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“I…” Laith looked away.
“Are you afraid of me?” Tillman asked.
Laith looked him right in his gorgeous eyes. “You? No. You’ve been nothing but nice to me, Tillman.”
“Then what is it?”
Laith’s heart kicked up a notch when Tillman took his hand.
“I promise you can tell me anything,” Tillman said.
“The last time things…came to light…things didn’t go so well for me.” Laith wished he could escape into his apartment, but he had a feeling Tillman wouldn’t let him go so easily. There was nothing but deep concern etched on his handsome face.
“That you’re a YouTube editor?”
That actually made Laith laugh. “You think I’m afraid to reveal that I edit videos?”
“What else could it be?” Tillman took the keys from Laith’s hand and opened the door. “Maybe we should do this inside.”
After taking a deep breath, Laith walked into his unit, but Tillman had yet to let his hand go.
Laith hesitated as he entered his apartment, uncertain how to have this conversation. Tillman’s hand felt warm and comforting around his, but years of hiding who he was made Laith wary.
“It’s okay,” Tillman said gently. “Take your time.”
Laith led them over to the couch and sat down. He stared at his hands, clasped together in his lap. “I'm gay,” he finally said quietly.
When Tillman didn’t say anything, Laith glanced up at him. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”
“I was waiting for you to tell me the deep secret you have,” Tillman said.
“That is the secret,” Laith replied.
“Then I have a secret,” Tillman said just as quietly. “I’m gay, too. We live in a town filled with gay people, Laith. Just thought you should know.”
Laith still didn’t let relief wash over him. He wasn’t sure how to handle the situation. “Are you making fun of me?”
“Hell no, sweetheart.” Tillman grinned. “I’m damn proud of you for taking that step.”
“You are?”
“That took a lot of courage,” he said. “I know that was a very big deal for you.”
“It was.” Laith nodded, thankful that Tillman wasn’t trying to chase him out of town or call some of his buddies to kick his ass.
“But you have an ex-boyfriend,” Tillman said. “How were you still in the closet?”
Taking a very deep breath, Laith explained why he was in Midnight Falls. “I was dating this guy named Daniel. His father is the sheriff of Arrowvale. As mean as they come,” he said, taking Tillman’s hand in his for courage. He liked that Tillman didn’t pull away. “Cade started pressing his son for reasons on why he would sneak off at night and where he went. Daniel dumped me, afraid of what his father would do.
“Pissed, I went home and saw my neighbor on his porch. Here’s the part where I lost my ever-loving mind. I kissed him.”
Tillman winced. “Let me guess. Your neighbor is straight.”
“And then some.” Laith curled his arms around his stomach, hating that he was reliving what had happened to him. But it also felt kind of cathartic to finally tell someone. “David called some of his buddies, and they beat the shit out of me.”
A low, rumbling growl vibrated in Tillman’s chest.
“Afterward, I crawled into my house and was laid up for a week. That was when Cade came to my door, telling me that if I didn’t leave town, he would make my life utterly miserable.”
