Page 188 of Whistle

“Landry,” I scolded.

She ignored me. Probably learned this terrible behavior from her boyfriend.

“Because he feels like mine.”

Want to know how to make an old man swoon? Repeat his shitty, lame lines back to him.

Fuck, that hit me right in the damn feels.

I didn’t think my daughter would be as impressed with that unpoetic declaration, but when I looked at her, her face was soft. “Oh.” Landry nodded. “I understand.” She glanced at Bodhi, pursing her lips. “But I’m not calling you dad.”

I groaned.

“How about stepdaddy?” Bodhi suggested. There was the brat.

“No!” Rush and I hollered at the same time.

He and Landry cackled while Rush and I sat there and shared a mental breakdown.

Was this the fucking twilight zone? Christmas was going to be a shitshow.

“So what, you’re like gay now?” Rush wanted to know.

“Jason!” Landry gasped. “That’s so rude.”

“Like you weren’t wondering too,” he muttered.

“You can’t just ask that,” she insisted.

“You can.” I interrupted them. “You can ask me whatever you want.” Then, “And no, I’m not suddenly gay. I’ve been gay my whole life.”

“Except for that time you slept with Landry’s mom.” Rush pointed it out as if I’d forgotten the reason for my daughter’s existence.

Maybe I’d just uninvite him to Christmas. Lock the door and not let him in.

“To be honest, I was drunk and in a bad headspace at that time. I think the gender of the person I found relief in wasn’t important. But usually, I prefer men.”

“Ones half your age,” Rush needled.

“Like I said, I haven’t dated in over twenty years.”

“You had to be getting it somewhere,” Rush muttered.

“Just what the hell are you implying, Jason?” Landry asked, arching a brow at her boyfriend.

“He said we could ask anything.” He defended himself.

I said my daughter could. Not him. He wasn’t even invited to Christmas!

For the sake of being the adult here, I decided to let it go and just answer. “I can honestly say I don’t have a thing for younger men. One just happened to grab my heart.”

Landry smiled like I was romantic.

Rush wasn’t convinced. “And what happens when people find out? When you get fired? What about Elite?”

Bodhi stiffened, and anxiety crackled in the air around him. We hadn’t had much time to talk or even think since everything happened, and being bombarded by Rush and his mouth so soon was a lot.

I kept my voice calm and matter-of-fact. “I love my job, and I care about Elite. You know that. But it’s not my whole life. Not anymore. Some things are more important. And that something is Bodhi.”

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