Page 98 of Fame & Rhythm

“Thanks, Mum.”

Aston nods. “Yeah, thanks.”

We both stand, brushing ourselves off.

Mum reaches for my arm. “Can we have a quick chat?”

Aston leans in and kisses my cheek. “I’ll see you inside.”

I hand him my notebook as Mum smiles at him. “Thanks, honey.”

“No worries,” he says, giving me a wink before heading back toward the manor.

Mum slips her arm around my shoulders, steering me toward the lake. “So… you and Aston, huh?” she says lightly.

I nod, unable to stop the smile spreading across my face.

“How serious are we talking?”

“We just decided to be boyfriend and girlfriend,” I admit. “But we’re taking it slow. We were best friends first, and we don’t want to mess that up.”

She nods thoughtfully. “I was friends with one of my exes before we got together. It didn’t work out, but we’re still close.”

I frown, trying to piece that together. Mum doesn’t exactly have a long list of male friends.

Then it clicks. “Wait… you mean you and Uncle Joseph?”

She smiles. “Yep. Four years.”

My brain stalls. “But… Uncle Joseph is…”

“You can say it, honey. He’s gay,” she says gently. “He didn’t realize at first. Not properly. Then he met Danny.”

I blink, trying to follow. “But you said four years…”

She presses her lips together briefly. “He was figuring himself out. Didn’t want to hurt me. But eventually… he had to choose. And he chose Danny.” I wince slightly. “Anyway…” she adds, waving it off, “… that’s not the point.”

We stop near the lake, ducks gliding across the water.

She hesitates. “Do I need to talk to you about…” I tense. “Sex?” she finishes, clearly uncomfortable.

I burst out laughing. “No, Mum. We’re nowhere near that. We’ve only really been kissing, and we’re taking things slow. We don’t want to fuck this up.”

She gives me a look. “Language.”

“Sorry.”

She softens. “Just know you can come to me… about anything. I don’t want you figuring this stuff out on your own.”

I nod. “I won’t.”

“I’ve known for years this would happen between you two,” she adds with a small smile.

I groan. “Seriously? Everyone knew except me.”

She laughs.

“He wrote me a song,” I say quietly, the smile slipping back onto my face.