Page 28 of Unbound
I felt trapped between two worlds—the familiar comfort of my fraternity brothers and the dangerous pull of Adrian's presence. "This is Adrian. From my Constitutional Law class."
"Nice to meet you," Adrian said, stepping forward with easy confidence. "Great house. I bet you guys throw legendary parties."
Tyler grinned. "We do all right. You thinking about rushing? Recruitment's coming up."
Something flickered across Adrian's face—amusement, maybe, or irony. "Thanks, but I'm already committed elsewhere."
"Yeah? Where?"
"Small group. More focused on community service and social justice. Probably not your scene."
The words were polite enough, but there was an edge to them that made Tyler's smile falter slightly. Mark stepped forward, and I recognized the territorial tension that meant trouble.
"What kind of social justice?" Mark asked.
"Civil rights advocacy. LGBTQ+ issues, mostly."
The silence that followed was deafening. I watched my fraternity brothers' expressions shift from friendly curiosity to something cooler, more wary. Tyler's jaw tightened. Jake took a half-step back.
"Interesting," Mark said finally. "Must be... challenging work."
"It has its rewards," Adrian replied smoothly. "Fighting for people who can't fight for themselves. Making sure everyone has equal protection under the law. That kind of thing."
"Right." Tyler looked between Adrian and me, and I could practically see the questions forming. "Well, we should probably head inside. Got a chapter meeting."
"Of course." Adrian turned to me, and his smile was sharp again. "See you soon, Jesse. Maybe we can continue our discussion about moral authority."
He walked away, hands in his pockets, completely unbothered by the tension he'd left in his wake. I watched him go, acutely aware of my fraternity brothers watching me watch him.
"Dude," Jake said finally. "That guy's gay, right?"
"I don't know," I lied.
"He's definitely gay," Tyler said. "Did you hear him? LGBTQ+ advocacy? And the way he looked at you?"
"What way?" The question came out sharper than I'd intended.
"Like..." Tyler searched for words. "Like he knew something we didn't."
Mark clapped me on the shoulder. "Just be careful, Miller. Guys like that, they've got agendas. They're always trying to recruit people."
"Recruit them to what?" I asked, though I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer.
"You know." Mark's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "Their lifestyle. They think everyone's just repressed or confused, waiting for the right guy to come along and convert them."
The word 'convert' hit me like a slap. I thought about Adrian's questions in class, his presence in the library, the way he'd appeared at the gym exactly when I needed help. The careful choreography of our encounters.
"That's ridiculous," I said, but my voice sounded hollow even to me.
"Is it?" Tyler asked. "Think about it, man. I wonder how many times you've run into this guy this week? In class, around campus? And now he shows up at our house?"
Too many times. Far too many to be coincidental.
"Look," Jake said, not unkindly, "we're not saying anything bad about you. We know you're solid. Good Christian, good boyfriend, good brother. But guys like that, they're predators. They target guys like you specifically."
"Guys like me?"
"Clean-cut. Religious. Innocent." Anthony counted off on his fingers. "They think it's some kind of challenge or conquest. Breaking down a good Christian boy."
