Lady Labyrinth

Natalie Learns Rowan's Secret

Saying goodbye to Rowan's previous school was really hard on both of us, but the new school was five minutes away from my apartment. My life at college stabilized enough that I was able to attend almost everything this coming season. This new program needed a ton of work, but the kids were surprisingly responsive and crazy excited for what was coming.

After the first performance, we asked the kids if they were proud of what they were doing, and they all said yes. That response automatically made the season successful.

Our first competition this season was a week earlier than last year. It was located about a half hour away from the school at this really old venue. I hadn't been here in a decade, and this place was, for lack of a better word, a dump.

We did not do as well as we thought we would. There was a three-way tie for third place, which was really stupid. Two-way ties happened occasionally, but there was no way three groups scored the same thing. Maybe the next few competitions would be better.

Rowan and I drove a U-Haul together. The district we were in had a policy that only district employees could drive trucks, even if parents had CDLs. We also were short on parent volunteers, but that was another issue. Rowan was a district employee, obviously, so he learned how to drive a U-Haul and off we went together. Technically, he was supposed to be on the lead bus with the kids, but we couldn't get anyone else to drive.

The competition finished kind of late, and we had a half hour drive back to the school.

"Have I told you about my college relationships?" Rowan asked.

"The crazy girl you dated?"

Rowan had told me about Sophia. The first time they had sex, she said, "I want you to abuse me." Rowan should've known that was a major red flag, but they continued to date for a while. He finally ended it when he found out she was cheating on him with several other guys.

"Not just her," Rowan answered. "I dated a lot of people in college. When I started college I met this girl. Her name was Serena. You know her?"

"I know of her." Serena graduated the semester before I started, and we shared a professor.

"Have you met her?"

"Maybe at a conference?"

"Gotcha. Well, anyways, we were absolutely in love. Everything was great. She was great." He paused, sighed, and continued. "Okay, I need to give extra information first. I haven't told anyone else this except for my dad and Jade. I'm bisexual. And I'm not a bisexual who's covering up being gay. I actually do like both genders."

"Wow. Never would've guessed."

He did not give off a bi vibe.

"Every other guy who has told me their bi ended up being gay," Rowan commented. "I don't usually believe guys who say they're bi. I do believe girls."

I was talking to a fellow closeted bisexual. Though I was only closeted from my family. I was open with everyone else.

"I agree," I said. "Did Serena not take it well or something?"

"She never knew. She still doesn't know. I managed to keep everything I did a secret. While I was dating Serena, I met a guy named Colin. He went to a different school, so it was perfect. We started seeing each other. Colin was gay, but he was doing the exact same thing - dating a girl to cover up his sexuality."

"Wait, so you were dating two people at once?"

"Yep. This went on for eighteen months. Colin and I were each cheating on a girl with each other. He and Serena did cross paths. Actually, we both introduced each other to our girlfriends, as friends. So we all knew each other. We did couples things together. We even went on a trip to Colorado, the four of us. This was when the pregnancy scare happened."