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“Small towns aren’t a place for young people. They’re places for folks to retire.”
“I have a lot of young friends that would dispute that.”
He laughed and wiped more of the sweat from his forehead. “Yeah. I guess you do. Some are saying we’re going to have a gay town here someday.”
It was my turn to chuckle at that. “And what are these people saying about that?”
“No worries, the ones that would care haven’t noticed yet. Your friends are good at keeping it quiet in town.”
“We don’t all make out at the table of a restaurant, park the car in front of a store, and jump in the back seat for some fun.”
His eyes got heavily lidded, right before he turned his head from me. “Nah, I didn’t think that.”
I slapped him on the back and said, “Let’s finish the run and get back. The boys will be expecting us.”
Before we took off, Rick’s head cocked to the side as he stared at me. That stare wasn’t confused. It was heated. I couldn’t deny it, as I’d seen the look before, on other men.
We ran without a word the rest of the way back to the house, and when he invited me into his house, I begged off and went to my own. I showered and the entire time, I thought about him, about that look. I had tried hard not to think of him when I was in the shower or bed. That would set me up to think things I shouldn’t.
That day, however, and that look, I couldn’t push it out of my mind. It stayed in my head, bouncing around for days. Our runs were normal, with one exception. That look began to happen a lot more frequently.
I’d catch him staring when he thought I was gazing at the view. They never lasted long, but I never got another impression of them. They weren’t anger, jealousy, hatred or bigotry. He was waiting for the day his son finally admitted to Rick that he was gay. Rick knew it about his son, but did he have an inkling he might be too?
The term is bisexual, I’ve known a lot of people with that sexuality. I didn’t doubt he loved his first wife. I’m sure he loved his second, but he didn’t speak much about her except grunts and eye rolls to give away his feelings. Still, I didn’t take Rick to be a guy that would marry someone for convenience or take his vows lightly.
That meant he was likely bisexual, but did he know it? Had he been attracted to many men?
These were all questions I feared would blurt from my mouth in a moment of frustration. Yes, I was frustrated, because I was terribly attracted to Rick. How couldn’t I be? The man was handsome as hell, sweet, a good dad, a good mayor, and good at anything he did. There was a light that shined in his eyes at times when I’d swear he was thinking about serious things. That showed me he liked a challenge and was good at facing them.
One day, I met Chandler at the pool. I didn’t think the kid knew where the thing was, as I’d never seen him out of his long sleeves and stocking cap.
It showed with how pale he was. “I hope you put on some sunscreen, white boy.”
“Can’t help that,” Chandler said, laughing. “My parents were both descendants of Vikings or some shit.”
“Language,” I chided but forgot it quickly. “You didn’t answer. Sunscreen?”
“I’m Gen Z, Kanan. We know more about that than your generation.”
“Oh, excuse me, then.” I said and toed off my sandals and rolled up my pant legs. “So, why are we meeting here? Oh, wait, you’re trying to blind me with the glare.”
“Funny! I didn’t know millennials were funny.”
“Funnier than Gen Z.”
I got a scowl and a smart-assed, “Right.” Chandler then proceeded to start floating on his back. “Anyway, I want to tell my dad tonight. But I’m not going to.”
Confusion made my jaw drop.
“I know,” he said as he grinned. “It’s weird. I know my dad is ready to hear it, one way or the other, but will he be in a couple more months?”
“What’s that got to do with anything? What’s in that time?”
Flipped over and swimming back to me, he smiled the entire way. When he pulled up to the side, he said, “Okay, when I leave, will he still have that attitude? Is this just him pretending to be cool about it, when he’s really upset?”
I had to wrap my head around that a second, then I sincerely asked, “Has he done that before?”
“I don’t know. How do I know that? It’s a parental tactic to tame their kids.”
