Page 11 of Oddly Fine

John sighed and hung his head for a second. “Should probably go eavesdrop, since her birthday’s coming up and I haven’t got a clue about what to get her.”

Beckett snorted and nodded. “The joys of marriage!”

“You just wait ‘til you’re the one picking out jewelry for your wife,” John grumbled and then headed towards the showroom.

Beckett didn’t speak. Not a fucking word. But as his father disappeared into the crowd, he noticed Hayes’ smirk, which was decidedly an expression he’d stolen right out of Beckett’s playbook.

“I prefer gold to silver,” Hayes said, offhandedly, barely containing his laughter.

Beckett smacked him in the middle of the chest. It felt damned good. No wonder his mother was so generous in dispensing those whacks.

Chapter 2

Beckett was shaking with nerves when he walked into his parents’ house. It was silly because he’d been here before with Hayes, and yet now, it felt like a whole other story. The last time they’d been here together, their relationship had been—well, hardly worth talking about. They hadn’t even referred to each other as boyfriends. Hell, they’d avoided discussing it as much as possible. Now? They lived together, called each other partners in every sense of the word, and were admittedly head over heels in love. This was a special form of insanity that Beckett was sure he’d never recover from.

“I need a shot—either right up the ass, or of tequila,” Beckett said, as he fought to regain control of his nerves.

Hayes snorted with amusement and squeezed his shoulder.

“Maybe it’s best to stay sober for this one—” Hayes replied. “Besides, we don’t have to do anything.” He was perfectly calm, like he’d done this a million times before. There was no fear in his voice and he wasn’t putting any pressure on Beckett. Hayes wanted to be out to Beckett’s parents. He’d told Beckett as much, but he was also well aware of how much his family meant to Beckett, and just how truly harrowing it would be if they were anything but accepting of their relationship.

Beckett shook his head as he’d done a million times already. He’d made up his mind long before they’d decided to come up for the store opening. Hayes deserved to be known for what he was—a giant fucking part of Beckett’s life. And Beckett didn’t have a history of cowering.

“Would you please—I’m having a moment,” he said, holding out a hand in a dramatic gesture that had to count as a prime example of the “flailing about” Devin referred to when talking about Beckett’s drama queen tendencies.

Hayes merely snorted again.

“Maman?” Beckett called out, as they left the front hall and headed for the kitchen.

“Setting the table!” she called from the dining room. Beckett followed the sound of her voice and found her preparing place settings.

“Hi, Beck, sweetheart! You boys are staying for dinner, right?” she asked, turning to look at him fondly. She glanced back and forth between him and Hayes for reassurance.

“Right, yes, but about that—” he began, taking a deep breath and looking back at Hayes. He’d decided to come out to his mother first, thinking it was best to get over the biggest hurdle first. The opinions of his siblings didn’t matter nearly as much.

“The thing is—” Beckett started to explain, but he was interrupted mid-sentence.

“Mom, where do I put the Chinese takeout?” Jackson yelled from the front entryway.

“Oh!” Cynthia exclaimed as she walked towards the door of the dining room to give Jackson instructions. “On the counter!” Then she turned back to Beckett, placing her hand gently on his shoulder, and said, “I’m sorry, what were you saying?”

“Well—so, I brought Hayes with me—”

“Right, and I’m so happy you’re both here! After last Christmas, I definitely needed a redo where no one gets shot!” She laughed as if the whole blood-on-the-carpet debacle hadn’t shaved ten years off their lives.

“Right, yeah, but that’s not really the reason I brought him—” Beckett tried to regain control of the conversation and get back on topic.

“What’s not the reason you brought who?” Jackson asked, as he interrupted their conversation for the second time. He’d changed from the suit he’d been wearing at the store’s grand opening, and was now in jeans and a sweatshirt.

Beckett envied him. He’d removed his tie and jacket, but he was still in his dress shirt and slacks.

“Hayes. Beckett was explaining why he brought Hayes,” she said, including Jackson in their discussion, instantly turning the whole thing into a group conversation.

Beckett could feel any modicum of control he’d had five minutes ago just slip away. This was not turning out the way he wanted it to. At all.

“No need to explain, Becky. Hayes is always welcome! Especially since he’s the only one of us who can like—spin you around and disarm you if you go cuckoo again,” Jackson declared with a warm laugh, crossing his arms over his chest. Their mother whacked him on the shoulder, and he howled in protest.

“What was that for?” he whined indignantly.