He shrugs and sits. “They’re your favorite, right?”
“Yeah.” I clear my throat. I’m getting choked up. Over a bag of fruit-flavored gelatin shaped like invertebrates. Could I be any more pathetic? “I can’t believe you remembered.”
“How could I forget? You practically lived on them. Your mom used to send them to you in bulk.” He glances down at my lap, where my cock is still straining against my zipper, and swallows hard. Damn, even his Adam’s apple is sexy. “Did I do that?”
My first instinct is to try to hide my obvious erection, but I stop myself. No use denying his effect on me when the evidence is staring him in the face. I rip open the bag of gummies, pop a green one in my mouth, and hold the bag out to David. “I guess some things haven’t changed since college.”
“Since college?” he echoes, waving off the candy.
I hunt through the bag for an orange one—they’re the best, no matter what anyone else says—and slurp it down. “Yeah. I might not have wanted to admit it back then, but I had a huge-ass crush on you. I used to stalk the practice rooms, hoping to run into you.”
“No way.”
“Way.”
“All this time I thought it was my music you liked.” He gives me a shy smile that fades as quickly as it appears. “I mean, that one time we kissed, you couldn’t get away fast enough. And the next week at graduation, Sonja had a ring on her finger.”
Yeah. Not my finest hour. I force myself to look right at him, so he can see the sincerity in my eyes when I apologize. Again. Not that I mind. I’ll apologize a hundred times over if that’s what it takes for him to trust me. “That was a dick move. I was afraid of what I was feeling. So I took the easy way out. Or what seemed like the easy way at the time.”
But denying my sexual orientation had been anything but easy. Eventually it became impossible, and denying changed to hiding. Lying. Sneaking around. Jerking off to gay porn when Sonja was out with her girlfriends. Surfing Grindr on my cell phone, half wishing I could work up the nerve to do more than just scroll through the profiles of guys looking to hook up. It was like living two separate lives—one public, the other private, neither satisfying.
“I get it.” David shrugs and steals a gummy. “You weren’t ready to come out. Maybe you’re still not ready. It’s a personal decision. One only you can make.”
I reach across the armrest and grab his hand. Even though I’m pretty sure no one can see it, there’s something about the gesture that seems important. Emotionally charged. A sign of wanting to be close, and not just in a sexual way. “If I wasn’t ready, I wouldn’t be here.”
The lights flicker, signaling that intermission is almost over and the second act is about to begin. Dammit. Just as our conversation is getting good. Talk about shitty timing.
I suck down one last worm and fold the bag over. I’m sticking it into my inside jacket pocket when David leans closer and whispers in my ear, his hot breath caressing my skin.
“Do you want to get out of here?”
Cue the goose bumps.
A muscle tics in my jaw. “Don’t you want to know what happens to Albrecht and Giselle?”
“You can fill me in on the cab ride.” He stands, holding out a hand to me. I take it almost reflexively, and he yanks me to my feet. His grip is sure and strong and warm, steadying my shaky nerves.
“What cab ride?” I ask, my voice thick.
He weaves his fingers between mine, making it impossible for me to pull away. If I wanted to. Which I don’t.
“To my place.”
