Miles (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 11

The next week was filled with going to work, coming home, and sometimes having my family over. Julian and I texted as much as he could since he was out of town, visiting one of his other Well Sessions sites and he also has a Stigma presentation to do since he was the only one free to do it since Andrea had a family emergency and wasn't able to make it. He also mentioned something about having some meeting with some investors that were interested in Light Impression, but he didn't explain much.

I was currently at home with my mom and Ivy to help set up the Christmas tree since it was a tradition that we all did it together, even though I didn't live there anymore. I was currently carrying down a box from the attic to the living room where the tree was proudly standing above a gold tree skirt. My mom sat on the couch, sorting through a box to pull out all the ornaments that we had collected over the years.

"Oh, look at this one. Mila made it in first grade," she says, holding up a popsicle stick reindeer that I had made when I was younger. There was a bright red cotton ball on it to show that it was Rudolph. I let out a chuckle as I grabbed it, looking at the back to see my scribbled handwriting say my name along with the year it was made.

"You were such a good art student," Ivy jokes as she works on untangling the lights for us to put on the tree. I fake a laugh before giving her a hard glare while she giggles, dropping the lights to come over to us and help sort through the ornaments.

"Have you talked to Julian lately?" Mom asks, looking up at me with a soft smile. I notice the nervous look that Ivy gives me and I shake my head, completely lying to my mother.

"Nope, haven't heard from him."

"Well, I hope he's doing well. I can't wait to see him with a wonderful, successful man one day because he sure does deserve it," my mom says and my head immediately snaps to look at her as she's playing with some tinsel that lays on her lap. I notice that Ivy looks a bit concerned as she also looks at our mother.

"Successful? You think he would be with some successful man? Not, you know, just a regular person?" Ivy asks, trying not to be too suspicious.

My mother shakes her head, immediately making my entire body sweat. "No, I don't see that. Obviously, I don't know the man that well. I just spent one evening with him, but I think he should be with a man who's driven and maybe has the same business ideas as him. I think the two of them would work well together, you know, he just seems a bit more comfortable with people like that. When we went to the club, I saw him with a guy who looked just as professional as him, all dressed in a suit. I don't know if they're together, but they sure did look lovely together."

Ivy's eyes lingered on me a little longer than they should've and my mother noticed. She looks between the two of us with a confused look. I reach down to my pocket where my phone was, pulling it out and pretending like I was getting a call. I stand up, pointing to the front door to silently let them know that I would be back. When I step outside, I let out a long sigh as I felt a pain in my chest.

He never mentioned to me that he was with someone, especially not that he was with a man. I sit down on the steps of the house, just like I did on Thanksgiving when I couldn't figure out what to do about Julian and here I am, doing the exact same thing. Of course, the two of us weren't dating then and we're still not dating now, but I still feel betrayed, even though I shouldn't.

I'm immediately brought back to that night when he showed up to our table. I remember asking him what he was doing there and he responded "I'm here with a friend to relax", so maybe it was just a friend. But even though, my own mother doesn't think we would be a good pairing because I'm not successful or driven. I hide my head in my hands, everything suddenly becoming extremely complicated. I'm still trying to accept myself and now, all of this happens.