When James told me he was "70% gay" it didn't come as a big surprise. His designer dog, stereotypical lisp, animated conversational style, and constant singleness were pretty much arrows pointing to a reality that he thought he was hiding. But, as a member of the church, he felt it was important to only come out to a few close friends. People who would be understanding and not judgemental of him.
Hell. I didn't even care. James made a bit of an ordeal of the affair. Meeting at a Starbucks first, then walking his dog for an hour of mindless chit chat until finally the big reveal. Woop. Not a big surprise to me at all, but he seemed relieved to hear it.
I was a little confused about why he chose to tell me instead of some of the others (including our pastor) so I asked. He told me that he already had told them, and for the most part they were accepting, but each one cautioned him that if he ever became involved in an 'active relationship' that he would be in serious trouble with God and maybe asked to leave the fellowship until he was single again...
The whole thing didn't make any sense to me. 'Fuck if God cares who you love,' I said, 'Or who you screw, for that matter. It's about trying to care for others as much as you care about yourself. Not telling them what to do with their money, or their cock.'
James was visibly relieved to hear this. He flushed around the collar when I said 'cock' and quickly turned the conversation to his dog's newfound love of a certain brand of dog biscuit.
Honestly, I didn't really understand the guy that well, or myself, until I got home, cleaned up the house and got the kids to bed. My wife was off on another girls' weekend (when did these become so frequent?) and I was left at 8pm with a few beers in the fridge and Netflix. Not a promising night.
For some reason my conversation with James kept re-running through my mind, like I had missed something important. I started wondering about him. Had he ever had sex? Was he ever horny as fuck when he came over for poker nights with the guys? Who in our group was he attracted to?
Was he like some gay guys who use apps to hook up with random strangers? Had he been repressing all of those feelings for his entire life and then just revealed all of it to me? Why? I wasn't even a minister.
I was, however, in really good shape. For 35, I had less body fat than most 19 year-olds, and I had maintained a solid, eight-pack core and well-defined chest, back, legs, and arms since I was young. I got some kind of high from working out and it kept me level most days. Other days I'd have this feeling. Like an itch I couldn't scratch.
Something about James made me feel it again.