The Way You Are by Matthew Lang

photo of a photo, of an almost smiling Kent in a school uniform, his hair brushed out of his eyes and the sun glinting off a goldish frame as it sat before a carved stone next to a bouquet of red roses. Rook’s gasp was audible.
    “He died when he was fourteen,” Rook said.
    “Yeah,” Leon said quietly. “I’m so—”
    “He… couldn’t cope,” Rook went on, his eyes welling with tears. “He—you remind me of him so much. I look at you, and I see what he could have been if he hadn’t… if people hadn’t….” He reached out and traced the curve of his brother’s cheek on the screen, which also caused the video to pause. “I remember.”
    “Did you want to see the rest?”
    Rook nodded and tapped the screen again. The rest of the images showed parties and shots of campus, girls, and face paint at rugby games. Happier, more recent times, Leon thought. No, not happier. Just more recent.
    “Thank you,” Rook said as the video faded to black.
    “You’re welcome,” Leon said. “It wasn’t all me, though.”
    Rook nodded. “I’ll remember to thank Warrick when I see him.”
    “I should go wake him,” Leon said pensively. “I’m hungry, and my stomach wants pancakes.”
    “I’m sure you can make your own pancakes, Leon,” Rook said with an indulgent smile.
    “Not as good as Warrick’s. Plus he gets annoyed if I mess up his kitchen.”
    “But it’s your kitchen.”
    “Not when Warrick’s here, it’s not.”
    A melancholy smile passed over Rook’s features. “I wish Kent could have met you.”
    “I wish I could have met him too. He seemed like a great guy.”
    “When you were younger, did you ever feel like…? I mean, did you ever consider…?”
    Leon shook his head. “Not really. I don’t talk to my parents anymore, but that’s my choice. I always thought things would get better. And then I met Krissy, and well….”
    “Yeah, she’s pretty amazing.”
    “And it was nice to know I could be gay and still have straight friends.”
    “What about straight male friends?”
    “Hey, you’re the one sitting in my kitchen in his boxers and leg cast,” Leon said.
    “So in your professional opinion,” Rook asked, his voice taking on an officious tone, “it is possible for a gay man to have straight friends he’s not lusting after?”
    “Not if they’re hot,” Leon said lightly. “But if anyone questions me, I’ll just tell them you kissed me first.”
    They both laughed at that, a free, easy laugh that filled the room. “To friends,” Rook said, raising his coffee mug. “Wherever they fall on the Kinsey scale.”
    Leon raised his glass. “I’ll drink to that.”
     
     
     

About the Author
    M ATTHEW L ANG writes behind a desk, in the park, on the tram, and sometimes backstage at amateur theater productions. He has been known to sing and dance in public and analyze the plots of movies and TV shows, and is a confessed Masterchef addict. He has dabbled in film, machinema, event management, and even insurance, but his first love has always been the written word. He is suspected of frequenting libraries and hanging around in bookstores, and his therapists believe he may be plotting some form of literature.
    Matthew can be reached on Twitter: @mattlangwrites and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/MattLangWrites.

Aussie Romance from D REAMSPINNER P RESS

    http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com



Copyright
    The Way You Are ©Copyright Matthew Lang, 2013
    Published by
    Dreamspinner Press
    5032 Capital Circle SW
    Ste 2, PMB# 279
    Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886  USA
    http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/
    This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
    Cover Art by Christine Griffin
    [email protected]
    http://christinegriffin.artworkfolio.com/
    This book is