My parents had been just a little more shocked when they’d found out about my new relationship. They’d been positively dumbfounded as we’d sat in the kitchen that night, drinking tea, before my mom had gotten up from the table and gone to get the bottle of bourbon from the liquor cabinet along with three glasses and sat back down.
“So, you’re with four men,” she’d said, clearing her throat a little bit as she poured our drinks, not waiting for the rest of us as she tossed back the bourbon.
“Yeah,” I responded, looking at her in a little bit of alarm. “You okay? You’re not usually a drinker.”
“I’m fine,” she said, wincing as the whiskey hit the back of her throat, “and I’m sure I’ll be fine with this too. I just… think I need some time to adjust to the idea.”
Meanwhile, my dad just sat by her side, looking like he’d been struck by lightning.
“Drink your bourbon, dear,” my mom said, patting him on the hand. “I promise it’ll help.”
The rest of the conversation had passed in much the same way as the one with Albert and Alice, but with more bourbon. I couldn’t be convinced that they were really okay with the concept by the time that we all stumbled up to bed, but when I came back downstairs in the morning, my mom simply asked me whether the protocol was to have them over for dinner one at a time, or to have them all come over together.
“You’ve already met them, Mom,” I said, drinking my coffee as I rolled my eyes.
“Yes, but now they’re your….” She trailed off, looking unsure of how exactly she should refer to them around me.
“Partners,” I said, setting my mug on the table.
“Partners,” she repeated, rolling the word around in her mouth as if testing out the feel of it. “I like that, actually.”
“Good, because they like you, and I’m thinking I’m gonna keep them around for a while.”
We talked more throughout the day, and the next week, and within a few days we’d planned a dinner for both of our families to get together and meet up once more as the parents of partners and the partners who were all in a really unusual situation.
When we sat down for dinner, though, it had been just like every other family gathering we’d had… but this time, there had been more PDA.
When I’d gotten off of work for the day, I had gone on my quick errand at the end of the day alone. It had felt strange going on my own, but I’d known that Molly would not be able to keep her big mouth shut. I loved her, and her big mouth, but this was one time when I didn’t need it to complicate things.
I drove to Aaron and Austin’s house on autopilot, looking forward to the night ahead. I was excited, that was for sure, but the excitement writhing in my stomach was mixed with a frisson of tension that I’d never felt before meeting up with the guys.
At least, not for a while.
When I pulled up to the house, I was able to put my nerves aside enough to get out and walk in, hoping with all my heart that they hadn’t gone all out and decorated the house in some stupid pink and red color scheme.
Letting myself inside, I was immediately caressed with the smells of butter, garlic, and fresh bread, and I breathed deeply. “Hello! Kent crew!”
I’d needed to find a better name for them than “the A-Team.”
“Hey, babe,” Andy said, getting up from where he was sitting on the couch and coming over to greet me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned into him, kissing him deeply as I caressed the short, bronze hairs on the back of his neck.
“What’re you working on?” I asked. “Something new?”
“Yeah,” he said, grinning. “I actually got some more work done on my new college application.”
I smiled widely at him. “That’s amazing, honey. I can’t wait for you to submit it.”
“Me neither, actually.”
The conversation had come up naturally one night, when Andy and I had had some one-on-one time and I’d been able to finally talk to him about whether he’d considered going back to school. He’d said yes, but he didn’t want to leave Rock Ledge now that we were starting to see each other. I’d suggested checking out his old school to see if he could do his classes partly online, and he’d found them to be a lot more supportive than he’d thought they would be.
When he’d brought it up to the rest of the brothers, they’d all rallied around him, and we’d thrown our support behind him so that he knew he could still have his job while he went to school.
“Stop hogging our girlfriend, Andy,” I heard just as a set of hands looped its way around my waist, and I felt a bit of scruff tickling my neck. Turning around with a grin, I kissed Austin deeply as he lifted me off the floor.