Body Language. [Discontinued]

CH. 4

"Oh nah, so he hasn't come out to his parents yet?" Lei knitted her eyebrows in confusion.

"Well, that's the thing, his mom knows, and his sisters know, but he made them promise not to tell his dad because his dad is one of those—you know, 'i-if my son is gay, I'll disown him' type of fathers," Joziah explained.

It wasn't a secret that Joziah was gay and happily embraced it. However, upon meeting him, one wouldn't know because he still carried a masculine aura to him. When Lei first met Joziah, it did catch her off guard when Joziah complimented how handsome her brother was. He told her that he was very much attracted to men and came to terms with his sexuality at the age of sixteen, once he went through puberty.

Lei nor Xahir were never the ones to judge, given that they had family members that were apart of the LGBTQ+ community. In fact, when Joziah made the remark about Xahir, he simply chuckled and accepted the compliment gracefully.

"Damn," Keia grimaced, "So you're having second thoughts about it because you're open about your sexuality on or off-campus, and he isn't?"

"Right, and trust me, I know how hard it is coming out to your dad; you don't want to disappoint them. But I refuse to not live in my truth to accommodate the next person. Otherwise, what was the point of breaking down those barriers I had to go through to embrace being gay, you know?" he vented, occasionally looking over at both of the girls as they sat listening intently, nodding their heads in agreement.

"Exactly, and you shouldn't. Have you talked to him about it?" Lei questioned him. He shook his head, indicating he hadn't. "I think you should talk to him. If you choose to get into a relationship, you have to learn how to communicate these types of situations. This is serious,"

"I agree because it may reach a point where you guys become serious, and you may want to meet his family eventually. It wouldn't be fair if you introduce him to your family, and you're unable to meet his. We're not saying, of course, to force him to come out to his dad in order for you guys to become official. But let him know you walk in your truth, and that's something that may be an issue for you." Keia said.

Joziah slowly nodded his head, taking in their advice. He knew he could always count on them to keep it real with him, especially since they were women. Even though he did have guy friends he hangs out with outside of Keia and Lei, he liked to hear certain situations and solutions from a woman's perspective.

"Right, I just hope, you know, this doesn't become an issue between us that causes us to stop talking —because I actually like him. I just don't want him to feel as if I'm forcing him to come out to his dad, but then again, I want him to tell his dad on his own terms because what if word got back to his dad unintentionally?" Joziah sighed, turning into the parking lot of the plaza where Publix was.

Lei hummed, "Yeah, I would hate for that to happen to anyone who hasn't come out to their parents yet. That only causes a lot of conflicts." she said, looking down to check her phone, seeing another text from Raj.

Raj 💙
can I come by once u get home?