Always - 2. The Audition Begins

After Noah and I loaded up the SUV (sadly, in just one trip) with my stuff, we went back into the living room to wait for David and Andrew to finish in the office. We were sitting in chairs that were next to each other when Noah leaned into me.

“You okay, Nick? Looks like you have a lot on your mind.”

“Oh. I’m just thinking about shit. You know—all the places a foster kid’s brain goes when things look like they’re working out.”

“What do you mean?”

“Okay, don’t get me wrong. Things have already gone better than before. Usually, I get brought back after the first visit, and I never hear from anyone again.

I’ve been in two foster homes. The first one sucked because it turned out I was there to be their personal slave and to bring in a monthly check. The second one sucked because I really like living there—mainly because they had a boy who was two years older than me who was cute as shit. His dad caught us kissing in the backyard one night and beat the shit out of me. And just so you know, he made the move on me. I got kicked out that night because I was a bad influence on his son.”

“Wow. So, first things first. We don’t need the money, and the monthly check is going into a college fund for you. Number two—we don’t need no freakin’ personal slave. Elena comes in and cleans the house and does laundry twice a week. We do our own cooking, so I’m sure you’ll be enlisted for some of that.”

“Man, I would love to learn how to cook.”

“Three. As cute as you are—and as sweet as you are—we probably won’t be doing much kissing.”

Well fuck! There goes that fantasy!

“Stop looking like I just punched you in the gut! If I didn’t have a girlfriend, and if you weren’t my foster brother, I’d be all over you like white on rice!”

“But you have a girlfriend. Why would you even—"

“Okay, I’m probably the weirdest boy you’ll ever know, but the thing is—”

Just then, Mrs. C came into the living room and asked me to join her and the Whites in the office. I asked her if Noah could come as well, and she agreed since this involved him, too.

We went into her office, and all found a place to sit. Mrs. C. spoke first.

“Nick, I can tell you the Whites had a wonderful time with you today, and from what I’ve heard, you had a great time, as well. Is there anything you’d like to say? Do you have any questions?”

“Well, not really. I don’t want to say anything that might mess things up.”

Andrew was the first to speak, “Nick, I can assure you that unless you were just pretending to have a good time or faked it when you showed us that you enjoyed spending the day with us—there’s probably nothing you could say to mess things up.”

“Go ahead, dude. You already know how our family rolls. If it’s on your mind, say it—if it makes a mess of things, we all clean it up together and move on.”

I just looked at the three of them. Why the fuck did the Whites want me to be a part of their family? I just didn’t get it. But there was one thing that had me wondering about the whole thing. And with my talent for going right to the dark places, it kind of freaked me out.

“Okay. Mrs. C., please don’t take this the wrong way. But I’ve been in the system for over seven years. I’ve seen a lot of bullshit—sorry about the language—but I’ve seen a lot of crap come down on a lot of kids. I know CPS is this huge bureaucracy and I also know things never move this quickly. So, I guess I just wanna know that this is all on the up and up—and how are things happening like this—you know—so fast?”

“Nick, you’ve made some excellent points, and I’m sure things do look a bit odd from your perspective. So let’s start at the beginning, shall we? I guess you know that Andrew is an attorney?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Do you know the type of law he practices?”

“Lawyer—ly—law?”

Everyone kinda got a kick out of my stupidity, but it was nice to kinda break the ice in the room.

“Andrew heads the Andrew White and Associates law firm here in town. You probably haven’t heard of them because it’s not the type of firm you see advertising on television. Andrew’s firm is perhaps the top family law practice in the state. He and all the lawyers working for him do a great deal of pro bono work for CPS and the children we take care of.”

“Pro Bono? What’s that?”

“Well, basically, we donate our time and talent to CPS and the children without any fees or charges.”

“So were you the attorney that got my last foster dad to leave me alone and drop those fake charges.”

“Yes, Nick—I am that attorney. And that’s how I found you. And that’s when I told David and Noah about you.”

“Andrew and I have been working on this for more than two months. When we saw how slowly the system was working, my husband called in a few favors—”

“Several favors, actually—”

“And Mrs. Cranston helped us get the ball rolling.”

I looked over at Noah and grinned. He smiled at me and winked. Fucking dimples. Fucking straight-boy dimples!

Mrs. C. spoke up again. “Normally, there would be a few one-night visits and evaluations before we would let one of our children move in with a new family. However, this particular group home has recently been given a very generous grant to try a brand-new program where—we pick an exceptional foster family—and the child can move in for two weeks on a trial basis. At the end of the two weeks, a social worker will visit and conduct extensive interviews with everyone in the household. Once all the evaluations are complete, a decision on a more permanent arrangement can be made.”

“So, this is like an audition? Like—a two-week-long audition?”

Noah chuckled, and I looked at him. “What?”

“You are such a theatre kid. But I totally get it. It really is like some long-ass audition—for all of us!”

Mrs. C. smiled at the way Noah and I were getting along. “Now, gentlemen. Just so we’re clear, for the next two weeks, you can expect some unannounced visits and a full evaluation as the trial period—or audition—wraps up. I would suggest you go about things as if they will continue well beyond the two weeks. I know Nick quite well, and I also know all about the White family. Like I told Nick this morning—I feel very good about this whole thing.”

With that having been said, everyone stood up, and Mrs. C. walked us all to the front door. Before I walked out, she gently took my arm and pulled me into a hug. “I can’t tell you how happy I am for you, Nick. You are one of the good ones. We don’t see many kids that are as good as you. Be happy, learn to go with the flow of things, and try not to question or doubt things like I know you do.”

She then kissed me on the forehead and hurried me out the door. Now the big shocker is that I’ve never—and I mean never—seen Mrs. C. pull any of that motherly stuff with any of the boys in the home. Even though it shocked the hell out of me, it sure did feel nice. And for that kiss alone, I promised myself I would do everything I could to take her advice.

We all climbed into the SUV and began the trip back to Wonderland. I was nervous as fuck, but Noah kept smiling at me. David eventually put the showtunes back on the radio. By the time we were leaving the city, the four of us were singing and laughing our way down the road.

It only took four songs for us to pull up to the security gate, and we were soon home. Home. Will this ever really feel like home? I mean, I really like Noah and his dads, but I feel like a guest.

As soon as we got into the house, Andrew announced a family meeting on the deck. Noah got a pitcher of iced tea, four glasses filled with ice and brought them out.

David was the first to speak. “So—Nick, I’m sure this is pretty overwhelming for you. And to be honest, I think I can speak for both Andrew and me when I say that we’re still a bit in shock that everything has finally happened—exactly the way we have hoped it would.”

“Nick—David and I want you to know that we are in this 110%. We are going to proceed just as if there is no such thing as a two-week trial period. Any questions?”

“No, not yet. But I’m pretty sure there will be some that come up.”

“I have a question, dads.”

Andrew chuckled. “I bet you do—go ahead, spill it!”

“I remember suggesting we try to foster a brother for me about four weeks ago. Do you remember that?”

“How could we forget?”

“And while we were sitting in the office, Mrs. C. said that she had been working with you and Pop for over two months. Do you remember that?”

“Yeeeeeeeeees.”

“Okay, and I’m not trying to get all lawyer-like on you, Dad—but are you telling me that you were planning this before I brought it up? And that you probably weren’t going to tell me until today?”

I had to chuckle as David and Andrew looked at each other and started laughing. David got up from his chair and walked around to stand behind Noah.

“Noah, when we saw how much joy you got from thinking you had convinced us to do what we were already doing, your Dad and I didn’t have the heart to let you think anything else. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you as happy as you’ve been the last four weeks.”

“Okay—I guess I forgive you. But the main thing is—I have a brother! And Nick has a family—a weird family—but it’s still a family—right, Nick?”

How could I not love this boy? “Right, Noah. This is pretty awesome!”

Andrew took a sip of his tea and spoke again. “Okay, Nick. As far as David and I—and Noah, of course—are concerned, you are now a full-fledged member of the White family. I’m sure Noah has both told you and shown you some of the things he has. While we aren’t going to match him item for item, we have already gotten you a few things to help you along when you start at Westlake—once Spring break is over.”

David walked into the house and returned with a large bag from what looked to me like the Apple Store. Oh shit!

He reached into the bag and pulled out a smallish box. What the fuck??!!?? It was the new iPhone!.

“Check it out, bro! You might just already have a text message, too!”

I got it out of the box, and sure enough, there was a text.

NOAHQBSWIM: welcome home bro. so glad ur here. luvya!

Dammit! This is not a time for tears! “Guys—you didn’t have to do that. I already have a phone.”

“Dude. It’s a phone from Seven-Eleven. You don’t have a plan. Besides, we have a great family plan—and you’re a part of the family now.”

Andrew cleared his throat. “There’s one more thing, Nick. Mrs. Cranston told us you didn’t have one, and it’s something you’ll definitely need at your new school.”

I couldn’t believe it. Andrew handed me the bag, and sitting in the bottom was a brand-new MacBook laptop. “Guys—this is too much! You shouldn’t have done this!”

“Well, if you think about it—Andrew, Noah, and I have laptops. We don’t have a family computer. You’ll need one for school. It’s your welcome-to-the-family present.”

“I don’t even know how it works. What am I gonna do with this?”

“No worries, bro. I’ll get you all set up—gives us some quality brother time, right?”

David suggested we get my things out of the car and get me set up in my room. Noah and I went out to the garage and got the four grocery bags that contained my entire life.

“God, Noah—this is so fucking embarrassing.”

“Don’t worry about it. The dads are taking you shopping tomorrow so you can get yourself some new clothes for school and all.”

“That’s not necessary. I’m cool with—”

“Dude, just go with it. They are so excited about this. You’re not going to be able to stop them.”

I just sighed, and we carried my stuff inside. I asked the dads where they wanted me. David told me I could pick any of the rooms upstairs. Noah asked if he could talk with me for a minute. We walked into the kitchen, and he started.

“Nick. Hear me out. What would you think of sharing my room? I mean, I have two double beds. There’s a whole closet I don’t even use. I could get the dads to move in a desk for your computer and homework and shit. I mean, I’ve never had a brother to share a room with. This is perfect!”

“Dude, I don’t want to cramp your style and all. It’s pretty huge moving into your house—but your room? Really? Are you nuts?”

“Shut up, Nick. Just say yes. It’ll be awesome—and if you hate it after a while, you can move into one of the other rooms.”

So I just stood there thinking about it. I mean, the last time I had my own room, I peed my pajama bottoms when the cops busted through the door and pointed their guns at me. I’ve shared a room with two or three people for quite a while now. I’ve never shared a room with just one person. Okay, a hot-as-fuck boy at that—who will never kiss me. But it might be nice. I don’t think I would be able to sleep in a room all by myself. At least not for a while.

“If I say yes and then change my mind down the road, you have to promise not to be pissed or start to hate me, okay?”

“Dude, no way I could ever hate you. You’re my brother now! So let’s go tell the dads you’ll be stayin’ with me, k?”

We went back out to the patio, and Noah took charge. “Dads, Nick and I have been talking, and we decided that we want to share my room. I’ve never had a brother to share a room with.”

“Are you sure? Nick? What do you think about this—be honest—that’s how we roll in this family.”

“Well, I would like to try it for a while if that’s okay. I’ve had roommates for years, but the thing is, none of them liked me. None of them cared. Oh, don’t feel bad—I didn’t much like them either.

“But—this is something new for me, too. And I really don’t think I would be able to sleep in a room by myself. At least not right away.”

“Noah?” David asked his son about sleepovers and what he would do when that would happen.

“Pop, I haven’t had a sleepover for at least two years. I don’t think that’s gonna be a problem at all.”

David looked at Andrew. “Has it been that long? I had no idea.”

“David, I think it would be a great idea. It would be a great way for the boys to get to know each other—help them bond before they go back to school after Spring Break.”

“Sure. Andrew’s right. Give it a shot, boys. But—only on the condition that if it looks like things won’t work out, or if there are any problems at all—then Nick has the option to move into a room upstairs. You good with that?”

Both of us agreed and hugged each other. A brotherly hug. Damn! That’s something new—and pretty fucking nice, too!

Noah and I went upstairs and moved one of the dressers down and found a place in Noah’s—no—our room. We also grabbed a desk and chair. I didn’t think it would all fit, but damn, Noah had a huge room.

Once we had everything moved and my clothes put away, Andrew and David came in and said the popcorn machine was warming up and it was probably a great night to catch something in the home theatre upstairs.

David ended up pulling Netflix up, and we watched the musical Newsies. Now, I knew a lot of the songs from Newsies but seeing it on a big screen—blew my fucking mind! I mean, some of those boys were hot as fuck! Their singing was great, but I swear—I have never in my life seen dancing like they had in that video! It made me decide that even though I could move pretty well—and I could handle the dancing in the high school shows—I wanted more. I wanted to start lessons. Maybe—if I played my cards right—the dads would help me with that.

After the movie, we said goodnight to the dads, and we headed to our room. Noah opened the curtains, and it turns out he had—we have our own deck overlooking the valleys and hills below the house. The best part was that the way the house was situated, the deck was totally private!

Noah told me to grab a seat out on the deck and that he’d be right out. When he returned, my eyes got big. He was holding a bong and a small bag of pot.

“You cool with this? I mean, do you wanna join me?”

“I’ve only smoked a couple of times before. I don’t think it did much except make me real sleepy.”

“Exactly why I do it. I like to smoke after a totally exciting day—or the night after a game—or a show. It just brings my brain back to earth, so I can sleep.”

Okay, so what I didn’t tell Noah was that smoking pot also gets me totally boned up and horny. But that’s not a big deal anymore since he kinda laid the ground rules on that one.

We each took about four hits off the bong, and by the time I blew out the last hit, I was feeling reeeeeaaaaal good. I also felt my dick begin to fill out my jeans. Fuck! It started to get a little chilly, so we decided to head back into the room.

Noah put the bong and weed back somewhere in his closet and then came back out in the room with a couple bottles of water. He sat on the floor in the space between our beds and motioned for me to sit down. He was leaning against his bed. I leaned against mine.

“Nick. I’m so glad this has worked out. And thanks for agreeing to share the room. You’ll never know how good that makes me feel.”

“I’m really glad you offered. I think I might have had a hard time sleeping in a room by myself after all these years. Especially in a quiet room.”

“Oh, it wouldn’t have been all that quiet. The dads do it three or four nights a week, and your room would be right above theirs—and they can get pretty loud. It’s really kinda funny.”

“Noooo! That’s just not something I want to think about—and I just can’t unsee the image you put in my brain!”

“God, I’m so glad you’re here, Nick. There’s something about you. I can’t put my finger on it.”

I giggled. “You could try. I wouldn’t mind at all!” I giggled some more—and hey, I was stoned—and truly happy for the first time in a long, long time.

“Yeah, you’d like that, wouldn’t you!” This time Noah giggled. And smiled—at me!

“Can I ask you a question?”

“You just did.”

I can’t believe he went there. “Dude, that’s the oldest joke in the book. That’s like a dad joke, even.”

“Go ahead, ask me anything. In fact—let’s just do that. You ask a question. I ask a question. Make it a game. We have to answer honestly, and the person who refuses to answer a question first loses.”

“Cool. What’s the prize?”

“Honor!”

“Right. Whatever. One thing, though. Whatever is said in here—stays in here. Deal?”

“Definite deal. So go ahead and ask your question.”

“Okay—I was just wondering—how do you actually fit in this family? I mean, I can see how you and Andrew look a little alike, but—how do two gay dudes have a kid?”

“Ahh. Well, I guess Dad—that’s Andrew—and I are a lot alike in that aspect. Dad and my mom got married as soon as he passed the Bar exam. Mom helped him get his practice started and ran the business end of it. Dad tells me he loved her as much as he’s ever loved anyone. About a year after the practice got started, they found out Mom was pregnant.

“According to Dad, the pregnancy was smooth sailing, and there was never any sign of trouble of any kind. But right after I was delivered, there something went wrong, and Mom started to hemorrhage. They couldn’t save her.

“About a year after that, Dad and Pop—that’s what I call David—met at the bar at Olive Garden. They were both waiting for dates, and both got stood up! They started talking and spent three hours at fucking Olive Garden!

“Apparently, they really hit it off. David started helping Dad out at the office while he was finishing up his Ph.D. in theatre. As long back as I can remember, David and my Dad have been together, and I’ve had two dads.”

“The three of you are so fucking awesome together. You do know that, right?”

“Yeah, and our awesomeness just got a helluva lot awesomeness—er today. You do know that, don’t you?”

“Shut up!”

“You shut up!”

“No. You shut up!”

“No—you—answer me now.”

I leaned back against the bed and let my head fall a bit to the side. Damn, it suddenly felt a little heavy! Oh yeah—I’ve got a bit of a buzz on! “Okay, ask away.”

“Alright. Nick. My new brother—are you a virgin?”

“Oh, that hurts deep, my new brother. Sadly, the answer is yes. Now—are you?”

“I’m afraid so. I’ve got a girlfriend who wants me to bone her so bad. And I’ve come close to giving in. I also have had a boyfriend, but we only got to the point where we swapped hand jobs before he gave up and found a slutty boy to bone him.”

Hmmm. Boyfriend? That certainly piqued my interest!

“Yes, like I said, my dad and I are kind of similar. He says we’re pansexual. That means we are romantically, emotionally, and sexually attracted to anyone, regardless of gender. I like the generality of that term—especially since I’ve not actually had real sex with anyone yet.”

“I’m gay. 100% into boys and the equipment that comes with them. I love lookin’ at dick—and I can’t wait to taste one.”

“Dude, I didn’t ask you a question. But thanks for lettin’ me know. When we turn 18, and you aren’t my foster brother—and if you still haven’t sucked a dick—you can taste mine—a lot—please?”

We both started to giggle. God, I couldn’t get the image of my fucking hot foster brother and his body—and his dick. It’s going to be a long as fuck year-and-a-half before I turn 18. I looked down at Noah’s crotch. His dick was growing and crawling down the leg of his shorts.

“So, new foster brother of mine—I see pot makes you horny, too!” I couldn’t stop giggling now.

“Yeah, but only if I’m looking at a seriously cute boy that—I can’t touch—but can watch his hard dick get bigger and bigger in his jeans. Dude, that’s gotta be so uncomfortable.”

It was. My dick was bent, and I had to reach in my jeans to straighten it out.

“Better?”

“Yeah. But I think I’m gonna hop in the shower and get ready for bed.”

“Sounds like a plan. Hey—I have an idea—let’s shower together. I hear brothers can do that kind of thing.”

“You just want to check out my goods.” I giggled again as I felt my dick leak in my underwear.

“Like you don’t wanna check mine out.”

It got really quiet as we just looked at each other. After a while, Noah started to smile and stood up. He reached his hand down and pulled me up off the floor. He didn’t let go of my hand as he led me into the bathroom.

Wow! His shower was huge! It had two big shower heads that came down from the ceiling. He stripped down, got in, and turned on the water. He turned around, faced me, and asked if I like it hot. Holy fuck! I definitely like his hotness. His hard cock was about the same size as mine, maybe a little thicker and cut. I just stood there like an idiot.

“C’mon, bro. Get those clothes off and get in!” I stripped down and stepped into the shower with Noah. “Nice! I’ve never seen a hard, uncut dick before. Looks cool.”

Now, as much as I would like to say we got all cozy and soaped each other up, the truth is Noah was a total gentleman. We cleaned our own selves and washed our own hair. Once we got that out of the way, Noah turned around a faced me, stroking his dick as he looked at me.

What could I do? I looked at him and started stroking my dick. Jesus! He was fucking turning me on. I mean, watching the hottest boy I’ve ever seen stroking off his dick was probably the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. He just kept saying “nice” and “fucking hot, bro” as we stared at each other doing the deed.

Noah was the first to blow his nut. I was glad he didn’t shoot all over me. I mean, it would have been kinda hot, but that might have crossed the line—Ha!—like this wasn’t?

Watching him cum was pretty much all it took to send me over the edge. I aimed it to the shower wall and away from my brother. We rinsed off, and Noah opened the shower door and grabbed two towels. We dried off, and I started to put my underwear back on.

“I sleep in the buff, Nick. You can if you want, too.”

“I’ve never done that before.”

“You should try it! I’m pretty sure the dads sleep that way, too.”

I shrugged my shoulders and decided to go for it. I mean, fuck me silly, this has been a day of firsts. One more wouldn’t hurt, right?

We crawled into our beds, and Noah was right. The feeling of sleeping in the raw was amazing. But then again, a lot of it probably had to do with the softest, most luxurious sheets I’ve ever felt on my body.

Noah turned off the light on his nightstand, and I noticed that the bathroom light was still on. “Noah—do you want me to get the bathroom light?”

“Naw, I figured we should leave it on in case you wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble figuring out where the fuck you are.”

“Oh—I know where I am. I’m in fucking heaven.”

“Hey—Nick?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks, dude.”

“For what? I haven’t done anything.”

“You gave me—us—a chance. You’ll never know how much that means to me.”

“But you and your dads were the ones to really take the chance. You’ll never know—”

“Hey, this was a pretty damned good day for chance-taking all around, I’d say.”

“Night, Noah.”

“Night, Nick. Love ya.”

I couldn't answer him as tears started falling from my eyes. No one has ever said that to me before. No one. Tears and smiles—I could definitely get used to this.

So I hope you have found yourself a little emotionally invested in Nick and Noah' relationship. I sure have. Don't get your panties in a wad over this, okay? I don't even know where I'm going to take this relationship, but I'm pretty sure it will be an eye-opening experience for both boys... on very different levels.
I hope I was able to answer some of your questions from the pilot episode... I mean, the first chapter! 
Thank you so much for your support and comments! They mean more to me than you will ever know. I just hope I can keep your interest with some interesting characters that are coming up soon!
Can't wait to hear from you!
-Geoff