TJ - 16. Chapter 16

TJ

Chapter 16

“Yeah, I guess I’ll marry you,” Lori answered as she slipped the ring on her finger.

I smiled as I looked around the room. I could honestly say I was the happiest I had ever been, even with Rachel and John hanging out with us. Surprisingly, we got along all day. No one snarked at anyone and we weren’t just playing nice for everyone else’s sake. I’m not saying it’s possible for us to be friends ever, but we can put our differences aside if we need to.

About five minutes after Lori said yes, Josh finally asked, “Dad, do you mind if Kevin and I take my car for a quick drive?”

Robert shook his head and told him to be careful and don’t speed. Josh then turned to the rest of the room and asked, “Anyone else want to come?”

I looked at Sean and raised my brow in question. He shrugged and glanced at Rachel and John. I rolled my eyes and sighed as quietly as I could. Basically the conversation we had went like this.

Me- “Do you want to go with them?”

Sean- “That’s fine, but what about those two?”

Me- “I don’t give a fuck about them. But I guess it would be rude if all four of us left.”

When nobody immediately answered Josh, he asked, “Teej, you don’t want to check out my car? Sean?”

Just as I went to reply, Rachel asked, “Actually, if you could drop John and me off at my place that would save me from having to get my dad to come pick us up.”

Josh nodded and Lori and Robert got up off the couch to tell John and Rachel bye. While Lori was hugging Rachel and John, Jacob said he was going to head home too. I looked at him and asked, “Are you sure? You don’t want to stay and hang out with us since Aaron has to work tonight and I thought Sean and Kevin were going to spend the night.”

Robert must have heard what was going on because he came over and said, “Jacob, you’re more than welcome to stay a while longer. We’re not planning on doing anything but eating dinner in a few hours. And since I was going to send you home with half of what’s leftover, you’d be having the same dinner. At least if you stay, you’ll be with family. It’s Christmas, nobody should be in an empty house by themselves if they don’t have to be.”

Jacob smiled and responded, “I guess I’ll stay then. However, do you mind if I take some of what’s leftover and run it to Aaron so he can eat a real meal instead of the sandwich he probably brought for his dinner?”

When Sean heard that, he asked, “Do you mind if I ride with you? I want to at least wish him Merry Christmas.” He turned to me then, “Do you want to come with us?”

Before I could answer, Kevin spoke up. “Can y’all wait till Josh and I get back? I wouldn’t mind going too.”

“We won’t be gone more than ten or fifteen minutes. I want to go too, now,” Josh added.

Lori looked at Robert, who nodded to her unasked question. “I guess we’ll all go. Try to make his day a little better.”

Jacob smiled. “I guess we’ll have to take two cars. I wonder who else would want to drive one of them.”

Josh’s arm shot up like a rocket. “That’d be me! I volunteer as tribute.”

I rolled my eyes. Sorry, but does the fact that Primrose dies in the last book kind of ruin the whole series and negates the whole reason Katniss volunteered as tribute in the first place. Think about it. Prim’s name is drawn and Katniss immediately volunteers to go in her stead because she knows how dangerous the games are and she doesn’t think her sister would survive. So, Katniss saves her sister’s life for her to later die in a completely pointless way by being blown up after everything had settled down. So, the whole reason Katniss went through everything she did- surviving two games, losing her home, having to move underground in a new District, choosing the wrong boy to be with (she chose the boring baker over the hot hunter? Seriously? Give me a Hemsworth any day of the week. Even the one that’s been with Miley), becoming the unwilling icon for a war she wants nothing to do with- to try to save her sister’s life only for her to die.

We didn’t stay very long, since technically we weren’t supposed to be there. So once Aaron had opened his gifts from us, we headed back to our place. We fixed ourselves a plate of leftovers each and sat down to watch a movie. We watched the traditional McNair choice for Christmas movie- Die Hard. One of the best lines ever is from this movie and I plan on quoting it often. “Yippee ki yay, motherfucker!”

Jacob headed home after the movie and we got ready for bed. I felt a little bad we didn’t do anything to celebrate the engagement, but neither Lori nor Robert brought it up. The next morning, we woke up about nine in the morning to the smell of breakfast cooking. We got up, got dressed, and followed our noses to the kitchen. Lori was sitting at the breakfast bar while Robert was busy cooking eggs and bacon on the stovetop.

I went to grab a piece of bacon from the plate and was rewarded with a slap to my hand from Robert’s spatula. “Nope. Not yours. That’s for Lori and me. If you want something to eat, you can let me know. Otherwise, wait till I’m finished and fix your own.” He turned to Sean and asked, “Would you like anything for breakfast?”

Sean tried to keep his grin in check when I crossed my arms and glared at Robert’s back. After Josh and Kevin walked in and Robert smiled their way and asked, “Do either of you want something?” I started tapping my foot. Robert turned back to the stove and from where I was standing, I could see him trying not to laugh.

I walked over and hip-checked him. “Ha. Ha. You’re so funny, Robert. Why do you always have to pick on me?”

Robert looked my way and said, “Because I know you can take it. Grab a plate and what you want. Everyone, help yourself. Any special requests?”

I couldn’t stop myself. “I want half a grapefruit already sectioned, but with the skin still on. I would like two eggs over-hard. If there is any hint of a runny yolk, I will be extremely displeased. I want a plain bagel with softened cream cheese on the side. The bagel should be perfectly toasted with no burnt edges. I would like four strips of crispy bacon, again not burnt. A glass of milk perfectly chilled to thirty-nine degrees Fahrenheit.”

Robert looked my way and responded with, “You hate grapefruit just like every other person who lives in this house, so you know we don’t have any. I know how much you hate runny yolks, so your eggs are finishing up now. You’ve never asked for bagels before, so I didn’t know to buy any. There’s bread next to the toaster, so help yourself. The bacon in the pan is finishing up right about,” he turned back to the stovetop and pulled the perfectly cooked bacon off the heat before continuing, “now. The milk is in the fridge, so grab a glass and help yourself.”

Robert and Lori sat at the bar while the four of us teenagers took the breakfast table and dug into our breakfast. A few moments later, I finally asked, “So, did you two talk last night? Do you know when the wedding will be?”

Lori and Robert looked at me like I was crazy. Finally, Lori started laughing and managed to say, “Damn TJ, we just got engaged last night; so, no, we don’t know when the wedding will be. But, I have kinda always wanted a beach wedding, but I don’t know about making everyone travel to somewhere else.” She then turned to Robert before continuing. “You are probably going to have to find four groomsmen, but I don’t think you’ll have a problem finding four guys who are willing and able and maybe eager to stand up for you.”

Robert smiled and said, “I think you’re right.” He turned to the rest of us and asked, “So, what do y’all think? You want to be my groomsmen? He then turned to me and said, “And, I want you to be my best man.”

I turned to Josh with a question on the tip of my tongue; however, his smile was so big, I didn’t need to ask him anything. So, I looked at Sean and Kevin to judge what they were thinking. They were both grinning as big as Josh, so I turned back to Robert and said, “Thank you. I guess I’ll be your best man.”

Robert chuckled and asked, “You guess? You’re not sure?”

I shook my head and said, “No, I’m sure. I’ll do it. Only I need to ask one thing. What do I need to do as your best man?”

Robert shrugged. “I’m not absolutely sure of everything you’re supposed to do. But, planning my bachelor’s party is probably the main thing you need to do besides helping me get ready and making sure I show up at the alter on time. Now, what do the rest of you say?”

Sean, Kevin, and Josh all answered, “Yes!” at the same time.

Josh turned to Lori. “Do you know who you’re going to ask to be your bridesmaids?”

Lori nodded. “I’m going to ask my cousin, Amy, if she’ll be my maid-of-honor. And then my roommate from college, my best friend from high school, and Amy’s sister, Natalie, to be my other bridesmaids.”

“So, we all get to walk down the aisle with some older women? Woo-hoo! Sounds like fun!” I joked. “They better know we’re unavailable. I know I can be irresistible, but you need to control your friends,” I ended with a wink.

Lori shook her head. “You don’t have to worry. Amy is in a relationship and is in love with her girlfriend; Natalie is married; Beth, my best friend from high school has been dating the same guy since before we graduated; and Olivia, my old roommate, is engaged. I don’t think y’all have anything to worry about.”

“I’m not worried. I’m just irresistible. Ask Sean. He’ll tell you.” I turned to my boyfriend and gave him a big dopey smile and asked, “Isn’t that right? I’m irresistible.”

The room was silent for a few moments before I continued in a slightly more irritated voice, “Go on, Sean. You can tell them how irresistible I am.”

Again, nothing but silence. Finally, I practically growled out, “Aren’t you going to tell them how fucking irresistible I am? Why aren’t you saying anything. I think you like to piss me off. In fact,” I turned to look at everyone and pointed at each person as we made eye contact, “I’m on to all y’all. I know y’all pull shit like this to piss me off. Well, you know what? It fucking works assholes.”

Sean grunted when my foot accidentally kicked his shin a little harder than I initially intended. He then tried to glare at me, but I don’t think Sean could ever be truly mad at me. I know I really can’t imagine me being mad at him for real. Unless he cheated on me. Then I’d wear his testicles as earrings.

Sean, still trying to pull off pissed off, said, “Now you’re going to abuse me? You all saw it happen. Y’all can back me up.”

I scoffed. “They didn’t see anything. Besides, that wasn’t intentional. My foot slipped and your leg was in the way. You can’t prove I did it on purpose.”

He finally grinned at me and leaned over and kissed me. “I’m sure my uncle will believe me.”

I laughed. “Are you sure? The way he hits on me, I think he might like me more than you.”

“You might be right. But I love you more than he ever could. God, now I sound mushy.”

Just then, four chairs pushed away from the table and everyone else around us got up. Robert said, “Well, that was entertaining; but, breakfast is over. Let’s get the day started. Do any of y’all have plans for the day?”

Before anyone could answer, I almost yelled, “Oh, shit! Noooooo! I have to write a fucking toast for the reception, don’t I.”

Robert laughed first and then everyone else joined in. Josh said, “Oh, come on Teej. Like you’re not looking forward to the opportunity to roast dad? I can’t believe that. Not with as much shit as you already give him.”

A stupid grin stretched across my face. “You’re right. I wasn’t looking at this the right way. This will be epic!” I turned to Robert, who had the slightest amount 1of fear showing on his face. “Imagine all the power you just gave me. Thanks, Robert. I love you!”

Robert’s voice held some trepidation when he said, “Remember, with great power comes great responsibility.”

I laughed darkly, “I’ve always thought Uncle Ben got that wrong. He should’ve told Peter, With great power comes great opportunity.” I ended with my best villainous laugh. I swear it could give Vincent Price a run for his money from the end of Thriller.

“You are truly evil, aren’t you?” Kevin asked, trying to hold back his laughter.

I merely nodded and said, “It’s taken you long enough to figure that out. So, what are we going to do today?”

Lori said, “Robert and I are going to head to my place later. We’ll probably spend the night there. But other than that, I plan on having a lazy day doing nothing if I don’t have to.”

I looked from Lori to Robert and back again. “When are you going to move in here with us? I mean you spend the night here enough. You already have a key. So, what’s the hold up?”

Lori laughed and shook her head. “You really don’t hold much back do you. You just say whatever you’re really thinking. To be honest, you’re the first person to even suggest that as a possibility. Nobody else who lives here has even brought it up.”

“Robert, how dare you. I can’t believe you haven’t even talked about her moving here. Think of all the gas it could possibly save,” I said in mock horror.

Robert shook his head. “Don’t let her lie to you. I asked her after our second date if she was ready to move in. She brushed it off like I was joking. So, I wasn’t going to offer again until she asked.”

Lori looked at him deadpanned and said, “You were not serious when you asked me that.”

Robert raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? Are you one hundred percent certain I couldn’t have been serious?”

She tried to laugh it off, but I could hear uncertainty when she said, “Yes? There’s no way you really asked me to move in with you after two dates.”

Robert smirked. “Believe what you want babe. But just so you know, I was serious. I like having you around.”

Lori looked like she was thinking about something while she took her time before she said, “My lease is up next month. I wasn’t looking to move out, but if you’re serious, I think…yeah, let’s do it! Okay, Teej, I guess I’m moving in at the end of next month.”

I smiled at her. “Just don’t turn into an evil stepmother and we’ll be good.”

Josh, Kevin, Sean, and I went into the living room and turned on the TV to try to find something to watch. The first mistake we made was letting Kevin and Sean decide what to watch. Now, I’m going to say something a little controversial, so don’t freak out on me. I’ll admit I enjoyed watching the football games on Friday nights. But that was because I enjoyed cheering for my friends and seeing Sean do something he enjoys. But as far as watching a football game on TV goes, I can’t think of anything worse.

So, when they decided we were going to watch a football game, I pulled out my phone and got lost in it for awhile. It is so easy to get sucked into a rabbit hole and get lost for hours with the internet, I’m not sure what people did before cell phones, mobile games, and 4G were invented. My mom and dad used to make fun of me for being on my phone and playing games or whatever. I would ask them what people used to do in the olden days. They said something about talking to the people in the room with you and having a conversation. They also said people used to play these things called boardgames. I used to act like I didn’t believe them. It was a funny little bit we had where we all had our normal lines and at the end we would laugh.

Wow, I miss the fuck out of them. I try to act like shit doesn’t bother me, that I’m doing alright. And I honestly am, for the most part. But there are times when a random thought will catch me off guard and I’ll turn to tell my mom something, only to realize she’s gone. Other times, I’ll think of something I need to ask my dad about and realize he can’t answer me anymore.

That’s what I was thinking about while sitting on the couch next to Sean. I was playing a game on my phone, almost totally tuned out from the world around me. I was brought back to reality when I felt a thumb brush my cheek and heard Sean ask, “Are you okay, Teej? What’s going on? Why are you sitting crying?”

I reached up to feel my cheek and was surprised when I felt moisture. I smiled at Sean and answered, “I’m fine. I was just thinking about my mom and dad.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Kevin grab the remote and hit the mute button. I looked over just as Josh stood up and crossed over to me. Without any warning he layed down right on top of me. Now, I was already snuggled up with Sean, so Josh laying on top of me was really just him pushing me over so I was on top of Sean. Josh may be small, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t heavy. I don’t mean heavy as in fat. I mean when you add one hundred and thirty pounds on top of one hundred and fifty pounds, Sean was now supporting almost three hundred pounds of weight.

When Josh landed on me, I heard Sean let out a grunt and a wheezed breath. I tried to ask Sean if he was okay, but then Josh started tickling me and I’m extremely ticklish. So, all I ended up doing was squirming around while laying on top of Sean and laughing so hard, I couldn’t do anything else. Sean might have had the breath knocked out of him, but he wasn’t complaining. In fact, the next thing I felt was a certain hardening under my ass. I then felt another pair of hands on my sides joining in with Josh’s tickling. The more I was tickled, the more I would laugh and squirm. The more I squirmed the greater the effect it had on Sean. The more Sean reacted to my squirming, the more it started to affect me. On top of that, I was now laughing so hard, I couldn’t catch my breath, and I was close to pissing my pants.

I tried to warn them it was about to get really wet on the couch, but didn’t have a chance. Josh’s weight suddenly disappeared from on top of me. Now, one set of hands was still tickling and making me squirm and rub my ass all over his crotch, but with Josh’s weight gone, I was finally able to roll off Sean and onto the ground. I heard Kevin laugh and then he said, “Damn, Sean! Put that thing away. I don’t want to see that.”

I looked up at the couch just in time to see Sean reach his hand into his pants and adjust his cock so it was flat against his stomach. Before he pulled his hand out, we were all able to see the head and about an inch of his dick before he pulled his shirt down over it. I then looked up and noticed both Kevin and Josh were blatantly looking at Sean’s lap. I couldn’t stop myself from saying, “Kevin, you said you didn’t want to see it, but you sure as hell didn’t look away, did you?”

Kevin turned red and said, “Screw you, Teej. Be nice to me. I saved you from the tickle torture.”

Since I was on the floor, I could clearly see he had Josh draped over his shoulder and was holding him with one arm. I noticed him try to surreptitiously reach down and rearrange things downstairs with his free hand. Just as he was putting things in their place, he noticed me looking at his crotch. He surprised the shit out of me when he winked and shrugged one shoulder with an actual smirk on his face. He said, “What? I’m a gay teenager who just watched my boyfriend on top of two other guys squirming around. And then on top of that, I caught a glimpse of a good-looking guy’s really nice dick. It’s not my fault my body reacted the same way I’m sure yours did.”

“I will neither confirm nor deny if my nether region was altered due to the fact my brother was involved in that scenario, and that’s close to incest. I love my brother, but I’m not going to fuck him,” I responded just as Robert and Lori walked into the room.

Lori laughed and Robert shook his head. He asked, “Do I even want to know?” with a sigh.

I grinned up at him and said, “Probably not. But rest assured, the four of us aren’t going to have sex with each other because brothers shouldn’t do that, and friendships come first.”

He grabbed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, like he was trying to relieve a headache. He turned to Lori, who was just barely holding back her laughter, and said, “I’m sorry you have to be subjected to this. But the fact you keep coming back for more means you’re either crazy or you really do love me.”

She stood up on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss. “It’s bit of column A but mostly column B.”

Robert then turned back to us and said, “We’re about to head to Lori’s for the night. Then tomorrow night, we have company coming over for dinner.”

I started to stand and asked, “Who’s coming over you need to warn us about?”

Lori spoke up, “My parents are coming to town, and they wanted to meet y’all. Y’all don’t need to worry about being on your best behavior or anything. My parents are laid back and don’t judge others.”

I let out an exaggerated breath of relief and said, “Thank the gods! Because you know with those three you really do have to worry what might come out of their mouths.”

Lori barked with laughter and Robert rolled his eyes before he said, “Right, it’s those three we have to worry about. Because nothing disturbing ever comes out of you.”

I clutched my pearls. “Robert! What exactly are you implying?”

“That you often speak before fully thinking about what’s coming out of your mouth. That you like to spout off random shit just to see what kind of reaction you get from people. Especially if they’re people you don’t really know well,” Robert responded.

I tried to sound as innocent as possible when I said, “I have no clue what you are talking about. I’m the picture of innocence. Can’t you see my halo. It’s being held up by the horns.” I laughed maniacally.

Lori grabbed Robert’s arm and started dragging him towards the front door. “Come on, let’s go. Bye, guys. We’ll see y’all tomorrow.”

Before they walked out of the door, Robert turned back to us and asked, “Are y’all spending the night here or are you going to Jacob’s?”

I looked at Sean and shrugged. “It’s up to y’all. I’m good either way.”

Sean looked over to Kevin and Josh who just shrugged too. He then turned to Robert and said, “We’ll probably stay here, if that’s okay with you.”

Robert told us that would be fine and then he and Lori left. We talked about dinner and decided on ordering pizza, even though we still had leftovers from Christmas. However, we were tired of eating what was left since we had it for lunch and dinner the day before and for lunch that day as well. So, once the pizza arrived, we ate and settled down with Sean and me on the love seat, and Kevin and Josh on the sofa. We put a movie on, but it was obvious after about thirty minutes, nobody was paying attention to the TV.

Before things could get too out of control and run the risk of anyone seeing something they shouldn’t, I grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. This caused Kevin and Josh to pull away from each other and look at me. I was helping Sean off the couch as I looked at them and said, “I’m suddenly tired and really ready for bed. Y’all have a good night; we’ll see you in the morning.”

I heard movement from the couch as we left the living room. Just as I reached my bedroom door, I looked back and noticed Kevin carrying Josh, whose legs were wrapped around the big guy’s waist and was busy peppering kisses along Kevin’s neck.

Sean practically pushed me into the room. As soon as the door was closed and locked behind us, our mouths attached to each other and our tongues started dueling. I’m not sure what time we finally fell asleep, but I love having Sean hold me all night, or vice versa. I always sleep so much better when he’s next to me.

By the time we finally dragged our asses out of bed the next morning, it was nearly eleven. I went out to the kitchen and decided to start on breakfast. While I was cooking, I tasked Sean with waking up Kevin and Josh. He headed down the hall and I heard him knock on Josh’s bedroom door. I could hear muffled voices coming from down the hall, but ignored them and focused on cooking. Sean came back in the kitchen and asked if there was anything he could help with. I said, “Go ahead and grab plates and silverware for me please. Do you mind helping me clean the house after we’ve eaten. I think Robert and Lori would appreciate it if the house was clean for dinner tonight.”

Kevin and Josh walked into the kitchen just then and Josh said, “Even though I hate cleaning the house, I’ll help you out.”

Kevin nodded and added, “I don’t mind helping out. Cleaning is kind of therapeutic.”

Sean laughed. “Yeah, since Kevin moved in, I haven’t had to clean nearly as much. Not that I’m complaining; house cleaning isn’t my favorite thing to do, but I’ll help out too.”

By the time we sat down and started eating, we were eating brunch, but that sounds too pretentious. I’ll stick with calling it breakfast. I started cleaning the kitchen, starting with the mess from making breakfast. Josh grabbed the vacuum cleaner while Kevin dusted and Sean cleaned the windows. Working together, we had the whole house cleaned in no time at all. Just as we were finishing, Robert and Lori walked through the front door.

Robert looked around and smiled. He turned to Lori and said, “Well, I guess we came back for nothing. They’ve already cleaned the house.”

Lori’s face lit up with a huge grin. “Y’all didn’t have to go all out and clean everything. It’s not like y’all need to impress my parents or anything. They’re going to love you guys no matter what.”

Robert chuckled and said, “If you think I wasn’t going to have the entire house scrubbed spotless, you’ve got another think coming.”

Before anyone could say anything else, I interrupted, “Whoa! Hold on, what the hell did you just say? I thought I heard, ‘…you’ve got another think coming.’ I thought the saying was you’ve got another thing coming,” before I looked around at everyone trying to make sure I was right. They were all looking at me with different expressions on their faces. Robert was shaking his head, like he couldn’t believe I could be that dense. Josh and Kevin could barely contain their laughter, the look in their eyes saying they were going to lord this over me till the day I died. Sean was just smiling at me. Finally, Lori looked just as confused as I was.

Kevin spoke up. “Think about it Teej. Which makes more sense logically?”

And so I did think about it. Consider my mind officially blown. You tell someone if they thought something was true but wasn’t, then they better watch out because there’s going to be another way of thinking coming their way. So, yeah, you’ve got another think coming really does make a whole hell of lot more sense. Out loud, I said, “Well fuck a duck! That does make more sense. You two,” I pointed at Kevin and Josh, “are never allowed to speak of this ever again.”

Lori laughed out loud and said, “Dammit, I’ve been saying it wrong my whole life. But then again, so has everyone I know. Why didn’t anyone teach us that in school?”

“For the same reason nobody ever corrects someone who says supposedly the wrong way. There is no ‘b’ in the word. It’s not supposably. It’s something that is supposed to be. Sorry, one of my major pet peeves,” I said.

Robert cleared his throat. “Okay, okay. Let’s not get sidetracked. Lori’s parents will be here about six this evening. We’ll be having pasta in a meat sauce with garlic bread and salad. While Lori and I are cooking, y’all go get ready.” He looked at his watch and continued, “It’s four thirty now, so we’ll have just enough time to get everything ready. And thank you for cleaning the house. I was going to beg y’all to do it while we cooked dinner.”

“It was no problem. I thought it would be nice for you to come home to a clean place so you’d have one less thing to stress about tonight,” I told him.

He side-eyed me. “I’m not stressed about anything. There’s nothing to worry about.” He turned to Kevin and Sean and asked, “Are you two going to grab clothes from your place? Or do you have dress clothes here to wear?”

Lori laughed and interrupted him. “Robert, stop it right now. They can wear whatever they want. I can promise you my dad will be wearing blue jeans and a sweater, and my mom will probably be wearing something just as casual. So, please just calm down and don’t worry about trying to impress my parents tonight. You did a good job of that the other night.” She kissed him on his lips and then grabbed his hand and dragged him into the kitchen. They began preparing dinner while Kevin, Josh, Sean and I headed to our bedrooms to shower and change clothes.

An hour and a half later, at six o’clock, the doorbell rang. When Robert opened the door, we saw a middle-aged couple with smiles on their faces. Robert and the man shook hands while Lori hugged the woman. Robert went to shake the woman’s hand, but she slapped it away and drew him into a hug. The man hugged Lori and she kissed him on the cheek. She then said, “Mom, Dad, I would like you to meet Robert’s sons and their boyfriends. This is TJ, we all call him Teej, and this is his boyfriend Sean. TJ, Sean, these are my parents, Keith and Victoria Simmons.” I stuck my hand out to shake Mr. Simmons’ hand, which he accepted. I then went to shake Mrs. Simmons’ hand, but just like she did with Robert she pushed it away and hugged me. She then did the same with Sean, while Lori continued to introduce the couple to Josh and Kevin. They too received hugs.

Robert led us all into the dining room and showed Mr. and Mrs. Simmons to some chairs. Lori grabbed my attention and asked, “Can y’all help me carry the food out from the kitchen, please?”

“Sure! Hey you three. Come on, let’s go help carry the food out,” I responded with a smile.

The five of us went into the kitchen and each grabbed a bowl containing something, a pitcher of sweet tea, and some glasses full of ice. We all took our seats and immediately started dishing up our food choices. I quite obviously avoided the salad, which Mrs. Simmons noticed and asked, “Aren’t you going to have any salad TJ?”

The face I made caused a smile to appear on her face and I said, “No! Absolutely not! Sorry, Mrs. Simmons, but I’m not a fan of the taste of green. Like, at all.”

She laughed and responded with, “First off, call me Vicky, please. And secondly, I totally agree with you. I only put some on my plate to be nice. Now, I won’t feel bad not eating it.”

“See, I told y’all the taste of green is bad,” I said to everyone else with a smug smile on my face.

Robert laughed while he rolled his eyes. “Great, just what we need. Someone else to encourage TJ. Vicky, you don’t have to be nice to him just to get on his good side. Some days, I’m not even sure he has one.”

“Oh, ha ha! Very funny, Robert. I have a good side. Y’all are just lucky I’m too decent of a person to moon you at the dinner table to show y’all it.”

Mr. Simmons laughed out loud. “Thank you for not showing your ass during dinner. But, I have a question and I hope I don’t offend anyone.”

I looked at him and said, “Mr. Simmons, you don’t really have to worry about offending anyone at this table, We are all open and honest whenever we’re asked a question. So, go ahead and ask away.”

“You can call me Keith if you want. However, I noticed you called him Robert. Is there a reason for that?” He asked out of genuine curiosity.

I glanced at Lori, and she said, “It’s your story to tell. I didn’t say anything. I wasn’t sure if you would have wanted me to or not.”

I nodded in understanding. “It’s alright. I don’t mind answering. I know it can be a bit complicated.” I turned to Keith and continued, “Robert’s high school girlfriend got pregnant during their senior year of high school. Robert decided to keep me and raise me on his own with some help from his mom and dad. Well, he left to go to college and had to stay in the dorms his freshman year. So, he couldn’t bring me. He left me with his parents and had planned to bring me down during his sophomore year. However, he met and ended up marrying a girl named Mel, who is Josh’s mom. She didn’t like me from the beginning and forced Robert to make an impossible decision. She made him choose me or her and Josh. He did the only thing he thought he could so that he would be able to keep both of us in his life in some way. So, he asked his parents, who I consider to be my mom and dad, to adopt me and raise me. At the beginning of the summer, our parents were killed in a car wreck and that’s when I found out everything. Robert might be my biological father, but I was raised by my mom and dad. So, Robert will always be my big brother.”

Keith simply said, “Thank you for telling us. We knew Robert’s parents had recently passed, but I’m truly sorry to you too.”

Vicky added, “Oh, TJ, honey! I’m sorry to hear about that.”

I smiled at them. “Thank you. I’m okay now. Well, I’m getting okay. So is Robert. It’s taken some time, but I’d like to think we’re in a good place now and our relationship is growing into something new.”

Keith nodded and said, “That’s good to hear. And at least you’ve got your brother Josh, as well as Kevin and Sean to help you. You all seem like y’all get along with each other really well.”

I smiled at the other three and said, “Yeah, they’re my best friends, and I never would’ve met them if things hadn’t have happened the way they did.”

Vicky cleared her throat. “Alright, enough serious shit. It’s time for dessert.” She turned and looked at Lori and continued, “Want me to help clear the table and we can grab dessert?”

Lori nodded. “That sounds great. Come on, let’s go. Mom, Dad, do either of you want any coffee?”

They both declined the coffee and a few minutes later, they returned from the kitchen with small plates, forks, and a cheesecake with strawberry sauce on top. After we each had a slice, we moved into the living room.

Keith and Vicky took the love seat while Lori and Robert sat on the couch. Kevin sat next to them on the couch with Josh on the floor between his legs. Sean took the recliner and I took a seat mirroring Josh. I thought we were going to talk about the wedding or at least get to know one another, but Robert surprised me when he grabbed the TV remote and went into the on-demand section. I started laughing when he began typing “RuPaul’s Drag Race” into the search area. Lori wasn’t lying when she told us her mom was a fan of the show. I was gagged when she quoted, “Good luck, and don’t fuck it up!” along with RuPaul.

When the show was over, we all walked them to the door. I was caught by surprise when Sean and Kevin told us they were heading to their house for the night. I understood, they had been staying with us for quite a few nights now. I’m sure Jacob wanted them home. I bet it gets kind of lonely in that big house alone. Josh and I kissed our boyfriends goodbye and then the three of us headed towards the living room to start turning everything off and getting ready to go to bed.

I guess I didn’t realize how tired I was, because I didn’t remember getting ready for bed or falling asleep. Next thing I knew, the sun was streaming in through my curtain and shining right in my eyes. I reluctantly woke up and got out of bed. After slipping on some shorts and a t-shirt (and making sure my morning wood was tucked into my waistband- I swear to the gods I made sure this was done before leaving my room), I padded down the hallway to the kitchen. Robert, Lori, and Josh were all sitting at the table talking when I walked in. I mumbled something like, “Good morning,” and grabbed a cereal bowl from the cabinet. When I turned to get the cereal and milk, I noticed how quiet the room was.

I could see Josh, Robert, and Lori were all trying not to laugh. I was trying to figure out what was so funny when Lori said to Robert, “I can see the family resemblance.”

Robert let out a moan at the same time Josh almost fell out of his chair laughing. I finally looked down. That’s when I noticed, at some point between my room and the kitchen, my dick had slipped from the waistband and everyone could see what I was working with. All I did was turn my back to them, set the bowl on the counter, reached down, and readjusted everything downstairs. I had a smirk on my face when I turned back to them and said, “I guess it runs in the family, Josh could give me a run for my money probably.” Lori cackled, Robert hid his face in his hands, and Josh turned about as red as a ripe tomato.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Lori jumped up and moved towards the front door. She exclaimed, “Oh! My parents are here. We’ll be right back. Teej, make sure that stays hidden away.” I heard them talking in the foyer and a few moments later, the three of them came into the kitchen.

Vicky pulled me into a hug as soon as she saw me before giving Josh and Robert the same treatment. Keith placed his hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. I greeted them both while pouring cereal in my bowl and filling it with milk. I then took a seat at the table and began eating. A few moments later, I felt a sudden pain on my shin. I glanced at Josh, who was smirking at me. I returned the smirk before kicking his shin and saying, “That hurt you little shit! Don’t kick me under the table again. Now, behave, we have company.”