Page 9 of Outcast
I escaped out a side door for some air. Allison’s words had gotten to me. I’d eventually settle down and get married. Not to Allison, but to someone.
Did I really want to walk down the aisle with this burning curiosity inside, this question that was only growing more persistent with time:What would it be like with a man?
I slipped my phone out of my pocket and stared at the Thrust app I’d installed last week. I’d made a profile, careful to obscure any details that would identify me, but I hadn’t had the courage to talk to anyone.
I glanced around, but the only other person out here was Dallas. He was a couple of years older than me, but everyone knew him because he’d been the go-to guy for beer or drugs when we were teens.
Everyone said he could get away with anything because his dad was the sheriff.
Dallas was smoking and texting on his phone, paying me no mind, so I clicked on the app and immediately got two matches. My phone gave a tinkling chime for each one.
I hesitantly accepted them, then nearly had a heart attack when I saw that one was only twenty feet away from me.
I jerked my head up to see Dallas staring at me.
“Well, well, well…” He sauntered toward me, a lit cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth. “Emory Gold, you naughty boy.”
“What?” I closed out of the app, but the damage was done.
His lips curled up at the edges. “Don’t be coy now. You’re on Thrust. I recognize the sound it plays.”
I shook my head. “No, I…”
He tapped a finger against my lips. “Shh. It’s okay. Because you and me? We’re the same.”
My eyebrows shot up. “You mean…?”
He nodded his head to the side. “Let’s take a ride. We can talk about it.”
I hesitated, but hell, I’d gotten on the app to figure out my attraction to men, and here was Dallas offering me answers. “I, uh, can’t be gone long.”
“No worries, sweet thing. I’ll have Cinderella back to the ball before midnight.”
“Okay.”
I followed him to his car and slid into the leather bucket seat while he started the engine. I drummed my fingers nervously on my thigh until he reached over and put his hand over mine.
“Relax. No one has to know about this. I’ve been fucking dudes on the down-low for years.”
He laughed, but it didn’t strike me as funny.
“That must be hard.”
“Not really. I get ass whenever I want it. All I gotta do is pick up the phone.” He glanced sidelong at me, a smirk curling his lips. “Of course, not every piece of ass is as hot as yours.”
“Uh, thanks, I guess.” I shifted uncomfortably. “So, uh, you’re not nervous about meeting up with strange men? What if someone outs you or something?”
“Nah, we all have something to lose.” He turned onto the highway. “We’re just looking to get off. No need for it to be complicated.”
“It feels complicated.”
“That’s because you’re a sweet little virgin,” he said, slipping his hand an inch up my thigh and squeezing.
“I’m not a virgin,” I protested.
“You are in the ways it matters,” he said with a grin. “But not for long.”
He slowed the car and pulled onto the side of the road. We’d left the party behind, but we were still outside of town, nothing but blacktop and cornfields to be seen for a few miles.
