Page 70 of Forgiven

“For…?”

“Giving me time and letting me sort my head out.”

Dylan let out a soft snort. “It wasn’t a hardship. I like being around you. I want to be with you. Waiting was easy.”

“Even for a guy who’s used to having hot and heavy flings?” Callum winced. “Fuck, sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s true. I’m the first person to admit I’m an absolute man-slut.” He took a deep breath. “Wasa man-slut. That changed when I met you.”

“Why?”

Dylan shrugged. “Damned if I know. But it feels right, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, it does.”

He stroked Callum’s temple. “Where’s your head at?”

“A lot less messy than it was.” Callum laid his hand on Dylan’s chest, enjoying the sensation of the waxed smoothness of Dylan’s soft skin beneath his palm. “I like guys and girls.” It was the first time he’d said it out loud as a definitive thing. It no longer felt or sounded like something he needed to be scared of, but like a truth that he’d been unable to admit for quite some time. “I likeyou.”

“Well that’s good to know.” Dylan chuckled. “I like you too, baby.”

“I’m still a little scared,” Callum admitted.

“Me too.” Dylan kissed the top of Callum’s head. “But you, first.”

“It’s just been the two of us, but it can’t stay like that. Sooner or later, I have to come out.”

“Only when you’re ready. The only one that gets to set that agenda is you.”

Callum nuzzled closer to Dylan. “I want to, but it doesn’t stop me being scared. I already talked to Ezra about how I feel about you, but he doesn’t know we’re official.”

“We’reofficial,are we?”

“Oh God, that sounded really lame, didn’t it? Like something a character in a teen movie would say.”

“I like it. It’s got a nice ring to it. Does that mean we get to smash our names together like they do to movie stars and fictional characters that get shipped together by fans?”

“Oh, God, no.”

“Come on, it’ll be fun. We could be Dylum.”

“That doesn’t work.”

Dylan frowned. “No, you’re right. Callan?Thathas a nice ring to it.”

Callum shook his head, even though he was laughing hard.

“That’s it,” Dylan said in a serious tone. “We’re officially Callan from now on.” He put his fingers beneath Callum’s chin, lifting his face so they could kiss softly. “You were telling me why you’re scared.”

“I think it’ll be okay to come out to people at the club.”

Dylan nodded. “Given that pretty much everyone there is somewhere on the spectrum, yeah, I’d say so. You know you don’t have to make an official announcement or anything? We could just turn up at the Vibe tonight, holding hands. No one will make a big deal about it, I promise.”

“I know.”

“It’s your family you’re worried about, isn’t it?”

Callum’s chest shuddered as he dragged in a shaky breath. “Things are already bad between us. Telling them I’m bi will be the final nail in the coffin.”