We were walking down Main Street, which was only five blocks long. Many small businesses were opening for the day, and Thomas had convinced me to get some fresh air and maybe find a restaurant to grab some breakfast.

I wondered if it was obvious that I’d gotten laid last night. Judging by the way Thomas smirked at me with that all-knowing look in his eye, it must have been. “You’ve got extra pep in your step,” he chuckled.

“No, I don’t,” I protested. I was walking how I always walked. At least, I thought so.

Thomas rolled his eyes and waved his hand dismissively. “Yeah, sure. Whatever you say, champ. Was it good?”

I pressed my lips together and tried to look annoyed. But there was no denying the truth. The sex had been amazing. Phenomenal. Mind-shatteringly fantastic.

In fact, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it. The memory of Danny on top of me, the feel of his skin, the sound of his voice, the way he took my dick and rode me to completion, the sexy face he made when he came all over me. I didn’t think I’d ever cum so hard in my entire life. Back in the city, I had had a casual fling here and there, but none of those previous hookups could even remotely compare.

We walked past a tiny little café, Momma’s Corner –- a misnomer given the fact that it wasn’t actually located on a corner. I pointed up at the sign, brushing past Thomas’ question.

“How about here?” I suggested, keeping my tone level. “They have pastries.”

“The sex was that good, huh?” chuckled Thomas. I ignored him. He turned his head to inspect the café through the window. It didn’t look too busy yet.

But before I could get a response out of him, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see an elderly man behind me. He was roughly as tall as I was, with broad shoulders and a full beard. His facial hair was greying, and his eyebrows were bushy and unkempt.

He had on a white Stetson, a red and black plaid shirt, and dark jeans that had traces of mud around the knees and bottom seams, as well as a pair of muddied work boots. I studied his face a bit further, feeling an inkling of recognition. “Mr. Stanton?”

“Jacob my boy, it really is you!” he exclaimed. Jack clapped me on the shoulder, hard. I could smell the dirt from under his chipped fingernails.

I smiled politely. “How are you?”

“Pretty darn swell,” he replied. “My God, look how you’ve grown. Last time I saw you, you were yea high.” Jack brought flattened his hand and brought it to his hip, gesturing. “What brings you back to this neck of the woods? Last I heard, you were making bank in the city.”

“I’m here on business,” I explained.

Jack nodded. “Very impressive. I’ll have to mention this to Mary. Knowing my wife, she’ll probably want to invite you to dinner.”

“That sounds nice.”

“Yeah, she’ll definitely want to hear all about the boy who done good.”

“I wouldn’t mind catching up. Maybe I’ll bring Danny along as well, just like old times.”

Jack froze, expression suddenly blank. “Oh, er,” he stammered, “best not bring him.”

I frowned, confused. “I had dinner with him last night. I’m sure he’d love to–-”

“You were with him?” Jack interrupted, his words sharp and cold. “To dinner?”

“Yeah, we sort of had a date,” I said, shrugging a shoulder. “No big deal.”

“Like a date date?”

I glanced over at Thomas, thrown off by Jack’s shift in tone. “Yes,” I stated firmly.

Jack’s expression transformed from blank to disgusted. He folded his arms across his chest, standing up tall like he was sizing me up. “Unbelievable,” he spat. “So you’re one of those prissy little rainbow boys, too, eh?”

“Excuse me?” I snapped.

“You’re a fucking disgrace to God.”

Thomas clenched his fist, taking a step forward like he was about to swing at Jack. “You take that back, you son of a–”

I held out my arm, keeping Thomas from proceeding any further. There wasn’t any point in fighting somebody like this.

“You’re probably the reason my son ended up being a faggot. All those sleepovers when you were kids … I bet you did something to him. Messed him up.”

Jack’s words cut me deeply. I winced at his accusation, feeling a sudden rage boil up in my chest. “This is what I hated about this place,” I hissed at him. “You’re all dirty, backward-thinking hillbillies.”

“I don’t care what you think,” snapped Jack unapologetically. “You’re all going to hell.” He turned on his heel and left without another word, fuming as he walked in the opposite direction.

“Keep walking, asshole!” shouted Thomas before turning to me. “Are you okay? Jesus, what the fuck was his problem?”

I bit down on my bottom lip, clenching my fists. My heart was pounding loudly in my ear. The adrenaline surged through my veins, leaving me lightheaded and feeling heavy at the same time.

Jack’s outburst filled in my mind. I should have hit him. I should have thrown him to the ground and beat the shit out of him. What gave him the right to talk to another person like that?

And then my thoughts drifted to Danny. Poor Danny. I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out my phone. “Go inside and grab us a table,” I instructed. “I’ll be there in a moment.”

“Are you sure?” asked Thomas, worried.

“Yeah. I’m just going to make a quick call.”

“All right,” agreed Thomas as he started towards the café. “If you need to talk about it–-”

“I’m fine,” I stated firmly. “Don’t worry.” Thomas nodded, but didn’t look convinced. He opened the café’s door, the little bell hooked to the top of the doorframe dinging as he entered.

I dialed Danny’s number, anxiously tapping my foot against the sidewalk cement as I listened to the ringing in my ear. Danny picked up on the second tone.

“Hello?” he greeted.

“Hey, it’s me. I ran into your father in town.”

There was a long moment of silence over the receiver. It was so quiet that I thought the call had dropped. “You did, did you?” Danny finally answered.

“Yeah.”

“What did you talk about?”

“Well, I learned that he’s a giant homophobe and he thinks I’m the reason you’re gay.”

Danny sighed on the other end of the line. “I don’t want to talk about it,” he grumbled.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I said, I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Danny, I just–-”

“Enough,” he snapped. “My father is dead to me. Same goes for the rest of my family. That’s all you need to know.”

“But Danny–-”

He hung up the phone, cutting me off. I clenched my jaw, hard enough that it hurt, and dialed his number again, impatiently waiting. But Danny didn’t answer, the call going straight to voicemail.

I exhaled sharply, stuffing the phone back in my pocket, and ran my fingers through my hair. I couldn’t believe it. Danny had always been so close with his family. What wasn’t he telling me?

I didn’t need to be some sort of detective to put two and two together. Danny must have come out, and things took a terrible turn. I had no idea he had been dealing with all this family drama. And to top it all off, I was the asshole taking his home away.

The realization hit me like a ton of bricks. Danny had no place to go, and no one to turn to. “I’m such a piece of shit.”