Spin Ch. 05

My parents are the type of people that stand out in most crowds. There's my mother, with her huge blow-out, oversized jewelry, pattern-problem outfits, and thick-lensed glasses that take up half of her face and make her eyes appear larger than they are; and then there's Dad, with his caterpillar eyebrows, his mouth-concealing mustache, his undying love of cargo pants, and his wispy white hair that makes him somewhat reminiscent of Einstein. They both look like oddballs, with Dad on the nerdy side of things and Mom more on the "mystic" end.

Their appearance alone could draw attention, but it's the way that they talk and the volume that they talk at that really seals the deal. For being such a short man, my father has one of the loudest voices I've ever encountered. It's strong, round, and vibrant. My mother, on the other hand, is almost the opposite. She isn't necessarily soft-spoken, but she talks with a comical airiness, always with the tone of surprise. Her primary noise, however, comes from her chunky jewelry. Necklaces of wood and stone and bracelets fashioned from all sorts of metal make her sound a bit like a makeshift wind chime. If I were blind and Dad decided to keep his mouth shut, I could just follow the sound of her crafty jewels.

But I love them dearly. An adopted kid like me couldn't have hoped for more loving parents. They're good, compassionate people with a surprising love for unorthodox adventures. They like to have fun, always taking the less conventional route to achieve that.

Still, Dad could learn to use his inside voice now and again -- because as soon as I enter the restaurant, I don't even have to check in with the host. I just give her an apologetic smile and gesture towards the booming sound of my father practically dictating the menu. The host just laughs, letting me by.

My mother is the first to see me, and she gasps and leaps to her feet, practically bouncing as she approaches me. "Jackiiiiiie!" she cries, and I laugh when we embrace. Even though her jewelry always gets in the way, she gives a damn good hug. "Oh, it's so good to see you!"

"I'm just happy you could make the trip," I say, kissing her cheek before we separate. At Gus' behest, I decided to make extra time to have my parents come visit me. It's been a while, and I was starting to miss them.

Dad isn't a hugger, but he makes the exception for me and Mom, so we hug briefly upon greeting. "Looking fit, son!" he says when we separate, grabbing my upper arms.

I just laugh, pleased by the comment. Between the gym (which I go to reluctantly to spend time with Gus), rock climbing (which I've completely turned Gus onto), and very regular sex, I feel like I've whipped myself into better shape than ever before. Even Gus noticed I've been filling myself out more, enough to rival his thick but tasteful musculature.

"Not so bad yourself, old man," I tease. "How's your back?"

"Bah," he says as if insulted by me bringing that up. "I'll be fine."

"He's supposed to be taking it easy," Mom says, but she grins at me in a way that plainly says he's been doing the exact opposite of what the doctors wanted.

"What do they know?" Dad says, waving us both off as he takes his seat.

I sit across from them, already amused. "More than you, I bet," I say with a smirk.

"Don't sass me, boy," he says before picking up the menu again. For a while, Dad just complains about the lack of vegetarian options, even trying to pick a fight with me when I tell him there's an entire vegetarian menu. I can only shut him up after calling over a waitress, who provides the menu. Dad just mumbles something about "inconsideration," which just makes me laugh.

Mom, in the meantime, wants to know more about me. "So how've you been, honey?" she asks, resting her chin on top of her hand. "How's school?"

"School is crazy," I tell her, "but I've been good. Really good, actually." Then, I laugh, figuring this is as good a time as any. "Let me just get this out of the way now..."

As I shift in my seat and sit up straighter, my mother peers at me curiously. "Get what out of the way?"

"I, uh... I met someone."

My mother gasps and my father puts down the menu, his smile hidden behind his overgrown mustache. Neither of them have been introduced to any of my past girlfriends. Some of my exes would have loved to meet my parents, but the relationships never lasted long enough for me to feel like there was a point. I only ever wanted to show my main squeeze off to my parents if I knew it was going to last. After a few months (that feel like years) with Gus, I have a good feeling about this one -- lots of good feelings.

"About time!" my mother says, clapping a few times before nudging Dad with her elbow. "Weren't we just complaining about this?"

"Complaining?" I ask, laughing.

"I want grandbabies," Mom says with a frown.

"Whoa now," I say, holding my hands up. "You realize I'm only twenty-four, right?"

"You're not getting any younger," Dad says, and Mom nods as if he couldn't have made a more poignant statement.

"I'm not having kids right now, so you guys can scrap those dreams," I tell them, smirking.

My mother of course looks disappointed. "Not ever?"

I shrug. "The point is not *now*," I tell her before shaking my head. "But that's not what I wanna talk about." I clear my throat a bit, making sure I have their attention. I have no doubt that my parents will be fine with the gender of my significant other. I'm just not sure what their initial reaction will be. "Don't freak out," I say, "but he's a guy."

They both merely look caught off guard. Dad even needs clarification. "Who is?"

"The 'someone' I met is a guy," I tell him. "He's my boyfriend."

They maintain that surprised expression for only two seconds longer. After that, they're all smiles, Dad's eyes twinkling and Mom clutching her wooden necklace. "Well, can we meet him?!" Dad asks.

I smile at the both of them. "Of course. Just play it cool when you meet him," I request. "He gets flustered." I've always used two words to describe my parents: dorky and nosy.

They also crave instant gratification, because Dad immediately asks, "Is he around?"

"Now?" I ask, confused.

"Yes, now," he says, and Mom just nods in agreement.

I try not to laugh. "You don't wanna just have lunch with your only son?"

Dad just scoffs. "No. I wanna meet your boyfriend."

"Me too," Mom chimes in as if she hasn't been looking excited and nodding emphatically since Dad asked if Gus was available.

I'm more amused than anything else. "I mean, I could call him, but--"

"Do it!" Dad insists, waving his hands around a bit obnoxiously.

"Jesus, okay," I say, laughing at his insistence. "Gimme a sec."

As I stand up and excuse myself from the table, I grab my phone out of my pocket and ring up Gus. I don't want my parents overhearing, so I make my way outside the restaurant for a little privacy. After the third ring, Gus picks up. "Hello?"

"Hey, you," I say.

Gus chuckles in that adorable way of his. "Hey," he says before sounding confused. "Aren't you with your parents?"

"I am," I say. "What are *you* doing right now?" He's been staying over my place the past few nights, so I'm sure he's just lounging about naked in my apartment doing work.

"Um..." He lets out a nervous laugh. "Nothing."

I raise my eyebrows at his tone. "Well now you're being suspicious."

"I was jerking off, if you must know," he says.

"Seriously?" I ask, laughing. "Were you at least thinking about me?"

"...Yes," he murmurs.

I try to resist laughing, but I can't. "And what was I doing in your head, pray tell?"

"That secret dies with me," he says, and both of us chuckle together.

I have to push the thought of him stroking off to me, though, to avoid getting hard. "Well, I hate to interrupt, but... my parents wanna meet you."

"You told them about me already?" he asked.

"Figured I'd get it out of the way. They're really excited to meet you and practically demanded I call you and convince you to come out to lunch."

There's a pause before he speaks. "Like... right now?"

"Sorry," I say with a laugh.

"Oh my God," he says before I hear him shifting on his bed.

"If you don't have time--"

"I'll be there in ten," he says quickly. Then, he hangs up.

Gus was nervous about meeting my parents, but he also made a note to say that he's been like that with all his past lovers. He just wants to make a good impression. I kept trying to assure him that he didn't need to worry, but parents liking him is very important to him -- and I'm sure me putting him on the spot just sent him into overdrive.

When I head back to the table, I inform my parents that he's on his way, so we decide to hold off on ordering any food until he arrives. For the time being, we just chat about their plans to do some traveling before some of their miles expire, and after a sordid debate about France versus Ireland, Gus finally texts me that he's here.

As soon as I turn my head towards the restaurant's entrance, I see Gus waltz in, looking a bit winded. I chuckle, stepping away from the table to greet him so that he doesn't have to walk through the joint alone. When he sees me coming, he smiles a bit, red-faced and catching his breath. "Did you run here?" I tease.

"Practically," he says before allowing me to fix his hair a bit.

I give him a quick kiss on the lips. "Ready?"

He still looks nervous, but he nods. Smiling, I take his hand and lead him towards my parents.

"Guys," I say as if I don't have their undivided attention already, "this is Gus. Gus, Mom and Dad."

"Nice to meet you both," Gus says politely.

Mom, unable to contain her excitement, hops up to her feet and moves in for the hug. "Sooo lovely to meet you!" she says as she embraces him. During the hug, she smiles at me and adds, "I didn't think he'd be *this* handsome."

"I don't date uglies," I tease, getting her to roll her eyes and Gus to laugh. He *is* looking particularly good today. There's something about his short, almost-well-kept auburn hair, and adorable doe eyes, and full lips that's getting to me right now.

After the hug, Gus shifts his attention to my father, who doesn't get up from his seat as he extends his hand expectantly. "Nice to meet you, son," he says.

"You too, sir," Gus says, shaking my dad's hand -- and Dad looks impressed by his handshake.

I just poke fun. "'Sir'?" I ask.

"Shut up," Gus mutters before we all retake our seats.

"So!" Mom says, clapping her hands together. "We've known about you for all of ten minutes, so I have lots of questions."

"Same here," Dad chimes in, and I just sigh, buckling in.

At first, the questions are rapid-fire ones so they can get a general sense of the basics: his age, his education, his occupation, some of his top hobbies. Mom, ever the romantic, asks how we met, and when I tell her it was at one of Liv's parties, she starts to go on and on about how she misses Liv before my dad butts in to "keep her on track."

Once the simple stuff is out of the way, though, the questions start getting more uncomfortable and nosy: "Are you gay?" "Jackie is *really* the first guy you've been with? Do you think that's wise?" "Are you happy in this relationship?" "Do you want kids?"

Eventually I have to put a stop to it. "Alright, no more questions. Let the poor guy breathe," I murmur.

Dad looks affronted for a moment. "I'm just asking if--"

"Seriously," I say firmly.

Luckily, he relents. "Fine, fine, fine. Have it your way."

I look towards Gus, who certainly looks like he's been through a rough interrogation. His eyes are wide and his face has a perpetual redness to it. I just smile and grab his thigh under the table, and although he looks flustered, he smiles back.

Once the questioning stops, we can all just talk like normal people. Things go smoothly after that. As expected, they adore Gus and think he's a total sweetheart. The thing I love most about my parents is that they're honest, too -- and they're not afraid to tell Gus what they think of him. Their forward approach seems to surprise him at first (even though I'm sure he now understands where I get it from), but it does put him at complete ease. The plight to impress my parents is over. Now, he can relax and enjoy himself.

We end up staying long after we've all finished our meals, even ordering two rounds of desserts to justify us taking up space in the restaurant. It's strange how good this feels, chatting so easily with my parents and my man. I didn't expect to feel such a profound sense of appreciation for the people at this table, but here I am, feeling grateful for how Gus seems to fit right in, for how eagerly my parents accepted him as my significant other, for how this one moment is (what I hope to be) the first stepping stone towards a future of family adventures. It nearly makes me tear up -- and nothing makes me tear up.

When it's finally time to say goodbye, my mom gives us each a big hug, and Dad gives Gus another handshake. They're planning a "night on the town," so Gus and I leave them to their fun and head back to my apartment together.

"You did wonderfully," I tell him, bumping him with my hip as we walk.

He laughs, blushing slightly. "Good to know because I was so fucking nervous. I wanted them to like me so badly."

"Mission accomplished, then," I assure him, smiling as we start heading down the block.

"I was... surprised by how nice it felt to be introduced to your parents as your boyfriend," he says.

I glance over at him. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. In a cheesy kind of way," he says before shrugging. "I don't know. It made me wanna tell my mom."

"I thought you said she knew," I say.

"I *think* she knows," he says. "But we haven't, like, actually talked about it. I get weirdly nervous for some reason. But you just make it look so easy."

"I just... don't care," I tell him. I'm not sure how to properly articulate my feelings in this moment, but I know he knows that I don't care what other people think. I just do what I want, and I want those around me to do the same.

Gus just sighs. "Maybe I care too much," he says.

"About?" I ask, pressing him a bit.

But again, he shrugs. I get it, though. It can be confusing when you haven't lived so openly your whole life -- or when you haven't had parents like mine to set such an example.

"You afraid it'll backfire?" I ask.

"I guess. I know that it won't, but... there's that tiny possibility that holds me back every time I wanna tell her."

I just nod in understanding before putting my hand on the small of his back. "You don't have to tell your mom just because I told *my* parents," I tell him. "I'm chill. Do things at your own pace."

"Thanks, babe," he says appreciatively, and I smile, quickly leaning in to give him a swift kiss on the lips. Since we're still walking, we both nearly trip, stumbling and laughing.

Gus knows very well what my parents think of him, but for the rest of the walk, we discuss what he thought of them. Of course, he found them eccentric and somewhat comical, but he points out how sincere they felt and how their adoration for me was more than apparent. I just smile, ever grateful that I was chosen by these supportive parents.

Once we finally get back to my apartment, my mind is already thinking about how the rest of the day might unfold. I feel good. Part of me wants to go do something with Gus. Gus doesn't have much work to do, and I elected to take the day off from school, so we have the whole night to ourselves. Maybe I should have a "night on the town" with *my* lover.

"What do you wanna do later?" I ask him, setting my keys down. "I'm kinda feeling sushi if you're--" But I pause when I see that Gus is just leaning against the door with an odd expression on his face. "Gus?"

He stares at me for a while, and I get the sense that he's debating something. He chews on his bottom lip, holding my gaze, his mind clearly going in several different directions. "I..." he starts to say before he inhales deeply. Then, he spits it out as fast as he can. "I love you."

I blink, momentarily shocked. This is the first time either of us have said those words to each other, and (to my own surprise) I'm just now realizing this. I mean, how often have I been with someone and we're constantly wondering who's going to pull the trigger first, as if that's an essential step to bring things to the "next level"? Weirdly enough, I haven't thought about that once with Gus. It seems that those feelings have just settled in me slowly over time, to the point where I didn't even quite notice the change from "like" to "love." It just feels like it's always been there, as another testament to the ease of our relationship.

I can't help it. I laugh.

Gus blushes and hits me, trying not to smile. "Don't laugh, asshole."

"I'm sorry," I say, trying my best to compose myself -- but that only makes me laugh harder. There's just something about his cute face, the deep breath he had to take to say those fateful words, the hurried way he uttered them, the "This is supposed to be a serious moment" feeling... It's getting to me. It's not just that I find it particularly funny, though. It's that I'm surprised by how grateful I feel, by how fast my heart is racing -- and by how deeply that sentiment is reciprocated.

"You done?" he asks when I'm finally reduced to the occasional chuckle.

"Yes," I say before taking his hands in mine, feeling my cheeks straining from my smile. I'm a little breathless from laughter. Maybe I'm breathless because of him. "I love you, too."

Gus, who just blushes more deeply, decides to make eye contact with my pecs instead. He's smiling from ear to ear, too. "Good," he says.

Again, I start laughing. "'Good'?"

"Shut up," he says, at least joining me in laughter. "I don't know what to say now."

"You don't have to say anything," I tell him. Feeling a surge of affection, I lean in and kiss him squarely on the mouth. We both let go of each other's hands so our arms can wrap around each other as we fall into a deep embrace and an even deeper kiss.

But then, after ten or so seconds, he pauses. "In," he murmurs against my lips.

I break the kiss, confused. "Huh?"

"In," he repeats, still red-faced and sheepish. "I'm *in* love with you." Then, he gives me a slanted, almost apologetic smile. "I just... wanted to make that clear."

My mouth splits into a wide grin, and I pull him into me. "C'mere," I murmur, full of an impossible amount of affection that needs to be expressed. I kiss Gus hard, squeezing his body to mine, loving him, appreciating him, almost laughing from how accurate that "warm and fuzzy" cliche is right now.

Almost immediately after our bodies connect, there's an extra spark -- the kind that signals a clear shift from affectionate to sexual. Maybe it's emphasized by Gus' hard-on, surely due to the fact that he didn't finish taking care of business before he met my parents. Maybe our emotions are so charged up that it's affecting our impulses. Either way, we want each other.

Resisting every urge to tease him further, I take Gus' hand and lead him straight to the bed. I push him onto it so that he lands on his back with a little laugh, his legs dangling over the edge of the mattress. I grin as I remove my shirt with one swift motion. Focused, Gus watches me, licking his lips slightly. What does he see when he looks at my shirtless body? How much has his physical attraction to me grown as his feelings have deepened? Something about that sentiment makes me feel... sexier.

I bend over him to grab the collar of his shirt and pull him up into a seated position. Here, I can easily help him out of his shirt. After tossing his shirt to the floor, I push him back onto the bed and then get to my knees between his legs. I'm both so touched and so aroused by Gus finding the balls to tell me before I did that all I want to do now is make him cum -- and I know exactly what gets him singing the loudest.