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“Yeah, Cage, would you like to take this one?” I asked not sure I liked where this was going.
I was half expecting Cage to back down. For some reason, he didn’t.
“I think what Quin means is that you can sometimes do and say things for the reaction to it.”
I gasped dramatically clutching my imagery pearls.
“Okay, yeah. I saw it that time,” I told him admitting he was right. “But, to look at it from my perspective, shut up?”
Quin and Cage both laughed. At that point, I would have been happy to tell them they had been a great audience and to walk off stage, but Quin didn’t let me.
“Look, we’re not saying it’s a bad thing. We’re just saying that in your attempt to entertain everyone, you might be missing what’s right in front of you.”
“You think I was acting like I was with Titus to be funny?”
“Not funny…,” Quin said looking at Cage for the word.
“I don’t know what the word is. It’s more that, we just want the two of you to be happy. And, we know that you’re with Sey and your parents like him. But we also know how Titus feels about you. Then you act like the way you acted last night and…”
“We just think that Titus is a great guy and you two work together. But, if you’re not serious about being with Titus, maybe you should…” Quin looked at Cage.
“…stop leading him on?” I asked Quin.
“Maybe.”
“So, shit or get off the pot?” I confirmed.
“We just think Titus really cares about you and…”
I cut Quin off. “Maybe I care about him too. Maybe I spent all last night trying to figure out how we could be together and that’s why I couldn’t sleep.”
“Did you?” Quin asked.
I stared at them.
“You two don’t know how lucky you are.”
They both gave an uncomfortable smile and put their arms around each other.
“I’m serious. You don’t know how hard it is to find what you two have and then have it. You don’t think I see how great Titus and I are together? Don’t you think I’ve always seen it? It’s not that simple.”
“Isn’t it, though?” Quin asked delicately.
“No, it’s not. Some of us didn’t grow up with parents who loved us and wanted nothing more than for us to be happy. Some of us didn’t grow up feeling like we had a choice about how our life could go.”
“You’re right,” Cage said. “Some of us didn’t. I was raised by a man who stole me from a hospital and made me feel that the only thing that gave me value was how I performed on a football field.”
Remembering Cage’s story, I quickly backed down. “I didn’t mean you, Cage.”
“No. You did. And that’s okay. Sometimes we forget that others have gone through hard times too. But, I got through it. And, it wasn’t easy. I had to choose to believe that what I wanted was as important as what people wanted for me. And because I did, I now have the privilege of being told that I don’t understand how hard other people have it.”
“Cage, I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I’m not blaming you, Lou. I’m not trying to make you feel bad. I’m trying to tell you that there’s a way past the obstacles you see now. You just have to make the choice and deal with the consequences. And, the consequences could mean that you lose things and people you care about. But, it also means a chance at true happiness. You just have to make the choice.”
“You making breakfast, bro?” Nero said entering the kitchen not wearing a shirt. His eyes bounced between the three of us. “Am I interrupting something?”
“No,” I told him. “Cage was just telling me how important it is that I make a choice about breakfast. Pancakes or waffles? Like anyone could ever choose.”
