Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
ROD
My eyes flew open. Wyl kissed me.
“Shit!” He stumbled back and kicked one stool at the breakfast bar. “I’m so sorry, Rod. I have no idea what came over me.”
I turned as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, a terrified expression on his face.
As much as I wanted this, it shocked me.
The unforgettable brief kiss flooded me with pleasure, but did I somehow encourage him?
The solid friendship we built didn't include crossing the intimacy bridge so soon.
A bridge I wanted to cross, yet so many messages flowed through that one kiss, and so many things poised to go wrong.
I tried to ease intimate moments into our relationship. But now ease into fell off the table.
Everything piled up, and panic set in. “I have to go.” I grabbed my soft case and zipped my guitar inside. I raced for the front door before I thought about what this situation did to him. I turned to him from across the room. His terrified expression made me pause. “Are you okay?”
Hands in a white-knuckle grip on the edge of the breakfast bar behind him, Wyl shook his head. “I don’t know.”
I shifted my guitar case to the other hand and reached for the doorknob. “I’ll see you in class on Monday.”
Wyl nodded, and I pulled the door closed as I left.
* * *
All weekend, my mind focused on the kiss.
While I fantasized about being physical with Wyl, the kiss came out of nowhere.
I enjoyed it. Too much. And therein lay the problem.
I now had an answer to my question about Wyl's gay side.
He never said, but no straight guy ever unexpectedly kissed another guy.
Wyl mentioned a Marine relationship turned sour.
Perhaps his first and only gay experience?
We couldn’t be intimate for many reasons, but if he struggled with his sexuality, I needed to help him.
Racing out of his house, no doubt left Wyl with the impression I didn’t want him.
I did, but we must set ground rules and plan to move forward together.
We must be on the same page if we want an intimate relationship.
His fearful expression, now burned in my memory, gutted me.
What did he fear most? A gay relationship with me?
Ruining our growing friendship? Exposing a side of himself he wanted hidden?
So many questions we must answer. Given our ease of talking with each other, I hope we can overcome this.
The weekend gave me time to prepare what to say to him.
Our Monday morning coffee would give us a chance to talk.