I said, “You’re pretty much my most favorite thing in the world.”
The harsh look on his face melted a little. “Likewise, boy.”
I went to stand beside him and held his hand, pretending it was because he needed the comfort, but both of us knowing it was what I needed even more.
He waited for me to gather my thoughts.
“Maybe…,” I started, then stopped. Because I wasn’t sure what to say.
“I’ll make you a deal,” he said gruffly.
“What?”
He squeezed my hand. “I’ll let you go on as you are. I’ll even help you with this foolish plan of yours. Lord knows part of me wants to see how this turns out. But when this is all said and done, you sit down with him. You tell him how you feel. You can even tell him how he hurt you. But you have to remember that people can change. Who we once were isn’t who we’re always going to be.”
And if that wasn’t the most terrifying thing I’d ever heard, I didn’t know what was.
But what choice did I have?
I said, “Sure, Charlie,” and I meant it.
And maybe we didn’t say any more after that. And maybe he let me hold his hand for a while longer.
Good man, that Charlie.
Chapter 16: The Dark Twink Rises
I LOVED Charlie.
I really, really did.
So of course I took his words to heart.
I did feel something for Darren. And maybe it was possible that he felt something for me too.
But the fact remained that I was still a drag queen.
And drag queens were assholes.
We have to be in order to put up with some of the shit we get.
So while Charlie was absolutely correct that I’d grown and was different than I’d been at seventeen, I was still an asshole and would most likely always be an asshole. At least partly.
Which explained how a twink named Caleb came into our lives, creating havoc unlike anything the world had ever seen.
And in the process, became my most mortal of enemies.
Even more so than Darren had ever been.
One might say it started with some text messages.
Which, in retrospect, was most likely my fault.
Because people could change, yes.
But they were still dicks.
ME: DARREN