by Eden Finley
I do the best I can to flatten my hair and straighten myself up before getting the garlic bread out of the oven.
“You’re in so much trouble.” My sister’s voice comes from the entryway to the kitchen.
“What are you going to do? Beat me up?” I ask, without turning her way.
“Oh, I don’t need to do that. I’ve done one better.”
“Hi, Damon, honey,” says a feminine voice I know well.
I spin and see two people I haven’t seen in a while. Not because I avoid them, but because I’m always too busy to make the trek to Long Island. “Mom. Dad.” Shit.
Maddox appears in the small space that’s only getting smaller by the second, and he runs a hand over his hair. “I didn’t cook enough for all of us.”
“It’ll keep for tomorrow. We’re going out for dinner,” my sister announces. “Mom and Dad can’t wait to get to know Maddox better.” In other words: they can’t wait to grill him.
Stacy flashes her trademark grin. It’s part-triumphant, part-smug, and part-vindictive. No one does punishment like my sister.
Ten days, and this is how it ends. Probably. My parents are great, but like Stacy, they can be intense. It’s terrifying for new boyfriends to endure. If Maddox survives this, nothing will scare him off.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
MADDOX
This is a big step. Although, to be fair, Damon’s already met my folks.
I’m worried I’ll make an ass of myself. I want his family to like me. Not as Stacy’s friend, but as their son’s boyfriend.
Huh, boyfriend. First time I’ve thought of us that way. I wait for the panic to kick in, but it’s absent. Look at me being all mature and shit.
“Hi,” Stacy singsongs at the restaurant hostess. “I made a reservation this afternoon under King. Nine people.”
“Nine?” Damon and I ask in unison.
“The Davidsons are coming,” Damon’s mom says.
My eyes go to Damon to confirm what I suspect, and his skin pales. Yup. Eric and his family are coming to dinner. Brilliant.
“The rest of your party is already here,” the hostess says.
Even more brilliant.
As we’re led to our table, I lace my fingers with Damon’s. “You okay?” I ask quietly.
“Yup.” He’s lying. I squeeze his hand, but he shakes it off.
Fucking Eric.
Damon whispers, “I’m sorry for what you’re about to witness.”
I have no idea what he means until Eric and his brother, Julian, jump out of their seats when they see us. Julian goes straight to Stacy and wraps her in a hug.
Eric approaches Damon. “Hey, brother.” They shake hands and go in for a man-hug. My hand fists at my side. I don’t understand why Damon keeps up appearances.
Eric moves onto me and holds his hand out for me to shake. If it weren’t for Damon’s pleading eyes, I’d tell Eric to fuck off. Instead, I behave like a good boy and shake his hand.
“Nice to see you again, Maddox.” Eric’s tone is about as genuine as a politician making campaign promises.
“You too.” Fucker.
“Hey,” Julian says and shakes my hand too, “you run out of women or what?”
I smile politely when what I really want to do is beat the Davidson brothers to a pulp. Although, I know that’s not fair to Julian. The few times we’ve met, he’s seemed like a decent guy. “Stacy got to you, didn’t she?”
“She paid me ten bucks to say that. Figured I’d get it out of the way so I can hit the bar.” Julian turns to her. “Hand it over, woman.”
Stacy rolls her eyes and hands him a twenty. “Buy me a drink too.”
“And me,” I call after him.
“I guess we’re getting our own drinks,” Eric says to Damon and slaps his chest.
“Let’s go.”
I suck in a deep breath as I take the seat next to Stacy. I’m left with her, Damon’s parents, and Eric’s parents. I turn to my supposed best friend. “I hate you,” I mutter so only she can hear.
She leans in and kisses my cheek. “Love you too.”
“So this is the new boyfriend,” Mrs. Davidson says.
“The new boyfriend Damon didn’t tell us about,” Damon’s mom says. She pierces me with the green eyes Damon inherited. “We had to hear it from Stacy.”
“We’re really new,” I say and swallow hard.
“Eric says he met you a few weeks back,” Mrs. Davidson says.
Ooh boy. I don’t know what lies to keep up with now, so I say nothing before I can put my foot in my mouth.
Julian appears at our side and places drinks in front of us. “You know what’s crazy, I thought you two would end up together.” He waggles his finger between Stacy and me.
Damon and Eric take their seats, and I slide my hand on Damon’s thigh to try to reassure him. We can do this. We can get through this dinner.
“No Kristy?” Stacy asks Eric, nodding to the empty seat beside him.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Julian says. “Don’t try to change the subject, missy. You and Maddox. What’s the deal? How did he end up with your brother when that night we all went out, my friends bet on when you two would get together?”
“Why does everything have to be about sex? Why is it so hard to fathom Maddox and I are purely platonic?” Stacy asks. “Nothing has ever happened between us, and nothing ever will. Even if he wasn’t with Damon.” She turns to me. “You know I love you, but the thought of kissing you would be like kissing Damon. Or even Julian.”
Damon screws up his face, but Julian says, “Hey, I’m offended. I’m hot.”
“See”—Stacy gestures to Damon—“that’s how I feel about Maddox.”
“I wish I could disagree, but best friends kissing fu—dges up friendships,” I say and flick my glance to Damon’s parents. They appear prim and proper and probably not as cool with the swearing thing as my parents.
Meanwhile, I can feel Eric’s glower without having to see it, and Damon lets out a frustrated sigh. Granted, I’m having a major dig at Eric, but no one else would know that. If I kissed Stacy, it would fuck up our friendship, so I’m not lying.
“How did you and Damon meet?” Eric’s mother asks.
Stacy answers with a giggle. “Funniest story ever.”
“Stace,” I warn, but I can’t tell her why she can’t tell the story.
This is so fucked.
“So, when Maddox—”
“I needed a fake boyfriend to go to an ex’s wedding.” I glare at her. There are so many reasons I don’t want the story to be told.
“An ex-girlfriend,” Stacy says. “He lied and told her he was gay to break up with her when they were eighteen. Maddox didn’t know he was bi until he met Damon.” She laughs again.
I love Stacy to death, but she really has to learn to pick up on social cues.
Damon’s parents stare at me weird—like they don’t approve I’ve never been with a guy before. Or maybe they’re pissed because I lied to Chastity about being gay.
I open my mouth to say something to explain my actions five years ago, but Eric beats me to it.
“Favorite pastime of Damon’s—hitting on straight guys.”
What did he just say?
“What did you just say?” Stacy asks. Guess it’s true, when you hang out with someone a lot, you start to think alike.
Damon chugs his beer.
“It was a joke. Geez,” Eric says, but there was no joke in it.
Stacy stands and yells, “It’s you, isn’t it?”
“Stacy,” Damon says. “Stop.”
Betrayal shines in her eyes. “Oh my God, it makes so much sense. You used to be so close. You really think Damon tried to turn you?” she yells at Eric.
I grab her wrist and pull her back down into her seat. Our eyes meet, and that’s when she knows she’s right. And that I know all about it.
“Bullshit,” Julian says. “Eric’s not that ignorant.”
I scoff.
“Can we please not do this here?” Damon asks. His eyes dart around the small restaurant.
“Stacy. Outside,” I say.
“But—”
“Now.” I never use a serious tone with her, and my bark makes her flinch. She relents and storms out ahead of me. “We’ll be back.” I turn to Damon. “You want to—” I tip my head in the direction of the entrance.
He shakes his head. “This is all about to come out, so I better be here to tell my side of it.”
I feel like an ass leaving him to it, but Stacy needs to cool off, because I know her. She was two seconds away from flinging herself across the table.
Stacy’s pacing when I get outside. “Why didn’t you or Damon say anything?”
“It’s not my thing to tell. And Damon didn’t say anything because he’s trying to protect your families. You do everything together. Imagine how awkward Christmases would be if you all knew how homophobic Eric was.”
“Why does Eric think like that? I don’t understand.”
“You should ask Damon. Or go back in there and hear it for yourself. But you can’t go making a huge scene in there like you were about to.”
She shakes her head. “When I set this up to torture you two, I thought the worst that was going to happen was you’d be grilled, you’d sweat, we’d all laugh at you, and that would be it. I didn’t think … fuck. I really am a horrible person.”
“You totally are.”
“Hey, I’m feeling terrible about my shenanigans for once. Have some sympathy.”
I step forward and hug her. “You’re a horrible person in general, but in this case, you didn’t know what you were doing, so you can’t be blamed.”
“Thanks. You make me feel so much better,” she says dryly.
“It’s what I’m here for.”
“Can you just tell me? Please?”
“Seriously, not my thing to tell.”
“Eric’s the reason Damon didn’t want to date you at first, isn’t it?”
“Yup. But my charming personality won him over.”
Stacy snorts. “Can I ask you a serious question?”
“Only if you want a sarcastic answer.”
She shoves me. “Are you and Damon serious?”
“You may want to sit down for this.”
Her eyes widen. “Oh God, you’re breaking up with him, aren’t you? Shit, I thought this might’ve been going too far, but—”
“Stace. You’ll need to sit down, because I want to get serious with him. I haven’t felt this way about anyone before. Not even Chastity.”
“Aww, you could become my brother-in-law,” she screeches.
I step back. “Whoa. Way too soon. I meant serious as in maybe calling each other the boyfriend label.”
“The manwhore in you isn’t dead after all. So close.”
“Ready to go apologize for embarrassing your brother?”
She groans. “I guess.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
DAMON
As soon as Maddox and Stacy are out the door, I begin to sweat.
“What’s going on, you two?” Mom asks.
“It’s nothing,” Eric says.
“Bullshit it’s nothing,” Dad growls.
“Guys, stop,” I say. I love my family, but they’re all overprotective of me. It’s a King trait. Stacy may make inappropriate jokes, but she’s always the first one to defend me. Even when I ask her not to. My parents are close behind her. They’re awesome for it, but sometimes I need them to back off.
“He kissed me,” Eric says.
Kill. Me. Now. “Actually, you kissed me.” And you liked it. Yeah, don’t say that.
“When was this?” Denise, Eric’s mother, asks.
I exhale loudly. “A year ago. It’s over, guys. We don’t need to talk about it.”
“Is that why you two haven’t been as close like when you were kids?” Mom asks.
“No. We’re not close because he doesn’t like the fact I’m gay,” I say. “Things haven’t been the same between us since I came out in high school.”
“You came out in college,” Mom says.
“Not to him.”
“Because you had a thing for me,” Eric says.
This is what shits me off—he has a point. Any other straight guy, I could call bullshit. The only two straight guys I’ve had a crush on were Eric and Maddox, and it turned out Maddox wasn’t so straight after all. Any other guy, I could call them out for being narrow-minded and conceited. But the truth is, I spent most of my teenage years fantasizing about the stupid jerk that is Eric. That doesn’t mean I ever acted on it. Or hinted. Or fucking manipulated him. I was overly conscious not to do any of that, because I didn’t want anyone to know how I felt.
My cheeks heat. No one says anything, and I get the impression everyone at the table suspected my crush even if I did try to hide it. Maybe I sucked at covering it up, and that in itself could be seen as an act of manipulation on my part.
Stacy and Maddox arrive back at the table, and Stacy hugs me from behind. “I’m soooo sorry,” she whispers.
“I know,” I reply and pat her hand.
Eric leans forward in his seat. “Look, it happened a long time ago, and we’re both over it. We didn’t tell you because we knew something like this could come between us all. There’s no lines being drawn here. No sides.”
My parents turn on their best friends who they’ve known for over thirty years. “I think you understand if we leave dinner here for the night,” Mom says in a polite tone that doesn’t sound anything like how she normally talks to her friends.
“Mom, Dad,” I say, “don’t let this get between our families. With all due respect, I appreciate you guys sticking up for me, but it’s between me and Eric. I’ve pretended he doesn’t exist for over a year now. I can keep doing it. Don’t ruin an otherwise great thing because of me.” I don’t think I’ve gotten through to them. They remain stoic. With a sigh, I turn to Maddox. “Looks like we’ll be eating the dinner you cooked after all. Let’s get out of here.”
“Gladly,” he says.
“I’m coming too,” Stacy says.
“Stace, can I crash with you tonight?” Julian asks. “I wanna go with you guys.”
“Sure.”
This is not how I wanted this conversation to go—I didn’t want this to happen at all.
Solidarity. Sometimes it’s the best thing in the world, but this time, it’s making me feel like shit.
***
“Are you okay?” my sister asks on the walk back to my apartment.
“I’m fine,” I snap.
“Yeah, sounds it.”
“You two didn’t need to come for moral support,” I say to her and Julian.
“Eric can spout all he wants about no lines being drawn or sides being taken,” Julian says, “but that’s exactly what happened back there.”
“Don’t turn on your brother for me,” I say.
“How can you say that?” Stacy yells.
“Because I can deal with homophobia. It happens. It’s been happening to me since I came out. It’s part of being born this way.”
“Now who’s quoting Lady Gaga?” Maddox mumbles.
I ignore him. “Maybe Eric is confused or bi-curious, or maybe he’s just an ass. But say he is confused. Say he has been for a long time. We all practically outed him back there and then walked out on him. Real supportive.”
Julian stops dead in his tracks. “Oh, shit.”
“Yeah. Oh, shit is right,” I say. “I don’t like what Eric did, and I will probably hate him forever for making me doubt myself, but I’d never wish what happened back there on him. Not ever. I don’t care if he’s the one who technically started it. No one deserves that. I can’t be the one to be there for him, but you can. Go support your brother, asshat.”
“You don’t mind?” Julian asks.
“Thanks for backing me, I appreciate it, but this isn’t a game of taking sides. Besides, I have to tor
ture my sister for setting up this ridiculous dinner in the first place to try to scare my boyfriend off.” I turn to Maddox. “Did she succeed?”
“Fuck no,” Maddox says. He steps forward and brings his mouth to mine in a soft kiss.
“Okay, that’s weirder to see than I thought it would be,” Stacy says. “Not because you’re two guys, but because my best friend is kissing my brother.” She shudders.
“Boyfriend, huh?” Maddox asks me.
“Unless the label freaks you out. I know you’re not a fan of those.”
“I like the boyfriend label.” He kisses me again.
“Have a good night, guys,” Julian says, and Maddox and I pull apart. “Stace, we going out one weekend soon? Party it up old-school style.”
Stacy’s face lights up. “With wine coolers, cheap chasers, and horrible dance music? I’m in.”
“I want in too,” Maddox says.
“I’m out,” I say.
“You’re no fun,” Julian says.
“He never has been,” Stacy says.
“Catch ya next family gathering,” Julian says.
“If there is a next one,” I say as he backtracks to the restaurant.
We continue to walk, the mood a little lighter than it was. “You should’ve said something sooner,” Stacy says.
“Sure. Mom, Dad, your best friends’ son is a bigot, but I suspect it’s because he likes guys. Thought you’d like to know.”
Stacy stops walking again. It’s going to take all night to get back to my apartment at this rate. “Damon. No one should be forced into enduring his behavior. I don’t care how close our parents are or how confused he is.”
Frustration bubbles out of me. “He has issues he needs to deal with. They’re his issues. Not mine.”
“But when they affect your ability to have a relationship—”
“Does it look like it’s affecting us?” I wrap my arm around Maddox.
“It did in the beginning,” she states.
“How much did you tell her?” I whisper in his ear.
“Stace. Drop it, okay?” Maddox says. “We’re great. Damon had more issues than just Eric—like my inability to commit to anyone. He thought I was just looking for a hookup. And yet, tonight, I openly admitted to being in a relationship. I’d say we’re more than good. So much so, I’m tempted to walk you home to your own apartment.”