Chapter 20
Gideon noticed Katt’s expression abruptly shift from bliss to shock, and turned around, following the young man’s startled eyes to the studio door—and the visitor who had shown up as Daniel was leaving earlier.
“What—” Katt scrambled off the bed, grabbing frantically for a robe and wrapping it around his naked body, flushed, sweaty, and stained with Mickey’s cum. He made no move to approach the visitor, Franco. Rather, he moved further away, keeping his back to the door.
“Shit,” Gideon whispered and walked toward Franco. He grasped his arm and directed him into the hallway. “I asked you to wait in my study.” Gideon kept hold of him until they were far enough away from the studio before releasing him. “You shouldn’t have been there without Katt’s permission.”
Franco didn’t speak as Gideon ushered him back inside the study and closed the door. The young man looked shocked as he sank into one of the cushioned chairs before Gideon’s desk.
“I… I don’t understand…” Franco mumbled, staring at the floor. “Why would he…” His brow pinched. “He didn’t have to…” Franco shook his head, confused. “He knew Todd had lied. Why…” He finally raised his eyes to Gideon. “Why would he…?”
Gideon sighed and leaned against the front of his desk. “You’ll have to ask him.”
“Is he… gay?” The look on his face wasn’t quite discernible, even for Gideon. It seemed a mixture of shocked disbelief, confusion, and… something else… all rolled into one.
“That isn’t for me to say,” Gideon said. “Only he can tell that.”
“But… what he just did in there…” Franco’s hands slowly flexed against his knees, the knit in his brow holding tight, his eyes dropping back to the carpet. “He has to be…” Franco looked up. “Doesn’t he?”
Was it his imagination—or was that hope in the young man’s face?
“He doesn’t have to be anything,” Gideon murmured. “Straight men have tested out their curiosity to discover they were still straight. As I said, only Katt can decide who he is. I won’t speculate on his behalf. It isn’t my place.”
Franco nodded as his eyes drifted down again.
“Right now,” Gideon said. “I think what he needs, more than anything else, is a friend. A genuine friend who will be there for him regardless of who he is.” Gideon tilted his head, his voice softening. “Are you that friend, Franco?”
The young man remained silent for a long moment, then raised his head, a distant look on his face.
“I-I don’t understand.”
“Don’t understand what?”
“That… That was the initiation ritual?”
“Yeah. Why? Isn’t that what Todd told you?”
“No.”
“What did he tell you?”
Long pause with no answer.
“Katt? What did he tell you?”
“Nothing. It… It doesn’t matter.”
“You sound upset. What’s going on? Where are you?”
No answer.
“Katt, come on. You can talk to me.”
“I can’t.”
“Come back to the dorm. We’ll talk in person. Okay?”
“No. I’m not coming back. Ever.”
“Katt—” The call went dead.
Fuck.
Franco sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the phone in his hand. What the fuck was going on? Why would Todd tell Katt something else? What had he told him to do?
Squeezing the phone, Franco stood and stuffed the device in his pocket. Franco was typically an easy-going, laid-back kind of guy who rarely let things stress him out. So, when the knot formed in his gut, he was hyper-aware of its presence—and its source.
Katt.
Something was wrong with Katt.
Whatever Todd had told him to do had upset Katt.
Franco wasn’t okay with that. He and Katt hadn’t been friends for long—less than a month—but in that short time, their friendship had quickly taken root, strengthened.
In some ways, possibly more ways than Franco had realized, his friendship with Katt was stronger—more important? —than his friendship with Todd.
Todd and Franco had been friends since their sophomore year of high school.
But Franco had never really felt the “bond” he’d immediately experienced with Katt.
He and Todd hung out as friends do, and they stayed in touch after high school, even going to the same college.
But that “something” one feels with a true best friend was never quite there.
Leaving the dorm room, Franco headed for the frat house. His feet moved quickly—quicker than usual for him—and he was breathing hard, his heart thudding against his ribcage. It was rare for him to get truly pissed, and he was startled by the heat surging through his veins now.
He barely acknowledged those who spoke to him as he passed by, likely surprising them as he was always up for a quick, friendly chat. Not today.
As he approached the frat house, a couple of the brothers lounged outside the front door, shmoozing up two hot sorority sisters.
“Hey, Franco,” one of the brothers grinned. “Party tonight at—”
“Is Todd here?” Franco interrupted, an edge to his usually friendly voice.
“Yeah,” Greg said, frowning. “I think he’s upstairs. Is something wrong?”
Franco stared at him for a moment, started to ask if he knew what the fuck Todd had told Katt about the initiation, then changed his mind; he wanted to hear it straight from Todd. “No,” he muttered and swept past him into the house.
Taking the stairs two at a time, Franco’s chest tightened beneath a band of pressure. He didn’t bother to knock and shoved open the door to Todd’s office.
Todd and the sexy sorority sister—Alissa?—both jumped as he burst into the room. Todd’s hand was partway under her blouse, and he slowly withdrew upon Franco’s intrusion.
“Franco?”
Looking at the girl, Franco stated with a slight bite, “I need to talk to Todd alone.”
“Of course.” She smiled and kissed Todd, then exited the room, her slender hips swaying invitingly.
“Mm.” Todd shook his head, grinning. “Hot, huh? Gotta love the sisters. Sluttiest girls on campus. And lucky us, they favor the brothers.”
Franco stared at him.
“What’s going on?” Todd asked. “What do you want to talk about?”
“Where’s Katt?” Franco blurted out.
“What?” Todd frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Where the fuck is he?” Franco demanded, stepping forward.
“How should I know?”
“What did you tell him about the initiation?” Franco narrowed his eyes. “You sent him somewhere. To do what?”
Todd gazed back dryly and casually moved around the desk, taking his seat. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Bullshit.”
“Why are you so worked up?”
“I talked to him. He called me.”
That got Todd’s attention. He leaned forward. “What did he say?”
“He said he didn’t know if he could go through with the initiation. I told him it was no big deal and, because he was so nervous, I told him the truth of what really happens at the initiation events.” The skin around his eyes tightened. “And guess what?”
Todd’s face tensed. “Enlighten me.”
“He didn’t know what the fuck I was talking about.” Franco closed in on the desk and leaned forward on his arms, glaring at Todd. “He said that isn’t what you told him.”
Reaching for nonchalance and just missing the mark, Todd splayed his hands, leaning back in the chair. “And what did he say I told him?”
Franco’s face twitched. “He didn’t say. But he seemed very upset when he found out you lied to him. Now, he doesn’t want to come back to school. Ever.” He leaned forward a bit more, hovering toward Todd. “Where is he? What did you tell him to do?”
Todd looked at him for a long moment, then smiled dully. “It was a… special initiation. Nothing to concern yourself with. I needed to know something about him, and I did what was necessary to find out.”
Jabbing a finger at Todd, Franco’s lips flattened against his teeth. “You’re going to tell me exactly what’s going on, detail for fucking detail.”
“Katt?” Samson crawled off the bed and pulled on a robe. “Katt, what’s wrong?” Deep concern laced the man’s voice. “Did I hurt you?”
Katt hugged the robe tightly around him, his body trembling as he stared out the window. “No,” he whispered thickly.
The twins moved in close to Samson, taking his hands, watching Katt worriedly.
Garrett came closer. “Katt… who was that?”
The twins exchanged confused looks. “Who?” Mickey asked.
“The young man in the doorway,” Garrett answered.
Marcus frowned. “I didn’t see anyone.”
“Me neither,” Mickey said.
Samson glanced toward the studio door, but the young man, along with Gideon, was gone.
“Katt?” Garrett touched his arm. “Who was he?”
The tremors intensified, and Katt thought he might fall apart. “It was… Franco.” He turned from the window, panic slowly welling in his gut. “Why is he here? How did he even know…” He swallowed hard. “How did he know where I was?”
“I don’t know,” Garrett said.
“When… When did he get here?” Katt flexed his hands, trying to dispel the shakes. “Did Gideon know he was here? I-I mean, he had to know, right?”
Garrett nodded. “I assume so,” he murmured.
“Why didn’t he tell me?” The panic was rising. Franco had seen him getting fucked by Samson!
So what? Why do you care? You were through with Franco as well, right? With college? With everything? Who cares what he saw?
“He shouldn’t be here,” Katt shoved his hands through his hair, his heart racing.
“I don’t want him here.” His body was still humming from Samson’s ruining—that whole thing unresolved, unexamined, barely even real to him yet.
He hadn’t had a moment to just lie there and let it settle into him.
He’d wanted that. The slow drift back into himself, the quiet of figuring out what he now was on the other side of it.
Instead, he was standing here, shaking, and Franco was somewhere in this house, and the fact that he hadn’t been allowed that time felt like something stolen.
Gideon returned to the studio and approached Katt.
“Why didn’t you tell me he was here?” Katt blurted out before Gideon could speak.
“I’m sorry,” Gideon offered sincerely. “He arrived while you were in the middle of the shoot with Samson and the twins. He wasn’t supposed to see the shoot. I had asked him to wait in my study.”
“Where is he now?” Samson asked.
“Down in the rec room with the others.” Gideon looked at Katt. “I won’t try to tell you what to do, but I strongly suggest you talk to him. He came all the way out here to see you because he was worried about you.”
Katt looked away. “How did he know where to find me?”
Gideon cleared his throat. “You should ask him.”
Shaking his head, Katt mumbled, “I don’t want to see him. Tell him to leave.”
“Katt…” Garrett intervened. “Maybe you should talk to him. Do you really think he was in on it with Todd? ‘Cause it doesn’t sound like it to me.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Katt snapped back, his throat working. “He saw Samson fuck me. Even if he was my friend before—he won’t be now.”
“How do you know?” Gideon murmured. “Don’t be so quick to make assumptions. A true friend will support you no matter what.”
Katt wasn’t convinced. “We haven’t been friends that long,” he whispered. “We were still getting to know each other.” He swallowed. “Maybe this isn’t something he wants to know about me.”
“Only one way to find out,” Gideon said gently.
Katt sniffed. “What… What did he say after he saw me…?”
“Not much,” Gideon said. “Mostly, I think he was shocked. But not necessarily in a negative way.”
The twins hugged each of his arms. “Give him a chance, Katt,” Marcus said softly. “I bet he’ll like you for you.”
Katt wanted to believe him, but a tightness in his chest prevented him from finding out. What was wrong with him? What did it really matter? It wasn’t as if his world would crumble if he and Franco stopped being friends… right?
“Why are you so scared to talk to him?” Mickey asked quietly. “Is it because you maybe like him more than a friend?”
Katt flinched. The question landed somewhere it shouldn’t have, stirring something Samson had already nudged at earlier.
“What?” he frowned. “No, I…” He stopped.
The honest answer wasn’t there when he reached for it.
He’d never thought about Franco that way—had he?
It had never surfaced, never announced itself.
But maybe that wasn’t the same as it not being there.
Maybe that was why Franco’s finding out felt so different from Todd’s betrayal.
So much worse. “I… don’t know,” he whispered, and meant it in more ways than one.
“Maybe he likes you, too… that way,” Marcus proposed.
“No.” Katt shook his head. “No, he likes girls. He’s never…” He shook his head again. “No… he doesn’t like me that way.”
Garrett looked thoughtful. “He dates a lot?”
“Yeah,” Katt started, then shrugged. “I mean, he did. That’s what he said, anyway. He hasn’t dated so much since we…” Katt bit his lower lip and mumbled, “… since we became roommates.”
No, it isn’t possible—he isn’t attracted to you! He isn’t even gay!
“Maybe you should…” Garrett smiled small. “… keep an open mind about him.” He gestured casually toward the door. “He’s here for you. Maybe talk to him and…” He shrugged. “… see where it goes?”
Katt glanced at Samson, as if for guidance. After what just happened between them, the man felt like a safe space, someone he could trust.
“Maybe give him a chance to tell his side,” Samson murmured, cupping Katt’s neck. He kissed Katt on the head. “And then, if you still don’t trust him, then you do what you gotta do. And we’ll be here for you, supporting whichever decision you make.”
Katt looked at the man, eyes damp, his heart in his throat, and nodded.