Page 44 of Drag Me Up

Oh, I’m all fucking for this!

Settling in, I gently suckle on Matt while he pets me. Somehow, I seem to fade into a type of subspace, and I’m more relaxed than I’ve ever been in all of my times at theDevil. Before I can make sense of it, Matt taps my cheek and I pull back off him.

“Time for bed, Cutie,” he says as he turns off the television. I’m still half out of it as he tucks us into his bed, and we drift off to dreamland together.

I wake up the next morning to the smell of coffee and the delicious aroma elicits a groan from my throat. Naked coffee date sounds like a wonderful idea. Maybe, I can get some extra protein for breakfast this morning? Or maybe Mattie needs a boost in his protein intake?

I hear Matt in the kitchen talking to someone, but I can’t figure out if he’s on the phone or if yet another person has invaded our home. Looks like fully naked coffee needs to wait until I can ascertain if we’re alone.

Ourhome? Even though it’s only been a few days, this small trailer feels more like home than any place I’ve ever been. Mattie really better plan on keeping me here, cuz I’m not leaving.

I rush through my morning routine and throw on one of Matt’s hoodies to cover myself enough for the sensibilities of anyone who has the audacity to invade at eight o’clock in the morning. As soon as I clear the hallway, I have two seconds to realize I should have found some pants before Matt’s mother is crushing me in a hug.

“Oh, sweetie, I’m so happy you found him!” she calls back to Matt in the kitchen as she steers me to the stools for the breakfast bar. I’m extremely thankful that Matt likes really baggy hoodies and that the one I picked this morning is long enough to keep everything covered.

“It’s good to see you again Ms. Sara,” I mumble whiletrying to keep the hoodie in place to hide my Sparkle thong.

“Pssh,” she hisses as she grabs me for another hug. “Call me Mom.”

I look at Matt in panic. What the fuck am I supposed to do? Do they even make manuals to tell you what to do when your lover’s mother shows up while you’re in your spank me thong and tells you to call her Mom?

36

MATT

The look on Eric’s face has me almost snorting coffee up my nose. Taking pity on my cutie, I bring a cup of coffee over to him with a plate of my mother’s French toast. When the news this morning reported on Sylvia’s break in and Mr. Mendleton’s involvement, she rushed over here. Luckily for us, she texted when she left, so I had time to get myself up and presentable. I decided to let Eric sleep so that I could prepare her for him being here.

“Mattie, why is this poor boy half naked? Do you need me to do your laundry so that he can put some pants on?”

Eric starts to choke on his bite of French toast, and my mother absently pounds on his back without removing her glare from my face. I’m torn between laughing and running as far as I fucking can from this situation. This isnothow I expected to be coming out to my mother.

“Well you see, Eric and I are kind of… together, Ma,” I tell her and flinch in anticipation of the slap that I’m sure is coming. After a few seconds, I squint over at her to see a soft smile on her face instead of the outrage I was expecting.

It’s not like I ever thought my mother is in any way intolerant, but she has been constantly reminding me that all of her friends are grandmothers now. Not to mention, the age difference. I mean, he was barely out of diapers when she started working for his family.

“Is that okay with you, Ms. Sara?” Eric asks sheepishly. “I’ve always loved Mattie, and now he loves me back.”

The pain and fear in his voice breaks through my own nerves regarding my mother and I come around the counter to pull him into my arms.

“I’ve always loved you, Sparkles,” I tell him with a kiss to his turquoise bedhead. “It’s just the sexy stuff didn’t show up until last week.”

He lets out a soft giggle while my mother snorts into her coffee. “Seems you two don’t need my blessing after all, but since you asked, sweetie, I’m ecstatic you two found your way to each other.”

She puts a hand on each of our cheeks and gives us a smile before turning to put her coat on.

“Sorry I interrupted your little love nest and will give you more notice for my next visit. Eric, sweetie, let me know when you’re free and we can go out for brunch to catch up.”

Before she reaches the door, my brain catches up to everything that just happened.

“Don’t you have anything to say about me liking men?”

I don’t know why I’m so hung up on this, but I feel like I need to actually hear what she thinks about me not being straight.

“You don’t need to put on a label or explain it to me, Mattie,” she says as she opens the front door. “Love is what matters and you two have always had more than enough for each other.”

I sink down onto the stool my mother had vacated when I hear her car pull away from the trailer. That wasn’t the reaction I was expecting. I expectedsomethingmore. I never thought she would be one of those parents who disowned their children for being queer, but I expected at least some confusion… especially after being engaged to a woman for the last three years.

Shit, was it really that long? That should have been a clue.

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