For the past couple of months, all I could think about was kissing Alex again. But instead of Alex's sweet tongue and lips, I was exchanging spit that tasted like salmon and grain.
"Ugh! Lily," I called for my sister as I pushed her excited Jackshund, King, off my bed. Grabbing a handful of tissues to scrape my tongue clean, I yelled again, "Lil―!"
Her brown, matted, loose curls swung into my doorway. "King, there you are!" She scooped him up in her arms and kissed his blind eye. No one had mentioned Lily getting a dog for her tenth birthday, so coming home to a hairy brown lump curled up on my pillow was surprising, to say the least.
"I can't believe I made out with a dog."
"Alex is coming home today!"
I couldn't help but smile. "I know." I'd been counting the days, hours, and minutes. Except just now when I was napping. The excitement had kept me up all night so I decided to take a power nap after receiving his text that he was on the road.
"What time?"
"He left at 10, so after noon?"
Lily tilted her head. "It's 1?"
"What?!" I leapt out of bed, scrambling to get on my shoes, find my phone, run down the stairs, run back up to brush my teeth, then dash back down to the living room.
"Mom! Dad! Why didn't you wake me up?!"
They were in the kitchen, setting the table with vegetable and fruit trays. Or, Dad was. My mom was eating.
She snapped a carrot in half with her teeth. "Because you're a grown man?"
"Alex is coming!"
My dad let out a silent sigh but smiled. "He'll get here when he gets here, Liam. He, Crista, and Rosa will be right over as soon as they're ready."
What was he doing? It didn't even take two and a half hours to get to London from Toronto.
I marched past Lily and King to the front door and stepped outside into the cool April breeze. It was sunny and warm. What a great day. Any second now, I'd spot Alex's figure coming down the block, making it even better.
"Liam." Lily peeked her head out the door. "Mom said to help her set up the food."
I could feel my mouth twitch. "Coming," I said through clenched teeth.
Lily popped back in. "Mom! Liam doesn't want to!"
That sweet, innocent girl would get me into trouble. "I'm coming!" I called, opening the door and stepping back in.
I looked over the table. Fruit, veggies, homemade pizza, and Dominican habichuelas con dulce for dessert. A weird set up if you asked me.
"Alex!" my mom's voice called at the same time King started barking excitedly.
The Camejos entered the house as if it were their own and we rushed to the door to greet them. I made sure to rush faster than everyone else.
There he was, looking even better in person than he did through Facetime and very pounceable. He was smiling, ready to greet my parents but I managed to get to him first.
"Alex," I grabbed his hand, "come to my room. We need to talk."
His smile turned tense as he glanced at my parents. "I haven't greet―"
"We'll be right back!"
I pulled him towards the stairs, not bothering with everyone's confused faces.
"Liam, what's this about?" he whispered once we were upstairs and out of earshot.
I led him into my room and closed the door. As I backed him against it, his question was answered when I put my mouth on his. Just as sweet as I remembered.
His lips moved away a bit as his knees went weak, so I supported him by pinning my thigh between his legs.
"Li―" He whimpered and my body reacted. I wanted more, but coming back downstairs after going any further would raise a lot of questions. Or, maybe, end them. Just as bad.
As we broke away, Alex fidgeted his legs and adjusted his pants. "Why are you so horny?" He wiped his mouth dry from our rough kissing.
"I haven't seen you in two months."
"Just two."
How did he not get it? That long ago is when I realized how I felt about him, only to have to leave a day later.
"So," he beamed and took my hands, rocking forward, "are you ready?"
"Ready for what?"
"To tell them!"
I only needed to think about that for a second. "No."
My boyfriend's smile fell. "What do you mean? We talked about this. We said we would tell them once we were both home."
"Mmnnnn...." I hummed, stalling.
Rolling his eyes, Alex dropped my hands. "Why?"
"Do we have to?"
"Why wouldn't we?!" He was clearly upset. Always so expressive. I loved that about him. "Liam?"
"Can't you tell your mom and she can tell my parents?"
Alex shook his head gently and gave a short sigh. "Liam, I don't get it. Talk to me. What's going through your mind?"
This was also Alex, ever since we made up that Christmas a year and a half ago, since I told him what I'd been through while we were apart---concerned, eager to understand, supportive. "I don't know... I don't want to see their reactions."
"They'll be supportive." He was confident and for good reason.
"I know. That's not the problem." A deep breath organized my thoughts. "I've been telling them I'm straight and only liked you as a friend since we were kids. It's embarrassing."
"Liam." Rolling his eyes, Alex smirked. "That's, like, the story of almost every queer kid."
"I'm not a kid anymore, though. I'm an adult."
"Still! There are adults that come out too. Middle-aged people. Elderly people!"
"Can't we just let them figure it out themselves? Why do we have to make a big deal out of it? Like announcing or whatever?" I glanced around my room, only just realizing it was his first time inside since eighth grade. Suddenly, it was embarrassing that it hadn't changed a bit, other than the larger bed I'd gotten in high school. Even my Harry Potter posters were still on the walls.
"They're our family."
I looked away from Daniel Radcliffe back to Alex. "That's what I mean! I feel like they'll bake a cake or something. Like they've been waiting, and I just hate it. My mom. It's my mom. My dad would probably be cool but she's..."
Alex nodded. "Well, she is..."
"Her," we said at the same time.
"But that's even more reason why we should just tell them." He squeezed my hands, gaze reassuring. I loved his brown eyes. "If we're nonchalant about it, they'll be nonchalant. We'll just come out with it and not give them time to..." he looked off, thinking of the right words, "build up anything."
I pictured it: 'Hey, everyone. Alex and I are dating. Are we eating now?' There was no way I could see that going down without gasps, random Spanish, and squealing. "Ugh, Alex." I hugged him, leaning my head on his shoulder.
He patted my back. "We don't have to do it right this second, okay? We'll pick the perfect time so that it goes smoothly."
I loved him so much. "Let's wait until after your graduation ceremony. When we have our own place and can kick the loud ones out." Though I still probably wouldn't be ready in two months.
"That reminds me," he pulled away to give me a look of disbelief that was strangely familiar, "are you really not going to your convocation?"
Not him too. My parents had been nagging me about it since March. "It's such a waste of time and money." Besides, I never wanted to return to Ottawa again. I didn't have many good memories there.
"¡Liam Angel Santos y Alejandro Cristóbal Camejo!" Tía Rosa's voice. It was followed up by everyone telling her to calm down and not exert herself.
"We're in trouble," I said.
"It's your fault." Alex jabbed a finger at me and opened the door. "We're coming!" I pecked him on the neck before he shot me a warning look then jogged downstairs. He looked so cute in his dark red jeans. Did he always have a cute butt? How did I not notice it in high school?
As we came into view of everyone in the kitchen, I knew I'd already messed up. They were all watching us suspiciously.
"Hello, Liam," my mother said with her arms crossed.
"Hi, Mom. It's been a while," I joked though she was clearly not amused.
"Honestly." She popped an eyebrow.
"¡Ay! Sit down, everyone!" the peacemaking elder said. "I'm starving."
"Tía, your throat is raspy," Alex noted as he sat adjacent to her, brows knit. "You shouldn't have yelled like that."
"Shush! Running off like that, you two. So rude." Still, she took a sip of water. I realized I hadn't greeted them so stood up to hug Tía Rosa. "Sit down!" she snapped.
Alex's foot kicked mine under the table.
"Don't be mad at Liam, Tía!" Lily said. "He was waiting for Alex all day!"
Alex smiled his cute embarrassed, dimpled smile and my mind went blank as I found myself leaning towards him.
"LIAM!" my usually calm dad boomed, shooting up from his chair. "Have some decency!"
I removed my tongue from Alex's mouth and fingers from his chin, allowing him to bury his face in his hands. "Mr. Santos, I'm so sorry," he apologized on my behalf.
"Uh..."
My mother's face was blank, Mama Camejo's red and serious along with my father's, Lily's curious, and Tía's confused.
"What happened?" Tía Rosa asked. "What did I miss?"
My dad cleared his throat and sat back down. "I'm happy for you two," he remarked, absentmindedly pouring the entire container of ranch dip on his plate. "But please, keep it PG in public. Not to mention there's a child at the table."
My mom was glaring at me for some reason. Maybe because I didn't tell her? Alex was holding his pizza slice with a trembling hand and moist eyes as his mother looked off thoughtfully.
Lily blinked and tilted her head, looking totally perplexed and weirded out as her button nose wrinkled. "Why did you lick his tongue?"