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Mum and Dad just…stared. For a second Leo thought they’d broken them, but then Mum whirred into action again.
“Leo,” she said. “No, I’m sorry—Tristan, was it? Tristan. My husband and I are very progressive, but I’m afraid you simply cannot—you cannot—we give to charities, you know! For gays. And dogs, too.”
“Oh, how lovely,” Tristan said. His eyes sparkled as he linked his arm through Leo’s. “Perhaps you can send me a collar?”
“Shall we go in?” Leo said brightly. “It’s unseemly to linger on the footpath— or so I’ve been told.”
This was already the best night of his life.
The doorman cleared his throat as he took Leo’s tickets and looked Tristan up and down. For a moment Leo thought he’d be a problem, but Tristan winked at him, and the guy fought down an obvious smile and opened the door for them.
“Leo!” Mum called, sounding desperate. “Leo!”
But they were already inside.
People stopped and stared in the foyer as they made their way up the wide staircase, but Leo barely even noticed. Well, that was a lie. He noticed, but he simply didn’t care. What did it matter if they stared? Let them look. Tristan was amazing and beautiful, and he was on Leo’s arm.
“Doing okay there, babe?” Tristan asked him as they ascended.
“You look beautiful.”
“Aw.” Tristan planted a kiss on his cheek. “And you look super-hot in that suit. Ravish me in the toilets later?”
A man coming down the stairs almost stumbled.
“I would love to,” Leo said. His cheeks ached from how widely he was grinning, and he wondered if this was how Uncle Jimmy had felt when he’d broken all the rules of what was supposedly right and proper. If it was, Leo suddenly understood why he’d done it his whole life, because this was amazing. He was right at the top of a roller coaster—roller coasters didn’t scare the crap out of him for the purposes of this analogy, not like in real life—and the ride was only going to get better.
Huh. Maybe he should actually try a real-life roller coaster at some point. He might hate it, but at least he would have tried it. And he might even surprise himself and have the time of his life.
Maybe Tristan was his roller coaster. He was certainly something special, anyway.
They reached the top of the stairs. Leo hesitated, not sure which way to go, but Tristan breezed forward, saying, “The function room’s to the left, babe,” and Leo allowed himself to be led.
They found their table and settled in. There was an older man already seated. He raised his eyebrows at Tristan, then gave him a broad smile and extended a hand to Leo. “Steve,” he said. “Pleased to meet you.”
“Leo. And this is my boyfriend, Tristan,” Leo added pointedly. Just because Tristan was acting like a Bad Boyfriend didn’t mean it gave this guy a free pass to ignore him.
Tristan waggled his fingers in a tiny wave.
“Tristan and I have met before,” Steve said, and Leo could have sworn the look he gave Tristan was fond. Which—fuck, were they sitting with one of Tristan’s past hook-ups? Not that it mattered, he reminded himself. Statistically, it was bound to happen sooner or later. It was just that this guy didn’t seem like Tristan’s type, despite his silver-fox vibe.
Mum bustled over to the table, Dad in tow. “Leo!” she exclaimed, clutching Leo’s wrist. “I insist that your friend leave!”
“Mum,” he said firmly, “don’t make a scene.” It felt good to throw that back in her face. He’d been hearing it for years. “And Tristan isn’t my friend. He’s my boyfriend.”
“But-but—” She paused for a second, then said triumphantly, “He can’t stay! He’s breaching the dress code!”
Leo’s mouth dropped open. Really? She was resorting to the dress code?
“Technically,” Steve said—and since when did he have a stake in this?—“he’s not. He’s in formal wear.” He nodded at Tristan. “And by the way, you look bloody fantastic.”
Mum blinked rapidly at Steve.
“I, ah, why don’t we sit down?” Dad asked awkwardly.
Mum sounded almost tearful. “But people are going to see!”
Dad sat down and gestured for a waiter with a tray of champagne glasses. “Line them up here, thanks.”
