It's Just Casual

Chapter 21

"So, how did you two meet?"

Tamara looked at Regina and me seeming genuinely interested. I just had to endure the extremely romantic story of how Neal and she had met - he'd spilled coffee over her scarf and gave his number for her to buy a new one.

Dinner hadn't been going on for too long, but I already yearned for my warm bed and own home. At least, Henry was enjoying himself a lot with Luke. They kept babbling about all kinds of things and I really wanted to follow it, but I couldn't, because I had to listen to Neal and Tamara talk.

Regina had made a delicious lasagna, though, and that made this night a tiny bit better. Plus, the fact that she was sitting beside me, asking Neal and Tamara questions while my mind was dying of boredom. Tamara was really kind, truly, but I wasn't in the mood to hang out with other people and it was clear that Regina could tell that.

"Emma is.. my employee," Regina said and looked at me. She clearly didn't know whether she was supposed to say this, but I couldn't care less. She was my boss, that was a fact, so they were allowed to know that. "I'm the principal at the school she works."

"Oh?" Tamara smiled, but had her eyebrows raised. "I didn't know they allowed a relationship between principals and teachers."

"Oh, no, no no. Regina and I are not.. no. I don't.. it's men for me, you know? I'm heterosexual, I don't.. no. Re.. no. It's.. just no. No, no. God, no," I immediately chimed in with a nervous chuckle.

"One "no" would've sufficed, Swan," Regina stated softly and I rolled my eyes.

"We're just friends.. barely friends, even. We're.. acquaintances, colleagues. She's Luke's mother and I'm Henry's, so.. that just sort of happened, but that's all there is to it," I added and let out another nervous chuckle. Regina glanced at me in a way that made me even more aware of the fact that I'd screwed up.

Tamara and Neal giggled softly and it seemed as though even Henry and Luke had followed this conversation. "I didn't know this was a sensitive issue, I'm sorry. I just figured you two were together, because you're hanging out so often and you.. shared the same lipstick." She shot a brief glance at the boys that were eagerly listening to our conversation now.

"My mommy is a half lesbian," Luke said and I could see Regina slump. She clearly didn't appreciate the fact that he was bringing up her bisexuality now, right at this moment.

"It is not a sensitive issue," I quickly said, making sure Neal and Tamara wouldn't try to exploit whatever was between me and Regina. "It's just not true."

Regina looked at me and had a weak smile on her lips. She didn't seem like she was about to get involved in this conversation and I started to get annoyed about that. I needed her to help convince them there was nothing going on between the two of us, because apart from casual sex, there wasn't. I was trying my best pushing down any feelings I feared would expose themselves, I wanted some credit for that.

"I told you, Tamara," Neal muttered softly and Tamara rolled her eyes at her boyfriend. I couldn't help but chuckle, because there was a playfulness between them that I adored and that I didn't recognize from when Neal and I were together.

"Mom," Henry said and I looked at him. "If you love Regina, Luke and I would be brothers. That'd be so cool, because then we could always swap our comic books."

I forced a smile. I didn't want to disappoint Henry, but to have this conversation with Regina, Neal, Tamara and two children present was not what I'd signed up for when I agreed to this dinner.

"That would be cool, wouldn't it?" was all I managed to reply, without making my annoyance visible.

"Yes, but my mommy doesn't do relationships," Luke adamantly stated. "She told me so herself, because relationships only cause trouble and she's happy just the way things are."