Page 48 of Drag Me Up

“So what are we doing first?” Toby asks, bouncing up next to me. “Do we hit up the food trucks or the stalls? I wanna see if there’s anyone selling rainbow collars. Or maybe some light up ears? Oh, they have ice cream?! I want ice cream!”

The excitable pup takes off into the crowd, pansexual flag flaring behind him like the cape he intended it to be. Shiloh looks like he wants to follow, but ultimately huddles into Eli’s side. Our kitten doesn’t like crowds at all, but he insisted that he wanted to be here, to be a part of this with us. I admire him so much for facing his demons in a healthy way, not like me. I’m glad he doesn’t take after me. I think Eli would rip his hair out if he had to deal with another brat in the house.

Not that I’m living in the house anymore. I’m very content with mine and Mattie’s little love nest in our trailer at the edge of the woods.

Speaking of Mattie, I glance at my phone to see that I still have quite a while before I get to see him. There was apparently some sort of mandatory staff retreat thing at the University that would be taking up most of the day. For a place that claims to be LGBTQIA+ friendly, Wrenshaw certainly seems to have issues with allowing their staff to be proud to be part of the alphabet mafia.

After a few hours of wandering around the stalls, the rest of the guys decide they want to watch the acts on the stage. The band that is up there now, Heading North, is one that I absolutely adore, and I’m glad to see them furthering their reach. When I first heard their song, Two Steps Away, it was like the words were pulled from my soul. I was glad that Clarence and Felicia agreed to make it the opener to our latest show. We don’t perform our Love Yourself show every week, but the club sells out every night we run it.

I’m lost in the music when suddenly, I feel arms wrapping around me from behind. People here are usually better than this. Turning around to teach this neanderthal a lesson, I freeze with my hand in the air. My snarl becomes a thousand watt smile at the sight of my love with a wolfish grin on his face, a face which is painted with the bisexual flag on each cheek.

Throwing both arms around his neck, I pull him to me to plant a kiss on his lips.

“I thought you weren’t going to be able to make it today,” I say as I step back. “And I see you found the face painter. I’m so proud of you for coming out here.”

Matt chuckles and spins me back to face the stage, pulling my back snugly to his front. “I wouldn’t miss experiencing this with you for the world. Apparently, no one told the dean that this weekend was Pride in the City. He’s pissed that the school missed an opportunity to set up a booth and practically ordered us to come directly down here.

“And the face painter just happens to be a former student so she hooked me up. She told me to let you know that a lot of guys will be jealous that you got me out of my closet first.”

“And I will be theonlyguy who gets to experience you if I have anything to say about it,” I promise him with a kiss as we turn our attention back to the stage.

We dance and cuddle through all of Heading North’s set as well as the next couple of acts. Noticing Bob, one of the older gentlemen that I speak to every year, I pull Matt off to the side of the crowd to introduce them. He’s sitting on a wall, fanning himself with a glittery rainbow snap fan when I reach him. Looking behind me, I notice most of the guys from the house have followed us, and I’m secretly happy that my family and friends are going to meet one of the men who made me see that I had a future.

“Bob! What the fuck, man? It’s the last day and this is the first I’m seeing you?” I lean down to hug him, noticing he doesn’t hug me back as tightly as usual. “Where’s Dickie? And Jeff?”

Bob smiles at me, but the light in his eyes is dimmer than I remember from last year. I get the feeling something’s not right with my old gays, but I am making a conscious effort to not be so negative inside my head. Perhaps they just had a falling out?

“Dickie is doing well,” he says and I feel some of the tension leave me.

“He moved down to Florida this year to be near his sister. You know she’s the only one who kept loving himand all that. Well, she broke her wrist taking out the trash back in February, so he moved down there to help her with things. Him being sixty-two to her seventy makes him think he’s going to make a big difference or something.”

I laugh because it sounds like Dickie. He has some ass backwards logic in his brain sometimes… reminds me of Toby, actually.

Dickie was disowned and beaten by his father when he refused to marry a woman from the church in his early twenties. This was in the early eighties, at the height of the AIDS scare what with Ryan White and everything. According to him, he never officially came out to his family. They all put pieces together and the refusal of the marriage was their proof. His older sister was the only one who even kept in contact with him. In return, he helped her get out of her abusive marriage about a decade later.

I never asked how, but I got the feeling that Sheila isn’t a divorcee, but a widow.

“Sounds like him,” I say as I sit down on the wall next to my friend. “What about Jeff?”

“How about you introduce me to your friends, Brat?” he counters, blinking rapidly.

Oh, Fuck…

I knew the day would come when I would lose my old guys, but I didn’t expect it to be so soon. And Jeff? He was a lot like me. He only shared who he truly was with a select few people, none of which were blood relations. I knew he would take losing Jeremy hard after their fortysome years together, but I didn’t expect to lose him the very same year. I guess a broken heart really can kill. Looking up at Matt, I give his hand a tight squeeze before turning back to everyone else.

Choking back the tears, I force a smile. Although everyone here would understand, I know Jeff wouldn’t want a scene. I get why Bob isn’t talking about it. We honor our friend by keeping his wishes. The only scenes Jeff ever wanted made had to be fabulous and fun.

“These guys here are some of my roommates I told you about,” I say and introduce everyone individually. “And this hunk of a man here is the love of my life, Lewis Matthias Barnes, the second.”

Matt shakes his head in exasperation before reaching out to shake Bob’s hand. “Call me Matt, please. This knucklehead loves the fact that my name sounds more pompous than his and yet he is the one with the trust fund.”

Bob and the others laugh at our exchange, and I settle in with my head on Matt’s shoulder to listen as my old friend shares the tales of his youth with my family. In the middle of one of my favorite stories, Toby comes running up to us with about a dozen kabobs in his hands.

“I bring sustenance for Kink Manor!” he proclaims and shoves his fists out towards Eli and Matt to distribute the food.

“Tobias?” Bob exclaims with more energy than I’ve seen from him so far today. “What the hell… You’re supposed to be in Montana. Does your mother know?”

Toby hides behind Shiloh in a weird Twilight Zone moment of role reversal and shakes his head at my friend.

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