CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
MADDOX
This is a big step. Although, to be fair, Damon’s already met my folks.
I’m worried I’ll make an ass of myself. I want his family to like me. Not as Stacy’s friend, but as their son’s boyfriend.
Huh, boyfriend. First time I’ve thought of us that way. I wait for the panic to kick in, but it’s absent. Look at me being all mature and shit.
“Hi,” Stacy singsongs at the restaurant hostess. “I made a reservation this afternoon under King. Nine people.”
“Nine?” Damon and I ask in unison.
“The Davidsons are coming,” Damon’s mom says.
My eyes go to Damon to confirm what I suspect, and his skin pales. Yup. Eric and his family are coming to dinner. Brilliant.
“The rest of your party is already here,” the hostess says.
Even more brilliant.
As we’re led to our table, I lace my fingers with Damon’s. “You okay?” I ask quietly.
“Yup.” He’s lying. I squeeze his hand, but he shakes it off.
Fucking Eric.
Damon whispers, “I’m sorry for what you’re about to witness.”
I have no idea what he means until Eric and his brother, Julian, jump out of their seats when they see us. Julian goes straight to Stacy and wraps her in a hug.
Eric approaches Damon. “Hey, brother.” They shake hands and go in for a man-hug. My hand fists at my side. I don’t understand why Damon keeps up appearances.
Eric moves onto me and holds his hand out for me to shake. If it weren’t for Damon’s pleading eyes, I’d tell Eric to fuck off. Instead, I behave like a good boy and shake his hand.
“Nice to see you again, Maddox.” Eric’s tone is about as genuine as a politician making campaign promises.
“You too.” Fucker.
“Hey,” Julian says and shakes my hand too, “you run out of women or what?”
I smile politely when what I really want to do is beat the Davidson brothers to a pulp. Although, I know that’s not fair to Julian. The few times we’ve met, he’s seemed like a decent guy. “Stacy got to you, didn’t she?”
“She paid me ten bucks to say that. Figured I’d get it out of the way so I can hit the bar.” Julian turns to her. “Hand it over, woman.”
Stacy rolls her eyes and hands him a twenty. “Buy me a drink too.”
“And me,” I call after him.
“I guess we’re getting our own drinks,” Eric says to Damon and slaps his chest.
“Let’s go.”
I suck in a deep breath as I take the seat next to Stacy. I’m left with her, Damon’s parents, and Eric’s parents. I turn to my supposed best friend. “I hate you,” I mutter so only she can hear.
She leans in and kisses my cheek. “Love you too.”
“So this is the new boyfriend,” Mrs. Davidson says.
“The new boyfriend Damon didn’t tell us about,” Damon’s mom says. She pierces me with the green eyes Damon inherited. “We had to hear it from Stacy.”
“We’re really new,” I say and swallow hard.
“Eric says he met you a few weeks back,” Mrs. Davidson says.
Ooh boy. I don’t know what lies to keep up with now, so I say nothing before I can put my foot in my mouth.
Julian appears at our side and places drinks in front of us. “You know what’s crazy, I thought you two would end up together.” He waggles his finger between Stacy and me.
Damon and Eric take their seats, and I slide my hand on Damon’s thigh to try to reassure him. We can do this. We can get through this dinner.
“No Kristy?” Stacy asks Eric, nodding to the empty seat beside him.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Julian says. “Don’t try to change the subject, missy. You and Maddox. What’s the deal? How did he end up with your brother when that night we all went out, my friends bet on when you two would get together?”
“Why does everything have to be about sex? Why is it so hard to fathom Maddox and I are purely platonic?” Stacy asks. “Nothing has ever happened between us, and nothing ever will. Even if he wasn’t with Damon.” She turns to me. “You know I love you, but the thought of kissing you would be like kissing Damon. Or even Julian.”
Damon screws up his face, but Julian says, “Hey, I’m offended. I’m hot.”
“See”—Stacy gestures to Damon—“that’s how I feel about Maddox.”
“I wish I could disagree, but best friends kissing fu—dges up friendships,” I say and flick my glance to Damon’s parents. They appear prim and proper and probably not as cool with the swearing thing as my parents.
Meanwhile, I can feel Eric’s glower without having to see it, and Damon lets out a frustrated sigh. Granted, I’m having a major dig at Eric, but no one else would know that. If I kissed Stacy, it would fuck up our friendship, so I’m not lying.
“How did you and Damon meet?” Eric’s mother asks.
Stacy answers with a giggle. “Funniest story ever.”
“Stace,” I warn, but I can’t tell her why she can’t tell the story.
This is so fucked.
“So, when Maddox—”
“I needed a fake boyfriend to go to an ex’s wedding.” I glare at her. There are so many reasons I don’t want the story to be told.
“An ex-girlfriend,” Stacy says. “He lied and told her he was gay to break up with her when they were eighteen. Maddox didn’t know he was bi until he met Damon.” She laughs again.
I love Stacy to death, but she really has to learn to pick up on social cues.
Damon’s parents stare at me weird—like they don’t approve I’ve never been with a guy before. Or maybe they’re pissed because I lied to Chastity about being gay.
I open my mouth to say something to explain my actions five years ago, but Eric beats me to it.
“Favorite pastime of Damon’s—hitting on straight guys.”
What did he just say?
“What did you just say?” Stacy asks. Guess it’s true, when you hang out with someone a lot, you start to think alike.
Damon chugs his beer.
“It was a joke. Geez,” Eric says, but there was no joke in it.
Stacy stands and yells, “It’s you, isn’t it?”
“Stacy,” Damon says. “Stop.”
Betrayal shines in her eyes. “Oh my God, it makes so much sense. You used to be so close. You really think Damon tried to turn you?” she yells at Eric.
I grab her wrist and pull her back down into her seat. Our eyes meet, and that’s when she knows she’s right. And that I know all about it.
“Bullshit,” Julian says. “Eric’s not that ignorant.”
I scoff.
“Can we please not do this here?” Damon asks. His eyes dart around the small restaurant.
“Stacy. Outside,” I say.
“But—”
“Now.” I never use a serious tone with her, and my bark makes her flinch. She relents and storms out ahead of me. “We’ll be back.” I turn to Damon. “You want to—” I tip my head in the direction of the entrance.
He shakes his head. “This is all about to come out, so I better be here to tell my side of it.”
I feel like an ass leaving him to it, but Stacy needs to cool off, because I know her. She was two seconds away from flinging herself across the table.
Stacy’s pacing when I get outside. “Why didn’t you or Damon say anything?”
“It’s not my thing to tell. And Damon didn’t say anything because he’s trying to protect your families. You do everything together. Imagine how awkward Christmases would be if you all knew how homophobic Eric was.”
“Why does Eric think like that? I don’t understand.”
“You should ask Damon. Or go back in there and hear it for yourself. But you can’t go making a huge scene in there like you were about to.”
She shakes her head. “When I set this up to torture you two, I thought the worst that was going to happen was you’d be grilled, you’d sweat, we’d all laugh at you, and that would be it. I didn’t think … fuck. I really am a horrible person.”
“You totally are.”
“Hey, I’m feeling terrible about my shenanigans for once. Have some sympathy.”
I step forward and hug her. “You’re a horrible person in general, but in this case, you didn’t know what you were doing, so you can’t be blamed.”
“Thanks. You make me feel so much better,” she says dryly.
“It’s what I’m here for.”
“Can you just tell me? Please?”
“Seriously, not my thing to tell.”
“Eric’s the reason Damon didn’t want to date you at first, isn’t it?”
“Yup. But my charming personality won him over.”
Stacy snorts. “Can I ask you a serious question?”
“Only if you want a sarcastic answer.”
She shoves me. “Are you and Damon serious?”
“You may want to sit down for this.”
Her eyes widen. “Oh God, you’re breaking up with him, aren’t you? Shit, I thought this might’ve been going too far, but—”
“Stace. You’ll need to sit down, because I want to get serious with him. I haven’t felt this way about anyone before. Not even Chastity.”
“Aww, you could become my brother-in-law,” she screeches.
I step back. “Whoa. Way too soon. I meant serious as in maybe calling each other the boyfriend label.”
“The manwhore in you isn’t dead after all. So close.”
“Ready to go apologize for embarrassing your brother?”
She groans. “I guess.”