Page 26 of Hidden Desires
Still, who was he to judge? Ace was weird himself.
Unlike his other high school friends, who were obsessed with tits and asses and trying to get hand jobs in the back field under the bleachers, Ace was more interested in football players and dicks, and nude showers with said football players.
God, he was a fucking mess.
Why couldn’t he be into girls like everyone else?
Life would be so much simpler that way, and perhaps his parents wouldn’t always be out partying. It’s incredible what people do to hide their disappointment at having a gay son.
Gay son.
What a fucking kick in the teeth.
New Mexico wasn’t exactly known for being the most open and tolerant.
No. It was best to keep his feelings buried deep and pretend to act like everyone else. One day. One day, he would escape this town and find a place where he could be open and honest about who he was.
Laughter erupted from the group gathered around his brother. His brother, Marcus, was a mid-level member of the Shadow Vipers motorcycle crew, and this barbecue was his way of bonding with the guys. Not that all the guys were the same age; they all ranged from their early twenties to mid-fifties. Ace was the youngest of them all by far. He was only sixteen. But it was his and Marcus’s place, so no one said anything about the awkward young teen chilling by the barbecue.
“Food almost done?” Marcus asked, stepping up next to him with his band of dirty men following close behind.
“Yeah, we got a container over there with meats already cooked and ready to be chowed down, and these ones will be done in about two minutes.”
“Awesome,” Marcus replied, slapping him on the back and grabbing a sausage from the “ready to eat” container. “Next, I need you to go and restock the cooler with beer. I’ll finish up with these last few pieces on the grill.”
Ace nodded. He didn’t mind taking orders from his big brother—well, stepbrother. The guy had basically stepped in and raised him since he was a kid, when it became clear that their parents had no intentions of claiming the role. He owed everything to Marcus.
Passing Marcus the flipper, he headed inside to grab some more beer.
Fifteen minutes later, the coolers were all stocked, and he had replenished the potato and macaroni salads on the table.
Who knew that bikers could eat so much food?
He glanced over at his brother, who was busy chomping down on two burgers and a sausage, along with his buddies, who were all stuffing their faces.
Well, at least they appeared to be enjoying the food.
Ace smiled and reached for the container of meat.
Empty.
What the fuck?
Ace walked over to the table to see if there were leftover pieces of meat in the other container.
Empty as well.
What the hell! They couldn’t even save him a burger or a piece of sausage? Talk about fucking assholes.
Ace glared at his brother, who was busy laughing his ass off, not having a care in the world.
So much for looking out for his little bro.
His eyes began to sting.
No, he was not going to cry. He was a fucking man now. So what if everyone ate all the food and didn’t even bother to think about him?
That was life.
