"Richie! Richie!! Hey!" Panicking, Sean raced after his boyfriend, Richard. He caught up with him and blocked his path.
"Babes! Babes-babes-babes! Listen to me. Listen to me, please!"
Richard tried to shoulder past, but, Sean grabbed his arm and held him back, making him sigh and look away. .
"See, look, I can explain. What you saw back there, it isn't what it seemed like."
"An erection is an erection, Sean. And an erection will always look like an erection." Richard was clearly disappointed, but adeptly maintained his calm.
"Fine, I admit. I had an erection. But it was just a random one. It had nothing to do with that girl. Honest!"
Not buying his alibi, Richard looked away, nodding in disapproval. "Sean, it isn't the first time I'm seeing this happen. It's happened several times before when she was around you. And I know what you feel about her."
"Disgust!" Sean shrugged. "Disgust! That's what I feel when she's around."
"Do I look like a fool to you? I know what's going on between you. I saw you kiss her that evening." His voice trembled as hurt surged and threatened to explode.
Sean opened his mouth to defend himself but had nothing. Unable to meet Richard's piercing gray eyes, he looked away with a cold sheen of sweat glistening on his face.
Richard expected another justification. Anything that told him he was wrong. But, he got nothing. His heart pounded, confirming his deep-seated fears.
Sean wrung his face and sighed. With a hand on his hip, he worked up the courage to face Richard. "Okay, now that you say it, let me tell you that the kiss meant nothing. It was just a friendly gesture."
"A friendly gesture? On the lips?" Richard simply gave him a deep, long stare, one that told him he wasn't buying it, that he already knew the truth. He was being cheated on!
"No, on her cheek."
"My eyes are pretty good, Sean. I know where you kissed her."
"On the cheek," he insisted.
"Lips! I saw it."
"It was because you saw it from that angle."
"It still doesn't justify the erection," Richard fought back.
"Told you, it was a random one!"
"Keep convincing yourself that!" Saying this, Richard turned around to leave.
Panicking, Sean restrained him.
"Leave!" He ordered.
"Okay. At least hear me out," Sean pleaded.
"I have been so far. And it's all been a bunch of lies. Now, leave!"
"Okay, I will," Sean said quietly. "At least, let me tell you the truth about the erection."
"What!!?" Richard spat back, his teeth clenched in rage.