Chapter 12

(River)

The super spectacular family game night sleepover

I never expected getting snowed in to turn into the offer of a sleepover, but Friday blew in lion a roaring lion, the winds frigid while the air smelled of the impending snow, and after three solid hours of absolutely no customers of any side of the building and Chaos and Haven having easily caught up on what he hadn’t finished the day before, the suggestion was made to shut down and head upstairs. River was hesitant to agree as he warred with excitement over how much fun it would be to spend the rest of the day playing games, and his reluctance to have everyone invade the space I’d come to think of as his and Lux’s.

Of course, my big brother noticed right away and pulled me into the breakroom where no one else could hear our conversation.

“Is there something upstairs that you don’t want the rest of us to see?” He asked the moment the door was closed.

“Not…not the way you’re thinking,” I hedged. “It’s just, we decorated, and we’ve been sleeping out in front of the tree and…”

I didn’t want to come off like an asshole when technically, he still had a room upstairs that he and Maddox could have crashed in last night instead of opting for the B he needs to stretch his legs.”

“Yes, he does seem to require a great deal of extra exercise lately.” I said, giggling when he just shrugged and didn’t even try to act innocent.

“Just tell me one thing and then I’ll let the subject drop,” Haven said as he studied my face.

“What’s that?”

“What happened to make this one so special from all the rest?” Haven asked. “Was it when it didn’t come to an abrupt end behind some club, or was it when he went on the merry go round with you?”

“Hey, I haven’t shagged anyone behind a club in months,” I protested, feeling a bit indignant and wishing I’d never told him about those things on one of the nights we’d been smoking together.

“You shouldn’t have been doing it in the first place,” River snapped, face pinching into a frown. “It’s not safe. Maybe the person you’re fooling around with isn’t a threat, but someone who happens by could be and then what?”

“Look, I don’t feel great about those moments either,” I admitted. “I was lonely, and they were impulsive.”

“And this isn’t?” Haven asked, his tone even.

Anyone else and I would have taken it as a challenge or even an admonishment, but this was Haven and that had never been his style. He was asking a question. He’d base his opinion on my answer and whether or not he thought I was being completely honest with him. In this case I had no reason to try and withhold any of the facts from my brother. There was nothing I was ashamed of and nothing I felt like Haven could possibly misconstrue.

“Everything happened,” I said after he’d stared at me awhile, waiting for an answer.

Haven’s response to that was to let out a long, low whistle. “Everything is like saying infinity, there are far too many possibilities and not enough hours in the day for me to try and guess them all, so you’ll have to be more specific, and bear in mind, I don’t have the Karma Sutra memorized like some people.”

“We didn’t get it on in that many positions.”

“Uh-huh, so basically, this guy seriously rocked your world and now you think you might be done seeking out meaningless hookups because you found the magic dick that was doing to fulfil all of your desires.”

“When you put it that way it sounds stupid.”

“I’m not trying to shit all over what you’re telling me,” Haven said. “I just want to be certain I understand what’s going on here, so I know if I need to be supportive or give him a shovel talk.”

“Don’t you dare, or I swear to the goddess that I will tell Maddox about the time you and Jeremy accidentally glued yourselves to the floor when you were supposed to be retiling his father’s kitchen.”

“You took a sacred vow never to speak of that moment again.”

“Maybe, but that won’t stop me from sharing the pictures.”

“Oh, you asshole you told me you burned them.”

“I may have fudged about that, just a little. I burned most of them, I kept two for posterity’s sake, and because I know you still have a picture of my first attempt to give myself an undercut.”

“Come on, I don’t even know where it is. How does that count?”

“Because it is still in existence, just like the photo of you and Jeremy standing barefoot in your boxers, your jeans still stuck to the floor.”

“I really liked those too.”

“Tell me again how you cleaned that mess up before Chaos got home?”

“Well, we didn’t exactly manage to clean anything, we just sort of popped the tiles up that had our jeans stuck to them and re-laid fresh tile in those spots.”

“Okay, but didn’t he notice all the dried glue in places there shouldn’t have been from when you knocked over the container of paste?”

“It took some scrubbing and a whole bottle of solvent, but we got all that shit up before we spread the floor sealant,” Haven explained as he leaned back against the wall. “Nice deflection though, you almost made me forget my question.”

“I already told you what would happen if you decided to deliver any shovel talks.”

“And I will take that under advisement, for now,” Haven said.

“Fine.”

“Now tell me all of this goes further than good dick.”

“It really does,” I insisted. “He didn’t want to go. He’s been the one picking up food and coming here after work instead of his own place. I don’t even have to ask, he just wants to be with me, and when Meadow and I were talking about her going home early, he volunteered to stay here with me so you wouldn’t have to. He’s a Daddy too.”

“My Daddy said he picked off the same vibe off of him,” Haven admitted. “He’s asked around about him and heard he’s a good guy and that most of his students like him, but you know I’m gonna watch out for you anyway.”

“I know, and I’m glad. I haven’t always made the best choices, especially without you here to make me rethink what I’m about to do,” I said. “But everything feels right when I’m with him, even when we’re silent and laying on the floor drawing.”

“That was pretty cool, the way you guys had it set up the other day.”

“It was so much fun, and I didn’t feel like I needed to dazzle him with my wit or keep him entertained.”

He smiled at hearing that, and I smiled, remembering the way he’d gotten so lost in the music at one point, that he’d just been staring at the movie on the television while bobbing his head to it.

“He’d never heard a record play on a record player before and when I told him about my collection, he was so curious that he insisted on listening to a few,” I recalled. “He didn’t look at me or my albums like it was weird to still want to own something that most people had little use for these days. He even said that was part of the fun, liking something unique and pursuing your love of it even when others failed to appreciate the appeal.

“What did he think after he’d heard a few?”

“We talked about how the sound was different and how the digitally remastered versions make you lose track of the era the song is from. There’s this whole vibe that gets lost and he noticed it!”

“Nice,” Haven said.

I could always tell when my brother was impressed with something and right now Lux was winning major brownie points in his eyes. Now that I really thought about it, the evening Haven had proposed would allow my friends and family plenty of opportunities to interact with Lux and see for themselves what kind of man he was.

“He’s an artist too,” I blurted, wanting to keep that look on Haven’s face.

“Kind of figured, being an art teacher and all.”

“True, unless it was a case of those who cannot do.”

“Ugg, that shouldn’t even be allowed when it comes to teaching,” Haven grumbled. “If you can’t show me how to apply it practically then why do I even need to learn it in the first place? What purpose will it serve?”

“Exactly.”

“I made us dad’s chicken and waffles, with the little crumbly bacon bits and real maple syrup.”

“You haven’t even made them for me since I’ve been home!” he grumbled, shoving away from the wall.

“How about we make them in the morning, together,” I offered, loving every minute I got to spend with my brother now that he was home. “Then maybe you’ll be able to make them for you and Maddox.”

“That would be awesome.”

“Hey, know what, now we’ll have an equal number of people for Crazy Eights.”

“What is it with you and that game? It’s pretty much the same as Uno.”

“I know and I like both. I see no reason to have to choose one over the other.”

“As long as you slip in a few games of Phase Ten I’m good.”

“Bet,” Haven said, then got quiet again.

“Hey, did you guys ever figure out what was wrong with the Escape that came in here smoking?” I asked regarding the oily smelling plume of black that had nearly choked me when I’d been standing out back hitting my vape.

“Someone’s been putting the wrong fluids in her for a really long time,” Haven explained. “The guy who brought it in claimed it was his brother’s fault. Something tells me that if it was the brother who’d brought it in, he’d have shifted the blame another way.”

“Sound familiar?”

“Archer was horrible about doing that shit,” Haven moaned as he reached into the fridge and pulled out one of the Starburst flavored waters he loved. “Remember the time he opened all of dad’s condoms, blew them up like balloons, drew little faces on them with marker, and hung them from the trees outside Mr. Wilson’s house.”

“I have never heard Mr. Wilson sound so pissed as when he went on the intercom that morning,” I recalled. “Did he actually think anyone was going to come forward after he threatened the student responsible with Saturday detention for the rest of the year?”

“Yeah, but look what happened when no one owned up to it,” he reminded me. “He canceled movie day and the pizza party. The whole school paid for it and when Dad discovered all his condoms missing and put two and two together, Archer tried to throw me and Jeremy under the bus.”

“I didn’t know that part.”

“Because you were too young to know they weren’t just balloons. I didn’t know they weren’t just balloons until I looked up what a condom was after Dad had finished ranting about how expensive they were. It still blows my mind that he had that many.”

“Okay, eww, no, not even gonna let my mind go there!” I said, nudging him as I stepped around him to get to the mini fridge. “What did Daddy send you home with today?”

“You don’t get to call him Daddy, only I get to call him Daddy. You go find your own Daddy,” Haven blurted, cheeks pinking up a little as he shrugged. “Or maybe you have. And now he can meet Loki-Bear.”

“No trying to get your dog to eat him!”

That smirking, impish grin of his was what my brother gave me when he turned to glance my way.

“If Loki-Bear tries to take a bite of him, then we’ll know there is something about him to be cautious of.”

I hate when he’s right, but I’d grown up knowing that animals had a certain sense about people and who was safe to be around and who needed to be avoided and run off. Loki-Bear was the sweetest boy, and a good judge of character. He’d already run one asshole off when he’d come sniffing around trying to case the place. If he took an instant dislike to Lux, then Haven was right, I’d have some things I’d need to consider. Like if the man who’d suddenly stolen all of my focus and attention was really one I’d want to continue to be involved with?