Page 71 of Pride High

“Huh?”

“I’ve never had a boyfriend before,” she explained.

“Oh. I heard you and Anthony used to date.”

“Anthony Cullen?” Mindy smiled. “I only went on a single date with him, although wedidused to be engaged.”

“What?” Cameron asked with a chuckle.

“Oh nothing. He hates it when I tell that story.”

Cameron made a big show of looking around. “He’s not here.”

“True,” Mindy said. “This was back in grade school, when Anthony used to play with me and the other girls. He’s always been a little different.” She was quiet for a moment, as if distracted by some other thought. “But then, we were all much younger. Anthony was so sweet. He still is! But back then he was willing to do whatever we asked, which was rare for a boy. So of course he had to be the father or husband whenever we played house. He was really good at it too.”

“And that’s how you two got married?”

“Engaged,” she corrected. “The wedding was rudely interrupted.”

“Don’t tell me he was two-timing you!”

“No. He wanted…” Mindy laughed and shook her head. “God, I haven’t thought about this part in ages! Anthony wanted tobe the bride. I don’t know why. You know how kids are. You get an idea and run with it. All the girls brought something from home for the big day. I remember Jenny Whitehall had a tiara that we put on him along with some paper towels, to make it look like a veil. Elena Huffman brought the rings, twenty-four karat plastic, of course. I had some lipstick with me, which really got us in trouble.”

“Wait, you put all those things on Anthony?”

Mindy giggled while nodding. “Like I said, he was always a good sport. So we got him all dolled up and were standing at the imaginary altar together when Mrs. Hatchett marched over, grabbed his arm, and dragged him away.”

“What happened?” Cameron asked, no longer amused.

Mindy wasn’t smiling either. “She told him off so bad that he started crying. I can still see him standing there while she wagged a finger in his face. They say she used to be a nun at a Catholic school, you know.”

“That’s terrible! What she did to him I mean.”

“It’s a dumb reason to get angry at a child,” Mindy agreed.

“I guess that was the end of your playtime together, huh?”

“Not at all,” Mindy said. “He was back the next day. The wedding was off though. He didn’t want any part of it, but he still played with us. It wasn’t until junior high that everything really changed. That’s when Anthony and Omar became inseparable. They’ve always been friends, but…” She shrugged. “I guess when you reach a certain age, you stick with your closest friends and don’t mingle as much.”

Or maybe that’s when he began to notice what a good-looking guy Omar was.

“Anthony is a real sweetheart,” Mindy said. “We don’t have any chemistry, which is a shame, because if we did…” She smiled and left it at that.

That wasn’t a problem for Cameron. He felt so much chemistry with Anthony that it was intoxicating. And now all he wanted was to see him again. The sooner the better.

CHAPTER 18

October 9th, 1992

Anthony rode his bike alongside Omar’s skateboard. They wound through familiar streets on the way to Right Round Records, which had become their go-to destination after school each day. Hanging out there was fun. He’d talk music with Silvia and help her choose the records they wanted to listen to. He even goofed around with Omar like they normally did. They’d already filmed multiple sketches in the shop, since it provided a better setting than their respective houses. Anthony had a good time, despite being the third wheel, although after reaching the shop today, he began to feel restless.

“This music sucks,” Omar complained.

“It really does,” Silvia agreed. “Is there a particular Richard Marx song you were searching for?”

“No,” Anthony said, walking over to the record player to lift the tonearm. “I just wanted to make sure that I don’t actually like him.”

And while that was certainly true, he’d kept trying to findsomethingto appreciate—the lyrics, for instance—just in case Cameron hadn’t been kidding. That was the actual source of his interest. Or maybe he should call it an obsession, because he couldn’t stop thinking about the unassuming person who had barged into his life and changed everything. Anthony wasn’t alone now. There was another gay guy at his school! Someone he could talk to without censoring himself. He hungered to learn more about Cameron. Especially now.

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