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“Everything is going to be fine,” I repeated because the tension was back in his face. “We won’t stay long.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll be fine. When your mother asked you to help with this fund raiser, did she say what we’d be doing? Wait. You told her you’d be bringing a date, right?”
I pulled him along through the main entrance, grateful for the immediate icy embrace of the air conditioning. We walked down warm buttery-yellow hallways with elegant paintings on all the walls and vases overflowing with flowers. It was a gorgeous house, and I wanted to take Byron on a tour, but I figured it would be best to save that for another time. Today was about meeting my mom, doing a little good, and then getting the hell out of there.
“Yes, I told her I was bringing someone that I’d been seeing recently. She’s very excited to meet you. I don’t know what we’re doing. She usually wants me here because I’m handsome andI’m good at getting the old ladies who come to these things to write checks.”
Byron stared at me with one eyebrow raised. “And they know you’re gay, right?”
“I can be gayandhandsome,” I gasped.
“You’re ridiculous,” Byron muttered with a shake of his head.
“He really is. Completely ridiculous and impossible to deal with.”
We turned at the intrusive voice to find my mother standing behind us with a smug grin on her face.
“Hey, Mom.” I released Byron’s hand so I could give her a tight hug and press a kiss to her cheek. “Nice to hear how much I’m loved.”
“Don’t pout,” she teased, giving me a smack on the ass. “You’re not as cute as you think you are when you pout.”
I released her and moved to Byron’s side. “Mom, this is Byron Graham, my date. Byron, this is Danielle Courtland, mycharmingmother.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Mrs. Courtland,” Byron said, stepping forward to shake her hand.
“Oh, Byron. I like that name. So pretty. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Byron.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
“Just call me Danielle or Dani. We’re not so formal around here.”
“At least your mother didn’t name you after the crab fromThe Little Mermaid,” I whispered loudly to put that twinkle of laughter back into Byron’s eyes. It worked.
Mom hissed at me. “I did not. I think I named you after a character in a romance novel I was reading while pregnant with you.”
“Gee, thanks.”
Naturally, my mother ignored me and walked straight to Byron. She gently took his hand and lifted it slightly so she could place her other hand in the crook of his arm before leading him down the hall. I was left to follow like the “good, obedient” son I was.
“It’s so nice to meet you, Byron. My son has never introduced me to any of the men he’s dated in the past,” my mom explained, while I rolled my eyes.
“Probably because it wouldn’t have been appropriate to introduce you to any of my random hookups,” I muttered.
Byron shot me a quelling look over his shoulder, but I had to admit that it only egged me on. I loved driving my mom crazy with my antics, and flustering Byron was also high on my list of fun things.
“Now, I know my son can be something of a slut?—”
“Mom!” I cried out. “That’s not fair. You don’t know the details of my personal life.”
“But I don’t think you have to worry,” she continued, as if I weren’t even there. She patted Byron’s hand and smiled. “The fact that he brought you here shows that he’s quite serious about you.”
“I’m not worried. Sebastian knows that if he can’t be faithful to me, there’s no point in us dating. Besides, he’s been very thoughtful and attentive.”
My heart squeezed at Byron’s words. We’d never talked about exclusivity and dating. Byron could be dating multiple people right now and he’d have every right to it, but I knew I was the only person in his life. He was the only person I wanted. The rest of the world didn’t matter.
My mother continued to chat pleasantly with Byron. She wasn’t being oppressively nosy or even interrogating him like I’d expected. Her questions were a natural progression while she was more than happy to fill my date in on all the disastersand embarrassing incidents that had filled my life through my childhood.
We were getting up to my precocious teen years when she brought us to a table set up on the shaded garden patio. A gentle breeze swept through the lush flower garden, causing the trees to sway slightly. A group of volunteers were filling small clear bags with a variety of rainbow-covered swag and pamphlets filled with information ranging from safe sex education to trans-friendly doctors to safe places for homeless LGBTQIA+ teens to go if they’d been kicked out of their homes.