Tilting the glass, he poured a beer, placed it in front of me and then poured his own. “I hope this isn’t too touchy of a subject, but how is your dad?” His brow ticked.
My chest pinched for a second. “Fine, as far as I know. I haven’t seen him since the time I visited him during Christmas in high school.” Me and Eli had been together then. He understood how awful the trip had been. In fact, he knew all about the drama between my mom and dad.
“I’m sorry. I guess I’d hoped you’d been able to repair that relationship.” He tensed the edge of his mouth. “My dad was livid when I came out to him, but he accepts it now.”
“Yeah?” His father had been the primary reason we’d dated in secret. I sipped my beer, letting the cool bubbles soothe me. “Tell me more about it.”
“Like I said, I told them when they dropped me off at the airport for my trip to ASU in freshman year.” His lips grew thinner. “They wanted to see me off, so right there before security, I told them I had something important to say.”
I widened my eyes. “You had an escape if it went badly.” He really had been a coward in high school. Could I believe him when he said he’d changed?
“Yep.” He inhaled deeply and then sipped his beer. “I just blurted it out, and neither of them believed me. Then Dad got mad. His face was so red, I thought he’d have a stroke.” Shaking his head, he chuckled. “Mom just stared at me.”
“Did you explain yourself then?” I leaned forward as if I could hear him better. Maybe he’d had good reason to hide us in high school. “Was it as bad as you thought it’d be?”
“It was about what I expected. I didn’t wait for them to say anything. If my dad had said something derogatory, it would have crushed me.” He huffed. “Especially after losing you. I wasalready heartbroken.” His gaze landed on mine, and his brows wrinkled. “I left them there and walked into the security line. Thankfully, hardly anyone was in it, and I pushed my way through in five minutes.”
I drank some beer, thinking about his words. He’d run from everything when he came here and made a new start. “So, they didn’t call you or text you while you waited to board your plane?”
“Nope.” He fingered the condensation on his beer glass. “They were stunned. I don’t know, maybe they figured I’d pulled a stunt on them and if they left me alone, I’d come to my senses.”
Narrowing my eyes, I said, “Have you ever told them about me? About us?”
With a shrug, he said, “Sure, after we started talking again.” His gaze crept to mine. “We didn’t speak for about six months, and I didn’t go home for Christmas break. It wasn’t until the bowl games were over and I’d secured my place on the team as one of the better linebackers that they called me.”
My heart ached for him. What would have happened if he’d come out in high school the way I’d wanted? Would he be here right now, or would his life have changed for the worse? “I’m sorry I pushed so hard for you to come out in high school. I really didn’t think they’d be that upset about it. Especially your mom.”
“It was my mom who pushed my father to accept me. When we spoke for the first time, she did a lot of talking. She said all the right things—that she loved me no matter what and would always support me.” He drank some beer. “Dad had been quiet on the first call. All he said was,me too, but I could tell his heart wasn’t in it.”
“So, but he accepts you now, right? What changed?” I spied a food runner with a tray of sushi. “Hey, the food’s here.” I leaned back while they set the sushi on the table.
Licking his lips, Eli gazed across the food. “Looks good,doesn’t it?” He unwrapped his chopsticks and pulled them apart.
“It does not answer my question.” Was he dodging it? I poured soy sauce into a small dish and mixed wasabi in it.
“He told me that a guy on his crew is gay. Dad always thought he was a great worker, one of the best. He was unaware the guy was gay until they were all out having beers and it came out.” He made his soy sauce mixture and dunked a roll in it.
“Your dad is still a lumberjack?” I chuckled. The man was a stereotype of one, always wearing flannel and tough as nails.
“He is.” A grin flickered across his mouth. “Anyway, I think it all put it in perspective for my dad. His crew accepted Gary with no issues, just like anyone else. Dad was the odd man out.” He took a bite of sushi and hummed. “Damn good. Try it.” He pointed his chopsticks at the roll with raw tuna and sauces slathered over top.
“So that’s it? He found out a work buddy is gay, and everything was cool with him?” I grabbed a piece of the roll he’d pointed out and stuffed it in my mouth. The creamy and sweet flavor exploded on my tongue.
“Not that fast. My dad later admitted to sitting down with Gary and getting his perspective on life. Gary saved my relationship with my father. I don’t think he would have come around if it hadn’t been for him.”
Nodding, I ate a piece of salmon nigiri. “I knew your dad was a man’s man, but I didn’t think he’d take it as hard as he did.” I pushed my lips together. “Again, I’m sorry, Eli. I should have believed you when you said your parents wouldn’t take it well.” I’d put him in an awful place. Maybe what happened wasn’t all his fault. “What about your mom? Is she still drawing blood at the doctor’s office?
“She is.” With a nod, he drank his beer. “She’ll be there until she retires.”
“Did you ever tell them what happened between us?” His parents had always been nice to me, but they didn’t know I wasfooling around with their son, or that I’d broken his heart when it happened. Well, we’d broken each other’s hearts. I ate more food.
“Yes, I told my mom about it. My dad isn’t interested in shit like that. My dad only likes to talk about grades and football.” He sipped his water. “She’d wondered why I’d been so down before I left and assumed it was from the weight of coming out to them.” He sucked in a breath. “She felt sorry for me.”
“Shit, does she hate me?” I popped a roll into my mouth. If I ever met her again, would she say something about it? I’d probably never see her again, so I had nothing to worry about.
He tapped his chopsticks on his lips. “I don’t know, but you hurt her baby boy, so she might.” He raised the corner of his lips.
“Great.” My chest tensed. “My mom wasn’t happy with you either.” She knew what had happened when it happened.
