When Opportunity Knocks - 13. Chapter 13

Jett jumped back, startled when his mountain of a brother jumped out of the box he had been hiding in. All four dogs started going nuts. Bruce immediately went into defense mode and Jett quickly commanded, “Bruce! Off!”

Immediately Bruce stopped snarling and trotted to Jett’s side and sat down. Kyle grabbed Rosie’s collar and made her sit too. Rory and Titan had to be corralled by Chris and Piper. Titan nearly wriggled out of Piper’s grasp twice before she tucked him under her arm firmly.

How the hell had Bo pulled this one off? He had to have help. Sneaky fucker. And of course he’s scoring brownie points with Mom by showing up early. Jett immediately held out a hand to help his brother up and enclosed his twin into a suffocating bear hug. It had been nearly two years since Bo had last made it home. His leave last year had been cancelled due to military maneuvers being extended. Jett didn’t realize exactly how much he had missed his brother until just now.

“You asshat! Jett smacked his brother upside the head in admonishment. “Why didn’t you tell us you were coming home early?”

“Jett, you leave him alone and hand him over!” Beth said authoritatively. As much as Jett had missed his brother, his mom had missed her baby boy and she wouldn’t be denied hugging rights.

Bo picked up their mom and swung her around, eliciting a schoolgirl-like squeal from her. The next few minutes were chaotic as the Anderson clan all clamored for a piece of him. When things finally settled down Jett saw Bo pin Kyle in his sights.

“Mmmm, mmmhh. Who have we here?” Bo stuck out his giant paw in greeting, “You must be Kyle. I gotta admit, I’m a little jealous of my brother.” Bo looked over at Jett, “Looks like you hit the jackpot Bro.” He turned back to Kyle, his hand still caught in his grip, and leaned in close before fake-whispering, “A little advice….dump my loser brother and come take a walk on the wild side.”

Jett cracked up at the incredulous look on Kyle’s face as he snorted loudly. Kyle rescued his hand from Bo’s death grip and reached up to pat his shoulder. “Jett already warned me about you. Don’t you worry your pretty little head, I belong to Jett, but play your cards right and we’ll fix you up something good,” he quipped.

Jett outright laughed knowing that Kyle was referring to his friend Noah. Bo turned a little pink at the rebuff, but Jett knew he didn’t take any offense. Jett’s insides got a little gooey when Kyle said he belonged to him.

Bo clapped Jett on the back hard, and leaned in close, “I like this one. Don’t fuck it up.”

Piper interrupted their little brotherly love fest and asked the burning question they all had. “Who the hell helped you pull this one off?”

Bo smirked at his sister and replied “Aww, what’s the fun in telling you? A man’s gotta have his secrets.” He was focused on Piper and never noticed his other sister sneak up behind him. Skye knew that Bo’s military training meant that he stood straight and tall at all times and she took advantage of that and hit the proverbial Achilles heel and bent both of her knees into the backs of his, causing them to buckle. She skittered out of the way as he nearly tumbled to the floor. He managed to keep his balance, but it was game on. Skye tried to run but Bo was quicker and scooped up her petite frame and flipped her upside down in front of him so that her head hovered a mere fraction of an inch above his combat boots.

She shrieked as he demanded, “Lick my boots baby girl!”

“Moooooooommmmm!!!”

Kyle was holding Rosie back as she whined, not knowing what to make of these weird human shenanigans. She clearly wanted to help, but didn’t know who she should be helping.

Beth sighed and turned her back on the mayhem, rolled her eyes and muttered, “What did I do to deserve this?”

Bo shook his sister, careful not to smack her head on the floor. “Are they always like this?” Jett heard Kyle ask his Dad.

Chris laughed. “Yup.”

When Piper tried to save her sister, Bo growled at Jett “You better have my back!”

Jett grinned. He issued a quick, curt ‘Stay’ command to Bruce. He had missed this. Piper hadn’t had a good brotherly beat down in a while and he grabbed her around the waist as she tried to jump on Bo’s back. In a flash, he had her pinned on the ground, face down, hands behind her back like a suspect, while he took advantage and tickled her sides, keeping her in place with a knee. He would never hurt either of his sisters, but he definitely had the upper hand with his size and strength. Piper squirmed and wiggled beneath him, trying to escape the fingers performing pure torture of the fraternal kind.

Rory and Titan went nuts, obviously used to horseplay from their human siblings. Titan was an expert at avoiding feet and Rory’s big paws. Rory’s tongue swiped at Skye’s face as she hung upside down and it wasn’t long before the girls conceded defeat and cried ‘Uncle!’ and their horseplay came to an end. All four were out of breath from laughing so hard. Jett loved the strong connection he had with his siblings. Yes, there had been rivalry while growing up, but when push came to shove, they were each other’s staunchest supporters.

Jett let go of Piper and gave her a quick hug which she returned. He saw Kyle watching him with a mixture of amusement and possibly a little lust in his eyes. Hmm, he tucked that information away for future use. His man seemed to like seeing him go into cop mode. Good to know.

Jett made his way over and grabbed Kyle into a hug and then bent down for a kiss.

“Yuck! Get a room!” Piper called out as she went into the kitchen to help their mom. Skye was still getting her bearings from being held upside down and Bo ended up sitting her down on the couch until her equilibrium came back. The dogs settled down as the humans were finally behaving properly.

Beth Anderson was a pro when it came to feeding a small army. She delegated tasks efficiently and Kyle was impressed when an hour later there was a feast of spaghetti with homemade meat sauce, salad and mouth watering garlic bread.

“I’m impressed. I don’t know if I could pull off dinner for seven people at the drop of a hat,” Kyle said as he took another piece of garlic bread from the basket on the table.

“Spaghetti and meat sauce is my go-to for last minute big meals. I always have pasta on hand and the freezer is stocked with meat sauce. I make a huge batch every month or whenever I need it. It doesn’t take long to heat up while the pasta cooks. Salad and garlic bread are easy to throw together too.” Beth explained.

Bo, being the pain in the ass brother that he is, looked at Jett with a gleam in his eye and turned his attention to Kyle. “Okay Ky, I’ve gotten the bare bones information from my inferior twin, so spill. Who is the real Dr. Kyle Benton, veterinarian extraordinaire?”

Jett leaned back and winked at Kyle, waiting to hear what he had to say.

Kyle wiped at some sauce that clung to his luscious lips and winked back before turning to look at Bo. “Hmm, not a straightforward answer. I’m kinda torn. I’ve told Jett and shown him my good side. The caring vet, the concerned son and brother, not to mention the amazing boyfriend that I can be. But----,” he hesitated. “I’m thinking that you want the gritty details. The confessions of the soul so to speak.”

Another hesitation as Piper stifled a laugh with a half-choked snort.

“Do I dare mention that I have underlying trust issues and manifest my insecurities by participation in the extreme kink scene?”

This time it was both Beth and Chris who tried to hide their barks of laughter.

“Do I mention that my secret fantasies include extremely old men with sagging boobs, rubber bands and whipped cream?”

That was pretty much where the charade ended as Jett burst out laughing and everyone else joined in. Bo had tears in his eyes. Kyle couldn’t keep a straight face.

When the laughter calmed down Jett leaned over and gave Kyle a kiss. “Saggy old man boobs, rubber bands and whipped cream huh? I’ll have to remember that.”

Jett turned to Bo, “Brother o’mine, everything I’ve told you about Kyle is true. He’s amazing, I’m lucky to have him in my life. You need to get yourself your own Kyle, I’m not sharing mine.” It was Kyle’s turn to give him a kiss.

“I know when it’s time to fold ‘em. Kyle’s safe from me. As far as me getting my own Kyle? Maybe. After I settle into my new assignment I may actually be in a good place to find someone to share my life with.”

“What new assignment?” Beth’s tone went all ‘mom-like’. It was not a question to be ignored.

Bo grinned and announced. “Starting February 3rd, I will be stationed at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis as Senior Instructor of Computer Science and Cyber Informations.”

Once again chaos erupted as the family rapid-fired wishes of congratulations as well as questions at Bo, nobody really waiting for an answer. It was the verbal equivalent of a tornado.

Bo finally held up his hands to quell the onslaught. He raised his voice slightly to get everyone to settle down. “Whoa, whoa! One thing at a time. Shut up! Piper!” he admonished as his sister still tried to get a word in edgewise.

When all was finally quiet Bo explained, “I received my new orders last month. My CO has known for a while that I wanted a permanent stateside assignment, preferably East coast, specifically, mid-Atlantic. He saw the opening in one of his reports and knew I would be a good fit. He went up the chain of command and managed to get my last required six month stint waived if I commit to three years at the Academy. So you are now looking at Captain Boeing Skynard Anderson, Professor Extraordinaire.”

Chris got up from his seat, grabbed his son and pulled him up into a tight hug. His eyes were shiny as he proclaimed, “We are so proud of you! New job and a promotion!”

Jett was happy for his brother. He had spent the better part of the last ten years roaming the world on various ships and one claustrophobic two month stint in a submarine. Bo never told his family about any of his problems, except for Jett. Jett was his sounding board, his shrink and his best friend. Sharing a womb with someone tends to create super strong bonds. His parents and sisters never heard about the hardships that Bo had to endure being confined to a long metal tube below the water for weeks on end. How being tall increased the feelings of the walls closing in on you as your head continually scraped the ceiling. They didn’t know about the feelings of being an infinitesimal speck in the universe while you stood on the deck of an aircraft carrier and stared out over the endless stretch of water for miles and miles. They didn’t know about the sheer loneliness of not wanting to develop any real, meaningful relationships when one of you could get orders to ship out somewhere new at any time.

Jett had heard it all. He had listened intently to the anguish in his brother’s voice when he had to tell him his leave had been cancelled and he didn’t know when he was going to be able to get home. He listened to endless descriptions of Bo’s one night stands or how good or bad a particular fuck buddy, male or female was. The past couple of years he had recognized the longing in Bo’s voice whenever he spoke of home. So yeah, he was happy for Bo and he was so proud of him. Bo worked hard and deserved his promotion.

Everyone pitched in to help clean up from dinner and it didn’t take too long. The rest of the evening the family spent catching up with their lost sheep. Piper was the first to call it quits. She had an early morning meeting and then was flying out to Chicago for a three-day training seminar. She worked for a major clothing company as an assistant in their fabric and design department. Skye was a surgical nurse at North Arundel Hospital and she had to be in early as well.

Bo pulled Jett aside as their sisters were gathering their coats and purses. “Hey, um, can I stay with you until my housing comes through? It’ll only be for a month or so. I’m meeting with a housing coordinator next week to look at some options. I love Mom and Dad, but…”

Jett got it. Bo wanted to be able to bring someone home on short notice and not have the morning after walk of shame discovered by the parental units. Even though their parents were very open-minded, all of their kids respected them and bringing home a hook up was not exactly polite manners.

“Yeah, sure. Just don’t expect me and Kyle to be quiet just for your sake,” he teased. Kyle’s cheeks turned bright pink in that way that Jett found sexy.

Beth started to protest when Bo told her his plans, but Chris intervened and smoothed her ruffled feathers by whispering something in her ear that made her turn red and stop talking.

“Mom, I’ll be here often. I promise,” Bo placated.

The guys were finally able to extricate themselves from Beth’s clutches and Bo heaved a sigh of relief as Jett pulled out of the driveway.

Jett pinned a look at his brother in the rear view mirror, “So how the hell did you pull this off?”

Bo chuckled. “Old man Kovac. I collaborated with him and his son Luka. I knew last week that I was getting leave early so I called our dear neighbor and we cooked up this scheme. They took care of getting the boxes put together. I got in this morning and took an Uber to Luka’s house. He works for FedEx so at the end of his shift we loaded the box into his truck and at the end of the street I climbed in and he nailed and taped everything up and made the delivery. You could’ve moved your ass a little quicker getting over there. I was starting to get antsy. You know how I love enclosed spaces.”

Jett reached over and grabbed Kyle’s hand. “Aw, come on Bo, not all enclosed spaces are scary you know.”

Kyle laughed at the insinuation and Jett gave him a wink. When they got back to Jett’s house the dogs jumped down and Kyle whistled softly to Rosie. Jett gave Bo his keys to get into the house and told Bruce to go inside. The dog had figured out quickly that Bo wasn’t a threat. It had been over two years since they had seen each other and after the initial shock of Bo jumping out his hiding place, Bruce settled down.

Jett waited for Kyle to get Rosie buckled in and then pushed him up against the door after Kyle shut it. He leaned down and finally gave that tempting mouth the attention it deserved. Kyle let out a soft whimper as Jett pushed his tongue past his lips and explored. They had to break apart all too soon. It was cold and they both felt the icy air nipping at their exposed skin.

“Sorry the night didn’t go as I had planned,” Jett said as he slid his hands down to feel Kyle’s ass through his jeans.

“I’m not. I’m happy that you have your brother back early. I know you’ve missed him. Besides, I think tonight was probably good practice for Christmas Eve. You did refer to it as ‘Christmas Eve chaos’, did you not?”

Jett smiled and kissed the tip of Kyle’s cold nose. “Yup. I’m glad that the insanity that is my family hasn’t sent you running for the state line.”

“Nope. No state line for me. Go. Go spend some time with your brother. You guys have some catching up to do,” Kyle told him.

Jett’s heart tightened. He loved how Kyle just knew what he needed and so willingly gave him the space to do it.

“Goodnight babe. I’ll call you tomorrow.” Jett gave him one more kiss and then watched from his top step as Kyle’s truck drove down the street. He headed inside where Bo was already flopped on the couch with a snifter of whiskey in one hand and Bruce’s head tucked under the other. Jett kicked off his shoes and threw his coat on a hook by the door.

Bo had poured another measure of whiskey and left it on the end table next to his recliner. Jett grinned at his twin as he sat down, propped his feet up and took a sip of the smooth, oak aged, amber liquid. It left behind a nice heat as it slid down his throat.

“It’s good to have you back Bo.”

“You have no idea how good it is to be back,” Bo sighed. Jett could see that although Bo was technically on leave, there was still a tenseness that had settled around him.

“Talk to me. You know I can smell your bullshit from over here. What happened?” he pried, none too gently.

“We never could hide anything from each other, could we?” Bo shook his head. “I screwed up and let my temper get the best of me. Some idiot ensign was mouthing off spouting homophobic shit about another sailor and I ended up punching him. My CO was not pleased, especially after he had pulled some strings to get me the Annapolis assignment. It was decided that it would be in my best interest to disembark and start my leave early. So I jumped ship in Honolulu, spent a day on the beach and caught a red-eye home. At least I got the satisfaction of seeing the ensign get chewed out while sporting a massive shiner. Prick.”

Jett chuckled at his brother’s indignation. Bo might be a little rough around the edges sometimes, but he had a good heart.

“Lemme guess. The sailor that the ensign was bullying was one of your hookups?”

“Give the cop a shiny new detective’s badge!”

Jett flipped his brother off and took another sip of whiskey. They spent the next hour catching up before Bo’s yawning got in the way of making conversation. Jett gathered the empty whiskey glasses and herded Bo to his guest room. Luckily there were clean sheets on the bed, that is if Bo just didn’t flop down and fall asleep wherever he landed. Other than a nap on the plane he had been awake for the better part of the past two days.

Bo was still asleep when Jett got up the following day. He threw on some sweats and called to Bruce. The big Shepherd loved running in the morning. He loped alongside Jett for the full five mile loop. Despite the cold air, Jett was sweaty when he slowed down to cool off for the last half mile. Coffee, he needed coffee.

The house was still quiet after their run. Bruce went straight to his water and slurped down half the bowl. Jett chuckled and sucked down a whole bottle of water in one go before getting his coffee maker going. At least he didn’t slobber all over the place. Jett took his shower and then started on breakfast for him and Bo after feeding Bruce first.

He pulled up his funky indie playlist and hummed along to the music as he took out some bacon and the stuff to make pancakes. He cooked the whole pound of bacon and set aside half when it was done. Soon a stack of pancakes joined the bacon on each plate that Jett had prepared. Bo was still sleeping and Jett let him. Pancakes could be heated up later.

Just in case, he did crack open the door of the guest room to make sure Bo was still breathing. He had nothing to worry about. Bo was sprawled face down on top of the comforter, still fully dressed. His head had actually managed to land on a pillow and there was a huge drool puddle turning the blue pillowcase a darker hue. Jett zoomed in with his phone and snapped a picture before backing away and closing the door softly.

He sent the picture to both Piper and Skye, then added Kyle to the thread as well. He couldn’t help snickering as he hit send. The next few weeks were going to be fun.

Bo finally managed to pull himself from slumber around noon. He grunted appreciatively at the sight of the pancakes and bacon Jett left him.

“Anything you need to take care of today? It’s my off day, so I can chauffeur your fat ass around if you need it.”

Bo shovelled a massive forkful of food into his mouth and after a couple of compulsory chews he mumbled with his mouth full, “I anna ook at ars.”

“English please, not Neanderthal.”

Bo opened his mouth wide, displaying the half-masticated, mushy lump of pancake and bacon morphing into a gooey mess in his mouth.

Jett laughed as Bo finished chewing and finally swallowed the food with a smirk on his face.

“I said I want to look at cars. I’m going to need some wheels and I’d like to take care of it today. I did some poking around online and the Toyota dealer in Annapolis has a nice used Tundra that’s in my price range. I’ve got an appointment at two o’clock to go look at it and take it for a test drive.” Bo said.

Jett glanced at the time on his phone. “Well, then finish your food, take a shower and let’s go. It’s already afternoon and I know how pokey you are in the shower,” Jett prompted.

Jett and Bo spent the afternoon test driving a few options that Bo focused on. In the end he went with his original choice and bought the Toyota Tundra that they first looked at. Jett knew he got a decent price for it and the truck was in great shape and had low mileage for a four year old vehicle.

Once Bo was settled in and didn’t have to rely on Jett for transportation it seemed like the next couple of weeks flew by. He and Kyle got together a few times a week for lunch and spent one Saturday at the gun range again. Kyle had started his class and was soaking up the information like a sponge. The approaching Christmas holiday had really taken a bite of the time they had available. Jett was putting in a lot of overtime at the Annapolis Mall as well as the Anne Arundel Mall. Bruce’s presence gave the shoppers an added measure of security as well as made potential thieves think twice about not paying for merchandise.

They missed out on spending the past weekend together as Kyle had spent most of his Saturday driving down to Dulles airport to pick up his friend Noah. Noah’s flight had been delayed and it took longer than Kyle had planned on. Jett had been called in the following day as several troopers were out with a flu bug that was going around. The upcoming weekend was the last weekend before Christmas and Jett was hoping to finish up his Christmas shopping. He had gotten a lot of things online, but still had a few small items to get. He also needed to wrap his gift for Kyle which was hidden away. He was incredibly lucky that Christmas fell on a Tuesday this year. He was already off on Sunday and Monday and because he worked Thanksgiving, he would get Christmas Day off. Bonus three-day weekend, sweet!

He and Kyle planned to get together this weekend at his house. Kyle was bringing Noah so they could finally meet and Kyle and Jett both wanted to see if Bo and Noah gave off any sparks.

Kyle showed up with Noah not long after Jett got home on Saturday. Kyle wasn’t kidding when he said Noah was small. He was not quite 5’6” with a slim build, sort of wiry, a small waist and a surprisingly well padded posterior. He wasn't gorgeous, but rather cute in a bookish-nerdy way. Thin, wire framed glasses were perched on a slightly upturned nose. His sandy blond hair was a riot of shoulder length loose curls that most girls would die for. The first thing that came to Jett’s mind was that if he had pointed ears he’d make a good elf. He kept that thought to himself.

Kyle made the introductions and Jett watched closely as his twin sized up the newcomer. It had been a while since he had played Bo’s wingman, but he could still read the signs. Although it wasn’t outwardly obvious, Jett could see the invisible neon lights that flashed across his brother’s eyes. Yes, Bo was interested and Jett tucked away that little snippet of information in his brain’s Bo folder.

Bruce and Rosie went straight for the back slider and Jett saw Tater’s little face waiting for his friends to be set free in the backyard. There was still a smattering of snow back there after they had a little squall drop a dusting over everything earlier that day. More snow was forecast for later and Jett had made sure that Kyle had Noah pack some necessities to stay overnight.

Kyle was opening a few bottles of beer and Jett came up behind him and pulled him in close, burying his nose in the crook of his neck and inhaling the scent that he hadn’t gotten enough of lately.

Kyle leaned back and sighed. “That feels good. You. You feel good.”

Jett let out a rush of air as Kyle pushed his ass back into him. His cock perked up, happy to have some attention at last. Jett’s brain tried to shut it down quickly before he had a full fledged stiffy vying for space in his jeans. He gave Kyle a light smack on his ass and pulled his hips away. Putting his mouth next to Kyle’s ear he whispered, “Don’t start what you can’t finish.”

Kyle set the beer he was holding on the counter and turned around to face Jett. Jett felt his head get pulled down gently and Kyle’s lips ghosted over his ear and whispered back “Oh, I’ll finish this alright. You’re just going to have to wait.” Then he ground his hips into Jett’s before nipping his ear and pulling away, laughing.

“Jerk,” Jett muttered.

Kyle grabbed two beers in each hand and headed to the living room. Jett grabbed the plate of munchies and some napkins. Bo and Noah were sitting next to each other on the couch and as Jett placed the tray of food on his coffee table he heard the distinct language of true computer geeks being spoken. He looked at Kyle and shook his head.

Noah turned out to be a quick-witted pistol. Jett was enjoying the banter between his brother and Kyle’s best friend. They traded stories of living and working in the Far East. The last year of Bo’s deployment had been primarily spent in the Sea of Japan. Bo’s ship had spent a few weeks in dry dock at the Naval base in Okinawa in September and Bo had taken advantage of a three week leave to explore some of the country. He could have come home, but being so close to the end of his stint he had chosen to see as much of Japan as he could while he had the chance.

Bo was boasting of his participation in the Kishiwada Danjiri Festival in Osaka. The festival is held every year in hopes of a good harvest. Danjiri are elaborate wooden carts or floats that were built to look like temples. The carts were ridden through the streets at top speed with men balanced on top or clinging to the sides, trying not to get thrown off. Bo had befriended one of the participants and had been invited to join him on his neighborhood’s danjiri.

While the carts had braking systems, they were pretty basic. Even with special shoes designed to grip surfaces and ridges carved in the elaborate designs to hold on to, injuries were common and fatalities were not unheard of.

Noah was familiar with the festival and had seen it firsthand as well, although as a spectator, safe and sound. Jett could tell by the look on his face he thought Bo was an idiot for doing something so dangerous.

Bo seemed to think nothing was wrong with hurtling through the streets wildly. “It was so awesome! One of the best adrenaline rushes I’ve ever had! Man, you should’ve tried it,” he said to Noah with a look of superior smugness on his face.

Noah looked at Bo and replied, “Are you kidding? Why would I risk life and limb for a stupid adrenaline rush? If you think I’m gonna give you a high five and a Hershey kiss like your mommy did when you shit on the potty the first time you’ve got another thing coming. Besides, there are much more exciting ways to get your adrenaline ramped up.” He blatantly stared at Bo’s crotch and raised an eyebrow.

Kyle cracked up and Jett joined in. Damn, Noah knew how to take Bo down a notch. Bo was shaking his head, a slight blush creeping up his neck. Jett could tell that Bo was intrigued by this newcomer into their little circle.

The pizza that Jett had ordered arrived and the rest of the evening was spent drinking, eating and shooting the shit. Jett and Kyle said goodnight around midnight, Jett fully intending on cashing in on Kyle’s vow to finish what he had started earlier that evening. He had left a couple of pillows and a comforter for Noah for the couch, but he wasn’t sure if they’d be needed. Bo and Noah were still deep in computer geek conversation when Jett closed his bedroom door and clicked the lock. Kyle had a promise to keep.