Page 20 of When He Saved Me
“Uh, cool. Thanks.” Not sure what else to say, I turned to leave, but her hand on my shoulder stopped me. I turned to look at her, my eyebrow raised in question.
“So are you? Gay, I mean? Or bi?”
I turned more fully to face her, crossing my arms over my chest, adopting a defensive stance. “That’s really none of your business.”
“I know. But listen…I’m a lesbian. And my parents are organizing this big gala this weekend and keep pressuring me to bring a date, but they don’t know I prefer pussy over dick. You could be my date, and it would take some of the heat off me…”
“Seriously? Rubbing elbows and making small talk with a bunch of society douchebags? That sounds like my worst nightmare. If I say no, are you going to tell everyone about…?”
Her face fell, her disappointment with my noncompliance evident in her expression. “No. I wouldn’t do that. It was just an idea.”
I huffed a breath, shocked that I was about to agree to this ridiculous plan, but I knew it would take some of the pressure off me too, even if it did sound like my worst nightmare. My parents were never going to be okay with my sexuality. They’d never said anything homophobic, but they didn’t have to. And they’d be thrilled I was attending some society to-do. The last couple they’d tried to get me to go to, I’d flat-out refused. God, I hoped I wouldn’t regret this.
“What time should I pick you up?”
CHAPTER11
FINN
Fucking Jamie.I’d been perfectly fine spending Thanksgiving alone. Both The Daily Grind and Ivory were closed for the holiday, so I planned to spend time sleeping in, catching up on chores, practicing my piano, and maybe doing a little writing. All in all, a pleasant way to spend a day. I didn’t mind the solitude. In fact, I generally preferred it.
Part one of my plan was a success, which was nice, considering I’d played a gig at Ivory the night before and hadn’t gotten home until after midnight. I rose from bed around ten, started some laundry, and settled at my tiny kitchen table to write while I enjoyed my coffee. An hour later, I’d only written two paragraphs and had checked the clock roughly twenty-seven times.
I got up from the table, moving to the kitchen to warm up my coffee and switch the laundry from the washer to the dryer. I showered, hoping that would help me focus, but with the absence of Carmen’s things in my bathroom, all it did was remind me that I was, once again, alone.
I liked being alone though. No one to bother me. No one to nag at me to make the bed or pick up my clothes off the floor. No one chattering nonstop. No one to fight with over what we’d eat for dinner. No one to disappoint.
Pulling on gray sweats and not bothering with a shirt, I moved to the kitchen, grabbed an apple, and sat back down, determined to get some words on the page.
Twenty minutes later, I was still staring at a blank page.
Fuck it.
I moved back down the hall, again checking the clock, before picking up the little piece of paper Jamie had shoved in my hands at the shop on Tuesday.
Finn-
I know you said you were all right, but the offer still stands.
Dinner is at 1:00 on Thursday.
1076 W 56th Parkway
-Jamie
816-555-9375
I letmy head fall back, eyes closed, as I contemplated the madness I was considering. Because surely that’s what this was…utter insanity. Was I really contemplating showing up at the house of a guy I barely knew, who had low-key been stalking me for weeks, to crash a holiday meal with a family I knew nothing about?
I let out a sigh. I had about forty-five minutes to change and get there.
Shit.Apparently, I was doing this.
* * *
Thirty minutes later,I was on the road to Jamie’s, descending into an epic downward spiral. My right foot was occupied with driving while my left knee was bouncing up and down at a frantic tempo. I almost turned around three times but managed to talk myself out of it.
God, I was losing it. This wasn’t like me. I didn’t do nerves. Years of playing piano in front of an audience and disappointing my parents over and over again had drummed that out of me.
