Page 77 of Forgiven

“That does sound kind of cute.” Although it was weird to think about Michael being cute with anyone.

“How about rock climbing?” Kyrone asked.

“You could go to a theme park,” Jag said. “Go on all the scary rides so you end up clinging onto each other.”

“And you can cuddle while you’re queuing for the big rides,” Kyrone added. “There’s nothing else to do when you’re standing in line for an hour or more.”

“Huh, that’s not a bad idea.” Dylan put his diamanté studded collar on. It was a good thing they weren’t the first act on stage, because they were taking forever to get ready. “But there aren’t any theme parks near here and neither of us drive.”

“I’m pretty sure you can do coach trips,” Kyrone said. “But you’d probably have to set off early and you’d get back late.”

“I wouldn’t want to do that on a day the club’s open,” Jag mused.

“We could go on Sunday,” Dylan said.

“It’ll be busier at the weekend,” Kyrone pointed out.

“Wednesday it is, then.”

Kyrone gasped. “And miss coming to the Vibe? For aguy?” He sucked in a breath and stroked his beard. “Friends come first.”

Dylan glared at him. “Are youevergoing to forget I said that?”

“Probably not.”

“Arse.”

“No.Youwere an arse.”

“You’re both being idiots,” Jag said. “Let it rest, Kyrone. It was ages ago.”

“Sorry.”

“I’m sorry too,” Dylan said. “I said some shitty things when you started going out with Jared.” He hung his head and glanced at Jag. “To both of you.”

“I’m just teasing,” Kyrone said, clapping him on the back. “All is forgiven.”

Dylan huffed out a breath. There was a lot more he needed to be forgiven for than being an arse over a year ago. He wanted to be a better person, not just for Callum but to all his friends, but he couldn’t do that while he kept up his lies. If Hunter was right, and they were all like an extended second family, he needed to have faith that they wouldn’t hound him out because he’d been less than honest.

“I…need to tell you something.” He couldn’t look at either of them, but he knew they were staring at him. “I need to say something to you all,” he said in a louder voice, attracting the attention of everyone in the room. There was no way he could make his confession more than once.

He didn’t open his mouth until he was sure all eyes were on him. He was terrified of how they’d react, and it was easy to convince himself that they’d hound him out of the club for good once they knew the truth. But if Callum was brave enough to explore his sexualityandcome out, he needed to be brave enough to tear down his lies.

“I’ve been lying to you.”

He heard Jag suck in a breath.

“I don’t have a perfect family. I don’t go and visit my parents every Christmas, or on their birthdays.” He folded his arms in a defensive gesture and kept his stare firmly on the floor. “My mum’s dead. My dad didn’t want me. I grew up in care and I—” His voice quivered and then broke. “I didn’t want any of you to know how unlovable I was.”

“You’renotunlovable,” Kyrone said softly. “You’re our friend.”

Dylan’s chest shuddered. “Even though I’ve been lying to you?”

Jag squeezed his shoulder. “Yes.”

Dylan glanced up. No one had turned away from him. Hunter strode towards him and then pulled him into a bear hug.

Dylan tapped his back. “Can’t breathe!”