Page 97 of I Blame the Club

Nico’s smile falters as he steps out of the embrace, “But what if someone sees? The last time I claimed you as my man, it didn’t go over so well.”

I frown, “We’re going to a gay club. That’s not going to be a problem tonight.”

“But that’s the problem. What if we weren’t going to a gay club?” Nico backs away, running a hand through his hair, “Would we find a couple of girls to dance with until we could sneak off together?”

His question hangs in the air as silence falls between us. Nico scruffs the pavement with his dress shoes, his emotional state derailing faster than our plans.

“Say something.”

I sigh, “I don’t know what you want me to say.”

He throws his hands up in the air, “Anything. Say anything, Maurice.”

“I don’t know, okay? I don’t know what dating would look like for us.”

“It would look like nothing because there would be no dating. Don’t you get it?” Nico barks out a bitter laugh, “This was a ridiculous idea. I don’t know why I thought we could go out like a normal couple.”

“You need to calm down.”

He whirls around, eyes blazing, “No, you need to not be calm for once. If we go on this date, it will only add to the messy pile of emotions I already have for you. One date will turn into more until suddenly we’ve adopted a mini golden doodle but can’t walk it together because it wouldn’t be socially acceptable.”

“Are you listening to yourself? This was supposed to be a fun night out, not an opportunity for you to analyze the homophobic mindset of small towns.” I take a step towards him but Nico shakes his head and backs away.

“I’m in too deep. I can’t do this.” He squeezes his eyes shut and holds up a hand to stop me from coming any closer, “I’m sorry, Maurice.”

Panic wells up inside me but I shut it down before it can make an appearance.

“Montez. Listen to me.” I blow out a breath, waiting for him to meet my gaze, “Taber is a small, agriculture town. You knew coming here that things would be different. But think about the things we could do in a big city-

“But would it really be any different?” Nico’s eyes scan mine, his lips pulled down, “It’s not the small town. It’s you. The great Mighty Mo has a reputation to uphold, and it spans a lot further than whatever this could be.”

“I don’t care about a fucking reputation.” My teeth snap together, barely keeping the rest of that sentence from falling out.

He rubs a hand along the scruff on his jaw and sighs, “Be honest. Would you ever feel comfortable introducing me as your boyfriend? Bringing me home to meet the family?”

I fall silent and he shakes his head, “That’s what I thought.”

“It’s complicated.”

“Not from where I’m standing.” Nico turns and starts walking back to his car.

“Montez, wait.”

He keeps walking and I let out a curse.

“I just need some time to figure things out… Nico!”

His headlights sweep over me as he turns the engine and punches the gas before I have the chance to take a breath. The screech of his tires fills the night air as his rust bucket of a car goes flying by me, a flash of red the last thing I see before he pulls out of the parking lot.

I stand on the sidewalk long after his taillights disappear, wondering how the hell my night went from a promising date to a complete train wreck.

I care about you.

The unspoken words float through my mind, mocking my cowardliness as I turn and walk back inside my apartment building.

Alone.

I blink as my name is called, the crackling static shooting through my headset.

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