Unintended Love

“What was that about?” asked Gabe. “That looked pretty intense.”
“Ugh, he just pisses me off sometimes.” I said out of frustration, but it wasn’t until afterwards when I had realized what I had said.
“What? Um…Do you know him?”
I decided to tell Gabe the truth, but not the entire truth. Just most of it.
“Well…yes.”
He looked at me shocked and confused at the same time.
“We met this summer. We were both on vacation in Hawaii. We actually got along pretty well. He’s just really surprised that I’m with a guy.”
“So…you just met this summer?” asked Gabe.
“Yeah, why?”
“Well, when you came back. It sounded like you’ve known him forever or something.”
“I told you. We became really good friends in Hawaii.”
“So, you’re friends with the star of the football team and the most popular guy in school?”
I cleared my throat. “Yeah”
“Well hello! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” exclaimed Gabe. “This is our chance to move up the social ladder of Sunset High!”
“I didn’t think it was important. We’re not friends here.”
“Are you serious? How fucked up is that? I’m going over to talk to him.”
Oh my God! Shit! No! I tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t listen to me.
“What the fuck is your problem, Morgan? You’re not friends with Rain just because he’s gay?”
“Gabe please…” I pleaded.
“What are you talking about?” asked Zack.
“You can stop pretending now. Rain told me everything.”
Zack’s eyes widened in fear.
“You know how we became really good friends in Hawaii.” I interjected.
“Oh, right…friends…um…”
“It’s messed up to stop being friends with him just because he’s gay.”
Zack took a deep breath. “I think you’re absolutely right. That’s why I invited you two to my party.”
“Oh…well…we’ll be there.” said Gabe.
Gabe got up from the table and stood beside me. He took my hand and walked me out of the cafeteria.
“You didn’t have to do that.” I said as we walked through the noisy commons.
“I guess I didn’t. But, we got a lot done.” said Gabe. “Now, we’re going to a popular’s party and we’ve just taken our first step onto the ladder.”

* * *

After school, I told Carly that Gabe was going to give me a ride home. During the ride, I brought up the idea of him possibly meeting my parents.
“So…um…I was wondering if you would like to meet my parents.” I said.
“What? You told them about me?”
“Well, I told my mom. And…she seems to want to meet you.”
“And your dad?”
“Well…I planned to tell both of them today, but my mom found the condom in the bathroom trash last night.”
“Oh shit! She didn’t ground you for life?”
“Thank God. I thought she was gonna kill me, but she was actually pretty cool.”
“I don’t know, Rain. I don’t know if I can face your mother now that she’s knows that we…”
“I know, but…she wants to meet you and…I want you to be there when I tell my dad.”
Gabe sighed. “Well, when do you want me to meet them?”
“I was thinking today before we go to the party, during dinner.”
“Whoa, that’s…that’s fast.”
“You can say no if you want.” I said, truly meaning it. “We can hang out at my house while you think about it. My parents aren’t home.”
“What about your dad?”
“He’s in publishing meetings until five and my mom gets home at four today.”
“Oh, well…okay, I can hang at yours for a while.”
When we reached my house, we walked inside holding hands. We walked right up to my room and I started going through my closet. I had no idea what to wear to the party.
I started to try on different options as Gabe sat on my bed and watched with a big smile. I think I must’ve tried on ten different outfits before he finally uttered a word. It was a purple and black plaid shirt paired with black skinny jeans.
“Wow, that’s it!” he exclaimed, getting up from my bed. “You look so hot.”
He grabbed me by my waist and pulled me into a kiss. I couldn’t help but smile as I kissed him.
“Really?” I asked.
“Definitely”
“Are you gonna change before the party?” I asked.
“Nah, I’ll go in what I’m wearing now.” he said.
We hung out in my room for a while, making out. When it got closer to the time my mom was going to get home, we walked downstairs to the living room to watch television on the couch. He wrapped his arm around me and I snuggled into his body as we watched Spongebob Squarepants. We laughed occasionally at Spongebob and Patrick’s silly antics.
When we heard my walk in the door, Gabe wanted to get up, but I pulled him back to me. He looked at me funny and then smiled. He got comfortable with me once again. My mom walked into the living room.
“Rain whose car is-oh…”
I got up from the couch and brought Gabe with me. “Mom, this is Gabe.”
“Hello Mrs. Montgomery.”
“Hello, Gabe. It’s wonderful to meet you.”
Her words weren’t backed up by the expression on her face. It didn’t seem like she didn’t like him. She was just a little shocked and at the same time, getting used to meeting her son’s boyfriend; the one he was having sex with.
“Um, I was wondering if Gabe could stay for dinner.” I asked as gently as possible.
“Um…I think Jenna’s coming tonight for dinner with her new boyfriend.”
“Oh…”I put my head down.
“I just don’t think tonight is the best time. It’s a family matter.”
“I told you that I was going to tell dad tonight and I’m gonna do that whether or not Gabe is here.”
“Honey, please be reasonable. This isn’t just any kind of news. This is a big part of your life.”
“Your mom’s right, Rain. This is a really big deal.”
“I’m sorry, but it’s my life isn’t it? I’m not going to hide who I am anymore.”
“Okay, if this is what you want then Gabe can stay for dinner. We’re having beef roast.” said Mom. “With mashed potatoes and carrots.”
“Mmm,” I smiled.
“Well, I’m going to start the roast. Are you two going to stay here?”
“Yeah, um…we’re going to go up to my room.”
“Keep the door open please.”
“Mom!”
“I’m serious, Rain.”
Gabe and I walked up the stairs and to my room, leaving the door open like my mom said to. I connected my iPod to speakers and put some music on random. It was a slow song. I didn’t really pay attention to what it was. All I know is that Gabe suddenly wanted to dance with me. He grabbed my waist and I put my hands on his shoulders, resting my head against his as we slowly danced in circles in my room.
“You’re gonna knock them out at the party with that outfit,” said Gabe.
I didn’t say anything. I just smiled and blushed a bit. He pulled his head back to look at me and gently kissed me on the lips. Suddenly, there was a knock . Our lips parted and we looked back to see my mom at the door.
“Your sister and her boyfriend are here,” she said, looking down just a bit.
“Okay, we’ll be down in a minute,” I said.
She left and we took a break. I turned off the music. Gabe and I walked downstairs where my mom was talking to Jenna’s new boyfriend.
“Oh, Gabe…I didn’t know you’d be here.” said Jenna.
“Hey,” said Gabe, shyly. He’s so cute.
“Anyway, Rain and Gabe, this is Mark. Mark this is my little brother, Rain and his boyfriend Gabe. Oops, was I not supposed to say that?”
“Well, it’s kind of late if you weren’t.” I smiled. “No, that’s okay.”
“Boyfriend?” asked Mark.
He was actually a cool looking guy. He had short, spiked brown hair. His build was average. He wasn’t thin, but he wasn’t built either. He was pretty much perfect.
“Yeah…”I said.
“Oh…” he seemed uncomfortable, but Jenna saved the day.
“So, mom, what’s for dinner?”
“Well, I made a roast, and we’re having mashed potatoes and carrots with that.”
“Sounds great,” she said.
We all moved into the living room. We sat on the couches. We talked about how Jenna and Mark met. They met at an open house that Jenna had put together. Apparently they had been dancing around their feelings for weeks. Then, Mark finally got the courage to ask Jenna out. It was seriously romantic. I was really happy for Jenna.
Mom eventually left to check on the roast and make the rest of dinner and Jenna went to help her. This meant that Gabe and I were awkwardly left alone with Mark, who seemed to suddenly be the silent type around us. This was strange especially since he was so talkative with my mom.
“So, Mark, what do you do?” I asked.
He looked at me and then cleared his throat. “Excuse me.” He got up and left the living room.
Gabe and I looked at each other and then in the direction he went in. I got up to go see what happened with him. He was in my dad’s empty office. I don’t think he heard me walk in because he didn’t turn around. I tapped my hand on his shoulder. He jumped and turned around.
“Ew, never touch me again you filthy queer! I don’t wanna talk to you. Go away!”
I didn’t know what else to do. I was so shocked that I just did what he said. I left and was walking like a mummy; with no real direction. I finally ended up back in the living room with Gabe. I sat down next to him, still shocked.
“What happened?” he asked.
When I didn’t answer, he put his hand on mine. It felt soothing. I took a deep breath.
“I tapped him on the shoulder and he freaked out.” I said.
“What did he do?”
“He told me not to touch him again and he called me a filthy queer.”
I could see the veins in Gabe’s head ready to explode. He was angrier than I’d ever seen him.
“That’s it. I’m kicking his ass.”
He started to get up from the couch, but I stopped him.
“No. Don’t.”
“He can’t just call you a filthy queer and get away with it, Rain.”
“He makes my sister happy.” I said.
“She wouldn’t be happy if she knew what he said to you.”
“She’s not gonna know because I’m not going to tell her and neither are you.”
“What?” he asked in disbelief.
“My sister doesn’t have a lot of boyfriends. I want her to at least have a chance with this one.”

When my dad got home, he said hello to both Mark and Gabe. But I introduced Gabe to my dad as a friend. I knew that then wasn’t the right moment. I was going to wait for dinner. I knew that it was a family matter and doing it while Mark and Gabe were there wasn’t exactly right, but I couldn’t hide anymore. I just couldn’t.
My mom called for us to go to the table just a few minutes after dad got home. The deal with Mark and I was shoved under the table. It was a bit awkward, but I tried to just ignore him.
We all sat at the table. Gabe sat next to me on one side. Mark sat next to Jenna on the other. And my parents sat at the ends. My mom would serve the plates with potatoes and carrots and then pass them to my dad who would put a slice of the beef roast on them. Once everyone got a plate and had a beverage, my mom wanted to make a toast.
“To Mark and Jenna. May your relationship flourish in the coming years.”
We all lifted our glasses. I could tell that Gabe didn’t want to, but did anyway. After the toast, we all started to eat and I knew it was the perfect time.
“Dad…there’s something that I want to tell you.”
My mother took a drink of her red wine.
“Yes?” he answered.
“I’m gay”
He stayed silent and my mom took another big gulp of her wine. Then, my dad took a sip of his scotch and made the scrunched up liquor face. The scotch was strong.
“You know…I suspected this, but I was hoping it wasn’t true.”
“Mark, maybe you and Gabe should leave the room so we can talk,” said Jenna.
Gabe and Mark got up from the table and left the dining room.
“I knew it. I saw you and that Zack boy and I just knew it. You two were way too close.”
“So…now that you know…how do you feel?” I asked.
“I feel sick. How could you be like this?” he asked. “It’s just plain disgusting.”
I didn’t know what to do. For the first time, I actually cared what my father thought, and he thinks I’m disgusting. It was super hard not to cry.
“Dad, how can you be like this?” asked Jenna. “It’s Rain.”
“He’s our son, Charles. We need to let him know that we love him.”
“I can’t believe this. You two knew about this and didn’t tell me anything.”
“I wanted to tell you myself, dad.”
“Don’t call me that.”
My dad got up and left the table with his scotch in his hand. A tear rolled down my face and then another. I was next to leave the table. I walked up to my room. There is where I found Gabe. He saw my tears and immediately held me. He held close and tight.
“It’s gonna be okay.” he said.
I looked up at him. “Can we leave?”
“Sure, where do you want to go?”
I looked into his gorgeous blue eyes and trusted that he would take me somewhere safe. “Just take me somewhere.”
I took my hand and we went downstairs. We left without telling anyone. The car ride was silent. He even turned off the radio. When he stopped, I looked out of the window. We were at a house.
“It’s my place,” he said. “Now that I’ve met your family. It’s time for you to meet mine.”
I was worried. Was Gabe out to his parents. I didn’t know. We’ve never talked about it.
“Don’t worry. My entire family knows that I’m gay. But…they don’t really know about you.” He seemed sorry for that. I didn’t know why.
“It’s okay. I’m happy to meet your family.”
“Well, everyone is home now. I think they’re having dinner if you want to reattempt the dinner thing.”
“Sure. Why not?”