Chapter 6

SIX

Early couldn’t help but smile as the fundraiser meeting went on, even though they had every reason not to smile. Mr. Flint was clearly some sort of phobe, and he continued to shoot glances in their direction when he thought the family wasn’t watching. They’d endured much worse, though, especially at home. Mr. Flint was nothing compared to some of the comments they’d gotten just while walking around London with their friends.

What kept the smile on their face as they finished serving snacks and sat to take notes on the proceedings was the fact that Rhys had stood up for them. He hadn’t even been subtle or qualified his defense at all. He’d straight up tried to protect them. How could they do anything but smile because of that?

Rhys had been wonderful for the last couple of days, too. Every time Early found themself thinking that they should summon up the courage to head back to their parents’ house, at least to pack their personal belongings, Rhys had said something kind or done something so sweet that the last thing Early had wanted to do was move away from that.

Maybe it was their imagination, but they were getting somewhere. They and Rhys had grown closer in just a few days. The two of them were comfortable around each other, and that felt like it would only get better the more time they spent together.

“So we’ve agreed to ask Leland Page and his team to cater the event?” Robert Hawthorne asked as the meeting drew to a close.

“I think he’d do it,” Robbie spoke up, glancing at Toby, who nodded at him. “He’s also a member of The Brotherhood, and since Toby and I have been spending more time at The Chameleon Club, fostering the new friendships we’ve made, it’s become clear to us that The Brotherhood loves helping other members out with exactly this sort of thing.”

“The Brotherhood?” Mr. Flint asked, looking from Robbie to Robert in confusion.

“It’s a club we’re part of in London,” Robbie answered with a completely straight face.

Early fought a smile as a few of the family members exchanged looks around the table. They didn’t think Mr. Flint would dare say anything against The Brotherhood if they knew more about the queer organization, but it was interesting how the family downplayed the whole thing.

They glanced at Rhys, which they’d been doing throughout the meeting, and caught Rhys looking back at them. On any other day, Early would have freaked out and blushed from head to toe at discovering Rhys staring at him. Now, though, they just smiled back.

Things had changed. They felt safe and defended, not just in the meeting, but everywhere that the reach of the Hawthorne family extended. Maybe it was because they’d been sleeping well, even though they were sleeping on a couch. Maybe it was the heels, or the old-fashioned stockings and garter belt they’d found in the clothes room that even Rebecca didn’t know about.

They shifted a little in their seat, feeling the rub of those garters against their thighs. That was a bad idea, though, as it caused things to stir that their slacks definitely wouldn’t hide.

Which was why it was a good thing that their phone buzzed before things got too out of hand.

“So Robbie and Toby will reach out to Leland through The Brotherhood,” Robert was finishing things up as Early reached for their phone and turned it over to see who was calling.

Their smile dropped when they saw their father’s number lighting up the screen. A tight hollowness hit their gut. At the same time, if ever they were ready to face their father’s wrath, now was the time.

“Excuse me,” they whispered, standing and holding up their phone just enough for the family to see they had to take the call.

Robert continued with the meeting, giving Early a slight nod as they headed for the door.

Rhys leaned back in his chair with a curious look, as if he would get up and help Early with whatever they needed.

That, too, gave Early the confidence to answer their father’s call with, “Hello?” once they were in the hall.

“Don’t you hello me, boy,” their father shouted, as if they were in the middle of an argument instead of at the beginning. “Your mother and I have been calling and texting you for days. You haven’t been back here for four days. What game do you think you’re playing?”

Their father’s tirades usually withered them into dust, but for some reason, maybe it was the clack of their heels against the marble floor as they crossed through the front hall towards the office, it felt like the harsh words could only bounce off their back.

“I replied to Mum’s texts asking if I was okay,” they said, stunned that they could keep their composure in the face of something that had terrified them so much in the past. “I didn’t return your calls because I knew you would yell at me like this.”

“Damn right I’m gonna yell at you, boy,” their father kept on.

Early merely winced in distaste at being called “boy”.

“You need to get your arse back here immediately, Earl,” their father went on. “Your mother is beside herself. You’re embarrassing me.”

“It’s Early now, Dad,” they said, stepping through the open door to the office, then walking around the desk and heading into the copy room with a short nod for a curious Rebecca. “And you gave me a choice of in or out. I chose out.”

“Don’t you double-talk me,” their dad said. “You know that was just the heat of the moment. You belong here, at home, where we can straighten you out.”

“I don’t need to be straightened out,” Early said. “I’m twenty-one, which is past the age a lot of people move out of the house.”

“Oh, so you’re just going to leave your mother upset like she is?”

Early sighed. “I’m not trying to upset Mum. I’m just trying to figure my life out. And I think it’s time that I set out on my own, one way or another.”

Their father snorted. “Like that sissy job you have at the arts center pays you enough to afford a flat in this economy.” He said the words “arts center” as if they alone were an insult.

“I’m doing okay, Dad,” they said. “I have a place to stay, I have my job, and I’m going to be just fine.”

“Now you listen to me,” their father went on.

“No,” Early said. “I don’t think I will. I don’t think it’s going to do any of us any good.” Their father continued to rage on his end of the phone, but Early said a quick, “Bye, Dad,” then hung up.

They took a long, steadying breath into the silence of the ended call, closing their eyes for a moment and letting themself feel proud of the incredibly difficult thing they’d just done.

“Good for you,” Rebecca called from the front of the office, as if she agreed they’d been brave.

Early smiled again and headed back into the front of the office. “It’s about time both my parents learn I’m not a kid anymore,” they said. “I meant what I said when I said most people have already moved out of the house by now.”

Rebecca grinned. “I’ll put in a word with Dad to see that you get a raise.”

Early laughed, partly from the giddiness of standing up for themself that rushed through them. “You don’t have to go that far.”

“You definitely deserve it,” Rebecca argued.

“We’ll see,” Early said, a slight skip in their step as they headed out the office door again. “I don’t know why I came in here,” they said. “The meeting was just ending, and I need to clean up the conference room.”

“See?” Rebecca said as they headed back across the front hall. “Raise! You absolutely need a raise.”

Maybe they did. Maybe they deserved a lot of things they hadn’t been willing to let themself consider before.

Those thoughts were clipped short as Rhys came striding across the hall, heading straight for the front door. They weren’t sure if he saw them, although considering the way things had been between them for the last few days, Rhys probably had seen them. He seemed like he was on a mission of some sort, though, so Early let him pass without stopping him to say hi. What would they say to him anyhow? It was the middle of the day on a Thursday, and they all had work to do.

They headed back down the hallway toward the meeting room as a few other family members stepped out and went their own ways. Robert and Janice were still in the room, talking to Mr. Flint, when Early went in and started tidying the tea things.

“Oh, you,” Mr. Flint spoke up, snagging Early’s attention. “Mr., er, Ms.?”

“You can call me Early,” Early said, still feeling empowered from their phone call.

“Yes, Early,” Mr. Flint said, sending Robert and Janice a quick look, then breaking away from them to approach Early. “I just wanted to apologize if there were any misunderstandings.”

Early found it far easier to keep smiling than they would have thought. They nodded to Robert and Janice, as if to let them know they were okay, then focused on Mr. Flint again.

“No harm was done,” they said. “I understand that it’s difficult to get used to new things.”

“Yes, it is,” Mr. Flint agreed with a nervous smile. “I just wanted to say…sorry.” He peeked over his shoulder at Robert and Janice, who were whispering to each other.

“It’s fine,” Early said.

It probably wasn’t. They definitely had the feeling Mr. Flint was apologizing for show. But it didn’t matter. They were proud of themself for being the bigger person, and the Hawthornes would be proud, too.

“Well done,” Janice even whispered to them, patting their arm as they headed out of the room, taking Mr. Flint with them.

It was amazing. After so many things had gone wrong for so long, everything seemed to be coming up roses. Early smiled and even hummed to themselves as they quickly tidied the meeting room. Their life had taken such a turn since taking a stand and leaving home. It absolutely wasn’t supposed to turn out that way for any confused queer kid who got kicked out of the house, but there they were.

Once the meeting room was set to right and they headed back to the office, it was nearly ten o’clock.

“Was Rhys back there in the meeting room?” Rebecca asked as soon as Early entered the office.

“No, he headed outside when the meeting ended,” they said.

Rebecca hummed and nodded, like she knew what that was all about. “Well, he has a class in a few minutes. You do, too.”

Early sucked in a breath. They’d completely forgotten about the second session of posing for Rhys’s live model class. It was on Mondays and Thursdays, and they had about ten minutes to get their head in the right space.

“Rhys hasn’t come back inside yet?” they asked, feeling strangely giddy and shaky at the idea of getting naked in public again.

“Not that I’ve seen,” Rebecca said.

“I’ll go fetch him.”

Early headed out of the office yet again. They felt like they hadn’t had a second to stop and simply be still all morning. Too many things had been happening, both in terms of work and inside them. They liked the sense of movement, though. It made them feel like they were making progress, like they could conquer the world.

That feeling was especially acute when they found Rhys exactly where they’d thought he would be. Just the feeling that they knew Rhys well enough to guess where he’d be sitting—on the stone bench right under his studio window, looking out across the brook and the hill beyond—only increased their feeling that today was a very good day.

“Early.” Rhys noticed them with a slight start before they could say anything.

They didn’t know what it was, something in the light or something in their gut, but they slowed down and walked the last few yards to the bench with what they hoped was seductive grace. Once they reached the bench, they sat playfully by Rhys’s side, nudging him with their hip.

Something was definitely inside out with the world if they were feeling flirty and actually doing something about it.

“You okay?” they asked, trying on a coquettish look as they tilted their head slightly and looked at Rhys with a warm smile.

There was no mistaking the quick intake of breath or the way Rhys’s large, masculine body tensed. Early didn’t think there was any possible way to misinterpret the way Rhys subconsciously nudged their knee with his own either.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said, letting his stiff posture go and smiling at Early. “I just don’t like Flint is all.”

“Really,” Early said, voice dripping with sarcasm. “I couldn’t tell.”

Rhys huffed a laugh, then shook his head. “I’m not going to let anyone disrespect you in any way,” he said.

Flutters filled Early’s inside. “I know,” they said. “And you have no idea how much I appreciate it.”

Daringly, they slipped a hand toward Rhys’s, grasping his much larger hand and twining their fingers together.

“You’re my rock, Rhys Hawthorne,” they said, keeping their voice low and sultry.

Well, what passed for sultry when they had no idea what they were actually doing.

Rhys’s smile grew, then he burst into gentle laughter. It made Early feel good, strong, instead of like they were being made fun of.

“You’re something else,” he said, also in a way that made Early feel good instead of bad.

That was taking things far enough, though. Early knew when to quit.

At least, they thought they did.

“Come on,” they said, standing and pulling Rhys up with them. “It’s time for class. Don’t you want to see me naked again?” They lowered their head a bit and glanced up at Rhys through their lashes.

Rhys breathed in, his eyes smoldering for a moment and color rising up his neck to his face before he blew the breath out.

“I guess I am,” he said, laughing again. That time, it felt forced, like he was trying to talk himself out of feeling other things.

Early didn’t push it as they walked around the house and headed inside, then down the hall to the painting studio. They liked the buzz of flirting, and as high on their own confidence as they felt, they didn’t want to mess things up.

Besides, they had the best weapon to flirt with built into the live model class.

“Alright, everyone, today we’re going to continue on where we left off with our work in the last class,” Rhys was in the middle of saying as Early stepped quietly out of the closet in nothing but a robe. “I’ll give you about twenty minutes to work on your initial sketches, then I’ll do a demonstration of how to do the underpainting for a nude model. If you just want to?—”

Rhys stopped mid-sentence as Early walked to the block in the middle of the circle of easels and let their robe drop. The lack of words from Rhys was as loud as if he’d catcalled, but Early fought to ignore it, to pretend they were ignoring Rhys entirely, as they retook the pose they’d settled in at the end of the last class so that everyone could resume their work.

“What’s this about what you want to do?” Violet asked with a cheeky wink for Early.

Rhys cleared his throat, turning pink again the way they had when they were outside. “You can go ahead and get started,” he recovered, though his voice was a bit hoarse. “I’m going to work on a sketch myself so that I can demonstrate for the rest of you, but if you need me for something, just let me know and I’ll come. Er, come over.”

A few of the other older ladies snorted. They weren’t fooled by any of it.

For some utterly astounding reason, Early didn’t mind. More than that, as they shook their head slightly so their hair fell down their back and around their shoulders like it had for the first class, they reveled in the sly jokes. For a change, the jokes weren’t cruel. They lifted them up, painted them as an object of desire. They liked that.

Posing for the second time was infinitely easier than the first class had been. It wasn’t a surprise, and they knew the class wouldn’t make fun of them or judge them. Better still, Rhys set up one of the spare easels directly in their line of sight, then sat down with his serious artist face and started sketching across the canvas fastened to the easel.

Rhys working meant Rhys looking at them. Intensely, intimately. Looking at all of them. Instead of feeling exposed and vulnerable, Early felt prouder than ever. They were having such a good day. They’d stood up to their father, been gracious with someone who disliked them on principle, and flirted with Rhys in a way that wasn’t embarrassing.

Somehow, all those good feelings transferred straight into their body. They felt graceful and beautiful in the studio light. They weren’t a confused kid with some degree of gender dysphoria that they hadn’t worked through yet. In fact, there was nothing wrong with their body at all. It was made up of artistic lines and graceful curves. It was something that could be admired and sketched and painted as freely as any of the works of the great masters. It didn’t even matter what genitals they had. Frankly, with the way Rhys gazed at them, they loved their modest cock and balls.

They could seriously get used to this. There was a definite high that came from confidence and from acceptance of one’s body, regardless of what it was supposed to look like or what society said was attractive. With those sorts of feelings buzzing around their body, Early felt as if they could take on the world and make the most of it.

More than that, with the way Rhys devoured them with his eyes, as if caressing every part of them and transforming them into pure art, Early began to wonder just how far they could ride the wave of their newfound confidence. They and Rhys were sharing a flat at the moment, after all. With just a little inner nudge, they might find that last bit of courage that would be needed to seduce their way into Rhys’s bed. It was about damn time they lost their virginity, and Rhys was the only man they wanted to be the one to take it.