Within a few minutes, we were all seated at the dinner table, Mary Beth placing herself right between Jamie and Charlie. We made small talk, and the dinner seemed to be going well until the topic of careers came up.
“So, what do you do, Reagan?” Mrs. Miller asked.
“Oh, I am in charge of advertising for a nonprofit. I work from home, which is why I was lucky enough to be able to come along on this trip.” I smiled, satisfied with my answer and happy that I had found a way not to mention that the nonprofit was an LGBTQ organization.
“That’s a nice pastime,” Mrs. Miller answered nonchalantly. “I’m glad to hear that you don’t have a real job. That way, when you two finally get married and start a family, you can be a stay-at-home mom. That’s the most important job in the world, you know?”
I could feel my face turning red with embarrassment over the fact that she had so easily blown off what I do for a living. While I contemplated how to respond, I reached out and squeezed Jamie’s knee, hoping he would say something in my defense. Instead, it was Charlie who spoke up. “It is a real job, Mom. Advertising is what keeps companies running these days. Between the internet and social media, I’m sure it’s far from easy. Personally, I find it really cool that Reagan is able to do that from home.” She smiled at me, then added a wink that made my whole body react.
“I second what Charlie said. It’s super cool,” Jamie finally added. Thanks, dude.
As I gave them both an appreciative nod, I noticed that Mary Beth was no longer smiling. “Working on the farm means that I work from home too,” she said, trying to sound chipper, but failing. Instead, her voice was laced with jealousy. It took everything in me not to stand up and scream, he’s gay! Move on!”
Luckily, her little jealous outburst took the attention off of me. Mr. Miller’s face lit up at the mention of her farm, and he spoke for one of the first times since I had arrived. “How is the farm doing? You guys still have a bunch of chickens?” I took a deep breath, as the conversation drifted to farm life, and away from me.
Once dinner was over, I offered to help with the dishes, but was relieved when Mrs. Miller refused to let me. I excused myself and motioned for Jamie to follow me to the back porch. Once outside, I plopped into a chair that faced a lake located at the edge of their property. I let my head drop back and let out a long breath. After a few beats, I finally looked over at Jamie, who had sat down beside me. “So, your family is… nice.”
Jamie laughed lightly and shook his head at me. “You don’t have to lie, you know. I get it. They’re a lot. I promise you they mean well. They just see things backwards.”
“Your sister is nice at least, and Nana seems cool.”
Instead of looking at me, Jamie stared out across the yard. “Yeah, Nana is a hoot. The jury is still out on Charlie. I do adore her, but we’ve never been super close. She tries way too hard to impress my parents.”
“Says the guy who brought home his fake girlfriend and does a choreographed touchdown dance to say hello.” I lifted one eyebrow in an attempt to keep my words light-hearted.
Jamie sighed and rubbed his forehead. “You make a good point. Sorry about that by the way.”
“You don’t have to apologize. I’m just saying. Your sister didn’t even hesitate to stick up for me in there, and she barely even knows me. Maybe you should give her more of a chance.”
Jamie smiled slightly, while reaching over to take my hand in his. “You don’t have to do this. It’s only going to get worse from here. My family is really into doing separate male and female activities. That means you’ll be spending a lot more time with my mom. I could take you back home and tell them you died.”
I chuckled at his words. “As much as I’d love to hear what your mother would have to say at my funeral, I’ll stick it out. We’re in this together.” I knew I’d made the right decision when Jamie’s body relaxed. “With that being said, this was a lot for Day One, so I think I’m going to head to bed early if that’s okay.”
Jamie simply nodded, and I stood to head inside. Before opening the door, I turned back around. “By the way, that ex of yours is something.”
Jamie rubbed a hand over his forehead again and tilted his head slightly to the side. “Do you think she…?”
“Still wants to be with you?” I finished. “Absolutely.”
“That’s what I was afraid of,” Jamie groaned.
I simply laughed in response, because what else could I do? This was going to be a very interesting five weeks.
Chapter 2: Charlie
Of course. Of freaking course. These were the words that kept repeating in my head as I helped my mother with the dishes. Of course Jamie’s girlfriend was gorgeous. I’m not sure why I expected anything different. He had the perfect life in the perfect city with the perfect job. Why wouldn’t he also have the perfect girlfriend? Part of me had the same thoughts as my Nana. I half-believed that my brother had made up his long-term relationship. Why else would he have waited six years to bring her home? I thought she might at least have a hair out of place or not know how to speak to parents, but neither of those were true. She even handled my mother beautifully, never once slipping up, no matter what she threw at her. And that bit about not sharing a room with my brother? Well, I call bullshit on that. Unless she was some perfect, holier than thou church girl, there was no way that was true. I knew for a fact my brother was a virgin when he left for college, but I had trouble believing he had made it over halfway through his twenties without ever getting it in, especially when he was dating a girl that looked like Reagan.
Either way, I was now stuck sharing a room with her. She seemed to be cool and someone I could get along with, but that only made things worse. I never knew I had a type until I looked over into my brother’s car, and my eyes locked with Reagan Cooper. In addition to sharing at least 50% of our DNA, Jamie and I also seemed to share the same taste in women.
Don’t get me wrong. The whole gay thing wasn’t some big epiphany that occurred when I saw Reagan’s face. It had started to click that I was probably gay during my senior year in high school. I confirmed that when I kissed a girl just a few days after graduation. Since then, I had been with a plethora of women. Okay, that may be an exaggeration. I seriously dated one girl during college and had hooked up with a handful of other girls. None of them looked alike though. Some were tall. Some were short. Some were feminine. Some were butch. Some had dark hair, while others had light hair. I was starting to believe I didn’t really even notice physical appearance, but I had noticed Reagan. How could I not? That long brown hair that became more caramel near the bottom, had the perfect loose curls that begged to be touched. Those big, deep, dark brown eyes looked like they had countless stories to tell. And that smile. I could think of a few things that mouth could do that I might enjoy more than the smile, but it was still perfect.
Then there was my idiotic ass. Without even thinking, I yanked her car door open as if she was some girl I was taking on a date. Her face immediately turned a deep red, indicating just how uncomfortable it had made her. The only thing that saved the moment from being completely horrifying was just how cute she looked when she was embarrassed.