“Honey…” Mom started, but I didn’t let her finish because I’d started the train wreck and I’d let everyone in the room watch me damn well finish it. I needed him to know, and I didn’t care that our parents were there to witness it. He’d said he didn’t want to hide us. Well, neither did I.
“No. He wasn’t…” Damn, the words were hard and Garrett’s expectant gaze met mine. He didn’t push for me to continue, but I needed to say it. Sure, our relationship had shifted from brothers to so much fucking more in the matter of a little over a week, but it didn’t change how I felt in the slightest. “He wasn’t just a safe bet. I uh. Shit, I love Garrett. Have probably always loved him. Everyone always said we were closer than we should have been…”
Garrett surged toward me and kissed me. Dad and Mom be damned. He overwhelmed my senses with his lips and contented noises. Dad cursed, and I caught him getting up from the couch and walking away from the corner of my eye. Mom got up to go after him, but I couldn’t pull myself away from the man I was in love with.
The kiss didn’t last long, because damn, that had really gone down in front of our parents. Garrett didn’t let me go, however. He clutched at my shoulders and rested his forehead against mine. Warm puffs of air washed over my lips as he caught his breath.
“Hey, Ty?”
“Yeah?”
“You know I love you, too? Right?” he asked. A grin stretched across his face, and my chest fluttered.
I gave his lips another quick kiss. A rapid press of mouths as we sealed what we’d admitted to each other. But damn, we still needed to fix this with Dad and Mom.
Garrett
Momstood,leaningagainstthe kitchen island as she watched her husband pace the length of the kitchen when we found them. She still didn’t seem like she was all that upset, but Tyler’s dad looked like he was about to lose it at any given moment.
“Gary. This is not the end of the world. It’s twenty-twenty-three. It’s more than normal to be queer. And they’re not actually related. I think you’re freaking out a little more than necessary.”
“It would be one thing had they met under normal circumstances, Tabs. We’ve raised them as brothers. Sure, I’m shocked. Who wouldn’t be? People will talk. I couldn’t care less who makes Tyler happy, but it’s complicated with it being your son.” He stopped in front of my mom and the way he’d saidyour sonhurt a little. He’d always treated me the same as he’d treated Ty.
Both of them looked in our direction as Tyler cleared his throat. One hand reached up and grasped my upper arm in a vice-like grip. “I—I realize this isn’t going to be easy. Obviously it isn’t. If that post was any indication. Hell, it’s not even the first post,” he said.
Mom pushed away from the counter rushing to our sides and wrapping him in a tight hug. He let go of my arm with the force of her embrace. “What do you mean it’s not the first one?” she asked, protectiveness evident in her voice.
“While we were gone, before Tyler and I came back after he twisted his ankle, Toby posted an article about incest and tagged Tyler in it,” I explained. “I got him to take it down, but people were questioning things.”
Dad scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “You boys were home by yourselves for only a couple of days and this all goes down.”
When Tyler laughed, my brow creased as I turned to look at him. Mom had released her hug, but still held onto his shoulders as he continued to laugh. He laughed harder and harder, tears forming at the corners of his eyes and I wasn’t sure what was suddenly so funny. This whole situation was a mess.
Through gasping laughter, Tyler finally clued us all in to what the hell was so fucking funny. “Well, at least we didn’t throw a party.”
And just like that, the tension that had been borderline oppressive since we’d come down the stairs broke. Dad’s shoulders shook, and he joined his son in his laughter. The idea was ridiculous because the whole humiliation factor of being so publicly outed and being accused of incest seemed like less trouble than a house party.
It did the trick, pretty soon the entire kitchen filled with laughter. Mom had wrapped one arm around Tyler’s shoulder and pulled him to the kitchen island as she grabbed a pitcher of water from the fridge. She pulled out a few glasses from the cupboard and poured something cold for all of us to drink as we calmed down.
“I also declined my acceptance to The University of Washington.”
Shit. Tyler was on a roll. It had been a smart move on his part, to break the tension from our parents finding out about us and then diving into the other big news.
Dad grabbed a stool and pulled it next to Tyler, sat next to him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. Ty tensed for a moment before we both realized that his dad didn’t actually seem all that angry about the news.
“Why are you staying?” His dad actually seemed to care what he had to say. This was the exact opposite of how we saw things going down.
Tyler shifted and then wrung his hands together. His gaze darted over to me and I nodded letting him know that this was going to be okay. Our parents were more supportive than we ever imagined. Most people dreamed of having parents like this.
Before diving into his explanation, he took a deep breath. He explained he didn’t feel right leaving his dad after he’d lost his mom, even if he had Tabitha now. He also told him about how the thought of leaving me had nearly suffocated him and that should have been his first clue that there was something more there than brotherly love.
His dad pulled him into a hug, which Tyler returned. The two held onto each other for several moments before pulling apart. “Tyler, I appreciate you taking me into consideration when making your college plans. Do you have something else lined up?”
Tyler nodded quickly explaining his plans for enrolling in the local community college. There was still a way for him to get his degree in nursing, it would just take longer. There was a plan, though. Mom and Dad seemed to approve that he’d thought it all through before declining his acceptance. They weren’t going to pull their offer of financial assistance during school.
“Thatdidn’tfeelreal.”Tyler sighed as he collapsed back on the bed. I curled into him, pulling him into me. I kissed the side of his neck and he hummed at the contact.
“It was almost too easy. But I also don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth.”
