Even though I was dying to ask Case what he saw in my uncle, I kept that question to myself for the time being, mainly because I was afraid of the answer. Ray, despite all of his faults, gave off big dick energy and probably had an actual big dick. He also could be very charming. I could totally see Case falling for that side of Ray. But what about the other side? The mean, sarcastic, nasty side of Ray? Did he just accept the good with the bad?

Case and I talked for a long time. I found out he was thirty-six, only a few years younger than Ray, who was forty-one at the time. I figured he was younger than that. He certainly looked younger, like a man in his early thirties, rather than someone closer to forty. He asked about my graduate studies and post-college plans. He was so easy to talk to that I temporarily forgot about how much I wanted him. I was able to put my libido on the back burner and just enjoy our conversation. But, by my third beer, I reminded myself that I had limited time to try and seal the deal with Mr. Larson and talking with him about what I was studying at the University of Michigan wasn’t going to get me into his pants.

“You’re a very handsome man, Case,” I told him.

He didn’t seem embarrassed by the comment at all. Men and women probably told him he was good looking all the time so it didn’t faze him.

“Thank you,” he said. “So are you. You don’t look anything like your mother’s side of the family.”

I shook my head. “I take after my father’s family, the Crawfords.” The Burch side of the family was largely brown haired and brown eyed, but my father’s family tended to have lighter hair and lighter eyes. My light brown hair and green eyes definitely came from the Crawford clan.

Case nodded. “I’ve seen pictures of your father. You two look a lot alike.”

I sensed Case was trying to steer the conversation back to a more neutral topic, but I refused to let that happen.

“You know I’m gay, right?” I asked him.

He nodded again. “Ray told me.”

Figuring it was now or never, I leaned across the table towards Case and said, “Spend the night with me.”

He gave me a funny look before asking, “Are you serious?”