His eyes were so bleak. All I wanted was to hold him. “My father thinks if we go, we do it because he embarrasses us.” He shook his head in obvious frustration. “It’s not true. I love my father. I just need to go.”

The pain in his voice broke my heart into a million pieces. I wished there was something I could say, but I knew there wasn’t anything that could make this decision less agonizing for Elias. I touched his shoulder, and I could feel the tension ease a little. “I’m so sorry, baby.”

“There’s nothing you need to apologize for, and thank you for coming tonight. I needed you to meet them.” He sighed and looked up again. “I don’t know how any of this will go, but I have to speak my truth. I can’t—”

He choked on that word, and I moved closer. We were hidden by a hedge of trees where we were standing. I moved so I was facing him and put my arms around his waist, my head against his chest.

“I’m so tired of hiding.” His voice was strangled, and I could feel the misery rolling off him in waves as he tightened his arms around me. “But every time I get close to telling them, I feel like it will be irreversible.”

“I know,” I said lamely, not sure if anything could make this better.

We stood here for a few seconds, and when I tried to pull back he kept me there, a strong arm around me. “Stay.”

“Elias, I don’t know if we should—”

“Please,” he pleaded as he lifted my chin with his hand.

He kissed me. And as always, from the first taste I was lost.

I heard the surprised gasp first, but what made me jump back from Elias was the loud crash that followed it. We looked up and found Elias’s mother who was looking at us from a few feet away in complete horror. Her hands were suspended in the air, and there were shards of glass scattered in front of her on the ground. It looked like she’d been bringing us something to drink when she saw us.

“Mama.”

She shook her head, and her voice came out thin and strangled. “Elias, this is not how you do things. No, my son. This is not how you do things.” She stumbled forward and the crunch of the glass under her feet sounded like thunder, so loud in our horrified silence. After a moment she looked down at her feet, she seemed dazed, like she had no idea how the wreckage of glass and ice got there. After giving us a final glance, she walked back to the house.