Kyle
When Steph noticed that I smelled like the body wash that Colby and Gavin used, I felt my heart skip a beat.
I quickly looked to Colby and said, “oh, does it? I got it as a Christmas gift from Luke and Olivia.”
She smiled, “well I like it, it suits you.”
Thankfully, Carla said, “our reservations are in half an hour, we better be going.”
Carla rode with mom and dad, Colby and I rode with Steph and Rob. My niece, Hailey, was spending the night with Rob’s parents. We arrived at the restaurant and were seated right away. Carla had picked a nice place and the food was excellent.
As we were eating, Carla asked, “so how are things going with that girl you are seeing Kyle, what was her name, Paige?”
I nearly choked on my drink, “I guess not too good, she kind of got back together with an old boyfriend over Christmas.”
Mom gasped, “Kyle, why didn’t you tell me that?”
I shrugged, “I don’t know, it’s no big deal mom. We really weren’t that serious anyway.”
Mom said, “well you still could have said something.”
I said, “I’m sorry mom, I guess it didn’t bother me too much.”
Dad said, “Donna, he’s a big boy, he doesn’t have to tell you about his love life if he doesn’t want to.”
Mom shot dad a look and Carla said, “well. I’m sorry to hear that Kyle, I’m sure you will meet someone soon.”
Dad changed the subject when he asked Rob about his job, Colby and I looked at each other in relief. We finished our dinner, we were going back to mom and dad’s house, mom had made a birthday cake for Carla as dessert.
As we were driving home, Steph said, “so Kyle, you have already met someone else, haven’t you?”
I asked, “what do you mean?”
She chuckled, “I can always tell when you have a secret.”
I said, “maybe I have, but I’m not ready to introduce them to the family yet.”
Steph asked, “what about you Colby, are you seeing anyone.”
This caught both Colby and me off guard, Colby stuttered, “well I…”
Rob said, “jeez Steph, you sound just like your mom, leave the poor guys alone.”
Thankfully, we arrived at the house, and all went inside to enjoy Carla’s birthday cake.
After we had finished the cake, Steph and I cleared the plates and took them to the kitchen.
As I was loading them in the dishwasher, she asked, “so, are you going to tell me what is going on.”
I furrowed my brow, “what do mean?”
She chuckled, “don’t even try to play dumb with me, Kyle. There is something going on between you and Colby.”
I felt the heat rush to my face, “what are you talking about?”
She said, “oh my God Kyle, you and Colby smell like the same body wash. When Carla asked about your girlfriend, you and Colby looked like you got caught doing something wrong. You two have been giving each other little smiles and making googly eyes at each other all night. You used to always tell me when you started seeing someone new, now you and Colby just change the subject when I bring it up. Something must be going on between you two.”
I sighed and shook my head, “we are still trying to figure out what’s going on. Damn it Steph, I have never felt like this before, I think I have fallen for Colby.”
Steph asked, “are you kidding me?”
I shook my head, “no, I’m not.”
“Have you ever dated another guy before?” She asked.
I said, “no, I never thought I wanted to, but I want to be with Colby.”
She sighed, “wow little brother, I don’t know what to say.”
I said, “just promise me that you won’t say anything to anyone else just yet. Colby and I are still trying to figure how to tell the rest of the family.”
She gave me a hug, “of course, but I think the sooner you tell them, the better.”
I nodded, “I know, but we have just both just come to terms with our feelings. Please give us a little time, we will tell everyone as soon as we can.”
She smiled, “ok, but I have to at least tell Rob. I promise to swear him to secrecy.”
I rolled my eyes, “fine, I trust Rob.”
We joined the others as everyone was getting ready to leave. Steph and Rob left first, I’m sure Steph told Rob about me and Colby before he even had their car started. Carla hugged Colby and me and walked home.
I said, “I’m going to run Colby home, I’ll be back in a bit.”
Mom smiled, “ok dear, we’re heading to bed, we’ll see you in the morning. It was nice to see you again Colby, you know you can stop and see us anytime.”
Colby returned mom’s smile, “thanks. I’ll try and stop in more often.”
Colby and I headed out the door as mom and dad headed to their bedroom.
As Colby and I drove to his house, I said, “we must have been a little too obvious.”
He asked, “what do you mean?”
I said, “Steph figured out that there was something going on between us.”
He said, “really, what did you say?”
I shrugged, “I asked her to let us tell everyone, she said that she would. She has probably already told Rob though.”
Colby chuckled, “I would expect her to tell her husband.”
I pulled into Colby’s driveway, he asked, “do you want to come in for a quick beer?"
I smiled, “sure.”
He grabbed a couple of bottles out of the fridge, and we sat on the couch.
Colby said, “I have been thinking about your family.”
I took a drink and asked, “ok, what about my family?"
He said, “they already know that I am gay. Is it going to be a bigger shock that you are dating a man, or that you are dating me?”
I swallowed hard, “I don’t know, I never thought about it that way.
He asked, “how do you think your parents will react?”
I shrugged, “I don’t know, my dad didn’t really say too much when Gavin came out, but Gavin wasn’t his son. Mom was more worried about how Carla was handling things. I guess I hope they will understand.”
Colby took a drink of his beer, “what if they don’t take it well?”
I sighed, “it’s not like I’m a kid, they can’t kick me out of the house. If they chose to not have anything to do with me, then I just get on with my life. Will you be there for me?”
Colby smiled at me, “of course I will.”
He gave me a kiss and we cuddled on the couch for a few minutes. We must have both fallen asleep, I woke and looked at my phone, it was 5:30 in the morning.
I jumped up and startled Colby, he asked, “what the matter?”
I said, “we fell asleep, it’s 5:30, I need to get to my parent’s house.”
I rushed home, hoping mom and dad were still asleep. I chuckled to myself, I just told Colby I wasn’t a kid, and here I was sneaking into my house like a teenager that missed his curfew. I went in through the garage, trying to be as quiet as I could. I slowly opened the door to the kitchen, pausing when I heard it squeak. I breathed a sigh of relief when I got the door closed. I turned to go to my bedroom, my heart sank when I saw dad sitting at the table drinking a cup of coffee.
He said, “good morning, Kyle, did you and Colby have a nice night?”
I said, “yeah, I guess so. What are you doing up so early?”
Dad said, “I woke up to use the bathroom and I noticed that your truck wasn’t in the driveway. I checked your room, and your bed hadn’t been slept in, so I made a pot of coffee to wait for you.”
I sighed, “well, like you said last night, I’m a big boy, I don’t have to tell you everything.”
He nodded, “you’re right Kyle, but as an adult, you should at least be honest with me.”
I hung my head, “yes dad, I do owe that much. I’m sorry, but I was just trying to find the right time to tell you.”
He took a drink of his coffee, “tell me what, Kyle?”
I took a deep breath, “when I was home for Christmas, I went to have a long talk with Colby. Well one thing led at another, dad I have feelings for Colby, and he feels the same way.”
Dad asked, “are you saying that you and Colby are dating?”
I nodded, “yes dad, I am.”
He nodded, “I see. How many other guys have you dated?”
I shook my head, “Colby is the first, I have never looked at another man like this before.”
He asked, “so is this why you broke up with Paige?”
I said, “no, not at all, I was telling you the truth about her, she did get back together with an old boyfriend. Honestly dad, we only saw each other to get Olivia off of our backs. Paige is a great girl and a good friend. She actually encouraged me to talk to Colby, I told her everything when I got home after Christmas.”
Dad sighed, “well, I don’t understand all of this Kyle, but you are my son, and I love you. I just hope you aren’t doing all this because you feel guilty about how you treated Colby in the past. I know you are missing Gavin, could that be why you…”
I stopped him, “no dad, yes, I still miss Gavin, but the reason I treated Colby badly was because I was jealous.”
Dad asked, “because you wanted to date Colby when he and Gavin were together?”
I shook my head, “no, I would have never hurt Gavin that way. I was jealous of what they had, they really loved each other. I have never had that. God dad, I have never felt this way before, not with any of the girls I dated. When I dropped off that stuff at Colby’s house after Gavin’s funeral, I saw him lying there, it was so sad. I held him for a few hours that day, I felt the need to comfort him. That is the same reason I bought him that battery, I wanted to help and protect him. Damn it, I couldn’t get him out of my mind. Now, when I am with him, it feels so right. I want to go to his house right now and take him back to Colorado with me. I have promised him that I will take things slow, so I will never tell him that, not yet anyway. Dad, I love him.”
I saw a tear run down dad’s cheek, “Kyle, if Colby makes you happy, then I support you. I’m sorry if it takes me a little bit to get used to this though.”
I also had a tear run down my cheeks, “thank you dad.” I gave him a hug.
Mom walked in just we broke our embrace, she asked, “what’s going on?”
I took another deep breath and told mom everything that I had just told dad. She said mostly the same thing that dad and we also shared a hug.
She said, “you know you need to go tell your Aunt Carla.”
Dad said, “yes Kyle, and I think you should do that before you leave today.”
Colby
I saw the panic on Kyle’s face when his sister noticed that he smelled like the bodywash that Gavin had used for years. Then at dinner when Carla and Donna started asking him about his girlfriend, that same look reappeared. It was dark in the car on the trip home, but I am sure he was panicking when Steph was giving him the third degree. I really wasn’t surprised when he told me that Steph had figured everything out as he was driving me back home.
It occurred to me as we pulled into my driveway, I had no reason to keep our relationship a secret. Kyle’s family already knew I was gay, he was the one that needed to have a talk with them. Of course, I would never go behind his back and tell them, but I had no reason to hide anything. I could see the concern in his face when I mentioned this to him. I made sure he knew that I would be there for him when he told them and if they reacted badly. When we fell asleep on the couch, I felt bad that it was my suggestion that he come in for a beer. I hope he was able to sneak into the house before his parents woke up. He told me he would stop by on his way out of town this morning.
I took a quick shower and made myself some breakfast. My mind was racing, I couldn’t stop thinking about Kyle. I hope he tells his family about us soon, even though we couldn’t see each other a lot, I was already tired of sneaking around. I was finishing cleaning up my dishes when I heard my side door open, I was surprised to see Kyle walking in, it had been less than 2 hours.
I asked, “are you leaving for Colorado already?”
He shook his head, I could see he was a little upset. Kyle said, “my dad was up already when I got home, he asked me about us.”
“What did you tell him?”
Kyle sighed, “I told him everything. God Colby, once I started, it just all came spilling out. I told him that I think about you all the time and how much I love you.”
I was shocked, did Kyle just say that he loved me? He hadn’t even told me that yet. I just stared at him as he looked into my eyes.
I swallowed hard, “and what did he say?”
Kyle said, “he told me he loved me and wanted me to be happy, he said it may take him a little bit to get used to this, but he was there for me.”
I gave him a hug, “that’s a good thing, right?”
Kyle nodded, “yes, of course. Damn Colby, I feel like the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders.”
I asked, “what about your mom?”
He said, “I told her the same as I told dad, she tried to talk me into talking to Paige again, just to make sure.”
I chuckled, “so did Paige really get back together with her old boyfriend?”
He nodded, “yes, she did. I told Paige about us, she talked me into calling you and coming to see you, so we could talk.”
I said, “remind me to thank her if I ever meet her.”
Kyle took my hand, “there is one more thing.”
I asked, “what is that?”
He said, “mom told me that I should tell Aunt Carla about us, and dad thought it would be a good idea if I did it today before I leave town.”
My stomach flipped, I knew it was up to Kyle to tell his family about us, but I hadn’t considered how Carla would feel about it.
Kyle asked, “will you go with me when I talk to her?”
I sighed, “I suppose I should. How do you think she will react?”
Kyle shrugged, “I don’t know. I think she wants you to be happy.”
I nodded, “yeah, I guess. So how do we tell her?”
We came up with a plan and Kyle called her to see if we could come over. She said, of course, you are always welcome at my house.
We drove over and she invited us in. She said, “I always have time for my two favorite guys, it is so nice to see you two getting along. I know it would make Gavin happy.”
Kyle said, “thanks Aunt Carla, that is sort of what we wanted to talk about.”
She said, “have a seat, have you guys had breakfast yet? I could make you something.”
Colby said, “no thanks, we have already eaten.”
She smiled, “at least have a cup of coffee.”
She didn’t wait for a response, we soon each had a cup sitting in front of us.
She asked, “so, what did you want to talk about?”
Kyle said, “well, Colby and I have been talking since Christmas.”
Carla smiled, “yes, I know. Like I said, Gavin would have loved to see you guys getting along so well.”
Kyle took a deep breath, “yeah, well, you see we are getting alone so well because, well we are…I mean it’s just that…”
I took Kyle’s hand, Carla noticed, she asked, “just say it Kyle, what’s going on?”
Kyle said, “Colby and I are dating.”
Carla looked at both of us, she pushed her chair back and stood. She walked to Kyle and slapped his face.
She said, “you can’t have him, he belongs to Gavin.”
To be Continued…
