Page 70 of The Liar in Room 5

After more tears and hugs, I finally had myself under control enough to introduce them to the table. Except I immediately froze on how to introduce everyone. Marc and Ben were obviously simple enough, but Henry? Shit. Boyfriend? Halfway house sponsor? Benefactor? Daddy? Shit. Shit. Shit.

“Hi, I’m Marc, and this is my son Ben. It’s so nice to meet you.”

My dad offered his hand to shake while my mom nodded. She’d slipped her arm around my waist and wasn’t quite ready to let me go.

“And I’m Henry.”

Fair enough, no description required, but I felt the twinge in my chest that he hadn’t been able to choose a label either.

“It’s so nice to meet you. Please call me Jeremy. Lydia and I were so excited when you called us about coming out here. It’s been too long since we saw our boy.”

I knew this wasn’t the kind of place my parents usually went to or were comfortable in, but I appreciated them coming out so much.

“Oh, good, everyone’s here now,” the server announced.

My folks settled themselves at the table, with my dad next to Marc and my mom next to me. She’d yet to let go of my hand, but I was perfectly okay with that. Ben had insisted on getting back onto my lap. It was sweet to see how taken he was with her and she with him. Never once had she complained about the lack of grandchildren in her life or asked if I’d be having kids, but watching her with Ben, I knew she’d have been an amazing grandmother.

On my other side, Henry sat close and discreetly clasped my fingers a few times. After each squeeze, I’d glance over at him and smile. It didn’t go unnoticed.

“Andrew, what’s going on with you and Henry?” my mom whispered.

I loathed and detested being called by my full name, but my parents had insisted on no nicknames ever growing up. But I was an adult, dammit.

“Huh, Mom? Call me Drew, please.” Then I held my breath while I waited to see her response.

“I’ll tell your dad, but answer my question.”

Ben was completely engrossed in his current coloring project, so I wasn’t too worried about him overhearing us, but unfortunately, I didn’t have an answer for her.

I loved him, but our relationship was thoroughly and completely undefined.

“We’re friends.”

My mom shot me a knowing look.

“What? We are,” I hedged.

“That’s it? Because it’s a heckuva friend who sends someone’s parents plane tickets for a birthday party.”

Thankfully, she reached over and rescued one of Ben’s crayons from rolling to the deck. It saved me from having to answer.

He gave her the sweetest smile, which she eagerly returned. From that moment, all hope of remaining his favorite was gone. He scrambled off my lap, plopped himself onto hers instead, and was thoroughly in love all within the space of about a minute.

Maybe I wasn’t sure how to describe my connection to Henry, but I would worry about that later. Most likely it’d be at a dreaded one a.m. introspection marathon, but at least it wasn’t now.

“Excuse me, where is the restroom?” I asked a passing server as I moved away from the table.

“Downstairs, second door on the left at the end of the hallway.”

I nodded my thanks and started to wind my way through the maze of tables. More than anything, I just needed a moment to catch my breath. My mom’s question was stuck in my mind, and I wasn’t sure what the correct answer was. I was more than a little scared of history repeating itself. This wasn’t the first time I’d been in love, but it might be my last, and it made me a little queasy to think that I was putting myself in the same position I’d always been in—wanted and needed until I became disposable.

Before I reached the stairs, a large party suddenly appeared in my path. Mostly men, they were clones of each other, all dressed in expensively casual clothes with loud, brittle laughs.

And then I heard him.

The high-pitched, slightly nasally voice was one I’d instantly recognize in any crowd. I hadn’t heard it in months, but the shame I’d felt when I left his home flooded back. As much as I wanted to run away and hide from the group, I was rooted in place. Before I could actively will my feet to move, he saw me. The dawning recognition on his face turned to puzzlement.

“Oh my God, Andrew, is that you?” Jonathan asked in a register designed to be heard. His entire party turned to look at me like I was a specimen in a zoo.