A good friend of mine came out the closet to me not to long ago.
We were in the same class putting up with the same BS from the course, so we got cool with each other quick having something in common.
Decent looking cat, in good shape, tall, well traveled, type of dude that would attract attention from the opposite sex.
We were both popular with the ladies mostly because we were part of only a hand full of dudes in a course full of women and we were both smooth talkers.
You saw one and you saw the other.
It never occurred to me that he is gay but than again I don't have a "gaydar", not my business the way I see it.
The way the topic came up was through other dudes.
During our class break we would go out and smoke with the smokers.
Now among us we has some real "n#%gas", me included, taking a course that is predominantly women loaded.
Our conversation usually consists of which woman would we liked to tap, standard guy talk.
We would also meet up and hang out at the bars after class.
He didn't participate in any of that but I figure he was above the mess, I mean we had some wild streaks in us that made you wonder how we got out of high school let alone into college.
He just didn't fit in, but this ain't high school were we pick on the odd kids, were all grown men, you do, I do me.
But the topic of his sexuality started because one of the fellas asked me about the sexuality of one of the ladies I hung out with.
She was a little butch looking, but what was throwing them off was me, we hung out a lot so of course I had to be sleeping with her which wasn't true which of course confirmed to the street philosophers that she was.
And to tell you the truth I suspected it too.
She was a bit diffrent from most women I hung out with, but I never probed into it.
The discussion some how led to my homeboy, of course I am like hell no, I know him, he is as straight as an arrow.
They say he doesn't hang with us.
That's because were full of shit, I say.
He doesn't make any moves on any of the women.
That's cause he ain't stupid, making a move on a girl in your class is like having a live in girlfriend, I say.
He seems to care a lot about the welfare of others.
Bro were in Nursing school were suppose to care, if not, at least fake it well, I say.
Every one laughs it off, end of story.
But for what ever reason the idea gets stuck in my head.
And all of a sudden I am picking up on things that I wasn't noticing before.
There are the times we make plans to hang out but those plans are canceled or planed around him hanging out with his other friends that he never invites me to go out with.
He knows I like to hit the bars and clubs what the hell is so different about these friends?
Than there is this bad ass Chinese girl he is always hanging out with and studying with.
I ask him if he is tapping that and he laughs like I am crazy for asking that and says no.
What the hell is so funny?
But the nail in the coffin for me is his crib.
Dude's spot is hot to death!
I wont get into details about it but i make more than him and I cant afford to stay in a spot like that.
He tells me he and another guy are just renting rooms and that the rent is just 300.
I look around and my mind is saying hell no, it ain't that easy.
I know he is not hustling, I can tell by the way he moves and talk that he is on the up and up.
Who the hell is the person who can afford a place like this and yet decides to rent some rooms out?
My mind is saying boy toy, and it ain't a woman playing with him.
But I say nothing, I figure if he wants me to know he'll let me know if its that serious.
I have nothing against gay dudes, I have met enough cool people and enough ass holes in every shade and color, claiming every religion, sect, and nation to not jump to conclusions about some one.
But I will admit my experience with gays are limited to Georgia.
Growing up in New York gays did not exit in my world, I never thought of them, never met one, couldn't tell you were they hung out at, if I saw one it was because some one pointed them out but that was them judging a book by it's cover, never walked up to them and said, "hey are you gay?".
The most attention they got out of me is if they were in a movie I was watching.
I never had to deal with it.
But all that changed when I came to Atlanta.
Atlanta is the South East's lesser version of San Fransisco.
They are here and very visible.
There was they gay dude I worked for at a hospital.
The gay dudes that made passes at me that had me checking my self in the mirror before I left the house thinking "am I accidentally sending a signal saying hey I am gay and available?".
The gay girl I had an argument with because I made a pass on her girlfriend, how the hell was I supposed to know?
Put a rainbow sign on her ass!
But back to my homeboy.
The semester ends and I failed one of my classes, I am asking him for advise because talking to people in my school is a waste of time.
Were texting each other and he invites me over for drinks in the afternoon, I got plans so I tell him how about later?
He tells me he cant because he is hanging out, later.
There it is again.
So I tried him.
"Where you hanging at maybe I'll stop by."
He says, "I don't think you want to hang out at the places I hang out at.".
I'm laughing, still wont come clean huh?
So I say " Why is that?".
Than he says it "I'm on the DL".
Part two next week.
