“I knew you’d see it my way.” Without thinking about the fact that we were in public, Drew leaned over the table and kissed me. It was the first time any of us had shown any affection in public. I worried that someone would snap a picture and it’d be online by the time we got home, but I tried to ignore my concerns since Drew didn’t seem terribly concerned. “Now that that’s out of the way, let’s go buy some shit.”
I pushed away from the table and grabbed our garbage as Drew headed for the counter to grab another cup of coffee to get him through the shopping trip. Personally, I wanted something stronger because spending the afternoon in an outlet mall in December ranked high on the list of activities I tried to avoid at all costs.
Luckily, Drew was a man on a mission. He wanted to do some shopping for Cody and get everything back to the car before we met up with the guys. More than once I tried reminding him that Cody wasn’t a child who needed to be spoiled on Christmas morning, but Drew wouldn’t listen to me. He seemed intent on making up for Cody not having a family of his own.
By the time Drew was satisfied with his haul, my feet hurt, my arms were aching from holding all the bags while Drew continuously looked for “just one more thing”, and I was beyond over dealing with rude shoppers. All of my petty issues seemed to evaporate when we caught sight of Eric and Cody walking into the restaurant where we’d agreed to meet. Drew squeezed my hand and stood to give Eric a hug and a peck on the cheek before sitting down and grilling them about what they’d bought. Until that moment, I hadn’t realized just how much I wanted to have men like Drew and Eric in my life. It felt good sitting there, absorbing Drew’s excitement over the upcoming Christmas celebration and Eric seemed more relaxed than he had since Thanksgiving. Somehow, these two men had become an integral part of my life when I’d been too busy to pay attention to what was happening.
Chapter 22
“You guys don’t have a Christmas tree?” Cody asked when we got done dragging all the bags into the living room.
“No,” Eric responded as he started rummaging through the fridge for something to make for dinner. He wound up pulling out some storage containers of leftovers Cam had been nice enough to leave every time he cooked. If not for him, we’d all be living on takeout. “Is that an issue?”
Now that Cody mentioned it, I wished the house smelled like pine the way my parents’ old farmhouse did from Thanksgiving night until New Year’s Eve. Other than the snow piling up outside the windows and Christmas specials playing on TV when we were channel surfing, there was no sign that the holidays were upon us.
“We should have one,” I told Eric as I started heating the first few containers of food.
“Why? We’re going to be at the center for Christmas, so it’s not like anyone’s going to see it,” Eric objected. I knew he wasn’t thrilled about my obsession with making the holidays a bit more bearable for the guys at the center. It wasn’t that he thought they should have to get by with whatever they were offered, but he was still having a hard time with admitting his grandfather was gone. It’d been over a year since he’d died, but it seemed as though the holidays were particularly hard on him.
“No, but it’s going to look stupid to just stack these presents in the corner of the room,” I argued.
“Somehow, I don’t think anyone but you will be bothered by that,” Eric countered, glancing over his shoulder.
I snuck up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist. I leaned in close enough so only he’d hear my next words. “That’s true, but it’ll make me happy. And just think about all the ways I can thank you for giving me what I want.”
Eric groaned and I clamped my teeth down on his earlobe as I laughed. I knew he was going to cave and I’d get my damn Christmas tree. A big one so it wasn’t dwarfed by the high ceilings and plate glass windows.
“Fine,” Eric conceded. “After dinner, you and Cody can go get the tree since it was your brilliant idea.”
“Thank you.” I kissed his neck, sucking hard enough to remind him what I wanted to do to him later but not so hard it left a mark.
“Mmm-hmm. You’d better hurry and eat. You have a long night ahead of you between decorating the tree and wrapping all those presents.” Eric turned around in my grasp and pressed his semi-hard dick against mine. “And you’re not going to want to miss tonight. I think Bryce is in the mood to take charge again.”
Fuck. I loved it when Bryce took the lead. I’d never thought I’d be into a guy telling me what to do in bed, but it was hot as hell. And loud. And we had company for the weekend. Fuck, the old me, the self-centered asshole, wanted to jump in the car and kick Cody out at the center, but I couldn’t forget how happy he was when we told him he didn’t have to go back there until Monday. He’d just have to deal with us being as quiet as possible, because no way in hell was I going to miss this.
“Couldn’t you guys wrap while we get the tree?” I protested. Divide and conquer seemed to be a damn good idea to me.
Eric shook his head and laughed. “You were the one who wanted to do all this,” he reminded me. “If I’d had my way, we’d have sat around the house all afternoon and shopped online. We probably could have even paid extra so everything was delivered already wrapped. Now, you have to deal with the consequences of your actions.”
“I hate you,” I groaned.
“Nah, you just think you do.” Eric tilted my head back and sealed his mouth over mine. My cock thickened as his tongue slipped past my mouth, pushing deeper, demanding more. As he pulled away, I felt the words I’d been too afraid to say to him threatening to spill out of my mouth. I didn’t hate him, I loved him and Bryce both in a way I never expected to share with anyone. It felt as though we were on our way to being something real and long-lasting. That, to me, was more than anything I could have asked for.
Someone cleared his throat behind us. I looked over my shoulder and saw Cody watching us. His brows were furrowed in confusion. “Uh, maybe now isn’t the time for a live sex ed lesson. I mean, it’d be hot as hell, but might get a bit awkward.”
The entire room erupted in laughter. The lighthearted atmosphere made me hate Cody’s parents even more. He was a smart, funny, and talented kid whose only black mark was that he happened to be gay. I couldn’t imagine living in a world where that was enough for a family to turn their back on their own flesh and blood. It made me grateful for what I had in my own life, both the family I was related to by blood and the men I hoped I’d never again have to live without.
Eric stared at me and I swore I saw the same emotions reflected back in his eyes. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if I told them both how I felt. Maybe it’d be the best thing I ever did. But not now. Tonight, when we didn’t have an audience.
Rather than waste time sitting around the house eating leftovers, I grabbed the keys to Eric’s SUV and told Cody we’d get something on the way. It was late enough in the season that I wasn’t holding out hope of getting my dream tree, but I was okay with that since my main objective had changed. Charlie Brown’s pathetic little tree sounded like a fine choice because it’d take one minute to decorate and then I could say goodnight to Cody as I ran down the hall, stripping as soon as I was out of his sight.
“So, which one of them is your boyfriend?” Cody asked while we waited our turn in the drive thru line. I’d been riding an emotional high today and hadn’t thought about the fact that the way we lived wasn’t considered normal to most people.