e wondered if he could duck in with them and make his
escape。 ？Really sick。？ His gaze shifted tentatively to Greg； who was staring at him with something
like amusement； his blue eyes creasing at the corners。 ？I just didn？t want to give it to you？I think
I？m still pretty contagious and？？ Greg cut him off with a wave of his hand。 ？Listen； I really
wanted to talk to you about something。？ He sat down next to Dan on the sidewalk。
Dan stayed silent； fiddling with the pen in his hand。 The throng of tourists came and went； but he
knew he had to sit there and stick it out。 He dreaded the words that were sure to fall from Greg？s
lips any second now。Let？s do this thing。 I want you to meet my parents。 I want to show you things
only another man can。
Greg cleared his throat and continued。 ？I thought that me and you had a pretty good thing going。？
He stopped； his words hanging in the air above their heads。 ？But 。 。 。 I？ve kind of met someone
else。？ Huh？ Dan stared at Greg； his mouth open。 He felt like he？d just been smacked in the head
with a two…by…four。 Two girls dressed all in black stepped around them； practically trampling them
with their bat boots and giving them a dirty look for blocking the sidewalk。
？I met this amazing guy at 。 。 。 um 。 。 。？ Greg looked down at the pavement； his cheeks flushing
bright red； and ran a hand through his hair before continuing。 ？A party 。 。 。 and； well； we kind of
just had this really intenseconnection 。？ He put his hand on Dan？s forearm； squeezing hard？but in
a brotherly； reassuring way。 ？I？m sorry。？ This time； Dan didn？t squirm at his touch。 ？Don？t worry
about it。？ He patted Greg？s hand。 ？It？s totally fine。？ He sighed； br