Chapter 4
Julie groaned as Alex and Reggie looked at her. Reggie looked desperate, but Alex just looked resigned. “Please, Jules. If you don’t help me, then I have to ask Carrie and I would rather not unleash that demon.”
“Isn’t it just dinner?” She asked, exasperated.
“Yeah, at some fancy rich place. My parents go there all the time.” Alex sighed. “They have a dress code and everything.”
“Gross, one of those places?” Julie grimaced. “Okay. What are your options?” Reggie led her to where they put their clothes in his room, she sifted through them, just muttering no under her breath over and over again. “Reggie, do you have sleeved shirts that aren’t flannel?”
“Oh, uh, yeah.” He went back to his closet, pulling out a black dress shirt.
Alex sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, he really was in love with an idiot. “Why didn’t you get that out before?”
Reggie shrugged, “I don’t like the way it fits.” Julie just shook her head, grabbing a pair of red dress pants and handing them to Reggie. She grabbed a skinny red tie he had from his emo days and paired it with the outfit. Then she moved on to Alex, he already had dress clothes set aside, and she chose his black pants and paired them with a blue shirt that offset his eyes but looked nice, and handed him a black tie. She stepped out while they changed, and later if asked, Alex would swear his breath didn’t catch in his throat when he saw the way Reggie’s shirt hugged his body, tight enough to show his toned abdomen but just loose enough that it didn’t restrict his range of motion. When Julie came back in, she rolled the sleeves up on Reggie’ss shirt neatly, so the ends met his forearm just past his elbow, and honestly that sight didn’t help Alex much.
Reggie and Alex met Carrie and Flynn in front of the restaurant, and Carrie nodded as she looked at their outfits. “Nice look, boys. I’m surprised you didn’t need help.”
“Wellllll-“ Alex started, but Reggie rolled his eyes.
“We asked Julie for help. Gotta make a good impression and all that jazz.”
Carrie gave them a soft smile, one she reserved for her real friends, “I really appreciate this, guys. And don’t worry, as much as possible, I’m gonna answer the questions for us, and Flynn will answer for Alex. We haven’t told him anything about you guys yet, so as long as we listen to each other, we’ll be okay.” She turned toward the door, but then immediately turned back, “By the way, Alex, your-“
“My parents are here?” He asked with a sigh. Carrie nodded. “Awesome.” He deadpanned, turning to Flynn, “I hope you’re ready to play this up.”
Flynn grinned, “I got your back. Gay siblings stick together.”
Reggie held the door for the others, and when they were inside, the boys let the girls hook their hands in the crease of their elbow. Carrie led the way to the table, where her father was waiting.
“Hello, sir.” Reggie said with a smile, “You must be Mister Wilson. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Reggie pulled out Carrie’s chair before extending his hand to her father. The man smiled, shaking his hand before motioning for him to sit. Her dad was at one end of the square table, Carrie and Flynn on either side of him, and Alex and Reggie sat across from each other.
“So, this must be Alex.” He said, looking at the blonde boy.
“Oh, yes, my apologies, sir. I was, uh, distracted. Flynn looks so beautiful today.” Carrie’s dad nodded with a smile, and Reggie breathed out a sigh of relief that Alex was able to save himself.
The older man looked at them, “Well, you boys can call me Trevor. Carrie tells me you met at school?”
Carrie faked a sneeze, shaking her head. Reggie cleared his throat, “Uh, no, Trevor. I met Carrie at the park one day when she was rehearsing with her group.” That was the truth. It was a couple years ago now, but it was true. “We didn’t hang out as much back then, she was busy becoming the star she should be.” Carrie gave Reggie a warm smile, and he could tell it was the right answer.
“But you do go to school together?” Trevor raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, we have music and English together.” Carrie answered simply.
Trevor opened his mouth, but a voice spoke over him, “Alexander?” The group turned to see Alex’s parents standing there. “What are you doing here?”
Alex took a deep breath, giving his best fake smile, “I’m having dinner with my girlfriend, Flynn.” Flynn leaned into his shoulder happily. “And this is her best friend, Carrie, and Carrie’s father, Mister Wilson. And you know Reggie.”
“Yes, we do.” They eyed Reggie before turning back to Alex, “Why is he joining you for dinner?”
“Jolene, Wayne, it is nice to see you again.” Trevor smiled, “Reggie is dating my daughter, so I invited the four of them to join me. Would you like to join us as well?” Reggie shifted his eyes from Alex to Flynn, she took the message and squeezed his hand under the table.
“Oh, thank you for the invitation.” Wayne smiled, “But we just finished eating ourselves. We’ll see you at home, son.” Jolene placed a kiss on Alex’s hair and Reggie could tell he was trying to keep himself together. It has been months since they showed him any kind of affection, in public or otherwise, since they started suspecting he was gay.
Trevor cleared his throat, “Well, I didn’t know I knew your parents, Alex. I have done some business with your father, he looks over contracts for our newly signed clients.”
“Yeah, I think he’s mentioned that.” Alex managed to get out, his knee knocking against Reggie’s under the table, like he was making sure he was still there.
The dinner went on like that, only growing more awkward. Carrie and Flynn answered most of the questions until Trevor asked Reggie how he knew he liked Carrie, and for a second Reggie drew a blank, before his mouth outran his brain. “How could I not like someone like that? She’s beautiful. She passionate, and smart. She helps me study when I don’t understand what we learned and never gets genuinely annoyed when my ADHD makes it hard to focus.” His mouth knew enough to replace the pronouns, but everything he was saying was about Alex. “I just...I feel lucky to be around her.”
As soon as the dinner was over and her dad was gone, Reggie ran. He did not need to be there when Alex put the pieces together.