Cards on the Table - 55. Chapter 55 Another Done Deal

Cards on the Table

 

 

Chapter 55

 

 

Nate woke without opening his eyes, took his bearings, and immersed himself in a sweet rush of contentment. A strong arm was wrapped around his chest while warm breath floated over his neck, and the front of a head he knew was shimmering blond, rested lightly upon the back of his. Knees and shins were pressed tight to him as well, but the middle of the body behind him was conspicuously absent, and he had a good idea why. Even in sleep, Bodie was trying to respect boundaries. The state of that part of Bodie not snug against him was likely the same as his own. Nate was thankful he hadn’t drifted on to his back while he slept, because a noticeable tent would have been on display, and as comfortable as he was with the handsome guy in his bed, modesty was still a consideration.

The corners of his mouth curled up as he enjoyed this new sensation of being held the way Bodie was holding him. The safety he still felt had kept any further nightmares at bay, and he was reluctant for this experience to end. It provided him with something he was fast getting addicted to. He felt the pull to return to sleep at the same time he sensed the bedroom door swinging inward. Opening his eyes to slits, Nate saw his uncles looking at him with grins on their faces in the dim morning light. He grinned back, relieved as they pulled the door mostly closed again, and gently wrapped his hand around his boyfriend’s. The last thing he remembered was a murmur from Bodie as he sleep-kissed the back of his head.

 

Kendall was laughing quietly as Michael chased him back to bed. Out of habit, he stopped, whispering a warning for Michael to be careful. Michael caught him at the end of the kitchen counter, and smiled at Kendall’s predictable concern, wrapping his arms around the slightly taller man.

“You are such a mother hen.”

“Sorry, it’s just… the floor is slippery.”

“Don’t apologize… I told you, I like how you worry about me, and right now you should be worried about my penis.”

Kendall knew where this was going. “And why is that?”

“It has a swelling,” Michael whined. “Could you take a look at it for me?”

“Maybe we should take you to the doctor?”

“Aww, Babe. I think you could take care of it,” he said with a cheeky grin.

“What’s in it for me?” He snickered when Michael stuck out his tongue as far as possible, and pointed at it.

“That’s a fair trade. We’ve got about a half hour before Mom and Pop get up.” Hand in hand they returned to the privacy of their room.

In seconds, they were naked, and Michael was right about the swelling. It must have been contagious because Kendall suffered from the same affliction.

“I want us to make love, Deuce.”

Kendall, now with one knee on his side of the bed, hesitated. “I want that too, but not here, okay? I’m not comfortable with the idea.”

“I know, and I get it, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to.” The plaintive tone registered with Kendall.

“How about if Dr. Dooley takes care of that big problem you have, and we make another appointment for more in depth procedures?”

“Oh, I love Dr. Dooley. I love him even more when he makes a house call,” Michael exclaimed as he pulled the covers off the bed and lay down.

“Well, the doctor is kind of attached to you too.”

“Not yet, he isn’t,” Michael said pointedly.

Kendall laughed as he crawled over the top of a sprawled out Michael, licking the monumental swelling while positioning his own over his partner’s face. He sighed with pleasure as his cock was gently tugged back and into an eager mouth. He needed this.

Despite different intentions, they’d fallen deeply asleep after their shower last night. Kendall had gotten up once to check on the boys, and was tempted to wake Michael when he returned, but had curled up with the softly snoring man instead.

Now, he was horny as hell, and he had his favorite toy in its easiest position to deep throat, so he did. Each time he advanced to the lush black pubic hair, the resulting groan reverberated on his own cock. He backed off a little, and slowed down his tempo. He could tell Michael was nearing the edge, it was so easy to get him there, Kendall knew, when he employed his swallowing technique.

Kendall’s anticipation for what had been promised him was soon rewarded as Michael released his cock and pulled his lover’s ass into a better position to reach with his talented tongue. At the first swipe across his hole, Kendall arched his back and raised his upper body, almost sitting on Michael’s face. The attention his center received was highlighted by the scratchy caress of whiskers as that determined mouth, tongue, and chin burrowed between Kendall’s cheeks. This alone could make him come, and his cocked throbbed at the jolts of pleasure Michael generated with his devoted oral attack.

Kendall rode the wave of love he felt from his partner, knowing if he stroked his cock right now, he would blow. Forcing himself out of the almost delirious haze Michael easily put him in, he went back to work on the leaking pole he’d maintained his grip on. He wanted them to ejaculate together, and he didn’t want to draw this out. There was a delicious ache in his balls urging him on.

When Kendall enveloped Michael’s cock again, the man bucked at the sensation of immediate suction. Yup, Michael was at the same point he was. His tongue had breached Kendall, just like his cock was breaching Kendall’s throat, in essence completing a circle of pleasure for the heavily-breathing men.

Short bobs, once it was lodged fully, and Kendall felt the spasms begin. Instantaneously, Michael returned to Kendall’s cock and sucked it in with a vengeance. Three spurts from Michael, and Kendall was there, beginning to unload into his partner’s attached mouth. The man had gotten really good at keeping up with the flood of cum while he nursed Kendall’s cock from below. Kendall suspected he enjoyed the challenge of letting none escape, because it never happened anymore.

Once finished, Michael returned to Kendall’s hole, inducing a few more spasms. As he was lavishing more attention on this favored body part, Kendall, forced to leave the sensitive head alone, diverted his attention to Michael’s balls, enjoying the subtle taste of the man’s masculine musk. It was like they couldn’t get enough of one another. Kendall contemplated going again, but the sound of a cabinet door shutting in the kitchen squelched that notion. Michael, however was intent on continuing, and with a regretful sigh, Kendall released the ball in his mouth, and pulled away to lay beside his lover.

“Aw, Babe, I thought you were enjoying that?”

“I was… my dick is proof of just how much,” he pointed out, and emphasized it by making his cock lift off his stomach.

“Then why did we stop? You felt so good on my balls.”

“You know I love them,” he teased, “but Mom’s in the kitchen, so we’re out of time.” He gave him an apologetic look, and Michael laughed.

“Okay, I get it. It’s always so good with us, isn’t it?”

“It’s always perfect. It doesn’t matter what we do. It’s always so perfect.” Kendall grabbed a blanket from the side of the bed and pulled it over the two of them. “Afterwards is always perfect too,” he said while pulling Michael close, kissing him… and holding him.

Michael sighed. “Yeah, it doesn’t get any better than this.”

Kendall was almost asleep when Michael spoke. “They looked cute together, don’t you think?”

“What?”

“Bodie and Nate. They looked so… I don’t know… innocent, but like they belong together or something.”

“That’s because they look like us.” Kendall smiled as he pictured them, both last night and this morning. “Seriously, though… as young as they are, I feel the same way. They look connected… and they always have, from day one. Remember how Nate was on the way home from our house on the day they met?”

Michael chuckled. “Yeah, it was like he got struck by lightning, and boy did he get pissed when I said Bodie’s eyes were green.”

“You were really pushing his buttons.”

“Yup. I was. It was fun… and it was good to see him with his mind on something else.”

“You’re a good man, Michael Aceto.”

“I have the best example in you, Babe.” Michael twisted around, and backed up against his partner, causing Kendall to smile as he pulled him close. Sleep came easily with Michael in his arms.

 

A soft knock at the door roused both men from their light slumber. Michael, closest to the door, answered with a call to come in. Kendall, behind him, expected Colleen was giving her usual twenty minute warning for breakfast. Instead, the faces of two young men peered in at them.

“What the hell do you guys want?” Michael asked gruffly with a scowl plastered on his face. Kendall, sitting partially up, knew he was teasing, and he could see Nate didn’t fall for it either.

“I wanted to show Bodie how adorable you guys look in the morning.” Nate easily dodged the pillow Michael threw at him, and Kendall didn’t get much closer with his.

“We know we’re adorable. Now what do you really want?” Michael asked with a smug grin. Nate looked at Bodie, and Kendall could tell something was up.

“Well, we were just wondering… we asked Grams and she said we had to ask you. Do you think it would be okay if we asked Miranda to let Bodie stay until tomorrow?”

“What brought this on?” Kendall asked, sitting up against the headboard. He wasn’t surprised when Bodie took over.

“It was my idea, sir… Kendall. I don’t have school, and my dad will look after the dogs. And, well… we’ll both be alone all day, so...,” he trailed off.

“It wasn’t just his idea,” Nate interjected. “He said he’d like to draw me, so I asked him if he would do a drawing of me so I could give it to my mom for Christmas, and since we’re going skating again today, and he has his art pencils with him, I thought….”

“Okay… got it. Michael and I will talk about it and let you guys know. Now scoot, so we can get out of bed.”

“Okay, thanks,” Nate said, smirking at his uncles, before turning to leave. “Oh, and Grams says breakfast is in twenty minutes… well closer to fifteen now,” he said, giggling with his blond partner-in-crime.

“Something tells me those two, working together, are going to be pretty formidable,” Michael joked once they’d closed the door.

“Yeah, I think we were just double-teamed.” Kendall rolled his eyes as he got out of bed and headed for the shower. “You coming?”

“Right behind you, Babe.”

 

Heading to the kitchen, Kendall heard his phone alert and headed back to their room to check it. It was a text from Chet.

“Workout and Denny’s?”

“Which gym and when?”

“Spectrum in one hour?”

“I’ll ask Michael-back in five or so.”

Kendall went back out to the kitchen thinking about the invite. It would be nice to see their friends and get a workout in, but the boys wanted to go skating, and Colleen had already cooked breakfast.

“That was Chet, Ace. They want us to meet them in an hour for a workout, and then Denny’s. I should tell them no, right?”

“Why would you tell them no?” Big Mike asked.

“We’re taking the little monsters skating and mom’s made us breakfast. That’s why.”

“Hey,” Nate complained.

“Now, you know your mother won’t care if you skip out on breakfast. These two whippersnappers will probably eat your share anyway.”

“Hey,” Nate objected again.”

His grandfather ignored him. “And you know damn well I’ll be glad to take the boys skating.”

Michael laughed, and leaned back in his chair. “Good play, Babe, but they’re both wise to you. I want to go too.”

Kendall looked at his amused Mom and Pop, and gave them a sheepish smile as he reached for a slice of bacon. “You guys don’t mind? I could use a good workout, and apparently, my big guy could too.

“For God’s sake, go,” Collen insisted. “You boys should spend some time with your friends. You been here for Nate since he got here, and Mike has been chomping at the bit to go skating today anyway. You’ll make him a happy man, trust me… he’ll have these two all to himself,” she giggled.

“Well, I’m convinced,” Kendall said. “Come on, Ace. We’ve got Pop to babysit the children for a few hours.”

“Hey!” Nate whined. “We’re not children.”

“Thanks, Dad. Don’t forget to burp them after they eat,” Michael said, giving the two boys a wicked smile, as he grabbed a piece of toast and stood up.

“Who’s gonna babysit you?” Nate shot at his Uncle Mike.

Michael smirked. “Kendall will.” He looked straight at his waiting partner. “He likes to take my temperature.”

It was dead quiet for a few seconds, and then Big Mike started guffawing, followed by high-pitched giggling from Colleen.

“Oh my God. You’re going to pay for that,” Kendall muttered as he bee-lined to the bedroom, followed by peals of laughter from the entire kitchen. Michael followed meekly behind, but Kendall saw the smug look he tried to hide.

 

“I can’t believe you did that, Michael.”

“You already said that, a few times, and I apologized. Do you forgive me?” Michael’s put-on pout made Kendall smile.

“Yes, but I will get you back. It would have been funnier if it wasn’t about me, though,” he said as he wheeled Beauty out onto Highway 48 south.

“Did you see the look on Nate’s face? I shut the little bugger up, at least for a few seconds.” Michael convulsed into a fit of laughter. When he got control, he reached for the hand of his stone-faced partner. Kendall couldn’t keep up his façade, though, not faced with that beseeching look of a now contrite Michael.

“I can never stay mad at you, big guy. It’s impossible because I love you too fucking much.”

“I know,” Michael said feigning arrogance. “Just don’t use that language around the children, okay?”

“Argh. I give up. Text Nate, will ya?”

“What for?”

Kendall gave Michael a quick look, raising his eyebrows. “He’s waiting for an answer.”

“Oh, right. Do we say yes?”

“What do you think?”

“I think we’re not going to be very good at saying no.”

“I think you’re right. But we can give him back after we’ve ruined him.”

“Good point, Babe. ‘Yes’ it is.”

 

Arron and Chet were all smiles as they hopped out of their big Toyota Highlander. Kendall pulled into the open space just past them, smiling himself at the sight of their two friends. Michael, like an exuberant puppy, was out of the truck in a flash. There was already backslapping and hugging by the time Kendall had grabbed both gym bags and joined them. He passed Michael his before greeting his friends. It was pretty chilly out so they wasted no time in heading inside.

Everyone was talking at once as they went through the door to be greeted by Sandy’s cheery face. Removing their snowy footwear, the four men chatted with the normally peppy attendant, who said all the right things, but to Kendall, looked distracted. He waited for the other three to continue to the change room while he held back.

“Is everything okay? You look different today?”

Sandy looked startled. “Sorry, I have a lot on my mind. I’m surprised you noticed.”

“Anything you want to talk about? Anything I can do?”

“No, thanks… you’re sweet… but I don’t think you can help me.”

“Try me.” Kendall gave her a genuine smile.

“Okay, well, the thing is, I have to find a new job. Something that pays better. This past week I found out my roommate’s moving out in February, and my hours are being cut… kind of a double whammy, you know? I like it here, but it’s not exactly a career,” she joked, but Kendall could see right through it.

“How old are you, Sandy? It seems like you’ve been here forever.”

Sandy laughed. “Yeah, it probably does. I started here when I was sixteen, and I’m twenty-two now. It’s a fun job… I love interacting with all the people I’ve gotten to know, but I can’t be doing this for the rest of my life. I only make a little more than minimum wage, and I’m pretty much down to weekends now, so it’s time to move on. But I have no idea what I want to do, and there’s not a lot of options out there. Sorry… I’m keeping you from your workout.”

“No worries. You’re young, yet, so don’t let it get you down, Sandy. You can still try a few things before you settle on one. Do you have a college degree?”

“Yeah, I have a useless two-year college degree in communications.”

“No degree is useless. It shows your work ethic, if nothing else. Can I make a suggestion, or at least give you something to think about?”

“Sure.”

“I happen to be the Head of Security for nine residential buildings, and I’m always looking for good people who are adept at taking care of peoples’ needs. There’s a lot of training involved, but you get paid while you’re going through it. I normally hire applicants who have experience in some type of security or law enforcement, but not always. The most important requirement in the residential field is people skills, and you have that in spades. The condo owners expect the best… and you can’t be afraid of your own shadow because you’ll run into situations that are tense. Are you interested?” Kendall watched her face brighten immediately.

“Seriously? That would be awesome, and I’ve been taking self-defence classes since I was nine years old, so nothing much panics me. I never thought about security, though. I always thought of it as a minimum wage job?”

“Some are. We, however, are a large, professional company, providing high-end, full-service security. You would start at double the minimum, and there are steady increases from there, if you work out. It can be a very good career for the right person, with a great array of benefits. Think about it, okay?”

“I don’t need to. It’s like you’ve answered my prayers. When can I start?” she asked with an excited giggle.

The sound of Michael’s voice diverted his attention as he and their friends entered the gym itself. Michael shot him an inquisitive look. “What are you doing, Babe?” he called across the gym. Kendall rolled his eyes as he looked back at Sandy.

“I’ll be right there, Ace,” he called out.

Sandy’s look was priceless. “Babe? Are you and Michael…?”

He laughed. “Yes, we are. That big lug is my guy. That doesn’t bother you, does it?” Kendall was curious as to how she would respond.

“Oh, no. I’m just… wow… you two are so… wow, congratulations. My brother married his boyfriend last year, and I stood up with him,” she said with a smile, her shock apparently over. “They’re having a bit of a rocky time right now, but hopefully they’ll work it out. You know, I always thought you and Michael had the best friendship I’ve ever seen, and now I know why,” she said with a grin. “I didn’t like it when you stopped coming here together for a while. So how long have you been a couple?”

Kendall thought about how much he didn’t like that time either. “Officially… not all that long. Only a few months. We’re getting married in May. The wedding is going to be at our new house.”

“Wow… marriage and a new house? All you need is the baby to go with it.”

Kendall chuckled quietly. He’d always liked this girl, but he was seeing a new side of her today. “Our baby is due the first week of June,” he confided proudly.

“Oh my. Congratulations to both of you. That‘s so wonderful. The trifecta.”

“What?’

“Marriage, house, and baby… the perfect trifecta. My dad used to have racehorses when he was alive, so I tend to use a lot of racing terms,” she admitted.

“I like that. Yeah, we have the perfect trifecta,” he said thoughtfully as he looked toward his partner who was at that moment doing stretches.

“So, are you adopting?”

“What? Oh, no. Our baby is Michael’s biological child, and it’s kind of a long story. The mother is signing over full custody, so I’m going to have two Aceto kids soon,” he joked, and Sandy laughed.

“Sandy… I was just wondering… would you like to come to our wedding?”

“Oh my God. I would love that.” Her instant enthusiasm pleased Kendall.

“Okay, so back to the job. We’ll need you to bring in your resume, and you’ll have to go through the process. If you get past the interview, we’ll have to do a police-check. Are you okay with that?”

“Absolutely. I’ve never been in any kind of trouble.”

“Good. You’ll also need to be bonded by our insurance company, so you can do things like enter private residences when the owner isn’t present, but it sounds like that shouldn’t be a problem.” Kendall fished in his pocket for a business card and passed it over to her. “Call this number after 10am and ask for Jeremy; he’s my assistant and he’ll do the initial interview. Would you be able to come in tomorrow if he can squeeze you in?”

“Yes, that’s not a problem. I have the whole day free.”

“Okay, good. I’ll likely see you tomorrow, unless Jeremy is too busy.” He gave her an encouraging smile, thinking if she worked out she would be a great addition to his team. She looked much happier than when he first came through the door.

When he walked by Michael, he stopped in response to the look he was getting. “Should I be worried, Babe? I saw you giving her your number.”

Kendall rolled his eyes. “You do realize you outed us to the whole gym?”

“Yeah, sorry… was that a bad thing?”

“Not at all. I see no reason to hide.” He watched Chet spotting Arron on the incline press, and felt an inner warmth at how happy the energetic pair looked.

“Maybe, but it wasn’t very discrete of me. I could have put you at risk if the wrong people heard, and you happen to be working out here all alone.”

Kendall looked around the half-filled room. “Michael, stop being an idiot. This gym is our home base. What about you? What if you’re working out here by yourself?”

“That’s different. I don’t worry about me,” he said with a smirk. Kendall resisted commenting, and continued on to get changed.

He wasn’t surprised when Michael followed him into the empty change-room. He didn’t even have to look when he heard the door open. “What’s up, Ace?”

Michael sat at his side and peered at him. “What was going on with Sandy? Is she okay?”

“Why would you think she wasn’t okay?”

“Because I know you. You can spot a wounded animal a mile away,” he replied with a concerned grin.

Kendall gave his partner a wry look. “She’s struggling financially.”

“I knew it. What did you do to make it better?”

Kendall gave a guilty chuckle. “I offered her a job, and invited her to our wedding.”

“Are you kidding me? About the wedding?”

“No… was that okay?”

“Yeah, of course… I like her, and we’ve known her a long time… but why?”

“Honestly, I haven’t got a frigging clue. It seemed like the right thing to do. She told me she stood up with her gay brother at his wedding, and my gut told me to ask her.” He shrugged his shoulders.

Michael reached up and pulled Kendall’s head toward him, kissing him softly. “I love you, Deuce. You’re the best person I know.”

Kendall heard the sincerity in his voice, and saw it on his face. “I fucking love you too, Ace. You inspire me.”

“That’s nice, Babe, but like I already said, you can’t be using that language around the kids,” he said with a straight face.

 

When they finally joined their friends in the gym, everyone ended up having a blast. Kendall marvelled once again at how well the four of them meshed. They all took their workouts seriously, but still managed to tease and make fun of each other throughout. Chet and Arron were curious about Kendall’s talk with Sandy, so he explained quietly that he’d noticed something wrong and got to the bottom of it. Chet laughed when Kendall said he’d offered her a job.

“That is so like you, Kendall,” Chet said.

“It is, isn’t it?” Michael concurred.

“Face it, buddy, you’re a candidate for sainthood,” Arron piled on.

Kendall’s response was simple. “All of you, piss off,” he said with a scowl as he left the laughing group to head for the preacher’s bench. He was amused, but he tried his best not to show it. He was concentrating on his bicep isolation when he saw Michael sit down at the leg press. In a heartbeat he was beside him. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Michael looked confused for a second, and then realization dawned on him. “I was just going to do a little light legwork.”

“Nope, not a chance. Do I have to explain why?”

Arron walked by, and muttered, “Busted,” under his breath, but they both heard him.

“But, I was only going to….”

“No.”

Michael gave him a pleading look but it was wasted on Kendall. “You’re only supposed to do ordinary movements until you see the physio guy in January. No working the knee. You should know better.”

“Fuck. Okay, you win. Sorry.”

“That’s okay,” Kendall said with a smirk. “Just don’t be using that language around the children.”

“Oh, damn. Touché.”

Michael scowled at the two grown men snickering as they shared a bench while taking in the entertainment.

“That’s so like Michael,” Arron said to his partner.

“It is, isn’t it?” Chet said with a chuckle, repeating Michael’s earlier words.

“Good thing he has Kendall to keep an eye on him.”

“Yeah, it seems like he needs constant supervision.”

Kendall laughed uproariously when Michael told them both to fuck off. Michael looked over at him and said, “Yeah, yeah. I know. Watch the language around the children. And we have two kids sitting right there.” He pointed at their friends who found the whole scenario hilarious. “I don’t think a little leg work would have killed me,” he muttered under his breath, thinking wrongly that Kendall couldn’t hear, and that along with Kendall’s expression, set the two ‘kids’ off again.

 

Denny’s wasn’t as busy as the last time they were there, and the result was a more peaceful atmosphere, conducive to easy conversation. They talked about the wedding, and both Chet and Arron approved their decision of black cummerbunds, not blue, for all of them, and red roses as the choice for flowers. They had decided they just wanted a few large vases of them… one on each side of the fireplace, and one in each corner built-in on the same wall. All four would wear a single rose in their lapels, Chet’s and Arron’s being white. When Kendall hesitated, and then asked Michael what he thought of having one vase of white lilies in between the roses on the mantle, his fiancé looked surprised, but said he thought it would look nice. They talked a bit about food, until Kendall put forth that he thought it would be a diplomatic gesture to allow their mothers to give their opinions first. It would be easier to settle on all the incidental details once they were moved in.

“So, guys, there’s something we wanted to talk to you about, or I guess more accurately, ask you about.” Kendall looked at Michael, who nodded for him to keep going. “We’ve been discussing this for a while, and we realize there is no one we’d rather have as Godparents for our kid than you, Chet, and you, Arron.” Kendall took a deep breath. “So, we just wanted you guys to think about it, and let us know. Please don’t feel any obligation….”

“Yes!” Arron exclaimed. “We’d love to be godparents.”

“Damn right, we would,” Chet seconded. “We don’t need to think about anything… it would be an honor. Thanks, guys. This is so cool.”

“Being Godparents means we get to spoil the kid, right?” Arron asked while beaming.

Kendall laughed. “I guess, but more importantly it means you’d be raising our kid if something happened to us. Are you ready for that kind of responsibility?”

“Well, actually, we kind of have to be. Let’s hug it out,” Chet encouraged as he stood up.

So they had a group hug in the middle of the restaurant, and attracted some curious stares before sitting back down again.

“So what did you mean about having to be ready, Chet?” Michael asked. Kendall had been going to question the same remark because of something he heard in Chet’s voice.

Chet looked at a smug Arron before answering the question. “It looks like we’re going to be parents too, in about a year and a half or so.”

“What?” Kendall and Michael had spoken at the same time.

Arron grinned at their reaction, and took over. “Chet’s sister wants to carry a baby for us! Can you believe it? She’s the second most amazing person I’ve ever met in my life. And, she has Chet’s green eyes… the exact same shade!”

“She loves you too, Wolfie.” Chet assured his partner. “They all do. So, yeah, my sister, Julie, just had her fourth kid in August. Remember you were going to meet her and the rest of my family, Kendall, but then Michael got his knee wrecked?” He received a nod from a rapt Kendall. “So anyway, she and her husband think they owe me because I saved them from losing their house in a power-of-sale for defaulting on their mortgage when Duke lost his job. It was no big deal; I received unexpected bonus money from a client, because of taking over for an AWOL contractor, and finishing up a building before the deadline. I also got a friend of mine to give Duke a job, even though he had no construction experience. So, long story short, they’ve met Arron, love him, and they want to do this for us. We didn’t ask… they volunteered.”

“Insisted, more like it,’ Arron said. “So I will be the biological father, but the baby will have Chet’s genes too. Julie looks like she could be Chet’s twin… well, except for being half his size.”

“And the whole family is behind this. Arron and I spent all last weekend with them, talking about everything that was involved, and nobody thinks it would be awkward, and Julie and Duke don’t want any more kids, yet Julie loves being pregnant. It’s been crazy, let me tell you.”

“Wow,” Kendall said. “That’s awesome. How are you guys feeling?” He watched Arron give a loaded look to Chet.

“Chet didn’t like that they thought they owed him, and I totally understood that. I only wanted it to happen if he did.”

Chet smiled at his partner. “Arron gave me lots of room, but I could tell how much he wanted this to happen. Us mentioning to my family that we wanted to be parents someday, is why Julie and Duke came to us with the offer. We both want to be dads. I hated the idea of them feeling they were indebted to me, though. But now I realize that they so badly want to do this because they love us… it’s a family thing.” Chet’s eyes spilled over as he choked out those last words.

Arron grabbed his hand across the table at the same time Michael grabbed Kendall’s. “So. It’s settled, guys. Chet and I told them on Wednesday we wanted to do this, and it seems like everyone is happy. I know we are.”

“Yes, we are,” Chet said in a strong voice. “Julie wants to do it in the coming fall so there’s a full year between pregnancies, and she won’t be carrying in the heat of the following summer. So it looks like approximately a year from your wedding, we should be daddies. We’ll practice on our future Godchild,” he joked. “Duke is sure it won’t take long for Julie to get pregnant. He says all he has to do is get some swimmers on her leg, and she gets knocked-up.”

That remark got a lot of laughter from Michael before he gave his congratulations. “This calls for another group hug,” he said when he got himself under control. Kendall was laughing more at Michael than the comment.

So for the second time, they stood up and entertained the rest of the patrons with another round of hugging before returning to their seats.

“You realize,” Chet said, “that you guys are going to be godparents too?”

Arron snickered at the momentarily stunned faces of Michael and Kendall. Both broke out into huge grins, and began celebrating this new development. “We are not having another group hug in this restaurant,” Arron stated emphatically. He grimaced when his partner stood up.

“Was that a challenge, Wolf?”

Arron sighed. “I should have known better.”

Their third group hug was just as special as the first two, as the four men acknowledged one more aspect of their increasingly entwined futures.