章 22: Chapter 22

Alan slid his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Tom turned away.

“I don’t understand,” Alan said. “I…Did I do something wrong? If I did, I’m sorry. I…”

He didn’t want to hear Alan’s confusion. “No, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Tom walked farther away from Alan. “It’s me. I’m just not into this dating shit. Just get dressed and get out of here.”

Tom heard Alan pick up his clothes and go into the bathroom. He waited until he heard Alan come back out then turned to look at him. He looked hurt, beaten. Alan started to say something. Tom held up his hand and shook his head. Alan walked to the back door, hesitated, looked at Tom over his shoulder, then opened it and walked out.

Tom went to the door and looked into the mirror. “You bastard!” he castigated his reflection. “See what happens when you let yourself feel love? You wind up hurting someone.”

He went back into the room, grabbed a pair of dumbbells and angrily started doing curls.