Page 12 of I Blame the Club

I smile and lean in, “Pretty sure you still owe me that BJ from that last game of pool we played, remember?”

Pulling back, I catch the flinch he tries to hide.

“But I’m not really in the mood tonight, so why don’t you let my friends and I skip the line and we'll call it even.”

Stepping aside, Raphael doesn't look at me as he unhooks the rope and beckons us inside.

“Can we rewind to when you were telling us about your type?” Wes cracks the joke as we enter the nightclub, but I don't crack a smile.

Being a gay man in a conservative small town has its minefield of downfalls but the moments that suck the most are when closeted gays would rather bend over backwards pretending the slip-up never happened than accept their sexuality.

“What is this place?” Trip looks around the room in wonder and I smile, forcing myself out of my sullen thoughts.

“Welcome toLifestyle.Otherwise known as my religious temple of choice.”

Chapter 4

Mo

The fork creeps closer to my plate and I smack it away.

The blonde sitting across the table grins, retracting the utensil that almost stole my last fry.

“One of these days I’m going to get you.”

Scooping up the fry, I throw it into my mouth with a smirk, “You’ve been saying that for years.”

My sister leans back against her seat with a huff, “One day soon it’s going to be true.”

“We’ll see.”

We grin at each other, and for the first time since I drove into Taber, it finally feels like home.

“What are you doing back in Taber so early, anyways?”

“Figured I’d come down and visit my big brother.” Stella grins, “And I wanted an excuse to have Cody all to myself before school starts again.”

I grimace, “You don’t need to go into detail.”

She laughs, “I don’t remember you being a prude the last time I had a boyfriend.”

“That’s because I was too wrapped up in my own world to think about what was going on in your bedroom. Not to mention, I actually know the guy this time around.”

“That should make it better, not worse.” Stella wiggles her eyebrows, “You’ve seen Cody in the change room. You should be applauding me for tapping that ass.”

I shake my head, “You’re hopeless. How was your trip to Banff this summer?”

She beams, her smile almost as bright as the sparkly makeup lining her dark blue eyes. We both got my father’s recessive genes in that department, but whereas mine are cold and impersonal, Stella’s are always bursting with emotion.

“It was amazing. We stayed at this chateau and hit the hot springs." She laughs, "Cody almost got into a fight with some B-list celebrity who tried to hit on me.”

“Couldn’t imagine that going over well even if the guy wasn’t a celebrity.” If there’s one thing my friend and old teammate does well, it’s looking out for my sister.

Stella grins, “It’s kind of hot when he gets jealous.”

I watch her take a sip of water, the all-too familiar tug of concern rising to the surface. Reaching across the table, I grab her hand, “It’s okay to let yourself drink occasionally. It won’t change what happened to mom.”

She sighs, squeezing my hand gently, “I know. My therapist is helping me work through it. Cody has been my rock through this whole thing.”

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