Just What the Truth Is Read Online Free PDF

some guys I recognized, chatted about the Glory’s season and the weather, and then I spotted my brother. He looked surprised to see me but not pissed off. I took that as a win and walked over to him, reaching for a hug as soon as I was close enough. Noah didn’t pull away. Hey, I was on a roll.
    “Nice to see you. Did Clark invite you?”
    Right to the point. Yup, that was Noah.
    “No, he didn’t. I was just stopping by to say hello. But he thinks you invited me, and he was pretty happy about that. Don’t worry, I won’t tell him that I’m just here coincidentally.”
    Noah sighed. “I don’t lie to Clark, Ben. Not about anything. Not ever.”
    No, of course not. They were the perfect couple. All sunshine and roses and rainbows and unicorns. At least when I wasn’t butting in and messing things up for them. I suddenly felt drop-dead tired again. I rubbed my eyes with the palm of my hand. “I didn’t mean anything by that, Noah. Sorry. Do you want me to leave?”
    “Of course not. I want you to stay. You’re always welcome here, Ben.” He smirked. “And I’m saying that without Clark here elbowing my ribs. Look, I didn’t invite you because I thought you’d be uncomfortable. That’s all. But everyone’s gonna be taking off soon anyway, so it should be fine.”
    “Uncomfortable?” I furrowed my brow. “Why?”
    “Because of the rest of the guests, Ben. Come on, you’re still riding the denial train, and I didn’t think you’d want to make a pit stop here in honestyville.”
    I knew Noah was referring to his recurring accusation that I was gay. There was no point in my denying it. I had already been down that path with Noah, and he wasn’t going to buy what I was selling. My brother was much smarter than his brutish appearance implied.
    “Thanks for the reminder of how little you think of me, Noah, but I’m perfectly comfortable here.”
    Okay, so it was a lie. But it wasn’t because I was at Noah’s house. It seemed like I wasn’t comfortable anywhere anymore. Not even in my own skin.

Chapter Four

     
    I CHATTED with Noah for a little while, but then a few of his guests were leaving, so he went to see them out. I saw a blonde woman standing on the side patio, and I walked over to her out of habit. That was my pattern—find a woman, start dating her, break up, find another woman right away, start dating her, rinse and repeat ad nauseam.
    “Hi, I’m Ben Forman.” I introduced myself to the blonde woman.
    She was holding a can of beer and her hand was wet, so she wiped it on her jeans before reaching it out to me. “I’m Kelsey. Your last name is Forman, huh? Are you Noah’s brother?”
    I nodded. “Sure am. How do you know Clark and Noah?”
    She drank some of her beer before answering. “My girlfriend teaches a couple of classes at Noah’s gym.”
    Well that was unexpected. “Girlfriend? You mean, you’re, umm, you’re….”
    Keeping a girlfriend wasn’t my forte, but landing one had never been an issue, so knowing I had just struck out with Kelsey had caught me off guard. Sure, I had decided to give myself a reprieve from dating, but a long-standing habit was hard to break, and I had already slated Kelsey as my next future ex-girlfriend. See, I can joke about the ridiculousness that is my life.
    “A lesbian. Three syllables, I think you can manage them. I can’t imagine that comes as a total shock. I mean, what exactly says straight to you about this hairstyle?” she asked as she waved her hand around her almost military-style buzz cut.
    My brother’s comment about me being uncomfortable because of the other guests finally sank in. I darted my eyes around the backyard and saw things in a different light.
    Andrew, the punk guy who’d let me in, had his arm slung over a slender guy’s shoulders. David, a man with black hair and rippling muscles whom I had met when Noah and I went out for drinks one night, was standing behind another dark-haired guy with his arms wrapped