LeftInTheDarkness by Stephani Hecht Read Free Book Online Page A

vulnerable…so lost.
    James glanced up from under the fringe of his dark hair, his blue eyes rimmed with red, like he’d been crying. It tore at Taylor to think of how much James must be beating himself up over the whole situation. It was hard enough to come out as it was, but James had basically done it in front of the whole school.
    Before he even realized it, Taylor rushed toward James. His friend let out a soft sob as he wrapped his arms around Taylor in a hug. There was a bit of pain, since his ribs were still tender, but Taylor didn’t care. He enjoyed being in James’s warm embrace and that was all that mattered.
    “I’m so sorry,” James whispered.
    “It’s okay. I still love you.”
    As they continued to hold each other, Taylor realized that James needed the hug just as much if not more than he did. So, he just stood there and let James take in the comfort. It was several moments before James pulled away.
    “Are we okay now?” James asked as he shuffled his feet.
    “Of course we are.”
    A group of jocks passed by and Taylor heard one of them mutter, “Fags.”
    “Well, there goes all the good cheer and acceptance. That lasted long,” Andy said.
    Devlin’s lips curled up in a wicked grin before he shouted, “Are you looking for a hookup? I’m sure we can find some guy who’s desperate enough to teach you the ropes. Hell, if you make cute eyes at him enough he may even give you his phone number when you’re done.”
    Christian elbowed him. “Stop.”
    The admonishment was hampered by Christian’s laughter. One of the jocks turned around to glare at them. Taylor tensed, wondering if they would attack, but in the end, the group kept moving on.
    Once the tension ebbed, Andy said, “Speaking of hookups—”
    Christian butted in. “Can we save the X-rated stuff for later? At least give me to lunch to prepare myself.”
    Andy rolled his eyes. “That’s not what I was going to talk about.”
    “Thank God,” Christian muttered.
    “I already did, quite a few times last night, in fact,” Andy smirked.
    His comment was met with a chorus of moans.
    Andy made a waving gesture with his hands. “Anyway, what I was trying to say is, my friend, Seth, is part owner of Speedos, and he said if I want, I could bring you guys by Friday.”
    “What’s Speedos ?” Christian wrinkled his nose.
    Devlin let out a sigh. “It’s a new gay club in Pontiac. I heard that place is pretty trashy, though.”
    Andy shrugged. “Who cares? There will be dancing and hot guys, that’s all I need.”
    Taylor rolled the situation over in his head, not liking what it was all adding up to. “You said he’s part owner? How old is this guy?”
    “Old enough to take care of me and give me whatever I want.”
    James and Taylor exchanged worried glances. It had never been a secret that Andy craved attention, but this was a whole new extreme—one that sounded more than a little dangerous.
    Andy huffed. “Fine! I’m not going to force you guys. I can go by myself.”
    “No,” Taylor rushed out. The last thing he was going to do was let Andy into walk into that kind of situation without some backup. “We’ll go. Won’t we guys?”
    Understanding flickered over Christian’s face before he gave a nod. “Can’t wait.”
    “It’ll be a blast,” James added.
    Even as Taylor agreed, he had a strange fluttering in his stomach, the same one that always came before trouble. He didn’t know if it was because they were going to sneak into a club or out of worry for Andy. Taylor was sure of one thing, the situation had the potential to get all of them in trouble.
    But what choice did they have? Andy was stubborn enough to go through on his threat to go alone. At least this way they would be there if Andy got into trouble. And Andy would be getting into trouble—if not Friday, than some other day. Taylor wasn’t Dr. Phil or anything, but even he could tell that his friend was out of control. Taylor just hoped that they’d