I Stole the Alpha's Car (18+)|✔️

Chapter 26

Dwayne followed his admission with a heavy, nervous silence.

"Okay."

Dwayne froze, clearly not expecting that reaction. "Okay?"

Shrugging, I answered him, "Yeah. It's okay."

"You- you're not taking this the way I thought you would..."

I took his hand and squeezed it. "Did you expect me to get upset?"

"Maybe? It seemed like a definite possibility."

I shook my head, "Baby, I'm a little hurt."

He glanced over, eyebrow quirked.

I continued, "You really think I'd be that closed minded?"

Dwayne idly caressed my thumb. "I didn't know what to think."

Sighting an ice cream stand up the road, I gestured, "Here, pull over. Let's take a break and talk about it. My treat."

The highway we were on was nestled against the winding Susquehanna River, and as Dwayne pulled off into the small parking lot, I noted a pair of picnic tables overlooking the riverbank.

I pulled my wallet from my purse and stepped out of the car as Dwayne put it in park. The stand, barely more than a kitchen, was quiet with its chipped and fading paint. Walking up to the order window, I examined the menu board as Dwayne followed me.

I turned to him. "What do you want?"

His eyes scanned the signs, and he shook his head. "Uh...I'm honestly not really hungry."

I smirked. "Small vanilla cone it is."

He chuckled. "Make it a twist."

The cashier came to the window and I ordered. Then, with our cones in hand, I led the way back to one of the picnic tables, and we sat side by side, watching the river run.

"So," I held up my cone, examining it, "you're bi? Or pan?"

"Yes. I'm not married to a particular label, but... yeah."

Licking at the first hint of melting ice cream, I glanced over at him. "When did you first know?"

He shrugged. "Late middle school? Early high school? I just... I realized that the way I thought about certain guys was not the way my friends did." Idly, he began to eat his ice cream.

Swallowing, I asked. "Were your friends weird about it? Or your family?"

Dwayne shook his head. "No, they were all great, actually."

I paused, "Then, why did you expect me to react badly?"

He sighed, looking out over the rushing waters. "I had this girlfriend..."

"Oh?" I prompted.

"She was my first semi-serious relationship, so she was the first one that I came out to." I watched as a muscle in his jaw clenched. "She... did not take it well."

I felt a sudden flare of anger on his behalf. "How so?" I asked, struggling to keep my voice neutral.

He looked skyward. "She broke up with me. She –" He took a breath, and the rest of the sentence came out in a rush, "- she was convinced that I was going to cheat on her with a man."

I took another lick of my ice cream. "So, she was stupid?"

Dwayne snorted. "Maybe. I tried to tell her that I wouldn't, that attraction doesn't guarantee infidelity, but her mind was made up."

"And you thought I'd have the same reaction?"

He nodded. "After we broke up, no matter how ridiculous I knew it was, I always had this... this fear that my partners would think like she did."

I reached over and took his hand in mine. "Well, I don't."

His grip tightened. "That... you can't know how much of a relief that is."

I looked up at him, taking in the way the sunlight kissed his skin, the way it made his dark eyes look radiant. It was difficult, in that moment, to remember a time when I'd found him frightening.

It was also becoming difficult to imagine a future without him.

He glanced over to find me staring.

"What?"

"She really is a fool. If I ever meet her, I'll tell her so."

"I doubt that you will. She found her mate shortly after we split, and they live somewhere out in North Dakota now."

"North Dakota? Oof." I smirked, "If that's not karma, I don't know what is."

He grinned, and together we sat in the summer sun, finishing our cones as we talked and listened to the passing cars and the rushing waters below.

Taking the last bite and popping it into my mouth, I closed my eyes. I wanted to commit everything about this moment to memory; the midday heat, the simple sweetness of the ice cream, the comforting warmth radiating off of the man next to me. I wanted to remember all of it.

Still, as I stood and collected my things, my mind drifted back to another conversation.

It had taken place in a bedroom, and I'd been sitting next to a nervous boy who'd bared his soul to me.

A boy who'd shared the same secret as Dwayne.

Tucking my hair behind my ear, I made a mental note to call Evan.