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“Moral what?”
“It’s an old statement that was probably big when Gage drafted the document. It basically means immorality.”
“But I didn’t do anything wrong. Did I?”
Nico shook his head. “Remember, this was written over a century ago. Some of the specific acts mentioned are sodomy and unnatural acts—”
“Right, but sexual orientation is protected by the university.”
“The list also includes premarital sex and adultery. Those have nothing to do with the gender of who you are sleeping with. Technically, he could use the fact you two aren’t married to deny your renewal.”
“But . . . he can’t prove it.”
Nico let out a sigh. “The problem is, even if he can’t, he can say that it’s true and yank your scholarship.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Nope. I think if you sued you’d probably win—eventually. But that will take years. And you’d need a good lawyer willing to take on something as well-funded and respected as the Gage Family Foundation. In the meantime, you’d have to find another way to pay for school.”
Isaiah dropped back on the bed and scrubbed his face. “This is such bullshit.”
Nico patted his knee. “You met Josh Gage. Do you think he’d do this?”
Would he? Darren didn’t think his father was a homophobe, but what if Darren was wrong? Or what if he shared Peg’s view that Darren needed someone from the right family? “I don’t know. Maybe?”
“Maybe?”
“After our trip, Darren’s dad sent him an email telling him to keep up the professionalism.”
“Did he explain what that meant?”
“No, but sleeping with Darren probably doesn’t count as being professional.”
It was too much of a coincidence for this not to be connected.
Nico sighed. “You should talk to Darren.”
“I can’t.”
“Don’t be stupid. You have to talk to him about this.”
Actually, it wasn’t so simple. “If I tell Darren, he’ll fight his dad for me.”
“Exactly why you need to tell him. He’s the one person who can fix this.”
“You don’t get it. He’d try, but we’ll both suffer. His father won’t listen to him. They barely speak to each other. You read the email. Jenkins said Josh Gage was seriously pissed when he heard I was seen kissing his son.”
“If he and Darren aren’t speaking, how did he know you were kissing?”
“I kissed him in his frat house and in the middle of campus on the walk back to our room.” So much for how great it was that Darren wasn’t afraid to be seen with him. “This is a lose-lose situation. If Darren talks to his dad, I’ll lose my scholarship for sure. If Darren pisses off his dad, who knows what he might do? I can’t be responsible for Darren getting cut off or for ruining any chance of a relationship with his dad.”
“You don’t think losing you will hurt him?” Nico said. Isaiah peered at him between his fingers. Nico frowned deeply.
Isaiah pushed upright again, fighting back the tears. “I’m a fool, Nico. I should never have pushed to get a chance at the Gage Scholarship.”
“You did the right thing.”
“No, I didn’t. But I will sure as hell do the right thing now.”
With trembling fingers, he took out his phone and typed Darren a reply.
Why had he ever bothered to dream? Josh Gage’s disapproval had been flashed in bold neon and he’d ignored it.
Josh didn’t want a gay son, and if he had to have one, he sure as fuck didn’t want Darren kissing a worthless nobody like Isaiah.
Isaiah: Sorry, I can’t make lunch. Something came up.
He hovered his thumb over the send button. He wanted Darren to wrap him in his arms, kiss him, and tell him they’d fix it together. If he asked, Darren might, too.
But he couldn’t . . . shouldn’t do that.
He hit send and turned off his phone.
This sucked shit enough without hearing how much he hurt Darren.
Nico put an arm around him, and Isaiah crumpled against his best friend and cried.
Chapter Twenty-One
Darren
Nothing.
He tossed his phone on the bed, next to a growing pile of textbooks he needed to read. Coach had chewed him out after a shit game because Darren had been so lethargic. No surprise. He’d barely eaten or slept in two days.
For the thousandth time, he unlocked his phone and read the last text Isaiah had sent. What had come up? How bad was it that he’d gone silent for three days?
What had he done wrong?
He wanted to throw up. Would have, if he’d eaten lunch. He needed to do something, but he was too anxious to focus. Besides, what could he do if Isaiah wouldn’t answer his texts, calls, emails?
Someone knocked. “Darren? It’s Jack. Can I come in?”
Didn’t everyone see he wanted to be left alone? He let out a frustrated, affirmative grunt.
The door crept open, and Jack poked his head inside. “Hey. Is everything okay?”
“Fine.” Darren opened a book and avoided eye contact. Turning to a random page, he pretended to study.
