“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.”