Page 134 of Mine

Salt sighed dramatically again, but he was smiling. I followed Beth up the front stairs and looked around her front porch. There was an abundance of potted plants, a porch swing, and a myriad of kitschy things that made me smile. A clay fairy tucked away beneath the leaves of a pothos, pride flags wavering in random places. The welcome mat had a rainbow and saidhomo sweet homo.

“I love your house,” I said.

“Thank you, Nancy lets me do whatever the hell I want. And I like to have fun.”

“Where is Nancy?” Salt asked as we stepped into the foyer.

“She is in the wine cellar being extremely picky about which bottle she wants us to have tonight,” Beth said. “Oop. There she is.”

A tall, gracefully beautiful woman emerged from a set of stairs at the end of the hall and held up two bottles of wine like a man holding a fish in his dating profile. “I got them,” she announced, smiling as she approached. “Hi, Pepper, it’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too,” I said.

Nancy gave Salt a hard look. “You look like you’re sweating through your boxers.”

“Nancy,” he groaned. “I’m not.”

She wiggled her brows, but then gave him a loving smile. It was clear they both loved him, and that warmed my heart. Maybe it was because I’d gone without parental figures in my life for years, but just knowing he had them made my chest feel light.

“I have to give him a little bit of a hard time. Been our kiddo for years and has never brought someone home, so it’s my obligation to make him a little anxious,” Nancy said.

I laughed, my hand finding his. I was pretty sure both of our palms were drenched. “We’re both a little nervous.”

“I told her we don’t bite hard,” Beth said with a smirk.

“Well come on in and get settled. I’ll pour us wine, assuming you drink. Simon, there’s soda in the fridge.”

“Thanks,” he mumbled.

Beth and Nancy headed towards the kitchen.

“Is it okay if I drink?” I asked Salt under my breath.

“Of course,” he said. “Passenger princess. Remember?”

“Yeah.” I smiled to myself as we followed them.

The kitchen was just as gorgeous as the rest of the house, and like the front porch, was a mixture of country-styled decor, queer, and kinky things. Salt followed my gaze as my eyes widened on some of the pictures on the fridge.

“Oh,” he said. “I maybe should have warned you. Beth and Nancy are very openly kinky.”

“Yes, we are,” Beth chimed. “Have a seat at the bar. Dinner will be ready soon.”

Salt pulled out a stool for me and I perched on top of it, the nerves returning full blast for just a few seconds. He sat down next to me, his hand sliding beneath the bar and settling on my leg. “What are we having?” he asked.

“Baked lasagna with Beth’s homemade sauce,” Nancy said. “Garlic bread, a strawberry poppyseed salad, and fresh rolls.”

“That sounds wonderful,” I said.

“So,” Nancy said as she uncorked a bottle. “We’re having a nice Blaufränkisch with dark cherry notes.”

“She’s showing off,” Beth snickered.

“Just a little. He’s told us nothing about you.”

“Nancy,” Salt hissed.

I laughed. I could handle bluntness any day of the week. “We haven’t told a lot of people about our relationship quite yet.”

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