“You know what the difference is between Drunk Henry and Sober Henry?” Greg asked Mac. “Nothing.”
“I’m laughing on the inside,” Henry deadpanned. Then he turned back to Mac. “But seriously, I’ve seen too many guys spending their days pining after a straight guy or a guy in the closet. We live in one of the best times in history. There are more out gay men than ever before. Why waste your time on the ones who won’t even hold your hand in public? Move on dot org.”
Nolan removed Henry’s cup from his hand. Mac listened to Drunk Henry, though. Gideon obviously didn’t want to change, and Mac couldn’t wait around for him. Why should he spend his time hoping? The world was his oyster.
“Do you guys think straight guys and gay guys can be friends?” Mac asked, as if he was conducting a survey.
“Absolutely,” Greg said. “One of my best friends is straight.”
“Yes,” Ethan said. “Of course.”
Nolan nodded yes.
Henry tipped his head side to side. “Only if the guy is ugly.”
“That’s kind of offensive,” Ethan said. “I have lots of attractive straight guy friends, and it’s never been an issue.”
“Who are these attractive straight guy friends of yours?” Greg asked playfully.
The jungle juice was sweet going down Mac’s throat with an alcohol kick at the end. “I feel like dancing.”
He was at a party. People were dancing. He didn’t want to keep thinking about Gideon. Hence, he should dance.
Mac danced in place, letting the alcohol and music take hold of him. The other guys joined in. Henry and Nolan nosedived right into PDA central. Nobody cared about the stupid straight guy dancing rules. Guys danced with guys, by themselves, with girls. It was all good. Delia and Lorna danced around Mac, as if part of a ceremony. They moved further into the depths of the dance floor.
The opening bars of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” came on, and the crowd yelled their applause. The three of them danced themselves silly. Mac spilled some jungle juice on his sweater, but he didn’t care. Nothing mattered except dancing. It was the greatest release. A few times, he pictured Gideon with his heavy, determined eyes staring at him like at Cherry Stem.
“No,” Mac said to himself. He couldn’t stay glued to the past. The present was waiting for him.
Delia gave him a head nod to her left, to a guy dancing in an ugly Christmas sweater vest, one popular among senior citizen women doing arts and crafts. But the pants he wore were modern, and tight.
She wiggled her eyebrows, and Mac knew what that meant. “Are you going to do anything about that?” They screamed at him.
Mac remained dancing in place. No comment.
Delia got closer to him, and with a forceful movement of her hips, she shoved him into Rafe.
“Sorry,” Mac said.
Rafe’s bright smile and wild hair were here to party. He was as cute as Mac remembered.
“Well, this is a total surprise. I never expected to run into you at a frat party.” Rafe was extra smiley. He grabbed Mac’s arm to talk in his ear. All classic flirt moves.
Mac placed a hand on the small of his back. He had some classic flirt moves up his sleeve, too. “Geology class is over for the quarter, and you never sat next to me.”
“I kinda got the feeling that’s what you wanted.”
“You did?”
Rafe shot him a look warning him not to go down that path. And he was right. Ignorance and denial were Gideon’s strong suit, not his.
And Gideon is in the past where he belongs.
“You’re right. I was an idiot,” Mac said. “I got hung up on some straight guy.”
“Don’t they all.”
“Gay Mistake 101. It was a bad rabbit hole.” Mac brushed a curl out of Rafe’s eyes. “But I’m out.”
