Being gay is a curse when the homophobia you grew up with was so bad that you're homophobic yourself. Especially when you're into unavailable guys like your roommate, whose girlfriend is everything you're not (though appearances can be deceiving). S...
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It was impossible to focus on my classes. I couldn't stop thinking about what I'd said to my parents and what on earth that was supposed to mean. They'd tried texting me, but they stopped after I didn't reply to the first ten messages, and the fact that they weren't completely giving up on me yet gave me hope, but I couldn't allow myself to be too optimistic. I shouldn't. They were probably just waiting for me to change my mind.
The problem was that I didn't even know if I would. I didn't know what I wanted.
Several days had passed since that conversation. I'd been hired by Sandy, thankfully—I'd worked another day at the restaurant, and I could tell she was worried, but I definitely didn't feel comfortable telling her about the situation. She'd called me to her office at the end of the day and asked me if I wanted to talk and I'd smiled and told her I was fine. And Krista was waiting for me outside the office to walk me home and ask the exact same question. I considered telling her for a moment, but...
I shook my head. "It's just my parents. You know, the usual."
"Ah okay," she said, reaching for me and pulling me into a hug. "It'll be alright."
"I hope so," I muttered into her shoulder.
We walked to Carl's apartment together, which she did with a lot of sighing and complaining because walking—but when we arrived, she asked if she could come in. "I know I was only supposed to walk you home, but I'd like to see the place. And the people that inhabit it."
"Don't ask me," I said with a smile as I pressed on the buzzer. We waited for someone to answer, and that someone was Kylie. I leaned closer and told her, "Hey, it's Nazy. Can I bring my friend?"
"Yeah, sure!" she replied. "Come on up."
I pushed open the door, leading Krista upstairs—using the elevator, of course. Krista and stairs didn't go very well together. Kylie had already opened the door and was awaiting us in the hall. The moment we entered, Krista let out an approving whistle.
"Looks good."
Kylie smiled at her. "Thanks. I'm Kylie."
"Krista," she said, immediately walking forward and giving Kylie a tight hug.
Kylie's glasses slid down her nose and her eyes almost popped out of her head. It seemed to take her a moment to realize she should probably return the hug instead of just standing there with her arms by her sides, though I could imagine her surprise. Krista was way too affectionate with strangers. No wonder she got along with Sandy so well. I shook my head with an amused huff.
When she'd released Kylie, I asked, "Is Carl out?"
"No, he's editing," Kylie replied, pushing her glasses up again and jerking her thumb in the direction of his room.
"Alright, we'll leave him alone then," I said, sitting down on the sofa, and the three of us spent the following hour talking about Kylie's potential future boyfriend, Billy, and I learned that even Krista was interested in someone, though she wasn't very willing to talk about it—she wouldn't even tell us who it was. Given the fact that it was currently the only thing keeping my brain preoccupied, I couldn't resist at least trying to convince her to tell us, but she would not relent.
