you prepared?”

“He’s sleeping. I don’t think he’s feeling too well. I’ll go get him some aspirin,” she said, lying so smoothly for me.

“Aspirin? He’s just being lazy. Don’t worry yourself and let him sleep. He should be fine before tomorrow,” my dad said without a care in the world for me, and for the first time, I was grateful for his lackadaisical attitude toward me.

I was glad that he didn’t care enough to come check up on me. But that also meant that I wouldn’t be having dinner because then I’d have to explain my sudden sickness to him and explain the compromising position to my stepmom.

It just felt way better and easier to avoid everything.

Letting out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding, I closed the door gently and didn’t forget to apply extra locks to it this time.

I slid down the door with my back resting on it until I’d sat on the cold floor, only to turn around and see Chen snickering into the pillow I’d hugged to sleep, trying so hard to hold back his laughter.

Anger shot through me, and I rose to my feet, stomped toward him, and dragged the pillow out of his grasp.

“No need to be so petty, bro. That was just really funny. You should have seen your face when she saw us and her face when I winked at her,” he turned over and started laughing into the bedsheet while I fisted the pillow in my hand to hold back my anger.

“I could really smother you with this pillow right now,” I said through gritted teeth, but I didn’t make an attempt toward him. Instead, I turned away and sat on my gaming chair, only to realize that I had forgotten to turn off the streaming after abruptly ending the game.

I had no doubt the comments section of my streaming channel was flooded by now, but I didn’t have it in me to check them. I just logged out and turned it off before returning to glare at Chen, who was now hiccuping after laughing like a maniac for so long.

“You might find someone with a pillow kink at the party, who knows,” he said with a shrug, his face still red from laughing.

“Bastard!” And like that, it was sealed—we were going to this gay party as his plus one, and as much as I hated it, the other option of me staying in this house with so much explaining to do was just too much pressure for me.

“That’s why we are best friends,” he said with a snicker before turning to type frantically on his phone while I stood up to get an outfit for the party.