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“Stop joking around with me.” Megan made a frustrated noise followed by clinking, like she’d almost dropped the phone.
“I’m serious.” I clenched and unclenched my fist. “I’m dating a guy. Malik, specifically. My coworker. And I’d like to bring him to the party.”
No answer. No clinking. No footsteps. No hum of the TV in the background. I checked the call. Yep, we were still connected.
Damn it.
“Megan? Are you there? I’ll skip the party and not go if that’s what you want, but this is legit.” I wouldn’t go without Malik, not if we wouldn’t both be welcomed, but I also wasn’t going to put us in a hostile situation. Legit. Could I sound blander? I inhaled, searching for better words to explain to us both. “Megan? I’m happy. Really happy. He makes me happy.”
“Good.” The reply was soft but there. She cleared her throat before continuing, “I’m here. Just a little stunned that my girl-crazy little brother is dating a guy. Happily. But yes, I want you to come to the party. Both of you. Mom and Dad are going to flip, but if you’re happy…”
“I am.” I said it more firmly this time. And if Megan wanted us there, then we’d be there. But she wasn’t wrong about the parental reaction. “And I guess Mom will be my next call.”
“Let me do it?”
“Nah. I should be the one to tell her.”
“You can call her tomorrow, but let me lay the groundwork for you.” Megan was back to typical bossy-big-sister mode. “It’s something I can do for you. You know our parents—big freakout privately, but then they’ll settle into their public faces. The party will be fine.”
“Can’t risk a public scene.” I couldn’t keep the bitterness from my voice. Sit down. Behave. Don’t fight. Don’t cry. Don’t look bored. So many damn rules for the off chance of a camera in the stands.
“Exactly.” Megan sounded like the public front was a good thing. “So I’ll tell Mom you’re bringing a date who’s a guy and that I said it’s fine because it is, and that will steal some of her fire before you call tomorrow.”
I opened my mouth to say no, that I didn’t need her assistance with Mom. But wasn’t I the one telling Malik it was good to need help sometimes? If Megan wanted to help, God knew she was better at talking to Mom than me. And I’d still call Mom tomorrow, regardless, no matter how hard or awkward.
“Thank you.” It was all I could do to get the two words past my suddenly clogged throat.
“You don’t have to thank me.” Megan made a clucking sound, and I didn’t need video chat to picture her finger waggle. “This is what big sisters do. And remember that, okay? No matter how chilly Mom and Dad get, you’re still a Haskins, still one of us, and I’ll be in your corner.”
“I…I love you too.” I flipped off the light in the bathroom like that might stave off my emotions. Maybe if I didn’t have to see my eyes, I could pretend they were dry.
“Always.” She laughed lightly. “Never saw this coming though.”
“Me either. But it did and…” Yet again, I was at a loss for words how to describe what Malik and I had. Special. That was what he’d told his mother, and it fit. “He’s special, Megan. Really special.”
“I’m happy for you. Truly.”
We ended the call on that warm-and-fuzzy note, and I made my way back into the dim hotel bedroom. I paused at the foot of the bed, taking a moment to stare at Malik snoozing away.
The call had gone well. Better than I’d expected, honestly, and undoubtedly there was a lesson there in how I tended to fear the worst-case outcome from other people, like Megan and Malik’s mother, and didn’t allow enough room for them to surprise me. But even if the call had gone sideways, it would have been worth it.
Being here with this man, taking care of him, letting him take care of me, all that was worth it. I was worth it. I felt strangely light, like I’d pulled off a fifty-pound pack I’d been hauling for hours. Or, more precisely, twenty-five damn years. The weight of pretending was gone. What was coming might be difficult, but it couldn’t be worse than all the weight of not being my true self.
“Come to bed, baby,” Malik mumbled from the bed.
“I’m here.” I slid in, carefully spooning myself around him. Usually, we lay the other way, but I was feeling particularly protective of Malik right then, needed to hold him close. “Might have obligated you for a family dinner. Sorry. We’ll talk about it when you’re awake.”
“I’ll be there.” He yawned and snuggled in closer, and for a moment at least, all was okay in my world.
