Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2012 22:48:30 -0500
From: Zachary Taylor Burns <artistic.revelations@hotmail.com>
Subject: Plausible Deniability

[AUTHOR'S NOTE: First, let me say that every story submission brings with
it a flood of requests for more writing.  One of the things that is most
frequently asked is whether or not I write other things besides erotica.
The answer is Yes, although nifty isn't a site that I would use to show off
my "normal" writing.  But, here is a short story I wrote last year that I
don't mind being on this site.  Be forewarned, there is absolutely no sex,
but please don't let that deter you from reading it!]

The names of people, characters, products, companies and/or data mentioned
within this document are fictitious and are in no way intended to represent
any real individual, company, product, or event, unless otherwise noted.
No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by
any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the express
written permission of the author.  That means NO COPYING!

(c) 2012 Zachary Taylor Burns.  All rights reserved.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about this or any other
story, please email me at:

artistic.revelations@hotmail.com

Please be sure to include the story title in the subject line.
I would also love to hear ideas for future stories!

Also be sure to check out my website, and the other stories I have on nifty!

zacharytaylorburns.blogspot.com

[1] http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/an-expression-of-love
[2] http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/beginnings/life-on-the-road
[3] http://www.nifty.org/nifty/bisexual/incest/just-between-family
[4] http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/incest/little-bro-in-heat
[5] http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/lessons-of-submission/
[6] http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/a-boys-education/
~*~*~*~*~*~*~


PLAUSIBLE DENIABILITY
by Zachary Taylor Burns


"Elizabeth, will you marry me?"

Although I had known of the looming question, I was still caught completely
off-guard by the reality of the situation.  My breath caught in my throat
and my mind raced through some of the highlights of my relationship with
Cameron Davis- from the first time we met, to our after-sex glow of the
third date, to him meeting my parents and our subsequent first fight after
his denial about me meeting his, our first getaway vacation on a cruise to
the Bahamas last month, then when we came back I found out we were---

Everyone was staring at me.  How long had I been reminiscing of the past
eighteen months?  I stole a glance at my watch and realized it had only
been a few seconds.  I couldn't help but smile at him- he looked so
adorable sitting there on one bended knee.  How traditional of him,
although I wouldn't have expected anything less.  The ring was stunning- a
pear-shaped solitaire that was about a carat, according to my own
estimations.  The stone was surrounded on both sides by a row of
multi-colored stones- sapphires, I presumed.  No, I thought as I leaned
over and took a closer look.  Not sapphires- diamonds!  Then I had to blink
away the tears as they threatened to spill down my cheeks.  He had
remembered!

He started talking then, his hands shaking with nerves but still holding
the ring box and all it's sparkling glory aloft for the world the see.  "Do
you remember the night we were talking on the phone and you told me you've
always wanted to own a diamond in every color of the rainbow?  The very
first thing I did was turn on my laptop and go to Ebay in search of exactly
what you wanted.  Do you remember you asked me what I was doing because you
thought I was distracted?  I was buying these diamonds, the ones I had set
into this ring for you, because I knew from the first moment we met that I
wanted to spend the rest of my life with you and that nothing was too good
for you."

I lost it.  The tears spilled down my cheeks at this man who must have
spent a small fortune on the ring that he held before me.  "Oh Cameron!" I
couldn't help but exclaim.

Twenty-six year-old Cameron Davis- the man I've spent the last year and a
half of my life with, the man I loved more than anything in the world, the
man I wanted to marry- leaned forward, hands on my knees, the ring box held
by his fingertips.  Smiling at the expected answer, he looked at me again
and with a twinkle in his eye, asked the question again in a whisper, "Will
you marry me?"

The onlookers at the restaurant were craning their necks to see my answer.
I'm sure there were those who held doubts as to what I would say, but I
couldn't allow that to deter this situation from developing.  Everything
was at a standstill, and I dared a brief glance around to see everyone,
waiters and waitresses all wide-eyed, mouths slightly parted in
anticipation, silently urging me on with the decision they were sure was
going to escape my lips.  The maitre'd was standing about ten feet away,
holding a bottle of Dom Perignon- I could read the expensive label, as if
there was a deliberate act to have turned it toward me in a silent attempt
of teasing my senses that I should say the correct answer in order to
sample one of the world's finest champagnes.

"There has never been any doubt at all that I love you Cameron," I
whispered, the tears flowing freely down my cheeks, my makeup surely
running in places the designers never dreamed.  "I love you," I said again,
"but the answer is no."

I was on my feet in an instant, Cameron still on bended knee, face
registering shock at my unexpected answer.  After picking up my
silver-beaded clutch from the table I made a hasty exit to the street
outside, gasping in huge lungfuls of oxygen as if there had been none
inside the five-star restaurant.

For a moment, I watched through the window as Cameron half-stood, half-slid
into the seat behind him, one hand covering his mouth in shock, the other
still holding on desperately to the engagement ring he had so thoughtfully
designed for me.  No one moved for a moment, and then I saw the maitre'd,
still holding the bottle of champagne, bend over and whisper something in
my almost-fiancé's ear.

I turned away from the window, rushed down the street to my car and was on
the road in less than a minute.  It wasn't until I was on the highway
before I became aware of the autopilot actions of driving.  It took another
few seconds to slow the car to a calm sixty-five, my breath coming in
ragged gasps as I tried to calm down, my palms sweaty against the leather
steering wheel.

Ten minutes later I pulled into the driveway of the modest, one-story home
that belonged to my parents.  My mother was standing at the door, wrapped
in a plush red bathrobe, one hand clasped at her neck as if holding the
garment closed.

I couldn't immediately get out of the car, but once I did, she was at my
side in an instant.  "What is WRONG with you?" she said in a hoarse
vocalization that I was sure would have been more prominent if we had been
inside.

Not until I was halfway to the house did I realize she even knew what was
going on, but I pressed on and went inside.  There, sitting in his favorite
recliner, was my father.  On the sofa was my sixteen-year-old brother
Marcus and his best friend Parker.  No one said a word as I went straight
to the wetbar and poured myself a small glass of bourbon.  After downing it
in one gulp, I poured another as the fire ate its way down my throat,
warming my stomach.  After downing the second, equally-strong shot but
before I had time to pour a third, my father was next to me, gently taking
the bottle and glass from my grasp.  "Why did you turn him down?" he asked
in that gentle voice I had grown to love over the years.  Where most
fathers were loud, overbearing and demanding, mine was always serene,
accepting and nonjudgmental.  Maybe it was because I had been an only child
for ten years before Marcus had arrived, but most assuredly because I was
still his little girl, only once in my life had I ever heard him raise his
voice, and that was when Marcus had broken his arm after falling from a
tree.

I couldn't answer my father and just shook my head as I walked to the sofa
and sank into the plush cushions next to Parker.

No one said a word for a tense minute, maybe more, until Parker cleared his
throat, leaned over to me and in a voice I can only assume he meant as
sexual, purred, "I'll marry you and give you lots of babies."

All eyes were on me, and I'm sure all were surprised when I burst into
laughter at the absurdity of the moment, this seventeen-year-old telling me
he would sire my children.  "Thanks Park, but you're a bit too young for my
liking," I said once I could breathe again from the laughter.  He looked
stung, but I pulled him close and hugged his small frame.  "I know you
meant well, and thank you."

My mother, who was leaning against the far wall next to the door, suddenly
and with much dramatic presence, cleared her throat, thereby gaining the
attention of everyone.  "Why did you decline his proposal of marriage,
Elizabeth?"

The sting of the moment was gone, and I sighed, pulling Parker farther into
my embrace.  "I have my reasons."

"And what would those be?" my father asked from the wetbar.

"Who cares?" my brother piped up from the other end of the sofa, "I don't
want to be an uncle yet!"

"Better an uncle than being a father," I said and used the hand cradling
Parker to smack my brother against the back of the head.  "You're still a
teenager, you shouldn't be having thoughts about sex yet."

Marcus and Parker shifted uncomfortably in their seats, and I would have
missed it if my arm had not been wrapped around Parker's shoulders.  I
remained silent, knowing exactly how a teenage boy is when it comes to the
discussion of anything sexual with anyone who might be deemed a `parental'
figure.  "I don't want to talk about it, please?" I said, praying that the
subject would be dropped yet knowing it was hopeless there was a solid
explanation out in the open.  Well, my mother wouldn't drop the subject.
My father couldn't care less.  That's not to say he didn't care about me,
just that he knew how uncomfortable everything became when my mother got
into one of her moods and needed to know every bit of informational gossip
within a fifty-mile radius.  To her, the fact that I had turned down a
marriage proposal was like buying the most expensive platinum and diamond
necklace and wanting to show it off to everyone.  She didn't care in that
moment that I was her own daughter.  This was gossip at it's best.

"Let's go play some WoW," Marcus said to his best friend.  Parker squirmed
out from under my arm and the two headed off to the basement to kill some
brain cells.

I couldn't help but smile at the thought that Marcus had as close a friend
as Parker, who would stick by him no matter what.  Which reminded me of my
own issues at hand- namely, the refusal of marriage, and how upset my
mother was at my easy dismissal of this fact.

My mind drifted back to the first time I had ever laid eyes on Cameron
Davis.

As a surprise for his fifteenth birthday, I had purchased tickets to take
Marcus and Parker to see their favorite band- My Chemical Romance- in
concert when they came to town.  Honestly, I had no idea what those two saw
in the band, but they acted like such fangirls whenever talking about their
idols.  I didn't particularly care for the music- it was too much the
screamo type for my liking, but that probably just goes to show the age gap
between me and my brother.  He would turn fifteen, and shortly after I
would celebrate being halfway to fifty.  Normally, I tried not to think in
such negative terms, but the truth is what it is.  I held no grudges toward
my younger brother; it wasn't his fault he was born too late for us to be
the perfect set of loving siblings.  Yes, I love him with all my heart and
would do anything to protect him from harm, but we never had the tight
sibling bond that would have existed had we been born only two or three
years apart instead of a decade.

Marcus, Parker and I had been standing in line to the entrance of the
stadium, the boys anxious and excited to be seeing their favorite band that
they couldn't stand still for more than two seconds.  I must have looked
like the overprotective mother-type because the man behind us tapped me on
my shoulder, pointed to the boys and remarked, "Looks like you have your
hands full."

That's when I took a complete eye-opening gaze at the man that was Cameron
Davis- 6'1 to my 5'6, light brown hair that was cut close to his head but
not buzzed, hazel eyes that glinted in the sunlight, and a muscular build
that was perfectly accentuated by his form-fitting tank top and ass-hugging
jeans.  I thought I was going to pass out from the intense gaze he threw my
way, but I found my footing, stared back at him and smiled my best.  "Yes,
they're quite the handful, especially when as excited as they are now."

"Shut up," Marcus said with a playful tone and turned back to face the
entrance.  Parker leaned over and whispered something in his ear, which
sent the two teenagers into a round of laughter.

"Younger brothers can be a pain sometimes," this mysterious stranger said,
then formally introduced himself.

After introducing myself as Elizabeth Abbott [Liz, for short], I told
Cameron that I laid claim to only one-half of the dynamic duo in front of
me, at which point Marcus turned around again and introduced himself before
Parker, and the trio shook hands.  Marcus and Parker turned again to face
forward and erupted into another round of the giggles.  I figured the
laughter was at my expense, although the specific reason was something at
which I could only guess.  "I don't see you here with anyone," I pointed
out the obvious.

"I was supposed to be," he replied with a frown and took a quick glance
around the crowd of mostly teens.  "I think my date stood me up."

"You brought a girl to see My Chemical Romance?" I asked with a laugh.
"Was this a first date?"

"A blind date, actually," he said with a blush and nodded, fully aware of
the mistake he had made.  "I was told that if I bought the tickets I would
have a date."

I felt genuine compassion for him.  Being stood up for a date was awful,
but at least now I had a good reason to flirt with him a bit.  "If you had
bought them for me, I wouldn't have stood you up," I said with a wink.

That made him blush again, and Marcus to turn around and glare at the both
of us before saying, "Gross."

"You just wait young man," I said with a playful jab at his shoulder.
"When you bring home a girl you really like, I'm going to remember all this
teasing you give me about my love life and I'm going to repay it back to
you much worse."  He rolled his eyes, and the dynamic duo erupted into
laughter yet again.  I wish I knew the secret they were laughing at, but I
had my own inside jokes with friends and knew what it was like.

"I know this is probably a bit forward to ask," Cameron said after he
cleared his throat, "but would you like to join me?  Obviously I have an
extra ticket, and the boys can go off on their own and not feel like you're
being too overprotective of them."

Marcus and Parker turned around grinning from ear to ear at Cameron's
remark, and I knew from the look on my brother's face that he was
completely won over.  "No," I said with determination.  "I'm not going to
allow two sixteen-year-old boys run rampant at a concert with no
supervision."  I watched, my heart breaking, as the face of my brother
broke into a million pieces.

"How old were you for your first concert?" Cameron asked with a smile,
undeterred from trying to win me over.

"Seventeen," I replied, fondly recalling the excitement I felt at being
granted permission to see Lifehouse in concert.  My mother refused to allow
me to go with my friend Jasmine alone and insisted on driving us there and
attending with us, much to our chagrin.  I argued that she would hate the
concert, but she was adamant in her decision.  I didn't see myself being a
downer on the excitement of Marcus and Parker, but after recalling the way
I had felt about my mother's overbearing presence at my first concert, I
reluctantly agreed.  The boys let out whoops of joy and both hugged me.  I
noticed that Parker's embrace lingered a bit longer than necessary but
before I could say anything he pulled away, face flushed with either
embarrassment or excitement, I couldn't tell which.  Maybe both.

By now we had reached the front of the line, and the usher took our
tickets, tore off the part they keep and handed back the stubs.  The boys
broke into a run in an effort to be as close to the front as possible in
the general admission area, but I called after them.  "Please be careful,
but have a good time!  And Parker, since Marcus doesn't have his cell you
need to call me as soon as it's over so we can meet up again."

"Yes mom," the boys said simultaneously with a laugh.  I knew they were
joking and laughed with them, so I waved my hands to show them I was truly
fine with this.  Marcus beamed at me and I couldn't help but feel pleased
with myself for my decision.  They ran off, disappearing into the throng of
excited fans.

"That was nice of you," Cameron said with a smile as he led the way to our
seats in the bleachers.

I was broken out of my sentimental reverie by my mother, who cleared her
throat with such ferocity that I feared for a brief moment she was choking
on something and trying to dislodge it so she wouldn't suffocate.  I stared
at her, knowing the impatience she held at situations where things did not
go her way.  "Why did you turn down his PROPOSAL!"  It wasn't a question.

I hoped that by now my father had given her one of her "special sedatives",
and that it might kick in any moment now.  I couldn't suppress a giggle as
I imagined her, in one of her melodramatic poses, hand to her forehead and
sighing heavily, that she was simply exhausted and must go to sleep now so
find your way out the front door and turn off the lights as you leave.
"What is so FUNNY?" she asked, hands on her hips as she stood before me,
her short five-foot-two stature domineering in only the way she knew how.
I had never realized before now simply how much she loved to speak in
capital words to convey her delicate emotional stature.

"Everything," I said with a simple reply, stood and brushed past her,
stopped to give my father a small peck on the cheek and headed down the
hall to the stairs leading to the basement.

"You really fucked up, you know that right?" Marcus asked as he turned from
the computer where he and Parker were busy taking turns doing whatever it
is that was required from their game.

I shrugged and sank onto the sofa, not wanting to admit to anyone the real
reason I turned down a proposal to a man I loved with all my heart, who
spent a small fortune to create a one-of-a-kind colored diamond engagement
ring.  I could envision the whole wedding in the blink of an eye, which
depressed me even more than I already was.

Marcus was back to playing his game with Parker, and I watched with
surprise as his shoulders hunched forward and he punched in a keystroke
that paused the game.  He sighed and turned to stare at me, his face
betraying an emotion he rarely showed to anyone except me.  Normally he was
a stone-faced teenager who was always acting the part of a tough guy, but
this was the true Marcus, my brother who loved me for everything, a side of
him I wish he showed more often.  "Parker, I'll meet you in my room, okay?"

Parker was less than thrilled about being asked to leave.  His face showed
a mixture of shock and dread, and he opened his mouth to say something but
Marcus only made an abrupt shake of his head.  Parker nodded and trudged up
the stairs.  Only after he heard the door close did Marcus release another
heavy sigh.  "You love him, right?"

"With all my heart," I whispered, voice threatening to break at any moment.

"And you want to spend the rest of your life with him, right?" Marcus said
and scooted the wheeled chair closer to me until he was barely out of
reach.  I nodded, knowing that if I spoke again I would break down.  "You
turned him down because you love him and want to marry him?"

I took a deep breath, exhaled through my nose in an attempt to tame the
wildfire of emotions coursing through my body.  "It's complicated," I said,
still in a whisper.

"Look," he replied and scooted closer again, one hand lightly touching my
knee, "I haven't had much experience with anything yet, but please let me
help."

I stared at him for a long minute and was impressed with the way he was
being overly sensitive.  I wiped away the wetness from my eyes and nodded.
"You like him, don't you?"

He cocked his head for a moment, then smiled and nodded, staring at the
floor.  "Yeah, he's a great guy and he treats you like a princess.  Why
wouldn't I like him?"  Maybe it was the fact that he wasn't making eye
contact, but for some reason that simple statement of positive sentiment
sounded all wrong.  In that instant, as the statement came from my brother,
and considering the events of the last hour, it sounded completely and
totally false.

That was the moment I knew for certain the truth of what had happened,
which only validated my decision to turn down a proposal from the man I
loved.  I leaned forward and took both of my brother's hands in my own,
which surprised him but he remained still, widened eyes now staring at me
like a deer caught in headlights.  "How long have you known you were gay?"

He tensed, eyes jerking back to the floor, and I knew I had hit the mark.
He tried to pull away but I held on.  "You're wrong," he said in a stage
whisper, his turn now to be defensive and clam up.

Those two words spoke not only of the suspicions I held that my brother was
homosexual, but also of the betrayal I had just pieced together.  I took a
deep steadying breath, and then let him have it.  I pushed him away, his
arms flailing for a moment until he caught his balance, but not before the
chair backed itself into the desk.  "I'm not wrong," I said as I jumped to
my feet.  "Someone called me tonight before I was going to enter the
restaurant and told me that the man I love with all my heart was going to
propose, but that he had cheated on me with someone close to me and I had a
right to know, although he wouldn't tell me who the other person was."

"What does that have to do with me?" Marcus whispered, his whole body tense
with anticipation as he continued his staredown with the floor.

I shook my head and took a step toward him; he shrank back into the chair,
which only confirmed my suspicions.  "How dare you mess with my life and
fuck the only guy I've ever felt like I was good enough to marry!"  He was
so still he could have passed for a statue.  "You didn't think I would find
out?"

He looked up then, eyes wet with tears.  I was on my feet in an instant,
crossing the short distance between us and grabbing him by the arms,
pulling him to his feet so we were on equal ground.  "Of all people, my own
brother sneaking behind my back with my boyfriend!"  I slapped him, my hand
connecting with a loud Crack! as it connected with his face.  "I've never
lied to you, never treated you like you were anything less than wonderful,
and this is how you repay me?"

"I'm sorry!" he screamed back at me, a hand curled on his cheek where I had
slapped him.  I could see the reddening of where my fingertips had met
skin.

"Bullshit!" I screamed right back at him.  That stopped him cold, and he
let his hand drop to his side.  "For someone who wanted to sneak around and
fuck my boyfriend behind my back, you sure didn't do a very good job!"

He sank back into the chair, tears again streaming down his face.  "Please
don't tell mom and dad," he whispered so softly that I could barely make it
out.

"You think you have the right to ask me that?" I demanded, hands on my
hips, staring down at the teenager in front of me.  "You think you can make
my boyfriend cheat on me and still have the balls to ask me not to tell the
world?  Not gonna happen little boy," I said and turned to leave.

"Wait!" he said, suddenly brave.  I turned to look at him, at the tears
streaming down his cheeks, wetting his shirt.  He took a tentative step
toward me, and I took a step back, my heel resting on the bottom stair.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to happen."

"So, what?  He kidnapped you, took you to a hotel and RAPED you?" I said,
arms crossed over my chest again.

"It wasn't like that," he said, eyes downcast to the floor at my feet.  "It
just happened."

"How many times did it just HAPPEN?" I asked, and realized I was speaking
the same way my mother did.

"Twice."

I held up my hands in the air and turned to the go up the stairs.  He
followed, but I turned halfway up and stared him down.  "For something that
was not meant to happen, you realized it was such a mistake that you had to
make sure a second time?  I suggest if you don't want the world to know how
much of a slut you are that you stay down here and not come upstairs until
I say so."  His mouth flared open, then closed, then open again, reminding
me of a fish out of water.  I wiped the new trail of tears off my face and
ran up the stairs, almost knocking dad out of the way when I slammed the
door open and entered the hallway.

"You all right sweetheart?" he asked, and I wrapped my arms tight around
him, needing his protection from the evil that existed in the world.  He
wrapped his arms around my back, and we held each other for a while, me
sobbing into his shoulder.  "There, there," he said and gently patted my
shoulder.  From anyone else that simple act would have been a condescending
display of emotion, but from my father it was the only thing I expected.

Finally I pulled away and told him I loved him.  "I love you too baby
girl," he said and kissed me on the cheek.  "You gonna be all right?"

"I don't know daddy," I replied, instantly regretting how fragile I sounded
and for using the word `daddy', but I didn't care because here was the only
man in my life I would ever completely trust with my heart.  Pulling away,
he asked where I was going, and I told him I needed to see Cameron.

"I don't think that's a good idea," he replied, frowning.

"Of COURSE it isn't a good idea," my mother asked from the kitchen.  Either
she had just stepped into the room, or she had been eavesdropping this
entire time.  Knowing the way my mother relished sticking her nose into
business that wasn't hers, I decided on the latter.

"I'm old enough to make my own decisions," I pointed out, which reminded me
of the things my brother had done to me, and how hurt I was at the events
that had transpired.

"You think you can just dump your boyfriend, come home crying to us, and
then expect us to step back and allow you to go back to him and fuck things
up even more?" she said, and as soon as I heard the f-bomb I knew she had
taken something stronger than her prescription medication.  "Besides, you
were drinking, and you aren't drinking and driving while under my roof."

I neglected to point out that I had seen her driving for years under the
influence of her "necessary" painkillers, yet I knew if I threw that in her
face I would never get out of the house.  "I'm going mom, whether you like
it or not."

"Just go," my father whispered and jerked his head toward the door.  Oh,
how I loved him!  He knew exactly how to calm down my mother, and I hoped
that someday he would share that secret information with me.

I headed out the door, hopped into my car and was headed down the street
toward the highway, which would take me south to Cameron's place in less
than twenty minutes.

When I arrived, I parked across the street from the building that housed
Cameron's top-floor apartment.  Unable to get out of the car right away, I
took a few deep breaths, unsure of what I wanted to say or how I was going
to say it.  Then I looked out the window and saw him standing at the
entrance to the building, the door propped open with his foot.  Taking a
deep breath, I stepped out of the car, flattened my palms against my thigh
in a vain attempt to smooth my dress, locked the door and strode with
confidence across the street.

"Took you long enough," were the first words out of his mouth.

"You knew I was coming?" I asked in surprise.  Oh, of course he did.  "She
called and warned you."

"Of course," he said as he turned and walked to the elevator and angrily
punched the Up button.  I followed, and by the time I reached him the doors
were open and we both stepped inside the cramped space.  Seven floors, I
silently reminded myself.  Only seven floors until you can tear him a new
asshole.

At last, we arrived.  He motioned for me to go first, and I did, leading
the way to his door, which I assumed was unlocked.  I turned the doorknob
and pushed, the door banging off the inside wall and probably putting a
hole in it.

"You have some nerve coming here after what you did to me at the
restaurant," Cameron said as he slammed the door closed.

I whirled on him.  "What I did to YOU?"  Damn those capitalized words
again; I needed to stop doing that.

"You embarrassed me in front of almost two hundred people Elizabeth," he
said and leaned against the wall, arms casually crossed over his chest.

I harrumphed and took a step toward him.  "I think I had a right to
embarrass you a bit," my anger starting to boil over.

"How dare you come in here and---"

"I hope you enjoyed fucking my little brother because you are never going
to see him again," I said, taking another step toward him.

The shock on his face said it all, but it was gone as quickly as it had
appeared, replaced instead by a passive, nonjudgmental expression.  "I
don't know what you're talking about," he said with a calm reserve I didn't
think possible.  Evasive, and not answering my question at all.

"Marcus admitted it," I said.  "It's sad when my brother and my boyfriend
conspire against me.  Just tell me why."

Cameron took in a lungful of oxygen, then exhaled in a deep, calm steadying
breath.  "You want to know who I was supposed to meet at that fucking
concert?"

I stared at him in defiance, knowing exactly who he was talking about.
"Bullshit!" I exclaimed and simultaneously slammed my hand down on the
counter.

He barely moved.  "We'd been talking online and he asked me to take him.
Then when he didn't show I assumed he had stood me up.  Then I saw you with
him.  The rest was explained away; you had surprised him with tickets.  He
didn't have a chance to explain to me what had happened because he left his
cell at home and Parker certainly didn't have my number.  He told me that
later when he apologized."

"So I was the consolation prize," I whispered, the force behind my anger
draining from me now that I knew the whole truth.

"No," he said with such force I thought it would rattle the windows.  "I'm
glad I didn't hook up with him, but that's what they were giggling about
the whole time."

I shook my head in disbelief.  "So you're gay."

"No," he replied with a defiant shake of his head.  "I just like occasional
sex with another man."

I shook my head and headed for the door.  "The last time I checked, that
makes you gay.  And you know the worst part?  I trusted you more than I've
ever trusted anyone else in my entire life, with the exception of my
father.  You had the balls to betray me with my own brother!  You used him,
and so help me I'm going to bring every possible charge imaginable against
you."

"He consented," Cameron said with a self-righteous smirk.  "There's no way
for you to prove it was anything except consensual sex.  He's past the age
of consent."

"You're older than I am," I pointed out.  "The last time I checked, the age
of consent only applies to someone who is less than four years older than
you.  Cameron, you're twelve years older than Marcus."

"At least the sex was great," he replied with an evil smile.

I knew he was trying to bait me but at that moment I didn't care because
all I felt was pure anger as I slapped him across the face.  All these
thoughts were pulsating in my brain of what I wanted to scream at him, but
all I could say was, "Payback is hell" before I walked out of the apartment
and slammed the door behind me.

Where was the man to whom I had given my heart?  I leaned against the wall
outside his apartment, trying to catch my breath.  Why had they done this
to me?  No, correction, why had Cameron done this to me?  I realized with a
small sense of satisfaction that I didn't blame Marcus for it, although he
could have said no to the whole situation.  No, Cameron was the one to
blame- the bastard didn't even act like he regretted it!

I stood up straight, wiped the tears from my eyes and walked down the
hallway out of Cameron's life forever.

When I arrived back at my parent's, I was numb and in need of another
drink.  Parker was in the living room with my father; mother was in the
kitchen puttering around and probably cleaning up crumbs that only she
could see.  My father handed me a double shot of brandy, which I gratefully
took with trembling hands.  "Ask Marcus to come up here please," I said to
Parker.  For all I knew, my brother was still in the basement, worried
about being outed.  Parker jumped up and ran downstairs.  The dynamic duo
appeared a minute later, my brother still visibly shaken, eyes as red and
puffy as my own felt.

"Everyone sit down," I commanded, and downed my drink then set the glass on
the counter.  I wouldn't need another drink because I was surprisingly calm
at what I was about to do.

My parents sank into the loveseat, arms wrapped around each other in
support.  Marcus and Parker were on the sofa, each hugging an opposite end,
as far apart as possible.  I'd never seen such a greater divide between
them.

I began my speech by staring directly at Marcus.  "I'm sorry for doing
this, but I'm not going to lie about what happened."  He nodded, barely
perceptible.

"What are you talking about?" my mother asked, hands clasped at her throat.
My father nodded, and I knew then why Parker had been sitting with him.
Parker had explained what had happened so he could be prepared to handle my
mother.

"I was sitting outside the restaurant, hating myself because I loved
Cameron with all my heart but not wanting to see him," I said, pacing back
and forth.  "When we came back from our cruise to the Bahamas, I found out
I was pregnant."  That was news to everyone but I held up a hand to halt
their talking.  "I was stunned.  Me, a mother?  I couldn't imagine it.  I
had actually managed to come to terms with the idea and was ready to tell
everyone, but yesterday morning I had a miscarriage.  That's why I didn't
answer my phone at all yesterday mom," I said to her.  She had left several
voicemails over the course of the day, each growing more tense and worried
than the last.  "I was at the hospital."

"Why didn't you tell us?" my father asked as calmly as ever.

"It was mine to bear alone, which is just as well considering the events of
this evening," I pointed out.  "Cameron had asked me to dinner tonight, and
I knew the moment he told me the name of the restaurant that he was going
to propose.  I made up my mind that he needed to know about the baby, so I
was determined to tell him before he had a chance to ask me.  As I was
pulling up to the restaurant tonight, I received a phone call from a
strange number.  The man on the other end told me that, last night, he saw
Cameron at a hotel with someone close to me, but he wouldn't tell me who it
was.  I was stunned, unable to believe that my boyfriend would betray me
like that, but now I know the truth.  Cameron lured this person there and
the two had sex," I said, not quite ready to expose the damning information
to my mother that her son was gay.  "I went into the restaurant and calmly
sat down across the table from this man I loved, this man who I knew was
going to propose, and I intended to tell him what I knew, but it all
happened so fast.  That's why we broke up, mom," I said, to make things
perfectly clear to her drug-induced world.  "He cheated on me."

"That bastard!" she exclaimed and went to get up, but my father held her in
place.  "Who was it?  Who did he cheat on you with?  I'll kill her!"

It was at that moment I knew I couldn't expose my brother's secret like
that.  I loved him way too much to damage him in the eyes of our mother.
If I didn't help protect him, what kind of sister was I?  Yes, I was hurt
about what he did, but family is stronger than anything.  He would have to
tell her about his sexuality on his own terms.

"Is that all you have to tell us?" my father asked, and I knew things would
be fine between us.  He was always my rock when I needed him.  I nodded,
and he nodded back before telling my mother that she needed to get some
rest.

"I want to know who it was!" my mother wailed as she was helped to her
feet.  "I deserve to know that much!"

"That's up to the other person," my father said and led her down the hall
to their bedroom.

"Thank you," Marcus said as he jumped from the sofa and walked over to
embrace me in a hug.  "I owe you one."

I pulled away, not quite ready for physical contact.  "You owe me big time,
but it wasn't your fault.  He's a bastard who only uses people.  You got
sucked into his web, that's all."

"Thanks," he replied with a nod and smile.

I couldn't help but smile back at him.  "I love you but hate what you did.
If you ever do something like this to me again, there will be hell to pay.
Is that understood?"

"Yes," Marcus replied, and I pulled him into a tight, forgiving embrace.

"Does this mean that now I can marry you and give you my babies?" Parker
asked from the sofa, which sent Marcus and me into a fit of hysterical
laughter.

"He's not joking you know," Marcus whispered into my ear.  "He really does
like you."

I only nodded and motioned Parker to join us in our huddle.  The three of
us hugged, I kissed both boys on the top of their heads, and then we all
went to the basement where they attempted to teach me how to play World of
Warcraft.

__________

The End