After getting away from his cruel father's tyranny, Randall has to learn how to live again, and accept the person he was meant to be - with a little help of a local bartender...
*****
An empty shell is all what is left of twenty-five-yea...
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-Cole-
I had never heard him laugh before... I'd heard him chuckle, yes, but he had never before laughed so hard he had tears in his eyes and gasping for air. Not until now. My stupid little jokes were making him laugh.
I loved the sound of it. I loved it so much I nearly started crying. He was so beautiful when he laughed. I was so unbelievably happy. I was at the mercy of the storm of emotions I was filled with when he laughed.
He was laughing. He was finally laughing...
I loved him so much. And I was so proud of him. He had come so far. He had changed so much during these past months we'd known each other. He was so full of life now. He was lively. He smiled easily. He talked a lot. He was affectionate.
He wasn't afraid to show his true colors.
When he kissed me, right there in the restaurant where we weren't exactly well-hidden, I nearly melted. I tried not to worry too much and just enjoy his lips on mine. I trusted he would let me know if he was uncomfortable.
He didn't look like it when he pulled back and smiled. He did glance over his shoulder to check if anyone saw us, but if someone did, they didn't show it. I chose this restaurant because of how openly supportive it was. Homophobes knew to avoid the place. And I knew half of the staff, so I trusted they'd come for our aid in case someone did try to act stupid around us.
The firework show ended around midnight, but we still weren't in a hurry to leave.
For one, there were still tons of people outside, and even though Randall wasn't afraid of crowds, it was different now since we were on an actual date. A gay date, and he was afraid of people finding out about his sexuality.
And two, we both really enjoyed our time at the restaurant.
"I feel like having dessert," I told him after we'd stopped smiling at each other like the fools in love we were.
"Dessert?" he asked and frowned. "I've never had dessert before."
I could only stare at him. Of course he'd never had dessert. I should've known that. Food used to be just fuel for him. That had to be his father's fault, too. I knew his father well enough to know he'd called desserts girly.
"Lucky for you, this place has awesome desserts," I said.
"Really?" he asked with an amused gleam in his eyes.
"I mean... If you want some?" I asked carefully. "We don't have to get anything – beer is great too."
"Sure. When you say something is awesome, it is awesome," he said and waved at our waitress.
"Really?" I asked in surprise.
"Yeah. I guess you and I have the same taste. I mean, you really have a great taste."
