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“You’re more than a great fuck.”
“A pretty face?”
“I’m serious, Corbin.”
“I know.”
But did he? Did he really know?
“What did you tell them about me?”
“I’d already told them you’re coming, but I texted this morning and said you’re my boyfriend. I’m claiming that shit. You’re my first one ever!”
I laughed because Jesus, how could I not? He had the most electrifying personality, one I couldn’t get enough of.
I was fighting with my instincts not to hate his parents based on what I knew about them, but it wasn’t easy. The second we got to the house, I relaxed some. Corbin’s parents, plus a brother and a sister, their spouses and their children, were all waiting to greet us and introduce themselves, so maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.
When we got to his brother, though, he said, “It’s good to meet a new friend of Corbin’s.” Then turned to the kids and said, “Come meet Uncle Corbin’s friend.”
Ah, so they were going to play it like we were friends because it was so wrong for kids to know queer people could live happily ever after?
Corbin glanced my way and rolled his eyes before swooping in to pick up the kids and play with them.
We made our way into the living room, Corbin getting right down on the floor to play with his nieces and nephews. It was a modest home, without a lot of upgrades, but looked comfortable and lived in.
“So what do you do, Spencer?” his mom asked.
They seemed nice and were at least trying to make conversation, so maybe I’d misjudged them. “I’m the outreach coordinator for the LGBTQ center in Santa Monica,” I said, unwilling to leave out where I worked.
Gazes darted to the kids, who weren’t paying us any attention. It was clear they loved their uncle Corbin and Corb adored them. I hated that he didn’t spend much time with them because of his family.
“That’s nice,” his mom replied. “Did you grow up here?”
Well, there went the subject change, steering it to topics they considered safe, when there was nothing wrong with Corbin and me at all.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Corbin
I loved spending time with the kids, probably because most of the time, I was just a big kid myself. But there was no stress with them, no worry about what they thought. At this age, they didn’t judge me or anyone the way others did. They were too young to learn from the world how to do that yet. They were just…fun.
My family talked Spencer’s ear off, asking him questions and learning about his family. I hated that they were skirting around who Spencer was to me, though. I wasn’t lying when I told him I was claiming that shit, wanted to tell everyone how lucky I was that he wanted me. But I would never go behind their back when it came to the kids.
“Do you or your family go to a church?” Dad asked Spencer, and I immediately tensed up.
Fuck my life. Here we go.
“My parents do, my siblings do sometimes, but I don’t actively practice a religion.”
I hadn’t known that about his family. Would tomorrow at his place be the same as it was here?
“That’s too bad,” Dad said. “We would love to have you. It’s a disappointment for us that Corbin doesn’t attend.”
“I don’t think anyone should attend if they don’t want to,” Spencer said. “You can be a good person and put good into the world without attending church, and Corbin does that. There’s no reason to be disappointed in him.”
My heart nearly beat its way out of my chest. My parents hadn’t meant anything bad by that, but still…Spencer was defending me.
“Oh, that’s not what we meant,” Mom said. “We love Corbin so much. We just worry about him.”
Spencer bit his lip, and I could tell he was trying not to say something.
“I’m fine, Mom. Did I tell you Spencer and I went hiking the other day? We did the Solstice Canyon Loop.” Both my parents liked hiking, and Spencer and I did too. We’d talked about going some other places this summer, as if he thought he would still want to be with me by then.
My change of subject worked. Everyone chatted for a while, talking about hiking, our jobs, and things my siblings had done with their families. I didn’t share much of my life with them, which sucked, but I figured it was easier on all of us that way.
When it was time to eat, everyone headed to the table, the kids at a separate, smaller one.
They said their prayer, and when I peeked at Spencer, he hadn’t closed his eyes and was watching me. He winked, which automatically made me smile.
I was happy today—happy I got to see the kids and that my family got to meet Spencer, even if it was different from how it was when they met my siblings’ significant others. I loved being around Spencer, and it was a cool experience seeing him in my childhood home, so I wasn’t paying much attention to what I was doing as I made my plate. I got turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls, cranberries, and green beans.
