A Straight Guy's Guide to Being Gay

Chapter 36

When Theo returned home, his mother fussed over his bruised cheek.

"What happened?" she demanded, looking pretty angry.

Theo told her, and by the time he was done, she looked more proud than angry. "You know, I never really liked her, and I can't believe you dated her. Why did you date her?"

Theo gave her a look that said, Why do you think I dated her? She frowned. "I guess I should have known that you and Becky would lose your virginities at some point."

Theo felt alarmed and flinched when his mother pressed an ice pack to his face. "Becky lost her virginity?" Theo blurted.

His mother seemed confused, like she was surprised he hadn't already known, but then it turned into a sad face. "I shouldn't be the one to tell you, Theo. Talk to her. If she's not ready to talk to you then maybe you shouldn't know yet."

Now Theo was the one that was frowning. "Mom, what the hell is going on?"

Before she could answer, Becky walked into the room. She had recovered from the flu, if that was even what it was, and now was only pale and shaky. She searched around in the fridge and almost shrieked when she noticed Theo's face.

"What happened?" she cried.

Theo gave her a brief description of what had happened. "Now, what the hell happened to you?" He knew well from experience that there was a reason people kept secrets, but this was different.

Becky glared at Sally. "You told him?"

She held her hands up, her brown eyes wide. "No! He just wants to know why you were sick and home for two days."

Becky rolled her shoulders back and scratched her hair that was pulled up in a messy bun. "It's not that big of a deal."

Their mother slammed her hand down on the table in frustration. "Like hell it isn't! Becky, stop saying that. It's fucking nonsense."

Now Theo was really freaking out. Whatever it was couldn't be good, and he was starting to come up with the worst possibilities in his mind.

Becky grabbed a jar of peanut butter and a spoon, some color finally going to her cheeks. She was angry. "Seriously, Mom. It's not a big deal." Then she left the kitchen.

Once Theo heard her door slam, he started on his mother. "Mom, what the fuck—"

"Theo!" she scolded, and she grabbed for her glasses and book.

"Sorry," he amended. "What the heck is going on?"

She gave him a defeated look. "If Becky doesn't want you to know, then I'm not going to tell you."

Before he could protest, she got up and left to sit on the couch. Maybe it really wasn't that big of a deal, but Theo was still worried to hell about his sister. She would come around eventually, Becky always did. His stomach felt like it was sinking, though.

He got into bed and didn't bother showering. He could shower in the morning, but right now, he was exhausted. His mind was still reeling from what he and Finn had done, and felt immensely happy. His mother didn't know what they did or that they had fixed the mess between them, so Theo vowed to tell her in the morning. Not the sex part, just everything else.

His eyes fluttered closed and opened what felt like a minute later to the annoying as shit sound of his alarm. The day went by fast, and Theo and Finn were officially back together. To everyone else at school, they were just the same couple who had a fight, broke up, and then made up. What they didn't know was this was their first real relationship. How different could it be?