Page 167 of Pretty ’n Peak

Mateo had to grin. He hadn’t even thought of Austin’s friends. Not that he’d met many of them, but his Daddy was clearly well connected to exactly the people who might want to buy his work. And Jamie would practically squeal once he found out.

“Could I do all of that with a pseudonym?” This was what he’d been toying with all day. It felt like his life was veering off in two directions. He still wanted to be close to his family. But in Portland, he was reinventing himself. Maybe this could be part of his new, chic queer identity here.

“Of course. If you’re comfortable with people seeing you under that name and maybe making the connection back.”

He nodded slowly. There was always a chance but… Without his name there wasn’t any way for people to look him up. And the chance of his two social circles overlapping was practically non-existent.

He felt excitement bubbling up inside him like a fountain. Splashing and jumping and flowing over the edge. “I think I’d like to do it, then.”

Daddy beamed, and Mateo could already hear the whispered words of praise in his mind..

Richard stretched out his hand for a shake. “Congratulations. You are now a professional artist. I’d like a full set of photos of the pictures that you’re willing to sell, along with dimensions. I’ll choose five to begin, and send you a contract. Have you thought of a pseudonym yet?”

“Yeah.” He already knew exactly what he was going to choose. The name his mother still called him from his childhood. The nickname that Daddy called him with such adoration. The gender-neutral name for the person he was becoming.

“I’d like to go by Teo. No last name. Just Teo.”

“Welcome, Teo.”

28

Austin

Austin stood just inside the curtain, listening to the low throb of the music and the sweet slaps and cries that sometimes punctuated it.

And he was smiling.

Mateo was dropping off his first set of paintings at the gallery today, and then driving over to the club to meet him.

It also happened to be his last day of work. No more long hours. No more inane schedules. No more administrators and colleagues who thought of him as just another worker to get things done.

He and Mateo had both decided that the best way to celebrate would be with a visit to the club… and possibly a scene, if they were both feeling it.

Austin was certain that he would be.

The past month had been thrilling. Mateo came up every weekend, and they talked on the phone every night.

When Mateo was around, he still felt like he was floating.

That wasn’t to say that he felt cheerful all the time.

He’d felt nauseous every morning when he went into work this past week, and he’d barely controlled his anger every time some manager suggested an impossible deadline, then steamrolled over anyone who offered input.

He’d had no idea how much rage was hiding behind his ennui of the past few years.

But he and Taja were cautiously hopeful that after the next few weeks, his mood would mellow out. Not that he’d be stopping therapy any time soon, of course.

He still didn’t have a new job lined up, which left an anxious writhing ball low in his stomach when he thought of it.

So he tried not to think of it very much.

He hadn’t gotten any rejections, but no one had called him in for an interview either. He’d been especially disappointed by Cuffd, since Levi had sounded so enthusiastic.

So much for that idea.

But he wasn’t going to dwell on things he couldn’t control. That was one thing he’d been working on with Taja, and a good strategy in general. He had a plan to take a week off and completely relax—joined by Mateo for the end of it—and then he would dive into more applications.

And if, in a few months, he was still struggling with unemployment and depression, if he couldn’t be there for Mateo the way he wanted to…