Page 33 of Ted's Temerity
“You’re doing it again,” Spence says, cutting off my thoughts.
I give him a one-fingered salute.
He allows me a few moments of silence before he leans in and quietly asks, “Did you want to talk about it?”
“No.” My reply is quick and emphatic.
Spencer’s lips quirk. “You gave that a lot of thought.”
“Fuck off,” I laugh. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
Across the table, Charlie chokes on the sip of beer he’d only just taken. I narrow my gaze in his direction. Maybe we’re not exactly as back to ‘normal’ as I’d hoped.
“Sorry,” he coughs, his cheeks a little pink, but he doesn’t push the issue.
Spencer arches an eyebrow at the exchange. I ignore it.
Thankfully, Ash asks Zephyr about the dress he’d worn earlier and Kate chimes in loudly from the other end of the table, and the whole awkward moment is forgotten.
* * *
Everything goes south when Maisy, Josh and Charlie’s sister, turns up unexpectedly.
Having let herself into the house, most likely realizing that Ash and Charlie were entertaining, she stomps out onto the deck and practically throws herself into her older brother’s arms.
“Mom’s driving meinsane,” she complains, seemingly oblivious to the way silence has fallen around the table. “I finally snapped and told her that Ed and I have zero intention to have kids and she’s acting like I’ve told her the world is ending.”
Beside me, Spencer tenses. I don’t have time to think about his reaction, though, because Maisy has worked herself up into a proper rant and raises her voice, her arms flailing about wildly. Idly, I muse that while she mightn’t look like her mother, their shared dramatic flair is obviously genetic.
“She even said, and I quote: ‘I did too good a job when I gave youthe talk’,” she pitches her voice high in a mocking mimicry of her mother’s voice. Her face contorts bitterly and she scoffs. “As if I was only careful for her benefit. Who wants to be a teen statistic? Or any kind of statistic? Unplanned kids aren’t exactly-”
“Maisy,” Charlie interrupts in his firmest voice, startling the whole table. Ash puts a calming hand on his arm, but he continues, “Your personal opinion on that stuff is irrelevant because it never happened and Mom’s just being Mom right now.”
I try not to cringe at the fleeting apologetic glance he shoots my way. What happened to Subtle Cop Charlie?Come on, man, I try to tell him with my eyes,be cool.
Maisy huffs and rolls her eyes. “I’mventing,” she justifies emphatically, then waves her hand dismissively over the table. “It’s not like any of these guys’ll be offended or whatever.”
“You don’t know that.” Charlie lectures back.
Again his eyes flicker in my direction.
Damn it, Charlie.
Maisy sighs. I can understand her likely assumptions without her needing to say anything out loud: we’re a gathering of predominantly gay men, as far as she’s aware. What, exactly, are the chances any of us were teen parents? However, to play devil’s advocate, I would argue that we might have family or friends who were. (Unbeknownst to the guys, they’ve got at least one friend who was, after all.)
Still, it’s obvious that she’s come here directly after a volatile interaction with her mother and her words are reactionary. I don’t know her well, but we’ve met enough times over the years to know that Maisy’s not a cruel or judgmental person. I honestly wouldn’t have given her words a second thought, but Charlie’s making a big deal out of them and I can feel myself attempting to sink into my chair because I know why this is a trigger for him right now.
I’m the only person here who does.
And, because my seat is directly across from where Charlie is standing beside his sister, it’s me she zeroes in on to try and illustrate her point. “Ted,” she huffs, aiming her index finger into her older brother’s chest, “tell him that you’re not offended.”
I breathe a little easier at the loophole. Had she asked me directly if I had a reason to be hurt by her words, that would have given me pause. But this is easy because it’s not a lie. I smile softly. “I’m not offended.”
Unfortunately, Charlie frowns and tilts his head sideways with mild disbelief tempering his tone, “Ted.”
My heart begins beating rapidly in my chest because in every single imagined scenario from here, I don’t know how to get out of this without having to tell the guys everything after all. Even meeting his gaze and reassuring him that I’m honestly not offended will bring more attention to the issue than should be required.
I work my jaw and eye him down, but it’s too late and I know it.
