After being robbed by a black assailant, white Chicago dentist Mark Cross is hesitant to go out at night, let alone get involved in an interracial relationship, but that’s exactly what happens after he meets Darren Nichols, a black high school teacher and basketball coach. When Mark and Darren are introduced at a party, their attraction to each other is immediate and intense, and they soon begin dating. As their relationship progresses, Mark realizes he loves Darren. But he’s hesitant to ask Darren to move in with him because Darren’s last relationship ended poorly and Darren is scared to get involved with another man so quickly after that experience. Mark also worries he doesn’t live up to Darren’s expectations and fears Darren ultimately longs for a man who isn’t white. And Mark is still haunted by the man who mugged him and harbors fears about black men in general. Despite his worries and insecurities, Mark asks Darren to move in with him and Darren agrees. Though they both bring baggage to their bond, Mark and Darren work hard to build a life together. But when Darren invites over some of the guys he plays basketball with, Mark suspects one of the players, Terrance, is the same man who assaulted him. Mark shares his suspicions with Darren, but Darren isn’t convinced his friend could do something so terrible. Mark is determined to uncover the truth, but will he jeopardize his relationship with Darren in the process?

Pivot

“Listen,” Darren said, “there’s something I want to talk to you about.”


The serious tone of his voice made me immediately think something was wrong and I braced myself for whatever bad news he wanted to share.


“We’ve been seeing each other for about a year now, right?”


“And we were both tested when? September?”


I swallowed down the lump in my throat, wondering where Darren was going with his line of questioning. Soon after we started seeing each other regularly, we had a talk about our HIV status. We’d both been tested the year before with negative results, but we hadn’t been retested since we’d been together. Soon after Darren returned to school for the fall semester, he suggested we get tested again, so we did. The results were negative and neither of us had mentioned the test again since then…until now.


“Yeah. We both got tested around the time you went back to school. Why?”


“Don’t you think it’s time we stopped using condoms?”


Chapter 34