Slowly, Riley lowers his gaze, his chest tightening when his eyes land on the bulge pressing against his zipper.
He had felt it from the start, but he hadn't wanted to acknowledge it, hadn't wanted to face the truth it carried. Yet seeing it now, undeniable, makes his throat go dry.
The heat is still coursing through him.. Henry's lips on his, the desperate way their mouths met, the way his body leaned into that kiss without permission.
Now, frozen on the balcony with nothing but the cool breeze pressing against him, he realizes movement won't matter. He's already unraveling.
His vision blurs, tears stinging his eyes without warning. He doesn't even know why they're there, only that the weight inside him has cracked open.
The truth glares at him: he is attracted to men after all. All this time he fought it, shoved it down, built walls of anger and denial around it, but today those walls broke apart. And now the truth is staring back at him in the most undeniable way.
