The Cockney Canuck - 50. Chapter 50 The Makeover

“Hampton Wick, dick.” Those were Nathan’s first words as he sat down next to me in the cafeteria at lunchtime. “You naughty boy.”

“Ha, you must have looked it up online.”

“Straight away,” he said. Ginny looked a little confused, which humoured Nathan even more. Proof, I suppose that our covert language was working, although he wasn’t quite getting the gist of it.

“But you’re only supposed to say the first word,” I said, “drop the wick and dick.”

“What are you idiots talking about?” said Ginny, who looked a little rough.

‘She must be on a downer today, why can’t she sit somewhere else’?

“I know,” he said, ignoring her, “I’m not totally gin and rum.”

“You just made that up,” I said, laughing over my plate of lasagne. “I’ve never heard that before.”

“It works, though,” he said.

“I know, but…oh whatever, you haven’t got a Scooby have you?” We both fell about laughing, bringing us some unwanted attention from the students seated nearby. One of them I noticed was Nicola, who scowled at me as if I were embarrassing her in some way. I smiled back, before returning to my boyfriend and his wacky sidekick.

“Can you come around this Saturday?” asked Nathan, once we had stopped laughing.

“I can come round, square, oblong, whatever you want,” I said, but I knew what he meant.

“To talk to my parents?”

“I know,” I said, “it’s as good a day as any, I suppose.” I wasn’t looking forward to it, but Nathan kept telling me that I had nothing to worry about, and I wasn’t going to break my promise to him. I think that it was just the fact that it was his parents that bothered me. They were important; my boyfriend’s family. I wanted to be with Nathan forever, so I considered this a big step.

“Are you two getting married or something?” asked Ginny, before biting into a soggy looking slice of pizza. It made me laugh, but the thought of being legally attached to him, living under the same roof, sleeping in the same bed and waking up to him every morning, was very appealing. I didn’t want him to know that, though, for fear of scaring him away. It had only been eleven days since our date; he would have thought that I was crazy for harbouring such thoughts, and maybe I was.

Nathan shook his head disapprovingly at Ginny but reserved a tight-lipped smile for me as we turned to face each other and locked eyes. There was only the three of us at the table that lunchtime and with Ginny now in the know, we were able to drop our guard, at least as far as our conversation was concerned. I found it refreshing and perhaps a taste of things to come.

Usually, at school, we would have to act completely different and detach ourselves in a way that didn’t seem natural after being so close. It required a lot of effort. It was all too easy to slip up, and I was certain that we had done it more than once, with a dreamy look into each other’s eyes, a longer than necessary physical contact, or an easily readable double entendre.

“Am I going to have to put up with this, every day from now on?” she said.

“Put up with what Ginny?” asked Nathan, but his eyes remained glued to mine as he was talking, and it made us both giggle.

“You guys need to get a room somewhere.” I couldn’t have agreed more, but it was easier said than done.

We were both wearing shorts and if I opened my legs wide enough, we could just about bump knees under the table, but that was the only contact that we could get away with in a crowded cafeteria. I wanted to ask her if she knew of anywhere, maybe her house was empty sometimes. I would have gladly paid her for the use of a room, a garage, or even a broom cupboard.

It was more than just a physical attraction, but the need for sex was becoming an issue for me, and starting to cloud my vision. I was a horny teenager, who had had a taste of it, and was now hungry for more. Nathan was innocent and therefore, perhaps a little more patient than I was, but he had made it clear to me that he was ready and willing to take the next step, whenever the opportunity presented itself. His sudden enthusiasm to cement our relationship, had me climbing the walls in anticipation, and now I was longing for the chance to get him naked and please him in the way that I had been dreaming about for months.

Despite our frequent jokes, filled with sexual innuendo, I hadn’t actually expected him to agree to something like that so soon. I don’t know why that was—he was a fifteen-year-old boy, why wouldn’t he? —but to me, he always looked and acted younger than his age. It was another thing that worried me, especially as I was now on the brink of coming out. It was bad enough that everyone would know that I was gay, I didn’t want people thinking that I was into young boys as well, but sometimes that was how he looked. If I could have changed one thing about him, it would have been his age. I would have made him a year older; the same age as Tom. It was probably nit-picking, but I didn’t like being older than Nathan, even if it was only eight months.

* * * * *

On Saturday, I met Nathan downtown and we did some clothes shopping before heading back to his house by bus. It was the last weekend of May, and although it had cooled a little during the week, it was looking now like the summer was here to stay. I bought two more pairs of shorts to add to the ones that I was wearing but resisted Nathan’s attempt to get me into sandals. He, of course, was wearing flip-flops, which he seemed to do whenever he wasn’t in school, and I was beginning to wonder if he was doing this mostly for my benefit.

When we arrived at his house, the driveway was empty. “Dad must have popped out, but he’ll be back soon,” he said, and he took me into the living room, while he went in search of his mom and Karen. He had told me that they would be home, but there was nobody downstairs, so I studied myself in the mirror while he checked the rest of the house. I heard him walking up the stairs, and then moments later running back down again. A few more doors opened and shut and he called out to his mom, but there was no reply.

I was sitting on the couch playing with my phone when he walked back in. “There’s nobody here,” he said, “my mom said she would be here all day, so she won’t be long.”

“Why don’t you call her and ask?” I was apprehensive and wanted to get it over and done with as quickly as possible. Waiting around was just going to prolong the agony. He looked a little anxious too, as he called her on his cell phone, and began pacing the room. They talked for a while, but the conversation seemed very one-sided, with Nathan anxious to hang up. He rolled his eyes at me and pulled a funny face, as he listened to his mom and I had to stifle a laugh, when he put his finger to his lips to tell me to be quiet.

‘I guess he doesn’t want her to know that I’m here’.

It was an opportunity to have some fun and I wasn’t going to pass it up. We were, after all, alone in the house, if only for a few minutes, and as he walked back across the room looking at the carpet, I stood in front of him to block his path. He glanced up at me, a little startled and I could hear the muffled tones of his mother, as I put both hands around his waist and pulled him towards me. I kissed him quickly on the lips and his eyes opened wide in surprise. His attempt at playing innocent didn’t work; I could see the corners of his mouth curling to betray the slightest of smiles, and he made no move to push me away or step backwards. It was all the encouragement that I needed to continue and I leant in again, this time for slightly longer.

I could hear his mom asking if he was still there and although I was prepared to ignore her, he pushed me away. There was no frown from him, though, only a cheeky smile from a flushed face, as he took a breath, bit his lip, and brought the phone back to his ear.

“Mom,” he said, “I gotta go okay? It’s…my battery…it’s low.”

I mouthed the word ‘liar’ to him and he poked his tongue out at me, which I immediately tried to catch between my lips. I wasn’t quick enough, but I found his mouth again for another quick peck.

He ended the call without saying goodbye, before switching it off, and tossing it on the couch. He had an expression of defiance on his face, with a hint of teenage attitude, neither of which I had seen him display previously. It didn’t suit him, but I managed not to laugh and go with the moment.

‘Nathan the rebel. I like it’.

Then we connected again. This time it was him who pre-empted my planned attack on his ruby red lips, with his own offensive, pressing his mouth against mine and invading with his tongue. Once again I was surprised by his eager and slightly forceful approach, as he slipped his hands under my t-shirt to feel my chest.

“They’ll be back in a little while,” he said, as we broke away. I was too busy planting kisses on his face to reply, before working my way down to his neck. I had no idea how long ‘a little while’ was, and he probably didn’t either, but it sounded way too short.

“I love your neck; you know that?” I said as I continued my exploration. I could feel him shaking, perhaps through nerves or excitement, or a mixture of both. He removed his arms from between us and wrapped them around my back.

“We can wait downstairs…if you want?” he said.

“And I love your shoulders too,” I mumbled.

“It’ll be safer down there.” I could feel his fingers in my hair.

“And your chin,” I said, as I began making my way back up towards his mouth with a passion that was surprising me and him both. I found his lips irresistible, and after willingly surrendering to another prolonged, deep-throated assault, he finally managed to prise himself away and hold me at arm’s length.

This time, he really did look a little shocked. “Wow, what was that?” We were both blushing and out of breath.

“Sorry,” I said, “it’s you. You have this effect on me.”

“Don’t be sorry,” he said smiling and licking his lips. “I like it…I really do…you look so cute when you get all…you know, carried away and stuff.”

“And stuff,” I said laughing.

“Yeah, and stuff,” he giggled.

“Well so do you…I mean you look cute…and stuff. Do we have to stop?” I pushed towards him but he held me back.

“No,” he said, “but we should go downstairs.” He grabbed my hand to lead me out into the hallway, and downstairs to the basement.

“I didn’t even know you had a downstairs.”

I should have known better; this was Canada, every house had a basement, and they all seemed to follow the same principle. Television, couch, armchair, a laundry room, a little musky and a smell of concrete.

“This is where I play games with Daniel when he comes over, or when he used to come over.”

“Tell me more,” I said, raising my eyebrows.

“I meant video games.”

“Whatever.”

“You’ve got a dirty mind.”

“So have I,” I said, as I watched him switch on the television and games console. It was quite dark down there, with no sunlight and only two bare bulbs, and like the rest of the house, there was a lot of clutter. I sat on the couch opposite the big screen as Nathan selected a game.

“Have you ever played Ninja Warriors on Xbox?” he asked and I shook my head.

“I’ve never even heard of it.”

“It doesn’t matter; I would’ve whooped your ass anyway.” He was probably right, he was an avid gamer and I hardly ever played.

“Do you really wanna play Xbox?” I asked him as he sat down next to me with two control pads.

“Of course,” he said, “don’t you?”

“Well…I don’t mind…it’s just that….” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Okay, if that’s what you want,” I said, taking one of the control pads and turning towards the screen. “I’m all ready to have my ass whooped.”

“You’d like that wouldn’t you?” he said, and he pushed me sideways as I laughed.

“Yes, I would,” I said, turning to push him back and knocking him over onto his side. He didn’t get up but lifted his legs onto the couch so that he was lying facing the television. He pressed his feet against my leg, but I resisted the temptation to grab them, lured instead by a triangle of bare midriff, between his t-shirt and shorts. I grabbed his side between my thumb and forefinger and he squealed loudly, twisting his body and lifting his head.

‘He’s ticklish, I should’ve guessed’.

I squeezed him again and he jumped. “Stoppit,” he yelled in between cries of laughter. He pushed my hand away and kicked me until I backed off and dropped to the floor. He was lying on his back on the couch, giggling and catching his breath, as I crawled along the carpet to sit up on my knees in front of him. When our eyes met his laughing slowed to a few chuckles and then stopped altogether, leaving behind a smile that also quickly faded.

“You’re ticklish.”

“A little.”

“A lot.” I watched his stomach rise and dip with each slowing breath, and I lifted my hand to rest gently against his abdomen.

“Don’t,” he said, grabbing my arm to push me away.

“I’m not going to tickle you,” I assured him in slow quiet tones, “I promise, okay?”

He let go of me, and I slipped my hand under his t-shirt and moved it slowly up across his chest, to feel him for the first time. I brushed his nipples with my fingers, gliding lightly over his silky skin until I reached the neckline of his top. I watched his expression the whole time, anxious to see how far he would allow me to go, but there was no indication that he wanted me to stop, and as I leant over to kiss him, he put his arms around my neck locking me in position. I found a nipple again and gave it a gentle tweak, before moving my hand back to his stomach to make circles around his navel. As he began sucking on my tongue, my circles got larger, until the tips of my fingers were brushing against the waistband of his shorts and then underneath, reaching further each time.

With my mouth pressed against his, I couldn’t see what I was doing. My tongue was beginning to hurt and I could feel his teeth digging into my top lip. I was struggling to breathe; gasping for air, but I had never felt better, or more alive. Despite the growing discomfort and his fervent assault on my tonsils, my quest below continued to make good progress as I inched ever closer to my goal. I was encouraged by the sweet sounds now escaping from the back of his throat; deep moans of pleasure that I had never heard from him before, outside of my fantasies, but they sounded exactly the same. When I felt the waistband of his underwear, I was faced with a dilemma that I hadn’t anticipated.

‘Shall I go under or over’?

I chose over. One step at a time; I had been patient so far, and it was working. I didn’t want to ruin everything by jumping in at the deep end. He released my mouth and we both took in large gulps of air. My lips were numb and I smacked them together as I knelt upright and smiled down at him. He looked flushed, sweaty, out of breath, but eager for more, and when I stared into his watery eyes for permission to continue, he nodded his head to give me his consent.

I was rewarded immediately when my fingers made contact with the spongy tip of his penis, covered only by a thin layer of wet fabric. He could have stopped me at any time, but there was no hint of resistance, so after one more slow, purposeful sweep of his midriff, I ventured even further into his shorts to claim my prize.

I could feel his heat through the flimsy cotton barrier as I placed my hand on top of his erection, and when I wrapped my fingers around him, he whimpered his approval through tightly sealed lips. Size was never going to be an issue, but his smallish frame had suggested to me a likewise appendage. It was difficult to tell with it still hidden underneath his shorts, but as I ran my fingers along his shaft, I got the impression that he was reasonably well-equipped in that department. I had the urge to compliment him, but I couldn’t find the right words, and I didn’t want to ruin the moment, as he lied there with his eyes closed, biting on his bottom lip and looking irresistible.

I drew another deep breath, as I contemplated my next move. I had already exceeded even my wildest expectations. When I met him at the mall earlier, I wouldn’t have dreamt that three hours later, I would be playing with his dick. The Gods were smiling on me, and although I knew that our time was limited, I was on a roll, and I wanted to push it as far as I could. If you don’t ask, you don’t get, and I was never shy about doing that.

“I want to see you,” I asked as I tightened my grip on his manhood.

“I don’t mind,” he replied in a voice barely louder than a whisper. I hadn’t expected him to deny my request and I thanked him with another long wet kiss and a quick jerk of his dick. It made his whole body jump and he bit on my chin, causing me to pull away.

“Sorry,” he said, “did I hurt you?”

“No, it’s okay,” I lied to him as I let go of his penis and pulled my hand from his shorts. I had only one thing on my mind as I grabbed his waistband with both hands and looked towards him. “I’m gonna need your help.” He smiled back at me and then lifted his butt just enough for me to pull his shorts from under him. His tight-fitting briefs left little to the imagination and it was an impressive sight. He wiggled around a little on the couch, but otherwise displayed no signs of nerves. He didn’t look embarrassed and neither would I have been with a tool like that. It felt as if I was about to unveil a work of art as I steadied myself for what I was sure would prove to be a moment that I would remember forever.

Instead, I was startled as he sprang bolt upright. I could hear noises upstairs; footsteps and talking. “Shit!” he said, “they’re back.” He jumped to his feet and started pulling up his shorts. “Oh my God…shit, shit, shit. Do I look okay?”

‘I don’t fucking believe this. What’s wrong with these people? Why do they have to come back now? Their timing is bloody shit’!

“You look fine,” I said, as I watched his frantic attempts to hide his erection. His snug fitting shorts and skimpy t-shirt were not the ideal garments for concealing such a weapon, and if he was going to face his family, without them guessing what we had been up to, he had to lose the boner. I had also been aroused, but he had been primed, armed and ready for firing, before the order to step down, and he wasn’t finding it easy.

“I’m sorry,” he said, looking me in the eye.

“You don’t need to be sorry, it was my fault. I knew they would be back, I shouldn’t have….”

“No,” he said, cutting me off, “what you did was cool…it’s my family, they have the worst timing.”

“Totally bloody shit,” I agreed, and then pointed to his still protruding dick. “Try to Imagine Miss Pringle, naked, it always works for me.” He laughed as he picked up one of the control pads and threw it at me.

“We were playing Xbox, remember.”

“I know, and I was just about to cream you,” I said, laughing and rolling onto my side.

“Very funny, but you’re not helping. Stand up, you look a mess.”

“Thanks,” I said, as I picked myself off the floor and stood to attention. He combed my ruffled hair with his fingers, and then studied my chin, before prodding it with his finger. “Ouch!”

“Oh my God, did I do that?”

“Yes, you bit me, don’t you remember?” I rubbed my chin, but he pushed my hand away.

“Oh yeah,” he said, “it’ll be okay. Just don’t stand too close to anyone.”

“What? I need to see. Is there a mirror down here?”

“No, look it’s fine, really. It’s just a little red…it matches the rest of your face.”

“Ha, ha.”

“And a couple of tooth marks.”

“TOOTH MARKS? Shit! I can’t face your family like this…what will they think?”

“Shush,” he said, covering my mouth, “don’t panic, okay? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bite you…I must’ve got carried away.” He smiled sweetly at me, hunched his shoulders, and all was forgiven.

“I know,” I said, smiling at him, “it’s not your fault…and I love you.” He looked at me a little surprised. “I mean it, okay, I love you.” Then as I heard somebody walking down the stairs, I grabbed him quickly by his shoulders and kissed him.

It was difficult, if not impossible for me to stay angry with him for any more than a few seconds. He only had to flash that ‘little boy lost’ expression at me, and I would melt every time. He knew it too, and I knew that he knew it.

“Hey guys, how’s it hanging?” I was relieved to hear Karen’s cheerful tones at the bottom of the stairs, but I was a little uncomfortable when she walked over and put her arm around me. “You two look as guilty as sin; what have you been doing?”

“Just playing video games,” said Nathan rather unconvincingly. Either his acting skills had temporarily deserted him, or he wasn’t overly concerned about trying to fool his older sister.

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever,” she said, “I don’t wanna know anyway.” She gave me a quick squeeze and turned to study my face. “You look nervous; you don’t need to be.”

‘At least she hasn’t noticed any marks’.

Realizing that Nathan had informed her of our intentions, I gave her my best fake smile. “I can’t help it,” I said, “it’s a big step for me.”

“I know sweetie,” she said, “but it’s the right thing to do. I’ll tell mom that you’re here, I’m sure they’ll want you to stay for dinner.” She gave me another little hug and ruffled my hair. “And what happened to your face, are they bite marks?”

‘Shit’!

“Did you bite him?” she said, turning towards her brother.

“I didn’t mean to; it was an accident.” I nodded in agreement as I felt my chin again and then looked at my fingers for any sign of blood.

“What did he do, fall over and land with his face in your mouth?”

“What he means is, he got carried away,” I said. “He didn’t mean it…we were…just…you know.”

“It’s okay,” she said, saving my blushes, “I know what you were doing. I was just being sarcastic.” She laughed. “Well, I guess it’s not that noticeable. Try rubbing it; it might go down a little.” I looked at Nathan and we both tried to suppress a giggle at her choice of words. She shook her head at us in dismay, as she caught on to our little joke. “I mean your face, obviously.”

I did as she suggested, but without a mirror, I had no way of assessing the damage myself, and I was starting to worry.

“Don’t rub it too hard,” said Nathan, “you’ll make it go red, and it’ll stick out even more.” He finished with a naughty grin, and his comments got him a quick slap across the arm from his sister. “What did I say?”

“You know,” she said.

“Is that any better?” I asked, staring at Karen for approval.

“Hmm…why don’t you put a band-aid on it and you can say that cut yourself shaving?”

I gave her a quizzical look. “But I don’t shave.”

“Well if you’re not old enough to shave yet, then you’re probably not old enough to be taking lumps out of each other’s faces either,” she said. “But it’s too late now…so maybe we can hide it with a little make-up?”

“Make-up?” I said, “no, no, no, you are not going to put make-up on me, no way am I doing that, absolutely not.” I put my hands up in front of me and backed away.

“Good idea,” said Nathan.

“Just a little toner,” said Karen, “trust me, I know what I’m doing.”

Minutes later, I was standing in front of a big mirror, with the pair of them fussing over me. I managed to say a quick hello to their mom on the way past, as Karen held my hand and dragged me up to her room. Nathan stayed behind to explain, but I had no idea what excuse he could give her to justify me running upstairs, hand-in-hand with her daughter. She looked a little a surprised to see me back in the house so soon, but it probably didn’t matter anymore what she thought. She would know soon enough.

“You got nice smooth skin,” said Karen, as she applied bits of colour with her fingers and a cotton pad, and scrutinized my chin.

“She’s right,” said an excited sounding Nathan, “you look quite hot in make-up. You should wear it more often.”

“Shutup,” I said, “it’s your fault that I’m having to have a makeover.”

“I think that should do it,” said Karen, smiling at me, “we don’t want to go over the top.” She was right and I was impressed by her handiwork, when I studied my face in the mirror, I couldn’t see any marks or redness.

“Can you give him some eye shadow?” asked Nathan, “he would look so cute.”

“I’ll give you some eye shadow in a minute,” I said, clenching my fist at him.

“I like it when you play rough,” he said teasingly, and it made me laugh.

“Save your kinky role play for later guys,” said Karen, and Nathan and I shared a look of shock at her presumption. She rolled her eyes and shook her head at us despairingly.

“Can you do me now?” said Nathan as he eagerly pushed me aside to take my place in front of the mirror.

He got another slap on the arm from Karen. “Maybe another time bro.”

“Really,” he said, “that’s so cool.”

“You are so gay,” I said.

“Takes one to know one,” he said smiling and he was right. There I was on the brink of coming out, and about to reveal myself to his parents as their son’s boyfriend, and I had never felt so gay in my life…or so happy with who I was.

“Mascara would really suit you,” he said to me as we followed Karen downstairs. “You have the eyelashes for it.” I looked at him bemused, wondering if he actually meant it, but the thought of greeting his mom and dad wearing make-up made me giggle.

‘What would they say if I came downstairs looking like a drag queen’?

“Hi Robbie, nice to see you again,” said his mom as Nathan showed me to a seat at the kitchen table and sat down next to me.

“Hello, Mrs Elliott.”

“Liz,” she corrected me, and I swallowed hard.

“Sorry, I mean…Liz.” That word still hurt.

‘I wish my mom was here too. I should’ve told her when I had the chance. I wonder if she can see me right now…somehow? Maybe. If you can hear me, I’m sorry mom. I still love you so much and I will never forget you, I promise. Not ever’.

I felt Nathans elbow against my arm. “My mom asked if you wanted a drink dude,” he said, and I could see her waiting next to the fridge for an answer.

“Oh, err, yes please, water will be fine,” I said.

‘Where’s his dad’?

“Hello young man,” he said, as he appeared in the doorway next to Karen. “I’ve been told that I presence has been requested in the kitchen.” It was a plausible upper-class English accent, but nothing like my own. I laughed out of politeness and maybe a few nerves, before standing to shake his hand and return his greeting.

He sat down opposite smiling at me, and I wondered if he had already guessed. His mom though looked a little concerned by the formalities, as she handed me a bottle of water and gave Karen a stern look.

“Is there something wrong?” she asked.

“No,” said Karen, “Nathan has something to say.”

I stared down at the table to avoid any eye contact and as I did I felt his hand on mine. I looked up in surprise as he twisted my arm and laced his fingers with mine on top of the table. My eyes flicked quickly across each face as they stared at our hands.

‘That did it alright. No going back now’.

Karen looked surprised, I guessed that Nathan had deviated a little from the plan. His dad looked uncomfortable with our connection and he was the first to make eye contact with me, although I couldn’t read his expression. His mom was the only one who looked shocked, and her eyes were as large and wide as her son’s.

“Mom, dad. Robbie and I are dating,” said Nathan at last. It had only been a few seconds but it seemed much longer, and despite all the anxiety, those words were the sweetest that I had ever heard. I took the plunge and smiled, knowing that Nathan was smiling too, and when I squeezed his hand, he gave mine an even bigger squeeze back.

There were no fireworks or hysterics, but it took a while before we got a reaction from either of them. “I see,” said his mom as she looked between us. She seemed to be deep in thought and nodded her head, before turning towards her husband, who for once had nothing to say. “I guess that explains a few things.” I wasn’t sure what things it explained, but after the initial surprise, she was starting to look a little more comfortable with the idea.

“We thought…well actually Karen thought that it was right to let you know,” said Nathan, and his words brought a welcome smile from his parents.

“Yes son,” said his dad, at last, and for once in a serious tone. “It was the right thing to do and I’m pleased that you told us.” He reached across the table to put his hand on Nathan’s arm.

“How long?” asked his mom. “How long have you two been….?” I was surprised that his mom wasn’t able to use the word, but unsurprised by Karen’s timely intervention.

“Dating, mom,” she said, “they’re dating, just like I was at their age. Don’t you think it’s sweet?”

“Yes, I suppose, it’s a little unexpected, that’s all.”

“We’ve only been seeing each other for two weeks,” said Nathan.

“Eighteen days,” I corrected him, which brought a smile from Karen and another firm squeeze of my hand from my boyfriend.

“You count the days?” asked Nathan, turning to smile at me.

“Yes,” I said shyly and looked away. I could feel my cheeks burning and I pulled my hand from his grasp to open and take a long swig of my water. I could probably have worked out the hours and minutes too if he had asked.

“It’s not like we hadn’t expected this,” said his dad, “it was bound to happen sooner or later.” He looked towards his wife. “We always knew that, right? Now if you want my opinion, then I think that you’re both still a little too young to be in a relationship.” He put his hand up to stop Nathan as he tried to object. “Let me finish son, I said the same thing to your sister when she was fourteen.”

“Dad, I’m fifteen,” said Nathan.

“Just,” said his mom.

“And Robbie’s sixteen soon.” I cringed when I heard Nathan say that.

“When is your birthday dear?” asked his mom, and she put her hand on my shoulder.

‘I knew it; they think I’m too old for him’.

“September.”

“That’s still a way off,” she said, and I was happy to agree, but Nathan still seemed a little frustrated, although for different reasons.

“We’re only dating,” he said, “we’re not doing anything else.” It was a bold move, and clearly, a subject that nobody in the room wanted to touch upon so soon. His dad looked very uneasy, and his mom cleared her throat and nodded to let him know that she understood. When I looked at Karen though, she had a wry smile on her face, and it was clear that she didn’t believe a word of it. What Nathan had said was true, to a certain extent, but had they come home fifteen minutes later, then it may have been a different story.

“I’m not against the two of you dating,” said his mom, “We’ll need to talk about other things, but probably not now. Do your parents know, Robbie?”

“My uncle and aunt,” I said, although I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to correct her. “About us you mean?”

“Do they know that you’re gay?” she asked.

“No, nobody knows, except for you and a couple of friends at school.”

“Well, we won’t say anything of course,” she said, “I don’t know your situation at home, but that’ll be for you to decide. The same applies to school. We want you to be safe dear…both of you. I don’t think it’ll be easy.”

“We’ll be safe mom,” said Nathan, “we’ll look after each other, won’t we?” He looked over and then grabbed my hand again. I smiled and gripped him tightly, it felt good to be able to touch him in front of people and I was beginning to get used to it.

“Are you planning on telling your folks soon Robbie?” asked his dad.

“I don’t know…I mean, tonight wasn’t easy for me, although I understand why it needed to be done. Some days I feel like I wanna tell the whole world and other days I don’t want anyone to know, I get all…I dunno…scared I guess. I know I’m not making much sense.”

“Oh I think it makes a lot of sense,” he said, “I can only imagine what must be going on in your head at the moment. The world is a scary place, and there’s a lot of prejudice out there. Mostly through ignorance and misinformation, which turns good folk into bigots, and creates hatred towards anyone who’s different. I can see that this wasn’t easy for you, you look like your about to face a firing squad. But you have no reason to be scared of us, we do not have a problem with your sexuality. The only issue I have is that you’re both a little young…but that’s nothing to do with being gay.”

I nodded and smiled at him as I absorbed everything he had said and tried to think of an intelligent reply. I hadn’t expected him to be so supportive, although I wasn’t sure why. I stared at the sugar bowl in the centre of the table and waited for somebody else to continue the conversation.

“Are you okay sweetie?” asked Karen, she had been remarkably quiet for once but had walked around the table to stand behind me and I felt her hands resting on my shoulders.

I nodded and reassured her, as her dad shifted in his seat, and then made his excuse to leave. “Well, I’ve said what I had to say,” he said, as he stood up, still looking somewhat uncomfortable with the conversation. “Not that you’ll listen to me…but, to be honest, I wouldn’t have done either when I was your age.”

Nathan laughed and then stood up to give his dad a hug. “Thanks, dad, I love you.”

It was a nice moment, but not one that I was comfortable with. Perhaps a pang of jealousy; a remnant from a fatherless childhood that still reared its ugly head at times such as these. Karen could not have known, but she draped her arms around me and gave me a quick squeeze, which for once, I actually found comforting, and I covered her arms with mine.

“You did good sweetie,” she said. I didn’t really do anything, but I was willing to accept some credit.

“Welcome to the family Robbie,” said their dad, as he left the room to return to his hockey game on TV. “Oh and don’t forget to make an appointment for a check-up. Family rates apply now, so make the most of it while you can.” It sounded to me as if he wasn’t expecting our relationship to last that long, but it didn’t bother me, I had cleared the first hurdle and I was still on my feet.

* * * * *

I stayed at Nathan’s house until about nine o’clock, and I did end up staying for dinner. There were occasional quips from the adults about our relationship, but nothing serious and I found myself bonding very quickly with his family. Even his dad wasn’t as foreboding as he had been during my previous visit, although the jokes returned during dinner. I felt comfortable and safe in that house, and I didn’t really want to go home, but perhaps having to leave Nathan had a lot to do with it.

“Thanks, Robbie,” he said, as we waited outside the front of his house for my taxi home. “It was really cool of you to do that today.”

“No problem, I liked it,” I said.

“I know you didn’t like it, but it needed to be done.”

“No, I really enjoyed it, and next time I’m gonna finish you off.”

He gave me a sideways look, before pushing me onto the lawn. “I was talking about coming out to my family, dork.” I was laughing and it wasn’t long before he gave me that shy, naughty smile that he had perfected just for me. “But I guess that was also pretty cool.”

“You only guess?”

“Okay, it was totally hot, and I might let you finish what you started next time we’re alone.”

“You might?”

He let out a big sigh. “I will definitely let you,” he said, turning his head to make sure that nobody else could hear. Then he moved in close, kissed me quickly on the lips, and briefly cupped his hand against my crotch. “But only if you let me return the favour.”

“You just did,” I said, as I stared at him, open-mouthed, and we both laughed.