We make it through dinner ok.
I avoid Tanks' eyes. I turn up the charm with the Kemptons and compliment his mom's amazingly over-cheesed cooking. It was amazing these people weren't overweight the way they ate. We had a turkey with some kind of potato casserole and bread, lots of bread. Everyone drank kool-aid or milk. They pray and sing a little song about the savior before eating. It's so weird, but mom seems into it.
One thing becomes increasingly obvious throughout the dinner, Tank's parents have no idea their son likes boys. They talk about him making the baseball team and being too shy with the cheerleader assigned to him as his "pep sponsor."
"He gets so awkward around Jessica! It's adorable! She had a crush on Gideon during his senior year when she was a freshman, but she seems just as smitten with Talmadge! She made him the biggest poster for homecoming! She covered his locker in blue and white tank cutouts. Then wrote 'Blow 'em away, Tank!'" his mom tells us with a hearty laugh.
"He still has it on his closet door!" his dad adds.
I laugh at the irony of Tank having "blow 'em away" on his closet door. I decide it would be a thought best kept to myself.
"A ladies man!" I whisper to Tank as he's turning beet red.
"Not him. He's focused. Sports and grades. Two more years and he'll be coasting into BYU with a full ride," his dad corrects.
"Hayden will be at USC! The marching band is legendary and his grades will get him in!" Mom can't help but brag. It's what parents do.
"You play an instrument?" Tank sits up like a meerkat and his blushing cheeks fade to pink.
"Flute! But also guitar. It's just kinda hard to march with a guitar," I say.
"And he sings! He is so talented," mom goes on. She is the ultimate sales rep when it comes to bragging about me.
"I'd love to hear! There's a sign up for art nights at the teen center! You should totally do it!" Tank raises his excitement level past the acceptable limit.
"That's a fine idea! It's open to non LDS kids too," his mom says.
"That would be a good way to make some new friends," my mom adds.
After dinner, Tank invites me to see his room. I wanted so badly to go with him, to see where the angel boy rested his perfect little body, but I knew better.
"I think mom's had a long day. We should probably get going soon," I say and Tank looks confused. I turn to mom and she nods with appreciation.
"Mr. Baird says you've really gone above and beyond at the store! You always gave a hundred percent, Lisa!" Mrs. Kempton says with genuine appreciation.
"You too, Syb! I mean just look at this house and these kids. You really got everything you wanted!" Mom coos back.
"We've been blessed," Mr Kempton corrects. "Heavenly father has been good to us." He squeezes his wife's shoulder and she looks like she's about to cry from joy.
We exchange more overly sugared pleasantries before mom and I take our leave for the evening. She puts her hand on my shoulder the way she does when she's proud of me. I didn't embarrass her.
+++
"Should we talk about this?" she asks in the car when we are safely down the street.
"No need, mom. He's off limits. Don't worry. I just, I can't. No dating Tank for me." I waive my hands like I'm trying to land a plane.
YOU ARE READING
Hayden's Shelter
Teen Fiction[BoyXBoy] - Not-Quite-16 year old Hayden Davis finds himself seeking shelter in the Arizona desert with his mom after his dad's deportation and the fall of the Orange County business Empire his parents had built. He's working with his mom to get th...
