Take Two

Chapter Eleven

Micah

"Who broke your heart?"

I sighed, sitting up on the couch that wasn't mine. My neighbor, Lexis, stood in the doorway of her living room, arms crossed over her chest as she stared at me.

Lex was a typical butch lesbian and, while I loved her dearly, sometimes she scared me. Not that I would ever admit that out loud.

"Nobody," I answered.

It was true, I just needed to keep telling myself that. I was not heartbroken over Renaldo leaving. I couldn't be. Not when were never together in the first place and nothing was ever going to happen between us. The less I thought about him, the better.

"Anna filled me in already," she said, not moving from her spot in the doorway. "I know there was a guy."

Lex and her partner, Anna, were probably the only real friends I had. We had met one night last year out at the club, where we realized we lived in the same building. Ever since then, we were basically inseparable.

The last couple months sucked without them. I thought I'd be fine if they went on their long vacaction, that nothing out of the ordinary would happen. Turns out I was very wrong.

When Anna stopped by this afternoon to let me know they were home, I followed her right back to their apartment, explaining what I had been through. Somewhat.

"Nothing really even happened!" I said, still mostly trying to convince myself. "We started getting closer, but he had to leave."

I never mentioned Renaldo's name to Anna and I wasn't planning on telling Lex either. First of all, it's not like people didn't know who he was. Second, I wasn't about to out him, not even to my closest friends. I knew they could keep a secret, but it wasn't my secret to tell.

"Go back to your place and change," Lex said. "It's July Fourth and you're not spending the holiday on my couch. We're getting drunk tonight."

Right. It was a holiday, hence why I wasn't at work right now. I was not in the mood to celebrate anything, but going to the club and having a few drinks might be good for me. I might even find someone to hook up with and hopefully forget all about Renaldo. Who needed him anyway?

"Fine," I sighed, forcing myself off the couch. "Just give me an hour."

Lex scoffed. "Forty-five minutes. Anna gets ready quicker than you do."

I groaned, knowing she was only slightly right. "Okay, fine," I said, pulling on my shoes, "but then we have to stop for food before the club. I haven't eaten all day."

"Boy, I left for two months, expecting you be able to take care of yourself. We're not your mothers."

"We're stopping for food, Lexi!" Anna yelled through the bathroom door, over the sound of the shower. "Micah, wherever you want!"

I laughed. "I love your girlfriend," I told Lex. "Forty-five minutes. I'll be ready."

The two of them were so different, it was a wonder how they ended up together. As much as I loved them, especially for being unpologetically themselves, I also envied them for doing what I was too scared to do. Maybe one day I would have the courage to come out to the world.

Not even twenty minutes later, as I was trying to style my wet hair from the shower, there was a knock at the door. I grumbled under my breath, wondering why they even bothered giving me forty-five minutes if they were just going to show up in half of that?

Except, it wasn't Lex or Anna at the door.

I stood in the open doorway, my hair half done and only a towel wrapped around my waist, staring at the one person I was going out tonight to forget.