Page 72 of The Dom

I liked the sound of that. “Just say the word.”

“Orgasms?” She laughed, and I enjoyed the feel of it as much as I did the sound. “Is that like the opposite of a safe word? I just say orgasms, and you give them to me. I like that idea.”

It was my turn to laugh. I couldn’t say I disliked the idea either. At some point, we’d have to try things that way.

Forty-Four

Ashlee

All my anxiety, it seemed, had been for nothing. Mom’s meal was perfect, as per usual. Finley arrived five minutes early, and with both flowers and a bottle of wine. The first minute or so was awkward, but easy humor proved a good way to diffuse things, and both Mom and Finley were good for that.

Now that I thought about it, I was starting to feel as if I’d been cheated out of a sense of humor since both of my parents seemed to have it. And it wasn’t the only thing they had in common, apparently.

“That was a hell of a night,” Mom said with a shake of her head. “Dozens of us arrested.”

“It was the first time for me,” Finley said with a smile. “I usually kept to myself. I wasn’t in the closet, but I wasn’t open about who I was either. That night though, the guy I was dating, he dragged me out, and after a couple drinks, it looked like a good idea.”

“We were probably in cells across from each other.”

Nate leaned over, his mouth against my ear, “If they start singing jailhouse songs, make a break for it. I’ll provide a distraction.”

I laughed, almost as much at the sheer joy of the evening as his comment itself.

“I must admit, it’s nice to have someone who gets how it was for us just twenty, thirty years ago.” Finley gestured to Nate. “This one here, someone thinks he and I are fuck buddies, and he just laughs about it. He doesn’t get how recent it is that he could do that without being afraid of violence.”

“You know, sometimes I forget just how much older you are than me,” Nate joked.

“Well, I have recently become a father.”

Mom reached over to set her hand on Finley’s. “I can’t tell you how pleased I was to discover that the man who helped me have my daughter was a truly good man.”

“You raised an amazing woman.” Finley’s smile softened. “I’m privileged to know her.”

None of this seemed real. Like it was all too good. As shitty as some parts of my life had been, I tried not to be too cynical, but I wouldn’t have dared to hope that things would go this well. Now, I felt like I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, for these two to find something that ended this comradery.

And then it happened.

Without a knock, the front door opened, and three people walked in, laughing and talking as they sauntered into the living room. My grandparents stopped talking when they saw us all sitting around the table, but Aunt Janette kept going, caught up in her story.

“…and that’s when I told her that I didn’t care that she’d gone to chef school. If she thought she could show up at the church potluck with cheesy potatoes when I’d been bringing them for twenty-five years, she was going to find those potatoes and her fancy little container at the bottom of the trashcan. She backed down in a hurry, I’ll tell you.” She laughed, a raucous bark of a sound that effectively silenced everything else in the room. After a beat, she lifted an eyebrow. “What’s all this?”

“Dinner,” I said stiffly. “We didn’t know you were coming or we would’ve made more.”

I wasn’t sure that was entirely true, but I wasn’t going to rock the boat. Not when things were going well.

“We hadn’t realized you’d be having guests over this week,” Granny said, her lips smiling but her eyes cold.

I swallowed a smartass response about us not realizing we had to plan our lives around a visit we hadn’t known about in the first place. I really wanted Mom to be able to reconcile with her family, and if my keeping silent during some passive-aggressive bullshit helped, I’d gladly do it, but they were beginning to piss me off with the way they talked to Mom.

Nate stood up and walked over to my grandparents, holding out his hand to Gramps first. “Good evening. I’m Nate Lex–”

“We know who you are,” Granny interrupted, a glint coming into her eyes. “We saw your picture online, you and our dear little Ashlee.”

Gramps clasped Nate’s hand and gave him a firm handshake, a stern sort of look on his face as if he was taking Nate’s measure for some reason. I sincerely hoped Gramps didn’t think he had any say in who I dated. I was willing to give my family the chance to prove they’d changed since Mom had last seen them but playing the protective grandparents would be a shade too far at present.

“You’re even more handsome in real life.” Granny held out her hand, and Nate shook it. Even though she wasn’t squeezing his hand, she still looked like she was sizing him up.

“Thank you.” Nate gave her one of his polite smiles. He turned to Aunt Janette and greeted her as well. She didn’t even bother trying to hide the way she was ogling him, and I caught a glimpse of barely disguised disgust on his face. “Did your husband come for a visit as well?”

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