Don't Read in the Closet: Volume Four (153 page)

“I told the folks that if things went well, don’t expect to see me

until tomorrow.”

“Good, ‘cause they’re not gonna see you until tomorrow.” Max’s

lips sought out Brandon’s.

“Like I said, I don’t care if you come out or not,” Brandon said,

upon coming up for air. “Somehow, we’ll have to manage, ‘cause I’m

not living without you.” The fingers of his free hand tangled with

Max’s.

“Wait! Brandon?”

“Hmm?”

“Does your family know about me? About us?”

“Yes, but I didn’t tell them. They figured it out on their own. And,

well, you know I’ve always been pretty open with Cindy. Without her

help I couldn’t have kept us hidden all the way through high school.

But don’t worry; my folks think of you as another son, and Mom

swore to me she wouldn’t tell your mom. They also say that if I gotta

be queer, they’d rather me be queer with someone they approve of.”

Oh. “I told my parents,” Max murmured, feeling now would be a

good time to break the news.

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“You what!? I thought you said…”

Max looked Brandon full on. “I couldn’t do it anymore. Hide, that

is. While coming out might have cost me something with them, not

coming out definitely robbed me of self-respect, and very nearly cost

me you.” He shook his head. “That’s a price I’m not willing to pay.”

The “you wonderful thing, you” look in his lover’s eyes conveyed

more love than words ever could. After a long, steamy kiss, Brandon

asked, “How’d they take it?”

“Dad said, and I quote, ‘Might have known. Ever since you were

kids, you always had to do whatever Brandon did. If he got a new

haircut, you’d bug your mom until she took you for one too. If

Brandon took karate lessons, you had to too. So when he went gay, I

figured it was just a matter of time.’” Max made a face. “You know

how Dad is.”

“Oh my God! He’s blaming me? Did he cuss me out and call me

names?”

Chuckling softly, Max said, “No, he just went back to watching

CNN.”

“What about your mom?”

The chuckle escalated into a guffaw. “Last I saw of Mom, she had

on a PFLAG T-shirt and was hounding my little brother with, ‘Are

you sure there’s nothing you’d like to tell me?’ and explaining to Dad

that…” He mimicked his mother’s high-pitched voice, sliding

imaginary glasses down his nose and pantomiming reading from a

book. “Studies show that homosexuals are born that way, they don’t

‘go gay.’”

They shared a laugh.

“So, Maxxie, it’s really you and me now? And instead of emails

and phone calls you’ll come visit me on campus?” Gone was the

sullen, heartbroken Brandon of the past few months, replaced by his

normal take-no-prisoners-the-world-is-my-oyster self.

Don’t Read in the Closet – volume four 941

That is, until Max said, “About that.”

Brandon’s smile vanished in an instant, and Max quickly restored

it with, “I’m afraid Dave’s gonna have to find a new roommate, or

you’re gonna have to get a bigger place. I’ve applied for student loans

to go with what Mom and Dad put aside, and next semester, I’m

transferring to State. You’re not getting away from me again.”

He pulled Brandon into his arms, like he’d been wanting to every

since they’d parted company that day at the café. A happy sigh

caressed his skin, conveying contentment that he echoed with a sigh

of his own. “I’m so sorry that I put you through all that misery, Bran.

And I fully intend to spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

“That’s okay. I understand. It was my idea to start with, and I’ve

been worrying all this time that I’d pushed you to the breaking point.

I’m the one that’s reckless, dashing in head first without thinking

things through. The fact that you’re more cautious is one of the things

I love about you. Besides, it’s not easy changing the habits of a

lifetime, and I’ve been sorta out for years, at least to my sister.”

Brandon’s fingertips ruffled through Max’s hair.

“What now?” Max asked, growing pleasantly sleepy in the

aftermath of their loving.

“Now? We can either get up and eat cold pizza, or we can nap

because, truth be told, I haven’t been sleeping very well. And I plan to

spend all night getting properly reacquainted.” That heaped more

guilt, quickly assuaged by, “The past is over and done with. Right

now I’m just gonna enjoy being with you again. Anything else can

wait until later.”

Worked for Max, who opted for sleep and contact over food. The

pizza could wait. As he drifted off, snuggled against his lover’s chest,

he heard, “Sweet dreams, Maxxie.”

FIN

Author bio:
Somewhat of a nomad, Eden Winters has visited

seven countries so far, and longs to add many more to her list. Her

Don’t Read in the Closet – volume four 942

earliest memories include making up stories for the family’s pets, and

through her academic years she wrote many short stories and poems.

Dreams of writing professionally were realized, only not as planned,

with a good dozen years spent as a technical writer.

She began reading GLBT fiction as a way to better understand the

issues faced by a dear friend and fell in love with the m/m romance

genre. During a discussion of a favorite book, a fellow aficionado

said, “We could do this, you know.” Eden wrote her first novel shortly

thereafter and never looked back.

Currently, Eden calls the southern US home, and many of her

stories take place in the rural south. She lives alone, having

successfully raised two children, and divides her time between a day

job, friends, writing, trying different varieties of vegetarian cuisine,

and outdoor adventures such as hiking and camping. Her musical

tastes run from Ambient to Zydeco, and she’s a firm believer that life

is better with pets. She also loves cruising down the road on the back

of a Harley Davidson.

Visit Eden’s website at www.edenwinters.com

Goodreads page
: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/324…

Email: [email protected]

Don’t Read in the Closet – volume four 943

Want more?

Be sure to read the complete four volume
Don’t Read in the Closet

set available for free download at www.Goodreads.com.

Jeanette Grey

Zach Sweets

JP Barnaby*

Jambrea Jo Jones*

Piper Vaughn*

Sarah Black

Pender Mackie

Silvia Violet

Scarlet Blackwell

KM Mahoney

Deanna Wadsworth

Penny Brandon

JL Merrow

Stuart Wakefield

Lee Brazil

MJ O’Shea*

Alex Whitehall

Cardeno C.

Neil Plakcy

Lisa Worrall

LC Chase*

Dustin Adrian Rhodes

Connor Wright

Kim Dare

Jaime Samms*

SJ Frost

Justin South

Blaine D. Arden

Kerry Freeman

NJ Nielsen

Mandy Beyers

Kari Gregg

Elizabeth Noble

JR Boyd

Kaje Harper

Adara O’Hare

JM Cartwright

Jason Huffman-Black

SJD Peterson*

Jaya Christopher*

Marguerite Labbe*

Lily Sawyer

Casey Cox

Amy Lane

Andrea Speed*

Nicole Dennis

Cleon Lee

DH Starr

Megan Derr

Jordan Lombard

Em Woods

Taylor V. Donovan*

Sarah Madison

Havan Fellows

Angel Martinez

Don’t Read in the Closet – volume four 944

AJ Llewellyn

PD Singer*

Mael Day

Clare London*

Damon Suede*

Sasha Devlin

Belinda McBride*

Ariel Tachna

Ryssa Edwards

Summer Michaels

Bryl Tyne*

Tia Fielding

Bran Mydwynter

Missy Welsh*

Rachel Haimowitz*

Cherie Noel*

Cooper West

Julie Hayes

Lydia Nyx*

Sara Winters

Valentina Heart

Devon Rhodes*

Serena Yates

Xara X. Xanakas &

J Rocci

Lissa Kasey*

RJ Scott

K Lee Klein*

Jen Pinto

Rory Auden

Celia Kyle

KD Sarge

Poppy Dennison*

Taylor Law

Kate Sherwood

Megan Derr

Elizabeth Lister

KZ Snow

Charles Edward

Ryan Loveless

VJ Summers*

RL Ferguson

Selah March

Fae Sutherland

SA Garcia (2 stories)

Michele L.

Anne Tenino

David Greene

Montgomery*

Pia Veleno

Kathleen Hayes

Zahra Owens

Eden Winters*

Kayla Jameth

Sloan Parker

*encore appearance of a story included in the
GRL Retreat 2011 Special Edition
.