Chapter 18

I'd forgotten that churches held sunrise beach services on Easter Sunday. I stood in the unseasonably cold April morning, disgruntled that my favorite spot on the beach had been taken over by a local congregation. There weren't many people, maybe a dozen at most, but it threw me off. I'd come to watch the sunrise to clear my head and find some peace. Muttering curses the whole way, I marched down the boardwalk to a place where I could no longer hear them.

To say my date the previous evening had gone badly would have been an understatement. I got that my brand of queer wasn't for everybody, but the man acted like he hadn't already seen my picture on the dating app when he saw me walk into the restaurant. It turned out some of his friends were there, and he didn't want to be seen with a guy wearing makeup. What proceeded was a hissed conversation in which he accused me of trying to embarrass him, and I told him to fuck all the way off and then left. The asshole had the nerve to call me later that night to ask if we could try again and if I could not wear makeup. I repeated my request for him to go fuck himself and blocked his number.

The first thought that came to my head was to call Zach to tell him about it. That stopped me dead in my tracks. I always turned to Albert first when a date went wrong. Why had Zach been uppermost in my thoughts? I put my head in my hands. I couldn't believe I'd become a cliché. Falling for the straight guy. What the hell was I doing?

I took a deep breath and made myself focus on the rising sun. I had to keep trying. Zach might be interested in me, but until he said something or initiated more intimacy, I had to move on with my life. I would keep trying until I found someone who liked me for me. He had to be out there somewhere.

I stayed on the beach until the sun was above the horizon. Then, I walked back to my apartment and took a nice hot shower to warm up my chilled body. If I happened to rub one out thinking about Zach, that was my own business.

After my shower, I ate a light breakfast and puttered around my apartment, cleaning up to get ready for Zach to move in. Dwayne was at Jason's, as usual. He'd been packing his stuff and taking it to Jason's for a couple of weeks now. Mostly, what was left were big things that would have to be put in a truck. I knew they were negotiating which pieces of furniture Dwayne would bring and which he would leave behind. Jason was renting a three-bedroom house, so there was more room, but he had his own furniture and tastes. It led to some lively conversations.

By the time I finished cleaning, it was time for me to get ready to leave. I decided to go a little fancy for my Easter meal with Zach. I put on a pair of navy-blue slacks, a crisp white dress shirt, and a dark-blue and silver paisley vest. I added blue and silver eyeshadow and a little extra eyeliner to make my eyes pop. If I was going to be damned for wearing makeup, I was going to look good doing it.

When I looked in the mirror, I felt better than I had all week. It had been a tough one, to be sure. In addition to the shitty date the night before, I'd been getting texts and phone calls from various family members all week trying to guilt me into going to my parents' house for Easter dinner. It was getting harder to say no, but I had to, or they would never take me seriously. At least Isabella hadn't bothered calling again.

I was about to put on my jacket when my phone rang. I rolled my eyes. Couldn't they give it a break on Easter Sunday? I picked up my phone and was surprised to see it was my cousin, Raphael. I hadn't expected him to get on the "get Miguel to cave" wagon. I swiped to answer anyway. "I'm still not going to Easter dinner at my parents' house."

There was a beat of silence before Raphael said, "Well, hello to you too, Miguel."

I huffed out a sigh. "Sorry, Raphael. I've been getting calls and texts from the family all week. I'm just tired of it."

"Would you like to tell me your side of the story?" he asked. "Your mother called my father in tears because you refused to come. She said it was a silly argument and you were making a big deal out of nothing."

I took a deep breath and blew it out. I would not cry. I would not cry. "Fuck!" I ground out.

"I take it there's more to it," he said. "I assumed there would be. You've always been very close to your family."

"Until Carlos came along," I muttered.

"Carlos," Raphael repeated with a low growl. He didn't like the man any more than I did. Lucky for him, he didn't have to see him more than once or twice a year. His voice was soft with concern when he spoke again. "You want to tell me what happened?" I heard Evan say something in the background, and Raphael came back on and asked, "Is it okay if I put it on speaker? Evan wants to hear it too."

"Sure," I replied. I told them the whole story, all the way to my last phone conversation with my mother.

A shocked silence followed the end of my sorry tale until Evan finally broke it. "That asshole put his hands on you? Oh, hell no!"

"It's okay, baby," Raphael said. "Zach took care of it." He hummed thoughtfully. "We might have to pay a visit to Aunt Josefina and Uncle Eduardo."

"I thought you always had dinner with your parents," I said.

"They're having it early in the day. We could definitely make it to your parents' place in time for dessert." There was a mischievous tone in his voice.

"What are you planning?" I asked warily.

"Nothing much," Raphael said. "We're just going to add a little gay to the festivities."

I sighed. "But you could pass as straight, and you know it. You're the ‘right' kind of gay man."

"Oh, honey," Evan said. "I know you don't know me well, but trust me when I say I will bring all the gay to your parents' little soiree."

For a brief moment, I felt sorry for my parents. But it passed when I remembered the many, many phone calls and texts I'd gotten over the past week. "Try to get a picture of Carlos's face when he sees you."

Evan gave an evil laugh. "We can do that."

"What are you doing today?" Raphael asked. "You're not spending it alone, are you?"

"No. I'm going to join Zach at Moonlight for Easter dinner. In fact, I'm about to head over there now."

"Zach, huh?" Raphael said in a teasing voice.

I sighed. "Please don't. He's straight. Or at least he hasn't decided he's not."

Evan tsked. "They're never straight. Is he making googly eyes at you? Because if he is, he's already halfway there."

Did Zach make googly eyes at me? I would say yes. "Well, he's moving in with me, so I guess we'll see."

Both of them exclaimed, "What?"

I sighed and explained the thing with Zach's landlord and the offer to pay him to leave early.

Raphael made a sound of approval. "I know Santino D'Angelo. He's licensed in New York as well as New Jersey. Good defense attorney. He was the right man to help Zach."

"I agree. The poor man isn't used to anybody helping him, so it was a shock to his system to have a lawyer offer his services for free." I checked the time on my phone. "I have to head out now. Thanks for checking in with me. Good luck at my parents' place. Don't expect much though. They've pretty much made up their minds."

"Don't give up yet, Miguel," Raphael said. "Your family loves you."

I shook my head even though I knew he couldn't see me. "They love the grandchildren Carlos is able to give them more. I can't compete with that."

"There's nothing saying you can't have children if you want them," Raphael objected.

"I know," I replied with a sigh. "But first, I have to find someone who wants me for me and wants kids. And I wouldn't be surprised if that still wasn't good enough for my family."

"All right," Evan chided, "now you're just feeling sorry for yourself. Go and have a nice dinner with your hot straight boy. We'll call you later tonight when we get home and tell you all about our visit."

I rubbed my face, determined to shake off this melancholy. "You're right. Thank you for being in my corner, both of you."

"Anytime, Miguel," Raphael said.

After the call, I had to fix my makeup because I'd smudged it, but I made it to Moonlight Inn just a few minutes after noon. I was lucky to be able to park in the employee lot because the parking spaces around the small hotel were all taken. I sent a text to Zach.

Me

I'm here. Sorry, I'm late. Do you have a table already?

Zach (he's straight) Kelley

Not yet. I just got here a little before you. I'll come outside.

I was going to tell him not to do that, but frankly, I wanted a big old Zach hug right about then. I saw him walking toward me with his long, confident stride, and I felt my chin wobble. He stopped in front of me, a worried frown on his face. "What's wrong?"

My eyes stung and I blinked away traitorous tears. "Bad week, bad date, and I had to rehash all my family woes with Raphael just before I left for here."

Zach's expression softened and he opened his arms. "Come on in."

His leather jacket was unzipped, so I slipped my arms inside and wrapped them around his waist. He pulled me close and held me tight, and if a few tears leaked from my eyes, no one had to know.

He was warm against the chill of the early spring day, and I wouldn't have minded if we just stayed there all day. But as with all good things, it had to end. I stepped back, taking the tissue Zach already had in his hand. "Thank you. I needed that."

"I'm always good for a hug," he said with a smile.

"I know." I gently patted my cheeks with the tissue, then raised my face so he could see it. "Is my makeup okay?"

His smile was tender. "It looks great. You look great."

My cheeks heated. "Thank you." I looked him up and down. He was wearing the slate-blue button-down he'd worn to Paradise with a pair of black slacks. "You look pretty good yourself."

He looked down and smiled shyly. "Thanks." Then he held out his arm, and I threaded mine through his as we walked inside.

The dining room was full, and the waitstaff was busy going from table to table, seeing to the diner's needs. Carrie, who was at the host station, smiled when we walked in. "Hey, you two. I was wondering if you were going to show up."

"Sorry we're late," I said. "I got held up by family stuff."

"No worries," Carrie said. "Your table is ready."

She walked us to a table near a window that overlooked the back garden, which was just beginning to bloom. We were given menus and our water glasses were filled. After the server left with our drink orders, Zach leaned forward and asked, "You want to tell me about it?"

I blew out a breath. "You know about the phone calls and texts?" He nodded. "Well, they ramped up starting on Friday and got worse yesterday."

"You never said anything Friday night," he said.

"I know. I didn't want to ruin our evening. We were supposed to be having fun."

"What happened with Raphael?" he asked.

As I told him about my phone call with Raphael and Evan, Zach started laughing. "Oh my god, that's hilarious. I remember Evan from their wedding, and I know he can be over the top. I really wish I could be there to see Carlos's expression."

His laughter made me laugh. "Yeah, I guess it is pretty funny."

Zach's expression got more serious. "You said you had a bad date last night. Do I have to kick someone's ass?"

I let out a low chuckle. "No, I told him to fuck off. Twice."

"What happened?"

I sighed. "He gave me shit for wearing makeup."

His expression darkened. "What the fuck? Why?"

I closed my eyes. This was why I was so drawn to Zach Kelley. He accepted me for who I was and was ready to stand with me against people who would tear me down. I smiled at him, although I think it might have had a tinge of sadness. "You're kind of amazing. Any woman would be lucky to have you."

He got a strange expression on his face. His brow furrowed, and he said, "I'm not really looking for that right now."

"Okay," I said tentatively. "You let me know when you are. I might know a few nice women."

Zach just looked down at the table and said quietly, "Sure."