Page 146 of Playing By Ear

“Did you tell your parents that?” Sarah asked.

“I think so.” Emotions were blurring his memory, so it was hard to recall specifics.

Perry put out a hand as he heard Dodger approach. The retriever pressed the tennis ball into his palm, his dog breath huffing hot.

“But what if your viewers figure out you’re blind?” Brian asked.

“They know.” He flung the ball toward the other end of the park. “I told them all about my condition.”

“Good on you for raising awareness,” Sarah said. “Show the world how sexy blind people are.”

Perry’s face warmed. “None of them seemed to be any less, you know, into me.”

“I imagine it would be the opposite,” Brian said in a flat voice. “They probably fancy you more than ever.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Sarah observed.

“It could be bad if it’s—” Brian cut himself off, then finished his thought. “If it’s fetishization.”

Perry bristled, but how could he argue when he’d had the same concern upon reading the comments?

Falcon even hotter now I know he’s blind

I bet he fucks even better for it

“I don’t present my blindness as some sort of gimmick or sexual attribute.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Brian said. “People will fetishize any sort of difference. As a Black man, I know. Tell me, did your audience grow after you announced your blindness?”

“Of course, but that’s likely down to my being genuine.”

Sarah tittered. “Perry, Brian just rolled his eyes at you.”

“Noted,” Perry said. “It’s possible some people tuned in out of curiosity. But once they’re there, they stay for me as a person.”

Brian guffawed. “That’s incredibly naive, mate.”

Perry looked toward Sarah. Would she fade out of the conversation like his dad had done?

She made a kissy noise. “Here, pups! Time for a drink, yeah?” There came the sound of water pouring into a stainless-steel bowl, then two canine mouths lapping it up. “Well. I’m not gay, I’m not Black, and I’m not blind. But I am your friend, Perry, and that gives me the right to support you one hundred percent.”

“So I’m a bad friend for questioning him?” Brian asked.

“I never said that.” Sarah came over and put an arm around her husband’s waist. “React however you like.” She tapped Brian’s chest. “But yes, I’m obviously the better friend.”

Their laughter cut the tension in half. Perry had hoped for unmitigated support from his best mate, not another source of doubt. But he trusted the man’s perspective.

“I hear what you’re saying, Brian,” Perry told him, “and you’re not wrong. Based on their comments, many of my viewers find my blindness, erm, intriguing.”

“You mean hot,” Brian said.

“Yeah, but that’s the whole point. I’m not there to be a three-dimensional person, and they’re not there to see one.”

“I suppose you’ve got your writing for that,” Brian said. “Would you ever write about camming? Like, anonymously?”

“Or not anonymously?” Sarah chimed in.

Perry put a hand over his face. “Oh, yes, my parents would love that.”