Discovering Delilah (Harborside Nights, Book 2) (19 page)

“Hey, little buddy. Wow, you’re so tall.” She sets his feet on the ground, and he’s chin height. I have no idea if that’s tall for a seven-year-old, but he’s
beaming, so I assume he likes hearing it.

“I know. Dad says I’m going to be tall like him.” He looks at me and squints, then looks back at Ashley. “Is that your girlfriend? Mom said you’re bringing your girlfriend home and that I shouldn’t say anything about it. She said it’s okay for girls to be girlfriend and girlfriend and boys to be boyfriend and boyfriend. I think it’s okay since Mom
said it’s okay. Is that her? Is she your girlfriend?”

I can’t help but laugh. I like Kenny’s lack of filter. It actually eases the tension that had made my legs feel like steel rods bolted to the ground. Ashley looks at me and smiles, shrugs, then mouths,
Sorry
. I let her know it’s okay by answering him.

“Yes, I’m Delilah. I’ve heard a lot about you.” I haven’t really, but I know he’ll
like hearing that.

“You have? Did Ashley tell you that I can run faster than her? And that I can whip her butt in any video game on the planet?” He walks between me and Ash as we go inside.

“Hey, buddy, why don’t you help me with these bags?” Bolton looks over his shoulder and smiles.

Ash mouths,
Thank you,
as Kenny sprints toward him.

“You okay?” she asks me quietly.

“Yeah.
He’s great. They both are, Bolton and Kenny.”

“Really?” She wrinkles her brow. “Thank you. I adore them both, but I know Kenny’s a little much for most people. If he wears you out, just let me know and I’ll distract him.”

“He’s fine. Really. He actually makes it less stressful for me, and Bolton? How could you not have told me about him? He seems like a really good friend.”

“He is.
We spent lots of time together growing up, but since we left for college, we only see each other a few times a year. Sometimes we text or call, but not much.”

“Well, you should definitely keep in touch with him. He seems really nice.”

She tilts her head and smiles again, then touches my fingers with two of her own. “Thank you, Dee. I stopped reaching out because Sandy felt threatened by
him. I’m glad to know that you don’t mind.”

“Threatened? By him?” Then I remember that Sandy was seeing a guy. “Oh, right. She liked guys so she thought you might as well?”

“Something like that.”

“Well, if we can be friends with Janessa, why not with Bolton? I like that he didn’t bat an eye when you said I was your girlfriend.” I lean in close and whisper, “Which I loved hearing, by
the way, even though I was embarrassed at first.”

“I didn’t mean to embarrass you. My family knows, as Kenny so eloquently revealed. Let’s go inside. My mom is dying to meet you.” She releases my fingers. I want so much to hold them again, but I know I’d drop them the minute we see her family.

Ashley’s parents live in a split-foyer home. Bolton is still holding the door open for us as
we climb the steps.

He’s smiling and watching me pretty intently. When I walk past him, he leans in close and whispers, “If you need an escape, just scratch your nose.”

I laugh, but I secretly worry about why I might need an escape.

Kenny is dragging Ashley’s bag downstairs. Bolton’s still holding mine as he closes the door behind us. The house smells like Thanksgiving, warm and foody,
even though it’s only August. We’re standing in the foyer. To our right are two sets of stairs, one that leads up and one that leads down. I can hear a television playing downstairs. I’m not used to split-levels. Our house in Connecticut is a Colonial with tall ceilings and a center staircase. This is much cozier.

“Is that my baby girl?” Ashley’s mother comes out of the kitchen to our left
and folds Ashley into her arms.

“Hi, Mom.” Ashley rolls her eyes over her mother’s shoulder, but her smile says she loves the attention.

I get a pang of longing deep in my chest. It’s been months since I hugged my mother, and I’ll never be able to hug her again. I’ve been so entrenched in battling the look my parents gave me when I came out to them that I’ve stopped seeing the warmer looks,
stopped feeling the love they doled out so readily. How could I have pushed that aside?

Ashley’s mother steps back and holds Ash’s shoulders. Her hair is the same dirty blond as Ashley’s, her eyes the same warm brown as she assesses her daughter. When she smiles, it’s easy to see what Ashley will look like when she’s older.  “Are you eating enough? You look thin.”

Do all moms worry about
that? My mom said something similar when she first saw me on graduation day.

“Mom.” Ashley’s voice is thick with annoyance, but it’s contradicted by her smile.

How often did I sound the same way toward my mom? I wish I could take each and every time back. I push those thoughts away, determined not to let my parents’ absence get in the way of our visit.  

Ashley puts her hand on my
lower back as her mother shifts a friendly gaze my way.

“And you must be Delilah.” She touches her cheeks and her eyes widen. “My word, you are even prettier than I imagined.” Before I can thank her, she pulls me against her and hugs me much longer than I anticipated.

“I’m so glad you’re here. Ash has told me so much about you.” She takes my hand and calls down the stairs, “Paulie? The
girls are here,” then leads me across the hardwood floor and into a cozy living room with a small piano set against the wall to the left. Above the piano hangs a large frame of orange fabric that looks like burlap. Haphazardly pinned to it at cockeyed angles are several photos of Ashley and Kenny and their parents. Ashley as a baby holding a bottle, as a toddler walking in the grass. She was a pudgy
baby with almost white-blond hair, and so cute it makes me smile. The arrangement is vastly different from the carefully placed frames in our house. It’s more appealing to me, this homier arrangement. I imagine her mother changing the pictures from time to time, adding more, standing before them smiling, sighing, and reveling in memories of Kenny on his bicycle or her and her husband sitting on
the front porch.

There’s a couch against the wall to our right and a love seat beneath a big window on the wall opposite us. A small dining room is off the living room, tucked behind the kitchen, with sliding glass doors that lead out to a deck. I know Ashley grew up in this house, and I imagine her toddling across the room, running into her mother’s arms, and opening Christmas gifts by a
big, decorated tree.

“Dad.”

I turn at the wondrous tone of Ashley’s voice as she falls into her father’s open arms. He’s a heavyset man, and he closes his eyes as he hugs her.

“I missed you, pumpkin.”

“I missed you, too, Dad.” Ash reaches for me again. “Dad, this is Delilah.”

I like that she respects me enough not to cling to me in a way that would make me feel uncomfortable
in front of her parents but still touches me enough that I feel special.

He smiles down at me. Even though he’s about the same height as Bolton, who’s standing behind us, he looks much bigger. It might be his sheer breadth, or maybe the way he’s opening his arms to me, as he did for Ashley, but as I walk forward and accept his embrace, I feel like I’m hugging a gigantic teddy bear.

“Welcome
to our home, sweetheart.”

“Thank you, Mr. Carver.”

“Call me Paul, please.” He reaches a hand out to Bolton.

“How’s it going, son?” Bolton takes his hand, and Paul pulls him into a hug, too.

“You okay?” Ashley whispers as her mother sits on the couch.

“Perfectly. How could I not be? Your family is wonderful.” I’ve been here only for a few minutes, and already I feel like I walked
through a portal that instantly made me part of their family. Being here makes me long for my parents, but it also amplifies how different my parents’ reaction would have been if I had brought Ashley home and introduced her as my
girlfriend
. I imagine my parents as flustered, hot messes the moment they laid eyes on us holding hands. Their disapproving looks might even have gotten lost in their
inability to find something appropriate to say. I force myself to push that away, but it’s not as easy as I hoped it would be. I focus on Kenny bounding down the stairs. That helps.

Kenny plows into Bolton. “Are you staying? Want to see what I built in Minecraft?”

“Yeah, sure.” Bolton turns to Paul. “You guys mind if I stick around a few minutes with Kenny?”

“What kind of question
is that? Of course you can stay.” Ashley’s mom waves a hand as if he’s being ridiculous. “Stay for dinner if you want.”

“Thanks, Mrs. C, but I can’t. My mom is planning a big family dinner. Ash, if you and Delilah want to hang out later, text me.”

“We will.” Ashley watches her mother spring up to her feet and rush into the kitchen. “Mom, do you need help?”

Bolton and Kenny head upstairs.

“Oh, no.” Her mom waves another dismissive hand. “I’m just making a few things for later. Go ahead and show Delilah around. We’ll catch up when you girls are ready. Dinner’s not until five, so you have oodles of time to do your own thing.”

“Come on. I’ll show you my room.” Ashley leads me downstairs. “This is the rec room, or my dad’s man cave.”

The rec room, like the rest of the house,
feels warm and inviting. There are two comfortably worn couches, a wide coffee table with
ESPN
and
Good Housekeeping
magazines on it, as well as a Nintendo 3DS, which I assume is Kenny’s. Ashley reaches for my hand, searching my eyes for approval first before taking it.

I take it and we walk down a narrow hallway. She presses her hand on a closed door as we pass. “This is the basement, but
it’s full of junk.” She points to the open door across from it. “My dad’s office.” We walk a little farther and she points to a laundry room, and across from that another small room. “My mom’s domain.”

I peek in and there’s a sewing machine, a rocking chair, and several bookshelves. At the far side of the narrow room is a door leading outside.

At the end of the hall Ashley waves a hand
to the open door. “This is my bedroom.” I peer inside and note the white dresser and queen-sized bed with a matching white headboard. Two bookcases filled with books and knickknacks sit off to the left. There are posters of bands on the walls, as if the bedroom hasn’t changed since she was a teenager. Ashley pulls me into the room, then pushes the door almost-but-not-quite closed, and whispers, “Can
I just give you a little kiss? For making it through meeting my parents?”

“You don’t have to ask.” I lean forward, and the second our lips press together, butterflies take flight in my stomach. She kisses me quickly, as promised, and I crave a longer, deeper kiss, but I’m still a little nervous, so I resist the urge to pull her back for more.

There’s a light knock at the door, and I stumble
away from Ash as Bolton opens the door.

“Sorry to interrupt.” He runs his eyes between us.

“Come on in.” Ashley’s cheeks are flushed, and I know I’m beet-red.

“I just got a text from Carly. She and a few of the old gang are going to Marco’s tonight. You guys want to go?”

Ashley turns to me. “Marco’s is a dance club. We went to high school with Carly.”

“You’ll like the gang,
Delilah. They’re pretty much like me and Ash, and Marco’s is a great place if you like to dance.” He moves his hips and flashes a bright white smile.

I love to dance, but I’m nervous about how to act around Ashley’s friends. I remember how hard it was to keep my hands off her at the Taproom, but I can’t miss the hope in Ashley’s eyes, and it does sound fun.

“Sure. I’ll go.” I can hardly
believe I agreed, but when Ash throws her arms around my neck and hugs me, I’m glad I did.

“Thank you! You’ll love them.” She unravels herself from the embrace. “Sorry. I was just—”

“It’s okay.” I drop my gaze, but I realize that I don’t feel uncomfortable around Bolton.

“Cool. So…ride over together? Leave around eight?” Bolton points over his shoulder with his thumb. “I’ve gotta get
home before my mom sends out a search squad. I just arrived when you guys did.”

“Sounds good.” Ashley’s gaze hasn’t left mine since she hugged me. After Bolton says goodbye, she exhales a loud breath and flops down on her fluffy white comforter.

“You sure you don’t mind? I didn’t mean to hug you like that.”

“It sounds fun, and I like Bolton. He makes me feel comfortable. I don’t know
how I’ll be around a
gang
of strangers, but…”

She laughs. “They’re hardly a
gang
. Just two or three others, depending on who shows up. They’re really nice, and they know I like sexy blond chicks, so…” She twirls her finger in her hair and lowers her chin, giving me a playful look.

“And here I was thinking you were going to make this easy for me. You can’t look at me like that tonight.
And no miniskirts, either. How about you wear body armor and keep your eyes averted the whole time?”

“No promises…” Ashley stands and pulls me to my feet.

“So…Where am I staying?” I look around, and it dawns on me that I didn’t see another bedroom down here.

“What do you mean? Here with me, of course.”

“Here? What about your parents?”

“Dee. They know we’re a couple.” Her eyes
go serious. “Oh God. I didn’t think you’d mind. I mean, my parents expected us to stay together. They know we’ve been staying together at Harborside.”

I draw in a deep breath and sink back down to the bed, unsure of how I feel. “They already assume we’re staying in your room together and they still welcomed me so warmly.”

“Why wouldn’t they?”

I look up at her, and her eyes widen as
understanding dawns on her. She sits beside me again.

“Oh, Dee. I’m sorry. I guess I assumed too much. I thought you’d want to stay with me. My parents have never had an issue with my sexuality, and I’ve never brought a girlfriend home before, so when they heard I was bringing you, they were more than thrilled.” She looks around the room and wrinkles her brow, thinking.

“You haven’t brought
any other girlfriends home with you?”

“Nope. They knew a girl I went out with in high school, but it’s not like she stayed over or anything.”