Age Gap Romance by Penny Wylder
12
Leigh is standing in the door, and the look on her face is one of disgust and triumph. The door behind her is open, and I see at least two members of my family looking out. Brad appears behind her, his face livid. “Don’t just walk away from me into my house, Leigh.” Then he sees me, us, and my stomach plummets into an anxious free fall. There’s no mistaking the way Trevor and I are wrapped around each other.
Brad stops, all the anger draining out of his face to be replaced by surprise and confusion. Trevor carefully extricates his arms from around me, pulls me to my feet. Pulls me towards the house. He’s right. If this is going to happen, it should happen inside. I hear Leigh laughing under her breath as I pass. Brad closes the door behind all of us and I take off my coat, take Trevor’s too. Everyone is completely silent.
Until Leigh says, “Well, I guess things look a little different now, don’t they Brad? You call me a liar, but it looks like I’m not the only one. At least my lie was small, nothing like mommy dearest lying about fucking your best friend.”
I hear the hushed whispers of June as she sends the twins upstairs. I don’t look to see if they go.
“Is it true?” Brad asks.
I swallow, trying to find my voice. That nervous pit at the base of my stomach has turned into a chasm. “Yes.” I pause, not knowing how to phrase it. I don’t want to put it as crudely as Leigh did. It feels like more than just that. “We’ve been…seeing each other.”
Anna’s voice: “Oh, Stella.” I can hear the disapproval and the shame. I look at Maria, and the same look is on her face. Bradley refuses to meet my eyes. Inside, I’m warring at myself, furious at them for being ashamed of this—something that they wanted, and also sick with shame because I knew this would happen.
“How long?” Brad asks, and I can’t get a read on what he’s feeling.
“Just since you’ve been home.”
Leigh laughs viciously. “The truth hurts, Brad. Not even your own mother wants you to be the only man in her life.”
“What the hell is wrong with you, Leigh?” That’s Trevor’s voice. I look up to find his face dark with anger. “What makes you think that this is even remotely the same as what you did to Brad? Should I tell the rest of the house?” He gestures to everyone else. “I guess I will, since you seem to think that this is your business. Leigh cheated on Brad. Not only did she cheat on Brad, she cheated on him multiple times, and every time she came back and was sorry. She swore it would never happen again. And because Brad is a good guy, he gave her another chance. But when he finally caught her fucking not one, not two, but three guys at a party, I guess even Brad had enough.”
He turns back to Leigh. “So when you come here on a high horse you haven’t earned, demanding to speak to him, telling him to take you back, don’t you see how ridiculous you look? And on top of that, to insult Stella and use the relationship we have to make yourself look better in comparison? You make me sick.” He’s addressing the whole room now. “Stella and I are both adults. We enjoy each other’s company. We make each other happy. You,” he points at my siblings, “haven’t stopped telling her that you wanted her to be with someone. I’ve only been here a week and I’ve heard you say it at least ten times. Now you find out she is with someone, and you don’t like it because there’s an age difference…” He shakes his head. “If we’re both happy why does it matter to anyone else?”
There’s a warmth in my chest as I look at him, and I realize that even though my family is looking at me with shame, I don’t feel it. I’m not ashamed with being with him. Trevor crosses the dining room to me, and takes my hand. He presses a kiss to my lips, soft and chaste, and it feels amazing to not be hiding that.
Leigh gives Trevor a withering look. “Nice speech, asshole. You know as well as I do I’m the best thing that ever happened to Brad, and he needs me. So don’t tell me I’m a terrible person when you’re the one getting your rocks off with an old woman.”
“That is enough.” Brad’s voice cuts through the air. “Leigh, I want you to leave.”
“What? Why?”
Brad huffs a humorless laugh. “It’s the fact that you even have to ask why. You forced your way into my home, insulted my mother, insulted my best friend. You cheated on me, and treated me terribly. We are not, nor were we going to, get back together. You interrupted—and ruined—a day that was supposed to be for my family. So will you please, get the hell out of my house?”
Leigh looks around at everyone. If she’s hoping for some kind of support, she doesn’t get it. She stalks towards the front door, rage written in every line of her body. “Leigh,” Brad calls to her, and she turns back. “Don’t even think about trying to use this against me at school. My mother is a better woman than you’ll ever be. She deserves to be happy, and if Trevor makes her happy, then I’m all for it. I’ll have strong words for whoever ‘happens’ to hear otherwise.”
The slam of the front door echoes loudly through the house.
Brad turns to us, and I feel a bubble of hope rise up. It’s so fragile, and I don’t really want to say anything in case it breaks, but I have to know. “You’re okay with it?” I ask softly.
He gives me a lopsided smile. “It’s a little weird,” he says, “but I know how good he is. If this is what you want, why would I be mad about that?”
I reach out and pull him into me for a hug. “Thank you.”
He pulls away and looks at Trevor. “If you hurt my mom, you know what’s coming for you.”
“I do.” Trevor laughs, the sound releasing the tension that was in the air. He takes my hand in his again, and I feel the touch through my whole body.
I look towards my siblings, and none of them seem to know what to say. Finally, Bradley clears his throat. “You know, this isn’t exactly what we meant.”
“I know.” I say, “but it’s happening. Please try to accept that. Be happy for me.”
Anna comes over, holding her stomach. “We are, sweetie. We just…it’s a little non-traditional.”
“Well,” I shrug, “there hasn’t been much in my life that’s traditional anyway.”
Brad claps his hands together. “After all that, I think I’m ready for some dessert. What do you guys think?”
“I’m all for that,” Maria says, and the spell breaks. Everyone falls back into their roles, trying to make things normal. Or at least a new version of normal.
Brad says to Trevor, “So I guess you haven’t been sleeping on the couch, have you?”
“Do you really want to know?” Trevor asks.
“Good point.”
Brad finds a Christmas movie for us to watch and we all go back into the living room with various desserts. Pie, ice cream, brownies. This time though, Trevor and I sit together. I sit on the end of the couch, and he sits next to me. I kick off my shoes and tuck my legs over his, grinning like an idiot to be doing something so normal. I lean on his shoulder after finishing my dessert, and I ignore the little looks that everyone keeps giving us. They don’t matter.
Later, after Maria and Anna are gone, and the rest of the family is packing to leave in the morning, the three of us are left in the living room.
Trevor is the one who speaks first. “You sure you’re fine with this, Brad?”
Brad looks a little uncomfortable. “Yeah. I think I will be okay once I get used to it. I mean, if you had asked if you could date my mom, I probably wouldn’t have said yes.” I laugh, but he goes on. “But I’ll be okay with it. Besides, if I need it, I already have all the blackmail I need.”
“Thanks man,” Trevor says.
Brad stands, stretching. “I’m going to bed. See you guys in the morning.” He starts to walk up the stairs and stops. “For the record, Trevor, if you two get married, I’m not calling you dad.” He disappears before either of us can say anything.
We sit in silence for a while, just enjoying sitting together without worrying about someone walking in on us.
“So,” Trevor says, “now that people know, does that mean I can make you scream when we’re not alone?”
“I think I’d still like to spare everyone that embarrassment.”
He sighs. “Fine. But I’m still going to try.” He picks me up and carries me into my bedroom, kissing me before the door has even shut behind us.
