Ryan's POV

Grounded.

No video games. No television. No leaving the house. No car or cell phone. Not even my credit cards.

And all because I had enjoyed one night of wicked pleasures with both Oliver Slade (the FTM transgender diver) and the one boy who stole my heart from the first time I laid eyes on him: Demario Bader.

Oh, I had known the price that I would pay for daring to do something that I wasn't supposed to. I knew that Demario's letter to me saying that we would only remain project partners and nothing more had sent me back a bit. And I also knew that it was Theo Blake who had spiked the cups of punch before starting his rant towards Demario.

I will admit that I didn't expect for Demario or even Oliver to even drink the punch to begin with since both of them were known to be sensible young men with good heads on their shoulders. But within minutes of Theo departing the scene and them drinking the punch, they let their inhibitions down and became moderately-wild party boys looking to have a good time. And it was then that the three of us decided to drop our clothes and enjoy a night of wondrous bliss in a tantalizing threesome. And despite me now being under lockdown, I had no regrets.

But I will say that Demario needed to be careful now that word of what had happened will soon spread like wildfire. And with me more than likely being labeled as the villain alongside Jillian and Theo, things were starting to grow more complicated than things were when Artem was around. Things seemed simpler when I had first introduced him to the gang two days before school began...

FLASHBACK (Two days before sophomore year)...

"Hey, gang!" I said, greeting my usual circle of friends as I strolled into MerriBeth's Ice Cream Parlor. It had been a chaotic few days with football camp now over and everyone was currently getting ready for the first day of sophomore year. Of course, the topic of me breaking things off with Jillian was still the main hot topic and everyone knew that she and I were never meant to last.

"About time you got here, Peavey," Holly said. "We were wondering if your muscles were too tired from dealing with Coach Wilborn."

"Had to run a few errands for Ma and Pa," I explained just as I saw Artem walk in and head to the counter to place his order.

"Who's he?" Derrick wanted to know.

I turned back to the others. "That's Artem Hillman, transgender dancer and new kid in town," I explained. "FTM, post-op, from what I heard."

That part was true since he explained that he used the last of his summer vacation to finish his transition. Ma and Pa were receptive since both of them knew transgender coworkers and friends while Candace was dating a post of transman herself.

"Won't you invite him over and introduce him to us?" Serenity asked, Epiphany nodding in assent as she was currently finishing up a phone call. "He looks like a model."

I waved Artem over, the young man in question recognizing me as he sauntered over. "Ryan," he greeted, giving me a handshake. "And I take it that these are your friends?"

I nodded. "This is Derrick, his girlfriend Holly who's aunt is the circuit judge for part of Fort Worth, Serenity, Epiphany, Antonio, Evan, and Javier," I said, pointing to each of the respective person as I said their names.

"Nice to meet you," he said, shaking everyone's hands as they introduced themselves to him. "I hope you'll accept a transman like myself."

"We all know  someone from the LGBTQ comunity despite what's going on thanks to Governor Abbott and all," Epiphany said as she hung up. "Sorry for being a bit distracted. Had to handle some affairs with Mom since she's away on business. But it's nice to meet a cutie like you."

"Much obliged, ma'am," he said in a Southern accent, tipping his imaginary hat.

That got a laugh out of everyone until we saw Jillian arrive in her pink-sundress-and-sandal-heels glory with her face made up flawlessly as usual.

"Oh, man," Artem breathed. "Who's she?"

Antonio hissed a slow breath. "That's Ryan's former fiancee Jillian Kendricks," he explained. "They were an item during freshman year since their parents arranged for them to marry not too long ago. They never slept around or anything, but Ryan was in the closet until things got too complicated and he broke things off with her."

Artem just stared at Jillian who was receiving her ice cream cone before she approached him. "Uh, hi." he said formally. "Artem. Artem Hillman."

Jillian gave him a small smile that looked a bit polite yet had a sour edge to it. "Jillian Kendricks," she introduced herself as she shook hands with him. "Ryan did say that you were the new kid in town. I hope you and I could be friends one day."

We were all taken by surprise by her comment. Usually, she brushed any newcomers that caught my attention off. Now she wants to play nice?

Something wasn't right.

"I'm sure we will," Artem said good-naturedly. "You know, I think I have a good feeling about you."

"I hope so," Jillian purred, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "I really hope so."

If only we'd known how things would actually turn out, I would've told Artem to run like hell and stay away from Jillian at all costs...

But it was too late to think about "what-ifs" with Artem. I might have failed with him back then, but I was willing to make things right. And even though Oliver was a catch, he wasn't what Demario needs. I was.

And despite me facing the backlash in the days to come, I had no regrets.

Demario will be mine. All MINE!

Ooh, wee! It's the suspense that always got to me as I read stories like the one I'm writing now! And let's just say that the flashbacks regarding Artem will keep on coming!

But coming up next, Demario is lying low while meeting yet another face from his old neighborhood. And you might be surprised how THIS person really felt about Demario's late brothers after dating them and learning what they do to him!

Dedication: Azukiel.

Vote.
Comment.
Share.
Follow.
Add.
FAN!