Page 112 of Break the Rule
Freddie barks while Emerson leans into Jason, both of them curling into the larger man as if he is their safe space. Though his size still makes Eden uncomfortable, it’s impossible to miss the way those around him relax in his presence. Maybe Charlie was right. Maybe he is harmless.
“Come on, everyone else is outside. They’ll want to meet you.”
Eden finds this hard to believe, but there’s no time to point that out because Charlie is talking about a mile a minute and leading him to the backyard. There are several tables set up in one long line, pretty white tablecloths and floral arrangements in tiny pumpkins set on each one. At the far end of the yard, a group of guys are kicking around a soccer ball. Not far from them, a couple of kids are playing some kind of game of chase with another dog. There’s a seating area set up around a fire pit, neither of which was there last week, where several men and women Eden doesn’t know sit. They all turn when Charlie brings Eden over, their eyes roaming over him.
“Hey guys, this is Eden.”
Again with introducing Eden like everyone should know him. What the hell?
“It’s nice to meet you,” one of the men says. He’s got dark blond hair, sky blue eyes and thick framed glasses. “I’m Theo.”
“Theo is Jason’s best friend and Alec’s fiancé,” Charlie reminds him. Eden doesn’t know much about him except that Charlie apparently had a big problem with him dating his baby brother.
“I’m Amanda, Charlie’s agent. It's nice to finally see you not on a canvas now that my papers are signed,” a gorgeous woman with dark hair and equally dark eyes supplies. She’s dressed in a form-fitting floral dress that matches the suit of the older woman sitting beside her. “This is my girlfriend, Denise.”
Denise smiles, offering Eden a half wave. “Hey, doll.”
Something loosens in Eden’s chest. Eden’s never been around so many queer people. Never imagined it might feel easier to breathe if he was.
“I’m Eddie, I coach football with Jason,” the other man says, “and this is my wife Amy.”
“It’s nice to meet you Eden, I love your skirt.” Her expression wobbles, almost like she’s trying not to cry. Eden doesn’t have to wonder why the hell she looks so emotional for long because then she turns towards the small kids chasing the dog. “Those are our boys back there, twins.”
“Archer, Sawyer,” she yells, “come here.”
Immediately, two little boys run across the yard. They’re not identical like Charlie and Andrew but they’re clearly close, holding hands as they hurry towards their mom. They stop in front of her, turning their wide eyes on Eden who begins to understand what has Amy so emotional.
“Boys, this is Eden, Charlie’s boyfriend.”
“Hi,” one of them says quietly, shuffling towards his dad and crawling in his lap shyly. The other one though—the one dressed in a unicorn shirt and a bright pink tutu, turns his big blue eyes on Eden and inches forward, touching his skirt.
“Sawyer, don’t touch people without asking.”
“It’s okay,” Eden croaks.
“I like your tutu,” he says.
“Thanks.” Eden crouches down, sitting on the grass. The little boy copies, almost sitting in Eden’s lap. “I like yours too.”
“It’s pink!” He says, tugging on the bright material. “And it sparkles.”
“Mine sparkles too,” Eden says, looking up when he hears a quiet sob. It’s not Amy but her husband who is looking at Eden like, well, like he’s never been happier. Like his hot pink tutu-wearing little boy, meeting another man in a skirt is the best day of his life. Eden can’t fucking imagine having parents who encouraged his love of pretty things, who might’ve been overjoyed at him meeting a man who dressed like him. Is this what it’s like to have supportive parents?
“Mama, it has a bow,” Sawyer exclaims, crawling closer to Eden. “I want a bow!”
“I’ll get you a bow,” she tells him, her smile so wide it breaks something in Eden.
What would it be like to be a child and be so loved? To be accepted?
Everyone looks so fucking happy he’s here. It should make Eden happy, too. Instead, there’s an ache deep in his chest. Something deep and buried thathurts. All these years he’s told himself no one would want a kid like him, but that’s not true. Sawyer is wanted, loved. It was just Eden. Why was Eden so hard to love?
Charlie’s hand settles on his shoulder, the touch light but his presence at Eden’s back solid. It steadies something in Eden, making it easier to offer a smile he hopes doesn’t look as forced as it feels.
“If Charlie gives you any trouble, you come to me,” Denise tells him, winking.
“What the fuck, Denise? I’m on my best fucking behavior.”
“Today,” she says. “It won’t last.”
