by M. A. Innes
“Good. I’m not much of a fighter.” Kevin laughed and reached out to grab the main door.
Walking up the stairs, I started listing off the stuff that we would need to get. He laughed and shook his head. “You’re a planner, too. Don’t tell me you have crazy long detailed lists?”
I looked at him with a very serious expression. “Lists are the most important thing to have happened to mankind. Shame on you.”
He was still laughing when we walked into my old room. Thankfully, Jay wasn’t there. I thought he would be in class for a while, so we could get everything packed before he got back. Kevin was happy to let me give instructions and organize. I wasn’t packing it all up for the summer so it was a little bit different than I was used to, but it went pretty smoothly.
When all we had left was hanging clothes we were just going to drape over the boxes in the trunk and back seat, I started to think we were in the clear. I should have knocked on wood. Jay came walking in as we were walking out the door with the first load.
“What’s going on? Where are you going? You didn’t come back last night. I was worried.” Frowning at me, stress was evident in his voice.
He probably would have kept going but I interrupted. “I’ve got a place off campus. I’m about done.” Then I took the easy way out and headed out the door.
Unfortunately, I had to go back upstairs, so it was only a short reprieve. Kevin must have seen how stressed I was getting because as we put the clothes down in the car he looked over at me and tried to give me his innocent look. “How attached are you to your clothes?”
I laughed. “I’m not going to explain to Maddox that I need a new wardrobe because I was too chicken to get my clothes. One more load and it’s done. We can do it.” Shutting the car door, we headed back to the building.
When we got upstairs, Jay was sitting on the bottom bunk staring blankly around the room. He seemed confused. What had he thought would happen?
He looked over as we walked in the door. “I don’t understand.”
This was awkward. “What did you think would happen when you told the school you thought I had drugs?”
Kevin’s mouth came open but he didn’t say anything. He just watched the drama unfold, probably trying to decide what to do.
“I didn’t tell anyone about your box.”
“Ohhh.” Kevin looked like he was starting to connect the dots. “You have a box.”
Jay nodded. “It was locked. I told my parents because my mother said I had to tell them anything odd that happened at school. Maybe they called?”
“Why would you tell them about my stuff? That was private.” This was getting more frustrating by the second.
Jay seemed to be even more confused. “Why would you have something private in a box?”
Kevin looked at him like he was from outer space, then glanced back at me. “He’s not kidding, is he?”
“No, he’s not. He really doesn’t get it.” I wasn’t sure what to say. Someone had the birds and the bees talk with this guy, hadn’t they? “Jay, some things that people have or use are personal. We just don’t talk about them unless we…” Dear God, how did I say this? “Unless we are doing private things with that person or we have a very good reason to.”
“Private things?” He frowned still looking very confused. “But that means…what do you need private things for?”
“Look it up online, Jay.”
He looked over at his laptop like he had no idea what I was talking about. “Private things don’t show up online. Everyone knows that. Even if you accidentally type in something wrong, the computer stops you.”
He still had child protection software on his computer?
“When did you get this computer, Jay?”
“Just before school started. We didn’t use them that much at home. Research for papers and stuff like that mostly. Why?”
For the love of…
I looked over at Kevin who was still standing there staring. “What do I do?”
He swallowed and then looked over at Jay again before shrugging. “We can’t leave.”
“I’m not the right person to have this talk with him. I’m ready to hide under the bed already.” I wasn’t kidding. This was testing me on every level.
“Me neither. I don’t even know him. He should have this talk with someone he knows.” Kevin started nodding and inching his way backward toward the door. “I’ll wait for you—”
Oh no, he wasn’t.
“If I have to do this, you have to. You get a short reprieve because you have to go down to the car and get my laptop, but that’s it. You’ve got two minutes or I’ll tell Jeremy and Maddox you threw me to the wolves.” I might not know exactly what our two new friends were up to, but I had a reasonable guess that some kind of punishment would be involved if I tattled on him.
“That’s mean.” He looked offended but it was probably an act.
“Two minutes or I’ll tell.”
He shook his head but hurried out the door.
“I don’t understand.” Jay was still sitting on the bed hunched over and giving me this look like a lost puppy.
I walked over to sit on the floor across from him. Leaning back against a dresser, I took a deep breath and looked at him. Someone save me. “Jay, how much do you know about sex?”
I wasn’t going to survive this.
CHAPTER 16
Maddox
“How about we call in sick? ‘Hello, Mother, Father, I’m sorry I can’t make it to the restaurant. I’ve come down with the plague.’ I think that could work.” Straightening my tie, I looked out the front window of the car and sighed. “There are so many other things I’d rather be doing.”
“Me too. I’m missing play time here but you don’t see me making up fake excuses.” He gave me a serious face and shook his head.
“No, you’re just making up fake futures for us.”
He grinned, looking very pleased with himself. “Hey, I did a great job on our future. I look like the best boyfriend ever. Besides, if we don’t go, then we have to go with Jay to the LGBTQ mixer. And I think I’d rather meet your parents.”
“Oh, that’s right. Suddenly, my parents aren’t looking so bad anymore.” Jay wasn’t as annoying in short doses now that Bryan wasn’t living with him. And we’d had a firm discussion with him about what kinds of college experiences you shared with your parents. But the questions were a bit much. “Is he still asking about the different lifestyles?”
Bryan sighed and his head flopped back against the seat. “Yes. He asked me about a few I’d never heard of. We had to google some strange shit in the cafeteria. He’s that kid who’s excited to be shopping but has no idea what they want. He’s bouncing all over the map looking at everything.”
“At least it’s better than the toy site.” Those questions had been difficult for even me to answer. Bryan spent several conversations blushing and stuttering through terribly awkward topics. We tried to make him read the descriptions, but he didn’t have the context for a lot the things on the site. So reading about it only made the questions worse.
Once we started actually talking to him and figuring out the right questions to ask, things started falling into place. He’d been raised in some kind of tight-knit community that sounded more like a commune or possibly a cult.
I was still hazy on the details, but they weren’t homophobic; they just believed that any sexual practice should take place after marriage. And they went to great lengths to make sure nobody got too curious before getting hitched.
Jay was actually the first person to leave the town for college in a long time. He’d only convinced his parents because he wanted a business degree to help several neighbors with their small businesses. The commune evidently decided to take the chance with the outside world for better profits. Well, that was how it sounded to Bryan and me, but we didn’t tell him that.
After experiencing the real world, we weren’t sure he would be going back.
T
hat made us feel worse about the way the housing situation had gone, which was how we got roped into hanging out with him more. He didn’t have a new roommate yet, and we were hoping he’d get lucky and be able to live alone. I couldn’t imagine anyone who’d be able to deal with him. Especially now that he’d found so many interesting things to research.
“You realize if you dawdle any longer we’re going to be late.” Bryan reached out and put his hand on my leg, giving it a squeeze. “I’ll support your decision, but I think you’ll end up being mad at yourself for skipping out on it.”
“I hate it when you’re right.”
“I’m always right.” He grinned then put his hands back on the wheel. “So, are we going?”
“Yes. No more wussing out.”
“You just took the long way around making the decision.” Then he leaned over and gave me a quick kiss. “It’s going to be fine. We’ve got it all worked out. We’ve even planned out worst-case scenarios.”
“I love you, Baby.”
“I love you, too. Now let’s get this over with so we can come back and have play time. I’m ready to curl up with you, Daddy, and forget everything.”
“Sounds perfect.” There was no place else I’d rather be. But first, we had to get through dinner.
****
The drive to the restaurant didn’t take nearly long enough. “Are you ready to brave the dragons?” I was kidding.
Mostly.
Standing outside the door to the restaurant where we were meeting my parents, it was getting hard to breathe. It was probably the tie, but it felt like a noose slowly tightening around my neck. When they’d first said they wanted to meet for dinner, it felt like such a long time away, but it had snuck up so quickly.
“It will be fine. It’s not like we’re telling them the truth.” Bryan squeezed my hand. “We’re going to tell them just enough to make them think you agree and that’s it. No promises but we don’t have to tell them our plans.”
“You’re right. We got this.”
Pulling the door open, I walked into the upscale restaurant where we were greeted by a hostess. “Hello gentlemen, would you like a table for two?”
“No, we’re meeting someone. They may have already arrived…” A quick scan and I found my parents right off the bat. “There.”
After pointing them out, I took Bryan’s hand as she led us over to the table. Bryan gave me this Are-you-sure? look about the hand-holding, but I wasn’t ready to let go yet. I had no idea how the evening was going to end up. He didn’t realize it but he was the only reason I was sane at all. My parents made me crazy.
“Mother, Father, it’s good to see you.” I let go of Bryan’s hand as we got to the table but it was so I could shake my father’s hand. I wasn’t going to hide our relationship.
“Maddox, good to see you. And Bryan, correct?” My mother smiled but it didn’t warm her face the way Michelle’s did when she grinned. This felt cool—like she was meeting clients or something.
Bryan smiled back, his much warmer, and reached out to shake their hands. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Bryan, this is my mother, Catherine Hollis, and my father, Joseph Hollis.”
“Nice to meet you both.” Bryan looked calm and collected—like he met crazy parents every weekend.
“Punctuality is important, Maddox.” My father’s dry voice radiated disapproval.
We were three minutes late.
Two could play this game. “This is one of the only restaurants in the area that doesn’t have private parking or a valet, so it took a while to find something reasonable.”
He’d picked the stupid restaurant because of its reputation, not because the food was good or he actually liked it. It was in a pedestrian area downtown that was trendy but parking was crazy. My father gave me a cool look. “I’m sure with better planning, it could have been avoided.”
I gave him a bored look and tried not to react. Even if they didn’t make me nuts, I wasn’t in the mood for this. Between classes, trying to get the new business set up, and working on making the apartment habitable, I was ready for the day to be over. Everything was falling into place, but I was ready for our bedtime routine and to relax.
After sitting down, we listened as my mother made small talk about what they’d been doing while we looked at the menu. My father was getting to the interrogation part of the meal when the waiter came up to take our orders.
I enjoyed the break from the firing squad.
After everyone ordered, the conversation turned back to Bryan and me. Lovely. Yeah, I was whining, but I’d about reached my limit of them trying to control my life.
“So Maddox, you’ve managed to avoid this on our previous conversations, but we were wondering about your major…” My father looked like he was prepared for a fight.
Lying was never the best option…in most cases. My parents were the exception to that rule. “You’ve been so busy, I’m not surprised you don’t remember the conversation. Mother, didn’t I mention the other day that my finance classes were going well?”
She’d been having a conversation with the housekeeper the last time I talked to her. She’d only heard half the discussion, tops. She’d stayed on the phone long enough to call it a conversation because she’d wanted to make sure I’d meet them for dinner.
“Yes, dear. You had nothing but good things to say about them. I told you that, dear.” She looked at Joseph like he’d put her on the spot.
Bryan was watching it all play out, trying not to smile.
“Maybe you did. I guess it’s time we bought you that car you wanted then, Maddox.” He looked like he’d won the prize of the year. Manipulating your kid shouldn’t make you that cheerful.
“That’s not necessary. We’re managing fine on one vehicle and right now our apartment only comes with one parking space.” And I’d dodged one bullet by throwing myself in front of another. It might not have been the best plan, but it was all we could come up with.
The car conversation was bound to make me crazy, so anything else was better. They’d been holding the truck I wanted over my head for years. Always one more thing, then I’d earn it. The last trick had been I’d get a vehicle when I picked my major. Basically, when I agreed to do what they wanted. The truck had long since lost its appeal. I’d rather take the bus forever.
“What?” My father’s smirk fell away.
My mother chimed in—probably trying to prevent him from exploding. “An apartment, Maddox?”
“Yes. There were some significant issues with the roommate they put me with. A very disturbed young man.” Yeah, now I was throwing Buzz under the bus, but he wasn’t around to hear, so I wasn’t going to feel bad about it.
“That’s terrible, Maddox. Why didn’t you say something?” Anything that sounded like it could come back on me was going to make her crazy.
“I felt it was something I should handle myself. Bryan and I both got roommates that were…unique, to say the least. I thought it was best to find new accommodations. You understand; there are some things I don’t want my name associated with.” I sounded so snotty that I didn’t even want to hang around me. “Luckily, the housing department agreed with me. They transferred our housing fees to a management company they sometimes use; that paid for the apartment for the year.” We’d gone over this story a thousand times over the past couple of days. I was anxious to see how it would work.
It was now Bryan’s turn to chime in. “And it makes a better impression on clients when you come across as more mature. Living in the dorms won’t provide that. We discussed it and thought it would be a good step toward his career.”
Mother had to agree. “You might be right, Bryan. Joseph, don’t you remember the Taylor boy? He didn’t take his final years in school as seriously as he should have, and look how he turned out. A waste of an education.”
It was easy to see my father hated to agree with me, but we’d framed the argument well enough that he didn’t have much room to disagree with
us. The Taylor boy was a good point in favor of our argument, too. I should have thought about that. He had an art degree and was doing well, actually making a living with his painting, but to my parents it was terrible.
“It’s time I got serious. Showing a long-term relationship with a successful person and being able to talk about more than parties in the dorms should help me cultivate that image.” And now to turn the conversation again.
“Successful? What are your plans, Bryan? I’m not sure Maddox mentioned them.” My mother tried to look friendly but it came off more like a shark circling fresh kill.
“I’m majoring in psychology.” Bryan gave her neutral smile and paused.
“Social work?” My father’s words dripped with skepticism.
“Doctorate, actually. Private counseling.”
“A doctor. Very nice, Bryan.” My mother’s smile was almost genuine. Having a doctor in the family was a lot more impressive than she was expecting. It did sound good. Bryan had no idea if he would get that far or if he wanted to, but all that mattered right then was placating my parents.
A potential spouse with a doctorate would make them very happy.
“That sounds like a good plan. Very respectable.” Again, my father hated that he didn’t have much to criticize.
Dinner kept going with the same theme. They’d bring up a topic to see if I was towing the line and we’d either turn it to a new topic or tell them a version of what they wanted to hear. A casual comment about seeing our new place, which was a thinly veiled attempt to see if it was respectable, turned into a discussion on furniture and wanting to wait until we could make a good impression on them.
“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that. Joseph, that isn’t going to work at all. Imagine if someone came by and thought we let him live in poverty. Do you have anything, Maddox?”
“Bryan’s mother has started helping us. She’s done so much. We already have a full kitchen and are trying to decide the best way to furnish the living room.” And the dining room and the bedroom and a ton of other little things. But I wasn’t going to say that.
She wasn’t going to let Bryan’s mother one-up her.
