Got a Confession to Make
Forest
Denny and I are putting chips and pretzels into bowls in his kitchen in preparation for poker night. He’s our ringleader, and he has the nicest house and a custom poker table, so we usually meet up here.
“Happy birthday, man!” he says. “Has it been a good one?”
“Sort of? Bought a truck today.”
“What did you buy?”
“A Nissan Frontier. Picking it up tomorrow after rustproofing.”
“Sweet ride!”
“Sort of. It’s five years old, and it’s got forty thousand miles on it already.” It was a lucky find, though. It’s better for my budget than a new truck, and it already had a plow hookup, too, which will save me several hundred more dollars.
No stereo system at all, though, which is a bummer. There’s just an empty hole in the dash where it should be.
“I thought you were getting a new truck?”
“Yeah, so did I.”
“Oh.”
“It’s fine,” I say quickly. “Now I don’t have to think about it anymore.”
I hear a car outside, and my gaze flicks nervously toward the kitchen door, wondering if it’s Beck. But Kenji steps through the door instead, shaking snow off his boots. “Hey guys!” Of all the divorced dads, he seems the happiest. He’s big into snowboarding and is often jetting off somewhere to bag another sick peak and then posting on Instagram. He’s always wearing a big grin, with his long black hair spilling out of his helmet.
And behind him is CJ, who wears a lot of plaid and has an unfortunate mustache. “What’s news?” CJ asks.
Denny points at me with a pretzel. “Forest bought himself a truck for his birthday.”
“Score!” Kenji says. “Happy birthday, man.” He slaps me on the shoulder. “Who’s coming tonight?”
“Everybody,” Denny says. Our full roster is just five guys. “Big Bob got the night off, after all.”
“Cool.”
I take a breath, because I haven’t mentioned Beck yet, and I know I’m just making it weird now. The truth is I feel awkward mixing these parts of my life. My Dad Friends are all straight. They know I’m queer, and that I run a queer bar. They aren’t the least bit bothered by my sexuality.
It’s just that I never talk about dates or hookups with this crowd, and I sure as hell haven’t mentioned Beck.
“Um, guys?” I let out an awkward laugh. “Got a confession to make. I kind of invited someone tonight. Just this once. It’s someone I’m dating.”
Instant silence as they all gawk at me.
“Really?” Kenji says eventually. “Okay.”
“I know we don’t really do that,” I stammer. “But I had to mention my birthday…”
They’re still staring. “This person,” Denny says slowly. “Is it a…”
“A guy,” I say firmly.
That’s when the tension breaks.
“Oh!” CJ hoots. “Why dincha just say so?”
