Page 43 of You Are Not Me

“Of course you did! None of my friends are lame.” He tilted his head, gazing at me earnestly. “I get the impression you need more gay friends in your life.”

“I do, but I don’t want to be a charity case.”

Daniel shook his head. “But that’s what folks do if they’re decent people, right? Help others? Make friends?”

My stomach fluttered. I didn’t know what to say, so I stood and asked again, “Do you want something to drink? We’ve got orange juice, and—”

“No thanks. Now that we know you’re okay, I should go. I have to get across town for an ARK appointment this afternoon. But hey, if you do decide to go ahead and get tested anyway, give me a call and I’ll go with you for moral support.” He rose from the stool and pulled me up to give me a hug again. His T-shirt was soft against my cheek. He had to be six feet to my five-nine, and my cheek rested perfectly against his shoulder. “Listen, don’t beat yourself up over what happened. It’s going to be okay.”

I pulled back enough to see his face. “I’m not letting anyone put anything in my drink from now on.”

Daniel grinned, his arms resting comfortably on my shoulders. “Maraschino cherries are probably an okay exception to that rule.”

I laughed. He pulled away, grabbing his keys from where he’d left them on the counter.

As I walked him to the front door, he paused in the hall by the framed picture of me, Mom, and Dad from a trip to Disney World when I was eight. Cinderella’s castle rose in the background. I wore red heart-shaped sunglasses, standing with one hand up in the air disco-style and a hip cocked out. I was still pudgy at the time. Mom and Dad stood behind me with their arms around each other.

“Cute,” Daniel said, tapping me in the photo.

I laughed. “Can you believe they didn’t know I was gay until this year?”

Daniel’s eyes flickered with worry. “So you just came out to them?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow.” He gripped my shoulder and shook me in a gentle, brotherly way. “Didthatgo okay?”

“Could’ve been worse.”

He smiled. “I hear you. It can be hard.”

“Thanks.”

He inclined his head toward the picture again. “Really cute.”

I wanted to grab his hand and ask him to stay. But I knew that couldn’t happen for a lot of reasons, not the least of which was his ARK appointment. I walked out to his car with him, my bare feet burning on the summer-hot driveway.

“It’s not really my business,” Daniel said, after unlocking his car and giving me a final hug in the driveway. “But what are you going to tell your boyfriend about last night?”

My stomach tightened ominously. “What do you think I should tell him?”

“The truth. I think you should always tell the truth.”

My glasses slipped down my nose in the humidity. I pushed them back into place. Daniel smiled and touched them. “These are cute too.”

I was speechless as he opened his car door and climbed in, saying over his shoulder, “I’m glad you’re okay. Call me anytime.”

When he backed out of the driveway and onto the street, a realization dawned on me.

I waved urgently and he stopped, rolling down the window. “Yeah?”

I jogged down to him. The heat from the asphalt made me hop from foot to foot as I leaned down to say, “I don’t have your number.”

Daniel put the car in park, dug around in his glove compartment, and brought out a pen and a crumpled napkin.

“Here,” he said after scribbling on it. “Call if you need me. I’ll be around.”

I accepted the napkin and stood in the cool grass watching as Betty Blue mounted the hill. It was only when his car had disappeared from sight that I looked at what he’d written.Daniel McPeak, call anytime.

---