Tristan

The drive back to the town we grew up in was a serene one. It mostly consisted of us remembering old funny incidents and fond memories. It wasn't very far away from the city but still far enough to retain its rustic charm. Our childhood hadn't involved nightclubs or flashy clothes because none of that was available there. It was a modest little place with honest down to earth people who preferred simplicity.

That didn't mean that we didn't have our fun. We went to parties and did the same old high school shit. As we drove down the familiar road, my excitement grew. I wanted to meet my old friends and neighbours. When I had come out of the closet my neighbours had been particularly supportive. They had even let me stay in their house for a night when I was pissed with my family.

My father had not really taken the news well. He hadn't abused me or shunned me but the disappointment in his eyes couldn't have been clearer. He had tried to take me to a counsellor for therapy but I had blatantly refused. Mother had taken it better. She had been in shock for a couple of days before accepting it fully and even supporting it. Bethany had screamed when she got to know and then jumped around. After that she had proceeded to show me pictures of hot guys on Instagram to figure out my type.

I smiled fondly as I remembered that night when we had stayed up and looked through countless profiles of models and actors. In the end I had come to the conclusion that my type was lean,well built confident guys. Preferably with blond hair and blue eyes.

I looked at Damien out of the corner of my eyes. He was driving and gods did he look sexy doing it. His window was down and the wind was ruffling his blond hair. He had that perfect stubble on his chin and a body that was just right. I quickly averted my eyes before he could catch me staring. Damien was beautiful and I had been aware of it ever since I had realised my sexuality.

Even then I had never thought about being romantically involved with him. Beth was actually convinced that we had a secret thing going on and even my mother felt that we should be together. I had always laughed off their talks about us because it was plain weird to think about me and Damien as anything more than friends. But suddenly everything felt different.

I couldn't exactly pin point what it was but I was much more aware of Damien than I had ever been. I noticed every single thing he did like the way he had looked this morning while fixing us a quick breakfast or how he had wiped his sweat off on a towel and looked incredibly arousing while doing so.

I had almost blushed when our hands had touched when he was helping me with the bags. It felt as if I was seeing him in a whole new way, as if he was suddenly a different person.

I blamed the club incident for my weird behaviour. Had I not seen him like that, all intimidating and erotic, this would never have happened. He would still be my overprotective best friend who worried about me too much.

"Penny for your thoughts?," Damien said while smiling at me. "You have been lost in your own little world for quite some time while your poor friend is getting bored out here. Bad manners Tris."

I just smiled back. If he only knew that all I had been doing was thinking about him. But he didn't need to know that. At least not now.

When we reached my childhood home, we found utter chaos there. It was filled with people I didn't know and there were boxes and flowers and cartons all around. It was a real challenge to find my mom out. I finally found her out in the backyard discussing something with a woman. Her face lit up the moment she saw me. She rushed over and hugged me as tightly as she could. I hugged her back and let myself enjoy the motherly warmth that wafted out of her to me.

"Oh Tris my baby! It's been so long," she exclaimed while kissing my cheeks. "You have grown taller my son. And even lovelier. The guys in Chicago must be falling over their feet trying to get to you."

"Nonsense mom. Tell me how you have been. And who are all these people," I asked. "Oh your sister wanted to have a backyard wedding. These people are from the wedding planners," she explained.

I chuckled. My sister was still a hopeless romantic. She had always wanted a fairy tale wedding with the perfect groom and a starry night above her and she was finally going to get it. My mother and I talked for a while which mostly consisted of her grilling me about my daily routine and complaining that I didn't visit as often as a good son should.

I didn't bother to defend myself. She was right. I hadn't come home in years and probably would have stalled it further if not for the wedding. Somehow the idea of coming home never appealed to me. My parents weren't the reason. They had certainly made mistakes but had tried to rectify them too. After months of not speaking to me, my father had finally come to his senses and had apologised for his behaviour. After that he had tried his hardest to bridge the gap between us.

It wasn't that I didn't appreciate their efforts and care. I did very much. It wasn't even the fact that they weren't there when I needed them the most. The issue had started way before the problem with my sexuality. I had simply felt a disconnect with everyone except Damien, Bethany and a few select people.

My thoughts were interpreted by a high pitched squeal. I recognised it immediately and braced  myself for impact. Moments later I felt someone jump onto my back and hang there like a koala. I huffed under the weight but before I could protest, a wet sloppy kiss was placed on my cheek.

I groaned. "Oh god Beth. Get off. You are crushing my spine. We aren't children anymore."

She didn't get off obviously.

Instead she just held on tighter and kept on kissing my cheeks. I stood there and took the torture like a good little brother while my mother looked on with amused eyes.

She got off after what seemed like an eternity. She was a tall girl with beautiful brown hair and brown eyes like me. It was weird how similar we looked even though we weren't actual siblings. Beth was absolutely breath taking and I had spent countless sleepless nights worrying about her while she was on dates.

"Thank God you are here bro. I was just on the verge of losing it with all this wedding shit. It's exhausting and these planners don't seem to be getting anything right," she complained while glaring at the people around us.

I gave her a sympathetic smile. I knew how hard it was to please Beth. She had the most unusual tastes and was a perfectionist. These planners were in for a rough time for sure.

I spent majority of the day helping Beth. She would scream at the poor workers and I would be there to reassure them and guide them after that. I barely saw Damien and I assumed that he had gone to meet his own parents.

Amongst the whole pandemonium going on around me, I completely forgot about my problems.

Until my phone beeped with a text. It was a simple "Hello" yet it made my knees tremble and my heartbeat rise. The room suddenly felt a few degrees colder as I reread the simple word. It was from an unknown number but I had a damn good idea about who it belonged to.