Chapter 4

Gene turned left and they moved effortlessly through the small amount of traffic on the wider road. Billy glanced over and realized they were close to the edge of town, not far from his old high school. He turned his head and smiled at the sight of the park where he’d spent a large chunk of his childhood. God, he had loved playing baseball. He was awful at it, and could admit that now that he was grown, but as a kid he wanted to be the next Joe DiMaggio.

The wind whipped across his face and he closed his eyes again, letting his upper body lean into the strong man in front of him. For just a moment, he imagined that that they were together, spending a carefree evening as lovers.

It had been so long since Billy had felt wanted or loved. For so many years he had tried to fight who he was, tried to deny his attraction to men. College had changed him, though. Oh, he was still cautious, but during his four years at State he had learned that he wasn’t alone.