"I'm sorry, guys."
Joey whimpered and pressed closer.
Travis' hand landed on his shoulder. "You haven't done anything wrong, Slayde."
"I feel like I have."
"Falling in love is not something wrong."
Joey kissed his temple. "It'll be okay, honey. It will."
He knew that wasn't true, but he took it.
"It will," Joey insisted.
Travis grinned, gave him a wink. "You know our Joey. If he says it will, then it will."
"I do. I'm going to make pancakes. Drake's in the shower." And sure as anything, Christian would hear the water running and wake up.
"Or you could go shower with him while Travis and I do the pancakes."
"No, no. The kids will be up soon." They'd never done that. They probably never would.
"Well, we can help with the kids, anyway." Joey dropped a kiss to the top of his head. "Come on. No moping. Those kids of yours can tell."
"I know. I know. Christian's first day of school is soon. Can you believe it?"
"No, I cannot. Honey, we are not old enough for that to be true!"
"No shit." He kissed Joey playfully, then got another hard hug from Travis. "How was the hotel?"
"It was fine. No hot tubs, though, which was a shame."
They went into the kitchen, Joey starting to look in every cupboard.
"What are you searching for?" He grabbed the pancake mix, the milk, and the eggs.
"I figured I could set the table."
"Absolutely."
"Good morning!" Christian came in, all smiles.
"Well, good morning!" Joey laughed and gave Christian a big hug. "You can get up all by yourself now."
"I'm big." Christian grinned. "Uncle Drake buyed me a Spiderman lunchbox for school."
"Bought," he corrected absently as Joey said, "Bought me a Spiderman lunchbox."
Christian rolled his eyes, the look so much like Drake it hurt. "Bought me a Spiderman lunchbox."
"Very nice." Travis nodded. "Are your sisters awake?"
"The baby's making a little noise. Maggie's sleeping."
"The baby's awake," said Drake, coming in with Jenny on one hip.
"Oh, good morning, doll!" Joey went to Drake, hands out. "Can I hold her?"
Drake handed her over. He looked good, fresh.
"Hey, sweet girl." Joey nuzzled in, tickling her, making her laugh.
"Hey, Uncle Drake!"
"Hey, Christian." Drake dropped into one of the kitchen chairs and tugged Christian up onto his lap. "You sleep well?"
"Uh-huh." Christian nodded. "Can we talk to Mommy?"
Slayde looked at the clock. "Sure. Let's check Skype."
Christian and Drake trooped after him into the dining room where the laptop was set up, Joey bringing Jenny as well.
Mindy was there, late for her. "Hey, lady."
"Mommy!"
They let the kids have the time, Christian chattering away, Jenny holding her arms out to the laptop and saying, "Mommy, mommy."
"She looks tired," murmured Drake.
"She does." He sighed. "I'm going to run up and see if Mags will wake up."
"I can go. You have guests." Drake headed off before he could reply.
"Guests?" Mindy asked.
"Joey and Travis."
"Ah." She grinned. "How are they?"
"Good. They came for very necessary haircuts and…"
"Uncle Drake kissed Uncle Slayde." Christian grinned, eyes twinkling.
Mindy laughed. "That only works on April Fool's Day, sweetie."
"Huh?" The little boy looked totally confused.
"When you tell people jokes like that it's usually on April Fool's day. Didn't we go over that with him this year, Slayde?"
"We did."
"I'm not telling jokes. Uncle Drake kissed Uncle Slayde."
Drake walked in with Maggie, just about then.
Mindy laughed again, but it was a bit strangled. "I don't understand…"
Drake just stood where he was, the color draining out of his face.
"Maggie's here for you, Mom." Slayde stepped away from the laptop, not sure what the hell to do.
Drake backed away without going into range of the laptop, and then turned and went into the kitchen.
The kids chatted away to Mindy and Travis caught his eye and shrugged. What was there to say?
"Kids, tell your Uncle Drake I want to say hi." God, she sounded aggravated.
Slayde just went to the kitchen, grabbed a mixing bowl. "She wants to talk to you, man."
"What the hell am I supposed to tell her?"
"Well, if she was my sister, I'd tell her the truth, but she's my boss."
"Jesus." Drake growled and stalked into the living room.
Slayde focused on the pancakes. On the food.
It was all he could do.
***
Drake sat as Joey and Travis took the kids back into the kitchen to "help" Slayde make pancakes. He plastered on his best smile. "Hey, sis."
"Hey." She arched an eyebrow. "You got something to tell me?"
"The kids are doing great. Summer's hotter than hell here in Texas…" I'm fucking your nanny was not on his list of things he wanted to share with her.
"Uh-huh. So, is my son becoming a liar or is my nanny seducing my brother?"
"Jesus, Minds!" He willed himself not to fucking blush. "You know you've got good kids."
"I do. I. Has Slayde been inappropriate with you?"
"What? Shit, I'm a cop for Christ's sake." Jesus fuck. "Do you really want to have this conversation with you halfway around the world?" He didn't particularly want to have this conversation at all, honestly.
"No. No, but… I don't want you made uncomfortable."
Drake groaned, glancing back to make sure they were still on their own. "I came on to him, Minds. I'm gay, okay?" There. He'd said it. To someone who knew him. He felt like he'd just run a marathon, too, his breath dragging hard out of him, his heart beating like it was going to jump right out of his chest. What if she told him he had to leave? That he could never see those beautiful babies again? Okay, so she had a gay nanny, so that wasn't likely to happen, but logic didn't really have a place here.
"Oh." She blinked. "Well, then, you be good to him. He's a good man."
"That's it?"
"Sure. I'm glad you told me. I can't think of anyone more wonderful for you to be involved with than Slayde. He's an amazing guy, his family is great."
He just blinked at her, more than a little stunned. He'd just done this huge thing and she… just didn't care?
"Is everything okay?" Slayde peeked in.
"Besides you seducing my brother and having nookie while I'm celibate girl? No, we're good."
"Well, there are all those soldiers there, Mindy. Just use protection."
Drake was going to scream. "That's my sister," he growled. He did not need to hear about her getting it on with anyone.
"Uh-huh. I was in the delivery room for the last baby. I've seen her hoo-ha. Protection."
"I do not want to hear that!" Jesus, he was going to have nightmares about that. It was almost worse than coming out to her.
Mindy and Slayde both cracked up, sounding like idiots. "He's kind of grumpy."
Slayde shook his head. "He's amazing."
"He's sitting right here," he muttered dryly. He gave Slayde a half-smile, though.
"And he's a turd." That was his little sister. "There's a chance they'll be sending us home early. Maybe by October, even."
"Wow, that's soon." Why did Mindy coming home so soon send a line of panic down his spine? And really, why did three months sound like it was just around the corner? They had time.
"I know, right? It'll be amazing. Don't tell the kids, though."
Slayde chuckled. "I won't."
"I won't either." The kids were having a hard enough time getting that mommy wasn't coming home in time for school, let alone Christmas. If they spilled the
beans on this and it didn't happen, the kids would be devastated.
"Okay, guys. It's late. Love you both."
"Night, Minds. Be safe."
The window went still and Slayde looked at him. "You cool?"
He snorted. He had no fucking clue. "She thought you were taking advantage of me."
"I'm sorry." Slayde sure said that a lot.
"Do you think you took advantage of me?"
"No. No, I think I fell in love with you and that's probably a little dumb."
It made him catch his breath when Slayde said that. Just like it had the first time. "And that makes you say you're sorry?"
"I think hurting you will always make me say I'm sorry." And Slayde turned and left.
"What the fuck? When did you hurt me?" Goddamn it, this was a whole lot easier when it was just one night stands. A lot less satisfying though.
Travis met him in the hallway with a filthy apron. "I'm supposed to ask if you want four or five pancakes."
Goddamn it, there were too fucking many people in the house. "Five. Is he in the kitchen?"
"We sent him upstairs for a shower."
He growled. Goddamn it.
Travis raised an eyebrow. "We can deal with the kids if you need to go see him."
"Okay, thanks. Five minutes."
He headed up the stairs for the bathroom. He heard the shower running, heard Slayde singing. Wow. The man could sing. He spent a long moment standing outside the door, listening.
He could just go back downstairs, but that would have been the coward's way out and Slayde deserved to know… Fuck if he knew, but the man was upset and Drake was pretty sure it was his fault and Slayde hadn't done anything wrong. The man loved him. That was…a huge thing, but Slayde shouldn't have to feel like had to say "I'm sorry" for it.
He knocked. "It's Drake."
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." He went in, closing the door and locking it behind him. "Nothing's wrong." How did he do this? What exactly was this?
Slayde was naked, wet, soapy, and perfect. "Well, good."
"I…" He took a breath. He really didn't know what to say. "You. It." Damn it.
"It's okay. I know. I know. I didn't mean to fuck things up for you."
He shook his head. "It's not you." He was the one who was so deep in the closet he had no clue where the door was. It wasn't fair of him to put all that on Slayde. Especially not when he'd been the one to seduce the man.
"You know that you'll go back to work when she comes home and I'll have to move wherever I can get a job. Your secret is safe."
"I don't want you to feel bad." That was easy enough, and the truth.
"I don't want to feel bad either." The water turned off and Slayde wrapped a towel around him. "But I will, when you leave, because I'm in love with you."
Fuck, that made him catch his breath again. "You keep saying that."
"It's still true."
He grabbed Slayde's shoulders and tugged him in for a kiss. Slayde gasped, wet chest hitting him, dead on. Fuck, kissing Slayde made everything else fade away. He wasn't sure what that meant. He could worry about it later, right now he was kissing Slayde like there was no tomorrow.
Slayde stepped closer, lips open, soft, fucking sweet. Moaning, he sucked on Slayde's tongue.
Slayde moaned, pulled back a bit. "What are we doing?"
His right eyebrow went up. "Uh…kissing?"
"In the bathroom? Naked?"
He looked around, nodded. "Pretty much. At least you're naked. I'm dressed."
Slayde grinned. "Dork."
He stuck his tongue out at Slayde for that. Slayde grabbed it between two fingers. He poked Slayde in the stomach and then took another kiss the second Slayde let go of his tongue God, he loved that laughter. He'd never kissed laughter like that.
Moaning, he slid a hand around Slayde's waist, tugging him in. The towel fell to the ground and his hands wrapped around Slayde's tight ass. He leaned back against the door, tugging Slayde with him. It was hot and steamy and fucking good.
"The kids…"
Were with Travis and Joey.
"With your friends." They could do this. They needed to do this.
"Uh-huh." Slayde dove back in for another kiss. "Hurry."
He squeezed Slayde's ass, rubbing the man against him. "Shorts," he grunted.
"I'm naked."
"No shit, Sherlock. I'm not." He bit at Slayde's lower lip.
"Oh." They looked at each other, and they both started to grin.
Chuckling, he bit at Slayde's lower lip again. Slayde shoved his shorts down, fingers wrapping around his cock.
"Fuck." He nodded, "Yours too."
Slayde grunted, caught both of their cocks together. He squeezed the finest ass he'd ever held and nodded. Slayde didn't play around, hand moving hard and fast, thumb working their tips.
"Fuck yeah." He sucked on the man's tongue, his hips moving, pushing his prick through Slayde's hand. It felt amazing, having Slayde's prick rubbing with his own. Slayde groaned, moving faster, pushing him. It felt amazing to just let go, to let the pleasure spill over and shoot out of him. His cry was swallowed up by Slayde's mouth. Slayde followed right behind, spunk joining his.
He kept the kiss going, breathing in the scent of the two of them before finally resting his forehead against Slayde's as they panted. Slayde kissed his lips, so gently. Oh, fuck. This was…this was fucking good and he didn't want it to stop. He was going to have to fucking figure something out.
He'd never had anything like this before, and now about the only thing he was sure of was he didn't want to give it up, give Slayde up.
He dove in for another kiss, trying to make the not thinking thing work.
Chapter Eleven
The house was clean. The kids were dressed. There was a brisket in the oven. Slayde was ready for his folks to show. It was the Fourth of July and time for the annual visitation from the parental units. Slayde was excited as fuck. Mom and Dad meant presents and cards, Mom's mashed potatoes, and Dad telling him stupid jokes.
Drake was in a panic, he thought. The man just didn't understand about his parents, about how much they loved Mindy and the kids. Plus, it had been a week since Travis and Joey's visit, and Drake's coming out to his sister, and Slayde wasn't sure if Drake was ready to have to deal with more visitors. But his folks were good people. He was damn proud of them.
Drake came in with two grocery bags full of the last minute items he'd wanted picked up, eyes dragging over him for a moment. One nice side effect of Mindy knowing had been Drake being more willing to show Slayde how he felt during the day. "They here yet?" Drake asked.
"They called about an hour ago and they'll be here any minute." He took the bags. "Is the store insane yet?"
Drake shrugged, then grinned. "I'm big enough to push through the crowds."
"This is true." He scrubbed the potatoes and put them and the eggs in a pot to boil for potato salad.
"The kids seem really excited. Almost as excited as you." Drake settled against the counter, watching him putter and work.
"They love their Nana and Poppy."
"O-kay…" Drake shrugged. "Do they know about, you know, us?"
"They know you're here, yeah." And Mom would sniff it out. The woman had a radar for her kids.
Drake snorted. "That's not what I meant and you know it."
"Did I tell them we were fucking? It comes up in conversation a lot."
"You talk to your mother with that mouth? You owe me ten push-ups."
He leaned closer. "Fuck off. The kids are outside, asshole." This was fun.
"I think I need to wash that mouth of yours out before your folks get here." Drake ended the words on a kiss, tongue pushing into his mouth.
He laughed into the kiss, squeezing Drake's fingers before he heard the honk of the Mustang. His folks had bought the convertible two years ago and they loved it. Drake jerked away like he'd been burned and started pulling stuff out of the grocery bags li
ke it was the most fascinating thing ever.
Slayde shook his head and chuckled, heading for the door. "Kids! It's Nana and Poppy!"
The chaos started in the backyard and squealed through the house to the front door, where his folks stood, arms filled with presents.
Mom grinned down. "My grandbabies!"
"NANA!"
She was tackle-hugged by Christian while Maggie came to Slayde, wanting to be picked up. Jenny, though, she went right to Dad, like she could possibly remember him.
Drake came out, looking studly and offering a smile and his hand. "I'm Drake. Mindy's brother."
"We've heard so much about you. I'm Helen and this is Steven." Mom grinned and Dad shook and it was adorable. "We have presents for you boys, too."
"Christian, let them come in. Maggie, do you want to say hi?"
She shook her head.
"I'll take her so you can say hello properly." Drake held out his arms and Maggie dove into them.
He went to Mom, kissed her, grinned at Dad. "How was the drive? Come in, sit down."
"Fabulous. We wandered, goofed off." Dad grinned.
"Drank wine."
"Oh, you naughty woman!" he teased.
She laughed and they all headed into the living room, Christian holding on to Mom's hand, Jenny still being carried by Dad. Maggie didn't look like she was going to budge from Drake's arms anytime soon.
He sat in one of the armchairs, leaving Drake Mindy's recliner. "There's brisket cooking, for when you two are hungry."
"Oh, we didn't need you to cook for us…"
Drake snorted. "You have met Slayde before, right?"
"Oh, sweetheart, I made that boy, with a little help from his father."
"Then you know he needed to cook for you. And clean for you. And make sure everything was just perfect for you."
Slayde knew it was meant as a tease at him. He stuck his tongue out at Drake. He just liked things nice. Drake laughed and God, the man looked so good with that bright smile.
He admired and Mom looked at them both, with knowing eyes. Drake didn't seem to notice, which was probably a good thing.
Christian, who'd been almost vibrating in place, suddenly burst out with, "Can we open presents now?"
"Of course you can, beautiful boy. Margaret, my beautiful girl, would you like yours, too?"
Maggie looked at Mom, then nodded. "Uh-huh."
Mannies Incorporated Page 15
