that he didn’t have to worry about any late nights from me but I was sure he could tell. Some things don’t need to be pointed out.
I unloaded my computer on the desk and quickly put my clothes into the dresser, waiting for him to leave so I could relax. He sat on his bed tossing a football into the air while watching me unpack. It didn’t take as long as I expected so when I turned around, he stood up and said, “Let’s go.”
“Okay,” I muttered as I followed him into the hallway. I didn’t want to risk running into any of his friends but I didn’t have a reasonable excuse for staying behind...and I was really hungry.
I felt like a child walking next to him. He was at least 6’4” and had to weigh 240. He looked like he was solid muscle so the 140 pounds of my 5’9” frame was definitely intimidated.
I had wavy brown hair that was cut shorter than usual but still covered my eyes and ears when I felt the urge to hide. My blue eyes were the only proof that I was actually a Higgens. My dad had eyes that my brothers and I all inherited. Of course, they were the only kids to get his height and build.
As we walked across campus to the main cafeteria, he asked a ton of questions about where I was from and what I liked to do. He didn’t make fun of me or make me feel inferior, which was a nice surprise. He seemed genuinely interested in hearing about the online comic strip I drew with a few friends back home and confided that he liked to draw too but had never shown anyone his work.
I was surprised by how much we had in common. He didn’t act like any of the jocks I’d known growing up. I quickly realized that even if we weren’t ever best friends, I didn’t have to worry about him kicking my ass for sport on a daily basis. Thank God for small miracles!
Chapter 2
Once school started, we quickly settled into a regular routine. Brett woke up at the crack of dawn and went for a run and then we’d go to the nearest cafe for breakfast before going our separate ways for classes.
He was really smart and studying to be a biologist. We had English Lit together on Mondays and Wednesdays at eleven but that was the only class that overlapped. I’d completed several general ed classes at the community college during my senior year in high school so most of my classes were math and engineering focused.
I met a few guys, Colin and Josh, which were on the same engineering track I was on so we hung out most nights to study and work on an app. The app started out as an extra credit project but we realized it actually had a market value.
Basically, it would connect people that were looking for partners for gaming tournaments. It was designed to be an add-on to social media sites like Facebook or Twitter. Between the three of us, we were confident we could have something ready for beta testing within a few months.
While I spent every evening in, Brett went out most nights and didn’t come back until after midnight. That gave me a lot of time to study and work on the app.
College life was more fun than I expected and rooming with one of the “cool kids” gave me some clout around the jocks. It was like living with my own personal body guard. I was starting to feel safe and almost like I fit in when the first email arrived.
It was a Wednesday afternoon and I was working on a physics paper when I got it.
Subject: Watch yourself
From: Anonymous
To: Mike Higgens
Stay the fuck away from Brett. He’s not yours. Whatever is going o n between you guys...end it or I’ll end you.
It didn’t make any sense. I know why people assume I’m gay and I’ve learned to ignore it over the years. I knew who I was and I liked girls, even though I’d never actually had a girlfriend. But, that was mostly by choice since I couldn’t choose to say two words to a pretty girl without making a complete fool of myself.
What I didn’t understand was what they meant about Brett. There wasn’t
I unloaded my computer on the desk and quickly put my clothes into the dresser, waiting for him to leave so I could relax. He sat on his bed tossing a football into the air while watching me unpack. It didn’t take as long as I expected so when I turned around, he stood up and said, “Let’s go.”
“Okay,” I muttered as I followed him into the hallway. I didn’t want to risk running into any of his friends but I didn’t have a reasonable excuse for staying behind...and I was really hungry.
I felt like a child walking next to him. He was at least 6’4” and had to weigh 240. He looked like he was solid muscle so the 140 pounds of my 5’9” frame was definitely intimidated.
I had wavy brown hair that was cut shorter than usual but still covered my eyes and ears when I felt the urge to hide. My blue eyes were the only proof that I was actually a Higgens. My dad had eyes that my brothers and I all inherited. Of course, they were the only kids to get his height and build.
As we walked across campus to the main cafeteria, he asked a ton of questions about where I was from and what I liked to do. He didn’t make fun of me or make me feel inferior, which was a nice surprise. He seemed genuinely interested in hearing about the online comic strip I drew with a few friends back home and confided that he liked to draw too but had never shown anyone his work.
I was surprised by how much we had in common. He didn’t act like any of the jocks I’d known growing up. I quickly realized that even if we weren’t ever best friends, I didn’t have to worry about him kicking my ass for sport on a daily basis. Thank God for small miracles!
Chapter 2
Once school started, we quickly settled into a regular routine. Brett woke up at the crack of dawn and went for a run and then we’d go to the nearest cafe for breakfast before going our separate ways for classes.
He was really smart and studying to be a biologist. We had English Lit together on Mondays and Wednesdays at eleven but that was the only class that overlapped. I’d completed several general ed classes at the community college during my senior year in high school so most of my classes were math and engineering focused.
I met a few guys, Colin and Josh, which were on the same engineering track I was on so we hung out most nights to study and work on an app. The app started out as an extra credit project but we realized it actually had a market value.
Basically, it would connect people that were looking for partners for gaming tournaments. It was designed to be an add-on to social media sites like Facebook or Twitter. Between the three of us, we were confident we could have something ready for beta testing within a few months.
While I spent every evening in, Brett went out most nights and didn’t come back until after midnight. That gave me a lot of time to study and work on the app.
College life was more fun than I expected and rooming with one of the “cool kids” gave me some clout around the jocks. It was like living with my own personal body guard. I was starting to feel safe and almost like I fit in when the first email arrived.
It was a Wednesday afternoon and I was working on a physics paper when I got it.
Subject: Watch yourself
From: Anonymous
To: Mike Higgens
Stay the fuck away from Brett. He’s not yours. Whatever is going o n between you guys...end it or I’ll end you.
It didn’t make any sense. I know why people assume I’m gay and I’ve learned to ignore it over the years. I knew who I was and I liked girls, even though I’d never actually had a girlfriend. But, that was mostly by choice since I couldn’t choose to say two words to a pretty girl without making a complete fool of myself.
What I didn’t understand was what they meant about Brett. There wasn’t
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