Why did they have to go to a place that was so… public? If they’d gone to a movie, at least they could’ve gone to the back and sat in the dark where no one would look at them.
Tiago gave him a questioning look. Aiden’s fear was getting in the way again. He’d already made Tiago hide their relationship, and by extension his sexuality, for months. Aiden couldn’t ruin their first public date. Briefly he wondered if they should have gone somewhere on their own. But no, Aiden was glad to have Dylan and Sakura with them. It would make things less awkward.
Hopefully.
Heart slamming against his ribs, Aiden reached over to take Tiago’s hand.
Tiago’s bright smile made Aiden’s stomach do flips, and for a second he forgot about everything else.
“Come on.” Dylan held the door to the restaurant open.
It was the fanciest restaurant in town. Aiden would have been worried about how much it cost, but Dylan’s parents had promised to pay for everything and refused to hear any argument about it.
Aiden didn’t know what Dylan had told Bryn and Joe, but they’d called Aiden to let him know they supported him. Thinking about it gave Aiden enough confidence to walk through the door. No way would the restaurant owner want to make Bryn mad, so they wouldn’t be rude to Aiden and Tiago.
“It’s so fancy.” Sakura grinned. She wore a deep purple dress that came to just above her knees, and her hair had been tied back in a braid. The dress and makeup she wore made her look more mature.
Dylan wasn’t wearing a suit, but his concession to the dress code was a nice shirt and a tie. And he’d combed his hair.
Aiden and Tiago were both borrowing clothes from Aiden’s dad. After some arguing about who should get the nicer outfit, Tiago had agreed to take the suit. It was a little tight, and Aiden kept admiring the stretch of it across his shoulders. Aiden had taken the blazer, which was a little long on him but otherwise fit pretty well. Another reminder of how much he’d grown over the past few years.
“Yeah,” Tiago said. “I never thought I’d eat in a place like this.”
Dylan went up to the maître d’ and gave his name. The man looked the four of them over with a hint of curiosity. Oh God. The guy was looking at them weird because they were two boys holding hands. Tiago gripped Aiden’s hand tighter, and Aiden realized he’d unconsciously started pulling away.
The maître d’ grabbed a few menus. “Right this way.”
The restaurant was small, and Aiden was sure every other patron was staring at them. He forced himself not to look around as they sat at the table.
Dylan snorted as the maître d’ walked away. “I bet he was expecting my parents.”
“Is… is that why he gave us a weird look?”
“Well, yeah. Why else— Oh, the gay thing.”
Tiago laughed, and that sent Aiden into a fit of giggles. When the laughter died down, Tiago looked at him with a serious expression. “If you’re really uncomfortable, we don’t have to do this.”
“I’m fine,” he lied. But Aiden knew he’d feel worse if he gave up.
“If anyone is rude, I’ll make them sorry.” Dylan had said a variation of that several times over the past week.
Coming out to the whole school had been surprisingly… not bad. Aiden had gotten weird looks, especially when he and Tiago were holding hands and kissing. People whispered to each other, and one guy had muttered a slur as he walked by. But otherwise there were no big problems. A few kids had congratulated him and let Aiden know they supported him.
Part of the reason he hadn’t gotten much negativity had to be because he was friends with Dylan. People still talked about how Dylan had beat up Conner Mays freshman year, and even before then the dragonkin had boasted a fierce reputation. On top of that, Dylan and Aiden were local celebrities. It was easy for Aiden to downplay things, but so many people had commented on what he’d been involved in—fighting a corrupt warden, killing a dark fae, rescuing the people trapped at prom and then battling the extremists—that Aiden couldn’t deny it made a huge difference in how they saw him.
The four of them ordered after Dylan had snapped at them again not to worry about the prices. Aiden glanced around a few times, trying to see if anyone was staring. Beside him, Tiago looked stiff and nervous. After a while, Aiden realized he was probably nervous because Aiden was.
“Um, so you’ve dated guys before,” Aiden said quietly. “But did you have actual dates? In public?”
Tiago frowned. “Sort of? I went to the movies a few times, but we didn’t hold hands until the lights went down. I was worried about my parents, so I didn’t want to be obvious about it.”
Having met Tiago’s parents, Aiden completely understood. It was awful that some people had to hide their sexuality. He gave silent thanks that his own parents were so accepting. “So this is your first really public date?”
Tiago nodded, his full lips turning up in a little smile.
They were sharing something special. Not just their first public date with each other, but the first time either of them had been out like this with another boy. Aiden glanced over at Sakura and Dylan, and it suddenly occurred to him that they could be mistaken for a group of friends, not two couples. Aiden and Tiago had held hands walking into the restaurant, but since then they’d done nothing that marked them as romantically involved.
Gathering his courage, Aiden leaned over and brushed a quick kiss across Tiago’s lips. Then he took Tiago’s hand and squeezed it.
Tiago’s smile widened to a heart-melting level. “Staking your claim?”
Aiden’s face heated with embarrassment, but the rest of him was warm for other reasons. “I want you to have the best date possible.”
“Me too. I mean… you know what I mean.”
“And I thought you guys were bad at lunch.” But Dylan was smiling as he said it.