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It amazed me how easy it was for Lou to talk to guys. He didn’t know if they would be into other guys or not. He just did what he wanted to do and somehow it always worked out. It was like he had some sort of device that could tell him which guys were open to being with guys. It was like a built-in radar or something.
As smart as I was supposed to be, I could never tell what anyone else was thinking. That’s what made parties so uncomfortable for me. If I could predict peoples’ behaviors, I could relax.
But, for me, people were a series of random events. They rarely did what they said they wanted to do making it hard for me to tell when they were joking. Why couldn’t they just say what they were thinking and do the things they say they want to do?
That was one of the reasons I liked being around Cage. Yeah, he was the hottest guy ever. But, more than that, he was easy. He did what he said he was going to do.
Cage shared things about himself that told me who he was. He was exactly the man he presented himself as. He was the type of guy I could shut off my brain and relax with. I always felt safe when I was around him. So, why would I question whether he would keep me safe now?
Realizing that there wasn’t a reason, I turned to the hallway to the front desk and headed back to Cage. As he came into view, our eyes met. He made me melt. The tingles were back.
“You came,” Cage said telling me how much he wanted me here.
“Before you say anything, I need to know for certain. Will your father be coming back.”
Cage opened his mouth to speak and then lowered his head instead.
“I don’t know.”
“I thought you said he was gone?”
“I did. And, he is. But, he’s my father. I don’t want him to be.”
“Do you know where he went?”
“No. I don’t know anywhere he goes when he leaves our house. I learned early that I shouldn’t ask. I know there’s a bar that he drinks at. But beyond that…” Cage shrugged his shoulders.
“So, how do I know that he won’t show up one day, see us together and then go Colonel Kurtz on me?”
“What?”
“Apocalypse Now?”
Cage stared at me confused. “Are you calling for the apocalypse?”
I didn’t laugh but I wanted to. “No. It’s a movie I watched with my parents. It wasn’t age-appropriate.”
“Okay. To answer your question, I don’t know. But, I think I know why he threatened you.”
“Why?”
“He thought that you would get in the way of me becoming a rich football player.”
“How would I get in the way of that?”
“I think he saw how much I liked you. I think he thought that NFL teams wouldn’t want to draft me if I was with a guy.”
“Oh. Isn’t that true?” I asked remembering the way the sports world treated my uncle after they found out that was in a relationship with a guy.
My uncle had been the MVP of multiple Super Bowls. He had turned that into a billion-dollar business. But after things with him and his family went public, my parents told me that everything changed.
“It might be true,” Cage admitted. “But it doesn’t matter anymore because,” he gestured towards his leg, “this.”
I stared at the cast.
“I never got a chance to tell you how sorry I was that that happened to you.”
“That’s okay. I’m not that sad about it. I mean, I’m sad you didn’t get the chance to tell me. But I’m not sad I got hurt.”
