Can't Hide the Truth Anymore

Gage's POV

Having never been interviewed, I was sort of excited, even though the reason behind it sucked. Devin looked incredible and I knew he would look amazing on television, but I wasn't so sure about me. Compared to the Devin, Jack and Jeremy, I was almost miniature in size. An image of me standing among giants flashed in my head and I giggled.

"What?" Devin asked me.

Embarrassed, I just shrugged. Like I was going to tell my hot, sexy boyfriend I was afraid I would look like a little kid on television.

Devin opened his mouth to say something, but I looked past him and noticed a woman in a teal business suit standing next to a man with a camera.

"That has to be them, Devin," I whispered and nudged him with my elbow.

He turned and looked across the lobby. "Yeah, I can't imagine any other reason they would be here."

I froze in my tracks, my old insecurities catching up with me. But Devin wasn't having any of it. He grabbed my hand, gave me a smile and pulled me along with him until we were standing right in front of them.

"Hi," Devin started, offering his hand, "I'm Devin and this is my boyfriend, Gage."

The pretty woman in the teal suit smiled and shook his hand. "Good to meet you guys. Sorry it's under such awful circumstances." She let go of Devin's hand and reached out for mine. "My name is Susan Winder and this is Gus Miller, my camera man." She glanced around the lobby. "I had wanted to interview you guys outside, on the campus, to play up the college angle, but it's pretty cold and windy out there. This lobby looks too busy. You two have any ideas?"

"What about the basketball arena? I mean, since three of the men you're interviewing are on the basketball team." I blushed when she glanced at me. "Yeah, I'm not one of those three."

She laughed and tossed back her perfectly coifed blonde hair. "That's actually a great idea, Gage. Lead the way."

"Wait, what about Jack and Jeremy?"

The second the words left my mouth I heard Jeremy.

"Hey! We're here." He jogged over to meet us, Jack trailing close behind.

Once introductions were made, we all headed over to the arena, chatting along the way. Luckily, Jeremy curtailed his emotions and didn't maul Jack as he usually did.

I ended up walking next to Susan, so I pulled the locket from my pocket and showed it to her.

"Wow! That looks like an antique. Very pretty."

Since she seemed interested, I decided to just jump in and tell her about finding it.

Susan listened and seemed interested. When I finished, she smiled at me. "Look, let's do another interview with you two about the locket today, too. That way, if we can fit the story in, we can add it to the news. But, let's not show them what's engraved on the back. That might be the only way someone can prove it belonged to them."

It sounded like a great idea to me. I pocketed the locket again and smiled over at Devin.

By the time we reached the arena, we had all discussed the interview about what happened last night and sort of knew what was going to happen. It turned out that she and Gus had already taken some footage at the bar & grill. They were heading over to the impound lot where the car was being held right after meeting with us.

In the arena, she had Devin and I stand under one of the basketball goals and had Gus start recording.

Devin grasped my hand and squeezed and I felt my nerves evaporate.

Susan spoke straight to the camera.

"I'm standing here with two men that attend college here. Devin Walls, a member of our basketball team, and Gage Milton, who were unfortunately on the receiving end of a hate crime last night." Susan turned to us. "Thank you for joining me tonight and sharing your story. Why don't you tell us what happened last night?"

Devin smiled. "Sure, thanks. Umm, well, we, me and my boyfriend, Gage, here...we went out to a late dinner to celebrate our team's first win last night. Our friends, Jack and Jeremy joined us."

"That's right. And they are both on the team, as well?" She waved the other two guys over to stand with us and then held the microphone back out in front of Devin.

"Yes, they both play for the college, too."

"And you two are dating, correct?" She asked them.

Jack blushed bright red, while Jeremy answered. "Yes, Jack is my boyfriend."

"So, Devin, you drove last night?"

"Yes, we took my car out to Sheila's Bar & Grill, out on 49th. Gage and I had never been, but Jack and Jeremy like it a lot and I know a lot of college kids like it."

Susan nodded, waiting for him to go on.

"Well, when we came out, we found that someone had slashed all four of my tires and spray painted... I'm not sure I can say the word out loud..."

"Safe to say it was a hateful word, correct?" Susan asked.

"Yes. Definitely. It was all over my front windshield."

"Who noticed the damage first?"

Jeremy spoke up. "I did and I couldn't believe it. In this day and age, well, I know there are hateful people, but this was just so unexpected."

Susan turned to me. "Gage, do you know if the police have any idea who may have done this?"

I took a deep breath. "No, I don't think so. What has us worried is that there are a lot of LGBT students here and if someone is making us their personal mission, where will we feel safe? Where can we turn?"

Susan nodded sympathetically and turned back to the camera. "I will be meeting with the police tomorrow, but for now, this hate crime remains unsolved. I'm Susan Winder. Thank you for watching."

Gus stopped recording and the four of us collectively took a big breath. Whew, I was glad that was over.

We talked a little more with her and she did a quick recording of us with the locket and asked that anyone who has information about it to contact the station. She couldn't promise it would air, but she said she would do her best.

By the time we were done and parted ways with Susan and Gus, we all decided we were hungry and headed over to the pizza place on campus. I couldn't believe how many students had already heard about what happened, many stopping at our booth to ask questions, or tell us how sorry they were.

I had just taken a bite of my pepperoni pizza when I saw Travis standing in front of one of the glass entrance doors. Even from where I sat, l could see the fury in his eyes. I nudged Devin's leg with my knee until he looked up and over to where I was staring.

"Damn! He looks pissed. Maybe you were right, Gage. I just really didn't want it to be someone I knew."

I turned to Devin. "I know. It makes it even worse, doesn't it?"

Devin didn't answer. He and Travis had begun some sort of stare-down contest. Travis finally looked away and hit the door with his fist, sending it flying open as he left.

"Fucker!" Jeremy cried out. "I bet Gage is right. It

was

Travis!"

"Now, wait a minute. We don't know that. All we really know is that he doesn't like gays. It doesn't mean he went any further and vandalized my car."

Devin was right. It was wrong of us to make assumptions.

"Wow, my gaydar must be really off," Jack said. "When I first met Travis, I could have sworn he was checking me out. I seriously thought he was gay."

"He did what??" Jeremy almost shouted.

"Calm down, Jeremy," I said, "Jack is hot. You're going to have to get used to other men looking at him."

Devin nearly choked on his drink. Jack's face was beet red and Jeremy was shooting daggers at me. I glanced around the table, stunned at their reactions.

"What?" I asked as I turned to Devin.

"Nothing," he grumbled. "I just didn't expect you to say that..."

I rolled my eyes. Men and their egos. Seriously. I turned to Jeremy. "Just because I said Jack is hot, doesn't mean I want him! Jesus, quit being so paranoid. I was just stating a fact. Jack is good-looking and if Travis is gay and hiding deep, deep in the closet, it wouldn't surprise me if he had been checking Jack out." Then I turned to Devin. "Seriously? You are mad?"

Devin stared at me a minute and then shook his head. "No. Sorry. Just being stupid."

In order to hide my smile, I took a bite of pizza. I may have been irritated, but on the inside I was kind of jumping for joy. It was sweet that he was jealous, not that I wanted him to make a habit of it, of course.

Devin's phone rang while were still at the pizza place and he held up his hand to quiet us when he answered it. "It's the police," he whispered.

"Hello. Yes, this is Devin Walls."

We waited and wondered for a few minutes while he listened to the person on the other end. Did they figure out who did it? Had they interviewed Travis?

"Thank you, sir. Yes, I can be down there tomorrow. Thank you so much!" Devin grinned as he hung up his phone.

"Well?" I asked.

"That was Officer Collins! He said they know who did it! And it definitely wasn't Travis."

I was shocked; I had been so sure it was him.

"Then who was it?" asked Jack.

"It was actually a guy that attends college here. He was at the game and saw us all leave the parking lot. I guess he followed us!" Devin raked his hand through his hair. "Wow...I can't believe we were followed and I never noticed. That's really creepy."

I shivered next to him, in complete agreement. If someone chose to follow us, that means we really were targeted.

"But, how do they know who did it?" Jeremy asked.

"Well, the bar & grill didn't have an video, but apparently a gas station nearby has a video camera and it shows the people filling their tanks, but it can also see the road. They were able to see my car and a white truck that was right behind it."

"Yeah, but how did they know that was the right person?" Jeremy persisted.

"I'm getting to that!" Devin stopped and took a sip from his pop before going on. "They decided to watch the video for a while and they saw the same truck head back the opposite way about 40 minutes later. Believe it or not, they could read a partial license plate. After that, it was just narrowing down some people and doing some interviews. Officer Collins and his partner talked with Travis first and he denied it was him. Apparently he was pretty pissed about being accused."

"Which explains his angry stare earlier," I pointed out.

"Yeah." He exhaled deeply. "Wow, it's just never who you think. Turns out this guy is in the band here and hates that there are gay basketball players!"

"What a giant ass-monkey," Jack murmured.

We all looked at him and laughed.

"I couldn't have said it better myself, Jack." Devin smiled at him.

"So, then they interviewed this guy, Scott something- they didn't give me his last name- and he admitted it. Said he was proud of it!"

"Shit, he's going to get expelled," Jeremy exclaimed. "Ass-monkey might be too good for him!"

Devin told us he had to meet with the police tomorrow to sign some papers and get his car back.

"I wonder how much that's going to cost me..." he grumbled. "Four new tires, ugh!"

I turned and placed my hand on his arm. "Hey, we'll get it figured out. I have a little money saved."

His eyes grew wide. "I am not asking you for money!" Devin sounded almost indignant that I would even offer.

"What the hell?" I knew I was too loud as soon as others turned to look at me. Crap.

"There is no way I am going to ask my boyfriend for money!"

Jack and Jeremy looked at each other, obviously picking up on my anger, but my boyfriend was clearly oblivious.

"What I needed new tires?"

He shrugged. "What do you mean?"

Oh, my god. Was he really this obtuse?

I took a deep, calming breath before answering him. "I mean,

Devin, what if I were low on funds and

this had happened to me, instead of you?"

"I would help you, of course!" He looked at me, his brow furrowed. "I love you. We're a team."

I stared at him and waited for his words to sink through his own thick skull, but he didn't seem to be grasping his precarious situation. Jack and Jeremy, however, did and quickly made their exit, promising to see us later at our room to watch the news.

"Okay, Devin, let me get this straight. You are allowed to help me out, but I am not allowed to help you?"

He nodded emphatically. "Yes, because..." he stopped and looked into my eyes. Yeah, that's when I saw it. He finally realized how he sounded. But, damn if he didn't still try to defend himself!

"But, baby, that's because it's my job to take care of you." He was fidgeting in his seat and wouldn't look me in the eye.

I settled back and waited until he finally looked back at me.

"What?" he asked, feigning innocence.

"This is a bunch of crap and you know it! How did we go from celebrating that the police caught the criminal to you being a macho douchebag?"

He started to protest, but wisely shut his mouth.

I finished my pizza and nudged his leg with my knee to let him know I wanted to slide out of the booth. He stood and let me pass him and headed over to one of the large trash cans to toss my plate and napkins and turned back to look at him. He was blushing and still acting fidgety. I was still mad, but he was just so cute. Besides, I was pretty sure he knew he had spoken before his brain knew what he was saying. I moved back over to the booth and stood in front of him.

"Look, Devin. Let's not fight about this. Just admit you were being a jerk and macho and all that crap, ok? I need to know that we are equals. That you will accept my help when needed and I will accept yours. That's what people in love do."

He smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I was just... I don't know... I hate asking for any help."

"First of all, you didn't ask, secondly you need to feel you can ask me anything."

He nodded. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. I guess I just wasn't thinking." He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his chest. "Do you forgive me, baby?"

His scent overwhelmed me and I snaked my arms around his waist and sunk into the embrace. "Yes, I forgive you," I whispered with my head pressed against his chest. I couldn't keep my mind off what was under that shirt. "Umm, can we go back to the room?"

Devin chuckled and his laughed vibrated through his chest and throughout my entire body. "I think that can be arranged."

I pulled back a little and started to step back, but he grabbed my hand and held tight. We took his stuff to the trash can and headed out onto the campus grounds towards our room.

"So, do you think they won't air the interview on the news, now that they caught the guy?"

"No, Officer Collins told me that the reporter contacted him and she was going to interview him soon and add it to the story."

"Cool. Do you want to watch in our room or down in the lobby?" There was a big television in the lobby with several old couches and chairs, but you couldn't always be sure you would get to watch what you wanted to watch.

"Let's just watch in the room. There will be room for Jack and Jeremy, and anyone else that drops by."

We were talking about an assignment I had when we arrived at the room, so I was taken aback when he grabbed me forcefully, pressing me against the back of our door, letting his hands slide into my hair and kissing me hard. I whimpered at the force and felt my skin flush. My hips began grinding against him as his tongue licked along the seam of my lips and pushed through, sweeping in and tasting my mouth.

"Mmm," I moaned into his mouth.

He pulled back a little and licked the corner of my mouth before nipping at my bottom lip. I thrust against him and he let go of my lip, only to sear my jawline with hot, long licks with his wet tongue. When he reached my ear, he licked the outer edge and nipped at the lobe, letting his hot breath singe me.

"Yes!" I hissed out.

"You like that baby?" His whispered words were so hot in my ear. "You like when I take control?"

I could only whimper an answer. Lust filled my body and I immediately wanted him inside of me.

"Fuck me, Devin," I begged quietly. "Please."

He groaned against my ear. "God, baby, I want to fuck you so bad, but we need to give you time. But, I remember you telling me about a little fantasy you had...Do you remember that?"

My face flushed at his words. I did remember telling him. Was that what he wanted? Oh, fuck. My legs felt shaky. "Uh-huh."

His hands snaked under my shirt and tugged it up quickly as he stepped back, giving him room to yank it up over my head and I saw it fly across the room.

"Do you still want me to do that?"

I nodded shyly. Just thinking about watching Devin stroking himself until he shot his load onto me was making me ache.

"Get undressed!" He growled out as he reached up and pulled his own shirt off and flung it on the ground.

I tugged at my zipper and headed over to the bed as I wriggled my jeans down past my hips. Turning to face him, I gulped at the dark flashes in his eyes. He was toeing off his shoes, tugging his jeans down and stalking towards me at the same time. I suddenly felt like his prey and nearly tripped over my own feet as I backed up. My breathing grew ragged and he wasn't even touching me. I bumped into the bed and he reached out and put his hand flat on my chest, shoving me onto the bed.

"Oh!" I yelped as I bounced a little. The look he was giving me was primal and everywhere his eyes trailed, I felt the searing heat of his gaze. I licked my lips in anticipation. I wasn't sure what he was going to do, but my body was humming with desire.

He leaned down and yanked my jeans the rest of the way off, tossing them over his shoulder, before reaching for my green knit boxer briefs. Again, he moved quickly, tearing them off in one swift move and letting them join the rest of our discarded clothes on the floor.

"What...what do you want me...how do you want me to start?" I asked, my voice quaking with excitement.

He licked his lips and slowly let his gaze peruse my body, stopping on my dick. His lips curled into a leer and in an instant he was on his knees, sliding me into his hot mouth.

Fuck!

His mouth was like liquid silk.

"Yes!"

He looked up at me and my body twitched and spasmed as he started to pull me out of his mouth, his velvety tongue laving me with saliva and heat, before he let me out with a loud pop sound that echoed off the walls.

"Fuck, you taste good, Gage," he groaned out, his voice husky with lust.

"Ungh." Yep. A grunt was all I could manage. The man had reduced me to a pile of lust and grunting was my only means of verbal communication.

Devin smiled and stood up, one hand wrapped around his steely cock. Precum beaded at the slit and I wanted to reach out and taste him, but he stopped me with his hand.

"No."

I looked up at him, want and need flashing in my eyes. He chuckled low.

"This is all about you, Gage. Your fantasy. Remember?"

I nodded.

"Lie back and put your head on your pillow," Devin ordered. I moved quickly to get into place, eager to play out this fantasy. I know that to some people, my fantasy may seem very 'vanilla', but I had dreamed about it so many times I couldn't wait any longer. As I moved back, he swung my legs up.

I looked up at him, waiting for more instruction. Seeing him naked, stroking himself while he watched made me crazy. I grabbed my dick and tugged a little, thrusting my hips up into my hand.

"You're an eager one tonight, I see," he said, teasingly, but the desire in his eyes belied his casually spoken words. I knew he wanted me as much as I wanted him.

He climbed onto the bed near my feet and rose on his knees, looking up at me. I felt like I was about to be dinner.

"Spread your legs, baby," he commanded me, his deep voice dripping with sex. "Show me everything."

I shivered at his words and felt a blush creep across my cheeks and spread onto my neck and upper chest, but I did as he said. I bent my legs at the knees and spread my legs wide, giving him full view of my hard cock and balls and my ass.