He had seen them, walking around, their hands intertwined in ways that made his skin crawl. He had heard them laugh together, whisper together, share private jokes that seemed to exclude everyone else. They had a word for it—mates. They used it with such casual intimacy, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Disgusting.
The word echoed in his mind, a reflex he couldn't quite suppress. He knew it was wrong to think that way. He knew it was narrow-minded and cruel. But the revulsion was so deep, so ingrained, that he couldn't shake it.
"One day, he randomly came to the restaurant after not coming for almost a year," Nicky continued, forcing himself back to the story.
