Read Status Update (#gaymers) for Free Online

it...the gay thing? Your family isn’t...welcoming?” Noah seemed to be choosing his words carefully as he sat down next to Adrian. The “gay thing” was a crocodile-infested lagoon looming large between them—like a video game level with no clear path to safety on the other side.
    But navigating that terrain was somehow preferable to reaching for the phone. “No, they’re cool with me being gay. It’s more...” He trailed off, the whole story stuck somewhere around his breastbone.
    “Yeah?” Noah looked expectantly at him. His hooded eyes were hazel shot through green, like a calm pond on a quiet fall day. He had a way of looking at Adrian, with his chin resting on his hand, like he’d sit there focused on him as long as Adrian wanted to talk. Like Adrian could say anything and he wouldn’t judge.
    Suddenly the need to tell someone pushed the words out of the bottleneck of doubts in Adrian’s chest.
    “It’s like this...Both of my parents are lawyers. My older sister’s an accountant. Middle sister just finished law school and joined my mom’s firm. And I’m a video game designer.”
    “And you should be really proud of the work you do. Space Villager is already very popular.”
    Adrian’s toes curled inside the too-big boots. Few people gave him such easy praise.
    “You’re kind. And you’re also Space Villager’s target audience. But to my family, I’m the odd one—the kid with the strange food allergies who insisted on art classes and spent hours and hours alone in his room on programming projects. The guy who chose UCLA to pursue gaming as a career instead of going to either of my parents’ alma maters. I’ll always be one step away from a screwup.”
    “And ending up in this campground alone would be a screwup?” Noah’s tone held so much understanding that Adrian’s eyes smarted. “It’s not your fault. Your boyfriend’s the one who messed up.”
    “Yeah. They won’t see it that way.”
    “They’d just leave you here?”
    “Oh no.” Adrian had to smile at how outraged Noah sounded on his behalf. “But see I’ve got Pixel here. It’s not as easy as just wiring me a bus ticket. One of them is going to have to drive out here to get me. And then I’m the guy who can’t even choose a boyfriend right, the guy who can’t leave his dog in a kennel. As soon as I call, I’m the guy who fucked up his sister’s wedding week. The guy who proved every one of their fears about me to be spectacularly right.”
    “Your sister’s getting married? On Thanksgiving?”
    “The wedding’s Saturday. It’s also both her and her fiancé’s birthday.” Adrian took a deep breath. Might as well spill all of it. “It would be all romantic except she’s marrying my ex-boyfriend. And having his baby.”
    “Your ex?” Noah blinked.
    “My high school boyfriend. We did the whole long-distance through college, but eventually broke up. My sister consoled him in law school and now I’m going to be an uncle.”
    “Congrats,” Noah said dryly.
    “That’s why I was bringing Trent home. Not because I thought he was some great love of my life or something, but because I needed a date. I love Emily like crazy, but I can’t show up alone. Not to this. I’m supposed to be all happy for them but...”
    “But it’s complicated.” Noah gave him an encouraging smile.
    “Yeah. And now not only am I showing up without a date, I’m going to screw up everyone’s plans by requiring rescue. I’ll be the flaming pile of shit that lands on their weekend.”
    “So that’s why you haven’t called,” Noah summed up.
    “I’m going to. Don’t worry. I’m not planning anything stupid like hitchhiking. I have to be there. And this isn’t your problem—I’m being chicken and trying to delay the inevitable.”
    Noah stroked his beard, eyes distant. They sat in companionable silence for several long moments. Being near Noah was almost like having an extra coat—a layer of protection against the