Kiss and Tell: Coastal College Players, #3

Chapter 1

LAMAR MERCURY STOOD outside Auntie Zee's Downhome Creole restaurant with his phone pressed to his ear, hovering around a tall, conical arbor vitae at the corner of the building in the late-afternoon sunlight, trying to get some privacy.

You don't need to say it again, Dad. No one's forcing you to come to the wedding. You gotta do what you gotta do.

You've created an impossible situation for me.

Lamar shuffled his feet, his black dress shoes scattering the gravel. I didn't create any situation. I'm simply exercising my rights as a citizen and a Christian to marry the person I love.

I'm a spiritual leader. How am I supposed to tell my congregation that my son is marrying a man?

If you're a spiritual leader, then lead. Tell them God made your son gay, and now I want to enter the sacred state of marriage as God ordained.

God did not ordain this.

Lamar lowered the phone from his mouth and let out a slow stream of air, closing his eyes against the burn. He spoke into the phone again. Obviously, this conversation is getting us nowhere. I've got an engagement party to get to. Good-bye, Dad. He ended the call without waiting for his father to answer.

Lamar stood for a second staring at the ground, collecting his emotions. In the corner of his eye, his fiancé, Tyler Capelle, approached. Ty stroked his shoulder, and Lamar took him in his arms, resting his cheek on top of Ty's head.

You okay, babe? Ty asked.

I'm not going to let him ruin this night. Lamar broke the hug. They weren't on campus, where people didn't make an issue of gay couples expressing affection. They were in coastal North Carolina, where social progress was slow. Just being an interracial couple subjected them to comments.

Lamar smoothed his tie and his suit jacket. He and Ty walked side-by-side, without touching, to the restaurant entrance. He ached for the simple comfort of Ty's hand in his. Even after a year together, he could scarcely be around Ty without a frisson of desire tugging at him.

He swallowed hard, images darting through his mind of his plans that night, once he got Ty alone. They involved his lover naked and on his knees, the way Ty liked it. No one who knew him would have guessed that Ty was a submissive. It took a strong man to endure the punishment Ty craved. The level of trust and vulnerability he showed touched Lamar at a soul level. Ty's unswerving love and support made him feel whole.

He opened the carved oak door and let Ty walk in before him. As they stepped into the bar, a cheer rang out from a tall table where their two friends sat. Ty's younger brother, Julian, whooped and hooted, while Julian's boyfriend grinned and clapped. As Lamar looked into their faces, some of the heaviness lifted from his heart.

Julian came over and hugged Ty. Congratulations, dude. He punched Lamar's arm. Welcome to the family.

Thanks. Lamar smiled at his fiancé's sweet-faced little brother. Julian's features were similar to Ty's, but his build completely different. Where Julian had the lean body of a runner, Ty was broad and compact, like the wrestler he was. Both were blue-eyed and pale-skinned, Ty's close-cropped blond hair lighter than Julian's golden brown.

They sat, and Julian's boyfriend Nick patted Lamar on the back. Things any better with your dad?

Nick was Lamar's best friend, tall and dark-haired, strikingly handsome but on the quiet side. Lamar looked into his soft brown eyes, seeing real affection and concern there.

Naw, if anything, he's worse, Lamar said. Keeps calling whenever he thinks of yet one more reason I'm ruining his life.

On his other side, Ty reached over and put his hand on Lamar's. Sorry this is so hard for you.

Don't you go feeling guilty, Lamar said. This isn't your fault. I'm the one who proposed—I knew what I was getting into. If Dad never accepts our marriage, that's his loss. I'm not going to let his closed mind get in the way of our happiness. We've tried being apart—we were both miserable. We're meant to be together.

Ty smiled and gazed at him with such adoration that all Lamar's pain melted away. Or rather, sank to the bottom of a deep well of joy. Looking into Ty's bright blue eyes, Lamar knew how lucky they were to have found each other again. No one was going to come between them this time.

They ordered a round of drinks, Julian sticking with sweet iced tea since he was underage. Nick checked with the waiter to see when their table would be ready. A few more people were joining them for dinner, eight total. Lamar felt blessed to have a strong support system among his friends, even if he couldn't count on family.

He held Ty's hand beneath the table, running his thumb along his fiancé's palm. His cock twitched, eager for the special evening he had planned when the two of them were alone. This was a new beginning. Ty was his family now.

TY SCANNED THE DINING room, tension building in his stomach. A glass of beer had done nothing to calm him. Irrational as it was, being in an unfamiliar place unnerved him, even surrounded by friends.

The group was seated apart from the rest of the clientele in their own section. A long table dominated, heavy black walnut with a glossy finish. A bank of windows ran along one wall, overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway and letting in the last rays of sunlight before dusk fell. A heron foraged in the shallows, and white ibis fluttered in the distance.

Ty breathed deep to settle his palpitations, but it didn't do much good. He'd seen a doctor after his father's near-fatal heart attack—but in Ty's case, the problem was anxiety flooding his system with adrenaline, a fight-or-flight response with no particular trigger.

It was especially bad during the winter, when he used a light box to keep the disorder at bay so he could focus on wrestling and his studies. Staying physically active helped. But the stress of being fraternity president and preparing to start law school in the fall kept him on edge most of the time.

Lamar's warm hand massaged the back of Ty's neck. He leaned into the touch, and some of the strain eased. A thrill of happiness ran through him. In the year since he and Lamar had gotten back together, he felt more grounded than before, and was learning to let go of things he couldn't control. It was hard, though.

He looked over at Julian flirting with Nick. The two looked ridiculously happy together. Nick's love for Julian shone in his eyes. Ty's face warmed with shame, remembering how he had tried to keep the two apart at first. Julian had been so young at the time—still a freshman and way too trusting.

But Julian's trust in Nick had not been misplaced. He was as nice a guy as Ty had met, which surprised him since the guy was loaded. His big Italian family owned a national pizza chain, and he was hosting this engagement party. Ty would have felt beholden, but as close as Nick and Lamar were, he knew Nick wouldn't have had it any other way.

Ty turned to the friends seated to his left. Cassie, an ex-girlfriend, was blond and pretty, petite but athletic. The spark between them had burned out, but the affection remained. Next to her was Yazid, a frat brother, brown-skinned and built like a Humvee. A moustache and a fringe of dark beard matured the baby face he had sported freshman year. As the fraternity sergeant-at-arms, Yaz was the brother Ty most relied on for support.

Cassie and Yazid were hanging out together, since they were both single and everyone else was paired up. The two would have made a good couple if Yaz weren't gay.

Ty slipped an arm carelessly across Cassie's shoulders. How'd you do on the poli-sci midterm?

She turned her face to him and leaned in. Hell if I know. I thought I did great on the last exam and ended up with a C.

Ty chuckled. That's Professor Ramesh and her essay questions. Doesn't matter if you can answer them in three sentences. She wants three pages.

Well, I learned. Cassie flipped her shoulder-length hair. Bullshit isn't my strong suit, but I gave her the long answers she wanted this time. Hopefully I'll get a better result. How about you?

Ty shrugged. This is my third class with her. I know what she wants, so I think I did okay.

Don't want to jeopardize that 4.0 average, Yazid said.

Ty shrugged. "I've been accepted into Duke and UNC, so that pressure's off, at