Page 114 of His Secret

I turn my gaze to find Adrian looking at Martin.

“So, how long have you two been married?” Diane asks Charlotte.

“Oh. Not too long. About two years.”

“That’s damn near still newlyweds,” Diane’s husband says. “We’ve been married for fifteen years. Makes me feel ancient.”

Diane playfully smacks him. “Greg, it’s been sixteen years.”

“Oh.” Greg laughs.

“Any plans for kids?” Diane questions.

Charlotte shifts, looking uncomfortable.

“Not sure,” she says. “Haven't thought much about it.”

“Well, you still have time. Or you can choose to never have them, like we did. Either way, as long as you’re happy.”

Charlotte flattens her lips into a tight smile. “Right. As long as we’re happy.”

“I don’t think I ever want kids,” Martin chimes in from my left. He takes a sip of his drink. “What about you?” he asks me.

“Maybe,” I answer. “One day. Not for another five years or so,” I say with a laugh. “Maybelonger.”

Adrian turns to look at me; there’s an expression on his face that I can’t read.

“Are you married yet?” Leslie asks.

“No,” I reply with a smile. “I guess I need to start there, but even then, the process of having babies would be different for me.” Leslie’s brows knit in confusion. “I’m gay,” I tell her.

“Oh. I have a friend who’s been a surrogate twice. The first pregnancy was for a gay couple, and they all still get together from time to time. She’s been able to watch the baby grow up. That’s definitely an option.”

I nod. “Yeah. We’ll see.”

“Food’s done,” Adrian announces.

Everyone gets up and goes in and out of the house to load their plates with chips, hot dogs, and burgers, and to refill their cups.

We sit outside at the table, and Charlotte chooses to sit next to Diane and across from Leslie, and when I sit at the other end, Martin plops into the seat at my left. Adrian takes the one to my right.

For the next forty minutes or so, we all eat and talk—topics bouncing from one thing to the next, and plenty of cross conversations as well. It’s clear there’s some tension between Adrian and Charlotte. They hardly speak to each other, but they’re putting on friendly faces for everyone else.

“Looks like we’re the only single ones here,” Martin says, nudging me with his elbow.

I incline my head. “Oh, yeah.”

Adrian’s talking to Greg, but I know he hears Martin, because his body goes stiff.

“I don’t know about you,” Martin continues, his voice quiet. “But I’d love to have dinner with you. Just us, you know.”

I turn and look at him, trying to figure out how to respond.

“Oh, hey,” Adrian announces loudly. “I have some corn hole boards. And I should also have this giant beer pong yard game. The buckets are large and you just set them in the grass. We don’t have beer, but it could still be fun.”

Charlotte looks annoyed but quickly hides it when a few people show interest.

“I’ll go grab them. Can you help?” he asks me. “Might need to move a few boxes in the garage.”