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25. Loren

25

LOREN

I'm regretting this as I walk across the road to retrieve Oakley for this date night. Can I call it a date night? I pause and pull out my phone, hitting dial without even looking at the time. Again.

Noah answers.

"I'm sorry, I have no idea if you're busy," I say.

He laughs. "Your timing always seems to be spot on. What's up, Loren Van Doren?"

I smirk and step backward onto the sidewalk as a car drives by. "I need to know if inviting Oakley over for dinner with my family is a date."

"You're getting caught up in technicalities that don't really matter. It's a big step for you to introduce him to your family without thinking about the pressure of whether you're on a date or not," Noah says.

"They've met several times," I tell him. "Oakley's household has been hanging with us in the yard for a while now; at least once a week, but oftentimes more."

"Ah."

"But this feels…" I can't decide how it feels. Am I nervous? Is that what this feeling is? Anxiety maybe. I'm anxious for how this is going to go.

"It feels big," Noah says when I don't finish. "Kind of imposing. The unknown outcome makes you uncomfortable."

I sigh. "Yes. All that."

"Again, I don't think you need to think in terms of whether this is a date or not. Concentrate on making Oakley comfortable. And yourself comfortable too. Okay?"

"Yes. But is meeting the family normally a date thing?"

"Mmm… no, I wouldn't call it a date. It's a progression in the relationship. Usually when you're both feeling serious about a future together."

Ah. Well, that's fine then. We're sharing a future. I've already determined that. Though it occurs to me that perhaps I should make sure Oakley likes that idea too.

"They think I keep you from them too."

Noah laughs. "Who?"

"My family. Want to come over this summer?"

He laughs again. "Sure."

"Good. Now they'll have to find something else to give me a hard time about."

Noah chuckles. "Family functions must be a riot at your house."

"Yes. That's how I'd describe them. You can bring Lix too. In case that wasn't clear."

"Thanks, Loren. Go pick up your boyfriend."

"Bye." But as we hang up, I'm now stuck for another reason and call him back. "Is he my boyfriend?" I ask when Noah answers.

"Honey, you're way, way overthinking right now. And I can't answer that. It's a conversation and decision between you two."

I huff. "Okay, fine."

"Seriously, just enjoy the night, Loren. All your favorite people in the same room."

"Most of them," I clarify. "Bye."

He's chuckling when I hang up. This time I make it across the road. Albrecht is watching me through the window upstairs. I get the feeling he's not my biggest fan. With a smile, I wave and then knock on the door. He glowers at me and disappears.

The door opens. At first, it's Jessica, but Levis pulls her back with an arm around the front of her shoulders. "Down, girl," he says, grinning at me and bringing her back into the house.

"If you're not going to ask him his intentions, then I should," she says.

"I've already done that."

"But not for tonight!" she insists.

Levis gives me an amused look. "What are your intentions with Oakley?"

"I'm going to take him to dinner at my house with my family. Then bring him up to my room and make sure he orgasms at least twice before we go to sleep. He won't be home until tomorrow."

Levis' smile widens, but Jessica's jaw drops.

"He's very literal," Levis tells Jessica. "Now you know."

"Know what?" Oakley asks as he steps off the stairs with Haze behind him.

"That you're having dinner with his family and then he's going to fuck you twice," Jessica informs him.

Oakley's eyes go wide, his cheeks reddening.

"That's not what I said," I disagree, frowning. "You shouldn't interpret what someone says when there's a wide margin for error."

Jessica rolls her eyes.

"No, that's fair," Levis says, his grin still wide. "He said that he'd give Oakley two orgasms before they sleep. Orgasms can be achieved without penetration."

"Ohmygod," Oakley mutters and rushes for the door, shoving Levis out of the way and then pushing me from the steps. "Let's go."

I wrap my arm around his waist and bring him down the front steps as he buries his face into my chest. "Why did you say that?" he gripes. I can feel the heat of his face through my shirt.

Levis laughs as he shuts the door.

"He asked what my intentions were. That's my plan for the night."

"Jesus, Loren," he says but his arms wrap around my waist. For a minute, I stand there and just hug him against me. He smells good.

Bringing my hand into his hair, I find it's only half up. I love the curls, how they twist around my fingers as if they're hanging on. Tethering to me.

"Want to be my boyfriend?" I ask.

Oakley laughs, rubbing his face into my chest before standing back. His cheeks are still a pretty shade of red. Now I can see the way his hair falls and frames his face.

"You're beautiful."

His smile softens. "Yes, I want to be your boyfriend. We need to work on the kinds of things you can tell my friends about our activities."

"You don't talk to them about sex?"

"I do, but… not quite the same way, I guess."

"Hmm." I kiss him, and he sighs into me.

"You really want me to be your boyfriend?" he asks quietly.

"It didn't occur to me I should have already asked you. I decided you were mine and didn't exactly tell you about that decision. So… here we are."

Oakley grins. "Not asking my opinion on it, huh?"

"You can definitely tell me your opinion. I always want your opinion."

"But it's not going to change your decision," he clarifies, smirking.

"Unlikely."

He lets his head fall back and laughs. I get a good look at the marks on his neck. My hackles still rise whenever I see them. Dropping my face, I kiss along the bruises. Feeling the rough patches of skin where the gouges are healing.

"I'm sorry I didn't get to you sooner," I whisper.

His arms wrap around my head, keeping my face buried in his neck. "Don't apologize," he whispers. "That incident led to a lot of really great things."

"It did?"

"Yes. Waking up to you. All your admissions. This moment right now. Where would we be if that hadn't happened?"

I huff. "My family says the same thing."

"They're very wise."

"Don't tell them that. They're arrogant enough."

I don't have to look at him to know he's smiling. He sighs and I can feel that he's happy. I love his happiness. And that I put it there.

"Ready?" he asks.

No. I'm not sure that I am.

To be clear, I'm not concerned that they won't like him. I'm quite confident they already do. I suppose it's because I'm not sure why they're so intent on me sharing his time. His focus. I want that for myself.

Pulling back, I kiss his lips again and take his hand, then we walk across the road. Right before I open the door, Oakley says, "You need to tell me which triplet is which when we get inside."

I grin. "If I can tell, I'll let you know."

"You can't tell?"

"Imry is easy. But unless Avory and Ellory are feeling chatty, I can't tell them apart."

"If they're chatty, you can?"

"Most of the time, though don't ask me how. Maybe it's a feeling."

He laughs. "Okay."

Pushing open the door, we're immediately greeted with a wall of delicious aromas. I swear, I wasn't gone that long, but it smells wonderful.

"Wow," Oakley says. "Who's the cook?"

"Dad. But Voss makes killer breakfast."

I find everyone milling about around the island in the kitchen. As soon as we walk in, I point. "That's Imry."

Oakley nods. My voice makes everyone turn and their smiles are all wide.

"Hey," Myro greets. "Want a drink?"

He's already leaning into my side, but it becomes a little heavier right now with everyone's attention on him. Letting go of his hand, I wrap my arm around his waist, letting him tuck himself into me as much as he wants.

"Water, please," Oakley says.

"Sparkling? Still? Flavored?"

Oakley glances at me with a curious look. "Voss is a water snob," I tell him.

"True," Voss admits, shrugging. "You will not be drinking tap here, though I've made sure that our filters are top of the line, so even that would be good."

"Still is fine, thanks," Oakley says.

Myro hands Oakley a water and me a glass of iced tea.

"Do you have any allergies, Oakley?" Dad asks. "Loren didn't think you did, so I ran with that."

"I don't," he says.

"Good to know. You're all welcome to sit. I'll be finished in a minute."

Myro stays in the kitchen to help Dad and we move into the dining room. Thankfully, there's nothing fancy set up. Did I watch a bunch of videos on what to expect when bringing Oakley to dinner? Yes. They were not helpful and probably led to more confusion than anything.

I pull out Oakley's chair and he blushes as he sits.

"Why don't you pull my chair out?" Ellory says, looking at Avory with a frown.

"That's Ellory," I say, pointing at him.

"How do you know that?" Avory asks.

"He's needier than you. He wants to be spoiled. You're content to do the spoiling."

Their eyes flicker to Oakley and they fall silent. Avory pulls Ellory's chair out and they sit. By the way they're looking at me, I think I might have said something they don't like.

Oakley looks between them curiously.

"Have them memorized?" Voss asks, breaking through the weird silence that settled around us.

"Imry is in green. Avory in blue. Ellory in gray," Oakley confirms. "Please don't change your shirts."

The triplets grin.

Dad and Myro come in with large platters. Voss and the triplets leave to help them bring in the rest and before long, the table is filled with food. A lot of food. It feels like a holiday.

"Dig in," Dad says.

Thankfully, there's never any waiting for someone to take the first dish. My brothers are perpetually growing boys, so they don't need to be convinced to start eating.

"Do you have large gatherings here?" Oakley asks.

I look around, trying to determine why he asked. "No, not really. Why?"

"This table can seat a dozen," he points out, smiling.

"Ah," Dad says, offering him a bowl of roasted potatoes. My favorite kind. I make sure Oakley takes several. "It filled the space. No other reason."

"We do have four uncles that visit during holidays," Myro adds. "Dad's little brothers."

"Oh! Arath and Noaz," Oakley says, and I think we all pause to look at him. His cheeks redden. "Honey Bee found them online."

Dad chuckles. "Yes. Arath is my next younger brother. Noaz is my youngest. Oxley and Kairo are the middle brothers."

"Uncle Kairo is the true middle child though, despite Uncle Oxley being the chronological middle child," Voss says. "Man, the tantrums that guy can throw!"

Dad laughs. "Indeed."

"Uncle Noaz is only three years older than me," Myro says. "And Uncle Arath is only six years older than me. So we all kind of grew up together as a big family of kids."

"Wow," Oakley says. "I didn't know that."

"You'll meet them for Thanksgiving," I promise.

Oakley looks at me, a soft smile on his face.

"Did you ask him to join us, or are you telling him now?" Dad asks.

My chewing slows and I glance at Oakley.

My brothers chuckle. "Loren rarely asks anything. Feel free to tell him no when you need to," Imry tells Oakley.

Oakley nods.

"If you already have plans, that's completely okay too," Voss says.

He shakes his head. "I don't. But… Haze is probably going to stay here. His family is, uh, split up, I guess."

"We're aware of the issues in Anaheim," Myro says. "Jessup was his father, no?"

Oakley nods.

"He's more than welcome to join us too," Dad says.

Oakley sighs. "Thanks. I'm hoping he and his brother, Oren, are able to connect for Christmas at least. Oren's boyfriend is a hockey coach, so I don't think they have enough time off for Thanksgiving."

"Did you know Loren has a hockey friend?" Avory asks.

Oakley nods. "Noah. Though that doesn't tell me a lot."

"Noah Kain," I say, then look at my brothers. "He's a wingman for L.A. I invited him over this summer so you can stop thinking I hide him."

The triplets grin hugely.

"Do you hide him?" Oakley asks.

"No more than I hide you."

"Loren's not good about sharing his things," Ellory comments. "He was meant to be an only child."

I nod solemnly. "Yet, somehow, I was born last."

"Took us some time to create perfection," Dad says, winking at me.

"Ouch," Myro says in mock offense. I grin.

We're quiet for a while before Myro asks, "So, I've been curious about why you call Jessica Honey Bee."

"He really has been. I've heard a lot of theories," Voss adds.

"I like nicknames and we're an odd family that doesn't have any," Myro explains, shrugging.

"Not true," Avory says. "Sometimes you call me Ave and Ellory El or Elly. Imry is Im."

"Okay, but those are just shortened names. I mean like a true nickname outside of the stereotypical babe or baby or generic."

"In grade school, we were all in a class play. Jess was the honeybee and one of many Jessicas in class, so we just started calling her Honey Bee and never stopped," Oakley explains.

"Ah. That's cute," Myro says.

They start talking about Oakley's friends and classes, answering whatever questions he has. After a while, I sit back and watch. Listen. I find myself smiling.

Noah was right. I was totally overthinking this. This moment is almost perfect. All my favorite people save for one are right here. Smiling. Talking. Having a good time. Even Dad is involved in the conversation.

Yep, I can definitely live with this.

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