Note: this story contains scenes of father-son incest.
********************
Oliver spent the next few days trying to forget what had happened between him and Manny in the locker room. He told himself that he needed to forget for Ashley's sake, that his guilt over betraying her meant that any sexual pleasure he got from getting finger fucked by Manny wasn't worth it.
But the reality is that he was afraid of what admitting those feelings to himself would mean.
Sure, he could be gay. He knew there was nothing wrong with it. But if his dad was right about him being gay, what else was his dad right about?
Luckily, Oliver was able to avoid Manny without much effort. His swim coach had scheduled double swim practice after school for the rest of that week in anticipation of their swim meet on Saturday, which meant that Oliver had a convenient excuse for skipping their afternoon gym session. But honestly, Oliver was just grateful for anything to keep busy and distract himself from the tidal wave that had been unleashed inside him.
He avoided his father as well, burrowing away in his room after school and eating dinner as fast as possible so as to minimize the time spent under his father's magnetic gaze. He knew he couldn't avoid his dad forever, but he couldn't bring himself to spend time with him when he was dealing with so many confusing feelings. Best to keep his space for the moment.
Noah didn't push him. He had been disappointed in Oliver's reaction to his announcement at his birthday dinner, although he had to admit he wasn't particularly surprised. It would have been a little much to expect Oliver to jump into his arms after his declaration of love. Nevertheless, he had allowed himself to hope that Oliver might be more receptive to his advances.
Still, despite Oliver's decidedly unwelcoming reaction, Noah was still convinced that he was right, that there was something between the two of them. In the meantime, he decided he would give Oliver some space to work out the things he was feeling on his own.
By the time Friday rolled around, however, Noah decided it was time to finally speak up.
Oliver was racing through his bowl of cereal Friday morning when his father said, "Slow down, Ollie. I wanna talk to you about something."
Oliver wiped off his lips with a napkin, suddenly feeling embarrassed about his poor table manners.
"What is it?" he asked.
Noah gave him a half-smile. "I know what I said last week may have shocked you. And I just want to say that I never meant to make you uncomfortable. I know you've been avoiding me these last few days-"
"I haven't been avoiding you-"
"Ollie, please," his father said. "Let me finish."
Oliver nodded.
"I want to make you an offer. I know I said I wouldn't stop trying to pursue you, that I would be patient until you were ready. But I don't want you to feel like you're always waiting for the other shoe to drop."
Noah cleared his throat. Oliver looked at him tentatively.
"So here's my proposal," he continued. "Go on one date with me, just one. And when it's over, if you hate it... just tell me. And I'll stop. I'll keep my feelings to myself and we can go back to the way things were."
Oliver bit his lip. He looked at his father nervously.
"I don't know..." he said. "I mean, why couldn't you just keep it to yourself to begin with? Instead of putting this all on me?"
"Just one date," said his father. "We'll go to dinner, we'll come home, that's it. I won't try anything, I promise."
Oliver stared at his father. He'd never seen him look so earnest before. It almost made him feel bad for not giving him what he wanted.
"All right," he said. "I'll go to dinner with you. But then you have to stop this. I'm not... I can't do what you're asking me to. I just can't."
His father smiled at him. "I've made us reservations tonight in the city for 7."
"Where?" asked Oliver.
His dad winked at him. "It's a surprise," he said, clearing their dishes from the table. "All the best dates have a little mystery to them." He kissed Oliver on the head and headed into the kitchen.
Oliver began to feel a pit in his stomach. What had he agreed to? He had been trying not to lead his father on, but now he felt like he had walked into a trap. But his father had promised he wouldn't' try anything, and then after tomorrow night, they could go back to the way things were.
That was all Oliver wanted.
They were interrupted by a knock at the door. Puzzled, Oliver got up from the table and walked over to the main entrance. He looked through the peephole in the door, then broke out into a smile.
"Uncle Tony!" he said excitedly as he thrust open the door.
"How ya doin, Oliver?" said Tony as he wrapped his nephew in a big bear hug.
Oliver held on tightly to his uncle as they hugged, his face grinning from ear to ear.
"It's been ages, how have you been? I haven't seen you since the funeral. How's LA?"
Tony looked at him strangely. "Uh, you know, it's... crowded. Lotta celebrities, that's about it," he said, scratching his head.
Noah walked out of the kitchen, folding his arms and leaning against the wall. He nodded at Tony.
"Tony. Good to see you," he said, his voice calm and collected.
Tony kept his arm wrapped around his nephew as he walked into the house, carrying a ratty suitcase in one hand.
"Looking good, Noah! The gray really suits you, makes you look distinguished," he said, pointing to his sideburns.
Noah had to stop himself from rolling his eyes.
Oliver looked up at Tony from underneath his arm.
"What are you doing in town, Uncle Tony?" he asked.
"Well, I thought I'd stop by and see my favorite nephew for his birthday!" he said, squeezing Oliver's shoulder. "Damn, you've really grown up, little man," he said, rubbing Oliver's arm.
Oliver grinned.
Noah grunted. "You're a bit late for his birthday, Tony. It was last week."
"That's why I thought I'd come in later, surprise you after all the festivities had died down. What do you think about going into the city tonight, catching a show?"
Oliver's eyes lit up.
"He can't tonight," Noah said. "We've got dinner reservations."
"Dinner sounds fun!" said Tony.
"The reservations are for two," said Noah.
Tony turned to Oliver and ruffled his hair. "No worries, no worries. I was actually thinking about heading to the Bronx later tonight, around 10 if you're interested. I know a guy who can get us tickets to a show at this underground bar. It's 18 and up, so you can get in easy."
