Enlightened (24 page)

Authors: J.P. Barnaby

Then the rumors started to reach her.

She called Jamie every day, but Mrs. Mayfield told her in a polite, embarrassed tone that he was busy or he wasn’t home. Emma couldn’t understand why Jamie was acting like this. The rumors about him and Brian McAllister couldn’t be true; she had kissed Jamie. He certainly wasn’t gay. It was ludicrous. The only explanation she could come up with was that he was as devastated as she was about him leaving. So she decided to tell him how she felt. She was in love with him, and she could wait until college for them to be together. It would be hard, but they could apply to the same college, and in just a year, they’d be able to start their life together.

As Emma stood, frozen, watching the exchange between Jamie and Brian, their words were drowned out by the pouring rain. It didn’t matter; she had a pretty good idea what they were. Then, just to drive home the point, Jamie grabbed Brian in a way that he had certainly never done with her, and he kissed him. The pain in her chest took her breath away. The rumors were true.

Jamie had used her.

Jamie had lied to her.

Jamie was gay.

The bile rose up in her throat, and she felt like she might be sick. As she watched, Jamie walked to his parents’ car and got in the back, never even sparing her a look. He had eyes only for Brian, who sank down next to the For Sale sign in the yard and cried.

No! It should be her crying. It should be her that Jamie kissed before leaving. It should be her that Jamie loved. What they were doing was against God, against nature. God would make them suffer His wrath; He would have His vengeance.

And so would she.

About the Author

J.P. B
ARNABY
, an award-winning gay romance novelist, is the author of over a dozen books including the Little Boy Lost series, the Forbidden Room series, and
Aaron
. As a bisexual woman, J.P. is a proud member of the GLBT community both online and in her small town on the outskirts of Chicago. A member of Mensa, she is described as brilliant but troubled, sweet but introverted, and talented but deviant. She spends her days writing software and her nights writing erotica, which is, of course, far more interesting. The spare time that she carves out between her career and her novels is spent reading about the concept of love, which, like some of her characters, she has never quite figured out for herself.

Website: http://www.JPBarnaby.com

Blog: http://www.jpbarnaby.com/#blog

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JPBarnaby

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JPBarnaby

L
ITTLE
B
OY
L
OST
continues in