Page 34 of Except You
Beau peers over at me, and I shrug. Seems we’re in this and there’s no turning back.
“Hi, Max. I’m Keith, this stinker’s father.”
“Nice to meet you,” I say, and Beau slides his arm through mine.
“It’s past your bedtime,” Beau says to his parents, who just roll their eyes.
“We aren’t dead yet, and we wanted to meet this special man of yours.”
I feel my chest expand at that before remembering that this is all a lie. He’s not my boyfriend. I’m not gay. We’re just friends. Things between us are unusual, but platonic. And yet still, I can’t bring myself to contradict them. I can’t deny this.
I can do a weekend. I can pretend for a weekend.
I lean over and press a kiss to Beau’s head, and he gasps, looking up at me with wide eyes.
“The only one special is Bow-tie.”
His mom positively melts at my comment before clapping her hands. “Okay, let me show you where you’ll be staying. I’m not a prude, so you’ll be sharing Beau’s old room. If you decide to get frisky, just remember the walls are thin.”
“Oh my god, Mom,” Beau says with a sigh. “We aren’t doing anything like that.”
“You don’t need to pretend with us, just be quiet when you do it.”
I feel like I’m going to combust, but before I can go up in flames, his parents lead us inside and down a long hallway. To the right is a bathroom and to the left is an open door leading to Beau’s bedroom.
As soon as I walk in, I can see his personality everywhere—on the walls, on the bed, and even the open closet has clothes I can only see him wearing.
“Lots of boy band posters in here,” I say, and Beau rolls his eyes.
“Yeah. I went through a phase. But to be honest, it’s not really a phase. I still have a whole playlist on my phone that I love.”
“I believe it.”
“I’ll serenade you with it one night. Really woo you, Max.”
“I doubt it, but you can try.”
I set the bags down near the end of the bed and then turn to face Beau. “How’s your stomach? Still stuffed?”
“Yep. Feel like I’m going to explode, but I’ll survive. I usually make these kinds of mistakes.”
He flops down on his bed and sighs. “This is a terrible mattress. Now that I’ve gotten used to yours, I have very high standards. I think I even feel a spring.”
He wriggles around on it, and I watch him with rapt attention. He has slept over a lot. In my bed. Right next to me. More than a platonic male friend should. I know this but do nothing to stop it.
“I can sleep on the floor or the couch,” I say, diverting my eyes from him for a moment.
“Hell no. If I have to sleep on this monstrosity, you do too. And I already saw Doggo claim the couch. He got dibs.”
“This looks like a double bed. You’re gonna be right on top of me.”
Beau uses his elbows to sit up. “I mean, I know I’ve slept over before, but if it bothers you, we can totally sleep apart.”
I roll my lips between my teeth. I should say no to this. I should absolutely not go there. But I just shrug. “It’s fine. It’ll be fine.”
I don’t want his parents to think that we’re arguing or something if they see me sleeping somewhere else. I’d like this weekend to just be smooth and fun. No drama allowed. I’ve had enough of that to last a lifetime.
“Okay, well I’m gonna put on my pajamas and then go down and chat with my parents for a bit before they go to sleep. You want to come with me?”