Out Of The Shadows (18 page)

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“Mr Bryant?”

Dane’s dad frowned at him.

“I wanted to talk to you,” Jai said. “I know that this is weird for you and that if you had your choice, Dane would be straight, with a girlfriend. He isn’t going to change, however.”

Gil looked as though he was planning on arguing, to tell Jai to mind his own business, but at the last minute he stopped himself.

“I saw how destroyed he was when you walked out on him, asking him to change himself or lose you,” Jai continued. “If you’re going to change your mind again in a few days time, and cut him out of your life, I’m asking you to do it now before you get his hopes up.”

Now, Gil glared at him.

“I’m not criticising you,” Jai assured him before he could voice whatever insult was on the tip of his tongue. “I just do not want to see him get hurt again.”

“I should tell you to keep the hell out of our business,” Gil finally said.

“You can, but I won’t. Where Dane’s concerned I won’t just stand by without trying to protect him.”

“You truly mean that, don’t you?” Gil observed. “I admit that this may take time, but the thought that I could actually lose him, that he couldn’t even bring himself to tell me, made me realise that I had to try. Was he really so scared to tell me?”

Jai nodded. “When you first arrived, he tried to talk to you; he was having a panic attack when I caught up with him in his room. He didn’t want to disappoint you, to crack the illusion you had of him.” He sighed. “Look, I know you are never going to approve of me, or even like me I suspect, but I’d like us to at least try and get along for Dane’s sake. How about you just think of me as a friend of your son’s, if you aren’t comfortable with who I really am.”

Gil sighed. “If I’m going to get to know my son, and you, then there is no point in pretending. You are my son’s,” he paused, “mate, and I have to deal with that.” There was a long silence as they both tried to think of a way forward.

“Did he really stand up to them?” Gil asked. At Jai’s confusion, he said, “Sasha told me that he walked right into the room where Nick was holding the pair of you and confronted them.”

Jai smiled. “He told him that he wasn’t leaving without both of us. He tried to protect me, and his sister.”

“He’s changed,” Gil mused. “He would never have done that before. I may not like the reasons, but you’ve made him grow up, to stand up for himself.”

“He’s definitely more confident now, I’ve noticed that since I started seeing him,” Jai agreed.

Gil stood, as Jai did, and glanced back to the party. “We should probably get back; they’ll wonder where we’ve gone.” He held out his hand to Jai. “I would still prefer if you were a woman that my boy had settled with,” he said, “But I can see that you care about Dane, and I know you won’t do anything to hurt him.” He shook Jai’s hand and smiled. “I was wrong about you. I thought you were a predator, corrupting my boy’s mind and preying on his innocence.”

Jai grinned. “That’s okay; I thought you were a pig-headed homophobe who didn’t deserve to have a son like Dane. I guess we were both wrong.”

When they got back the kitchen, Dane, his mother and his sister were waiting anxiously. They all heaved a visible sigh of relief when the two men rejoined them, looking pleased that they were both in one piece with no black eyes or bloodied noses.

“Jai and I had a little chat,” he told Dane.

Jai stopped next to Dane and took the hand that he offered. As Gil turned to reassure his wife, Dane whispered.

“What was all that about?”

Jai smiled. “I’ll tell you later. I think we got along. He’s not a bad bloke and he’s really trying.”

Dane reached up to curl his fingers around the back of Jai’s neck, “Thank you," he said. He kissed Jai lightly on the lips.

“For what?”

Dane looked thoughtful for a moment before answering, “For still being here after everything that I’ve put you through.”

Jai smiled. “I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be.”