Page 41 of Sliding into Love
They smile, thankful that I'm not pushing back at them. I've done so in the past. Nowadays, it’s a pointless endeavor.
I make my way over to one of the many bars stationed around the house. The guy working it must recognize me because he puts my preferred drink of choice in front of me.
“Thanks.” Taking the drink in hand, I slug it back in one go.
He winces as he takes my empty glass. “Maybe slow down. I doubled that first one.”
As he pushes a refill over, I nod. Since I’m already feeling the effects of the drink move through my blood, I suspect I definitely do need to slow down.
“Good looking out,” I say as I take the drink and walk off.
I need to keep moving. Staying in one position leaves me open to be cornered. No one wants that. I’m a mess when caged in.
My parents will be done hosting soon enough, and I'll have to play the role that they've set for me. It's best for me to enjoy my free time while I still can.
As I'm moving through the space, several people nod and wave. People that I've known for years but have no desire to stop and talk to. They must sense I don't want to speak because none of them move to stop my path.
It's not until I'm on the back porch looking out to the crowd gathered on the lawns that my time runs out. It was a good twenty minutes while it lasted.
“Son! I'm so glad I found you. I would like to introduce you to Claudia. She's the daughter of one of our dear friends, and I think the two of you would get along great. Claudia, this is my son Kenneth. Oh, would you look at that, I see someone calling my name. You two have fun.”
Mother runs off before either of us can even speak a word. Claudia smiles shyly, scooting closer to me her own drink in hand, untouched.
“Do they do this to you every time, too?” she asks.
I take a swig of my drink and nod. "Ever since I was legally able to get married, yes. I must warn you though I'm not looking for a relationship.”
She nods, her expression not faltering one bit. “That's probably good because my girlfriend would have a field day if I even entertained dating you.”
I raise my brows and give her a genuine smile. “Your girlfriend sounds lovely. I hope you two are happy together.”
“Oh, we are. In fact, we’re engaged, but my parents deny, deny, deny, which means I don’t wear my ring, and I come to these events so that one day they’ll get over it. It used to be because I wanted them to help pay for the wedding, but at this rate, I really don’t care anymore. We’re probably going to elope next month.”
I reach out and touch her elbow—a place that’s not sexual at all and meant as a comforting gesture. “I think that’s amazing. If I had found the man who would be the love of my life, I’d run away with him too.”
Somehow, her smile gets even bigger. “Oh thank goodness I’ve found you, my brethren of the alphabet mafia,” she says dramatically.
I snort as I take a sip of my drink and have to fight back the coughing fit that comes with it. She giggles, patting my back gently and waving others away. “Oh, he’s fine. It just went down the wrong way,” she says.
Then she loops her arm through mine and begins to lead me through the crowd. “Since we are two peas in a pod, I think we should stick together tonight. Neither of us wants to be here, and since we’d much rather not be set up with another person, why don’t we just pretend like we’ve found our soulmates in one another?”
I look her up and down. “You know, you look pretty innocent, but I’m getting severe dominant vibes from you.”
She grins. “Probably a good thing, considering I am. Not for you though, of course. You’re adorable but not my type.”
“I would surely hope not. You would probably win in a fight against me.”
I shiver for dramatic effect.
She squeezes my bicep and shakes her head. “Honestly, I probably could. My girlfriend definitely would. She works out a lot. Makes her ass look great.”
I groan. “Can we not talk about how great people’s asses look? I’m currently in the midst of my own crisis.”
Claudia freezes, turning me to face her. “Oh no. You have to tell me everything. Who is he? What has he done? Do we hate him? Do we love him? What’s going on?”
I clear my throat, looking around the room to make sure no one is close enough to hear this conversation as I pull her over to an empty set of seats on the lawn. Once we’re positioned and our drinks are on the table, I take her hand in mine and begin my tale.
“First things first, you should know—it’s they/them, so we can have pronouns right.”
