Free A Good Enough Reason by C.M. Lievens Page B

followed Alicia inside the building and into the elevator. Their dad was waiting for them at the door when they stepped out, and Alicia threw herself in his arms.
    Dale smiled and followed at a more sedate pace, and by the time he got there, Alicia had already disappeared inside the apartment. He smiled at his dad, and they quickly hugged, then went inside.
    Alicia was already in her room, so Dale handed her bag to her and went to his. He plugged the charger into his phone and left it there, then headed to the kitchen. Dad was cooking, and it smelled divine. “Damn, you’re spoiling us, Dad.”
    Dad pointed at him with a wooden spoon. “No swearing, Dale. And thanks. I like spoiling you. I wish I could do it more often.”
    Dale lifted himself up and sat on the counter. “I’m thinking about asking Mom if we can come here when she’s away for work. We’re home alone anyway.”
    “I’d love to have you here, Dale.”
    Dale hummed and watched his dad cook. He wondered what Ellis was doing, then stopped and wondered why he was wondering that. His little half crush on his partner made him uncomfortable, both because he had a girlfriend and should be crushing on her, and because it made it hard for Dale to forget he was bi rather than straight.
    He knew it, of course, but before, it had been easy to forget or at least to avoid thinking about. Ellis was making it harder, and Dale didn’t like it.
    “Anything new?”
    “Yeah. I have a new partner in English. The assignment is 20 percent of our final grade.”
    Dad looked sideways at Ellis while adding salt to the zucchini. “Is he helping, or are you doing all the work?”
    Dale thought about how he’d been late that day. “He’s doing a lot, don’t worry.”
    “Good. Now call your sister. Dinner’s ready.”
    Dale hopped down and obeyed. Dinner was nice, and Dale helped with the dishes. He left his dad in front of the TV and went to bed, his thoughts once again wandering off to Ellis. Dale groaned. He couldn’t seem to stop thinking about Ellis.
    It couldn’t be good.

Chapter Five
     
     
    “HEY, WHAT do you think of Anthony?”
    Ellis looked up from his notebook and gave Dale a confused glance. “Who?”
    “Anthony Wilkins.”
    “Who’s that?”
    “He’s on the soccer team with me. Tall, broad shoulders, shaggy blond hair.”
    “ Okaaay .” Ellis waited for Dale to elaborate, but he just stared back at Ellis expectantly. Ellis sighed. He had no intention of spending the rest of his lunch break looking at Dale and waiting for him to open his mouth and talk, not with how hard it had been to find an empty classroom he could write in. He should have known his privacy wouldn’t last long. “What about Anthony?”
    “Rumors say he’s gay.”
    Ellis had never heard that particular rumor, but it didn’t surprise him since he tended to avoid listening to them anyway. He nodded. “Good for him, but I don’t see what it has to do with me.”
    “What do you think about him?”
    “I don’t even know him, Dale. How can I think anything about him?”
    Dale’s enthusiasm seemed to wane a bit, but he trooped on. “He could be your prom date.”
    “No.”
    The smile on Dale’s face faded completely. “Why not? He’s nice and cute.”
    Ellis dismissed the fact that Dale thought a guy was cute, knowing his mind would drift back to that particular detail later, and asked, “How do you know for sure he’s gay?”
    “Well, I don’t have 100 percent certainty.”
    “So?”
    “I could ask him if you want, maybe try to see if he likes you.”
    “How could he like me if we don’t know each other? Besides, as far as we know, he’s straighter than you.”
    Dale paled a bit, and Ellis thought about what he’d said, but he couldn’t think of anything bad, unless Dale was upset about the straighter than you thing.
    “You sure you don’t want me to ask him?”
    “No, thanks. I already told you I’m fine on my own. You and Anna should go on with your