After a tragic accident tears apart their friendship group, once best friends Kenji and Darian have never gotten along.
Kenji thinks Darian is a goon who has nothing better to do than cause trouble and terrorize others. Darian, on the other h...
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"Dad," I yelled into my parents' house as I barged in.
"Darian!" My mother chased behind me as I made my way through the house.
"Dad," I shouted again as I passed my sisters, who passively stood back with their eyes not meeting mine. "Is he in his office?" I glanced back to ask my mother.
"Yes," she said as we reached our destination. Before I could grab the doorknob, my mother grabbed my hand. "I don't know if this is the right time, Darian."
"Me waiting for the right time got me into this mess." I snatched my hand back and barged into my father's office. He slowly paced around the large space with his head down and his hand on his chin, and I stopped. "D-dad?"
He became motionless with his back facing me, and I wanted to speak, but I couldn't find the words.
He wasn't supposed to find out this way.
It should have been on my terms. No one else's.
"This has to be a joke," he finally said as he turned to face me. His expression was firm and unreadable. "Tell me this is a practical joke." Before I could speak, he stepped forward. "Tell me, I did not just see you kissing another man on my screen."
We stared at each other, not saying a word for a couple seconds.
I shook my head. "It's not a j-joke. I'm dating Kenji." He inhaled deeply before releasing it. "We've been dating for a couple months now."
My father continued pacing as I stood in the corner of the office, watching him. Then he chuckled. "You're experimenting."
My stomach sank a little.
"You're experimenting, Darian." He stopped in front of me with a smile. "You've always been a sexual boy, and now, your sexual urges have gotten the best of you. You're now going to a man to fulfill those urges even though a woman could do the exact same thing."
"This isn't about sex, Dad."
The reasons I was with Kenji went far beyond that.
"It's not just any man, Darian," my father went on. "It's Kenji. Your Kenji. The boy you grew up with and your best friend who you're emotionally attached to. You're confusing those feelings for something that it's not."
"D-dad—"
"This is all a recipe for experimentation," he said. "Everyone gets curious sometimes. We all do, but even if you go far enough to date another man, that doesn't mean anything. You're young. You're still exploring."
"Dad—"
"I'm not mad," he said, "but it does have to stop." My chest tightened at his words. "You care about Kenji, but you can't keep dating him. It's only going to confuse you more." My eyes got heavier. "It doesn't look good on the family either. I'm a strong conservative republican. I can't have my son running around the streets kissing boys."
