Page 32 of Catch Me
He looked at me with a raised brow. “Oh, yeah? I know what flirting looks like, man.”
“Why would a gay man hit on you when there aregays everywhere?”
“Who knows? I’m not a mind reader.”
“I’m just saying, he’s not gonna have an interest in a straight guy. He has better options.”
“Whoa, that’s a bit insulting.”
I just rolled my eyes and stared into my empty glass. They started talking again, but I didn’t tune into the conversation. It was only when I heard another gay joke that I lifted my head.
“It’s not just art school,” I said.
“What’s not just art school?” Leo asked.
“My stepbrother studies social work, and his boyfriend is a law student.”
Ben wrinkled his nose. “We didn’t say it wasjustart school.”
“One of their friends is a welder. He’s dating a football player who I wouldn’t even fuck with. Another is heading for the NFL in a couple years. His boyfriend was the quarterback before that. Most of these guys are huge, and you’d never know they were gay by looking at them.”
The silence at the table made me regret everything I’d said. It was stupid and pointless. I didn’t even care about the jokes. Usually, I joined in, and we’d thrown out worse shit.
After a minute, Leo nudged my shoulder. “He’s got a point. Right, guys?”
Mark scoffed. “NFL, my ass. Bet he’s only there so the school gets good press for it.”
Leo frowned. “That’s not really fair.”
“What do you think, Roman? You agree with that shit?”
“I don’t watch football,” I replied.
“Yeah, but you played baseball, right? And isn’t your stepbrother pretending to be a boy or some shit?”
I ran my finger around the rim of my glass while I ground my teeth together. “It’s not my business what people do.”
He laughed as he leaned back. “Kid needs a good ass kicking.”
Shaking my head, I motioned for Leo to move, then I slid out of the booth. After settling my tab, I left the bar, not bothering to say anything else to the guys. I was more pissed than I should’ve been. MaybeI had a right to be upset. I didn’t even know anymore. Generally, none of that shit would bother me. I always said that I wasn’t sensitive, but that entire encounter got under my skin.
“Hey.”
I turned and saw Leo jogging toward me. “I’m not in the mood.”
He held his hands up. “Not trying to start anything. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“They’re dicks. You know that.”
“And I don’t feel like being around it, so I’m just gonna go.”
“I respect what you said, you know.”
I clenched my fists at my sides. When I didn’t respond, he sighed.
“Some of the shit they say gets on my nerves. They make Asian jokes all the time, saying I should’ve gone into STEM, and it doesn’t really bother me, but after a while, I get tired of it. They’re always ragging on people that are different from them.”
