Page 82 of Forever Not Yours

“I’m with Jake.”

“Of course you are. I still have my eyesight, you know.” My mother. Just as sassy as I was. And now both Jake and my dad were rolling their eyes.

“Not…like…”

It looked like Jake was about to open his mouth, but I stared him down. This was me. On me.

“I love him.”

Okay. That should do the trick.

“We all do, Son.”

For fuck’s sake, Dad.

“I want to marry him one day and have his babies.”

“Physically impossible, darling.” God. My mother!! A piece of work.

“We’re a couple. Together. And we have sex.”

“I hope you do, because a life without sex would be very boring.”

Jake was smiling, the bastard, letting me do this all on my own.

“Bastien, it’s fine. We’ve known for quite a while that you and Jake had a very special relationship. It’s not such of a big deal. You don’t have to do all this…song and dance. We know. And I’m still not making you a midnight bacon sandwich, so stop giving me all that strop.”

Okay. So my dad was way cooler than I’d realised. And now my mother was stirring the teas and gesturing for me to pass her the milk. I thought Jake was making the teas, but he’d obviously lost the plot and just sat there laughing.

“I love Bastien,” he said. “It’s just the way it is.”

“So do I.” my mother said with a smile. “Now, can we get on with this, because I need to know if you want roast chicken or roast beef on Sunday before you go, and also, where’s that dog?”

“I don’t know,” I squealed, looking around in a sudden panic. My dad was just shaking his head, Flossie still comfortably curled up in his arms, her little tail wagging at the mention of her name.

“Calm down,” my dad said. “We’re all in a tiff. Let’s have a nice cup of tea, and you’re going to that chicken place in town for dinner and then to the pub?”

“Gay night at the Swan,” I said, suddenly wondering where all my nerves had gone.

“I see.” Dad picked up the paper from the kitchen table and grabbed a biscuit of the plate in front of him. “Sugar free. Mum’s stocked up on the entire range, just for one weekend. Can the dog have biscuits?”

“Not really.” I sat down. So this? This was how people lived? All this happiness and calm and this gorgeous man who couldn’t stop giggling at me.

“How does it feel, being out and proud?”

My mother tutted. “He’s never been in and ashamed.” I had, but I wasn’t going to correct her.

“Good,” I said calmly. It actually was.

I took him to Nando’s, all dressed up, my shirt unbuttoned low, his smart T-shirt stretched over his chest. Nice jeans. A smile on my face.

“Don’t make me dance,” he growled when I pointed out the club on the map. Just a few blocks. We could walk, and then we’d take a taxi home. Easy.

“We’re going to dance. Come on, Jakey, you don’t know anyone here. Nobody will care. Just a bunchof local queers out for a fun time, and we’ll be the newcomers in the corner smooching away.”

“Really?” He didn’t sound too sure. But I was in charge here, which I calmly reminded him of.

I felt in charge. Well, perhaps less so as we passed the doorman at the Swan and made our way towards the back. I’d been here once before, a swift encounter to calm my nerves, but never actually looked around. The large dance floor. The DJ booth. The loud music and flashing lights and scantily clad barmen and women. This was not the Swan I remembered.

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