Page 8 of Hush, Hush

She gives a trill laugh. “I’m warning you now, this conversation is going to be uncomfortable.”

Oh, lovely. “Okay...”

I brace myself for what it is. Uncomfortable for my mother could mean a myriad of things. Is she going to tell me I looked fat in the pictures Eden posted of our trip? Is this some sort of womanly problem? The maid actually explained periods to me when I first got mine because Mother was too preoccupied with some fundraiser. Afterward, tampons just started showing up in my bathroom, and still to this day, I have no idea if my mother asked for them to be purchased, or if Gwendolyn did it herself.

Mom gives me a small smile as if she’s already apologizing to me for what’s about to come out of her mouth. I stare at the screen, riveted, and hoping that this isn’t something bigger that Mom’s downplaying like she always does. I mean, we’re talking about a woman who doesn’t care if her husband cheats on her. Maybe Dad had a heart attack, and this is how she wants to tell me.

“Keegan and Alice have some concerns about your relationship...with Keegan.”

I sit up straighter, taken aback. Keegan’s been my future. I’ve always known it. What’s concerning me is her use ofconcernin that sentence in regard to my relationship with him.

“Keegan expressed worry that you might be a lesbian, and therefore, unable to commit to him in the future.”

My mouth drops. A....lesbian? Is he for real right now? No wonder why I received those texts just before Mom called. “Because I wouldn’t have sex with him?” I blurt.

She clears her throat. “That does seem to be the confusing part for the both of them, yes.”

“Mom.” My one-word protest is weak, but it’s all I can muster at the moment.

I can’t believe that freaking asshole went to his mother to complain that I wouldn’t have sex with him. Even worse, that my own mother didn’t just tell them to mind their own business and that I’ll have sex with him in my own time. No, she has to call me up on the phone and ask if I prefer women.

At this point, I do.

“If you are, we’ll work through it. We’ll—”

“Mom,” I interrupt her, but still nothing comes from my mouth. After several seconds go by, I exhale. “Really, Mom? This is what you’re calling me about? I didn’t realize that a relationship with Keegan would mean that my parents would get involved in it so personally.”

“I’mbeing very sensible,” she retorts. “I told Mrs. Forbes I didn’t care if you were.”

I guess that should make me happy? “But you’re not even hearing yourself,” I tell her, voice rising. “Just because I didn’t have sex with Keegan, that makes me a lesbian?”

“I wasn’t assuming, I was asking. This is just as embarrassing for me as it is for you.”

“I’m not embarrassed,” I spit. “I’m appalled that you didn’t just tell them to mind their own damn business. If Keegan wants to know why I won’t have sex with him, he can ask me. Also, he damn well knows why I won’t have sex with him. He’s just being…difficult.”

“Language, Delilah,” my mother reminds me.

I want to tell her “common sense” as my own rebuttal, but I clamp my jaw shut instead.

For several seconds, we just stare at each other until my mother gets fidgety. “Are you afraid? Sex is perfectly natural.”

The more she talks, the more alarmed I get. “Are you seriously trying to talk me into having sex with him? You know, most mothers would be proud that their daughter is still a virgin.”

Her eyes widen. She peers around the garden, most likely looking for an employee to have this conversation with me. Maybe the landscaper will do? Who knows what she’s thinking. “Delilah, dear,” she finally says. “It’s great that you’re this innocent, but Keegan wants to explore this part of your relationship.”

Relationship? We don’t even have one at this point. I’m sitting here waiting for him to grow up. Is that too much to ask? I run my hands through my hair. “Does Dad know we’re having this conversation?”

She huffs. “He told me to take care of it. Something about this being under my jurisdiction because you’re a female and I’m a female.”

Face heating, I ask, “So, he thinks I should have sex with Keegan too?”

She tilts her head in thought. “He didn’t say, but I imagine since the Forbes are concerned that he is also.”

I’ve heard a lot of interesting things while being amongst these powerful, rich people, but I’m not sure I’ve heard something this crazy. “Mother, I can assure you I’m not a lesbian. I can also assure you that Keegan knows why we’re not having sex. You’ve just been used in some game Keegan’s playing in which he thinks he can barter with my v-card or bully me into having sex with him. Please, if this comes up again, you can tell Mrs. Forbes to mind her own business.”

My mother gasps. “I will do no such thing. Keegan is her business.”

“Did Grandma ask you about your sexual status with Dad? Come on, this is ridiculous.”

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