Chapter 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CARTER

Nerves overtook my body, making me want to throw up when Brendon and I went to tell the coaching team about our relationship. A less severe but still anxious feeling crept up on me when we told Sammy about it. Tonight, we are going to tell my mom and Brendon's parents about us, and I feel calmer than I think I've ever felt.

I was completely expecting to be bogged down with anxiety, yet there's none to be found. All I feel is excitement and joy. I know our parents are going to be so happy for us, and I can't wait to see their faces when they hear the news.

"Damn, you look good," Brendon states with a sexy smirk as he struts into my room.

His hair is styled in a purposefully messy kind of way—all tousled and dead sexy. He's been wearing it this way since letting it grow out this summer—and I am so very on board with the new look. It makes me want to lace my fingers into it and pull him closer. I mentally shake myself and push my lust down to take in the rest of him.

A pair of dark-wash jeans ride low on his hips and cling to his body like a second skin. His shirt, a simple polo with a few subtle horizontal stripes, is anything but basic on him. It fits snugly, showcasing his lithe but athletically toned body perfectly. My mouth waters while taking him in, my tamped down lust roaring back up within me.

His clothes aren't purposefully provocative, and honestly, to the average person, he'd just be dressed nicely. However, seeing him like this, instead of in his usual sweats, is really turning me on—not that seeing him in sweats doesn't also turn me on. If I'm being honest, Brendon just has to be in my vicinity to set me on fire. It really doesn't matter what he's wearing.

"You're one to be talking," I reply, moving toward him and putting my hands on his hips. "You look good enough to eat."

Gently, I press my lips to his and smile when he pulls me into him, deepening the kiss. I allow him to take the lead, melting into him momentarily before I reluctantly force myself to pull back. I almost laugh when I see Brendon pouting, and his grip on me tightens as he tries to pull me back.

"As much as I'd love to continue and turn this make out session into more, if we don't stop now, we won't be stopping at all," I remind him, and he huffs out a breath, not looking fully convinced that we should stop. "If we were meeting with anyone else, I'd say fuck it and let you take me to bed, but we can't stand our parents up."

His grip on me finally loosens, and he sighs. "Fine, but I'm having my way with you when we get home." The words are said with a growl, causing my pants to suddenly become too tight.

"You mean like you do every night?" I check in a breathy voice.

Ever since we started our relationship, we've struggled to keep our hands to ourselves in private. We've been exploring our likes and dislikes together and bringing each other to orgasm every night. The only thing we haven't tried yet is anal because both of us want that to be special. So, we are waiting for a night that we can take our time. And preferably a night when Artie isn't home, so we don't have to worry about trying to stay quiet.

One of our favorite ways to get off is to sixty-nine since it keeps both our mouths full and prevents us from shouting when we come.

"Stop staring at me like you want to eat me. You already told me we have to go," Brendon grumbles as he grabs my hand and starts to pull me out of my room.

I laugh as he guides us to the front door, and we say goodbye to Artie.

"Izzy is picking me up for another sleepover, so you two will have the place to yourselves tonight," he informs us as we grab our jackets.

"You're the best friend ever," Brendon tells him with the world's biggest grin.

"I know I'm amazing, but it's nice to hear from time to time," Artie replies with a shit eating grin of his own.

"Have a good night with Izzy," I tell Artie before we leave.

"Do you think we can finally take the next step tonight?" Brendon asks as we make our way to his car.

My body heats as my brain takes me down a dirty trail.

"I think we can definitely talk about it when we get back. But for now, I can't be thinking about it because it would be very improper to show up to dinner with our parents sporting a boner," I inform him, making him chuckle.

"Good point. But I'm pretty sure the thought of my cock in your ass is going to be popping up throughout the night whether I want it to or not."

I groan as my pants once again become too tight.

This is going to be the longest dinner of my entire life. I just know it.

The drive to Brendon's parents' house isn't long, and even though we invited them out for dinner, Brendon's mom insisted on cooking instead of going out.

We arrive at the house at the same time as my mom and she rushes over to us.

"Oh, I love your hair," Mom says as she pulls Brendon in for a hug.

"Thanks. I decided to grow it out for the summer, but I'm thinking about keeping it," he explains to her.

"You really should. It suits you," she tells him, then pulls me into her arms.

"I see how it is," I murmur as we hug. "Brendon is your favorite."

She laughs, then gently slaps my chest as she takes a step back. "I could never love anyone more than you, but I also saw you a couple of weeks ago. I haven't seen Brendon since before summer."

I already know this, but I just love giving my mom a hard time. "Mmmhmm, sure."

She rolls her eyes at me, and I can't help but smile.

"Come on, no point in standing outside," Brendon says with a tilt of his head.

Brendon and Mom talk about their summers as we make our way up the steps.

"About time you finally come over for dinner," Brendon's mom, Denise, says when we walk through the front door.

Brendon sighs, but pulls his mom in for a hug nonetheless. "It's been less than two weeks, Mom, and I've texted you every day. Do I need to start visiting every day, too?"

"Once a week would suffice," she says with a wave of her hand before pulling me into her arms. "Thank you for planning this dinner," she says into my ear in a mock whisper that is definitely loud enough for everyone to hear. "My baby boy would probably never visit if it wasn't for you."

"Stop giving the boys a hard time and let them in," Brendon's dad, Lenny, says as he walks down the hall to greet us.

Denise sighs but let's us in all the same. "Dinner is almost ready, but we can visit in the living room in the meantime."

My hand twitches, wanting to grab Brendon's as we follow his parents and my mom to the living room.

Once we're seated, my mom asks, "What made the two of you want to have dinner with your parents, anyway?"

"We actually have something we want to tell you," Brendon announces.

I'm expecting a sudden onset of nerves to take over me, but all I experience is the same sense of calm I've felt all day long.

No one says a word, instead waiting for us to spit it out.

"We're dating," I tell them, grabbing Brendon's hand.

"Well, shit," Lenny grumbles as he moves, grabbing his wallet out of his back pocket.

My mom giggles as he hands her a fifty-dollar bill.

"You couldn't have waited until Christmas?" Denise asks in an exasperated tone.

"Did you seriously bet on us?" Brendon asks, putting the pieces together faster than I did.

"Why wouldn't we?" my mom responds. "I mean, it's been obvious to us that you two have been in love with each other since you were teenagers. We've just been waiting for you to pull your heads out of your asses and figure it out yourself. When Carter told me he was bisexual this summer, I figured it would only be a matter of time before you finally got together."

"We thought it would take you both a little longer, though," Lenny supplies.

I can't help but laugh while shaking my head. It honestly makes so much sense that our parents bet on us because that's just the type of people they are. I just kind of hate that they saw something long before Brendon and I did.

"How come you didn't say something?" Brendon asks. "Maybe then we would have clued into our feelings for each other."

"It wasn't our place," Denise replies.

"How come you only ever asked me about girls then? If you thought I loved Carter, then you must have known I wasn't straight."

"When you two were growing up, it was the norm to tease little boys about girls and little girls about boys. It wasn't until you were teenagers that we realized we should have been keeping things more open, and by then, it would have been weird to ask you if you had a crush on any boys," Lenny explains.

Brendon nods. "Yeah, that makes sense. I'm just glad we figured it out now."

"We would like it, however, if you could keep our relationship between us for the time being," I add on. "The world is still filled with homophobic assholes, and if we come out publicly before we are drafted to the NBA, it could hinder our chances of getting picked."

"It sucks that you have to think about things like that, but we understand," my mom responds, and Lenny and Denise nod along.

"We plan on coming out publicly after we're drafted. We don't want to keep our relationship quiet forever, but it's also not the right time just yet."

"We'll support you no matter what," Denise says before a buzzer goes off. "Oh, the lasagna is done. Come on, let's eat and celebrate."

We all make our way to the kitchen, and I can't stop smiling at Brendon.

Tonight went better than I ever could have thought.