Upside Down (Breaking the Rules #3) - A.M. Madden Page 0,68

am ready.”

“And to answer yours, I want to be here.”

“Okay. Thank you. I want you to be here.” Surprising me, he leaned in for a soft kiss, causing a feverish heat to spread from my head to my toes. That right there proved that all I was about to endure by coming out would be worth it.

“Just remember, this will be a shock to them. Give them some leeway in how they initially react. It’s what they feel after they have time to digest that counts.”

“I know.” I gave him a smirk and shrugged. “Here goes nothing.” While still holding those damn boxes, I walked past him into the house and found my parents in the kitchen.

My father looked up from where he sat at the table and searched my face. I did the same, breaking eye contact when I placed the pizzas on the island. The way my heart pounded wasn’t from fear they would abandon me. My parents always let me be me. Except the me they thought I was being would now seem like an imposter. Ricky was right… I had no doubt they’d be shocked, blindsided even. Still, I’d been brought up by two very loving, very accepting parents.

It wasn’t the inquisition I was scared of. It was because this was it, the test of all tests. This conversation represented a linchpin holding the swinging door separating the old Cooper and the new. Once that door flew toward the new me, opening up that reality for my parents to see—for all to see—there would be no swinging it back.

The telltale sign that Mom knew something was up came via her twisting the apron she wore between her fingers. The meat loaf she had yet to bake, a bowl of potatoes that needed mashing, and a pile of washed-and-ready string beans all remained forgotten on the counter.

“They won’t have to cook for days,” my mother said when Ricky appeared with the sack of food.

“Becks will appreciate that,” I responded.

Wordlessly, Ricky walked past me to plop the bag on the island before shoving his hands into his pockets in wait. He looked to me for guidance, of which I had none. I did know that I had to get it over with, quick and fast, truthful and direct. There was no point in beating around the bush, not when my father had the privilege of seeing us kissing three minutes ago.

“So… I need to tell you guys something,” I said, cowardly focusing on my mother.

“I knew something was wrong.” She abandoned her apron for a dish towel instead. “I could sense it in my bones.”

“Nothing is wrong, Mom. It just might be a bit shocking is all.” My father sighed, making me assume my claim reminded him of what he’d witnessed. “Um… so…” Even Ricky looked anxious over what I would say, and he knew what was coming. “Okay…” I started again. “Ricky and I…” I stopped to check on Dad one more time and then regretted that I had when I found him staring down at the ground. “Ricky and I… are seeing each other.”

My father continued to stare blankly, but my mother flipped her head from man to man to man in confusion. “You… and Ricky?” she asked. “How did this happen?”

Since I had no clue how to answer that, I instead focused on when. “At Sam and Lydia’s wedding.”

“Four months ago? And we’re only now being told?” Her voice became more hysterical with each word. “Have you been with other men? Have you been living a double life, afraid to tell us?”

Adamantly shaking my head, I whispered a dramatic, “No. It wasn’t like that. I promise.” There was no point mentioning the times I had fooled around in college, but her baffled expression forced me to add, “Mom, please let me explain.”

I walked closer to gently take her hand, lead her to the table, and force us to sit across from my father. Although reluctantly, Ricky followed and, instead of sitting, leaned against the wall behind me.

Drawing courage from his support, I dragged in a deep breath and told them everything. How every failed relationship had made me feel like a farce. How meeting a perfect woman like Riana had worsened my confidence in finding love. I even told them how Ricky had seemed to slip through my defenses and how those moments we’d shared had stayed with me long after we were apart. I admitted the spiral of confusion it had all caused and