Alex

I looked at the text again. I wasn't sure how he got my number. It had been changed since high school. A familiar sorrow and sense of betrayal welled in my chest and an anxiety that I just wanted it to be over. I had thought it was, but I was wrong.

"Let me contact him," Mateo said roughly by my side. The bag of chips he held crinkled loudly as his fists clenched. "I'll make sure he doesn't contact you again."

I slipped my phone in my pocket. "I don't want this to be solved by violence." It wasn't the first conversation we had about this.

Mateo opened the bag of chips and put it on the little folding table. The apartment he shared with his roommate wasn't large. I wasn't sure how he thought he could hold a party in here, but he didn't seem concerned by it. He had assured me most of the other residents on this floor were his friends and if the party spilled out into the hallway and even into the other apartments it wouldn't be a big deal.

I grabbed another bag of chips and opened them. I placed them next to the other bag of chips on the table.

"I don't want to say this," Mateo said, "but maybe you should tell Vincent. You said he handled Jason in high school. He could do it again."

"Vinny would help me," I said quietly, "but he has his own problems he needs to deal with. And I really should figure out how to stop Jason from contacting me once and for all. If I keep allowing other people to do it, Jason will keep coming back to blackmail me."

"His own problems, hunh?" Mateo was clearly skeptical. He dumped a large bag of ice into an extra large bowl. "Like how his mercedes got a little scratch on it? Or how someone is going to try to steal his money or take advantage of him?"

"He is rich, but he has real problems, Mateo. Or do you think because I'm rich I don't have real problems either?"

Mateo's shoulders dropped as he put several drinks on the counter next to the bowl of ice. "I'm sorry. That's not what I meant."

"I know," I said quietly and thought of Jason again. "Maybe I should just let Jason release the recording. He can't try to blackmail me anymore if it's out there."

Mateo stiffened and almost dropped the paper cups he held.

"Would you dump me if it was released? Would you hate me?" I asked as his reaction filled me with a sudden sense of panic. I didn't think Mateo would do that, but we hadn't been dating long. Maybe he would surprise me in the wrong way.

Mateo softened. He put the paper cups down next to the drinks and walked quickly to me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close to him. "I could never hate you," he said. "I only worry that it will make your life harder. I'll stand by you whatever happens."

I smiled, but Mateo couldn't see it with his head on my shoulder. This was why I liked him. As well as a myriad of other reasons. He was kind, smart, manly in way that wasn't threatening if that even made sense.

I returned his embrace until there was no empty space between us. It was moments like this that I really wished Mateo didn't have a roommate, that there could be a place where we could be alone without the chance of someone walking in on us. Maybe I should move out and get my own place. But if I did, then mom would truly be alone.

There was a shift between us as our hearts drew closer. My attraction for him rose tenfold. His hands shifted down.

It was at that moment when our embrace began to be something more that his roommate walked in. I retreated from Mateo's embrace as the heat rushed to my cheeks. That was one thing I had always hated about myself - how easily I blushed.

Gareth hesitated with his hand on the doorknob. "Am I interrupting? Should I come back later? You can't be too long though, the party is supposed to start soon."

Gareth had been the first one to know of our relationship. And that was only because he walked in on us during our very first kiss. Before that moment, Mateo had told me he didn't know how his old high school friends, but especially Gareth, would react to our relationship. Gareth had simply stared at us for a moment and then came in and offered us both a piece of the pizza he had just bought. With that simple gesture he had accepted me as part of Mateo's life.

When I thought of how easily Mateo's friends - Gareth and then Chet - had accepted us, I couldn't help but feel slightly ashamed of how Vincent had reacted. But Vincent had his reasons and I knew why he had reacted that way. I would always forgive him and hoped that he could come to accept Mateo.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

"You're not interrupting," Mateo said. He turned away from me and back to the kitchen.

"Are you sure because you seem kind of pissed."

"Not because of you walking in," Mateo said.

His roommate looked at me as if I was the cause of Mateo's anger and he couldn't quite believe it. I shrugged my shoulders not quite sure why Mateo would be angry. He hadn't seemed angry moments before.

"I'm here." Chet suddenly appeared behind Gareth at the doorway. "Let the party begin." He was always so cheerful. I couldn't help but smile.

"Congratulations on making the winning point today," I said. I still wasn't sure on the correct terminology for soccer, but Chet smiled grandly at my words so I couldn't have messed it up too badly.

"Yes," Gareth wrapped his arm around Chet's neck and with his free hand rubbed his knuckles into Chet's skull. "Congratulations."

"Ow," Chet pushed Gareth away. Not roughly, just enough to slip out from his grasp. "You need to handle a national treasure such as myself more gently."

Gareth rolled his eyes, but a smile stretched out his cheeks. He walked into the kitchen and opened a package of chocolate chip cookies.

"Make yourself useful, national treasure," Mateo mocked. He threw a package of napkins at Chet. Chet easily caught it.

"No one appreciates my greatness, but you," he said to me as he passed me. He opened the napkins and placed them on the little table next to the chips. "Do you know how hard it is for a freshmen to get to play on the field let alone score the winning goal?"

"No," I said. "Is it difficult? You must be really good."

"Don't encourage him, babe," Mateo said. "His ego is too big already."

"Babe?" Chet and Gareth said at the same time. Mateo froze.

"That's so cute," Chet said. He moved to come up behind Mateo. "Babe," he said in a too sweet voice.

Mateo swiftly turned and put Chet in the same move Gareth had only moments before. He dug his knuckles into Chet's skull.

"Stop," Chet said and pushed Mateo away. "Why don't you understand how precious of a commodity I am?" He patted down the dark hair on top of his head that Mateo had messed up. Chet turned to me. "So, Alex, what high school did you go to? Is it in town? Out of state? Why did you decide to go to our university? What are you studying? How did you meet Alex? Was it through a class? Was...?"

Gareth smacked him on the back of his head. "Breathe, kid," he said.

"I'm not a kid," Chet muttered. "I'm four months older than you." He looked at me expectantly and only then did I realize he expected me to answer all of his questions.

"I went to North High," I said.

"North? Here in town?" Chet asked. I nodded. "We went to South High," he went on.

"I know," I said.

"Of course you know," Chet said. "I don't remember seeing you at any of the sporting events though. Our schools competed with each other often."

"I'm not really into sports," I said.

"Why not? Sports are amazing. You get to exercise and strategize and make amazing friends and travel and meet new people and..." It was Mateo that hit him on the back of the head this time.

"Give him a chance to answer the rest of your questions," my boyfriend said.

"Oh, right," Chet said.

I didn't realize the apartment door had been left open until people began to filter in. I recognized some of them from the soccer team. Others I didn't recognize. Chet moved through them so he stood next to me. Music started up somewhere, but I wasn't sure where or who started it.

"So what are you studying?" Chet asked me.

"Chemistry," I said.

"Really? That's amazing. Mateo is in the sciences too. Biology. Is that how you met?"

"We have General Chemistry together," I said.

"Aww, bonding over science," Chet said and nodded sagely.

Chet was distracted when one of the new people called out to him. He left me with a smile and a wave as he went to insert himself into other people's conversations.

"He can be a bit much," Mateo said. I wasn't sure how long he had stood there behind me. I resisted the temptation to lean back into him. He hadn't really come out to his other friends yet let alone introduce me as his boyfriend. But I supposed that was what this party was for so did it matter? He made the decision for me as he closed the distance between us and put his head on my shoulder.

"I like him," I said. "He is welcoming and friendly."

Mateo removed his head from my shoulder and I suddenly missed the warmth. He came to stand beside me and stealthily wrapped his little finger around mine.

The party went on. I knew most everyone that came up to say hello just from being around Mateo so much. Most of them were either from the soccer team or Biology majors. A few of them were his friends from the other apartments on this floor.

The party had been going on for an hour and there was still no sign of Vincent.

Mateo came to stand beside me again. "Maybe he's not coming," Mateo said. I didn't have to ask. It was obvious who he meant.

"He said he will be here," I replied. "He will be. I just don't know when."

Mateo took a big breath, held it for a moment before letting it out in one big huff. "I guess I should tell everyone about us then," he said. He didn't have to. I was fine with not hiding it and just letting people find out, but I had never hidden the fact that I was gay. Mateo had. He told me before Gareth had walked in on us kissing, only 2 people had known Mateo was gay and Gareth hadn't been one of them. I wasn't sure who the 2 people were. It hadn't really come up.

"I want to thank everyone for coming," Mateo said loudly. Gareth turned down the music and the conversations around the room quieted. "I just want to say..." but he hesitated. His eyes went to the door.

I looked and there was Vincent standing tall with his arms crossed over his chest, judging my boyfriend.

But that only seemed to give Mateo courage. My boyfriend didn't disappoint me.

"Alex is my boyfriend. I hope you all will be welcoming to him. He means a lot to me." He said all of this without looking away from Vincent.