His father stalked within half a foot of his chest, yelling his anger in Dallas’s face. He was sure the entire neighborhood had to be at their front windows to see what was causing all this ruckus.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Dad.”
His mother had finally made it to his side, tearing the newspaper from his hand. She turned it over, sticking it in his face, but he’d learned years ago to never look away from his father. The unexpected hits hurt the worst.
“Please, let’s go inside. Andy, don’t do this out here. He’s our son.”
“I wanna see him deny it.” His father’s finger pointed in his face. “Goddamn you.”
“You’ll embarrass him.” His mother broke into tears.
“I don’t care. He’s fuckin’ embarrassed me for the whole goddamn city to see.” Only then did Dallas quickly venture a look at the newspaper. The headline read, “Thank You Grand Prairie For A Year To Remember.” The advertisement was placed by the Boys & Girls Club.
The loud pounding of his heart drowned anything more being said. There was a picture of him with Greer. Greer leaned over his shoulder, whispering in Dallas’s ear. The caption read, “March’s highlight: the highest bid—Greer Lockhart outbid the room for a date with crowd favorite, Dallas Reigns.” He hadn’t even realized someone had taken their picture. The night that Greer bid on him seemed like so long ago now.
His stomach churned, his lungs seized, refusing to draw in oxygen. He was left dizzy and unsure. How had he never considered something like this happening?
Luckily, a settling of relief calmed him as he thought of a life with Greer. His lungs relaxed, allowing him to take a much-needed breath before he passed out. One step down, another to go. He no longer had to fear how his parents would take his coming out. They had done exactly as he had expected.
His father’s mouth was moving, his mother stood between them, and he didn’t care in the least. His foundation of strength was unshakeable. Greer had been the one to give him such a sturdy base. He spoke loudly, drawing both his mother and father’s attention.
“I guess this makes the reason why I’m here a little easier to say. I’m getting married on Saturday morning. I’d like you two to attend. It’s a small service at Greer’s home—”
“You’re what?” his father burst out, advancing on him. Dallas had no choice but to move back several steps and start for the car’s door. He knew that look in his old man’s eyes, fists would be flying soon. Dallas refused to lower himself to fighting with his father. Hell, this was already too much for a Thursday morning.
“I had hoped for a reasonable conversation.” Dallas reached for the car door, pushing it open as a barrier between him and his father. “I found love. I love him, and he loves me. We’re getting married Saturday morning. We want children and a family. If you can see past all your hatred, then we’d like you to be there. If not, that’s your choice.”
At this rate, if his father didn’t calm down, he’d have a heart attack right there in the street. His face was as red as he’d ever seen. It was time to go. Dallas dropped down in the driver’s side seat and shut the door.
He tossed his cell phone in the cubby and started the engine. His mother stood on the sidewalk openly weeping. That might have been the hardest part of it all. Dallas dropped the gear shift into reverse then the car gave an awful cracking sound and began to rock. His father’s heavy fist slammed down on top of the hood.
Thank God, he hadn’t driven his new baby. Within seconds, he stepped on the gas, peeling out as he shot backward down the street. His gaze stayed focused in the rearview mirror until he could back into a driveway. He quickly shifted gears and headed out of the neighborhood the same way he’d come in.
He only looked back once. His angry, tantrum throwing father was having a full-on fit in the street, stomping on the newspaper. His mother had turned away, heading back inside the house.
An earsplitting whistle had Dallas looking down at the cell phone in his cubby. He picked it up, taking the curve out onto the main road.
Oh hell. Greer was still on the phone. He had to have heard it all.
“Dallas, talk to me.”
Dammit. He quickly lifted the phone to his ear. “Hey. I’m sorry you had to hear all that.”
“Are you okay?” Greer asked in his hard-edged tone.
“Yeah.” Weirdly, he was. He somehow felt in the midst of it all that everything was going to be okay. All his new shields had fallen easily into place, protecting him from such intense hate. There was so much adrenaline flowing through his veins, he felt almost invincible. The dread and oppressive weight he’d shouldered for most of his life had vanished.