AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s not easy to find acceptance in a small town,” I say sympathetically. “I believe Magnolia Creek is full of great people who would accept you as you are, but then, I have first-hand experience with the ones who won’t.”
Wade’s eyes flick up to mine, and he swallows thickly.
“People can be so hateful.” Kyrie rolls his eyes before taking a bite, then dabs his lips with a napkin. It’s funny what a spunky contrast he makes to the man across from me. “Who knows, maybe one day, we’ll be as brave as you, putting those birthmarks on display without caring who sees them.”
Wade and I lock eyes.
He scoots his chair back abruptly and asks, “Anyone need a beer?”
“I’d love one,” I say immediately, and gulp half of it down the second he returns and offers me the bottle.
I’ve got to say, while laughing with Wade and his boyfriend over beers and home-style food is kind of like living in the Twilight Zone, it’s also incredibly enlightening.
I learn a lot about my mortal enemy over the next hour—thanks to an amusingly vocal Kyrie, and with every detail revealed, the sorrier I am for Wade.
They spend most of their time in a town thirty miles from here, where Kyrie lives, so none of Wade’s buddies will discover his secret. But it’s his tumultuous relationship with his family that makes me immensely grateful for the loving parents I had growing up.
Maybe I’ve been made to feel less than by him for my appearance, but I was blessed with a father and mother who adored me, a best friend who’s stuck with me through thick and thin, and a passion for music that’s helped me survive some of the hardest years of my life.
But who has Wade had?
It makes me wonder if I’d been an easy target for his suppressed anger toward his parents and the confusion he must have felt while forcing his sexuality inside social norms.
Does that make what he’s done to me okay? No. But it does make some sense.
Kyrie lifts me off the ground with a rib-crushing hug when we’re finished eating and makes me promise I’ll come back to try his ‘beloved’ Mexican street tacos.
“All right, all right.” Wade shoos the man away from me. “I’m sure we’ve kept Molly long enough.”
“Thank you again,” I call around him as he practically drags me outside.
“Bye, Molly!”
When the door closes, my smile slowly fades. I half expect the shoe to drop now that we’re alone. I wait for him to lash out, to call me names and tell me how I messed his night up.
But surprisingly, Wade’s thoughtfully silent.
We walk toward the railing, gazing at an enormous fountain from the landing of his second-story apartment. It’s quiet out except for the chirping of crickets in the distance, and slowly, the veil we’ve been hiding beneath for the last hour lifts.
“Sorry about that. He’s a talker,” he mutters while stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Hate to admit it’s one of the things I like most about him.”
“No, he’s great, Wade. I’m honestly happy for you.” And despite it all, I mean it.
If he and Kyrie have had a single taste of what I’ve experienced with Rowan, then he should consider himself lucky.
Because a love like that is once in a lifetime.
His hair ruffles in the wind as his expression softens. “Nah. You don’t have to be nice. When you showed up, you looked ready to tear me a new one.”
“Yeah, that was pretty much the plan.”
We share a weak smile, staring into the darkness, and suddenly, I’m at a loss for words. It’s true that I’d planned to let him have it, but even then, what I really came here for was to achieve some semblance of peace. At the very least, an understanding that I wouldn’t be taking his bullying any longer.
“I’m actually glad you came by,” he utters quietly. “Because I need to apologize for… fucking everything, I guess.”
I didn’t think I could possibly be more shocked, but Wade’s apology takes the cake.
“I was hammered that night I ran into you and Rowan. And I know there’s no excuse for how I spoke to you or the way I’ve treated you all these years, but I started questioning everything about who I am and what the fuck I’m doing with my life after that.” He sighs as if the weight of the world rests on his shoulders. “I’ve been trying to drown the parts of myself that I hate while coping with the parts Kyrie’s been exposing for months, but if he’d seen me like that…”
