Forbidden Love Read Free Page B

She stood in the hallway, hands covering her face. There was no way to unsee what she’d just witnessed. The shock wore off after a minute or two, but the groaning on the other side of the door intensified, so she scuttled away to her own room.
    Robbie was gay.
    It hit her like a football to the face. He’d run away to war, left her there, and somehow he’d turned gay. She wanted to scream.

Lunch with Parents
    "W HERE are the boys?” her dad asked as she sat down. A waiter brushed past the edge of the table, a platter of drinks held at his shoulder. The diner was full of the after-church crowd in their Sunday dresses and bad ties.
    “They were pretty hung-over,” Amanda said. “I didn’t want to wake them up.”
    “You kids had a good night at the bowling alley then?”
    “It was fun. I think Robbie got to see most of the old crew. Where’s mom?”
    “Bathroom. Did they have any girls over? Your mom was worried about that.”
    Amanda shifted in her seat. “Nope. I don’t think Robbie is as interested in Alison as she is in him.”
    “Well, what about Dylan? He’s a fine looking boy. You haven’t been…”
    “No, and if I had, I’d lie about it.” She grinned. “I’m a big girl, daddy. You don’t get to pry into my private life anymore.”
    He harrumphed, but didn’t argue. A waitress came over to the table. She wore a green apron covered in cheap metal buttons. “What can I get you to drink? We have peach Bellinis and our house chardonnay on special for $4.99.”
    “Sprite, please,” Amanda said. The waitress shrugged, popped her gum, left.
    “Well, if you do fool around with him, or anyone, be careful, huh?”
    Her eyebrows scrunched. “Dad. Seriously. I’m a big girl. I’m not a virgin. I’ll be fine.”
    “I don’t know what I missed, but it sounded exciting,” her mother said as she sat across from her.
    “Dad’s giving me the third degree about safe sex.”
    “Ernest, stop. She’s my daughter; that’s my job. Use a condom, dear. I don’t care if you are on the pill. He’s a soldier. There’s no telling what kind of weird Asian hookers he’s been with.”
    “Mom!”
    “Well, I’m serious. You’ll do what you want to do; I’m no fool. Just be safe.” She smiled. “Now, Ernest, did you tell her about the Packers tickets?”
    “Packers tickets?” Amanda said.
    “Lloyd Chalmers at church, you remember Lloyd, right?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Lloyd gave me his tickets to the game tonight in Green Bay. Said Robbie needed ‘em more than he did.”
    “Really? How many?”
    “Four.”
    “I told your dad that he could take you and the boys.” Her mom patted her dad’s arm. “I’ll just go over to Susan’s for the evening. Speaking of the boys, where are they?”
    “Home. Asleep still, probably.”
    “You kids had a late night?”
    “They definitely took advantage of the free drinks. I brought them home around 1:00.”
    “That’s good. They deserve it.”
    Amanda shrugged. It didn’t feel right to lie to her parents. It felt less right to cover for her brother fucking another dude. “So the game is at 7:00, right? What time do we need leave?”
    “I thought we’d go after lunch,” her dad said. “If the boys aren’t awake when we get home, I’m sure they’ll get up for a chance to go to Lambeau.”
    “You’re probably right. I wonder if Dylan has any warm clothes with him?”
    “Robbie can loan him a coat. I was thinking that if they wanted to wear their uniforms we could probably get seats down by the bench.”
    “Ernest, really?” her mother looked appalled.
    “What?”
    “Using those boys for ticket upgrades?”
    “No, it’s not like that. Amanda, help me out here.”
    “He’s right. The NFL is big on veterans. It’s free advertising.”
    “You’re both terrible, you know.” Her mother took a sip of her tea. “But I hope you have a good time, anyway.”
    “I’m sure we will,” her dad said.
    The waitress returned with a stack of appetizer