The Boyfriend Pt. 10

X: Even Better

Marie

Marie alternated between chewing her lip and various pieces of the food on her plate as the Christmas Eve Dinner buzzed around her. It wasn't huge. She and her dad had gone over to Emily's house, as usual for holiday dinners, so it was just them, Emily, her little sister, Lydia, their parents Kevin and Ashley, and Emily's grandparents, Mah and Pah, or Eustace and Bea.

They were all talking, but Marie hadn't been listening to any of it.

The food tasted great, and she was glad to be home and see Emily again, but all she could think about was Lexi. Not just how much she missed her girlfriend, but what Lexi had asked her to do.

I don't have to tell all of them. Just Dad. Emily already knows, anyway.

"Just" Dad was a tall order, though. He was so protective of her that he'd nearly scared Dan off--though that probably would have been a good thing, in retrospect--and she'd only been able to keep him from doing the same to Liam because they'd been in different states, and Liam had been "just a friend" first, as far as her dad had been concerned. She couldn't blame her dad, not after they'd lost Marie's mom, but she had no clue how to tell him that she'd been the one that screwed things up, or that she was dating a girl, now. She was pretty sure his protective instincts would short-circuit and he would forget how to function for a minute.

He'll be okay, though. He has a few gay friends on the force.

Marie knew that was different from having a gay child, though. She didn't want him to freak out, but...

I have to tell him. I promised Lexi. And he always said he wants me to be happy, right? Maybe I can try later tonight once we get home. Or sometime tomorrow. In between opening presents and coming back here.

That would work. She just needed to make it through dinner and--

"Marie?"

Marie looked up from her food, blinking to see who had said her name. Everyone was looking at her, but she had a mouthful of turkey at the moment, so she made a questioning noise and used the opportunity to give herself a minute by chewing her food slowly, then washing it down.

"I asked if you were alright, dear," Emily's mom said, smiling, "You've been so quiet tonight."

Marie forced a smile, smoothing a lock of hair behind her ear, "I'm fine, Ashley. I think my brain is still buzzing from finals. And it's been a month since I've eaten food this good."

Ashley smiled, "Oh, you're so sweet, dear."

Marie's dad wasn't as thrilled.

"What do you mean? I cooked you a steak last night."

Marie knew he wasn't actually offended. He grilled a mean steak, but Ashley was an incredible cook. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Yeah, but where were the mashed potatoes? Huh?" she said, taking another spoonful and heaping it onto her plate, prompting some laughter from Emily's parents.

"I made you fries."

"These are better."

Her dad gasped in mock afront, tilting his chin up and folding his burly arms over his chest, "Well fine then, I was going to make some for you tomorrow night, but now I don't know if I want to."

Marie shrugged, "That's okay."

Then she turned to Ashley and put on her sweetest smile, "Mrs. Hancock, would you mind if I came over and stole some mashed potatoes tomorrow night?"

Ashley's smile was so wide, Marie knew she was barely holding in laughter, "Of course, dear. Wouldn't want your Christmas dinner to nothing but meat, now, would we?"

Marie's dad just turned to Kevin and shook his head, "Next time you ask why I'm single, this is why. I don't need another woman for Marie to gang up on me with."

Marie stuck her tongue out at her dad, and he made a face at her as everyone around the table laughed at them.

"Speaking of that," Ashley said once she stopped laughing, "How are things with you, Marie. Are you still dating that boy Liam?"

"The one you said was a friend, when you told me about him over the summer," Her dad added, raising an eyebrow.

Next to her, Emily tensed, and Marie took a drink of water just big enough to give herself some time to think.

She nearly responded that everything was fine--some sort of noncommittal response that nothing was new or "not much." For a moment, she even considered telling them she'd broken up with Liam, leaving the rest out.

That wouldn't be fair to Lexi, though.

More than that, Marie wanted her family to know about Lexi. Especially since Lexi had almost never talked about her parents. If things grew even more serious between the two of them like Marie hoped, she wanted her dad and Emily and her family--since they were basically family, as well--to like Lexi as much as she did.

"He was just a friend at that point, but we're actually not dating anymore," Marie said slowly, trying to think about the best way to deliver that news without making her dad angry at Liam or getting too deep into it.

"Things just didn't work out," she said, looking around the table as she tried to keep a smile on her face. Liam's absence from her life still hurt, but she was happy it had led to her meeting Lexi, "But that's okay, because I met someone else who is even better."

Her dad grunted, which made Kevin laugh, and Ashley rolled her eyes before smiling at Marie.

"Well, that's good that you moved on, sweetie."

"Does this new guy have a name?" her dad asked.

Emily grabbed and squeezed Marie's hand under the table, and Marie glanced at her friend, giving her a tight smile.

Marie took a deep breath, smoothing a lock of hair behind her ear again, "Actually, her name is Lexi."

The table went silent.

Marie took another deep breath, looking to her dad, whose eyes had gone wide.

Just as the silence was about to stretch a bit too long, making Marie's stomach start to knot, Emily turned to her and smiled.

"Is this the same girl you told me about over Thanksgiving?"

Marie smiled so wide at her friend she was afraid her face might split in two. Her eyes grew hot as her fingers went to the silver "L" at her throat.

"Yeah, it is."

"You and Liam broke up before Thanksgiving?" Ashley said, concern thick in her voice, "Oh, sweetie, why didn't you tell us?"

Before Marie even had a chance to respond to that, however, her dad sighed, shaking his head, "Please tell me this isn't someone I also thought was a friend before."

As her family peppered her with questions and Emily squeezed her hand again, Marie smiled, feeling warm and cozy surrounded by her loving family.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this cozy little window into Marie's life. I like to try and keep things focused on the characters and their relationships and sexual adventures, but I had to address the family/friend situation with Marie since it bothered her a bit last time.

Let me know how you're enjoying this so far, I read every response!