Where Nerves End

eyes, he sank back to the pillow. “Oh, fuck…”
“Im so sorry,” I said. “I swear, I—”
“Its…its okay. I know you didnt set out to tell him.” He sounded winded, like Id punched him in the gut. “He probably would have caught on eventually anyway, but…” Michael chewed his lip. “How did he react?”
“He was surprised,” I said. “Just kind of shell-shocked, I guess. Didnt quite see it coming.”
Michael cringed again.
“I feel awful,” I said. “Im used to talking to him about things like this, and this time…”
He took my hand in his and brought it up to his lips. Meeting my eyes, he said, “I understand. If youve been anywhere near as stressed and confused over all this, I cant really blame you for talking to him. Wasnt like you were outing me for spite or something.”
“God, no.” I clasped my fingers between his. “I would never—”
“I know.” He released my hand and reached for my face. “Ill talk to him. Well talk to him. Hes a reasonable guy.”
Smirking cautiously, I said, “Are we talking about the same Seth?”
Michael laughed. “Okay, maybe reasonable isnt the right word…”
Our eyes met again, and we both laughed.
As my humor faded, I touched his face and said, “So youre…youre really not upset?”
He shook his head. “Well settle things with him. For tonight, Im just glad weve settled things with us.”
“Me too.” I brushed the pad of my thumb across his cheek as I leaned in to kiss him. “Another night of that, I think I might have lost it.”
“You and me both.” Michael cradled the back of my head in one hand, wrapped his other arm around me, and welcomed my kiss. And that kiss went on. And deepened.
And slowly, silently, with nothing holding us back this time, we made love again.

CHAPTER 19
    When I finally dragged my ass out of bed at quarter to eleven, I found Michael in the kitchen, drumming his fingers on the side of a steaming cup of that horror he called tea.
    “You all right?” I asked.
“I called Daina on my way home from dropping Dylan at school.” He took a deep breath, then released it slowly and met my eyes. “Shes on her way over.” He gulped. “Would you, um…”
“Do you still want me to be here?”
“ Please .”
I wrapped my arms around him, and he did the same. I kissed him lightly. “How do you think shell take it?”
“I dont know,” Michael whispered. “She does share some of her familys views.”
“Homophobic?”
“Not necessarily. She adores Seth, but Im not so sure how shed feel about Dylan living with Seth. Or with me, for that matter, once she knows.” Rubbing the back of his neck, he sighed. “God, I just dont know.”
I kissed his cheek. “Either way, Ill be here.”
“Thank you.” He kissed me, then let me go so I could pour myself some coffee.
As I pulled a coffee cup down from the cupboard, I said, “What the fuck is with you and Daina and Seth all having tight-ass families, anyway? I could have sworn LA was pretty progressive out there.”
Michael snorted. “Oh, the people there think they are. Not so much, believe me. Besides, the reason the three of us met in the first place is because our families went to the same church.”
“Ooh.”
“Yeah. It was actually the kind of progressive, liberal church youd expect in California,” he said. “But our families were all insanely uptight and conservative, so they kind of banded together.” He paused, sighing. “Mine and Dainas werent nearly as bad as Seths, though.”
“Thank God for that,” I muttered. “I dont think families get much worse than that.”
“No kidding. I mean, Im not looking forward to coming out to my parents, but I think a cold shoulder and some brow-beating is about the worst I can expect from them.” A mischievous grin tugged at his lips. “Now, Dainas parents? I might have to tell them just for the entertainment value.”
I laughed. “You would, wouldnt you?”
“Maybe…”
“Uh-huh.”
He chuckled, but then his humor faded. “Thats assuming Daina doesnt get upset.”
“Do you think she will?” I asked. “I mean, I know her family would be, but what about her? ”
“Im really not sure,” he said quietly. “I keep going back and forth, thinking shell flip and thinking shell be fine. If I was just a friend, shed probably be okay with it. She adores Seth, and thinks its a crime what his family did to him.” He paused, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. “And maybe shed even be all right with it if