Chapter 23
NATHAN
We spend the rest of Saturday at home. He tells me a bit about what Caleb taught him at the bakery. I know he’s still deciding what he wants to do after he graduates, but it seems like he really enjoyed his time baking.
Eli mostly wears my shirts, since my pants are too loose on him, and they practically slide off.
Sunday morning, we threw his briefs in the wash, so he’s currently going around pantless.
I’m doing my best not to think about that beautiful ass as I make us some hot chocolate while we wait for the lunch we ordered for delivery.
It snowed all day yesterday, though I’m not complaining, since it meant I didn’t have to go in to work today, and I got more cozy time with Eli. It’s not snowing today, but the sky is still cloudy and perfect for more cozy time.
I take both of our drinks and bring them to the couch, where Eli’s currently flipping through the album I brought home from my uncle’s cabin.
“Your mom is beautiful,” Eli comments. He thanks me for the hot chocolate with a kiss, then tucks himself into my side as we continue to flip through the album.
It’s been displayed on my coffee table since I brought it back with me, but this is my first time going through the entire thing.
The album has pictures of my mom through all stages of her life, from her as a little girl holding a baby Uncle Anthony, to her teenage years, and finally her wedding pictures with my dad.
Eli opens the last page, and a photo falls out. I pick it up from the floor and see it’s a picture of Mom holding me. It’s a photo I’ve never seen before.
She’s sitting in a rocking chair and looking at me, wearing her iconic sundress, but what catches my eye the most is the love that’s in her eyes.
“There’s something written on the back,” Eli says and turns the photo around.
I recognize my mom’s handwriting instantly. On the back of the photo, she wrote: ‘My precious boy. I’ll always love you.’
Emotion washes over me, and my eyes sting as I try to blink back the tears. It’s fainter now, but Mom’s voice rings in my ears the way it used to when she told me she loved me.
“I know it’s not the same, but I’ll be the one to shower you with love now. I’m going to make you so happy that you’ll never know what hit you,” Eli says and pulls me into a hug. He’s full on cradling my head to his chest and holding on to it tightly.
I know I should be touched by his words—and I am—but I also can’t help the laugh that bubbles out of me.
“You’re not supposed to laugh,” Eli says grumpily when he hears.
I push myself up to steal his lips and kiss him tenderly. “Thank you, baby. We’ll love each other and make each other happy.”
The toothy smile he gives me in reply is full of love and joy. I want to steal another kiss, but the doorbell rings.
“That must be lunch,” I say and reluctantly get up. I cover Eli’s legs with a blanket first because he’s not wearing anything down there, and like hell I’m letting anyone see him like that.
The doorbell rings again just as I open the door. I expect to see a delivery person with our food, but instead, I’m met with Eli’s oldest sister.
“Ava,” I say, shocked to see her. “What brings you by today?”
She narrows her eyes at me and looks over my shoulder. I’m assuming she catches sight of Eli, since she’s pushing past me like she owns the place.
“Ava?” Eli says, sounding just as shocked as I was when I saw her. He must be shaken, because he shoots up from the couch, which…big mistake.
The blanket falls to the floor to reveal his bare legs and my shirt that just barely covers his cock. Ava immediately narrows her eyes at his legs and asks, “Are you naked under that shirt?”
Eli looks down at his body, like he’s only now just noticing, then yelps and bends down to grab the blanket to wrap it around himself like a towel.
“What are you doing here, sis?” Eli ignores her question and nervously asks one of his own.
Ava’s eyes flick between me and Eli. I shift under her assessment. Ava’s smart and has great intuition, so I have no doubt she’s already figured out what’s going on.
My suspicion is confirmed when she crosses her arms and asks, “How long has this been going on?”
“What do you mean? How long has what—”
Ava shoots him a glare that promises pain, which stops Eli in the middle of his bullshitting. He visibly deflates, which spurs my urge to protect him. I immediately go to his side.
“If you’re going to berate someone, then yell at me, not Eli,” I tell her. Her piercing gaze gives me chills, but I don’t back down.
She doesn’t say anything and slowly moves her gaze back to Eli. He’s looking up at me with stars in his eyes.
“You’re going to protect me from her?” he asks me, bright-eyed.
“Of course I will, baby. I’ll always protect you,” I firmly tell him.
“Oh, Nathan,” he murmurs and tugs on my clothes. He goes on his tiptoes as if to kiss me, but Ava clears her throat to interrupt our moment.
“While this is very touching and all, you might want to put some pants on. Mom and Gerald will be up any minute,” she states.
“What?” Eli shouts and scrambles around for a second, clearly panicking.
“The dryer should be done by now, baby,” I tell him, and he nods. We watch as he runs to grab his clothes from the dryer and disappears into my bedroom.
“So I was right,” Ava says when he’s back a minute later, fully clothed. “Something was going on between you two at the cabin. And I’m guessing by how he’s calling you ‘baby,’ it’s more than just a fling.”
“I love him,” Eli says. He peeks up at me, and I take his hand and give him a reassuring smile.
“I know you think I’m reckless and don’t know what I’m doing, and while that may be right in some cases…
I mean, I still don’t know what I’m going to do after graduation, but that’s beside the point.
The point is, I love Nathan, and my heart is telling me he’s the one for me.
You always trust your gut, Ava, and mine is telling me he’s it for me. ”
I stay silent, but squeeze his hand again, because wow. I didn’t think he would admit all that to her. I think I fell in love with him just a little more.
Ava sighs. “I don’t think you’re reckless,” she says, “and it’s okay for you not to have your future completely planned out.
Nobody is saying that you need to. But this”—she gestures between Eli and me— “is serious, Eli. I mean, he’s your stepbrother.
How is this ever going to work? Are you going to hide it forever?
I mean, what are you going to tell Mom and Gerald when they—”
“Tell us what?” Annie asks, entering through my open front door with my dad. I’d been so focused on following Ava that I’d forgotten to close it behind me.
I feel Eli’s hand freeze in mine, and I step in front of him so my body blocks our hands from them. Everyone is quiet for a minute.
“What’s going on?” Annie asks and looks around the room at each of us when everyone stays silent.
Ava is the first to speak up. “We were just talking about how Eli and Nathan don’t want to grab lunch with us,” she says.
“Oh, honey. Did you two eat already?”
It seems like Ava has no intention of exposing us. I should be relieved, but I’m not. There’s a nasty feeling in my stomach that’s telling me this is wrong. I don’t want to have to hide my relationship with Eli. Loving him isn’t wrong.
I look at Eli to find him already looking my way. There’s a question in his eyes, and my gut is saying he feels the same way I do, so I nod my head.
He squeezes my hand and steps around me to reveal our entwined hands. “Actually, there’s something we want to tell you.”
Annie and my dad’s eyes immediately lock onto our hands, but neither of us lets go.
“I’m in love with Nathan, and we’re dating. I don’t plan on leaving him, so don’t bother trying to change my mind,” he says with his chin lifted adorably in the air. I could just kiss him, but even I know there’s a time and place.
They both look back and forth between Eli and me, and I hold my breath for their replies. My dad hasn’t been the most attentive dad to me after Mom’s passing, but he’s still my dad. I don’t want him to hate me.
“Oh, okay,” Annie says anticlimactically. “Does that mean you are coming to lunch with us?”
“Wait, that’s all?” Eli asks, shocked. I’m baffled too. I wasn’t sure how they’d react to our relationship, but I thought there would at least be some questions or something.
“Sorry, did you want me to yell? I can do that,” Annie says. She clears her throat and changes her expression to show she’s pissed and yells, “How dare you, Eli Madison! Out of anybody in this entire world, you chose to fall in love with my stepson?”
She’s huffing and stomping her feet by the end of her act.
“Uh…delivery?”
A man’s voice sounds by the still open door, and our deliveryman looks appalled by what he just walked into.
“I’m just gonna leave this here,” he says and places our lunch by the door, takes a quick picture, then runs off like his ass is on fire.
“Oh dear, I guess that means you two really aren’t coming to lunch with us, after all,” Annie says with a hand over her mouth, like that’s what’s important right now. She turns to Dad and places a hand on his arm. “Honey, can you call and change the reservation?”
Dad nods and pulls out his phone, but I’m bothered by his lack of reaction.
“Is that really all? Dad? Do you not care that I’m in a relationship with a man? With your stepson?” I grit out the question.
He frowns at the question. “Are you with Eli because you’re trying to get back at me?”
“What? No! I’m with him because I love him. It has nothing to do with you.”
“Then that’s all I care about,” Dad says.
He glances at the photo that’s still on the couch beside me.
It’s the one of Mom holding me. “I know I haven’t been the most present dad, especially after your mom passed, so I have no right to judge who you choose to love.
All I want is for you to be happy.” He looks away, clearing his throat, but meets my eyes when he says, “I love you, son.”
My mouth is hanging open because I really hadn’t expected all that. Not only is he accepting my relationship with Eli, but he’s admitting he wasn’t around much during my childhood.
It doesn’t make up for all the hurt his absence caused, but it’s a start.
“I love you, Dad,” I tell him. He beams and pulls me in for a hug, which quickly turns into a group hug when Eli and Annie join in.
Ava stands there watching us with her arms still crossed. “So, are we going to lunch or what?” she asks with a crooked smile.
Eli pops his head out from the pile of bodies to give her an exasperated expression only the youngest sibling can pull off.
“Just get in here, Ava,” he calls and waves her over.
Ava shakes her head but strides over to join us, though not before ruffling Eli’s hair first.
He grumbles his annoyance but still clings to her. “We okay?” I hear him ask her.
Ava turns her sharp eyes to him, but they soften when they land on Eli. “Of course, baby brother. I’ll always be on your side, no matter what.”
Before, I would have been jealous of the siblings for always having each other’s backs. I haven’t had someone like that in a long time.
“So, lunch?” Annie asks again. “I’m starving.”
Eli grabs my hands and turns to me. “We can eat the takeout for dinner?”
I place a kiss on the back of his hand, not caring about our family watching or the teasing noises they’re making, because now I have nothing to be jealous about.
There’s a man who I know will always be on my side, and a family that might be certifiably goofy, but still pretty fucking amazing.