Phoenix by Joey James Hook Read Free Book Online

years
    kind of did hurt. Surprising, considering half the time he
    pretended he didn’t have a father.
    Devon shook his head and brushed it off like it didn’t
    matter. “It’s fine, no big deal,” he said, but some niggling
    feeling in the back of Blake’s head made him feel like it
    wasn’t all right, and there was something there that was
    begging to be let out, if only Devon would let it.
    “All right, if you say so,” Blake said in a voice that was
    gentle but not defeated. The knowing smile he gave surely
    told Devon that he wasn’t fooled in the slightest. If he picked
    up on it, though, he didn’t acknowledge it.
    “Different subject!” Riley proclaimed in a thundering
    tone. Ethan let out a snuffle, which was really a stifled snort
    of laughter as he pulled his hoodie-covered hands up to his
    mouth.
    “Yes!” Devon echoed the enthusiasm in the other man’s
    statement, eyes finally lighting up from their half-dulled
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    state that had tipped Blake off in the first place.
    Blake laughed a little and shook his head, amused but in a
    removed sort of way. Devon had him intrigued. “Then pick
    a subject, anyone,” he suggested with a grin. He sure as hell
    wasn’t going to be picking a subject. His mind was still too
    stuck on the whole gender thing to think of anything else
    unless someone else brought it up.
    “Favorite animal!” Devon suggested decisively, nodding
    and grinning in a way that forced all of them to dissolve into
    a helpless fit of laughter.

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    Phoenix

Chapter Six
    he rest of the dinner was spent horsing around,
    T throwing fries at each other, and just generally being
    retarded. Even Ethan opened up and nailed Devon in the
    eye with a french fry, only to snicker and draw back
    sheepishly, but still grinning widely.
    “Aaahh! I’m down! Death by fry!” Devon called
    dramatically, falling back onto the booth and letting his head
    fall against Riley’s bicep.
    “Oh, quit being a drama queen,” Riley told him in a
    mock-harsh voice.
    “Yeah, jeez,” Blake added with a laugh, shaking his head
    and going back to eating his food. It was nice to be away
    from schoolwork for a while, just hanging out with friends
    and having a good time. Not once had any of them given
    him a dark sidelong glance, even though the waitress had.
    He didn’t understand what it was, but girls could pick up
    on his trans status faster than other guys. They’d notice one
    feminine quality and focus on it, and tonight was no
    exception. He’d been getting weird looks from their waitress
    all night.
    He’d been nice enough to her, of course, keeping his voice
    low to prove his point so to speak. He didn’t need to try
    much anymore because of the testosterone, but whenever he
    felt like he was close to being outed, he deepened his voice
    even further. Ethan had unlatched from him and was sitting
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    Joey James Hook

    straight on his own now, which was a huge thing, but it also
    made Blake feel incredibly unbalanced. He felt like he
    needed someone or something to anchor him every time she
    came over and pointedly spoke differently to him than all
    the other guys.
    “Jesus, what’s that girl’s problem?” Riley asked with a roll
    of his eyes after the waitress walked away.
    Blake shrugged, not willing to out himself here and now.
    Even though, for all he knew, Riley already knew and was
    just playing along. “Dunno, maybe she’s just a bitch,” he
    said.
    “Well, I think we figured that out,” Devon piped up with
    a snort of laughter before munching on one of the fries, one
    of three he still had left.
    “Damn, you demolished those fries,” Blake noted to
    change the subject, giving an amused smile as he slung one
    arm over his chest protectively without even thinking about
    it. He knew by now that it was one of his defense
    mechanisms.
    “Yes, I did!” Devon proclaimed, pride evident in his
    voice.
    Riley just grinned and leaned over, grabbing one of the
    last fries and