The buzzing sound on the coffee table drew his attention away from the book before he’d even gotten started. He picked up his cell and saw that the call was blocked.Probably a telemarketer, he thought as he put the cell back down. The buzzing stopped. Within seconds, the phone was vibrating again. He picked it up and again saw a blocked number. He ignored it again. On the third time, he picked it up and said, “What?”
“Hello?” a voice said hesitantly on the other side of the line. “Is this Blayne?”
“Yes, it is. Who’s calling?”
The voice immediately turned lighter. “Hey, B. It’s Roy.”
It took Blayne a second for his brain to process what was going on. “Roy, as inEndZoneRoy?”
“That’s me,” Roy said sheepishly.
“It’s nice to finally meet you. Well, not actually meet you, but you know what I mean,” Blayne stammered out.
There was a chuckle. “I get it. So how are you?”
“I’m doing okay. Lying on the couch. Was about to read a book for class.”
“Oh, if this isn’t a good time—”
“No, it’s fine. I’d rather talk to you. I may have tossed the book across the room in a few minutes.”
“Not a fan?”
“Not yet. Frankly, it’s pissing me off. But anyway, how are you? Sounds like you’ve had a rough couple of days.”
Blayne listened as Roy let out a quick breath before he dove into what happened to him. “Basically, I was in a work meeting when I found out a friend died.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that. Was this a friend or afriend?” Blayne asked.
“He was afriend, as you put it.”
“I didn’t realize you had a boyfriend. Good for you.”
“Nah, it wasn’t like that. Sure, we were friends, but we fooled around occasionally. We’re sort of in the same line of work, so it was convenient,” Roy said, his voice trailing off.
Blayne wasn’t sure what was going on in Roy’s head, but he could tell there was a lot more to this story than Roy was willing to share.
“Yeah, I didn’t take it well,” Roy said, bringing Blayne back to the present.
“What happened?”
“I passed out.”
“During the meeting?”
“Yep.”
“Dude, that sucks.”
“Especially since no one knew what had happened.”
“So, your coworkers still don’t know you’re gay?”
“Nope. And before you start, I know I should tell them…someday.”
Blayne and Roy had discussed Roy’s issues with being gay and out many times since they started talking onEndZone.
“So, what did you tell them triggered it?”
