Chapter 14
FINN
Sunday, three days before the festival
I stretched, enjoying the cool sheets and the warmth of Drake’s naked body cuddled against mine. He was curled up with his back against my side and his head on my left arm. I couldn’t feel my hand, but I wasn’t about to move.
I was still processing everything that’d happened yesterday.
Charlie’s meltdown, his agreeing to go to therapy, me having to grovel to Drake, Drake deliberately trying to piss me off.
And us agreeing to be boyfriends. Which was a silly word, but I didn’t feel like partner was any better. Boyfriend would do.
We’d celebrated our relationship with the guys at the pub, and then we’d come home and celebrated in a different way.
But very quietly. Charlie had connected with Kirk and Tommy later in the day, and they’d ended up staying over here last night.
I’d stuck my head in Charlie’s room when we’d gotten home, but I still needed to tell him Drake and I had formalized our dating status.
I smiled down at his still form. He didn’t move much in his sleep. Once he found a position he liked, he was out for the entire night.
My phone buzzed on the nightstand. Crap. I couldn’t quite reach it, so I had to drag my arm from under Drake’s neck so I could sit up.
“Huh?”
“Sorry. I was trying to get to the phone before it woke you.”
He snorted and flopped onto his front. “What time is it?”
I looked at my phone. My mom had texted. Crap. “Um, it’s 9:15.”
“Who’s texting you this early? Is it a pet emergency?”
“No, thankfully.” I was on call this weekend, but it was rare we had an issue that couldn’t wait. Mostly just pet parents wanting to know whether they should panic because their dog ate something it shouldn’t have.
I opened Mom’s text one-handed, as my left arm was still out of commission. “My mom wants to know what happened with Charlie at the diner.”
He grunted. “Small-town gossip moves fast.”
“You have no idea. There’s a fucking blog.”
He lifted his head. “You’re shitting me.”
“Nope. I’ll show it to you sometime.”
I texted Mom that everything was fine and I’d call her later. Then I tossed the phone onto the mattress next to my pillow and leaned over to kiss Drake. “Good morning, boyfriend.”
He wrinkled his nose. “It’s maybe not something we want to use to address each other, okay?”
I laughed. “Fine, but most of the common endearments are out for me.”
“Yeah? Why’s that?” He combed his fingers through my hair.
“Because people use those for pet names. And I mean names for their actual pets. I can’t call you sweetheart or darling when they make me think of Sweetheart Francis, who’s a cat, and Darling Khalil, who’s an elderly pug.”
He chuckled. “Baby?”
“Too many to count. My favorite is Baby Finkelstein, who’s an African Gray parrot.”
“Honey? No, never mind. I don’t even have to ask.”
My stomach growled. “How about we shower and take the boys for another shot at breakfast? We can go to Sparky’s this time.”
“Sounds good to me.”
We showered together. We were almost dead silent, but we still managed to get each other off with a spectacular frotting session. When we were dressed, I knocked on Charlie’s door.
“Hey, guys? You want to go to breakfast?”
There was some grumbling and whispering, then Charlie called out, “Give us fifteen minutes!”
“Take your time. My bathroom’s free if more than one of you want to shower.”
“’Kay, thanks.”
To be on the safe side, I sped back to my bedroom and did a quick job of hiding the lube and tugging the bedspread over the rumpled sheets.
Charlie trudged in, his eyes mostly closed and the hems of his pajama pants dragging on the floor. He carried his jeans, a t-shirt, and of course his phone.
“It’s all yours. Oh, and, Charlie.”
He blinked at me. “Yeah?”
“I, uh, wanted to let you know. I asked Drake to be my boyfriend.”
His face broke into a grin. “Great!” Then he put on a wary expression. “He said yes, didn’t he?”
“Fuck off.”
Laughing, he went into the bathroom.
I found Drake in the kitchen messing with the coffee maker. “I hope there’s enough for me.”
He pointed at two empty mugs on the counter. “As soon as mine is poured, you can have yours.”
My phone buzzed. I ignored it. Probably my mom acknowledging my text from earlier. Then it buzzed again. And again.
“What now?” I pulled the phone from my pocket. I had several texts, so I opened the messaging app. I sucked in a breath. “That little shit. I’m going to kill him.”
“What? What’s wrong?” Drake paused with the coffee pot poised, ready to pour.
I waved my phone at him. “I told Charlie we were boyfriends now, and he’s already texted Mom, Dad, and Addy. They’re pestering me for information.”
He grinned. “Sounds like he’s feeling comfortable enough with you to yank your chain.” He poured the coffee, adding creamer and sugar to mine, just like I made it myself.
I paused my retort and thought about what he’d said. “Holy shit, I think you’re right. He hasn’t teased me or anything since he came to live here. Not til the other night when we were flirting in the doorway. Holy shit.” I got a little choked up, and Drake came over to give me a hug.
When I’d recovered, I pushed back enough to look at him. “You won’t feel quite so kind toward Charlie when you find out my mom is demanding you come to Sunday dinner this evening.”
He froze. “Uh.”
“It’s up to you. If you’re not ready, that’s fine, but don’t be surprised if Mom ambushes you while you’re minding your own business either in town or at Zeke’s compound.”
His eyes went wide. “She’d do that?”
I nodded grimly. “Without a doubt.”
“Right. Okay, then let’s get it over with today. At least you’ll be with me.”
I wrapped my arms around him. “You’ll survive, I promise.”
When Charlie came into the kitchen with Kirk and Tommy a little later, I pointed at him. “You’re on my shit list, mister, and for punishment you’re only allowed to order oatmeal for breakfast.”
Kirk and Tommy goggled at me, but Charlie laughed. “It was worth it.” He turned to Drake. “Are you coming to Sunday dinner at Janet and Brad’s?”
Drake smiled serenely. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
We pulled up to Mom and Dad’s house right as Addy was getting out of her car. For once her jeans appeared free of paint stains. She had a bottle of wine in one hand, and she tucked it under her arm as she strode over to wait for us.
Charlie bounced out of the car as soon as I put it in Park. He threw his arms around Addy, and she hugged him tight but gave me a stunned expression over his shoulder. I put my hands out to indicate I didn’t know.
“That’s my twin sister Addy. She’s engaged to a woman named Hannah, but Hannah’s in Burlington this weekend.”
Drake nodded, then he took a deep breath and got out of the car. He hadn’t worn a hat tonight, and it was a little odd seeing him outdoors without one. He had on black jeans and a blue button-down. Even with his stylish haircut, you’d never know he was essentially a rock star.
I got out more slowly, watching as he approached Addy. Once Charlie released her, Drake held out his hand. “Hi, I’m Drake. It’s nice to meet you.”
After greeting him, Addy took his hand and used it to pull him in for a hug.
“Nice to meet you too, Drake.” She stepped back but didn’t let go of him.
“Let’s head inside and you can meet Mom and Dad properly.
They said they met you when you dropped off Charlie Monday night, but this is different now you and Finn are together.
They’re a little overeager about it, but I promise they’ll calm down eventually.
” She kept his hand in hers and started up the walkway toward the front door.
Drake glanced back at me with a pleading expression, and Charlie laughed. “We’d better make sure he survives Hurricane Janet.”
“Agreed.” We hurried to catch up.
Janet opened the door before Addy reached it. “Oh, Drake! I was so happy when Charlie told us about you and Finn!” She ignored Addy in favor of pulling Drake into a hug.
Charlie didn’t try to stifle his laugh.
“Don’t hog the boy—er, young man—Janet. Let me greet him too.” Dad hovered behind Mom.
She slowly released Drake. He attempted to hold out his hand to Dad, but he got another hug instead.
Mom gave Addy and me perfunctory hugs, though she did whisper, “He’s so cute, Finn!” into my ear. Then she put her arms around Charlie. “Honey, I know you’re still hurting, but we’re here for you. You know that, right?”
He mumbled something in response.
I put a hand on each of their backs. “Can we please go inside so I can make sure Drake isn’t uncomfortable?”
Janet turned a shocked face to me as she released Charlie. “Finn Hunnicutt, we would never make anyone uncomfortable!”
Charlie sprinted for the door.
“Not intentionally, Mom.” I put my arm around her shoulders and steered her inside.
Dinner was relatively stress-free. My parents behaved themselves reasonably well, although Mom kept bringing up the fact that Drake was a twin like I was.
After the fourth time she mentioned twins, I cleared my throat. “Drake, did I tell you Addy’s an artist?”
He looked at her with what appeared to be genuine interest. “Really? What kind of medium?”
“I paint. Local landscapes mostly.”
“No way. Can I see some of your work?” He looked around the dining room, but Mom had decorated in here with vintage botanical prints.
Addy gave him heart eyes. “Mom and Dad have one I did over their sofa in the den. I’ll show you after dinner.”
“I’d love that.”
“She’s got an online gallery too.” I reached for my phone.
“After dinner, Finnegan.” Mom stared me down until I put my hand back on the table.
Charlie sniggered.
Drake coughed. “Um, my brother Dirk is more of an art connoisseur than I am, so I’m not sure I can give your work the appreciation it deserves, but I’d still like to see it. In fact, I’ve been meaning to find a piece to bring home for Dirk, and it’d be amazing to give him something of yours.”
I put my hand across the back of Drake’s chair, my heart feeling full at his thoughtfulness. Addy smiled like he was her new favorite person. “As long as it’s something he’d actually like. My stuff isn’t for everyone.”
“Drake, can I ask a question?”
He turned to Charlie. “Sure.”
“Um, I’m not trying to be rude, but your and your brother’s names are... kind of different.”
“Charlie!”
Drake raised a hand toward Mom. “It’s okay. And honestly I agree with you. My oldest brother got named after my paternal grandfather, but Dad talked Mom into giving the rest of us names to make us stand out. He had plans for us all to be famous, even before we were born.”
Charlie wrinkled his nose. “That sucks. What if you didn’t want to be famous?”
Drake gave him a wry smile. “My father wasn’t concerned with what we wanted. Anyway, our first names are merely part of it. My oldest brother is the only one who didn’t have his last name changed after our mom passed away.”
Mom and Dad made shocked noises, and Drake nodded.
“Turns out the name Derryberry isn’t as marketable as plain old Derry.
So Steve is Steven Derryberry, and two years younger than him are my twin brothers Heath and Hunter Derry.
Then after them is Desdemona, who goes by Mona.
Dirk and I are the youngest. We had our names legally changed back to Derryberry a few years ago, but we’re stuck with Derry professionally. ”
My family must’ve done some googling, because no one asked anything about Drake’s father.
After dinner Addy dragged Drake into the den to look at her painting. It was one of my favorites, a gorgeous fall day with a crisp blue sky and trees with leaves just turning.
“That’s beautiful.” Drake pulled out his phone. “Can you show me your gallery?”
They sat on the couch and started tapping at Drake’s phone, so I snuck out to see what the others were up to. Dad and Charlie were on the back deck doing something that involved pointing at the trees, so I went into the kitchen to help Mom with the dishes.
When she saw me, she immediately put me at the sink. “You get the worst of it off, I’ll load the dishwasher.” Mom didn’t like anyone else’s method of arranging the dishes in the dishwasher. I only had to wait about thirty seconds before she gave her review.
“I like Drake.”
“Yeah? I figured you’d think he’s too young for me.”
She shook her head. “That one might be young in years, but he’s old in experiences.
” She moved a bowl to put a plate behind it.
“I don’t know him well, of course, but he seems like he could use some people around him.
” She shot me a look. “People like we have here, who would care for him and make him feel like he has his own place in the world.”
I frowned, but my heart practically jumped out of my chest and latched on to her words. “I’m working up to asking him to stay longer after the music festival.”
She straightened up and faced me. “You know I’m talking about permanently.”
“One step at a time, Mom.”