Rebel at Spruce High (Spruce Texas Romance #5) - Daryl Banner Page 0,102
pain in his eyes says that, despite flipping off his dad and having a strained-at-best relationship with his stepbrother, he did actually hope they’d show up.
I don’t want anyone to hurt Toby or make him feel less than the amazing guy he is, even his own family.
Toby turns to me. “Vann! Come in for a pic!” Smiling, I throw an arm around my guy, with his mother’s sweet face squeezed next to ours. Toby lifts his phone, shoots the screen a lopsided grin with our three faces in the frame, then snaps a selfie of us.
The selfie is at once crashed by an overly-excited Kelsey, who has arrived with her dads, Tyrone and Omar King. Omar, who is apparently the town veterinarian, is a stout, soft-bodied bald man whose smooth, russet complexion reddens in his cheeks when he smiles at us and congratulates us for our performances, citing very specific things he enjoyed. His husband Tyrone is a tall man with deep chestnut skin and eyes that are inviting and kind, despite a harsh, jagged scar that winds down his left cheek, hidden only somewhat by his short, tightly-shaped beard. Toby leans in to tell me Tyrone used to be a police officer here in Spruce, but doesn’t mention what caused him to leave the force, so I just assume he retired. Kelsey looks like a completely different version of herself in front of her dads, appearing as chipper and energetic as a ten-year-old girl on Christmas morning. Every time she looks at them, they beam back at her.
I wonder if I’ve ever looked at my parents that way.
As if summoned by my thoughts, my mom and dad make their appearance, emerging from the thick crowd like surprise celebrity guests. My mother is in a gown I’d say is way overdressed for the high-school-theatre occasion, and my dad has chosen to don one of his finest suits. Their priority, however, doesn’t seem to be coming over to throw me any big congratulations; they’re stopped several times on the way by people they’ve met around town, with whom I can only imagine my dad is working business deals, or my mom is working her social circles. My mother is first to reach me, as my dad is caught up in a conversation, and when she hugs me, it just might be the most dramatic embrace she’s ever given—a grand, public display of mother-to-son affection. “I am so, so, so very proud of you,” she states, loud enough for everyone to hear. “Such an outstanding and provocative performance. Truly stirring. And Toby Michaels.” She faces him with light in her eyes. “Truly splendid. Remarkable performance. Sensitive and heartwarming.”
“Thanks so much, Mrs. Pane,” he responds, blushing. “It really means a lot to me. Your son is the best costar I could ask for.”
My mother peers at me thoughtfully as she speaks to him. “I would say you’ve had a really … positive effect on my son.” A smile spills over her face, which might even be a fully genuine one. “I’m splendidly surprised at the close and powerful relationship that’s grown between the two of you. A strong bond, indeed.”
Despite my usual glumness with regard to my parents, I think there might be a hint of a smile on my own face as I hear her say those words. For some reason, I’m thinking of chemistry now, of electrons and covalent bonds, and how two elements can depend so deeply on one another to make a miracle—like how sodium and chlorine join hands to make the salt that gives every Michelin star cuisine in the world its flavor.
Are we that miracle?
Then again, hydrogen and fluorine make one of the most dangerous acids known to man. That could just as well be us, too.
“Relationship?” blurts Omar, cutting in cheerily.
He was in a conversation with Kelsey. Now he’s not.
And neither is anyone else. Tyrone has lifted his eyebrows to us, curious. Toby’s mother has opened her mouth with surprise. Kelsey is biting her lip. My mother smirks knowingly. Toby’s face turns its usual cherry color.
To put everyone out of their miseries, I make the gesture of putting an arm around Toby and hugging him to my side. “Well, if it wasn’t obvious before, I guess it’s obvious now. Toby and I are boyfriends. We’re in a relationship. It’s official … or whatever.”
Toby turns his smirking, blushing face to mine. “Or whatever,” he mumbles, mimicking my lame choice of words.