teeth ↣ joshler ✓

24. Dinner

Josh walked into his living room, just getting home from a job interview with a smile on his face.

"Guess who's the newest employee at the movie theater downtown?" He spoke, address his family who had been sitting and watching a movie.

His parents looked up from the TV with bright smile while Jordan grumbled about not being able to hear what was happening. "That's awesome, honey!" His mom spoke happily as his dad shushed Jordan and paused the movie.

"I'm proud of you, son," his dad nodded with a smile.

"They hired me on the spot. They said my interview was really good."

"We should celebrate!" His mom clapped her hands together. "Let's go out for dinner!"

"I can't, I have plans with Rylee—" Jordan began.

"I was actually gonna go see Tyler—" Josh added.

"Nonsense. Invite them to go out with us. Jordan, you and Rylee can ride with us. Josh, you and Tyler can meet us there in your car."

The two Dun brothers looked at each other swallowed. Their significant others had already met their parents but dinner was a whole other story.

Especially when Tyler's diet was... unique.

"Great!" His mom smiled without waiting for them to respond. "We'll shoot for six o'clock!"

---

"You don't even eat food."

"Uh, yeah I do. I can still eat food and enjoy it, it just doesn't give me any nutrients."

"Okay then... Tyler, what if we're the food."

"Stop that!" Tyler turned from where he had been fixing his hair in his mirror. Josh had just gone to his house and was going to leave from there. "I've met your parents and have made small talk. It'll be nice to sit down and get to know them. And I'll finally meet this Rylee girl. I don't see an issue with it."

Josh groaned as he laid on Tyler's bed. "I just don't want anything bad to happen. You're really important to me and I want things to go okay."

Tyler sighed and kissed Josh softly. He pulled back and showed a smile. "It'll be okay. Do you not trust me?"

"No I do I'm just more worried about Jordan."

Tyler let out a laugh. "Understandable."

The two made their way downstairs to leave but Josh noticed Tyler froze when he saw his parents in the living room.

"Hey, bud," his dad nodded. "Why're you dressed all fancy? Who's this?"

Tyler was just in a button up and slacks but Josh's mom has booked dinner at a fancy restaurant for some reason. Something about wanting to properly celebrate. Just more chances to screw up in his opinion.

"Um," Tyler cleared his throat. "This is Josh. He's my boyfriend. I'm gay. We're going to dinner with his family."

Josh didn't know what to do, realizing Tyler had just come out to his family.

His mom nodded. "That's nice, honey. Wonderful to meet you, Josh. Be home whenever."

"Bye you two," his dad added.

Tyler blinked before he smiled and grabbed Josh's hand, leading him out the door and to the driveway.

They got in Josh's car and Tyler let out a breath. "I just came out to my parents and I think they're okay with it."

Josh grabbed his hand and smiled. "I'm proud of you, Ty."

"Thanks," he beamed.

Josh drove them to the restaurant they were meeting his family at and they got there in about fifteen minutes, putting them there a few minutes before six.

When they walked inside the restaurant, they were greeted with a hostess. "Table for two?" She asked.

"Actually we're meeting people here. Dun?"

She nodded and led them to where everyone else was. They were seated at a booth in the corner.

"Hey," Josh greeted, sliding in next to Jordan and letting Tyler take the edge.

"Hi guys," his mom smiled. "It's wonderful to see you again, Tyler."

"You too, Mr. and Mrs. Dun,"

"Please, Bill and Laura," Josh's dad reminded with a smile.

Josh felt something grab his hand and he glanced down to see Tyler lacing their fingers together. He glanced up and saw his boyfriend smiling at him.

"Jordan," Josh saw their mom nudge his arm. "Introduce your girlfriend to Tyler."

"Oh!" Jordan replied. "Tyler, this is Rylee. Rylee, this is Tyler."

"It's nice to meet you," Rylee greeted sweetly.

"You too..." Tyler trailed off, looking like he was trying to place a face with a name. Josh knew Tyler thought her name sounded familiar but watching him try to decipher where he'd seen the face before just emphasized it.

"Can I start you guys off with anything to drink?" The waiter came over, interrupting the confusion that was evident amongst the table.

They all ordered their drinks and food and made small talk while they waited for everything to arrive.

"So, Tyler," Josh's dad began. "Are you involved with anything at school?"

"Uh, yeah," he nodded. "I'm on the basketball team."

"He's really talented," Josh added proudly, smiling when Tyler gave his hand an extra squeeze.

"What about you Rylee?" His mom asked.

"Yeah. I'm a part of choir, volleyball, and tennis but that's all."

"She's also really talented," Jordan pointed out. It was weird for Josh to see him actually care for one of his girlfriends.

They continued to talk for a little bit until their food came and Josh's mom raised her glass.

"To Josh, for finally getting a job," she teased.

"To Josh," everyone chorused, making the mentioned blush.

"I can't wait to pretend to see a movie every three hours to come bother you at work," Tyler whispered in his ear.

Josh shoved him away jokingly but there was a wide smile on his face.

After dinner, Josh got permission to go back over to Tyler's for a little bit which he was happy about.

Once they were in the car, however, Tyler spoke up. "Something about that Rylee girl is weird. The last name was familiar as the face is even more familiar. I've never met her though..."

"Maybe she has a sibling?" Josh suggested as he drove to Tyler's.

"Maybe..." he shrugged. "Eh, doesn't matter. Dinner was nice," he beamed. "Thanks for inviting me."

Josh grinned and intertwined one of his hands with Tyler's over the center console. "Any time."