Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 66518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
“It fits half the guys on the team. Besides, Austin Otters has a nice ring to it.”
“You’re right, it does.”
His dark eyes sparkled with mischief as he took off my cowboy hat and put it on. I told him, “That looks great on you.”
“And it matches my outfit.”
“I’m curious, is there a reason why you always wear black?”
“Yes, and I’ll tell you about it later. Let’s go have a seat.” He tilted his head toward the gazebo.
I put my arm around him, and we made our way across the yard while dodging partying rugby players. There were benches inside the gazebo, lining its half-walls. After I took a seat on one of them, Hal straddled my lap and set aside the hat. I slid my hand around the back of his neck and gently pulled him to me. As soon as our lips met, the rest of the world fell away.
A few minutes later, we were pulled back to reality when Bryson announced that dinner was served. He’d ordered pizza for the team as a way of saying thank you, and he and Embry were about to take off.
A chorus of goodbyes and congratulations rang out, and my teammates began to make their way inside for some food. At the same time, Hal pulled his phone from his pocket and read a text. “Embry’s tired,” he said, “so he and Bryson are going back to the hotel. He told me to stay here and have a good time.”
“You should definitely listen to him. It’s his wedding day, after all.”
He pulled up another text and murmured, “Aww.” Then he turned the phone to show me a photo of two women in fancy dresses. “These are my landladies, Yolanda and JoJo. They’re also good friends of mine. Yolanda is a nurse, and tonight is her hospital’s Christmas party. I made their dresses, so they sent me a picture of themselves all dolled up.”
“They look great, and those dresses are gorgeous. Is that the kind of clothing you like to design?”
He sent a reply and pocketed the phone before saying, “My personal aesthetic isn’t that traditional, but I love making dresses for JoJo. She’s the tall, full-figured blonde in that photo. I’ve made several things for her over the last couple of years, and it always means so much to both of us.”
“Why is that?”
“Because she’s trans, so it’s more than just clothing. It’s a way for her to express who she is. Obviously, that’s what fashion is meant to be for everyone. But it takes on special meaning when I get to make something for someone like JoJo, who spent the first part of her life not being able to wear what she wanted.”
“I can see how that’d be rewarding.”
“It really is. It makes me feel like what I’m doing matters. I do this other thing too, where I donate prom dresses to trans, gay, and nonbinary kids who can’t afford to go out and buy something.”
“That’s really cool.”
“If I had the time and money, I’d design and sew extra special dresses for these kids. What I do now is scour thrift shops for vintage dresses, update and improve them, and donate several of them to the local LGBTQ youth center during prom season. Someone else in the community donates suits, so between the two of us we’re able to make a lot of kids happy.” He lowered his gaze and sighed. “I wish I could do more, though.”
“It always feels like that. I wish I had the resources to take in a hundred horses at a time, but I max out at about eighteen. No matter how much I do, it never seems like it’s enough. But we can’t let ourselves get discouraged, or lose sight of the fact that we’re still making a difference. Even if you can’t make custom dresses, I bet the kids really appreciate the ones you donate.”
Hal murmured, “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For making me feel better, and for understanding. Even though you and I seem like very different people, you always seem to get it whenever I confide in you about something that matters to me. Also, I appreciate the fact that you take me seriously. A lot of people brush off fashion as frivolous or silly, but you haven’t done that.”
“I never gave a lot of thought to fashion,” I admitted. “But what you said about it being a way for people to express themselves, especially in our LGBTQ community? That makes sense to me. And I want to understand it because it’s obviously important to you, on both a professional and personal level.” I traced the lines of his halter top as I said that, so he’d get my meaning.
“It is. For as long as I can remember, I wanted to dress in a way that was both masculine and feminine. That led to a lot of soul searching. I asked myself if I might be non-binary, but for me personally, it didn’t seem like the right fit. So, I guess I’m just your basic femme gay boy.”