Page 40 of Gentleman Sadist

Will clapped his hands together and a smile lit up his face. "Oh, goodie! I love being able to be your first."

“I think you’re going to be disappointed and I’m going to be embarrassed,” he said with a roll of his eyes.

“Pfft. I doubt it. Come on, give me the details, agent.” He rested his chin on his palm. “Do tell.”

“To set the stage for you, I was just a lad of thirteen. Firstborn son to an extremely nice, Christian couple. We had one television in our house and it only had basic cable?—”

“Were your parent’s extremists? Believing the TV was a window into the devil’s soul?”

Robert snorted. “No. I’m sorry to disappoint your overactive imagination. It was more like we were slightly below middle class and having basic cable was all they could afford.”

Will sighed in disappointment. “Continue.”

“I would if you’d stop interrupting me. Is this something you do often?” he teased.

“Unfortunately,” Will said drooly.

“Anyway, before I was interrupted. I was thirteen and about to have my first sleepover at a friend’s.Theydidn’t have basic cable. And we stayed up until the early morning watching TV.” He tilted his head in consideration. “I also feel like I should note, his parents allowed him to watch R movies, and mine did not.”

“And?”

“One of the movies we watched was Point Break followed by Speed.” He could feel the flush of heat in his cheeks. “I wanted to be Johnny Utah.”

Will snickered. “You mean you wanted todoJohnny Utah.”

Robert laughed and admitted, “Well, yeah that too.”

“Same,” Will sighed.

Robert stared at Will for a second, surprised he’d take the straight-laced agent over the bad boy. “Anyway, when I got home the next day, I started researching the FBI, and what it took to become an agent. After Quantico, I was assigned to the Art Crime Team and I’ve never looked back.”

“Did you come out before or after you became an agent?” Will inquired.

“My family and closest friends, they always knew. I was never quiet about who or what I was.”

“And your very Christian parents, were they accepting?”

“Very. Neither of them cared. My mom made a point of telling me I was her son and my sexual orientation didn’t change that or her love. Dad and my siblings were the same way.” He shrugged. “How about you?”

Will smiled. “When I told mom, she patted me on the cheek, gave me a kiss, and told me it was about damn time I admitted it to myself, and she always knew I was gay.”

Robert noticed Will didn’t mention his father. “And your dad? How’d he take it?”

Will became pensive. Robert’s gut twist in dread at the thought of his beautiful boy not being accepted by both of his parents. “He surprised me. I thought he was going to flip and disown me. See you have to understand. My dad... He’s a guy’s guy. Every year he watches football starting in August, baseball in the Spring, and hockey in October. His drink of choice is Bud” —Will’s features twisted in disgust— “believes wearing a plaid shirt and a pair of clean jeans constitutes being dressed up.”

"And," he pushed, needing an answer. Experience told him parents like his or Will's mother weren't common. Most of the time they disowned their kids, putting them out of the house when they were the most vulnerable.

Will placed his hand on Robert’s. “He just smiled at me and asked if I was happy. I said yes and he said good.” Will chuckled. “He then picked up the TV remote, turned on the 4 pm football game and that was the end of our conversation.”

Robert blew out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “I’m glad you have good parents. We’re all not that lucky.”

Will agreed. "The year I came out, two girls in my high school also told their parents they were lesbians and in love. One was sent to a family up north for conversion therapy the other was put out of the house. The last I heard, one committed suicide, and the other turned to drugs and alcohol.

Robert shook his head, not at all surprised by the parents' reaction. For every step forward there was another two steps back.Enough of this downer.He stood then, helping Will up as he went. “Come on, let’s forget about all the bad in the world and have a little fun.”

Will’s eyes sparkled and his body vibrated. “Yes, I think I’m ready now.”

Good, because so was he.

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