Chapter 30
AREK
I’m not the least bit surprised to find Kole waiting for us downstairs.
I have my duffel over my shoulder and Kylen’s suitcase in my hand.
His cheeks are rosy pink as we walk through the halls with me carrying his luggage.
He’s not used to being spoiled. I’m going to change that.
He’ll only lift a finger when I allow it.
I did let him carry his own backpack. I even let him put my tablet inside, so he didn’t think I was treating him like a child, unable to carry his own things. That’s not the case, of course. I just want my man to be spoiled.
Kole’s eyes drop to Kylen’s suitcase in my hand before her gaze rises to my shirt, and she rolls her eyes.
Today’s reads, ‘I’m magically delicious,’ and there are rainbows all over it.
I convinced Kylen to wear my ‘I’m a good boy’ hoodie, though I have a feeling he’ll take it off before we get to his parents’ house.
He doesn’t want his parents to know that he’s a good boy, I suppose.
I’d pulled my car up to the front of the frat house earlier. By me, I mean Emric. He and the other pledges were being our monkeys this morning as everyone got ready to leave. Emric was pulling cars around. I think the pledges have since been released.
As an underclassman, Emric isn’t allowed to have his vehicle on campus.
Which means it’s parked at Daxton and Okello’s apartment most of the time.
I received a text from Juno this morning saying they were all heading out after breakfast. Their drive is slightly shorter than ours, but neither Whitaker twin seemed to be in a hurry to leave.
“Are all these boxes necessary?” Kole asks.
I look away from admiring Kylen in my hoodie. He’s not an aggressively small man, but somehow, he still swims in it. I love everything about it. My inner feral beast loves that he constantly wears my clothes.
“Yes,” I answer as we join her at the back of my car. The trunk of my SUV is stacked with boxes. “On an unrelated note, do you have wrapping paper at your house, or should we stop to pick some up?”
Kylen looks at me with wide, horrified eyes.
I pinch his chin between my fingers and bring his mouth to mine. “My question has nothing to do with these boxes,” I lie. “Though you may have to bond with your family for a few hours without me while I… do my taxes.”
Kole snorts.
“Didn’t you say we weren’t exchanging gifts this year?” Kylen asks as I close my trunk.
“I don’t remember,” I lie again.
“It’s a good thing neither of you took that statement seriously,” Kole comments.
I open the back passenger door and set Kylen’s suitcase on the floor between the seats. My duffel goes on top of it.
“Did you bring enough clothes?” Kylen asks.
“For a week at your house, yes. Then we’re going to mine, where I have a closet full of clothes, so I don’t need to bring much. Though I imagine I won’t recognize anything in my closet since my siblings seem to have nothing better to do than exchange my perfectly good clothes with graphic tees.”
“This is now your aesthetic,” Kole says. “No one will recognize you if you start wearing boring clothes again.”
I hum in acknowledgment as I open the passenger door for Kylen while Kole places her bag in the backseat with ours. The back door closes, and Kole walks around the side. I buckle my man in, making sure he’s secure and comfortable, and enjoy the way his cheeks darken in the process.
“We’re going to need to stop for a breeding on the way. Eight hours is a long drive without my cock being in you.”
“Gross,” Kole says from the backseat.
“Guess you should have ridden with Lathan,” Kylen says, even as his face burns red like a cooked lobster.
I miss her response as I shut the passenger side door and round the front of the car.
My key is in my door pocket, right where I told Emric to put it when he brought it up.
I’m going to miss the pledges. While I don’t ask them to do my bidding like some of the guys do, I appreciate little conveniences like this.
“No, he said he was leaving tomorrow,” Kole is saying as I join them in the car.
“Why?” Kylen asks, twisting to look at her. “He has one class, and I think the final was two days ago. And tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Why would he wait to show up on Christmas Eve?”
I look at Kole in my rearview mirror in time to see her shrug. “Dunno.” She leans forward. “Hey. Let’s drop in on him on our way out of Longwood Crossing. Five bucks says he’s not home.”
Kylen turns to me. “Do you mind? His apartment is above the bar in town. A few blocks off campus. I forget the name.”
“I know where it is,” I tell him, nodding as I drive through campus.
“You’ve been there a few times, have you?” Kole asks.
I shrug. “Yes. Sometimes I wanted to fuck without a camera pointed at me.”
“Coach Tavis used to work here,” Kylen says. I glance in his direction. When he realizes Kole and I are watching him, he flushes and looks between us. “Nolan told me. I’ve never been in the bar!”
“No judgment,” Kole says with a smirk.
“Right. It sounds like you’re full of judgment,” Kylen says, sinking into his seat.
The bar takes longer to drive to than it does walking because of all the one-way streets. I pull up outside the bar and park the car. It’s no surprise that the bar is dark. It’s mid-morning.
Kole is already out of the car before I turn the engine off. We follow her upstairs. I’d always known there was an apartment above the bar, but I’d never been in it. I’m a little surprised by how small it is.
“Would you look at that… big brother isn’t home,” Kole says as she pokes her head in the open doors, which I’m assuming are bedrooms. She turns back to face us, hand on her hip.
Kylen wanders around the open space, looking at all the surfaces as he goes. I’m not sure what he’s looking for, but by the time he returns to my side, he’s shrugging.
“I’m going to demand to know what he gets up to when he’s not at school and never home,” Kole states primly as she heads back to the door.
I meet Kylen’s eye, and he rolls his. I don’t think he cares as much as his sister does.
We make one final stop before leaving Longwood Crossing, and that’s to grab breakfast with caffeinated beverages.
I have a feeling I’m going to need more than one if I have to remain in Kole’s presence for an entire eight uninterrupted hours.
“So… want to talk about my family?” Kylen asks after a few minutes of driving north on the highway.
With cruise control set and a relatively smooth ride for a couple hundred miles, I take his hand and kiss his knuckles. “Sure. Tell me about your family.”
He smiles softly. I think that pink is a permanent stain on his cheeks.
“Have I said we have six fathers?” Kylen asks.
“I don’t know if you’ve said outright, but I’ve heard the comment over the last couple years at least,” I say.
“So, there’s Daddy Quin. He’s a woodworker, but he’s been one of the deans at Rainbow Dorset University for…
well, since before we were born. He built the trade school department from the ground up.
They want to bring him on the board or something, but he doesn’t want to be anything other than the dean of his department. ”
“Trade school?” I ask, picturing factory work.
“Yeah, like blue-collar work; woodworking, forging, stained glass, automotive, welding… anything you build with your hands. Craftsmen work that’s kind of falling out of favor.
There’s a huge fair twice a year where his department has tons of things they’ve built for sale, and it brings in a ton of money because it’s all quality and stuff.
They now employ master craftsmen from all around the world. ”
He sounds so proud. It makes me smile. “Daddy Quin sounds pretty incredible,” I comment.
Kylen grins. “Yep. My dad Simon has two bookstores. One in Glensdale and one in Sun Haven. They’re really great—specialize in indie books with a huge section filled with exclusive special editions.
There’s also a coffee shop inside and tons of little reading nooks where you can curl up with a cuppa and read for a while. ”
“Dad Simon owns epic bookstores. Got it.”
“Our dads, Damon and Sage, are co-owners of a fitness school. It’s now well-known in this region for those who graduate in nutritional or exercise science.
They often come to our dads for further training and education.
They have bodybuilder programs and self-defense classes.
And also, a gym with personal trainers and stuff. ”
“Strong dads Damon and Sage. Next.”
Kylen’s smile is huge when he looks at me.
“Dad Zarek is an actuary, and he’s sooooo smart, especially at math.
He also works for RDU with Daddy Quin, but in the math department.
That’s where he and our dad Declan met. Declan is a sports trainer for their athletic department.
Usually soccer, but he drops in on football and field hockey from time to time. ”
“Dad Zarek is stupidly smart, and Dad Declan trains athletes’ muscles. Good. Next.”
“That’s six.”
“Right. Daddy Quin is a badass dean. Dad Simon owns bookstores that I want to visit. Dads Damon and Sage can bench press us. Dad Zarek is incredibly brilliant. Dad Declan plays with athletes all day.”
Kole snorts from the back seat.
“Okay, good. Dads Declan and Damon are twins.”
“Ohhh… plot twist,” I comment, making Kylen laugh.
“Yes, and… so… we live in a huge neighborhood that our family bought before there was anything built on it, and they only sell it to people who are safe for families like ours.”
“Gay?” I ask, head tilting to the side.
Kole laughs. “Polyamorous and… outside the box.”
“Ah. Right. Continue.”
“Nolan’s family lives next door. He has five dads. Some of our dad Zarek’s sisters live there too… So do our twin dads’ parents.”
There’s something he’s nervous about, though I haven’t quite put my finger on it yet. I think Kole, knowing her brother, is tired of listening to him beat around the bush, so she leans forward, poking her head between our seats, and asks, “Are you transphobic?”
A frown stretches over my face. “My sister is trans,” I say.
“Really?” she asks, staring at the side of my head.
“Yes. I have three non-binary or agender cousins. My uncle is also genderfluid. Why would I be transphobic?”
“I didn’t know that. Kylen doesn’t seem to be aware of that, either.”
“You’ve both met Okello,” I remind them.
Neither twin responds.
“I suppose I didn’t introduce them as nonbinary, but they are.”
“Huh,” Kole says and leans back into her seat again. “I suppose I didn’t pick up on it because it’s just… neutral to me. People get so bent out of shape over pronouns and genders, and it’s almost 2050, like, get a fucking life already.”
Kylen nods. “I think that too. I think I only subconsciously hear gender and store the information away to use it, but it doesn’t, like…
take up space, you know? You are who you are, and it doesn’t affect me, so I don’t realize when your pronouns are something different from what loud assholes say they should be. ”
“I like that,” I say. “I do recognize gender, but I don’t disrespect someone telling me their pronouns are different from what I guess.
But my brain works differently, so I’ve always been keen on observation in an attempt to read the people in my surroundings.
Perceived gender is just one of the things I store away, but it’s easily rewritten if you tell me I’m wrong, too. ”
“That’s cool,” Kylen says, grinning. “Also… we support free love. You can love who you love. No matter who that is.”
His voice is quiet, and while I don’t take my eyes off the road for long, I try to study Kylen. I’m not sure what that means outside of the obvious—gay, clearly, and polyamorous. I suppose it doesn’t matter in the long run, so I nod. “Okay, good. I support that, too.”
“All kinds of love is love,” Kole reiterates. “No matter what that looks like.”
“Sure, okay,” I agree.
“Like… no judgment ever,” she says.
“If you’re trying to say something specific, say it. I literally just said my brain doesn’t work the same way yours does, which means I’m not going to pick up on your subtle cues. We’ve had this discussion.” I meet Kole’s eyes in my rearview mirror. “I’m wired differently.”
“All of our parents are together,” she says. “All of them. All together.”
“Okay.”
“All—”
“Yes, all of them. I heard you all three times you said so.”
“Two of our dads are twins,” Kylen says quietly.
“Yes, I noted that.”
“I can’t tell if you’re truly not hearing what we’re saying or just messing with me,” Kole says.
“All six of your parents are together. I heard you.”
Kylen and Kole are both watching me. “My turn,” I say.
“Let’s skip my immediate family and let me tell you about my uncles.
Uncle Myro is my oldest uncle. He’s practically on a leash—literally.
I think Auntie Jessica could make him bark like a dog if she wanted.
They have four kids—Emric is one of them.
“Then there’s my Uncle Voss. He’s a tech genius. Seriously high IQ and can do anything on a computer. He’s married to my Uncle Brek, a real estate broker whose face is on billboards, which means my cousin Juno’s face is on billboards because he looks identical to Uncle Brek, his dad.
“Then there are my triplet uncles. All three triplets work in the contracts department of Van Doren Law. They’re lawyers.
Uncle Imry is married to Uncle Haze, a historian, who’s uncovered lots of family scandals and drama that we enjoy hearing about during holiday breaks when our family is all together.
They have one kid who doesn’t attend Longwood, so you probably don’t know him.
“The other two/thirds of the triplets are my uncles Avory and Ellory. Together, they have twin sons—Brodrie and Sawyer and an older son, Malin. Uncle Ellory is… like me. Kinda. But he passes for normal much better than I do.
“Last is my father, Loren. He’s retired, but sometimes he’ll take a job here and there. He executes contracts or does security detail. He’s married to my dad Oakley, who is a stay-at-home father. They met because my dad Loren stalked my dad Oakley.”
I meet Kole’s eyes in the rearview mirror again. “My family also believes that love is love to the fullest extent, and we ruthlessly protect our own. So yeah… I get it.”
She stares at me, and I hold her gaze as much as I can while still driving. “I think you do,” she says at last.