Page 46 of It Starts With Summer

“Not gay, pansexual,” Ravi said firmly.That was new, and I glanced at him, raising an eyebrow.“I’ve been doing my research to believe that I am attracted to the person on the inside, not the physical attributes such as gender.”

“He has pretty nice physical attributes, though,” the teen girl said, sticking her hand across the table for me to shake.“I’m Esha, and if you ever decide you’re not gay, I’m single.”

“Holy shit, don’t make it awkward, Esh.Parker is definitely gay,” Ravi grumped as we all took a seat.“He has been out for years and only likes dick.”He blinked.“Potato.”

Ravi’s father raised an eyebrow.“Potato?”

“Parker gave me a word to say when I over-share and want to take it back.I shout Potato, and he erases it from his memory.Well, theoretically, I’m not sure if that’s physically possible, but he pretends so I can feel less embarrassed.”Widening his eyes at me, Ravi slammed his mouth shut, bringing the word vomit to an end.He buried his face against my shoulder, and I leaned over and kissed his head.

“It’s okay, baby,” I whispered, squeezing his hand.

He groaned.“I just mentioned liking dicks in front of my parents.”

“They’re still right here,” I said, darting my eyes towards them.Clearing my throat, I turned back to Ravi’s mom, letting Ravi hide on my shoulder for the moment.The parents looked a little stunned.“Thank you for having me, Mrs.Chandra.”

“Please, call me Prisha,” she insisted.“And this is my husband, Arjun.”

“Hello, Parker,” Arjun said, shaking my hand firmly.“We’ve heard a lot about you from Ravi.It’s lovely to meet you.”

“Are you hungry?I imagine you’ve had a busy few weeks at work,” Prisha said, gesturing at the table they’d all been sitting at.

I shook my head.“We had a final goodbye dinner with the other counselors at camp.Thank you for offering, though.”

“We’re pretty tired, Amma.”

“Let’s show you your room, then,” Ravi’s mother stood, smiling, and led us to the elevator, where we stood awkwardly.Ravi held my hand and Prisha watched me, her eyes taking in everything as the tiny car climbed four floors to the room she had reserved for Ravi.As she unlocked the door and swung it open, she gave me a knowing look before speaking.

“Are you sure it’s okay if we sleep together?”I asked.“I could reserve another room.”

She shook her head, smirking at me.“Why pay for a second room if you two will just sneak out as soon as we’re all in bed, anyway,” she said, chuckling.

“Amma!”Ravi protested.

“Hush, beta, I know what it’s like to be young and in love, and we’re not so conservative anymore.And this boy is clearly in love with you if he’ll listen to your rantings about plants.”

“Uh, thank you, Mrs.—I mean, Prisha,” I stammered, feeling awkward about the whole situation.

“Alright then, enjoy your stay,” she said with a kind smile, closing the door behind her as she left.

As soon as the door clicked shut, I flopped back on the bed, groaning.

“Did you not like my parents?”Ravi asked, frowning.

“No, they were lovely, but I’m so damn awkward.I hope I didn’t fuck it up.”

Ravi shrugged nonchalantly as he walked around the room, opening the curtains and flipping light switches as if he had to test every one of them to see what it did.“I thought it went great.”

I watched him, admiring his beauty as the sunlight streamed through the window and highlighted his handsome features.His glasses caught the light, and he winced and took them off, cleaning them with a little wipe, then cleaning a spot on the window.Even his oddities were too cute, and I felt incredibly lucky to be sharing this moment with him.

“Your family is amazing, Ravi,” I said sincerely, still unable to stop myself from grinning.“They all seemed so warm and kind.”

“And a little teasing,” Ravi added.

“But the good-natured type.I liked it.”

“Thank you, Parker.”He smiled warmly at me.“I think they really liked you, too.”

As I watched Ravi, desire surged through me.The light from the window cast a heavenly glow on his beautiful face, and I knew I wanted him more than anything.

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