Chapter 2
“Hi”
Justin said, smiling from ear to ear as he opened the door for Josh. He’d
dismissed the butler when he went to open the door with a quick, “I’ll get it”
before he scurried to the front door knowing Josh would be on the other side of
it.
“Hi”
Josh said sheepishly, feeling extremely nervous about officially meeting
Justin’s parents.
“You
look amazing” Justin complimented his lover as he pulled him inside while
looking him up and down. Josh was wearing his best suit and he looked fantastic
in it; Justin had never seen anyone look better in a suit and he stared openly
at the beauty that was his boyfriend.
“Thank
you” Josh blushed, he was never good with compliments. Justin smiled at him.
“You
ok?” he asked instantly seeing the worry on his lover’s face.
“Yes,”
Josh smiled weakly, “Just nervous”
“Don’t
be, I’m here with you” Justin reassured him grasping Josh’s hands giving them a
squeeze while gazing into those beautiful pools of blue eyes that were filled
with love for him. Footsteps echoed through the house breaking the spell
between the two boys in the hallway. Justin jumped slightly and immediately
released Josh’s hands before spinning towards his approaching parents.
“Mom,
dad, this is Joshua Chasez he’s a friend of mine” Justin introduced his parents
to his lover. Justin had wanted his parents to get to know Josh because they
were talking badly about him without even meeting him. Justin told his parents
that he should at least get a chance. Eventually Howard had told his son to
invite Josh to diner and it took a lot of persuading on Justin’s part to get
Josh to come. He already knew that Justin’s parents didn’t think that highly of
him and a diner wouldn’t change that, would maybe even make it worse. The first
bad thing was getting introduced as his friend, just his friend. Josh knew
Justin would introduce him as his friend and although he knew that was not all
that they were he still wished they could tell them the truth.
Howard
stepped forward, extending his hand for Josh to take,
“Nice
to meet you Joshua”
“Nice
to meet you to sir” Josh said politely while shaking the man’s hand. The woman
placed her hand in his as if he was not worth using the energy to hold his hand
properly, it lay limp in his and he had the strange feeling she expected him to
kiss her hand like in the old days. Josh simply shook it, repeating his phrase
he’d just used on her husband before letting go. She watched him in a cocky way
as if she was looking down on him and she probably was but then Justin was next
to him again.
“Let’s
go to the living room” Justin suggested and waited till his parents nodded and
went ahead. He swiftly turned to Josh making eye contact.
“Don’t
worry about them,” he told him firmly. “I love you” he added softly still
looking him in the eye, making sure Josh got the message not only from his
words but more importantly through his eyes because they spoke volume, the love
radiating off of him.
Josh
nodded with a weak smile, he felt so out of place, he didn’t belong here and
Justin’s parents would be the first ones to agree with that but he wasn’t here
for them; he was here for Justin.
“Come
on” Justin urged his lover seeing that he got the message, pulling him with him
into the living room where they settled on the couch together. Josh folded his
hands in his lap and so did Justin. They made sure there was some space between
them to not look suspicious or more than just friends. Howard and Patricia
shared a look before looking at the pair on the couch.
“Would
you like anything to drink Joshua?” Howard asked politely as he waved the
butler over. Josh stared at the butler.
“Um…”
he stammered, not knowing what he meant exactly.
“An
aperitif; cocktail or a martini maybe?”
“Oh!”
he said somewhat surprised, “A cocktail is fine thank you” he said somewhat
uncertain although he’d tried to pretend he knew what he was talking about.
Josh didn’t like liquor, never had, he didn’t like the taste of it but he
didn’t want to decline so he told him a cocktail. He didn’t know what that
contained but at least it wouldn’t be as strong as a martini; he hoped.
“Three
cocktails, Peter” Howard ordered as if he were in a restaurant and Josh tried
not to look shocked but knowing he was failing. Justin sighed inaudible knowing
he wasn’t included in the cocktail drinks, he was underage and it wasn’t
appropriate for him to drink or so his father said. The room was silent for a
while, Josh and Justin shared a few looks and so did Howard and Patricia.
A
few minutes later Peter came back with the drinks, the cocktails looked nice and
Justin saw the glass of mineral water that was probably for him. He smiled at
Peter as he set the drink in front of him, glad he wouldn’t have to stare at
his hands and think about how young he really was while the other three drank
their cocktails. Josh followed Howard as he took a sip of his cocktail and he
almost choked in it. He somehow managed to swallow it and gave Howard a weak
smile as he hid a cough. Justin smiled a little knowing Josh didn’t like the
liquor while Josh just thought about the fact that he would have rather joined
Justin in the mineral water he had in front of him. It was silent for a while
as they drank their cocktail and took in the young boy that had befriended
their son. Josh shifting now and then as he caught the glares from Justin’s
parents.
“Well,”
Howard started, “Let’s go sit at the table shall we?”
Josh nodded in
agreement before getting up, grateful he didn’t have to sit there any longer
and let them look at him which made him feel like he wasn’t good enough for
them, for their son. However he had a feeling that silence was best with these
people as words only made him feel worse. They all took a seat at the table;
Justin sitting opposite of him while Howard and Patricia sat on both sides.
“So
what do you do for a living Joshua?” Patricia Timberlake asked with mock
interest once they were settled and the first plate was set in front of them.
Josh scraped his throat nervously putting down his fork carefully before
looking her in the eye.
“I...
um I work at a deli in the mall and I’m a waiter in a nightclub downtown,
ma’am” he told her politely twisting his hands in his lap nervously.
“Ah”
Patricia acknowledged with the world’s fakest smile you could ever see. Josh
smiled back to the best of his ability before quickly meeting Justin’s loving
eyes, silently reassuring him with the bright smile that was meant only for
him.
“How
do you combine that with you studies?” Howard asked, always a sucker for
education. Josh shifted his gaze to the man on his right.
“Uh,
I um I don’t”
“What
do you mean?” Howard asked confused, bringing his fork to his mouth before
putting it in his mouth. He chewed his food as he gazed at the young man next
to him.
“I
don’t go to college at the moment” Josh admitted, trying not to feel bad about
that. These people didn’t know the real reason behind him not going to college.
It wasn’t really any of their business either and he wasn’t keen on telling
them. He didn’t really tell people about his personal stuff anymore, he wasn’t
as naďve as he had been a while back. He knew now how easily something like
that could be used against you.
“Ah
I see” Patricia said degrading. Josh uncomfortably shifted in his seat, his
eyes dropped to his hands in his lap and he jumped slightly when he felt
something brush against his leg. Josh looked up and met Justin’s sweet smile
dead on, he even managed a small smile himself ignoring the two adults on
either side of them.
“How
did you meet Justin?” Howard asked, “Since you’re not in the same school and
all” he added, another degrading remark but it was subtle and Josh pretended
not to hear it.
“I
told you father, we met through Joey” Justin cut in, not sure if he’d informed
Josh of his lie about how they’d met. Josh shot Justin a glance, catching onto
the lie; Josh nodded in agreement, backing his lover up.
“How
did you meet Joey, Josh?” Howard asked before he scooped another fork full of
food into his mouth.
“Well
uh sir, we grew up only a couple of blocks from each other”
“Ah”
Howard said again a degrading tone in his voice.
“On
the east side of New York?” Howard asked knowingly.
“Well
yes sir” Josh answered, noticing how Howard had said the east side. The east
side was probably a bad neighborhood in their eyes but he’d had a good
childhood there. His family hadn’t been as fortunate as Justin’s but they
didn’t have anything to complain about. They’d had a roof over their head and
food in their stomachs and love for one another, something that Howard could
learn something from because this man may have everything but love was not one
of them.
“And
you liked it there?” Howard asked, looking at him over the brim of his glasses,
the cockiness back in full force. The thought of his childhood and the love he’d
received gave him courage to answer the man’s question and not feel bad about
it.
“Well
yes sir I did” he told him confidently, staring straight at him. Justin
suppressed a smile as he cheered on the inside for Josh. He’d been sitting by
watching how his own parents degrade his boyfriend and yes he wanted to stick
up for him but he knew his father wouldn’t appreciate that so he’d offered Josh
silent comfort. It seemed to have helped when Josh’s comeback put his father in
place and Justin couldn’t help but smile. He quickly took a sip of his water as
he saw his mother watching him out of the corner of her eye in disapproval, no
she was definitely not happy but who cared about her anyway? They didn’t care
about how they made Josh feel either just because he has less money than they
do. Justin thought it served his father right but from now smiled on the inside
letting Josh see that by the sparkle in his eyes.
The
rest of diner was spent with small talk, they asked Josh simple questions and
he gave simple answers with Justin adding stuff here and there. The evening was
soon over and although the degrading comments had been less after his comeback
they were still there and Justin hoped Josh would be ok.
When
he walked Josh to the door with his parents following closely behind Justin
desperately wanted to kiss Josh and reassure him that he loved him and that he
shouldn’t worry about his parents. A quick hug that had to pass off as one
among friends was the closest they would get to an actual kiss but it reassured
Josh at least somewhat. Justin pulled back, nonchalantly brushing their hands
together purposefully on accident. Josh shook Howard and Patricia’s hand with a
little more confidence than he’d had when he came in a few hours ago then
turned and walked out through the doorway. Justin stared after him he’d wanted
to kiss Josh but with his parents right behind him there was no way in hell
that he would be able to do that. Josh was a little hurt but understood
perfectly that it wasn’t possible and left with a wave of his hand, a secret
smile for Justin before he got in the car Howard had offered after he’d learned
Josh didn’t have a car. Josh had told him it was fine; he would walk back he
didn’t mind but Howard had insisted and so he eventually accepted. Justin
watched as the car drove off, staring after it till he was out of sight.
He sighed before
closing the door, closing off the night that had been different that he’d
wanted although he knew it would go like this he wished he could have done more
for Josh but with parents like this that just was wishful thinking.
