Colton
My phone vibrating noisilyagainst the coffee table had me scrambling to turn off the show I’d been watching to answer Derek’s call. I’d gotten a text earlier in the day when he’d made it to his parents’ place, but nothing else till now. When we’d discussed his coming out, he’d said he’d wanted to get it done the first night and the best opportunity would be during their family dinner. My heart leapt into my throat noting the late hour as I answered.
“Hi, thanks for calling Hot Bod Services. Tell me, stud, what are you wearing?” I asked, hoping to gauge his mood with a silly joke.
A low chuckle greeted me on the other side of the line, my chest lightening with the sound. Things couldn’t be all that bad if he could laugh at my dumb antics, right?
“Currently, I’m in pajama bottoms and a t-shirt I stole from my boyfriend.” He sounded relaxed which helped soothe my remaining worry.
I gave a mock-gasp. “I was standing right there when you packed! How did I miss you stealing a t-shirt from me?”
“Super ninja skills, baby.” I could hear the grin in his voice and I settled back into the couch, letting out a contented sigh.
“How did today go?”
“Really well, actually. I thought I was going to piss myself when I came out to Lucy, though.” He let out a slow breath, “I know I said I wasn’t worried, and in the end it was fine, but there was something in the moment that had me thinking like, ‘What if? What if she's not actually okay with it? What then?’. It made me think back to when you told me in T&T. Did I ever tell you how fucking cool you were that day? Like, especially after coming out on my own, I’m blown away by you.”
I barked out a laugh, even as my heart squeezed at the layer of awe in his voice. “Baby, I can assure you I was begging every molecule in my body to keep from showing how freaked out I was then. I wastryingto look cool.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, of course, I was coming out to a super hot guy who was going to be living with me for a few months, and it was important you knew. But, I don’t want you thinking that having nerves when telling people for the first time is weird or wrong. Even after already being out, it’s normal to have a little unease when telling someone new, because there’s never a guarantee they’ll receive it well.”
Derek seemed to mull that over based on the silence that followed. I could hear him steadily breathing, and I let him have the time he needed. After a moment, he let out a short huff.
“While I appreciate the pep talk, I’m stuck on how you thought I was hot.”
Another bubble of laughter left me and I shook my head. Fuck, I really loved this man.
“Did you tell your parents today too, or just Lucy?” I asked, wanting to steer the conversation back. I didn’t want him to feel pressured to come out faster than he needed to, and telling one person—the main person, according to him—was a huge accomplishment all on its own.
“I told my parents.” I held my breath, the tone in Derek’svoice indicating things may not have gone as smoothly as with his sister.
“Yeah?” I prompted after a moment where he didn’t continue.
He sucked in air slowly before letting it out. “It went okay. Toni handled it really well, which I had no doubt she was going to. She thanked me for telling her and said she was glad I was coming to know myself better.” There was a short pause before he continued. “My dad… Well, I didn’t think he was going to accept it at first.”
“What do you mean?”
There was some rustling on the other end of the line. “He got this real confused look on his face and kept saying, ‘But you’ve always dated women’. I think it took him a moment to process that I wasbisexualand notgay. When Lucy called him out on how he wasn’t being very supportive, he seemed genuinely hurt.”
My shoulders dropped a little. Coming out was a daunting task all on its own, but feeling the need to defend your understanding of yourself or your decisions in the moment could be overwhelming. Though I knew Derek could have handled himself just fine, it was reassuring to know someone had his back.
“He told me he just wanted me to be happy, and if that meant being with a man, then it didn’t matter to him.” Derek continued, “Which shocked me a little, considering how religious my father is.”
“Oh?” I asked, momentary dread festering in my gut.
He hummed in acknowledgement. “I outright asked him if me having a boyfriend would cause any issues with his beliefs.” He let out an amused breath. “But, once again Lucy shut him down. She said, ‘It better not since Jesus calls us to love everyone equally’.”
I cackled loudly. “Damn, your sister is feisty. I love how protective she is of you.”
I could hear the grin in Derek’s voice. “Yeah, she was the best. Held my hand under the table the entire time.” I was beyond happy hearing things had gone as well as they could have for Derek, and I said a small prayer to anyone listening that he’d receive this same open-arm acceptance for the rest of his life.
“Lucy really wants to meet you in person now,” He continued, “And it got me thinking. I know I was supposed to go to North Carolina with Cecilia, but… I want to spend Thanksgiving with you and your family. I’d love it if my parents and Luce could come too. What do you think?”
“I mean, I’d love that. I obviously want to meet Lucy and your parents properly, too. But, what about Cecilia? Isn’t that going to cause a lot of problems?” I asked, trying to not let my excitement cloud over reality.
Derek scoffed, “I should have put my foot down years ago. I don’t know why I keep going back when she’s only ever treated me as a means to an end. I can tell you she won’t be nearly as accepting about my coming out as my parents were. I just need to let it go.”
