Page 1 of I Can't Even Think Straight

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Prologue:

Summer Holiday, Larnaca, Cyprus

On a Sun Lounger in Larnaca

“Oh my God, they’re here,”

my best friend Vass whispers in my ear.

Their long, flowing hair tickles my shoulder.

Vass’s fresh application of sunblock

invades my nostrils as their pale, long, lean body

invades my personal space as usual.

“It’s the last day of our holiday.

You gonna talk to Local Boy today?” I ask.

I don’t look up from the book I’m reading:

Gay Club!by Simon James Green.

I don’t need to look up to feel

Vass’s eyes roll.

I know what they wanna say:

Don’t assume their gender!

But if Local Boy isn’t cis,

I don’t know who is.

We’ve been referring to him as Local Boy

because we don’t know his name.

He’s tall, tanned, toned, and has six-pack abs.

He’s so comfortable in his olive skin,

it’s hard to look at him

without making comparisons,

so I don’t look at him.

Vass does enough for the both of us.

Since Vass first saw Local Boy

on the second day of our holiday,

we’ve abandoned our mums

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