Time After Time 6 страница

“Okay, go for it. Declare away.”

“No, ‘cause you just totally ruined it now.” God he sounded like such a fag when he said that. I smacked his ass.

“Okay. Okay.” He held my face in his hands and pressed his forehead to mine.

“Justin Taylor, your ass is just so hot that I can’t find anyone else’s that even compares. So I’ve decided to stop trying. I’m just gonna fuck you from now on.”

Okay, so maybe it was the greatest declaration of love around, but hey, this was Brian. And to me, it was the sweetest, most romantic thing he could have said.

I kissed him then with my whole body. I kissed him from the tips of my toes to the top of my head. I kissed him for the 5 years we were together before I left for New York. I kissed him for the 10 years I spent there, missing him and loving him. I kissed him for the 6 months I had been back here, setting up our home and our family with Gus.

I kissed him for what was to come, for what our life was now going to be.

When the kiss ended, we were both breathless and a little lightheaded.

“We have to tell Gus. If he isn’t the first person we tell he may run away to Zimbabwe.”

I nodded, but kept my arms tight around his waist. I listened to the sound of his heart beating in his chest.

“Sonnyboy! Come here! ” he yelled for his son, and within seconds Gus came pounding up the stairs and stood in the doorway.

“Yeah? ” His eyes looked concerned.

“We have something to tell you.” I tried to keep my voice steady and my feet still. I honestly wanted to take him and twirl him around and squeal like a little schoolboy.

“Oh god, you guys are breaking up aren’t you! I fucking KNEW IT! God why can’t you guys just SUCK IT THE FUCK UP! I MEAN SERIOUSLY….”

“Sonnyboy, calm the fuck down would you? Since when did you turn into Uncle Mikey? Christ.”

Gus shut his mouth immediately. At least Brian could still get his attention.

“We just thought you would like to be the first person to know…”Brian looked at me and I smiled.

“…We’re getting married, ” I finished.

Gus’s eyes widened and let he let out a HUGE sigh of relief.

“Well, it’s about fucking time.”

Brian and I both laughed and he tightened his grip around me.

“So when’s the wedding? Do I get to wear a tux? That would be SWEET! ” His eyes were full of excitement.

“Actually…” Brian’s eyes met mine again and I nodded at him. It’s okay, I told him with my eyes. This is what I want.

“…I have a plan. But we’re going to need your help…”

***

It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us fathers and sons. ~Johann Schiller

Chapter 15

After all the drama we’d dealt with lately, you’d think we’d get a break, time to relax, time to sit around the house and not have to deal with anyone else’s bullshit.

“I hope you have a fully stocked cookie jar, she’s in one of her moods, ” Melanie said, walking past me into the house and setting two large suitcases down with a grunt.

A small dark haired child ran past her, screaming at the top of her lungs in a way that I couldn’t tell meant if she was happy or scared shitless.

“JR! ” Gus shouted happily as he ran down the stairs. He scooped up his little sister into his arms and laughed.

“Gus! ” JR shouted back, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Ah, it must be ‘happy’.

“We don’t have a fucking cookie jar, ” I said, stepping aside so everyone else could come in.

Yeah. Everyone else. Fuck, how did I get talked into this?

Lindsay smiled at me and carried two suitcases inside. “But you have a waffle iron.”

“Justin likes waffles, ” I mumbled. Shit, how much crap did they have to carry around?! They were only going to be here a week.

“Don’t listen to him, ” Justin said, walking down the stairs and wiping his hands off on a cloth that was already stained with ten different colors of paint. “He loves waffles. And we have plenty of cookies.”

“They’d better be the real thing, or she’s going to throw a fit, ” Melanie said, sighing heavily. “Not any of that low fat bullshit.”

“Don’t worry, they’re chocolate chip, ” Justin said. He hugged Melanie and even Lindsay, although that one was a little awkward. Then I was pulled into hugs as well.

Once everyone was done being fucking huggy and embarrassing, I picked up two of the suitcases and carried them upstairs to a guest room. We had a few, but Lindsay had requested one as far from our bedroom as possible. Couldn’t imagine why.

“Thanks for letting us stay here, ” Melanie was saying, carrying the other two suitcases up the stairs after me.

“Well, we’ve got the room, ” I said, hoping I sounded as indulgent as I wanted to. Truth be told, I hadn’t wanted them to stay with us at all. But Justin had gone off on Gus needing to spend plenty of time with his mothers, and how he probably missed his sister, and how Michael’s place didn’t have any room, and by then I’d gotten bored with the conversation and agreed to it just to get him to shut up and go back to sucking my cock.

It’s okay to be manipulated, as long as you know you’re being manipulated.

Melanie laughed and shook her head, looking around the room. “Shit, Brian, this really is a palace.”

I shrugged, but grinned, tongue in cheek. She was right. I’d picked it just for that reason.

“Justin must be really happy, ” she said softly. She gave me one of those slow, sweet grins that she’d only given me a handful of times before, and I suddenly felt extremely awkward.

“Lunch is almost ready. Justin’s been cooking all day, ” I said. I ignored Melanie’s laugh and went back downstairs, just in time to have JR grab me around the waist, a cookie in each hand.

“Hi Uncle Brian! ” she said, smiling up at me, all dimples and missing one of her front teeth.

“Hello, demon spawn, ” I said, picking her up. I was going to get chocolate all over my clothes at this rate. Good thing I’d planned ahead and worn clothes I didn’t mind getting chocolate on.

JR giggled at me and offered me a bite of her cookie.

“Not before lunch, ” I said. Fucking cookies. Justin had stocked the kitchen with processed sugar and carbs the minute we’d agreed to host this little family gathering, and I’d been tempted ever since.

“Is daddy coming soon? ” she asked.

I couldn’t help but smile. “Mikey’ll be here soon, ” I said.

Gus walked over to us, munching a cookie of his own, and grinning widely. He looked so happy, the last of my annoyance at the entire situation faded. I was sure it would return soon enough, but for now, I didn’t mind this so much.

“I got some new games, ” Gus said to JR.

The little girl in my arms turned her head and beamed at her brother, wriggling a little. “Which ones? ”

I set her down and watched as Gus started walking upstairs. “Come on, I’ll show you.”

JR followed her big brother quickly, and the living room was suddenly much quieter.

I sighed and went into the kitchen.

“He looks well, ” Lindsay said. “You’re a good father despite yourself, Brian Kinney.”

Christ, I was glad they’d never found out about our little fight. “It’s Justin, not me, ” I said, leaning against the counter and pointedly ignoring the open bag of cookies next to me.

“Gus says otherwise, ” Lindsay said. “He says you’re both ‘awesome dads’.”

Justin laughed, and pulled a large pan of something that smelled suspiciously like baked ziti from the oven. “We’re trying.”

“You’re doing a good job, ” Melanie said, peering over Justin’s shoulder. “Even if I resent saying it.” She patted Justin on the shoulder. “Not you, of course. Him. ”

“Fuck you very much, ” I said, grinning at Melanie. So we got along for the most part these days, but a friendly barb now and then kept things comfortable and familiar.

Melanie flipped me off and Lindsay frowned at both of us. “Not in front of the kids, ” she said. “Jenny is already too much to keep up with. The last thing I need is her talking like the two of you.”

I snorted and shrugged. “It’s just words, ” I said.

“Words her fifth grade teachers don’t appreciate, ” Lindsay replied. “She’s already gotten in trouble for fighting.”

“Fighting? ” Justin asked, pulling dishes out to set the table. He was using the fine china that he’d insisted we needed for occasions such as this. That crap couldn’t be put in the dish washer. I’d be doing dishes after lunch for at least an hour. Damnit.

“She was pulling another little girl’s hair, ” Lindsay said.

“That other little girl was calling her a boy, ” Melanie said sharply. “Because she likes to play soccer instead of dolls.”

“She’s going to be a dyke, isn’t she? ” I asked, sighing heavily. “Just what we need, another muncher.”

Justin gave me a look that said to behave, and I grinned at him, grabbing a pile of plates and carrying them to the table.

“Where’s daddy’s little angel? ” I could hear Michael’s voice, and then the front door shutting.

“The demon child is upstairs with Gus, ” I called back.

Michael walked into the kitchen, closely followed by Ben. “She’s not a demon child, Brian.”

I rolled my eyes. He was completely fooled by her act. I gave Melanie a knowing look and she shrugged helplessly. JR was going to be daddy’s little princess, no matter how badly she behaved.

Michael and Ben did the hugging thing with the lesbians, and I retreated to the living room to pour myself some Beam. I was going to need a drink to deal with the noise that was coming up.

Justin walked into the living room behind me and put a hand on my back. “Hey, ” he said.

I turned and grinned at him, downing the shot. “Hey, ” I replied.

“It’s only for a few days, ” he said, cocking his head at me. “So don’t act like a jerk.”

I snorted. “Don’t worry, I’ve used up my jerk allowance for a long time. I’ll behave.”

I was granted one of those bright smiles of his, and for a moment it all seemed like it might actually be worth it.

Then his smile faded, and I could see the worry in his eyes. “Mom and Molly should be here soon, for lunch.”

I nodded. I knew what he was worried about. Was he going to come? Was he not going to? And which situation would be worse?

“I told him not to show if he couldn’t behave, ” Justin said.

“That’s fair, ” I said. I poured another shot and handed it to Justin. He smiled and drank it.

“I hope he comes, ” he said, staring into the empty glass.

“Craig will show if he wants to, ” I replied, taking it from him. “If he doesn’t want to be here, we don’t want him here anyway.”

Justin nodded quickly. “I know.”

I kissed him on the cheek and fluffed his hair, and headed back into the kitchen. I had promised to be social, whatever the fuck that meant. I thought it probably meant I couldn’t lock myself in my office until everyone had gone. That was going to be hard.

“Hey, Justin, ” Michael said. He grinned and hugged Justin quickly when he followed me back into the kitchen.

Justin hugged him back, but I could tell he felt fucking awkward. Michael knew the two of us had had a fight. He had no idea how bad it was, or what it was about. Of course, Justin knew now that nothing had gone on between Michael and I, but that didn’t seem to help much. As soon as they broke apart, I put a hand on the small of Justin’s back and grinned at him. He glanced at me and relaxed. I felt a pang of guilt all over again for putting him through what I had.

Everyone started talking about JR, and Gus, and school, and all of that other parenty crap, so I finished setting the table, and then returned to the living room for another drink. There was a knock on the door, so I answered it, glass in hand.

”Hello, Brian, ” Jennifer said, smiling. She kissed me on the cheek and walked inside.

“Everyone’s in the kitchen, ” I said, pointing in the right direction, as if she didn’t already know.

She smiled and nodded and went to find her son.

“Hey, ” came a young female voice from behind me. I turned back towards the door to face a young woman with light brown hair, grinning in a way that gave her away as a ml: namespace prefix = st1 /> Taylor in an instant. It was fucking scary how similar she looked to Justin sometimes, when she made the right expression.

“Molly, ” I said, grinning back at her. “To what do I owe the honor? ”

“Mom dragged me along, ” she said. “I guess that’s what I get for living at home while I go to college. She can still tell me what to do.” She stepped into the living room and shut the door behind her, glancing around. “Nice.”

She hadn’t been here since we’d furnished it. “We like to think so.”

She smirked at me and shook her head, then snatched my glass out of my hand, and downed the shot. “Mm, ” she wrinkled her nose and handed it back. “Do you have to drink that shit? ”

“Hey, ” I said, amused. “We have plenty of wine and girly drinks. Ask Justin to make you one.”

She rolled her eyes and strolled past me, looking around the room intently. I could tell she was avoiding going into the kitchen to deal with the crowd, just like I was. Molly and I had a few things in common. I liked her, for a heterosexual female.

Okay, maybe I just liked her in general. She was a good kid. While Justin had been gone, we’d kept in touch. I’d been the one she called when she’d gotten stranded at her first high school party and didn’t want her mom to know she was out drinking and partying at sixteen. I was the one who consoled her after her first boyfriend fucked her and dumped her. I was the one she first smoked a joint with. I guess I was a safe person to turn to. Her dad wasn’t exactly reliable, and her big brother had been gone.

Brian Kinney, corrupting America’s youth.

I wondered distantly if Justin knew about all that. Had Molly told him? Somehow I doubted it. I made a mental note to bring it up later, when I had Justin to myself.

Molly Taylor also had things in common with her brother besides looks.

She had an enormous crush on me.

“So, how long is this stupid party going to last, anyway? ” she asked, smirking at me.

I gave her my most charming smile and poured myself another drink. “Most of the day, I’m afraid.”

She sighed and nodded. “That’s what I thought. What a pain.”

I snorted and drank the shot. “Glad to know I’m not the only one that’ll be suffering.”

“Hey, dad, ” Gus said, running down the stairs, closely followed by JR. “Is lunch almost ready? We’re starv-“ He stopped as soon as he reached us and stared at Molly. “Oh. Hi.”

Molly stared at Gus, one eyebrow arched. “Hi.”

Gus smiled, and it was one of my fucking smiles, all charm and self-satisfaction. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”

Molly shrugged, clearly bored.

“Can I have more cookies? ” JR asked, pouting up at me.

”Ask your father, ” I said. “He’ll say yes.”

JR smiled and ran into the kitchen to find Michael and I turned my attention back to Gus and Molly.

“What’s for lunch? ” Molly asked me.

“Ziti, ” I said. “One of Deb’s old recipes. He’s been perfecting them.”

She sighed loudly. “Great. Carbs and fat.”

“That’s what I said, ” I replied.

Gus stared at Molly, his gaze shifting down, and then back up her body. “I don’t think you need to worry about it.”

Molly looked at him, like she was trying to figure him out, and then grinned at him. “So, how’s middle school? ”

Gus’ expression faltered, then he grinned again. “I’m in high school now.”

“Oh, ” Molly said, sounding only slightly interested. “A freshman, huh? ”

I cleared my throat loudly. “We should return to the kitchen. I’m sure the food is almost done.”

Gus shot me an irritated look, then turned back to Molly. “If you get sick of everyone, we could go to my room and… hang out.”

Molly arched her eyebrows and then laughed. “Right, sure.”

We watched as she turned and went into the kitchen, and then I glanced at Gus. He was biting his lower lip, and had this fucking determined expression.

Well, shit. Justin wasn’t going to like this.

I did my best not to laugh, because it was fucking funny, and we followed her back to the kitchen.

Lunch went without anything too horrible happening. JR knocked over her juice, and Michael knocked over his wine trying to help JR clean up her spill. The munchers updated everyone on Canada. We got a full update on JR’s school, her grades, and her trouble-making. She was a dyke for sure. Ben told everyone about his new book, and Justin told them about his new painting. Lindsay asked if she could see his studio after lunch, and he said yes. Jennifer and the munchers talked about their children, and the differences in the school systems in Canada and the US.

Gus sat in between Molly and JR, and spent a lot of his time staring at Molly openly. It was fucking shocking that no one else noticed. Well, except for Molly. I had a feeling she knew. She also thought it was funny, and didn’t show the slightest interest in him. Her eyes were focused on me. And mine were on Justin, who looks fucking adorable when he’s got marinara sauce on the tip of his nose. Finally I got bored with the conversation and leaned over to lick the sauce off, and he shoved me away, giggling and blushing slightly.

“Alright, alright, we’d better get up before Brian gets too bored, or who knows what he’ll start doing, ” Melanie said, standing up and picking up her plate.

”Oh, don’t worry about the dishes, ” Justin said, standing up. “We’ll get them.”

I sighed and shook my head, grabbing the plate from Melanie. “I’ll do it.” I glanced at Justin. “I don’t want any of that fucking cake you got, anyway.”

“Brian, ” Lindsay said sharply.

I smiled sweetly at her. Fuck her and her stupid ‘don’t curse in front of the kids’ rule.

Jennifer insisted on helping me, and we found ourselves in the kitchen, filling the sink with dishes, while everyone else moved to the living room to get comfortable. I politely ignored the murmurs of ‘Brian does dishes now? ’ Justin kissed me on the cheek and grabbed dessert plates and a huge cheesecake from the fridge and went to the living room to serve them. They were going to get fucking cake crumbs everywhere. Shit.

“You’ve done a good job here, ” Jennifer said, wrapping the leftovers and putting them away.

“Tell your son that, he was the one that picked out most of the furniture, ” I replied, filling the sink with water. Fucking hand-wash bullshit.

“I don’t mean the decorating, ” Jennifer said, laughing softly. “I mean everything else.”

I glanced at her over my shoulder. I didn’t know what to say. “I don’t always do a good job.”

She smiled and walked over, putting a hand on my shoulder. “No one does. The important thing is that you do your best. And you give them love.”

I shrugged and grabbed the sponge, washing the plates.

Jennifer grabbed a cloth and took the clean plates from me, drying them and putting them away. We worked in silence for a long time, but it was comfortable, not awkward.

“I’m just so thankful, ” she finally said, wiping her eyes on the back of her hand.

Christ, she was going to start crying.

“All a mother wants for her children is for them to grow up happy and healthy. You give Justin so much. After everything he’s been through, after what you’ve both been through…” She blinked hard and cleared her throat, then smiled at me. “I’m so glad you’re together.”

I stared at her for a moment before turning back to the sink. “Yeah. Me, too.”

I could tell she was smiling ear to ear without even looking at her, and she took a glass from me and dried it.

“I hope Molly finds someone like you, ” she said.

I let out a short laugh, thinking of Gus and his obvious crush, or whatever it was. “Yeah. Let’s hope she finds someone who doesn’t put her through what I put Justin through.”

“I’m sure it was worth it to him, ” she says.

I shrugged. I guess it was. At least, he thought so.

I could hear the soft murmur of voices in the living room suddenly go silent, and Jennifer and I glanced towards the door. What the fuck happened? She shot me a worried look, and we walked into the living room.

Craig was standing in the doorway awkwardly. I arched an eyebrow at him. Well, shit. He had balls after all.

“I can only stay a little while, ” he said.

Justin stood and walked over to him, and then hugged him. It wasn’t a full, warm Justin hug, like the ones I was used to, but he was trying.

Molly waved to her father and smiled at him. Their relationship was strained, but it had never been destroyed like his with Justin.

“I’m glad you’re here, dad, ” Justin said.

Craig glanced around the room warily. He was surrounded by fags and dykes, and he looked fucking terrified. I smirked and walked over to him. “Come into the kitchen, I’ll make you a drink.”

He shot me a relieved look and nodded. “Sure.”

Justin looked at me and grinned weakly. He was nervous. But at least Craig had shown. He really was trying.

Jennifer settled onto the sofa next to Lindsay, and Craig and I returned to the kitchen. I took out a new bottle of red wine, and poured two glasses, handing him one.

“I’m not staying long, ” he said.

“Yeah, you said that, ” I replied, leaning against the counter.

His gaze shifted to my face and he frowned. “This isn’t fucking easy.”

“No kidding.” I sipped my wine, waiting to see what he was going to do.

He licked his lips nervously, and drank half the glass before speaking again. “I’m never going to…approve of this… lifestyle of yours.”

I arched an eyebrow at him and shrugged.

“But I want Justin in my life.”

I nodded once. Craig wasn’t worth it. He was an asshole. Justin should have cut him out of his life ages ago. Then again, I never did completely rid myself of Jack, and he never even tried to tolerate me. I guess that’s the thing about fathers and sons. You can never really escape.

Suddenly, Craig looked me directly in the eye. He didn’t do that very often, and it was sort of shocking. I could see bits of Justin in his eyes, and I wondered how someone so full of shit and hate could have made someone as beautiful as Justin. I gave Jennifer all the credit for that.

“I want to take Gus fishing.”

My jaw dropped. What. The. Fuck?!

He ducked his head again before continuing, staring into his glass. “Molly isn’t going to have children any time soon. And Justin… never will.”

I nodded once. At least he was accepting that even if he didn’t like what Justin had decided to do with his life, it wasn’t going to change. Of course, I knew that Justin had talked about having a family long ago, and he might spring the ‘I want a baby’ thing on me eventually. But that was none of Craig’s fucking business. I could only hope that when Justin brought it up, he would want to be a part time dad, like me, or even a half-time dad like Michael… at least until the kid was a teenager. Fuck. I dreaded that day.

But what the fuck was this about Gus?!

He looked back up at me and cleared his throat. “Gus is the closest thing I have to a grandson. He calls Justin his father. He’s a good kid.”

I stared at him warily. He’d met Gus a couple of times, briefly, during the awkward lunches we’d had with him over the last couple of months.

“Justin never wanted to go fishing, or go to a game with me. Molly was only interested in softball. And I have a feeling you don’t take Gus to do those things, either.”

I wanted to say something about assuming I didn’t like sports and shit just because I was a fag, but he was right. I didn’t. I had no fucking interest in that shit. “Melanie takes him to hockey games, ” I said.

He nodded. “But he lives here now.”

I shrugged again. This was the weirdest fucking conversation I’d had in a long time.

Suddenly Craig’s expression softened and he looked old and tired. “I might not live long enough to see my grandchildren, if Molly even decides to have kids. I’d like to be Gus’ grandfather. I want to take him fishing, and to soccer games, and buy him Christmas presents.”

I stared at him a long time before speaking. “They mostly celebrate Hanukkah.”

He let out a short laugh. “Figures, ” he said.

”They mix them, ” I tried to explain. “Melanie is Jewish.”

He nodded and sighed. “Fine. Hanukkah, then.”

I considered it for a long time. Did I want this asshole who tried to kill me once spending time with my son? Did I trust him?

I walked over to him and got in his face. He tried to step back, but I stayed close. I was going to make myself perfectly fucking clear.

“My son is not going to be exposed to your bullshit religion, or your bullshit homophobia.”

Craig nodded slowly.

”His mothers are lesbians.” I paused. “His fathers are fags. He knows about homophobic assholes like you. But he doesn’t know you are one. He knows you weren’t happy that Justin was gay, back then. But he doesn’t know you’re still, and you’re always going to be, a homophobic prick.”

Craig swallowed hard and straightened up. He was still shorter than me, which I could tell bothered him. “I wouldn’t say any of that to him.”

“Damn right you won’t, ” I said, finishing off my wine. I set the glass on the counter next to us and narrowed my eyes at him. “Because if you did, I would make sure you paid.”

“I won’t, ” he replied.

Shit, he was actually holding out. He wasn’t tucking his tail between his legs and running away. His gaze was meeting mine, and although he looked fucking scared, he still wasn’t letting it make him back down.

So I stepped back and nodded. “Alright. I’ll talk to Gus and Justin. If Justin’s alright with it, and Gus wants to, you can take him fucking fishing, or to games, or whatever the fuck.”

Craig slowly grinned.

I sighed and shook my head. “But don’t fucking misunderstand me, Craig. I don’t like you. I know you don’t like me. I tolerate you because it’s important to Justin. But if you fuck up, if you hurt Justin, or my son, then you’ll never get to see either of them again.”

He nodded. “So we agree to tolerate each other.”

I cocked my head. “I guess so.”

He stuck his hand out, and I shook it.

Justin walked into the kitchen and stared at us with a worried expression. “What’s up? ” he asked.

“Nothing, ” I said.

Craig smiled at Justin, letting go of my hand. “You’ve got a beautiful home.”

Justin blinked at him, and then beamed happily. “Want the tour? I was just going to show everyone my studio.”

Craig nodded and followed him back into the living room. I sighed and trailed after them.

All of the adults followed Justin upstairs to the studio, and I hung back. Gus had his playstation on, and he and JR were playing the newest shoot-‘em-up game and killing each other on it happily, sitting cross-legged on the floor. Molly was kneeling next to JR, pointing at the screen and shouting.

“Over there! Use the machine gun! ” Molly yelled.

“I know, ” JR replied, a serious expression on her face.

“Don’t help her! ” Gus said. “Not fair! ”

“She’s younger than you, ” Molly replied, sticking her tongue out. “It’s totally fair.”

“Except she always beats me anyway, ” Gus mumbled, but he was grinning.

I smiled and settled onto the sofa to watch them. Maybe having the family over wasn’t so bad. Even if it was a fucking weird family. Lindsay and Melanie, Gus and JR, Jennifer and Molly, Michael and Ben, and fuck, Justin and I. Oh, and Craig, somewhere in there, trying to find where he fit into the group. Fuck if I knew. I wasn’t even sure where I fit.

I glanced above the mantelpiece to where the family photos that Justin had framed sat. In the center was a photo of Gus, Justin, and I that Jennifer had taken a month ago when we were at her place for lunch. In it, Justin was beaming, and Gus was smirking, and I was grinning. My arm was around Justin’s shoulders on my right, and Gus was sitting to my left.

Well. Maybe I knew after all.

In some families, please is described as the magic word. In our house, however, it was sorry. ~Margaret Laurence

Chapter 16

I watched him peel off his clothes at the edge of the bed as I lay back listening to the diminishing sounds of JR’s voice screaming.

“I don’t want to go to bed! No! NO! Can I sleep in Gus’s room? WHY NOT!? ”

And the muffled soothing voices of Mel and Linds and finally Gus’s voice leading JR down the hallway and into his bedroom.

“If you hear anything coming from Uncle Brian and Uncle Justin’s room just... ignore it.”

Brian and I exchanged amused glances and burst out laughing.

You have to love Gus.

He climbed into bed next to me and my head immediately went to his chest as his hands tangled in my hair.

“It wasn’t so bad, ” I said as I lazily traced my fingers over his bare skin.