Page 153 of Floored By Love

Cam’s observation brought me back to the moment. “He’s standing next to his super-conservative, anti-gay father. He has every right to fidget. Do you think Beau is gay?”

“Whoa! Where’d that come from?!”

“Just an idea. He looks a bit uncomfortable over there as well.”

“I hope it’s your imagination and not your hormones. Colton said they seemed better after that dinner. Maybe Beau’s having conflicting thoughts about the whole thing?”

“You think they’d never seen a gay person before. I mean, both O and I were out before London. Where were they? Under a rock?”

“I’m sure they knew, but it’s different when it’s right in front of you, and your son is on the same team.”

“Jesus, that’s so backward.”

“Have you been to Texas?”

“It can’t all be like that.”

“Well, no, it’s not, but they’re small-town Texas. It’s night and day from New York City.”

I shrugged. “I guess despite Colton’s twang, I kind of forget everyone’s from somewhere different when we’re all training together.”

The telltale sound of lack of drink echoed up through my straw as I swallowed the last of my amaretto sour.

“It’s really okay. It’s not like they forbade us from being friends. Let me get you another drink.”

I knew Cam had handled the Walkers, so despite a strong buzz and a strong desire to push Harlan’s buttons, I was going to take the high road and leave them alone.

My gaydar is rarely wrong. I really do think-

“Here ya go. Good thing this is an open bar. You’d be an expensive date.”

I scoffed before taking a sip. “I don’t need a drink, you know.”

Cam side-stared me before we both said, “But it helps,” simultaneously.

We laughed, and rejoined Heather, Cecilia, O and Nia in mid-conversation.

The rest of lunch was drama-free. I could see Colton trying his best to rope me, O, and Cam into conversations with his family. Cam and I did our best to help him out. I felt for him. I really did. He wanted his family to see that being gay was only a part of who we were, that we were like everyone else.

And it would have been true except for the fact that our sexual identities were a hot topic with everyone at the moment. Lucden was still trending, and now the media was speculating about O.

Being gay was a hard thing to balance. On the one hand, I wanted to show the world that I was like everyone else, but on the other, I wasn’t. With society in its current state, being gay still meant you weren’t treated like everyone else. And there was the problem.

I hoped that with more visibility would come more acceptance, and eventually no one would care about sexuality anymore. But for that to happen, America would have to stop its love affair with labels, and its categorical need to pass judgement. My dad could use the same advice.

I wasn’t going to hold my breath. For either. I’d have to wait and see.

The guys and I returned to the suite.

“I’ll set an alarm and order pizza for dinner,” Alex said. “Then we can get ready and head over to the closing ceremony together.”

“Sounds good,” Cam said.

“I’m gonna crash in my room for a bit,” O said.

“Sure,” I said. “Crash.” I held up air quotes.

“Shut up, Luke.”