Read Online Beta Test (#gaymers) by Annabeth Albert - Free Book Online
Authors: Annabeth Albert
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driving.
“Did you order your diabetic coma breakfast?” Ravi gestured at the cup Tristan was holding.
“Yeah.” Tristan’s cheeks turned a pink that matched the rosy glow of the morning sky.
“Good for you.” Ravi clapped him on the thigh before remembering his resolve to not touch Tristan for any reason. It was just too tempting. He fiddled with his phone, getting it plugged into the stereo. The GPS informed him that they had twelve hours left, and he promptly switched it off and pulled up his music instead.
“Are you going to try to do it all today or should we plan on splitting it up and finishing tomorrow morning?” Tristan had his tablet out and his folder of trip-related papers balanced on his lap. Ravi guided the truck out of the hotel parking lot and back on I-5 north for the long trek through Northern California.
“Let’s play it by ear and see what we can do. If we push, maybe.”
Tristan made a face. “I’d rather pick a stopping point—”
“How about you work on being spontaneous?” It was too early for Ravi to censor himself, but he tried to soften his words. “If we make it to the middle of Oregon, we dine with hippies. If we make it to Portland, I’m dragging you to this gay bar I know from when I was in Portland for a con. We’ll find fun.”
“I’m not sure we’re supposed to find fun.” Tristan’s lips pursed. “And a gay bar—”
“Is a fabulous idea.” The more Ravi thought about it, the more he liked the idea of being Tristan’s social ambassador. And if he got Tristan a life, maybe it would reduce this strange protectiveness he felt, and shoving Tristan firmly in the friend pocket could only help this inconvenient attraction. “Have you ever been to one?”
“Yeah.” Tristan looked out the window. “In college. My...friend was into the bar scene.”
“Friend-friend or boyfriend?” Ravi had totally picked up on Tristan’s hesitation with the label.
“Boyfriend.” Tristan sighed heavily.
“Oh, there’s a story there, isn’t there?”
“It’s rather boring.” Tristan shuffled his papers.
“I’ve got nothing but time.”
“It’s just a typical story. I met Patrick on campus my junior year of undergrad. We were together for almost two years. He left for a backpacking trip in Europe after graduation and decided to stay in Amsterdam.” Tristan delivered his story like he was reading from a Wikipedia article.
“Let me guess...Young Republican meeting?”
“Ha.” Tristan snorted. “Patrick wouldn’t be caught dead there. No, we met in the campus dining hall when the grill mixed up our orders. He was a bit more... outgoing than me. Big social circle, kind of like...other people I know.”
Interesting. Ravi could have sworn Tristan was about to say “like you.” He’d never entertained the remotest thought of being Tristan’s type. At least among the guys Ravi knew, the shy, quasi-closeted guys tended to stick together.
“So this Patrick liked to party and dragged you to your first gay bar?”
“And first straight one too. And so on. He loved going out.”
“And being out ?” Ravi guessed.
“Yeah, that too.” Tristan sighed. “And before you ask, yes, that was a big source of conflict between us. I finally got up the courage to come out to my family, but it was too little, too late I guess.”
They were back dancing around the hot-button issue of family, but they were also on an endless stretch of flat highway, trapped behind a line of semitrucks, and Ravi had nothing better to do. “How did they react?”
“Terribly.” Tristan’s voice was strained. “Way, way worse than I thought they would. They threatened to not pay for grad school. They only relented after Patrick and I broke up, and I promised to be...discreet.”
“Man, that’s harsh.” Ravi could picture Tristan with spreadsheets and pro/con lists for coming out. No blurting to conservative parents in the middle of an argument for him. He could also picture
“Did you order your diabetic coma breakfast?” Ravi gestured at the cup Tristan was holding.
“Yeah.” Tristan’s cheeks turned a pink that matched the rosy glow of the morning sky.
“Good for you.” Ravi clapped him on the thigh before remembering his resolve to not touch Tristan for any reason. It was just too tempting. He fiddled with his phone, getting it plugged into the stereo. The GPS informed him that they had twelve hours left, and he promptly switched it off and pulled up his music instead.
“Are you going to try to do it all today or should we plan on splitting it up and finishing tomorrow morning?” Tristan had his tablet out and his folder of trip-related papers balanced on his lap. Ravi guided the truck out of the hotel parking lot and back on I-5 north for the long trek through Northern California.
“Let’s play it by ear and see what we can do. If we push, maybe.”
Tristan made a face. “I’d rather pick a stopping point—”
“How about you work on being spontaneous?” It was too early for Ravi to censor himself, but he tried to soften his words. “If we make it to the middle of Oregon, we dine with hippies. If we make it to Portland, I’m dragging you to this gay bar I know from when I was in Portland for a con. We’ll find fun.”
“I’m not sure we’re supposed to find fun.” Tristan’s lips pursed. “And a gay bar—”
“Is a fabulous idea.” The more Ravi thought about it, the more he liked the idea of being Tristan’s social ambassador. And if he got Tristan a life, maybe it would reduce this strange protectiveness he felt, and shoving Tristan firmly in the friend pocket could only help this inconvenient attraction. “Have you ever been to one?”
“Yeah.” Tristan looked out the window. “In college. My...friend was into the bar scene.”
“Friend-friend or boyfriend?” Ravi had totally picked up on Tristan’s hesitation with the label.
“Boyfriend.” Tristan sighed heavily.
“Oh, there’s a story there, isn’t there?”
“It’s rather boring.” Tristan shuffled his papers.
“I’ve got nothing but time.”
“It’s just a typical story. I met Patrick on campus my junior year of undergrad. We were together for almost two years. He left for a backpacking trip in Europe after graduation and decided to stay in Amsterdam.” Tristan delivered his story like he was reading from a Wikipedia article.
“Let me guess...Young Republican meeting?”
“Ha.” Tristan snorted. “Patrick wouldn’t be caught dead there. No, we met in the campus dining hall when the grill mixed up our orders. He was a bit more... outgoing than me. Big social circle, kind of like...other people I know.”
Interesting. Ravi could have sworn Tristan was about to say “like you.” He’d never entertained the remotest thought of being Tristan’s type. At least among the guys Ravi knew, the shy, quasi-closeted guys tended to stick together.
“So this Patrick liked to party and dragged you to your first gay bar?”
“And first straight one too. And so on. He loved going out.”
“And being out ?” Ravi guessed.
“Yeah, that too.” Tristan sighed. “And before you ask, yes, that was a big source of conflict between us. I finally got up the courage to come out to my family, but it was too little, too late I guess.”
They were back dancing around the hot-button issue of family, but they were also on an endless stretch of flat highway, trapped behind a line of semitrucks, and Ravi had nothing better to do. “How did they react?”
“Terribly.” Tristan’s voice was strained. “Way, way worse than I thought they would. They threatened to not pay for grad school. They only relented after Patrick and I broke up, and I promised to be...discreet.”
“Man, that’s harsh.” Ravi could picture Tristan with spreadsheets and pro/con lists for coming out. No blurting to conservative parents in the middle of an argument for him. He could also picture
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