Chapter 12 The Song of Three Hours #2
The booths were still there, but they were covered with new, black leather. The metal tables had been replaced with modern white oak ones that matched the new wooden floor. Plants of all sizes framed the seating areas, providing privacy and giving the diner a lively, homey feel.
She guided us to a booth in the back corner, hidden behind two enormous monstera plants.
It could easily fit a group twice our size, but since the restaurant wasn’t crowded, I understood why she gave it to us.
From there, we could overlook the entire valley and enjoy the best postcard-worthy sunset view the town had to offer.
Mom scooted onto the bench on the left, followed by Dad. I sat opposite her. Alex slid in next to me, though not without leaving some safety distance.
Sienna handed each of us a menu. “Anything I can bring you right now? Water? Any other drinks?”
“Water would be great,” Dad said. “And I’ll have a beer.”
“A glass of red for me,” Mom said, turning her head toward me.
I quickly flipped through the menu, scanning it for drinks. The first thing that stood out to me was something I definitely didn’t expect to find here.
“I’ll try the dragon fruit mojito.”
“I’ll stick with water,” Alex said.
The woman clapped her hands together. “Perfect choice! If you have any questions about the menu, don’t hesitate to ask.” With that, she spun around, her shoulders brushing against the monstera on the right as she strode away.
“This place looks awesome,” I said, craning my neck to catch another glance at the interior.
“Hopefully, it will pay off,” Dad said. “But only time will tell. They worked really fast. They were only closed for a week. I didn’t think they could pull it off.”
We all looked through our menus, searching for something to eat.
They still offered diner classics like all-day breakfast and burgers, but had also added many vegetarian and low-calorie options, as well as a special menu called Seastone Classics, which featured dishes inspired by people who lived here.
I skimmed the list and found a dessert called “Dorian Draper’s Dark Chocolate Cheesecake.”
“Are you kidding me?” I blurted out, forcing the others to look at me. “They named a dish after Grandpa?”
“Yeah,” Dad replied, raising his right eyebrow. “Didn’t you know? They did that two years ago.”
“No one even mentioned it to me,” I said, but then it hit me.
It must have happened during the year when I didn’t talk to them at all.
So maybe it wasn’t entirely their fault that I didn’t know.
I stared back at my grandpa’s name, then all the other names of elderly people I recognized. “That’s such a lovely idea.”
I didn’t look up for another minute because I didn’t want to get into the topic of my absence again. As if we were all on the same page, no one said anything until the rustling of the monstera plants made us lift our heads.
Sienna balanced a tray of drinks. “There we are,” she cheerfully announced as she placed a glass of water and our respective orders in front of us.
“So, how is everyone today? I see you’re having a minor family reunion?
” She beamed at Alex and me, her gaze shifting back and forth as if she couldn’t quite tell which one of us was the son.
I rested my hand on the table and tapped against the cool glass of water. Mom reached over and placed her hand on mine.
“Sebastian’s staying in Seastone to study for his exams, and since we’re leaving for a vacation, we had to take advantage of tonight.”
“Exams already? Wow,” Sienna gushed.
“It’s still another semester away, but there are lots of topics to get through,” I explained.
“You can never start too early, am I right?” She focused her gaze on Alex. “Just be careful that your boyfriend here doesn’t distract you too much.”
Her words sent a shockwave through the table, causing Alex and me to sit up straighter. Dad choked on his beer. Only Mom chuckled.
“No, that’s Alex,” she said.
“Oh, the young man working for you!” Sienna leaned back, holding her hand to her chest for a second before placing it on Alex’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I shouldn’t have assumed.”
“It’s okay,” he said softly, waving it off. He glanced at me, a slight blush crossing his face, but he instantly averted his gaze as if he feared that alone would give away that she wasn’t so far off.
“Do we have any questions about the menu?” she asked, elegantly sidestepping the confusion she had created.
We all shook our heads. Finally, she took our orders and left us alone. Once she was gone, we shared another moment of silence before bursting into collective laughter.
“Well, if that wasn’t uncomfortable,” Dad announced, raising his glass. “To that, I drink. Cheers.”
We all raised our glasses and took a sip.
“Not to be nosy, but I have to admit I’m a little curious about how things are going on that front,” Mom said, setting her wine glass back down. Her eyes flicked to Alex for a second, then settled on me. “Is there anyone in your life you could see yourself introducing to us one day?”
Out of all the questions she could have asked, I wished she hadn’t picked this one.
For once, I would have loved to tell them everything about my classes and grades.
Hell, I would have even taken a question about my plans for after college (I didn’t have any) and gotten into a huge discussion with Dad about it.
“Well…” My fingers clutched the glass with the purple mocktail inside, my feet tapping lightly but quickly against the floor. “There is someone I like,” I admitted. “But it’s still new, and I think we need a little more time to get to know each other.”
I inconspicuously leaned my left leg toward Alex, brushing our knees together to show him I wasn’t talking about anyone else but him. He stiffened for a second, but then nudged his leg back against mine.
“Sounds lovely. If you ever want to bring someone home, you know you’re always welcome to, yeah?” Mom turned to Dad. “No matter who it is, right?”
“Definitely,” he agreed.
My eyes narrowed at her strange phrasing. Up until now, she had always asked specifically about women. But before I could follow that train of thought, Alex scooted off the bench.
“I’m going to wash my hands before the food comes,” he said, strolling away.
Maybe it was my imagination, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that his reason for leaving wasn’t the one he gave us.
“Really,” Dad said, fixing his eyes on me with the seriousness that always adorned his face. “We’ve had our rough patches, but… we want you to know we’d welcome anyone you want to spend your life with into our home.”
There it was again. He didn’t say “a woman,” he said “anyone.”
My eyes darted between them. Mom kneaded her hands while Dad clutched his beer glass. I shifted in my seat. My legs trembled. Was this something we needed to talk about?
“But take your time,” Dad added, resting his arms on his belly as he stared into the distance. “We’ve rushed too many things in the past already.”
I could’ve asked what exactly he meant by that, but I figured this wasn’t a time for a discussion. Not only had they basically just told me that they already knew I was gay—and that they would support me—but I also couldn’t ignore the feeling that I should check in on Alex.
“Thank you,” I said instead. “I will.”
Dad nodded, and so did I, making it clear that this was a point we both saw eye to eye on.
It didn’t change that I wouldn’t have brought anyone home until recently—not even if it had been a woman—but it was nice to basically have them tell me that they would be fine if I brought home a boyfriend.
Though only time would tell whether they would actually live up to it.
I looked over my shoulder and spotted Alex turning into a small corridor at the other end of the diner.
“You know what, I think I’ll go wash my hands, too, if that’s okay.”
“Good idea,” Dad said, taking another sip of his beer.
Mom and I shared another smile as I climbed out of my seat and hurried through the restaurant. I’d have to be quick if I wanted to catch Alex in private.
A small sign pointed toward the restrooms down the corridor Alex had taken. Wall lights showed me the way to a door in the back with a “Men’s Room” sign next to it.
Inside, I found modern black tiles and a wall-length mirror above a stone sink with three faucets.
Alex stood at the one on the left, letting the water run over his hands.
Our eyes met through the mirror. The soft, indirect light made his eyes sparkle.
Neither of us said anything until the door swung shut behind me.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
He put on a soft smile and shook some water off his hands.“Yeah?” He grabbed three paper towels from the dispenser next to him and rubbed them over his hands. “Oh, did you think I left because of Laura’s question?”
“Just wanted to make sure.” I stepped closer. “You know I meant you when I said there was someone, right?”
He tossed the towels into the bin under the dispenser, but couldn’t hide his grin. “So, I’m not a side chick?”
“Bold of you to assume I have enough time to juggle several relationships at once.” I took another step forward, leaving only inches between us. “And even if I did, I’d dump all of them now. I haven’t met anyone as interesting as you. Ever.”
“Now you’re just trying to sweet-talk me.”
“That doesn’t mean it’s not true.”
Soft ambient music filled the silence for a few seconds, our heartbeats syncing with its slow rhythm. My right hand moved forward, pausing just before it reached his, then carefully tapped his skin. He opened his palm, allowing our fingers to interlace, and as they did, our chests met.
We pressed our lips together in a kiss that began softly but quickly deepened. Our tongues found each other, but as my left hand moved up his back toward his hair, I pulled away.
“We have to stop. One more second, and I’ll rip your clothes off in a way that will be hard to explain to anyone out there,” I panted, staring at the floor tiles. “It’s only what—sixteen more hours?” I looked at him. “Or three, if I sneak into your room tonight?”
“Risky.” Alex swallowed. “Although we didn’t exactly care about the full house last time.”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“Three hours,” he said, rubbing his hands together. “We can survive that.”