But I needed to throwup.
“I’ll be right back,” I said, hardly able to speak the words as I dashed off to therestroom.
I locked myself in a stall and leaned over the toilet, taking my time as I relieved myself of what little of my parfait I’d managed to getdown.
My nerves were shot. One moment I was filled with hot rage and the next trembling as my thoughts were forced back to mypast.
I slammed my body up against the stall door and bashed my fist against it. “Fuuuuuccckkk!!!” I called out in a long curse that left me out of breath as I dropped to myknees.
Outside the stall, the restroom door creaked open, and the sound of footsteps silenced me. Then I heard a knock at the stalldoor.
In that moment, I wasn’t a twenty-nine-year-old man anymore, with years of professional experience, having championed all the bullshit of my childhood and become a self-made man with an entire life that had nothing to do with mypast.
I was just Donnie…fucking…Gibson.
22
Jace
“Um…you okay, man?”I asked as I rapped on the stall dooragain.
As I waited for a reply, another guy entered the restroom and eyed me curiously before approaching the urinal farthest away from the stall Dax had confined himselfto.
Dax muttered to himself on the other side of the stall. His words were incoherent, but even the guy at the urinal turned, seemingly disturbed by how Dax was Golluming his way through sentences. The guy gave up on his mission, and without so much as washing his hands, headedout.
Probably for thebest.
What the hell hadhappened?
We’d had an incredible time the day before, and an even better night. And then breakfast seemed nice and pleasant enough. What sort of work crisis could have made all that vanish in a moment, leaving him totallyincapacitated?
I continued waiting, figuring Dax had to come out at some point. After a few moments, the stall door opened, and Dax leaned against the side, looking miserable as fuck, his face white as aghost’s.
“We need to talk,” hesaid.
We headed out to his rental, which we’d taken to the diner. He sat in the driver’s seat, and I sat in the passenger seat. He finally pulled out his cell, looking at it before saying, “There are pictures of us from yesterday, in thewoods.”
“Nudes?” I asked, suddenly realizing why he was somortified.
I could just imagine Nance, Keegan, and my buddies seeing naked photos of me spread all over the Internet. God, that would beembarrassing.
“No. They’re not quite as bad as they could have been in thatdepartment.”
He handed me his phone, and I glanced over the ones featured on his screen. We were stripped down at the drop-off, kissing, playing. The most anyone could see was a hint of Dax’s ass crack, which looked sexy ashell.
I wondered about everyone knowing I was messing around with a guy. I didn’t figure any of them would give many shits. We all had plenty of gay and bifriends.
“Well, guess I’m out now,” Iacknowledged.
“I’m so fucking sorry.” I could hear the worry in the timbre of Dax’s voice. “At least with me, I’m out as fuck in my life, but you…you had a right to do this at your ownpace.”
“I’m fine with people knowing. Hell, it’s kind of nice that I don’t have to run around town telling everyone that I like guystoo.”
“That was a shitty thing they did. No one should out anyone who isn’tready.”
“I didn’t say it wasn’t shitty. Just no skin off myback.”
He stared at me, jaw dropped, eyes fixed on me like he couldn’t make sense of what I was saying. Although, I could tell it was only because he had so much toprocess.
