Chapter 28

“Open the door, Amber!” She said for the third time.

“Wait!” I also said for the 3rd time.

“It’s hot out here!” She whined.

“It’ll be much hotter when you go in because I’m here,” I muttered to myself, tying my hair.

“I heard that!” She said, sounding amused.

She’s been waiting for who knows how long. I wasn’t even aware of the time since I’ve been looking for a cute outfit to wear on our second date. Even if it’s held at home, I wanted to look good. I couldn’t find anything, so I ended up wearing pjs and a plain blue shirt.

I opened the door, seeing Lucy sitting on the porch with her face buried in her hands. She heard the door creak and turned around, looking relieved once she saw that I finally opened the door.

“Thank god. I thought I was gonna grow old and die here waiting for you to let me in.” She handed me a bag of groceries while she took the other inside.

I used my foot to close the door, “You’re overreacting, Luce,”

“I’ve waited for more than fifteen minutes. More than fifteen minutes, Amber. More than fifteen!” She cried, dropping the groceries on the counter top.

Chuckling, I said, “That doesn’t sound too bad,”

“Too bad?! It was so hot outside!” She huffed.

“I’m inside so it’s hotter here,” I shrugged.

She flashed me a mischievous look, smiling from ear to ear. “But this doesn’t sound too bad at all.”

Before I knew what was happening, she pushed me until my back was touching the counter. Her lips met mine all too fast and I made sure that I kissed her back quickly. My hands got a hold on the countertop for support as Lucy leaned her body closer as possible, cupping my cheeks. The kiss was rough and the temperature of the room definitely got way hotter and the tension became thicker.

I pulled my weight off the counter, turning us so now she’s the one who’s leaning against the counter. I gripped her waist and carried her and made her sit on top of the counter.

I felt her tongue lick my lips, I opened my mouth and let our tongues collide with much hunger and craving for each other. Her lips disconnected from mine and found its way to my jaw on the way to my neck, biting a bit harder that I would’ve assumed. I suppressed a moan, but she bit my neck again that made my moan escape.

I knocked the groceries off with my elbow, making our kiss come to a halt. Breathing heavily, I pulled my face away from her to see her panting as well, our cheeks flushed.

“You might be forgetting what I came here for,” She was breathing heavily,

“Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously. I came here to cook, not… This. So keep your hands to yourself since you can’t  control your hormones,”

I scoffed. “Excuse me?! Maybe you should be telling that to yourself? You’re the one who started it!”

“Look at yourself. It looks like you want to put your paws on me,” She wiggled her eyebrows, bitting her lips to stop a grin from forming.

“Wow. Lucy refusing to make out that’s… new,”

She hopped off the countertop and fixed her clothes. “I’m here to learn how to cook. Not learn how to make out on the countertop,”

My eyes rolled at her. “Shut up or I’ll make you.”

“Control your hormones,” She flattened out my top.

“Screw you,”

“Again. Control your hormones,”

I nudged my head towards the set of knives beside the sink. “Just get the knife and the cutting board before I change my mind and not teach you.”

She did what I asked her to do, but not before she pecked my lips. My scowl disappeared and was replaced by a small smile because of the kiss she gave me.

Yes. I am very whipped.

We stopped messing around- more likely I threatened Lucy to not fool around or else I wouldn’t teach her how to make her favorite pasta.

She wanted to learn on her own so I let her be. I only told her the instructions and watched her cook. She wasn’t that hard to teach… You only need to tell her what to do three times before she gets it.

We both agreed to watch a movie while we wait for the sauce to simmer. I put on the movie “My Best Friend’s Wedding”. I put my arm around her as she snuggled close to me, resting her head on the crook of my neck. When the movie started, we put all our attention on the movie. More like I was the only one whose attention was on the movie. I felt her lips grazed on my skin, leaving a trail of kisses from my neck to my collarbones. I closed my eyes, feeling how good it was.

The door bursts open, a gush of wind entered inside, feeling the cold wind against my neck. I heard footsteps coming closer, and it dawned on me that my dad would see our situation right now.

In a panic, I shoved Lucy off the couch and stood up so fast like my ass was on fire. My dad looked at me skeptically, thinking that he might’ve seen what we were doing. Lucy’s head popped from the floor and saw my dad’s reaction.

“Found it!” She announced. “I dropped my ring,”

I shot her a look before making eye contact with my dad who still had this look on his face like he’s figuring something out. “Hey, dad! How’s work?”

He loosened his tie while kicking his shoes off. “Good. The meeting was moved tomorrow that’s why I’m home early,”

“Ah.” That’s all I could say.

“What about you guys? Seems like you’re having a movie marathon. Are you guys enjoying?” He flashed me a wicked smile.

“Dad I-“

“Do you smell something burning?” He sniffed,

Lucy looked at me with wide eyes, “You forgot?!”

Then I remembered that we were cooking pasta, “Shit.”

I ran to the kitchen and saw the sauce boiling, and some of it was overflowing out of the pan. I turned off the stove, removed the lid with my bare hands, not bothering about how hot it was. The sauce didn’t burn that much, thank goodness. I gave it a good stir before pouring it on the pasta.

“Honey, you always have to check your food when you’re cooking,” My dad said as he step foot inside the kitchen

“I know dad,”

“Next time put your focus on the food, okay?”

I stopped what I was doing. Did he know? “Dad…”

“Do you want to talk about something?” He sensed.

I glanced at Lucy to see what she’s doing. She tilted her head, telling me to continue what I wanted to say. I nodded my head and turned my attention back to my dad. “Yeah, I- uh, well… This is harder than I thought,”

And it was really hard for me to tell my dad that I’m gay and that I like Lucy. Questions started to swirl in my mind. What if he doesn’t accept me? But what if he does? Will this change everything? Will it change the way he looks at me?

“Are you and Lucy together?” He slowly asked.

My breath hitched. “Not yet. But uh, we like each other,”

“So that means you’re… Gay?” He slowly dragged the word ‘gay’, trying not to offend me or anything.

“Yes, dad. I am gay,” I muttered, looking away.

“Honey, come here,” He opened his arms wide to give me a hug, which I happily accepted. “I love you, Amber with everything that I have. I don’t care if you’re gay or a lesbian or if they’re the same thing, or whatever you are. My love for you and the way I look at you won’t ever change. Heck, if you wanted to have a sugar daddy, I wouldn’t judge you for it,”

That made me laugh, “Dad.”

“Oh sorry! Sugar mommy, I mean,”

“Dad!” He joined me, laughing as well at his jokes.

“I love you, Amber. So much.”

“I love you too, dad.”

His eyes were soft and comforting. I could see all the love in his eyes. I can feel it. His love for me was out of this world. I was closer with my dad than with mom. I always help my dad when it comes to household chores, and making wood works. We spend a lot of time together just bonding and doing anything we could.

I’m really happy that my dad accepts me for who I am.

“How did you know?” I asked.

“I knew way before, Amber. You used to giggle a lot when you were talking to your classmate back in grade school. And when your mom’s friend and his daughter were here, you giggled. You were grinning so much while you two were talking. And there’s this one time when she told you her crush and you looked sad. I figured since then. I didn’t bother asking you because I wanted you to come up to me and say it yourself,”

“Was I that obvious?”

“Yes.”

“And here I thought you were observant enough, Luce,”

“I didn’t want to assume, Ambs.”

“Now Lucy, please look out for my munchkin here whenever me and my wife are not around,”

Lucy smiled. “I won’t let you down,”

“Good.”

“Hey, dad? What about mom? What will she say about this?”

“I don’t know. We never talked about thi-“

“What do you mean what I’ll say about what?” A voice spoke.

Our heads turned towards her direction. She was standing at the door with her suitcase in her hand. Unlike dad, her eyes weren’t comforting. It was scary to see her eyes narrowed at me. Mom was scary when she’s mad. Even dad is afraid of her.

“Mom, hi,” I said quietly.

“What’s that I heard?”

“Anna-” My dad started to speak, but mom cut him off.

“No, Channing. Let her speak.” She looked at me with fire in her eyes. Something I’ve seen before, but not this bad. “Are you gay?”

I didn’t answer.

“Answer me!” She snapped.

My eyes started to sting, but I bit my lips and tried my best to not let my tears fall. “Yes.”

“I am very disappointed in you, Amber. Very disappointed,“

“Anna,” Dad warned.

“You’re gonna marry a guy, you’re gonna be with a guy. All these years I’ve been waiting for you to get a boyfriend and settle down. I want to see you walk down the aisle while the guy you love is waiting for you. Now, you’ve ruined it all.”

“Mom, I’m sorr-“

“Get out.”

“Anna!”

“Get out of this house, before I make you,”

“I’m so sorry,”

“Don’t say sorry. It’s not your fault, Amber.” My dad comforted, giving me a quick hug.

“Channing, stay out of this,” My mom spat.

“No. She’s my daughter and I’ll defend her in everything. Even when it comes to you,” The softness in his eyes was now placed by something scary. My dad was the scariest among us. He barely gets angry, and when he is, all hell breaks loose. “Lucy, please take Amber with you and let her stay at your place for a while, until I fix this situation,”

Lucy nodded, grabbing my hand and led me out of the house. But before that, she stopped when she passed my mom. “Amber loves you with all her heart. She’s still the same Amber you know and love. Nothing changed just because she likes girls instead of guys.” She faced my dad, “Don’t worry, Channing, I’ll take good care of her,”

Dad managed to smile at us. I looked at my mom one last time before moving. She wasn’t making any eye contact with any of us.

Lucy pulled me to her car, opening the door for me. I said thank you and went in quietly. Staring at my house as we drive away, a tear escaped my eye.

I don’t know how will I be able to go home from now on.