Page 54 of The Poster Boy
“Merry Christmas, you two.” Diane squeezed the life out of me. She smelled like Christmas cookies and coffee, and she hugged like she meant it. Like she thought maybe she could fix anything if she squeezed someone hard enough. It wasn’t until she let go that I realized how bad I needed a hug. The past few days had been rough. Shit, it started long before that.
“Thanks for having me. It was kind of you to include me in your celebrations.” My gratitude sounded a lot less like a Hallmark Christmas card in my head. But Diane’s expression softened and she patted my forearm.
“It’s our pleasure, dear. The more, the merrier. You boys get your stuff and come on in. Dad’s got the guest room in the basement finished, but there’s three of you, so someone’s going to be on the couch down there.” Diane disappeared into the house.
“I’ll take the couch,” I said to Jay and Boone.
Boone had grabbed all our bags and held mine out to me.
“Now what kind of a host would I be if I let my guest sleep on the couch? Plus, Jay’s a bed hog.” He grinned at me, and I wondered if he knew. If Jay had told him about us. I mean, they were best friends, of course Jay probably told him.
“Come on,” Jay said to me as he followed Boone into the house.
The inside of the house was just as festive as the outside.
“You guys get your gear downstairs then come on up for lunch,” Diane called to us from the kitchen. It wasn’t a mystery where Boone got his personality from. He and his mom both had that thing about them where they were good in charge, where people wanted to follow them.
The basement wasn’t anything special, but it had that lived-in feeling. It was clear that real people lived here. Laughed here. The main part of the room was open concept. A large sectional faced a wall-mounted television. A cabinet full of board games sat under the television and several gaming consoles sat on top of the cabinet.
“You two are in the guest room.” Boone dropped his bag on one end of the couch, shot me a wink, then headed back upstairs.
I turned to Jay, and he shrugged. “Boone figured it out the minute I said I’d invited you to come.”
He said it like it was no big deal, and to him it probably wasn’t. It clearly hadn’t been if he hadn’t come out and told Boone himself. If Boone hadn’t figured it out on his own, would Jay have even told his best friend about us?
I’d told my sister. Kelsey knew that I’d started seeing someone on the team. Casually. Intermittently. She knew itwas Jay, and that we didn’t get along at first. I didn’t know how to feel about Jay keeping us from his best friend. On one hand, it wasn’t Boone’s business, but on the other, it made me feel like a dirty little secret. Like something Jay only admitted to because he’d been caught.
I followed him into the guest room. It was decorated with dark green walls and a lush white carpet that was impossibly thick. Jay dropped his stuff on the floor by the bed and then took my bag from me and did the same.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine. It’s just…” I bit back the urge to ask him if he actually liked me or if he just liked having sex with me. Was he ashamed of us and that’s why he didn’t tell his best friend? “I feel like I’m in a Christmas movie.”
Jay shot me a dazzling smile. He was different here, I realized. Less a hockey player and more himself. More relaxed. Happier. It wasn’t lost on me that Jay wasn’t celebrating with anyone from his family either.
“They can be a lot, but they’re great people. Come on, before Diane sends a search party for us, and before Boone eats all the good stuff.”
Jay didn’t put his arm around me or take my hand or otherwise claim me the way I wanted him to. I followed him anyway. All the way upstairs and into the kitchen where Boone had already sat down and tucked into a plate of food.
“Dish yourselves up, boys. The other kids are out with friends and won’t be back until dinner.”
“I wondered where the brat pack was.” Boone tore a fresh-baked bun open and buttered the inside. “Dig in, guys.”
The table was laden with food. Macaroni and cheese. Fresh buns. Ribs. Two kinds of salads.
I took a seat next to Jay and started dishing myself upwhen a man who was the spitting image of Boone walked in. He was older and grayer, but it was like looking at Boone in twenty years.
“Howard, the boys are here.” Diane greeted him with a kiss to the cheek before she flitted away to do something else.
“Yes, I can see that.” Howard stopped and shook my hand. “You must be Marek.”
“Yes, sir. Thanks for having me.”
Howard grinned at me. “Thanks for coming. You see, no matter how many people we have, Diane cooks like we’re hosting the entire hockey team. You’re saving me a lot of leftovers.”
Howard turned his charm to Jay next. “Hey, son, how’s it going? Haven’t heard from you in a bit.”
“Can’t complain much. Still dealing with my roommate and his tendency to leave cereal bowls in the sink without rinsing them. But mostly he’s been housebroken now.”
