It's Too Cliché...Right? Ch. 05

"You're the boss, why are you complaining to me for," Evan rebutted. Mr. Trevorrow laughed, before his eye caught sight of me.

"And who might this be?" he asked.

"Dad, this is Brad, a friend from school. Brad, my dad," Evan introduced, moving aside for me to step forward.

"Nice to meet you, sir," I greeted, holding out my hand. Mr Trevorrow returned the handshake with a firm grip, the grip of a business man.

"The pleasure is all mine. I'm surprised Evan actually brought a friend home from school."

"Well, it wasn't easy that's for sure," I joked, to which Mr. Trevorrow laughed. I guess that was a good sign.

"Oh god, can we stop with the whole embarrassing me thing and get to dinner?" Evan complained, but his cheeks were a slight pink. We made our way over to the dining table where Mr. Trevorrow insisted I sit while he and Evan got dinner served. I tried refusing, but the older man wasn't having any of it, so I gave up and sat down.

It didn't take long for Evan and his father to return, three plates of food in their hands. Evan placed one of the plates in front of me, the smell already reaching my nose long before I had even seen what it was. Taking in the dish that sat on the table, I noticed a grilled chicken fillet sitting on a bed of rice, an assortment of various sautéed vegetables nicely placed around the border.

"Smells amazing," I said, taking a closer whiff of the tantalizing food.

"Carla's a master in the kitchen," Mr. Trevorrow said, himself sitting down across from me with Evan picking the spot to my right. "Go on, dig in. Don't stand on ceremony."

I smiled, picking up the cutlery and spooning a generous portion of rice and vegetables before putting it in my mouth. I swear, I died and gone to heaven. Let's just say that just the rice and greens alone would have made a very nice meal. Add the juicy chicken, and I was in food heaven. I couldn't help the moan as I succumbed to the foodgasm I was having.

"I take it it's good?" Evan laughed, smiling at me.

"Mmm," I mumbled, unable to form words. This caused Mr. Trevorrow to smiled too as he took a bite of his own food, although without any embarrassing effect on his body.

"So, Brad, how do you know Evan?" he asked.

"Oh, we're working on a report together," I replied, making sure I swallowed any food in my mouth before doing so.

"Ah. Let me guess, a big strapping man like you must be on the football team?" he asked.

"Yeah, I am sir," I chuckled.

"Call me Eric," he said, to which Evan made a sound. I looked to him and saw his lip twitch into something like a frown.

"Why do parents always wanna do the first name basis thing," he complained.

"Well, you guys always want to be treated like adults anyway," his father countered, before turning back to me. "So, if you're on the football team, is this just some ploy to get him to join the team? Is my boy football material?"

"Um...No? I mean, he has the build for football I guess, but I think the swim captain already has eyes on him," I said.

"Really?" Eric asked, astounded, turning his gaze back to his son. "Are you going to join?"

"Um, I uh...I don't know yet," Evan stammered.

"This kid never wants to join anything in school," Eric jabbed, directing the statement to me.

"Nah, he's pretty much focused on his grades so he probably doesn't have much time for extracurricular activities," I said, trying to defend Evan.

"Extracurricular activities are as important as grades when getting into a good college."

At the statement, I gave Evan a look. "Well, I can't really argue with that," I apologized.

"I know, I know," Evan grumbled, making both Eric and I laugh.

"So, Brad, a handsome lad like you should be hot with the ladies. Any girlfriends?" Eric asked, taking another bite of his food.

"Oh uh...no, no girlfriend," I said. I didn't know Mr. Trevorrow's stand on homosexuality and I've realized over the years that sometimes it's best to be more discreet with that information. I wasn't ashamed or anything, but I didn't want to put Evan in an awkward position if his father was. It seemed, however, that Evan didn't share my concerns.

"Brad's gay, Dad," he said, without so much as a pause.

"Oh?" Eric asked, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise. "Really?"

"Yes sir," I said carefully, caking on the politeness with the use of the honorific title, even though he had previously asked me to use his name.

"So, are you dating Evan then?" he said, so casually that I choked on the water I was sipping. Evan too had choked on the mouthful of food he had just swallowed. "By that reaction, I take that as a yes," Eric said, a smirk on his lips.

"No!" I exclaimed, feeling my cheeks getting hotter. "We're not dating. Evan's not even gay."

"Hmm," he said, lips pursed as he took in my statement. I didn't know what he was thinking, but it was clear he was analyzing my reply, what exactly about my reply was he analyzing, I didn't know. Why did his father even think that Evan was gay? Sure, he sent his son to one of the most liberal schools in the state, but that didn't mean that his son liked guys in that manner.

It got me thinking, though. There has to be a reason that Eric had immediately assumed that Evan and I were dating. Maybe Evan wasn't ready to be out at school, only telling his family about his orientation. He didn't even want people knowing where he lived, his sexual preference would be an even more closely guarded secret, wouldn't it? Or perhaps it's just a parent's instinct? As far as I knew, Evan had never had a girlfriend, and maybe that would have given his father some kind of suspicion that his son preferred the company of men.

Whatever it was, nothing else was said about the matter at dinner. In fact, nothing much else was said at all during dinner after that. The silence that surrounded us was tense and awkward, though, unlike the comfortable ones whenever I was alone with Evan.

After quickly finishing our meals, Evan had excused us before we headed back to the safety of his bedroom. The awkward atmosphere followed us, though, the tension so thick it felt like you could cut it with a knife. We used the remaining time putting the finishing touches on our report and less than an hour later, we were as good as done.

"So, I'll send you a copy," he said as he typed away on his laptop.

"Yeah, sounds good." I quickly put away my stuff, thinking I had probably overstayed my welcome and it was in my best interest to head off. I grabbed my skateboard that lay propped against the wall.

"You need a ride somewhere?" he asked, making me turn to look at him.

"Nah, it's cool. I'll probably just head over to the twins'," I said. "Thanks, though."

"I'll see you out," he said, about to get up.

"It's fine. I can see myself out. With a house this big, I'm pretty sure it's quite exhausting to make the trip," I joked, which earned a chuckle from Evan.

"You sure?"

"I am. Thanks for dinner again."

"I'll pass the message to Carla."

"And think about my proposal, okay?" I said, causing Evan to raise an eyebrow in confusion. "About being friends? Join us for lunch sometime?"

"I'll think about it," he said, a smile on his face, telling me that he probably already thought of me as a friend.

I smiled before exiting the room, making my way to the front door. After spending the afternoon here, I was pretty sure about the layout by then. I spotted the door past the living room, heading for it before a voice stopped me.

"Brad," called out the familiar voice of Eric. "You're heading off already?"

"Yes, sir."

"Eric," he laughed, correcting me.

"Eric. Right."

"I would like to apologize for dinner just now. I realized I may have overstepped some bounds."

My eyes doubled in size. "Oh no, it was nothing, but there really is nothing going on between Evan and me."

"Yes, I don't doubt that. Still, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable," he said, showing genuine care.

"It's no problem, Eric."

"I actually wanted to ask you something before you go," he said.

"Sure," I replied. Eric didn't seem like a bad guy, so I didn't think anything bad could have resulted from any question.

"My company is having a little annual party this Saturday and I was wondering if you wanted to be Evan's plus one."

"Uh, that's very generous but I don't—"

"Please," he said, cutting me off. "Evan doesn't have many friends and he never brings anyone. You two seemed to hit it off and I thought it would be fun for both of you. It's a casual thing, just some of the staff and their kids."

"Um..."

"I'd understand if you don't want to but would you help me out on this?" he said, almost giving me puppy dog eyes. "I know Evan never has fun at these things and I don't want to put him through it, but it's expected for the CEO's son to be there. It's just a simple party so I don't know why he hates them so much, but I think it's partly because he doesn't like to mingle. I figured having someone there who he was comfortable around would help him loosen up a little, you know?"

"But..."

"Please? If not for me, then for Evan."

"Oh..." I dragged, looking at Eric with his pleading look. "Okay then," I sighed, giving in.

"Thank you," he smiled, pulling out his phone and handing it to me. "I'll need your number."

"I can just get the information from Evan—"

"You can't tell Evan," he said. "Knowing my son, he'll probably force you not to come if he knew you would be. Best if we didn't tell him until that day."

I nodded, knowing that it was probably true. I may have only known Evan for a short time, but it definitely seemed like something he would do. I gave him my number before he smiled and pocketed his phone.

"Thank you. I just want Evan to be happy, you know."

"I understand. You're his parent after all," I said.

He smiled, nodding slowly. "I like you, Brad."

"No offense sir, but Evan said you like almost everyone," I laughed.

He joined me, a booming laugh resonating from him. "That is true."

I didn't say this to him, but I liked him too. He was a cool guy and obviously cared for Evan a whole lot. He was a father, already seeming like more a father to me than my own dead weight of a dad and I could respect that. That led me back to the scenarios I had thought about before arriving, thinking how Evan came from a bad background. It turns out he wasn't. In fact, he had a pretty awesome life.

From what he had previously said, I knew that Evan had gone through some hardships in Florida. His mother dying would have probably been one, but I think there was more than meets the eye. After all, you don't keep secrets if you want everyone to find out about them, right?