“Water under the bridge,” I said. “Nothing to be sorry about now.”

“So you forgive me?” There was a desperate edge to his tone.

I let out my air and sank through the water until I was standing up. Mark looked confused as he studied me. “I need to tell you something and I need you to understand this isn’t about you. It’s about me. Okay?”

“Okay,” he whispered with a frown.

“I’m gay.”

Mark blinked. “But we—”

“Sam was my first love,” I said and touched his shoulder with my palm. My eyes filled with tears. “I wish she and I had longer, but it is what it is....