Trevon Carter

My alarm went off. I groaned as I could tell my phone was far enough away that I was going to have to get up to actually turn it off. I got out of bed and went into the living room. My phone was on the coffee table in front of the couch. I turned off the alarm and went back into the bedroom.

Arthur grabbed my wrist when he realized I was getting dressed. I had just zipped up my pants. "You're leaving already?" he pouted cutely.

I leaned down and kissed his lips gently. "I've got to get ready for school."

"You could do that here," he said, unwilling to let go of my wrist.

"You didn't do your homework yesterday and I have a feeling if I stay, you won't get it done this morning either."

He finally let go of my wrist. "That's true," he said, "but still, we could make an exception this one time." His beautiful brown eyes looked up at me filled with hope. This look he was giving me was the very definition of puppy dog eyes.

"And then you'll say next time is the exception and then the next and so on and so forth. No. I want to stay, Art, but I think I need to go."

He sighed. "Fine. You saw through me." He sat up on the bed and kissed me. "Call me later though."

"I will," I said. I put on my shirt, gave him one last kiss and then left. As I came out of the apartment, an older couple came out of the neighboring apartment. They were dressed for a morning workout.

"Hello," I said politely because our eyes had already locked.

"Hello," they said at the same time.

They gave each other knowing smiles. "You must be Trevon," the man said to me. He draped his arm over the smaller woman's shoulders.

"Yes," I said. "Did Arthur talk about me?"

The two of them laughed.

"No," the woman said. "It's just nice to hear him scream out a name during sex other than Jackson."

"Oh," I said. My cheeks were suddenly hot. I hadn't realized Arthur had been that loud. Wait...Jackson?

"You must be really special," the man said. "Different men have come out the door in the morning and yet during the night the name Jackson was yelled every time."

"You're the first one in a very long time that wasn't Jackson," the woman said.

They laughed quietly together and then walked away down the hallway, leaving me standing there like a fool. I didn't know how I was supposed to feel. I knew I wasn't his first boyfriend. I knew he had others stay at his place before, but I doubted they were all named Jackson. So who was Jackson? Was Arthur not over him? Or was he now over him because he had called out my name last night and not Jackson? Should I be flattered that he called out my name or hurt that I didn't even know who this Jackson was?

I went home and got ready with these thoughts jumbling in my head. I arrived at my Calculus III class when I received a text. The professor hadn't arrived yet so I looked at my phone

Beautiful Art: Have a great day sweetie.

Even through a text I felt a rush of warmth when he called me sweetie. Except, I probably wasn't the only one he had called sweetie. He had said it so naturally and freely when we first met. He probably said it to everyone. My head dropped heavily onto the desk. That simple word had made me feel so special, but it wasn't really special. Not if he used it with everyone else. I didn't have a right to say anything. It wasn't like he had lied about that word being specially reserved for me, or that he didn't date before. He had freely told me he had dated. Did I expect him to name each one of his ex boyfriend's to me and how special they were to him?

"You okay, man?" Ryan asked as he came and sat at the desk next to me.

"Dating drama," I said.

"You still dating that girl?"

"No. I broke up with her at the end of last week."

"Good. From the way you described her, she gave me serious stalker vibes."

"I started dating someone new."

Ryan took out his book and pencil and placed them on the desk. "So this new girl giving you trouble already?"

I tensed. I hadn't told anyone I was bi yet besides those I knew would accept me. I didn't know Ryan well. He was nice, but our conversations consisted of the time before and after class. I wasn't even sure I could consider him a friend. He had always been nice and friendly though. If he was a bigot, it wouldn't be a big loss.

"It's actually a guy," I said.

He scanned me up and down as if searching for something. "Bi?" he asked me.

I nodded.

"So what's the trouble with this guy?" he asked as easily as he had when he had asked about a girl.

But the professor came in at that moment so our conversation stopped. I quickly texted Arthur and then put my phone away.

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Me: You too.

When class was over Ryan said, "Do you want to go get lunch?"

"Sure."

We made our way to the cafeteria. I got chicken tamales. He got a hamburger. We found an empty table and sat down.

"So what's the problem with this guy? Is he stalkerish too?"

"No. Nothing is wrong with him. I think it's just in my head. I knew he had boyfriends before me, but I heard a specific boyfriend's name mentioned this morning and it's throwing me off."

"Do you know the ex boyfriend?"

"No."

"I don't understand what the problem is."

"That's just it. I don't think there really is a problem. I think I'm just weirdly jealous. I think I'm the problem. I haven't ever been this way before."

Ryan smirked with a bite of hamburger in his mouth and a touch of mustard at the corner of his lips. He wiped it off, swallowed his food and then said. "I think you like this guy a lot."

"I do," I admitted.

"Relax a little. You don't want to come off too strong and scare him away. You just started dating right?"

"Yes."

"So just chill a bit. If this ex boyfriend was important to him, he'll probably tell you about him when he's ready and if he doesn't ever mention the ex then the guy wasn't that important to him and you have nothing to worry about."

"You're right," I said.

But as the day went on, I couldn't stop thinking about it. Jackson obviously had to be important to him if he was calling out his name every time during sex. I had never been this obsessed about my past girlfriends's exes. I didn't want to mess this up with Arthur though so I was afraid to bring it up.

When classes were done, I went home and immediately started on homework. It was difficult to concentrate though. I was just finishing up my assignment for intro to astrophysics when my phone rang with a video call. The caller I.D. said it was Leo.

I answered and saw not just one of my future brothers-in-law but both of them. There was no sign of my sisters. It looked like they were in Leo's and Kylie's apartment. They sat side by side on the couch. Leo held the phone up with one hand angled in such a way so they both showed up on the screen. Like Brittany and Kylie, Leo and Mark styled their hair in the same fashion so it was even more difficult to tell them apart. I could though. Leo's eyes lifted at the corners very subtly where Mark's didn't.

"Hi," I said. "What's up?"

"Tell us about this guy you're seeing," Mark said.

I wasn't sure if my sisters had asked them to call and be nosey or if they genuinely wanted to know. It wouldn't surprise me either way. They were nicer to me than my sisters were.

"What do you want to know?"

"What's his name?" Leo asked.

"Arthur."

"Arthur what?" Mark asked this time. "What's his major?"

"Arthur Sakho. He's a ballet dancer."

Mark brought his laptop on his lap and began to type.

"Send us a picture," Leo said.

I almost said sure, but I thought back on the pictures I had of him and I wanted to keep them for myself. The moments hadn't been intimate or anything, they had just been special to me and I didn't want to share that.

"I don't have any pictures," I lied.

Leo scowled at me obviously not believing me.

"Here. I found him." Mark angled his laptop so Leo could see the screen. I couldn't.

"He's handsome," Leo said.

"Definitely eye catching," Mark said.

"What are you looking at?" I asked.

"His picture on the school of dance's website," Mark said. I didn't even know there was such a thing. "So, is he nice?" Mark asked.

"He's been nice to me," I said. "And he handled Alice when she showed up at my apartment the day after I broke up with her. She was insisting that I had just been teasing and didn't really mean it when I broke up with her."

The two of them exchanged a glance.

"You didn't tell us that part," Leo said. "Is she going to be a problem?"

"I don't think so," I said. I was suddenly afraid for Alice. My sisters had dealt with me growing up in such a way that I was afraid of them and probably always would be. But they were scarier to those who they thought harmed me in some way. I thought they would stop as I got older, but Mark and Leo had fully supported them in their frightening ways of defending me. I didn't think they were ever going to stop. Even if we were in our thirties. Probably not even when we were in our sixties.

"You don't think so?" Mark asked.

"No," I quickly said because I didn't want them to monitor Alice. "She isn't going to be a problem."

"Good," Leo said. "What's Arthur's family like?"

"I haven't met them," I said, "but from what Arthur tells me, they fully supported him when he came out as gay. He has two brothers and two sisters. He's the baby of the family."

"His parents are still together?" Leo asked.

"Seems like it," I said. I wasn't sure what that had to do with Arthur dating me though. It wasn't really any of their business. I wasn't about to tell them that though.

"How did you meet him?" Mark asked.

"At the dance performance. He danced with Alice. He was beautiful, mesmerizing."

"Did you cheat on Alice?" Leo asked. From his tone, it didn't really sound like he cared one way or the other. He was just gathering information.

"No," I said. "I broke up with Alice before I started things with Arthur."

"How long from the time you broke up with Alice until you started dating Arthur?" Mark asked.

"About an hour," I said. It did sound bad, but technically was it bad? I wasn't dating Alice anymore.

Mark and Leo exchanged another glance.

"His family has a lot of money if that means anything," I said.

"Does it mean something to you?" Mark asked.

"No," I said, "but maybe it does to my sisters."

"Do you think we're going to tell Brittany and Kylie everything you tell us?" Leo said.

"Yes," I said.

They smirked at the same time in the same way with almost the same face. If I wasn't used to Brittany and Kylie doing the same thing, I might have been a little creeped out.

"Astute of you," Mark said not bothering to deny it. "Money doesn't matter to them though. You are going to inherit enough that it doesn't matter."

"And the salary of an astrophysicist working at Nasa is nothing to sneeze at," Leo said.

I was glad they seemed accepting.

"Brit and Kylie want you to come home this weekend," Leo went on.

"They've arranged a family dinner for Saturday night," Mark said.

"You can tell the family then that you are bi and have a boyfriend," Leo said.

"Brit and Kylie will back you up with your revelation," Mark said.

"You can't get out of this," Leo said.

"Be there," they both said at the same time. Then they waved and the call was disconnected.

Okay. Looked like I was going home for the weekend. I video called Arthur. He answered before the first ring finished.

"Hi, sweetie." There was that warmth that spread through me at the word 'sweetie'. He was in a parking lot next to his car. "I was just going home for the day." He got into his car, but didn't start it up.

"Hi, beautiful," I said. His smile made my heart flutter. At that moment, it didn't matter who Jackson was because that smile was for me and I loved it. "I'm calling to tell you I'm going home this weekend. My sisters said they arranged a family dinner and will support me when I tell my family I'm bisexual and have a boyfriend."

Arthur nodded, but a cute little pout touched his lips. "I was hoping to do something fun this weekend. That's all right though. Actually, this might be a good weekend for me to go home and spend some time with my family too."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Anything," he said.

"You know I like it when you call me sweetie," I said.

"That's not a question," he pointed out.

"Do you call everyone sweetie?"

"Not anymore," he said.

"Since when?"

He smiled. "Since you told me you like it."

I couldn't help the smile that came to my own lips then. "Okay," I said.

He gave a little laugh. "Were you worried about that? That's adorable. Don't worry, sweetie. That term of endearment is reserved only for you. Do you want to come over tonight?"

"Yes," I said.

He smiled. "Give me ten minutes and I'll be home."