Page 59 of Out in the Open

She returned to the mirror with her bag of makeup and began applying eye shadow with precision, step one in her beautification process. Ethan wore a cranberry V-neck and jeans. He had showered and put product in his hair. His process took five minutes. He did not envy girls.

“He’s pushing you away,” she said.

“Why?”

“Because he’s in the closet.”

“But why couldn’t he just tell me this? I would’ve understood.”

“Maybe that’s what he’s afraid of,” she said. “That you would wait for him.”

Ethan worried he was never going to come out and that all Greg wanted was a guy on the side.

“North Campus is a very different world,” Lorna said.

Ethan was going to laugh that off, but he thought of Sahil. They had a mutual friend and had bonded over flip cup, but Ethan couldn’t bring himself to tell Sahil he was gay. He had tried justifying it to himself.It never came up. I don’t have to announce it to everyone.But he realized how scared he was of Sahil’s reaction. He couldn’t imagine having to live in that world 24/7.

“I wonder if any of his past girlfriends knew about this. Or if people suspect he’s gay or bi. Has he dated anyone recently?”

Lorna spoke into the mirror. “How would I know?”

“Because you’re both Greek people. He’s probably dated a sorority girl you know.”

“Way to stereotype, Ethan.”

“I’m sorry. You know what I mean.”

She thought on it while she applied her mascara. “I’ve heard he was a big manwhore.”

Ethan waved his hand, begging for more clarification.

“I think there was a girl in Kappa… Wait, no, she dated Greg Paulson.”

Lorna stared into the mirror, racking her brain for an answer. She seemed like the type of girl who would know this stuff like the back of her hand. Ethan practically heard her scroll through the list of names, but she was no closer to an answer.To be labeled a manwhore, shouldn’t one have a list of conquests readily available?He sat up and hung his feet over her bed.

“I heard he had a threesome with two girls when he was a freshman, before we got here.” Lorna presented that as her smoking gun. Ethan was not impressed.

“You heard?”

“Well, obviously I wasn’t there.” She slipped back into thinking mode. “I think he hooked up with Marina Cresselt last year. I’m sure there’s more.”

But Ethan could hear doubt cracking in her voice. “Or so you think.”

Lorna arched an eyebrow at him. She apparently didn’t like her gossip-gathering skills called into question. “Has he talked to you about any of that?”

Ethan shook his head. He was so secretive about his life. Ethan devoured any scraps of personal information like it was his only meal of the day.

“You guys never talked about past partners?”

“He told me about the one guy he’s been with before.”

She whipped her head around. “Who?”

“He didn’t give a name.” And even if he had, Ethan wouldn’t have mentioned it. That one deserved to stay a secret.

“Anything else?” she asked.

Ethan racked his brain, but not much Greg data came out. He realized how little he knew about Greg’s personal life. Even his public life seemed more and more like a façade.