Page 46 of Forever Midnight

“Gay?”

Tru shrugs. “Sure, but…” He smiles. “I want to get in that water.”

“Let’s do that.”

Taking his hand, I help him balance as he steps in.

“Ooh, yeah, it’s so hot.”

“Not too hot?”

“No, I love it.”

I join him, sitting opposite and giving him space for his legs on either side of me as he sinks down into the bubbly water.

“This feels incredible,” he whispers, his eyes closing as he drags his hands through the water.

I remain silent, simply soaking in this moment, wondering—hoping—it will last.

“I get scared sometimes,” Tru says softly. “Scared of what would happen to me if I really stopped holding back who I am inside. I lead a life that’s completely fake, and being here with you is the closest to authentic I’ve ever felt.” He chuckles, dragging a wet hand through his hair. “And that’s so weird. We barely know each other, but on some level it feels like I’ve known you forever.”

“Do you think your parents would reject you if they knew?”

“I’m not sure, honestly, but I know I could never be out publicly. People would use it to hurt my dad.” His brow furrows. “It’s fucking stupid that in this day and age, people still get twisted over someone’s sexuality. Why should it matter?”

“It shouldn’t.” I lift one of his legs from the water and gently massage his calf and foot. “You’re welcome here though, Tru. You can be whoever you want with me.”

“That’s not really true. It bothers you that I’m not out to my parents.”

“It’s none of my business.”

“But?”

“Let it go. My personal feelings about it don’t matter right now.”

“But they do.” Tru sits up. “That’s why you’re holding back, isn’t it?”

“No.” Not entirely.

“Please don’t keep things from me, Midnight. If you don’t like me enough—”

“That’s ridiculous. You know I like you. We just had sex. How am I holding back?”

Tru leans back again, his eyes trained on mine. “I can just feel it. The part of you that you protect, that you hide away from most people, you’re hiding it from me too. So tell me, Midnight, how can I be me, when you aren’t being you?”

“We’re on different journeys.”

Tru huffs a laugh. “Fine. I’ll drop it for now. Tell me where you got that name. Midnight isn’t a normal name.”

“A friend of mine from a long time ago called me that because I stayed awake all night and slept all day. He said my favorite time of day was Midnight. Then it just stuck.”

Tru nods, still searching my eyes. “Then what’s your real name?”

I gaze back at him for a silent moment, considering the weight of all the things I want to tell him but can’t bring myself to. My given name is innocent enough, I suppose.

“Leander.”

“Leander,” Tru repeats. “Leander,” he whispers again, his eyelids fluttering as a smile pulls at his lips. His hand moves to his chest, rubbing in circles.

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