Stone Cold Foxe Read online

  They were the first ones to walk back down the aisle amid applause, grasping their hands. The string quartet sawed sprightly on “Origin of Love” by Mika, while the cello player sang it.

  Van and Sidney followed on their heels. With a whoop, Sidney reached up and tossed her bouquet behind her. It arced upward for a breathless moment…before Jamie startled when it landed in his hands. But it lighted there barely a moment before he tossed it like a hot potato, bouncing into Rodolfo’s arms. He stared at it dumbfounded for a moment before his mouth curved into a smile, and he turned his head shyly toward Philip. Philip’s eyes widened but he said nothing as Rodolfo kissed his cheek, grabbed his arm, and marched triumphally after Jamie and Dave.

  The parents were last and then everyone rose and started making their way down the steps.

  At the bottom of the stairs, Keith and Skyler were alone, but they knew it was fleeting. Keith took the opportunity to grab Skyler and kiss him again. They hugged tight, and Keith whispered in his ear, “We did it. We did it.”

  “We really did. I’m so proud of us.”

  “I’m so grateful.”

  Skyler smiled. “I love you.”

  “I love you…husband.”

  “Oh my God. I’ve got a husband, too!”

  “Break it up, you two,” said Sidney. “There is plenty to do. First, you’ve got to greet your guests in the reception line, then the photographer wants us all again, and then you can party down. But first…” She grabbed Skyler and drew him into a tight embrace. “You did it, my Skyboy. You’re married. Did you ever imagine?”

  “It was like Tamika said—it was love.”

  She moved on to Keith just as Mike swept up with two glasses of champagne. “In the meantime,” he said, “I thought you could both do with a bit of a pick-me-up.”

  “What are you doing?” said Sidney. “They’re not supposed to do that yet.”

  “Sidney, give the guys a break.”

  Keith and Skyler clinked glasses and drank. Boy, was that refreshing! Skyler didn’t realize how dry his throat had become. And tonight, he wanted his throat to be able to do whatever he asked of it.

  Chapter Eleven

  SITTING TOGETHER AT THE HEAD TABLE, SKYLER found he was famished. He dug into his pork loin with relish, and scarfed the many salads decorating his plate. Keith—though not too much of a salad guy—took to them too, especially the crab salad.

  “Skyler, this is delicious. Good food choices, babe.”

  “It is, isn’t it. I’m so glad…”

  The sound of a fork hitting a glass again. He looked across the sparkling room and sure enough, it was Tyrone once more, happily pinging her glass. Her pink wig wasn’t as high as normal—maybe it was her straight crowd wig?—but she was just as glamorous as always. Some of Keith’s cousins had been hovering around her until Keith had to mention to them quietly who Tyrone was. They had all quickly moved away…except for one who, without much fanfare, seated himself next to the tall drag queen. You just never knew.

  Keith leaned over and kissed Skyler as the glass pinging requested, and the tables cheered.

  “These people are hungry for blood,” said Keith.

  “Well, one thing’s for sure. I’m getting over my kissing-you-in-front-of-a-crowd embarrassment.”

  Sidney stood, raising her champagne. “As the best man to my best, best friend, Skyler Foxe, I enjoin all of you to fill your glasses for a toast.”

  Waiters scurried about filling glasses and Sidney waited, her own held high. When it looked like most had theirs at the ready, she cleared her throat again. “I have known my bud Skyler here since we were nine years old. We’d just moved into the neighborhood, and here was this tow-headed kid, skipping over to me—”

  “I was not skipping.”

  “Skipping, mind you, and I thought to myself, ‘Oy, what’s this? Am I going to have trouble with this one?’ But he was all smiles, and cheerily said, ‘I noticed that you just moved into the neighborhood and you seem to have excellent taste in shoes.’”

  Skyler hid his face in his hands.

  Keith leaned in. “You didn’t?”

  Without taking his hand away, he nodded. His face flamed with heat. “I’m gonna kill you, Sidney,” he hissed out of the side of his mouth.

  Ignoring him, she trundled on. “Well, it went on from there. We became fast friends and got into our own kind of trouble. I always backed up Skyler when his mom asked what he was doing—”

  There was a sound of indignation from Cynthia.

  “Sorry, Mom!” he cried.

  “And he backed me up with my mother.”

  “I knew it!” came the call from Sidney’s mother Esther from across the room.

  “Even before we got to high school, though, I was the one to break the news to Skyler that he was one of those boys who seemed to prefer guys.”

  Resting his chin on his hand, he slurped his champagne in surrender.

  “And thankfully, that turned out all right. I kept an eye on him at school because there are idiots and bullies everywhere and I wasn’t about to allow them to hurt him.”

  “Way to go, Sidney!” yelled Jamie.

  She bowed. “We shared our mutual interest in all the boys in our year. There was even a football player her really liked—”

  Skyler rose halfway from his seat. “Don’t you dare!”

  “No names. But I’ll just say, he comes by his preference for buff football jocks honestly.”

  Keith, grinning from ear to ear, knocked him hard with his elbow.

  “God, is this over yet?” Skyler muttered.

  Sidney grinned. “We haven’t even gotten to the college part.”

  “Please don’t.”

  “Now Mrs. Foxe, perhaps you’d better cover your ears for this one.”

  Jamie, being helpful and sitting next to her, did that for her. She was reddening as much as Skyler.

  “College was where Skyler really got his wings, if you know what I mean. First thing he did was find any LGBT groups in school…and became a joiner, if you catch my drift.”

  “Sidney,” groaned Mike, head hiding behind his hand.

  “Hey, I’m just telling it like it was. …And then he discovered Trixx.”

  The Trixx tables cheered. Someone threw confetti.

  Sidney waved at them. “And I was there for practically all of it.” There was some oooos from the room.

  “Is this what you’re really supposed to be doing?” asked Skyler weakly.

  “Shush, I’m almost done. But through it all—through all the ups and downs and all the heartaches—and yes, you did have them, because I saw when a guy or two wasn’t as into you as you seemed to be into him—and all the times you stood by me when some asshole I was dating broke my heart—when I had to leave you on your own when I joined the police academy—you were always there for me. Oh, how many late-night phone calls did we make to each other? How many texts? We never lost touch.”

  That familiar prickle watered his eyes again and he pressed his lips tight, nodding.

  “And now, after all this time of Skyler being Mr. Solo out there, he runs into this guy and smack! He goes insane. He falls for him right away—”

  “I did not! I mean…I…I didn’t. Not right away.” Looking at Keith’s moue, he sunk down in his seat.

  “Right away. He couldn’t stop talking about him and I thought, ‘Uh oh. This guy’s different. Skyler never goes on about anyone’.”

  Keith’s hand slipped into his and squeezed. Skyler’s embarrassment vanished. After all, it was true. Jamie had called him Hunk-on-a-stick, and Skyler had called him a Walking Wet Dream, and he was. He was all of those things. He squeezed back and grinned sheepishly.

  “And then I met him. And then I really knew our Skyler was falling. Because, just like now, he couldn’t keep his eyes off of the man. And then I was scared. Because I didn’t want to lose my best friend.”

  Skyler snapped his head up to gaze at her. She had tears in her eye
s now and tilted her chin up to hide them.

  “But thank God I didn’t. I just gained a new one. One who loves him as much as I do. So here’s to the happy couple. And to love!” She raised her glass and drank, and then everyone else did, too, before they clapped and whistled. She leaned over and kissed Skyler, and he hugged her tight.

  “Love you, Sidney,” he whispered. “As if you could ever lose me.”

  Van, sitting on the other side of Keith, stood as she sat. “So I’m supposed to follow that? I’ll give it a try. My little brother Keith was always a pain in the ass.”

  “Van!” said his mother Helen, swatting toward him but didn’t come close to striking distance from her place at another table.

  “No, seriously Mom. He was the baby. He got away with everything. He liked football, he liked Scouts…he liked boys. He got away with everything.” The crowd laughed. “Except he was good at football. Really good. For me, football was a fun pastime and us kids always played it at home, but for Keith he almost went all the way. It would have been great if he had had a chance to go pro and he would have been the first openly gay player, I’m sure of it. That injury screwed that up, and I’m really sorry, bro.”

  Keith shrugged unabashedly, but Skyler couldn’t help but rub his hand up his arm condolingly.

  “But then you went on for that biology PhD—one-upping the rest of us again—see what I mean? A pain in the ass. And as if that weren’t good enough, he ends up at Quantico as an FBI agent. I mean, seriously!”

  Keith threw up his hands at the good-natured ribbing.

  “And then one winter day,” Van went on, “he tells us that he met someone and he wants to bring him home to Seattle for New Year’s. And I said to our sister Bree—remember, Bree?—I said, how blond and how young is this one?”

  The crowd burst into laughter while Skyler pursed his lips and stared at the table. Keith threw his arm around him, his turn to placate.

  “Our Keith had a type, you see. And sure enough…” He gestured toward Skyler.

  Keith gave Van the finger.

  “I’m not the one with a type, bro. Anyway, Skyler turns out to be this really sweet guy that everyone couldn’t help but like. I guess the family fell in love with him, too. And I’m really glad my little brother found the love of his life. So here’s to Keith and Skyler, and a long and happy marriage.”

  Everyone cheered and drank, and then the DJ began rolling out some music.

  Relieved the toasts were over, Skyler stood. “Dance with me?” he asked Keith.

  Keith dabbed at his mouth with the napkin, tossed it down, and rose, taking Skyler’s hand.

  They stepped out to the dance floor alone under the sparkly lights as the DJ blended the background music into the first jazzy strains of Etta James belting out, “At Last.” Keith pulled Skyler in tight as he led him into a slow, swaying dance.

  Skyler listened to the words of the song, and it was for him as much as it was for Keith, because Skyler’s love had come along, and Keith had gotten his hard-worn love “at last.”

  Skyler couldn’t believe it. He truly couldn’t. How had he spent so much useless time worrying about this? It was just Keith. It was only just them. And oh, how he loved slow dancing with the man! Keith held him just so, and with his hand at the small of Skyler’s back, led with such easy precision. The man was solid and strong, and oh-so-graceful, his athleticism coming to the fore and producing steps so smooth it almost made Skyler jealous. But he knew he was good, too, and he followed Keith’s lead with his own supple grace and style. Resting his head against Keith’s scruffy cheek, he closed his eyes. If this was marriage, he could get used to this.

  The song ended and they sealed it with a kiss.

  The DJ came on the mike and said, “How about the moms dance with their sons?”

  Skyler turned to his mom and strode toward where she was sitting.

  She rose, scooted around the edge of the table, and approached. She wore a peach chiffon dress with three-quarter sleeves. Still slim, his mother looked like a mature woman with her silvered blond hair, but she was still stately and beautiful. At least in his eyes.

  He took her hand and led her to the floor. And as Keith danced with his own mother, Skyler gave Cynthia a little twirl before bringing her in. He smiled. “You look beautiful, Mom.”

  She blushed. “Don’t be silly. This is your day.”

  “Can’t everyone look as beautiful as me?” He smiled and fluttered his lashes. She slapped his shoulder.

  “It was a lovely wedding, sweetheart.”

  “Yeah, it was.”

  “You know something, Skyler. I have a confession to make. I had always wanted a little boy.”

  “I think you’ve told me that before.”

  “Now let me finish.” He turned her, smoothly avoiding the photographer. “I wanted a little boy because I thought they would be easier. And you were. You were the perfect little child.”

  “Of course.”

  “So precocious. So smart. You seemed to love everything I did; art, museums, culture.”

  “I was raised well.”

  “And we were a team. I’m sorry I was gone to work so much in your teen years.”

  “You couldn’t help it. You had to make a living. I totally understood that. Besides, I was pretty busy with friends. But you and I always made sure we had dinner together.”

  “Something that’s hard to forgive your father for. But I have tried.”

  He kissed her cheek. “You’re a saint, Mom.”

  “No, I wasn’t. Listen, Skyler. When you told me about being…about being gay, I was very upset at first.” She raised her hand to his cheek and gently stroked it, countering, perhaps, the time she slapped it when he’d told her. “And then…I was glad, for such selfish reasons. I didn’t have to share you with another girl. Isn’t that terribly shallow of me?”

  Wow. Was it? Who was he to judge? “I don’t know.”

  “I mean there was always Sidney, but that was different. When I met your Keith…well. It was so strange at first to see you…see you…kiss a man. Now it’s old hat.”

  He bulged his eyes at that.

  “But I like Keith. I have since the beginning. He seemed like someone special. And now here you are.”

  “Here I am.”

  “I’m so very happy for you, sweetheart.” She kissed his cheek and he hugged her tight. He held on even as the song ended and another began. The DJ announced that all the guests were welcomed to dance, and he put on another slow dance, though it had a bit more energy to it.

  Cynthia eased back. “Well, it looks like someone else would like to dance with you. I’ll beg off. Skyler, do you think that fellow in the dress with the pink wig would dance with me? I’d like to ask him.”

  Blinking, Skyler stared at his formerly staid mother. “Uh…no, Tyrone wouldn’t mind at all. I’m sure she’d love that.”

  “Good. I always wanted to lead.”

  She moved away, heading straight for Tyrone’s table. Skyler hoped the photographer would be all over that.

  When he turned to greet his next partner, he jerked back. “Dad?”

  Dale Foxe, blond with a cascade of gray blending together, and with blue eyes instead of his son’s gray, hastily took Skyler’s hand and curved his arm around him seemingly before he could change his mind. He jolted with him on the dance floor before their steps smoothed out.

  Skyler glanced about, and though people were looking at him, it didn’t seem as if it was with anything but happiness. “Dad, what are you doing?”

  “Well, I’m dancing at my son’s wedding.”

  “A-aren’t you supposed to be dancing with the—”

  “There is no way in hell I’m dancing with Keith.” Dale rolled his shoulders and stared off over Skyler’s ear. “I’m just trying to fit in here. Sidney’s toast was certainly…interesting.”

  He knew his pale cheeks were coloring again at the thought of what she’d said in front of his parents…and K
eith’s parents. His in-laws.

  Skyler’s hand felt clammy in his dad’s.

  “Frankly, I don’t know the protocol at a gay wedding,” Dale went on. “I don’t have any experience with them.”

  “Neither do I.”

  “I just—holy hell, will you look at your mother?”

  He turned Skyler and they both watched as she tried vainly to lead the statuesque Tyrone in her four-inch heels across the dance floor. People gave them a wide berth, and many raised their phones for photos and video. But Cynthia was smiling and looking as if she was having a good time.

  Skyler shook his head silently. He never imagined this. Not in a million years.

  He and Dale continued dancing for a few more quiet moments. All the while, Skyler kept screaming in his head, This is weird!

  “Look,” said Dale, breaking the awkward silence at last. “I suppose while I’ve got you, I should impart some advice.”

  Warily, Skyler watched his father’s face. “Yeah?”

  “Listen. Listen to the other person. Skyler, I spent years not really hearing your mother and she spent just as many not hearing me and my needs. Listen to each other, son. Hear what the other is truly saying. A lot of grief can be spared.”

  “Okay,” he said softly.

  “And if you ever have kids—”

  “Dad!”

  “If you do…” He swallowed, blinked wet lashes, and started again. “If you do…hug ‘em and kiss ‘em every day. Because…believe me, you’ll be sorry if you don’t.”

  Skyler’s vision blurred before the tears spilled over, running down his cheeks. “Okay, Dad,” he whispered.

  Dale nodded, lips mashing and trembling. He raised his arm awkwardly and wiped his eyes on his sleeve. “You know,” he said unsteadily, “you’re a darned good dancer. I think I’ll try and tear your mother away from that tall fellow. You go find your…your husband, son.”

  He released Skyler, patted him on the shoulder, and left to retrieve Cynthia, who was doing a step touch while holding on to Tyrone’s fingers with one hand.

  He wiped at his eyes. Wow, this party was certainly doing a number on his emotions. He looked for Keith, who graciously left his partner and hurried toward Skyler.