Page 45 of Sweetest Hate

"If he doesn't want to talk about it, he doesn't have to, Becca." My dad offered me a very dignified eye roll. "You don't have to explain a thing to this nosey Nancy."

"Nosey!" My mother elbowed him, and he grunted.

"Good lord, woman, have you been working out?"

And then they were back at it, fighting about absolutely nothing and loving every bit of it. My parents were weird.

The car was parked in the lot covered in more dry grass than a cow field, and I scooted into the backseat of my mother's sedan as she claimed the driver's seat and my father sat in front of me.

The AC blew hot at first, and I questioned why I hadn't chosen to enroll at a campus further north. Atlanta was no better.

"Good grief, it's hotter than Satan's asshole," my dad grumbled, and I snorted.

"George!" Mom quickly glanced at me and back at him. "Ears."

I sighed. "I'm not a little kid, Mom. I'm twenty years old."

"Well, I'm still your mother, and there won't be any talk about Satan's...body parts."

My dad's shoulders were bouncing, and I knew he was doing a piss poor job of trying not to laugh. Confirmed when she huffed and played with the dials, amping up the cold, then rolled down the windows to let out the heat that had baked into the car.

"Mom…" I cleared my throat. "Dad, mom was right. Almost."

Eager for details, she spun around, sitting almost backward in the seat. She could have a starring role inThe Exorcistif they did a remake of that movie. "Honey, what happened?"

"It's not a girl." I sucked in a long breath and blew it out slowly as they both eyed me curiously. "It's sort of about a boy. A guy."

Silence met my admission before my dad said, "Hmm, okay, so you're gay?"

"Yep." ThePpopped. "Super gay."

He grunted. "The sleepovers at Quinn's?"

Mom sighed. "It would be a little late for that whole spiel about the birds and birds."

Had that been a gay joke? My mother's lips twitched, proud of herself.

"No, Quinn's straight"—I set the record straight—"and he's notthe guy."

"So, who is this guy?" My dad frowned.

My mom balled her fist, waving it around like she actually knew how to throw a punch. "You going to go beat him up, babe?"

"I'm a lover, not a fighter," he crooned, and she snorted.

I sank back in the seat, and they both turned to face me again. My mom's gaze softened. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Nah." I shook my head. The last thing I wanted them to know was that the guy was Arsen, who was right next door. They'd watch me like a hawk every time I went outside to make sure I was behaving or something. "I just...I'm gay."

"We may be getting older, but we aren't hard of hearing yet, honey," my mom teased.

"Speak for yourself." My dad grunted. "The minute I acknowledge I haven't lost my hearing I have to stop pretending not to hear you sometimes."

Her jaw dropped as she snapped a scathing look his way, and a laugh caught in my throat, making me choke.

"What?" My dad raised his two graying bushy caterpillar eyebrows. "I thought we were having a family moment of honesty."

I don't know why I expected more... judgment? My parents weren't like that, but they hadn't even really paused at my admission. My dad, however, had managed to dig himself into a hole with my mom. A normal occurrence in the Swanson household.

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