Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82250 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82250 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
When the show starts, our attention is pulled to the production. The first act is phenomenal with fantastic songs and hilarious one-liners. The actors are incredible, and I’m thinking we need to get a subscription to the local theater that puts on these productions. That would be a fun, datey thing to do. I like that I’m sitting here, appreciating the show, already planning out future dates with this awesome guy who I’m so fucking lucky to be with.
When intermission starts, I notice we’ve both finished off our bottles of water. I offer to get drinks from the concession stand, and Travis asks me to grab him a Twix while I’m there. I think I’m gonna have a snack too. We’ve both been really lax about eating. I’m comfortable with Travis, and he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who’d care if I gained weight. And I doubt him eating would do much more than help him pack on muscle.
After I grab a Twix, and a Butterfinger for me, I head back to our blanket when I hear, “Gary.”
An eerie sensation creeps up my spine as I tense up and turn to Peter, who approaches me a little too eagerly, a cocky smirk on his face.
“Where’s your new boy toy?” I ask. I feel unusually confident. Showing him how much I don’t need him at the fundraiser must be at least partly responsible for this feeling.
“Around,” he says. “I noticed you guys were a few blankets away from us, so I thought I’d swing by and say hey.”
“Well, hey.”
“And I kind of wanted to talk to you about something.” I can tell by the expression on his face that it’s not good news. I wonder if he’s heard something from Steven about the money he said he was considering investing in Travis’s business. Steven called Travis to tell him he had to go out of town for work and that he wants to chat with Travis as soon as he gets back. Travis thinks Steven might be blowing him off. I keep assuring him that’s not the case, but I’m nervous too. And I can’t help but wonder if maybe Peter heard something through the grapevine. “What is it?” I ask.
“It’s about your man. I know you don’t trust me for shit right now, so I’m just…give me a second.”
He pulls his phone out of his pocket and keys in his code. I notice a Grindr message on the screen before he closes the app and opens Facebook Messenger. He hands it to me.
“I don’t know what you think you’re about to show me,” I say, “but—”
“Just read it.”
It’s a message from some guy named Vincent Schwartz: Yeah, and that Travis guy that your ex Gary’s with sure never has a problem letting me suck him off. We have kind of an arrangement. Got me a real good massage today, if you know what I mean.”
My face flushes.
I check the date. It was sent to Peter yesterday.
We’ve only been together a week.
Could he really still be doing stuff with other guys? After we said we loved each other, we talked about being totally exclusive, but if this is true…I don’t even know what to think if this is true.
But why would this guy send Peter this message if it wasn’t?
It would be one thing if it was just Peter’s word…but this…
A tear stirs in my eye.
I turn slightly because I don’t want my d-bag ex to see me like this. He doesn’t get to see me cry like he did the night I confronted him about Evan—the night that I was so furious but the tears flowed even through my rage because of how much he wounded me.
I hand his phone back. “You can act like you’re helping me out all you want, but you don’t have any fucking good reason to have shown me that.”
“I’m doing you a favor,” he says.
“I bet. By the way, I saw your Grindr app on your phone. You might want to hide it better before someone tries to do Evan a favor. Fuck you, Peter.” I hardly get a chance to appreciate the guilty expression on his face as I storm off.
I head back to our blanket.
Travis is lying on his back, his elbows propping him up slightly.
“Hey, Superass,” he says with that cocky smirk on his face. “Where’s my chocolate? I gotta work on putting on some love weight.”
My hand shakes as I give him his Twix.
His expression shifts from playful to concerned.
I must be wearing my anxiety…my confusion…my disappointment.
I can hardly process it all.
He said he loved me, but I know how he is. Sex doesn’t mean anything to him. Maybe it’s back to what I’ve thought it was all along. He can’t do this…not like I need him to. Not without doing what he does best. But still…why did he fucking lie about it?