The Truths That We Hide

𝐠𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝

He looked pathetic. At least that's what Chris thought while sitting alone in the restaurant so it wasn't surprising when people looked at him with pity. They probably thought that this was one of those situations where a date decided not to show up.

If it was anyone else, he wouldn't have dealt with the situation the way he did. He would have probably gotten angry and yelled at the person for wasting his time.

Despite his lonely feelings, he was happy about the meeting. Even if it didn't last more than fifteen minutes, he still had a chance to see her. To talk to her. To get to see the new, adult version of Bree Collins.

Right now he was on his way to his hotel which was going to be very expensive because he hadn't planned to stay for more than four days. He was singing out loud his favorite song when his phone rang.

"Hello my new gay best friend," he said smirking.

"Hello my old straight friend," Joey answered with a serious voice before laughing like a teenage girl. "I have been with my man a whole year so I wouldn't say I'm new."

"Only for Kenneth? No one else?" Chris asked joking.

"No one else but him," from the love and admiration in his friend's voice, he realized that Joey was really really in love with the man Chris hadn't met yet. "So, what's up?"

They talked a while and Joey invited him to come to his apartment. He didn't think a second before agreeing, knowing that anything else would be better than staying alone in his hotel room.

He was at Joey's door an hour later. He lived in a nice, quiet neighborhood and his house was painted with a color that was mixed with brown and red. The door opened almost at the same time that Chris rang the doorbell, revealing a young man who had dark blond hair that reached his shoulders and brown eyes.

Without letting him say anything, the stranger took Chris' hands into his and shook it before letting go. Chris stood there awkwardly and greeted him with a smile, not wanting to look stupid when in reality he had no idea who the man in front of him was.

"You must be Chris! I'm Kenneth, Joey's boyfriend. It's really nice to finally put a face to a name. Came in and you can wash your hands in the kitchen," the blonde man said, still smiling at Chris before opening the door wider so he could go inside.

Oh. Oh. So this was the infamous Kenneth that he had heard of, the man who had stolen his friend's heart. "How did you know my name?" he asked with curiosity.

"Joey saw you on the window and told me your name. It was my turn to open the door so sorry if I scared you, me being a stranger and hugging you," the man, who Chris now knew as Kenneth, said. His turn? They had turns on who opened the door? What the hell?

"Isn't it supposed to be Joey's job? You know, being the owner of the house and all?" Chris smirked, looking around the house, trying to find the said man.

"I think it's only fair since I live here now too," Kenneth said while walking to the living room where were three other people much to Chris' surprise. And they were all strangers to him but luckily he was never bad at making friends.

"Ye- wait, what?! You two are living together?" he asked with wide eyes. It was impossible for him to imagine Joey living together. Sure, he had a boyfriend now but living together was a new kind of commitment.

"Yes but it's only until his house is ready," Joey said while getting up from the couch and walking towards the two men. Totally ignoring Chris' presence, he hugged Kenneth tightly and kissed first both of his cheeks and then lips, acting way too lovey-dovey for him to be comfortable being the third wheel.

"It's only temporary."

"We're not ready for that yet."

"Totally not, we're not gonna break up by rushing into things."

"Absolutely not," they both said, still kissing and holding each other like they were afraid they were going to disappear. Chris rolled his eyes at the couple and asked how long have they lived together, desperately wanting them to stop kissing like horny teenagers.

A woman with short, black hair had listened to their conversation and answered for the couple, laughing while doing so. "Eight months!"

Oh well, maybe they had a different understanding about living together only temporarily.

After that, they went to the living room. The couple went to their coach and Chris sat down next to those unknown people who some were talking to each other and even tried to get him into the conversation. After introducing Chris to all three of them, he was trying to remember their names.

Sofia was the woman who talked earlier to him. She had black hair and had this badass kind of style with a leather jacket and tattoos which were the reason why Chris already knew that he didn't want to be on her bad side. He wouldn't be surprised if she also smoked and did some kind of illegal drug dealing or fighting.

There was also Victoria, a woman with light blond hair who preferred to be called Vicki. With a body like that, she looked like a model from the magazine. Chris couldn't help but think that she was the woman who had all men wrapped around her fingers.

The third one was a man named Patrick who had known Kenneth since childhood and went the same schools with him here in New York. Now he was talking something about last night when he was at work, apparently as a bartender at some club Chris had never heard of.

After listening to their conversation, he started to think that even though he only knew only one person there, he could trust these people. Joey seemed to trust them and even liked them enough to be part of the group. His judgment hadn't betrayed Chris before and he had a feeling that he would be good friends with all of them.

They were all so carefree but he knew that they could keep up serious conversations for hours because they seemed to be close enough to do that. In a short amount of time he got to know his new friends and talking about favorite things, jobs and families, the subject turned into something Chris wanted to avoid.

"You have a woman in your life?" Joey asked smirking. He knew what kind of boy Chris had been and how much he liked to mess with girls back in school but he knew that he didn't like them.

Not even a second later a certain red-haired woman came to Chris' mind but he didn't say anything. What was there to tell? Nothing. He only answered shortly, deciding to make some excuse so they wouldn't ask questions.

His love life was quite boring and his relationships never went anywhere. He got enough love from his family and friends and it was enough for him.

"Just recently broke up with my girlfriend." That was a lie but they didn't need to know that.

The rest of the day went like that, talking and having fun together. Chris felt like he was home, that he was meant to stay in New York with these people. Yet, that wouldn't happen. His life and family was in Colorado where be had lived all his life. Still could this be a sign to change that?