Page 42 of Tempting Him

Alek chuckles. “Well, I’m glad you didn’t have a lot of issues others have had.”

The way he says—with a certain degree of pain in his voice, makes me wonder if he had issues. It would explain a few things.

“What about you? Did your parents ever know?”

The silence that follows and a face full of resentment while his body bristles with anger tells me everything I need to know.

Aleksander

16

“They knew.”

I mean to leave it there, not wanting to go into detail about how they found out, and subsequently how they felt about it. But there’s something in Jay’s eyes that makes me want to say a little more. After all, he told me his story.

“Neither of them were very thrilled about the news.”

His lips draw down into a frown. “Damn. I’m sorry. Did they ever get to the point of acceptance?”

I straighten stacks of papers that don’t need straightening. “Uh, no. They didn’t.”

“Unfortunately, the unconditional love you’re supposed to get from your parents comes with conditions sometimes, huh?”

The laugh that bubbles out of me is laced with anger. “Oh, definitely. One of them being I wouldn’t be in a long-term relationship with a man, because I was to marry a woman and have children.”

“What?” he exclaims, his eyes wide. “Even after finding out you were gay they wanted you to have a family with a woman?”

“My parents were quite old, Jay. Very traditional.”

“Fuck that. Traditional is typically some antiquated way of thinking, because it keeps getting passed down. Lots of awful things weretraditional, and it doesn’t make them right.”

I nod, agreeing with him. “Our relationship was rocky, to say the least. They got to a point where they acted like they never knew. They introduced me to women, and if they ever questioned whether I liked someone, it was in direct reference to a woman they tried to force on me.”

He makes a face, a look between disgust and anger. “That’s fucked up.”

I shrug. “They had a plan in mind, and I was deviating from it.”

“Your plan and their plan doesn’t have to be the same.”

“I know.”

I watch as he chews on his bottom lip, his brows knitted as he contemplates his next words. “Is that why you’re a little…” My eyes narrow as I wait to hear what he’s going to say. He hesitates briefly. “I mean, you didn’t seem to want to tell me you were gay. Is it because they didn’t accept you?”

I exhale, shaking my head as I stand up. “It’s nothing you need to worry about.”

I don’t intend for it to come off rude, and I hope he doesn’t take it that way, but it’s true. Knowing the dirty details won’t fix or change anything, and the last thing I want is someone’s pity. Especially his. I don’t allow myself to be vulnerable with people. I don’t like for anyone to know the dark secrets I keep in my closet.

“Pizza’s here,” I announce, watching the delivery guy get out of his car.

He stands up. “I’ll go get it.”

Once he’s gone, I push a hand through my hair and blow out a breath. Talking about my parents always puts me on edge. Just because they’re dead doesn’t mean I’m free of them. Their words and threats live inside me, constantly reminding me of how I’msupposedto be and what I’m expected to do. Them dying didn’t release me, instead it left me with a lack of closure.

My parents beat into me the need for having a kid. I needed someone to take over the company. It needed to stay in our family since they worked so hard making it what it is.

The fights were constant, especially in the beginning. My dad actually caught me with a guy, and I thought he was going to kill me. After a while, I allowed them to think what they wanted. I didn’t have it in me to keep arguing and trying to get them to understand. It was never going to work. Eventually, I believe they tricked themselves into thinking they had changed me.

Jay’s not far off the mark when he asks if I’m the way I am because of my parents. Typically, children are shaped by their families and people close to them. That’s why things like homophobia and racism still run strong today. Children are being taught to be hateful. Nobody’s born knowing to hate a certain group, someone teaches them to, through words and actions.

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