Andrei’s head snapped around and he glared at Lucas. “I’m not a coward.”
“I didn’t mean—” The knocking continued, cutting off Lucas.
Surging back to his feet, Andrei snatched up a T-shirt and pulled it on before walking to the bedroom door. He paused, his hand on the doorknob, but he didn’t look back at Lucas as he spoke, “You can stay in here or you can leave. It’s cool either way. You don’t have to stick around for this. We can catch up later.” And then he disappeared down the hall, his heavy footsteps echoing through the small apartment.
For a heartbeat, Lucas considered it as he stared at the vacant doorway. This…this thing he’d started with Andrei was just supposed to be about sex. Nothing too heavy. Nothing too serious that felt like the smothering weight of a relationship. Nothing that involved parents. It was just laughs and sex.
But that was a lie and he knew it. Fuck, they’d both known they were lying to themselves as soon as the words had been spoken just weeks ago. Yet, they’d said it anyway because it had made it less overwhelming and suffocating.
Lucas wasn’t leaving. There was no way in hell Andrei would be left to do this alone. How many of these moments had he witnessed or heard about from someone where it all went bad? Too fucking many. His own family had blessed him with general indifference and disappointment when he’d told them. Yes, his father had looked at him in disgust and simply walked away. His mother had shaken her head and muttered something about it being a phase. No love. No support. No, “Do you want to talk about it?” from either of them.
Of course, he’d gotten off lucky in comparison to his friends Snow and Ian.
But even putting the dating thing aside, it wasn’t just the fucking. He wanted them to be friends as well. He wanted Andrei to look at him as someone he could always rely on.
Quickly pulling on his clothes from the night before, Lucas silently cursed to himself. Everything was wrinkled, but at least nothing was torn this time. He’d had a business meeting for dinner on Saturday night. After it was finished, he’d driven straight to Andrei’s, not bothering to change from the dark charcoal suit with the matching black button-down shirt.
Was this too dark to meet parents in? Ian had complained to him on numerous occasions that he needed to stop wearing so many dark clothes. Now every comment was bouncing through his head, leaving him wishing, not for the first time, that he’d paid more attention to Ian’s advice. What kind of an impression was he making? Why the hell hadn’t he started leaving at least one change of clothes in Andrei’s closet? What the hell did you wear to meet your boyfriend’s parents?
The word sent a chill into the pit of Lucas’s stomach as soon as it crossed his mind and his knees threatened to give out. Lucas stopped and heavily sat on the bed, trying to force air back into his lungs. Boyfriend. He’d never had one before. He’d never let anyone close enough. But Andrei was worth the risk. Those damn eyes, that laugh, the flashes of temper—he wanted all of that and more. He wanted to be there for Andrei in the difficult moments and this could very easily be one.
Slipping on his Italian leather loafers, Lucas had just finished rolling his sleeves above his elbows when he walked down the short hall to see Andrei letting in an older couple. The woman was short and slender with hair as black as midnight, while she was followed by a man the same height as Andrei. His hair was cut short and was likely to have been as black as his wife’s, but it was now liberally sprinkled with gray. Lucas forced a smile.
“I’m sorry, Andrei. I didn’t realize you were expecting company,” he announced, stepping to the edge of the living room. All heads popped up and instantly swung in his direction. Two pairs of dark eyes assessed him, while Andrei gave a look that Lucas couldn’t quite understand. Warning? Surprise?
“Oh, he wasn’t expecting us,” the woman said with a grin as she crossed to him. “We’ve learned that if we tell him we’re coming into town, he suddenly has to work.” She extended her small hand to Lucas. “Sonja Hadeon, Andrei’s mother. This is Andrei’s father, Milos.”
“A pleasure to meet you both,” Lucas said, shaking both their hands. “Lucas Vallois.”
“Are you friends with my son?”
“Mom!” Andrei interjected before Lucas could draw a breath. “Leave him alone. He was just about to leave.”
“No, I wasn’t,” Lucas contradicted.
Andrei’s frantic gaze jumped back to Lucas. He looked like he wanted to run out the front door. “Are you sure?” Those three words were almost a whisper, but Lucas couldn’t miss the hope filling them. It took all of Lucas’s restraint not to walk right over and kiss Andrei in front of his parents. It would have settled the entire, “how to tell them” dilemma, but wouldn’t have made things better.