CLOSET CASE, Vol. 4

CLOSET CASE, Vol. 4

Mallory's trying to keep things casual with renowned football star, Montgomery Anderson. Ever since his former high school bully came back into the picture, old habits and attachments rear their ugly heads once more and haunt Mallory's dreams. Can he handle the idea of dating Montgomery for real? Or are they destined to drift apart like they did so many years ago?

"A-And you know, back then, I was having a lot of those thoughts." Montgomery keeps picking at the bread. Pick, pick, pick, scattering it across his pasta. "I went through a lot of sleepless nights thinking about you, and trying not to think about you. I kept wishing that I'd grow sick of you and finally leave you the f**k alone, but then you'd look at me and I'd..."

He runs out of garlic bread to pull apart. He drops his hands down to the TV tray, two fists gently laying knuckles down.

"I was...terrified, to say the least." Montgomery's eyes are glued to his plate. "I didn't know what would fix me. Not just back then, but for years and years after. You know what though?"

I haven't spoken a word. I haven't interrupted him a single time. I'm not fighting with my mind over what to do either. I just genuinely, truly want to hear what he has to say. My heart needs it.

"I feel...better." Montgomery lifts his head, looking at me. The smile he wears is calm and soft. I've never seen him so human before. "They teach us to be honest when we're kids, and then punish us for it when we grow older. Mask ourselves off, pretend we're perfect for everyone else, no matter how much it hurts us inside. I got so used to lying that I forgot how good it feels to tell the truth. I only know that because of you. You made me happy that day, and you're making me a happy man today, so...I really hope you still like fettuccine Alfredo."

SERIES: CLOSET CASE
 

What happens when the abrasive jock and his emo punching bag reunite a decade after an unspoken goodbye? One's a celebrity football player, and the other is roaming the hallways of their Alma mater like a ghost, desperate to be the teacher he never had all those years ago.

Follow Mallory Umber as he reconnects with the man who made his life hell. He's been watching him from screens upon screens, obsessing over what could have been, but he isn't the one desperate to rekindle an old flame.

Montgomery Anderson is a man who can't apologize chasing after a man who can't forgive or forget. He doesn't care. He wants what he wants, and he's going to take it.