“Or supposedly straight guys,” I said.
“Right.”
“Anyway, my friend really believes deep in his heart that they can have a future together. His boyfriend probably wants it, too, in a weird way, but he’s a little insecure and keeps putting up walls.”
“The textbook definition of a closet case.”
“It is?”
“Yeah. Only they’re not straight guys, not really. That’s just the charade they want to keep up for the world. They’re hopelessly in the closet.”
“And my friend is worried that his boyfriend will never come out.”
“Maybe he won’t.”
Austin sounded so matter-of-fact, his first and only truly serious comment of the conversation.
“But you don’t understand,” I said. “My friend is ready. He doesn’t have it all figured out, but he’s tired of living a lie. He might only tell a few people—you know, other than me—but being totally open about it doesn’t sound like such a bad thing. But his boyfriend…forget about it.”
“So, one is very ready and the other might never be.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying.”
“I don’t know what to tell you.”
“What?I bought you a coffee and poured my friend’s heart out, and you don’t know what to tell me?”
“Why would I know all the answers?”
“Because you’re the gay guy, that’s why.”
He rolled his eyes and really seemed to be trying not to shake his head. Either way, I knew how ridiculous I’d sounded.
I also realized that I’d started to sound too much like Kayden for my liking. All I wanted was to know how to fix my problem.
“Look, I’m sorry,” I said. “It’s just a little frustrating. I have no idea what to tell my friend now.”
“Okay, I might not have all the answers, but I can tell you one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“If one guy is that ready to come out and the other is clinging for dear life to his heterosexual identity, it’s not going to work.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“But what if my friend can think of a really clever way to ease his boyfriend into it? He’ll come around, won’t he?”
“No way in hell, hon. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.”
“Then what the hell am I supposed to do? I mean, what the hell is my friend supposed to do?”
“Thank god he’s finding out now so he can save himself all kinds of pain and heartache.”
I leaned back in my seat, trying to calm myself. Really, I wanted to jump out of my seat and start pacing because Austin’s comment had hit me that hard. But I had to stay calm or else I would give everything away.
“So, you’re saying there’s absolutely no hope?” I asked.
