My Broken Bowl

Things Get Serious

We began to date, officially. He called me all the time to check on me when I was home and met me in the parking lot at school to walk me to all my classes. Once we missed class because we sat at a park and talked. We missed our classes that day and sat there through sunset and sunrise. We talked about everything except the one thing I couldn't say.

Oh, by the way, I'm a boy!

I wanted to and tried but I couldn't.

Alex met me on a Friday. We had been dating for about a month. "Follow me to my house."

I sighed. "Really?"

"It's okay. My mom wanted to meet you. It's okay." Alex reassured me.

I called my mom and told her I was going to a friend's house for a sleepover. I had already told her I had friends and I did but... Okay, I was lying to my mom for the first time in my life. She would never go for me sleeping over at my boyfriend's house. Never. Even though at this point, I was twenty-one.

I followed Alex for about an hour. We turned on some no name road that got wooded and wild pretty quick. My first thought was he was taking out here to kill me but then we pulled into a driveway. He hopped out the way he always did and rushed to my door and opened it for me.

I walked into the cute two story house and this tiny Spanish lady hugged me and started speaking Spanish very quickly. I just stared. Alex pried her off me. The next thing I know is we were at the table eating.

She cooked a feast of authentic Spanish food. Man, it was so yummy. I was in love with this woman for sure. She was not quite five feet tall to my six feet of height. I was very tall and Alex's whole family was not tall. I was a giant and that was what his father called me too. I just laughed when Alex told me what he called me when he walked into the room. He called me Gigante. It was my name from him from that moment on.

They were pretty accepting people. I talked about my parents and shocked Alex's mom when I told her that my mom didn't cook. Her expression made me laugh. (I still smile at that memory to this day, twenty some years later.)

Alex tells them goodnight and pulls me up the stairs and into a room that smells like paint and turpentine. (Turpentine was what we used to clean paint brushes at school.) I knew he painted a lot in his room. I saw an easel with a canvas on it and dozens of canvases lying around.

Alex pulled me to his queen size bed. We laid there as he talked about whatever. My heart was beating so fast that it didn't matter. I had to tell him because he was going to find out soon.

"I'm a liar." I whispered it.

Alex stopped talking and looked at me. "What?"

"I lied to you. I should go!" I was almost in tears. I really liked this guy. His hair was out of his tie and cascaded over his shoulders sexier than any woman. I stood up but he was between me and the exit.

Alex was up too. "But you're staying the night? What happened? Cayden? Talk to me. If we are in a relationship, you have to talk to me."

He looked determined and he wasn't taking any shit from me. It was a turn on.

"I'm not..." I sighed and lowered my voice to a whisper. "A girl. I lied. I'm complicated but I'm a guy and I know that you wouldn't be interested in that so..." I was speed talking in a whisper so I had no idea if he caught that.

"Bullshit." Alex glared at me. He was going to kick my ass.

I shook my head. I wore fake boobs. They were just small, maybe a B cup. It was enough to keep the illusion. These were my best ones too. They felt real.