closer going to make the situation better. “It’s not what it looked like, okay?”
It was Lukas’s turn to flinch and turn his face away from his mom’s sympathetic eyes, releasing his hold on John. This was it. The moment when John realized being with Lukas wasn’t worth losing his friendship with Dave. Fuck. A part of him had always known it would happen, but he’d let his feelings and John’s sweet words cloud his mind until he’d lost track of reality.
Clearing the emotions out of his throat, Lukas hustled over to the stove and turned off the burner under the half-done meat.
Behind him, his dad was saying, “Don’t even fucking try it! I know what I saw! Your disgusting hands were all over him! You were—were groping him.”
“Dave,” his mom said, her voice sharp enough that Lukas turned back to them. She was frowning fiercely at his dad, who looked like he’d been stabbed in the gut. Like just remembering the sight of John touching Lukas’s ass was making him sick. “That’s enough. You’re acting like a child who had his favorite toy stolen. Now go sit at the table. You too, John.”
“Lydia—”
“Now!”
Both John and his dad started moving at her raised voice. Lukas just stared. His mom hardly ever yelled and even more rarely in front of anyone outside their family. Ignoring the two men at the table, his mom came over and gave him a quick hug.
“You okay, sweetheart?” When they separated, she cupped his face and examined him like she had when he was a child hiding a secret from her. When he only shrugged, she nodded and tipped her head toward the table. “You go sit too.”
Not sure what else to do, he shuffled over and avoided looking at John or his dad.
“Lukas,” John said softly, moving to the seat next to him once Lukas was seated. “I didn’t mean that like it sounded…”
He put a forced smile on his face and then stared at his clasped hands on the table. “It’s fine, I get it,” he whispered.
“Fuck.” One of John’s large hands covered both of his, his other cupping Lukas’s chin and tipping his face back up. His dad started sputtering on the other side of the table, but they both ignored him. “Don’t do that. I’m not choosing him. I know you’re scared of that, but it’s not what I meant. I just meant that it seemed like we were just messing around, and that’s not what this is.”
He held Lukas’s eyes until Lukas nodded, the tightness in his chest easing a bit. Then John turned a scowl on his dad.
“I love your son, Dave, and I’m sorry if I hurt you by not telling you myself, but I’m not sorry for falling for him. Lukas is the best person I’ve ever known, and I’ll spend the rest of my life convincing him I’m worthy of being with him.”
Lukas and his mom both gasped, and his dad also looked like he’d been smacked in the face with a two-by-four, mouth hanging open a bit.
“But… you’re… and he’s…”
Lukas wasn’t quite sure what his dad was trying to say, but he had a feeling it was about their age difference. He tugged John’s hand off his face and entwined their fingers before turning to his parents, his mom standing just behind his dad with her hand resting on his shoulder. It looked more like a restraining hold than a show of support, and after John’s declaration, it was probably both.
“We love each other, Dad. I’ve… I’ve had feelings for John for a long time, and now he feels the same.” He glanced at John and found him smiling at him, not even bothering to look at his parents, and his support and love filled Lukas with warmth and strength. He looked back at his parents and said, “If you can’t be happy for us, then you should probably leave.”
He saw his mom’s fingers dig into his dad’s shoulder as soon as he opened his mouth, before any words could come out.
“We are happy for you. We love you both very much and want you to be happy. If that’s with each other, then that’s amazing. Right, David?”
Lukas had to bite his lip to keep the smile from his face. His dad looked like he’d swallowed something bitter, but he nodded in agreement.
When no one else said anything for a moment, his mom cleared her throat and his dad said, “Yes. Very happy. I was just… surprised.”
John