Putting on a pair of grey sweatpants and a white cotton T-shirt, I padded down into the kitchen with a growling stomach.
I hadn’t eaten anything all day and was starting to feel a little nauseous because of it. To my surprise, I found Theo sitting in the kitchen. She was still in her pantsuit with her shirt unbuttoned to reveal her sports bra, sipping a beer.
As I entered, she shifted her dark eyes to mine and raised an eyebrow.
“You’re up,” she said. It was an observation, not a question.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Sit down,” she ordered, and I frowned at her, wondering what this was all about. Theo rarely wanted to spend time with me. Curiosity, more than anything, drove me to obey.
I pulled out a chair and sat at the table. She got up and pulled out a bottle of expensive tequila we save for special occasions and two crystal rocks glasses.
She put a glass in front of me, then sat down and poured us each a finger.
“It’s a weekday, Theo,” I pointed out.
She shrugged. “Drink the fucking drink, Ryan. I need to talk to you, and neither of us is good at this shit.”
Fair enough.
I knocked back the tequila, and she immediately poured me another ounce.
“How did the service go?” I asked, watching her shoot her liquor and pour herself another.
“It went fine.”
“Was everyone upset?”
“No. Most of the family said that was a pretty typical event where Ms. Sherri Thomspon was concerned. Apparently, this was mild for them. Several people asked me to express their apologies to you and let you know they thought the service was lovely, and they were sorry she clearly upset you.”
I glanced up at her, shocked.
They had wanted to apologize to… Me?
“That doesn’t make any sense. I behavedcompletelyinappropriately, and Cal… he came in and totally made a mess of things!”
Theo eyed me, her lips a firm line. She spun her glass on the table before taking another large sip.
“I saw him come in. It looked like he was trying to get that psycho lady off you. Honestly, I was about to do the same thing,but he beat me to it. She had no right putting her hands on you like that, Ryan.”
I stared at Theo, surprised that she was coming to Cal’s defense.
“Don’t get me wrong. The dude’s a total fucking weirdo, and I think it’s strange that he seems to have just inserted himself into our lives, but… I’m never going to be against someone who clearly has your back like that.”
My mouth opened and closed several times in shock, but Theo just poured me another drink.
“Down that. I have to ask you something else, and it’s going to be awkward.”
My empty stomach was burning with the few ounces I had already consumed, but something about the way Theo was looking at me made me want to comply.
I tipped back my drink and swallowed the alcohol, feeling the heady effects start to hit my bloodstream. I had to admit, I was feeling much more relaxed.
“Okay. What do you want to ask?”
Theo looked me dead in the eye and, with a completely straight face, hit me with the last thing I ever expected to come out of her mouth.
“Are you gay?”
