Page 29 of Floored By Love

Under his breath, I heard Beau mutter, “You sure that’s all they got?” and something in me snapped. I don’t even know who he was trying to make laugh with his comment. Madison still looked pissed, and Kendra looked mortified now.

“I’m going to go,” I said, taking my napkin off my lap and putting it on my plate.

“Oh no, Camden, please don’t g-” Kendra started.

I held my hands up to cut her off. “You see, the thing is, I’m one of the queers. I’m gay. And as much as I appreciate the dinner, I don’t feel like sitting here and listening to two grown men talk about gay people as if they’re in the middle of the playground during recess.”

“You’re gay?” Beau asked. “But you’re so-”.

Harlan actually stuttered, “I-I may have ha-had too much to drink.”

Colton snapped quickly, “You’re still on your first, Daddy.”

I turned to Beau and answered him. “Yeah, I’m gay, Beau. Were you going to say ‘normal’? Newsflash, anyone can be gay. There’s all sorts of types. It’s not like there’s a uniform.”

“Good for you, Cam. You tell ‘em!”

All of us turned to look at Madison.

“Don’t let closed-minded conservatives get you down!”

“I’ll have you know that this closed-minded conservative pays for that college, filling you with all these...these...ideas!” Harlan half-yelled.

People around us were starting to watch. It was becoming a reality show - The Ugly Americans. Kendra and Beau got involved, and it turned to chaos. I took the opportunity to turn to Colton and quietly said, “See you back at the dorm.”

“Yeah. Thanks for saying that. I...appreciate it.”

I gave his shoulder a squeeze and left.

I was scrolling through social media when I heard the familiar beeps of the keypad on the door. Ready for bed, I was in a t-shirt and boxers, but I knew Colton wouldn’t care. I headed to the doorway to see if he wanted to talk.

“Hey,” I said as the door closed behind him.

He just sighed, his shoulders sagging, and held his arms out. Before I could hug him though, I saw him smile, and he said, “Uh...your barn door’s open and your mule’s trying to run.”

I stopped, confused. “What?”

His grin widened. “Your dick’s hangin’ outta your shorts.”

I looked down, and sure enough. “Fuck.”

“Meh, I’ve seen it before,” he said, approaching me as I shoved it to the left of the opening. The button fell off this pair a while ago, but they were too comfy to throw away. I hugged him as tight as I could.

“How was the rest of dinner?” I asked.

I heard him sigh again. He felt tense, so I started rubbing his back slowly. He took a few deep breaths.

He finally said, “Like putting socks on a rooster.”

“That bad?”

“I mean, it was nice to see Madison defending us.”

“You told them?”

“Oh no. Sorry if that confused you. I just meant us as in ‘the queers’.”

I could hear the bitterness in his voice.