Chapter Twenty
JOE LAY loose-limbed on the couch, playing with Austin’s unbound hair while he pretended to rewatch Gonzo narrate a Christmas classic.
He was too pleasure-drunk to focus that intensely on anything.
Well, other than the memory of Austin laid out on the table, begging and squirming on Joe’s cock.
Joe had always considered himself more verse than anything, but after tonight he understood the appeal of exclusive topping.
To do otherwise almost felt criminal. A waste of that delicious ass.
Mm, speaking of, maybe Austin would be willing to let Joe kiss it better in the morning?
He probably wouldn’t want to take Joe’s dick again so soon.
Joe remembered the days after his first time.
Which, he couldn’t believe Austin hadn’t told him.
Well, he could—it was totally in character.
Maybe Joe should have guessed, what with the way Austin seemed to blow hot and cold on the idea.
Joe was mid sleepy-morning-rimjob-fantasy when the knock startled Pepa to her feet. She looked toward the front hall, and Joe and Austin shared a look. It was late on Christmas Day. Whoever, whatever, was at the door couldn’t be good news.
Dread formed a pit in Joe’s stomach. No. Not today.
He pushed those thoughts away, refusing to borrow trouble, and hoisted himself off the couch.
“Should I—”
Joe shook his head. “I’ll holler if I need help.”
He swallowed and metaphorically crossed all his fingers and toes before he gripped the doorknob and swung the door open.
Will stood on the porch, a backpack slumped at his feet.
It had apparently started to drizzle at some point after Joe got home with Pepa, and Will was wet and bedraggled.
His boots were caked in mud, and he shivered as he stared up at Joe.
He didn’t have to say anything. They both knew what had happened.
The thing they’d both been dreading and preparing for.
Joe just opened his arms and pulled him in.
Will tucked his face into Joe’s neck, and Joe held him close and ignored the slight tremble running through the gangly frame. Will was still shorter, though his last growth spurt had brought him eyes-to-nose with Joe, and Joe was beginning to suspect his most fragile baby might end up the tallest.
“Joe?” Austin stood down the hall, watching them with guarded, unhappy eyes.
Will tensed in his arms, though he kept his face hidden.
“Austin, can you make up some hot cocoa? I’ve got a craving,” Joe said as neutrally as possible. Once Austin had slipped into the kitchen, Joe ushered Will to the bathroom, where he could dry off and change.
“Do you have everything you need?” Joe nodded toward the bag Will had clutched in his hands.
Will nodded. “I kept it packed by the door just in case….” Just in case his parents found out he was gay and threw him out of the house without giving him time to pack.
“Okay. Shout if you need anything.”
Joe found Austin in the kitchen, staring blankly at three empty mugs while the kettle steamed next to him.
“Hey.”
Austin jumped. He smiled wanly at Joe. “He okay?”
“As he can be. It’s not like we didn’t know this was coming.”
They’d made up three cups by the time Will emerged from the bathroom, and he’d quietly accepted the hot drink. After some whispered debate, they brought Will to the living room and settled him onto the couch.
“So, Will, do you want to talk, or do you want to watch ghostly Muppets harass Michael Caine?”
“Muppets, please,” he all but whispered.
By the time the credits rolled, Will was curled up in the corner of the couch looking small and vulnerable. Joe wished he could fix this problem like he had helped fix Will’s backstroke.
Austin picked up the dirty dishes and announced he would take Pepa out for one last pee.
“C’mon,” Joe said to Will. “Let’s get you settled upstairs.”
He had already seen the bedroom Joe had outfitted for him, just yesterday in fact, as Joe had presented it as a gift.
But Will hadn’t seen the items already in the dresser drawers. Joe tried not to make it a big deal, kept his voice soft when he pulled one open and said, “Just in case you don’t have any pajamas.”
Will looked at the contents of the drawer.
Then with shaking hands he pulled open the rest of them.
There were some new pairs of socks and underwear, as well as some hand-me-downs from Joe’s wardrobe and a few items unearthed from the house.
In the top drawer, next to the new underthings, were a folded rainbow sweatshirt and a T-shirt that read, in bubbly multicolored letters, My Dad Loves Me.
Will burst into tears.
Unthinking, Joe lunged in his direction and wrapped Will up in a tight hug.
After several long moments, Will pulled away and angrily wiped at his cheeks. “They didn’t even let me grab my keys or phone.”
“I’ll buy you a new one,” Joe promised.
Will snorted. “You shouldn’t have to.”
“I know. But I will.”
“It’s not fair.”
“I know.”
“I hate them!”
“Totally valid,” Joe agreed, instead of me too.
Of all the challenges he’d faced as an ad hoc parent, this one was by far the biggest, most dramatic, and yet probably the one that Joe was best prepared for.
From the moment Will had come out to him, Joe had been preparing for this.
That included reading parenting guides on how to support grieving teens.
Will slumped, the fight leeching out of him. “I don’t hate them,” he whispered.
That’s okay. I’ll do it for you. Joe placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Also valid.”
Will took a shuddering breath and managed a small smile. “You know you’re really good at this dad thing, right?”
“You know you make it easy, right?”
Pain flashed across Will’s face, but he didn’t argue.
With one last hug and promises to be right downstairs if Will needed him for anything, Joe said good night and went to find Austin.
Because—well.
Austin liked the kids, sure. He was great with them, even.
Joe thought hanging out with them might even have some kind of healing built in, since he doubted young Austin had much opportunity to actually be a kid.
But Joe didn’t think suddenly becoming the de facto parents of a teenager was in the same league as adopting a bunch of animals.
Austin might be okay with Will living here in theory, and he might tease Joe about being a teen dad, but that didn’t mean he wanted to date a dad for real.
You’d think they actually would have talked about this. But they hadn’t, so now Joe had to go destroy the dregs of the afterglow with serious relationship talk.
A knot formed in his stomach.
It had to be too much, didn’t it? Austin hadn’t signed up for this. He’d—
“Hey.”
Joe blinked. Somehow he’d made it down the stairs. Austin waited at the bottom, still wearing Joe’s sweatshirt and pajama bottoms. They were too long for him, flopping halfway over his feet. “Hey. He’s, uh….”
Austin opened his arms.
Joe fell into them, clinging tightly. “Jesus,” he whispered, shaking. “I hate them—I hate them so much, what the fuck. He’s just a kid, he’s their kid. They’re supposed to love him. Why can’t they—”
“Hey,” Austin said again, a rough whisper in return. “He’s got you, right? It’s gonna suck, but it’ll be okay.”
Joe’s eyes burned, and he buried his face in Austin’s hair. “What the fuck am I doing?”
“What you always do. Taking care of people.”
He swallowed against the hope rising in his throat. “It’s not—it’s not exactly taking things slow, though, is it? If you don’t want—”
Austin pulled back, took Joe’s face in both hands.
“Hey.” His eyes were dark and serious. “You think I didn’t know this was a possibility?
The kids have been invading the house since day one.
You think—what, I’m going to be upset you’re making sure a kid doesn’t go through the hell I went through?
You think the way you are with those kids isn’t half the reason I even—”
He cut himself off. Going slow, Joe reminded himself and forced a breath into his lungs.
“Okay, yeah.” He nodded. Austin didn’t let go of his face, but he did thumb away a drop of wetness. Fuck, Joe was a mess. “But that’s not the same as, you know, ‘surprise, honey, we have a teenager now.’”
“Eh,” Austin said, deliberately casual. “He’s in grade twelve. He’s gotta be mostly self-sufficient, right? We’ll figure it out.”
We.
“Okay,” Joe said again. “Okay. Jesus, what a fucking day.”
Austin huffed. “You said it.” He bent Joe’s head toward him and kissed his nose. “Come on. We should get some sleep. I have a feeling it’s going to be a busy day tomorrow.”