My First Year in Prison Ch. 23

We arrived at the hotel quite late. As planned, Austin had booked two rooms, 403 and 404. He would be staying in 403.

"Dude, that's crazy!" I spoke.

"What?" Kurtis asked.

"403. That was the number of Austin and I's dorm room in college."

"What a crazy coincidence!" Austin teased.

"Wait..."

"I asked for it, dummy! I thought it would be a nice throwback."

I was speechless. The receptionist handed us the two keys. Kurtis proposed we go have one last drink at the hotel bar before going up to our respective rooms. He thanked Austin for picking us up and organizing this whole thing. I was a little buzzed by this point.

We sat down at the bar and the atmosphere had shifted, something special was in the air. We laughed and talked as if the three of us had been friends for years.

Kurtis went to the bathroom after we had been poured our last drinks and Austin took his shot. Quite literally, he drank his shot of vodka, but he also took his shot, at me.

"Choose me." He spoke, looking me straight in the eyes.

I almost spilled out my own drink.

"What?"

"I know you like him and he seems great. Truthfully, I don't know why, well, probably because he was a convict, I thought Kurtis would be a weird guy. But I can tell he is a good person; I can tell he loves you and I can certainly tell he is hot as fuck. But I have to ask you anyway. Choose me."

My hands were shaking. Austin took them. In the corner of my eyes, I saw the bartender stopped whatever he was doing to listen.

"Austin... What are you saying?"

"You know exactly what I'm saying, Ty."

"No! I don't. I'm freaking lost. All of the sudden, you're gay? You want to be with me? Is that it?"

He seemed a bit taken aback by my reaction. What was he expecting? I would throw myself into his arms.

"This has nothing to do with me being gay. It's just... It's you."

"Dude, you're married."

"I'm divorcing."

"Well, you've been married, to a woman."

"Oh my God, Ty! I cannot believe you, of all people, are so close minded that I just could not..." He did not finish his sentence.

"Could not be attracted to me?! Yeah! It's hard to believe."

"Well, I am, attracted to you. And it's not easy to explain. Actually, it's quite impossible to explain. But I have never met someone like you. It's been ten years now, and I have never felt this strong connection with anyone else. When I was with Cassandra, I realized I was still missing something, so I tried to fuck guys, I thought I was gay or bi and this is why things were not working out with her. But that was not it. The other guys did nothing on me. The others girls either. When you came to my wedding, it was the worst day of my life. I saw you there and the whole day I wondered if I was making the biggest mistake of my life."

"Your wedding was the worst day of your life? What the actual fuck, Austin? Where was this all before? How come you never told me anything? I mean, ten years ago, I asked you if there was the slightest chance that you and me could be together and you said no. I gave you the opportunity. I was so fucking ready for this!"

"I know! But at the time, I thought it was just a crazy experience, what we did. I could not picture myself actually dating you, you were my friend. I was not attracted to guys, I'm still not, not really so it simply did not make sense in my mind. Anyway, I did not want to use you, to play with you. I did not want to give you false hope. But maybe I was wrong. You and me, maybe it could have worked. It's the only relationship that ever truly made sense to me."

"Gosh, Austin."

"I know this is too late, ok. But you did call me the first day you were locked up, no? And there's this thing. Always! When we meet. I know you feel it too!"

He squeezed my hands. Damn, this hotel was warm. Could they turn the air conditioning on or something?

"Austin... It took me years getting over you. Trying would have been good enough ten years ago, but now, I'm going to need more than just a "maybe, it could work". I cannot go back to you only for you to realize it was all a mistake. And there's Kurtis!"

Austin took his time before saying anything else. My heart was beating fast.

"Tyler, if you think that what you have with Kurtis is real, go for it. If you don't have feelings for me, we can forget that I have ever told you that. I understand, I miss my shot in college and now it's too late. I will always be your friend. But if somehow, you feel how I feel, I can only make this request: choose me. I don't have nothing else to offer than to try and give our relationship a shot."

Kurtis came out from the bathroom. He had teary eyes. Honestly, the three of us were on the verge of crying, I was not too sure how long Kurtis had been there, but no matter what he had actually heard, he had figured it out.

"Kurtis, I..." I stood up.

Very sensually, he put his finger on my lips.

"Tyler, I'll be in room 404. I'll go now. I hope you'll join me but if you don't, if you have something else to live, I'll understand."

He kissed me on the cheek and walked to the elevator. I was stunned.

"Damn, he's really classy." Austin said, trying, as always, to make light of the situation. "I'll be in room 403 then."

He kissed me on the cheek too and joined Kurtis in the elevator. The doors closed on the both of them and I was left at the bar, millions of thoughts running through my mind, until suddenly, I had clarity.

I asked another drink from the bartender. He was obviously gay and very excited by the whole thing.

"What type of Grey's Anatomy drama was this?" He asked me, filling up my glass.

I laughed and cried at the same time.

"Just my life, man. It's like timing is always off with me."

"Are you kidding me? The two most handsome men I have ever seen walking in this hotel just both asked you to join them in their respective room. How is your timing not right? You're the luckiest guy on Earth!"

I smiled.

"I guess..."

I did not want to break the heart of any of them.

"Who are you going to choose? Don't tell me you'll do that thing where you choose neither of them! Always pissed me off when they do that in the movies!"

"Don't worry about that. I know which room I am going to go to."

I stood up and walked to the hotel elevator with my bag. I pressed 4.

There was no list of pros and cons. This was not a difficult decision either. I listened to my guts, to my heart, call it what you want, and it was clear. I knew with whom I wanted to spend the night and hopefully, the rest of my life.

[TO BE CONTINUED]

Who's ready for the finale chapter and conclusion of the story? Austin or Kurtis, who Tyler will choose? Room 403 or room 404? Let me know your thoughts.