“Yeah, can’t fucking wait,” I grumble. Mary rests her hand on my knee beneath the table. She knows I’m dreading my family reunion this year. My mom caught wind of my relationship with Mary thanks to a certain loud mouthed cousin and his girlfriend and hasn’t been able to stop talking about finally getting to meet her. Which is exactly why I’ve been avoiding him. If I see him, I have to tell him what’s going on. If I tell him, everyone is going to know. Jeff offered to stay home to make things easier on me, but I promised both of them we wouldn’t hide anymore and I intend to keep that promise. We simply have to be creative for a little while, like until my mom and grandparents die of old age.
“Look on the bright side, at least you have Tommy to help you get through it.” I glare at Dylan, wishing I could kick him for opening his big mouth. He knows full well what I’ve been doing. He even blackmailed me into securing Tasha’s silence because he knew it was killing her to not be able to gossip with Holly.
Jeff, being as astute as ever, quickly picks up on the tension between the two of us. “Is Tommy upset that you didn’t tell him sooner?” he asks, signaling the waitress for the bill.
Tasha’s slumped back in her chair as if she wishes she could disappear. I know the feeling well because I’m hoping a crack forms in the floor sucking me out of here.
“So, Mary,” Tasha interrupts as I start to make my confession. I look up at her and she gives me a subtle wink. At least one of us has the good sense to get me out of this mess. “I was thinking that we could go shopping next week for the nursery. Holly only has one class over the summer, so I thought it would be fun to have a girls’ day.”
Her tactic works for all of about thirty seconds before Jeff turns his focus back on me. He drapes an arm over the back of my chair, leaning in close enough that Mary won’t be able to hear his question. “You haven’t told him, have you?”
I shake my head. “I’m going to head up to the bar, check on the game,” I announce. Jeff follows so we can continue talking away from Mary.
“Why am I going tomorrow?” The disappointment in his voice is worse than if he got pissed about my admission.
“I told you, I’m not going to hide you,” I whisper. “You’re not a dirty little secret to me. I just… I haven’t found a good time to tell Tommy what’s going on. He’s going to be every bit as pissed as Dylan was at first, probably more. And with everything with Liam and then Holly, I--”
“You’re making excuses,” Jeff states bluntly. “One of the things everyone loves about you is the way you don’t give a shit what people think about you. You’re the guy with no filter, the one that lives his own life on his own terms.”
He’s right. I was that guy for a hell of a long time. And then life got complicated. It was easy to not tell anyone that I thought about what it would be like to be with a man because I never pictured myself acting on those thoughts. Then, once I met Jeff, I didn’t say anything because it was meaningless fun. And now, there’s no way around the fact that I have to tell the truth. The problem is, thanks to keeping this to myself in the past makes it so there’s no way people won’t be hurt that they didn’t know.
“Look, it’s not easy to come out and tell those who care about you that you’re into something that is outside of what they consider normal or right.” He puts a hand on my shoulder, turning me to face him when I refuse to make eye contact. “It will be okay. They love you. It might take some time, but they’ll see that you’re happy and be happy for you.”
“Yeah, tell me that again tomorrow night. After you’ve met my family.” The bartender shows up with my shot of tequila and I suck it down. It tastes awful, but right about now, my entire goal is to take the edge off all this bullshit running through my head and Jose is the man for the job.
“I think you’re making this worse than it is,” Jeff sighs, placing his hands on my waist. I fight the urge to pull away from him as I glance around to make sure no one I know is here. The fact that I am hung up on the idea that someone could see us pisses me off.
Jeff is right. I am happy. We’ve gotten to the point where it’s hard to remember what my life was like back when I didn’t have to fight for the bathroom every morning or worry about anyone else’s schedule when I wanted to crank music at midnight. Back when I was alone.
Dylan and the ladies join us at the bar, effectively saving me from once again trying to explain the closed-minded ways of my family.
As we walk home, Jeff laces his fingers with mine, a subtle reminder that he’s with me in all of this. In turn, I reach for Mary’s hand and the three of us walk along the lakefront listening to the waves crashing against the shore.
I’m a nervous wreck as I get ready to meet Zeke’s family. The only consolation is that Holly is in the same boat as I am, meeting all of the Reed aunts, uncles and cousins for the first time. She does have the upper hand in that she has met, and gets along with, Tommy’s parents, but she has assured me they’re great people. Loving and accepting.
“Come on, we’re going to be late,” Jeff yells from the living room. He’s acting cool, but I know for a fact he dragged his butt out of bed earlier than he needed to this morning to make sure he had time to look his best too. His upper-hand is that everyone will think he’s the new guy in town, the buddy Zeke brought with so he wasn’t sitting home alone on a gorgeous weekend. Yep, I’m officially the one at a disadvantage in all of this.
“How do I look?” I turn awkwardly on my walking cast, showing off my new turquoise sundress. Used to wearing cut-offs and t-shirts when I’m not working, the knee length cotton dress is a huge step up from what the guys are used to seeing me in. I’m hoping the confidence boost I felt when I tried it on will carry me through the day and keep my nerves to a minimum.
“I’m sorry, who are you and what have you done with Mary?” Zeke laughs, blatantly adjusting himself as he stands to make his way across the room with Jeff hot on his heels.
“I think he’s trying to say that you look amazing,” Jeff whispers in my ear as he pulls my body to his chest. Zeke works his way around behind me so I’m sandwiched between them. With Zeke pressing against my backside and Jeff’s obvious approval at my stomach, I can think of quite a few things I’d rather do than head out to meet Zeke’s extended family.
“Guys…” I lose my train of thought when I feel Jeff’s teeth nipping at my ear lobe. When Zeke follows suit on the other side, my knees go weak. If we don’t leave right this minute, we’re going to be naked on the living room floor in about ninety seconds.
“Okay, let’s go,” Jeff says flatly, pulling away from my now throbbing body. He winks at me as he looks back, letting me know he’s fully aware of what they have just done to me. Somehow, some way, I will get them back for this.
“Zeke, I’ll be fine,” I whine as he turns down the pedestrian path. Pedestrian, meaning people walking, not my over-protective boyfriend driving his Jeep down it.
“You just got off your crutches, I’m not going to have you stumble trying to walk across the grass.” I’d much rather do without the grand entrance, but as we drive further into the park, I am grateful that I don’t have to make the uneven trek. Zeke reaches for my hand, squeezing gently as we pull up beside a white tent overflowing with curious family members. Apparently, Zeke meant it when he said it’s a big deal that he’s bringing me with him today. “You ready for this?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” I reach for the door handle, getting nothing but air as the door swings open. I look up and see Tommy and Holly anxiously waiting for me to exit the Jeep.
“Relax, everyone seems pretty cool so far,” Holly whispers as she gives me a quick hug. “Just watch out for Uncle Vincenzo, he’s an affectionate one.”
It’s good to see her starting to come out of her shell again. We haven’t spent much time together between my work schedule and her trying to get through finals, so I’m surprised to see her so happy. Last I heard she was pulling away from everyone, including Tasha, because she blame
d herself for the accident.
“You’ll have to point him out to me.” We link arms as we make our way to the tent. I look over my shoulder and see the guys still standing behind the Jeep unloading our coolers.
Holly leads me to a group of lawn chairs set up under an old oak tree. Before long, I see Zeke heading our way with a petite older woman close behind. Holly pats my shoulder before slipping away. Although we aren’t best friends or anything, I miss her immediately, wishing I had someone to turn to when the certain onslaught of introductions gets overwhelming.
“Mom, this is Mary. Mary, this is my mother, Debora.” I move to stand and his mother makes tsks at me.
“Please, don’t stand on my account,” she says sweetly. “Zeke told me you’re healing from a broken leg. I hope he’s taking care of you.”
I’m taken aback when Debora leans in, kissing my cheeks. She then places her hands on either side of my face, turning my head to one side and then the other, appraising me. “Son, she’s beautiful.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Reed.” I feel the blush creeping across my cheeks. “And yes, Zeke has taken excellent care of me since the accident. You have a pretty amazing son.”
“Oh, I like her,” his mother whispers loudly in his ear before kissing him and walking away. I think I’ve gotten away pretty easy until I see Debora making her way back with Zeke’s grandmother.
For the next hour, I feel as though I’m the queen holding court under a tree. There’s a steady stream of relatives wanting to meet the woman capable of making Zeke settle down. A few aunts mentioned Zeke falling in love and the way his entire body tensed at the words did not go unnoticed.
“Should I be worried at their enthusiasm?” I ask Zeke when he returns with a glass of punch and some snacks. “Seriously, they act like I’m the first girl you’ve ever brought around.”
“There’s a reason for that,” Tommy laughs, slapping Zeke on the back. I watch the two of them have a full conversation with nothing but body language and dirty looks. “Zeke has never brought a girl to a family function and you’re the first girl since Darla Hayes that has met Aunt Debora.”
“You’re an asshole,” Zeke grunts, shoving Tommy playfully. Looking around, I see that most of the cousins in their age range are female, so I suppose it’s not surprising that they act like brothers most of the time. “Where’s Jeff? I thought he was sitting with you and Holly while we dealt with this bullshit.”
“Yeah, he’s off talking to Anna. She just moved back to Madison, so I figured they’d have something to talk about.”
My eyes dart around the park, trying to find Jeff and this mystery woman. I want to yell at Tommy for introducing my boyfriend to another woman. Why would he do something like that?
Oh. My. God. He doesn’t know…
I watch as Mary’s face morphs from jealousy to rage. She glares at me and there’s no doubt in my mind that I am in the proverbial dog house. If we lived somewhere with a yard, I wouldn’t put it past her to put me in the literal dog house with as pissed as she is at me.
“Tommy, can you excuse us for a moment?” she requests through gritted teeth. My cousin looks dumbfounded as to the cause of her mood shift, but he’s smart enough to simply walk away.
“He doesn’t know?” She’s fuming and I offer up a prayer to every saint I can think of that she doesn’t explode in front of my family.
“Baby, I’ll fix this,” I promise her. What else can I do?
You could have been a fucking man and told him the truth, you stupid fuckwit.
I kiss the top of her head before walking away. As much as I don’t want to, there’s only one way to make this right. Well, two, seeing as I have to save Jeff from Anna’s persistent flirtation and I have to get Tommy to stop setting Jeff up with our cousins.
“Dude, that was so not cool,” I snarl as I walk past Tommy. He falls in step behind me as I stalk away from the tent. Once we’re out of earshot of our nosy mothers, I turn to face him. “You can’t go playing matchmaker. Have you ever thought Jeff might have someone in his life?”
“Well, he might,” Tommy says sarcastically. “But if that was the case, I doubt he’d be spending as much time as he does with you and Mary.”
This is out of hand. I should have said something months ago. But I didn’t and now I’m in a tangled mess I’m not sure how to get out of with minimal damage.
“Okay, well maybe Anna isn’t his type.” It’s a flimsy argument, but it’s the best I’ve got. I look over my shoulder and see Mary coming our way with Holly by her side. She still looks pissed, but not outright murderous, so that’s a good thing.
“Not his type? Seriously, she’s smart, funny and you have to admit she’s beautiful. Hell, if we weren’t related and I was single, I’d probably bang her. And don’t fucking lie, you know damn well you would too.” As gross as it is to think about anyone banging Anna, he has a point. Fuck, I’m screwed here.
“Not the fucking point,” I say through gritted teeth.
Dear God, I swear that if you can shut him up, I’ll come clean with him over beers tonight. Just Shut. Him. Up.
“Okay, Mister Know-it-all, you tell me who would be Jeff’s type.” Tommy gets this goofy ass grin on his face when Holly stands on her toes to give him a kiss.
“No one here, that’s for damn sure.” Except for me and Mary. We are his type.
“Oh, come on, Zeke,” Holly chimes in. I narrow my eyes, begging her to shut her damn mouth. “What about Lisa or Tina? Sure, Lisa seems a bit stuck on herself, but I would be too if I looked like her.”
“No! You two seriously need to stop.” I look to Mary, wishing she would help me out. She’s the one who makes a living thinking on her feet and getting people to see things her way, not me.
“What about Amber?” Holly asks Tommy, completely ignoring me. “She’s a Psych major, I’m sure they have things in common.”
“No, she’s a fucking train wreck,” Tommy protests. “I’m pretty sure she’s taking all those psychology courses so she can save money in the long run by self-diagnosing.”
“Guys, listen to me,” I growl. Mary’s getting more and more pissed off at me the longer they go on. I want to ask her what more she wants me to do, but even I’m not that stupid. With the icy glare she’s giving me right now, I’m pretty sure she would rip off my balls and shove them down my throat. “Jeff doesn’t need any help in that department, I guarantee you.”
“Aww, come on, Zeke,” Holly pouts. “He probably doesn’t like being the third wheel in your looooooooove nest.”
“Holly, would you shut the fuck up and listen to me?” I say, louder than I intend to. “You want to know how I know these girls aren’t his type? Why I don’t want to see him with Anna or Tina or Lisa or Amber or anyone fucking else? Because he’s with me! And I’d really fucking appreciate it if you two would stop trying to fucking tell me who’s right for him and why!”
A collection of audible gasps shuts me up immediately. I turn around and see everyone staring at our little quartet and realize that my voice had continued getting louder to the point where I just come out to everyone. Mary’s head is buried in my side as she sits there shaking her head.
“Oh honey, it’s a good thing you’re pretty,” she sighs, patting my cheek. She wraps her arms around me, drawing my face to hers, gently kissing me.
“Huh?” I mutter, confused and angry with myself. What the fuck does me being pretty have fuckall to do with what I just did?
“If we had to rely on you being smart, we’d all be screwed.” I hang my head at her astute observation. I am, after all, the king of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.
I told Zeke this was going to blow up in his face. I can’t count the number of times I told him that he needed to sit down with Tommy and tell him what’s going on. Did he listen? Nope, and now I’m too far away to hear what’s being said as I try to tune out his cousin Anna rambling on about some reality show that I couldn’t give a damn about. The longer the
y stand off to the side of the crowd talking, the more riled Zeke gets.
I start walking back toward the party without a backward glance to Anna. Given the history between Tommy and Zeke just in the time I’ve known them, I’m fairly certain things are going to get ugly quick if someone doesn’t intervene. I relax a bit when I see Mary and Holly join them, knowing neither of the men will get stupid when the women are there.
And then, it happens…
”He’s with me!” I don’t know what came before those words, but given the family’s reaction, I can take a guess that he has just outed himself. And that I’m no longer the new-to-town buddy.
“What the fuck do you mean he’s with you?” Tommy yells after processing what he’s just heard. I take off at a jog, needing to be there to keep them from rolling around in the grass like a couple of idiots.
As I get closer to the tent, I slow back to a walk. Not because the situation is any less volatile, but because I see that the entire family is watching Tommy and Zeke and don’t want to add to the spectacle. They seem to be doing a fine job creating Jerry Springer style memories all on their own.
Holly reaches for Mary’s arm, urging her to back away. She shakes her head and says something that causes Holly to laugh. At least someone is having fun right now.
“Tommy, could you keep your voice down?” I plead with him when I get close enough that I don’t have to shout. He whips his head in my direction and I see nothing but anger in his dark eyes. His neck is corded, fists balled at his sides. I approach with my hands held in front of me, trying to show him that I’m not looking for a fight. Not only is it not something I normally do, I’m pretty sure it would do nothing to help my image with his family at this point.
“What the fuck are you thinking?” Tommy sneers, his voice thankfully back down to a near conversational tone.
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