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“We can rotate locations. I’ve never hung out with Ellis’s family before, and they’re so nice.”
I smiled. “Yeah, they’re pretty great.”
“Is there a reason you’ve decided to combine our families tonight?” she asked with a knowing look.
I was saved by Nolan’s mom pointing out a glittery silver centerpiece. “I love your poinsettias.”
“Thanks. It was a classroom project. I want everyone to take one home.”
“Really?” She clapped excitedly. “What an awesome teacher. I would’ve died for something like that when I was in school.”
I wouldn’t point out that some of the supplies came from my own pocket, as with plenty of teachers’ projects, but it was worth it.
“Is it true that these plants clean the air?” Mom asked.
“Absolutely true,” I replied, surprised that Mom had heard that little-known fact. “They remove the formaldehyde in the air around them.”
Nolan’s mom cringed. “Formaldehyde?”
I chuckled. “It’s found in lots of things, like grocery bags and insulation.”
“Okay, I’m definitely taking one of these home,” she said, and Nolan smiled from behind her.
So far, our gathering was going off with a bang, which made it even scarier to ruin it, but soon enough, we’d be running out of time. I stepped closer to Nolan, and without me saying a word, he nodded, wariness in his gaze. I almost reached for his hand but held myself back.
Nolan cleared his throat. “We have something to tell you.”
Everyone quieted down, their gazes focused on us.
“Uh-oh, this sounds serious,” Nolan’s mom said.
“It is—at least to us,” I replied, and the tension grew in the air.
“After the break-in,” Nolan began, “Ellis was having a hard time being in this apartment, which is very understandable.”
“Anyone would,” Annabeth said, and Collin nodded in agreement.
Christ, this was even more uncomfortable than I’d imagined. It wasn’t like they had to take out what amounted to a billboard sign announcing their relationship—or their sexuality, for that matter.
“True,” Nolan replied. “So I offered to have him stay upstairs a few nights or me down here to make him feel more comfortable.” He glanced at me, and I noticed the small tremble in his shoulders. “In the process, our friendship grew even stronger.”
“Nolan and I were close before, but spending all that extra time with him…well…that made us feel even more connected.”
Mom said, “Like I mentioned before, it’s great to have such a good friend.”
“He’s more than just a good friend,” I replied, and the room grew so quiet you could hear a pin drop. “I…I realized I was attracted to him, to a guy, for the first time in my life.”
“It was the same for me,” Nolan admitted, stripes of red across his cheeks.
“What?” Mom said. “But you’ve both been with women.”
“That’s what we thought too,” I replied. “How can we possibly feel this way about each other when we both thought we were straight?”
Nolan said, “We fought it for a long time because we were afraid—and not only of being caught by our bandmates.” He smirked, and Annabeth guffawed. I could just imagine the questions she’d have for her brother later.
I took a breath, finding it hard to meet my parents’ eyes. “But then we thought…if we were a straight couple, we wouldn’t even blink about telling our families that we wanted to date each other, so why are we now?”
“So that’s the news?” Nolan’s mom asked with a sparkle in her eyes. “That you two are dating?”
We reached for each other’s hands at the same time, which made us smile goofily at each other.
“Yes,” I said. “And we hope you’ll be cool with that.”
“Of course we will,” Annabeth said. “It’s perfect, really. To have feelings for your best friend. Maybe it was meant to happen all along.”
“Yeah,” Nolan said. “And your support would mean the world to us.”
There was a pause that felt like hours, and then our moms were rushing forward and hugging us.
When I looked over Mom’s shoulder, Annabeth was wiping away tears, Collin was smiling, and my stepdad seemed…spacey and uncertain.
“I’m still me, Dad,” I said, my gut churning.
He blinked as if coming out of a fog. “I know, son. It’s just thrown me for a loop.”
“I can understand that.”
The space between us felt wide as we watched each other warily for an elongated minute. Which was probably only a second, but to me, it felt like forever. I would’ve expected the hesitation from my mom, not my stepdad, which just goes to show you should never make assumptions.
“But I’m happy for you.” When he stepped closer to pull me into an embrace, I finally exhaled. Fucking hell, that had been intense and nerve-racking.
“So…you’re gay?” he asked quietly.
“Bisexual, I think, though I never realized it. Neither of us did.” Nolan’s eyes softened when I met his gaze. “I’m still trying to figure myself out.”
“You take your time,” Mom said. “We’ll be here no matter what.”
