Page 60 of Bobby Green
Bobby closed his eyes and kissed him briefly, one more time. “Well, you’re the first person in the world who made me look forward to it. So hang on. I promise. We’ll have it. It’ll mean something. Be ready.”
Reg nodded and wrapped his arms around Bobby’s waist for a hug so tight Bobby almost couldn’t breathe. But that was fine. It was. Because theLword was coming—Bobby could see it on the horizon already. He figured the hug helped make them ready.
THE NIGHTon Dex and Kane’s couch was weird. He could hear the two of them, quietly making love in their bedroom, and it didn’t sound dirty. Just sounded intimate. He bet Ethan could ignore them in the same way kids pretended they didn’t hear parents doing it. It was just not meant for anybody outside those walls.
First thing in the morning, he and Ethan went to Ethan’s apartment to gather up Ethan’s stuff. It wasn’t much, all told—a garishly colored comforter, ugly-ass yarn dolls that were surprisingly soft, and boxes full of high-end clothing that looked amazing on Ethan but would probably look as pretentious as hell on Bobby’s country-boy ass. Bobby helped Ethan unpack and let him show off the reptile cages that belonged to his new roommates. Bobby could still smell the calking and new plaster that had gone into securing the king snake and the iguana in their clear glass habitats, and he assessed the job with a practiced eye.
“This is good stuff,” he judged, running his finger down the line between the glass and the wall. “Whoever your contractor is, he knows his shit.” The snake batted the glass softly with his head, and Bobby refused to jump back and gasp. “Which is good, because if this guy got loose last night, I’d be the fuck out of here.”
“He’s got a total hard-on for Dex,” Ethan confided, staring at the snake with suspicion. “I mean seriously. I’ve heard of dogs and cats liking one person more than another, but whenever Dex comes in the room, the snake presses himself up against the glass and drools.”
Bobby eyed the animal with a little more compassion. “Well, not that I haven’t been there, buddy, but don’t ever make a play for my balls, okay?”
The snake flickered his tongue out and eyed Bobby up and down. Bobby figured the vote was still out and decided it was time to leave the room.
“No offense,” he said as he entered the dining room, “but I’m sort of more about the mice. I had a pet rat in high school.Hewas my friend.”
Kane was in the dining room, making waffles in his underwear. Apparently not giving a shit who saw you in your boxers was something that hallmarked guys living under the same roof. Bobby had to admit, now that he’d lived through Skylar and Rick and spent time snuggling with Reg, he was starting to approve.
It hit him then, the knowledge that he liked the view.
He’d always liked the view. He’d liked looking at Keith without his shirt—and even Keith without his pants, until things got ugly.
The guys at Johnnies were all good-looking and all built—and the best thing about living in the apartment had been getting toseethem all, muscular calves, thick thighs, flat tummies, tapered waists.
The best part about kissing Reg the night before—besides the fact that he was Reg, and Bobby had never kissed a man before without a camera rolling or heart breaking, and it had been intimate and warm—had been that Reg was male.
All the small things he’d been denying about himself for so long, from this twisted relationship with Keith Gilmore to his willingness to give up girls at Johnnies—even his teeny-tiny sweetheart crush on Dex after their scene—all of it.
He knew.
He’d always known.
Kissing Reg the night before, promising him… promising him arelationship—but here, in this house, with these guys in their underwear, he had the words.
“What?” Ethan asked, tousling his hair.
“I’m gay,” Bobby said in wonder.
Dex leaned against the counter—also in his boxers—and took his first hit of coffee. “You expect us to be shocked?” he asked after he swallowed.
Bobby shook his head. “Just… just… never said it to myself before.” He shrugged and took a deep breath. Yeah—now was the time to do it. “Guys, I’ll be out in a bit for breakfast. Thanks for making it—it was real thoughtful.”
“Thanks for moving Ethan in,” Kane said, flipping a waffle like an artisan. “We didn’t want him living alone like that.”
Dex frowned. “Speaking of which—areyougoing to be okay alone?”
Bobby didn’t know why he didn’t tell them about Reg right then. Maybe it was because he’d just figured out the gay thing, and it was still a giant Technicolor explosion behind his eyes. And maybe it was because Reg had belonged to everybody at some point in time. Bobby wanted a little bit of Reg that was just his.
“I’ll be fine,” he said with a shrug and a smile. “Ethan let me keep the reading lamp—I’m so there.” He took two steps down the hall and paused. “Uh….” He was going to ask if he could use Dex and Kane’s bedroom, but then he’d heard their night noises and now he couldn’t. “Please tell me the snake can’t get out.”
Dex rolled his eyes. “If he can, I’m suing the contractor. Knock yourself out.”
Bobby suppressed a shudder and walked into Ethan’s room to plop down on his messy bed. With a sigh he dialed Jessica’s number.
“But why?” she wailed after he told her. He looked at the iguana for sympathy and didn’t see a lot forthcoming.
“Because, hon. Because when I’m not up the hill, I don’t think about you, and that sounds shitty and it is. It’s not right. You’re a nice girl, and you deserve to be thought of all the damned time, and I don’t. I need to make it right.”
