Chapter 28 Jason #2
“Why are you telling me all of this?” I asked, flabbergasted.
“I told you,” Alex’s laugh was warm. “We gotta stick together. I gotta go. But just remember what I told you, and you’ll be fine.”
The line went quiet for a second time.
I stared at it, heart pounding.
Joe was going to invite me to Christmas Eve dinner with his family?
It felt too good to be true. But…I tried not to question it. Leaping into action, I ran around my house getting ready. I heeded all of Alex’s advice—hoping that he had good intentions, and hadn’t been messing with me.
When I was dressed in a black sweater and jeans, I waited impatiently for my phone to ring.
Like he’d sensed I was ready, Joe called me right then.
The phone buzzed, and I snatched it up, answering it on the first ring.
“Hey, baby.”
“Good evening, Jason.” Yet another unfamiliar voice spoke. This one was deeper than Alex’s, and clipped. “This is George.”
Oh.
“Hi, George! It’s nice to meet you. Joe’s spoken highly of you—”
“Likewise. And I’m sure he has. I’m calling because Joe would like to formally invite you to spend Christmas Eve with us, but as he is currently occupied—he’s tasked me with calling you.” No doubt, Joe was incredibly busy if he hadn’t been the one to ask.
“Thank you,” I said, nervous. “When do I—”
“Right now.”
“Oh.” Good thing Alex had warned me, Jesus. “I’ll be over in fifteen.”
“See you soon.”
I stopped by Mary’s house on the way to grab a bottle of fancy wine.
Fifteen minutes later, I was driving up Joe’s driveway. It was the same as always. Surrounded by trees. Snow. Gravel crunching beneath the whirr of my wheels. And yet…everything felt different. I felt different. I was ready to put everything I had on the table. That was…freeing.
When I parked next to his truck, I noticed several rental cars beside it. Two of them were garishly expensive. No doubt Alex’s and Juniper’s, if they were both here.
It was dark out.
The sky was clear, so the stars were drenching the sky with pinpricks of light. I paused, breath fogging out in front of me, head tipped back to drink them in as I prepared myself to turn on the charm. My wine bottle was tucked under my arm, and I was…nervous.
I’d already sweated through the t-shirt I had beneath my sweater.
I wanted to make a good impression.
And then…when Joe and I had a minute—when there was some quiet.
Maybe not tonight.
But later.
I’d tell him how I felt.
Tell him the truth.
The front door opened before I could step foot on the rickety front stairs. Golden light spilled across the wood, creeping down each step until it reached me. I felt better immediately. Laughter and voices echoed through the night, filling the quiet with noise.
The kind of noise I’d always craved during Christmas.
The man in the doorway was…George, I guessed.
Because he looked like an alternate universe of Joe. If he was a twink. And wore suits. He stared at me, hand on the door, brow arched as he waited for me to climb up the steps. Once on the landing, I paused, letting his gaze flicker over me.
He nodded once, with approval, probably noting the lack of black and brown. Or maybe it was because he smelled my cologne. I sent a silent thank you to Alex—wherever he was—as George stepped to the side to let me in.
“Joe’s in the kitchen with Mom,” he told me. “I’m George.”
“Nice to meet you.” I’d said that on the phone too, but I was pretty sure he’d been too distracted by what was going on around him to notice. When the door swung shut behind us he offered me his hand.
“The pleasure’s mine.” I took his hand and gave it a firm shake. “Joe told me you’re the reason he’s come out of his shell.”
“He did?” I blinked. The family room was totally full of people. Half of them were blond. The same shade George and Joe shared. A tiny little girl was climbing all over the laps of the people on the couch that Joe had bought. She had a toy in her hands—a unicorn—wearing a Santa hat.
None of them had stopped playing whatever game was on the TV to acknowledge us.
Hovering behind George’s shoulder was a tan, dark-haired man with pale blue eyes. He was as muscular as Joe was, though shorter. Alex, my mind supplied. Probably. He grinned and gave me a thumbs-up.
“He also told me that you’re good to him,” George said. “His friend. Respectful. Helpful. A bit pushy, but in the right ways.”
“Yes.” My cheeks felt hot.
This felt like a shovel talk. But it didn’t sound like a shovel talk.
“I hope, for both our sakes, you keep that up.”
Aaaand there it was.
I couldn’t help but laugh a little. Which made Alex snicker. George twisted around to glare at him.
“You’re not helping.”
“Was I supposed to threaten him too?” Alex asked, eyes dancing with mischief.
“Well, no but—”
“Jason,” Alex slung an arm over George’s shoulder. He leaned on him, though his eyes were on me. “Hurt Joe and I’ll kill you.” He was joking. Right? I hoped.
“Ohmygod.” George elbowed him. Hard.
“I didn’t hear that!” a woman’s voice called from the couch. Joe’s sister, Lacey, probably.
“She’s a lawyer,” George supplied helpfully. “Likes to call herself an ‘officer of the court.’ Thinks it’s her job to uphold justice.”
“Because I am.” Lacey flipped him off without turning around. “And I never said that.”
“So, you’re just nosy then.”
“Oh fuck off.”
The little girl sitting on Lacey’s lap perked up. “Fuck off!” She cackled. The whole room collectively groaned.
It was warm.
So warm in here.
Yes, the temperature—because that was a shit ton of people to fit into a small place. I counted…at least seven. Yeah. Seven. And no Joe or Mrs. Milton in sight. But mostly the vibes. As much as they squabbled, I could tell everyone here loved each other.
And…they’d clearly been hard at work, if the way it looked like Christmas had thrown up all over Joe’s house was an indicator.
A giant garish tree was in the corner, covered in ornaments that appeared decades old. I could only guess that Mrs. Milton had either brought them with her, or shipped them here in advance.
Lights had been tacked around the walls, casting the room in a jolly, colorful glow.
The fireplace was roaring.
And the beep-beep of a video game was echoing behind the chatter.
I had never been more glad in all my life to receive a Christmas invite.
Alex and George herded me around the room, introducing me to everyone. I kept my wine clutched close so I could give it to Mrs. Milton. Mr. Milton was a quiet man. Didn’t offer me a single word, just a nod of his head and a handshake.
If he thought it was weird I was so much older than his son, he didn’t show it.
Just scooted over to give me somewhere to sit, squished between him and his grandbaby.
Mavis, because the little girl’s name was Mavis—took a liking to me immediately. She climbed onto my lap, showing me her unicorn and telling me all about the magical country it came from. She’d come up with a whole story behind it. A caste system. It was genuinely amazing.
“Luuuucky,” Alex groaned. He leaned over the back of the couch. “She hates me.”
Mavis stuck her tongue out at him, proving his point.
“One of these days, someone else is going to pop out a baby who loves me,” he sighed wistfully. I followed where his eyes went, surprised to note they were on George. What? I was missing something, obviously.
“I can’t get pregnant,” George huffed. He was in the corner, organizing a stack of gifts by the person that they were dedicated to. Each stack had little name labels, all matching. I was surprised to note…there were a few for me.
More than a few.
At least six.
I’d never…
I didn’t know what to do with that.
“We should keep trying, you know, just in case,” Alex hummed. Mr. Milton didn’t react. At all. He just continued to play his game, fingers fiddling with the controller.
“Motherfu-dger,” Juniper, Alex’s sister said from two cushions over. She was the one playing with Mr. Milton, and was clearly losing. Alex’s smaller, more feminine counterpart was very obviously frustrated. She was wearing a dress that emulated wrapping paper more than fabric. “I swear he cheats.”
“No,” the whole room said. “He’s just better than you.”
This was clearly an argument that’d happened more than once.
Her husband was sitting on the ground between her legs.
Roderick.
Joe had told me about him. That he was the one who shared hiking pictures with him.
I liked him immediately. He was a very normal-looking guy. Warm eyes. Dark hair. Not scarily handsome the way Alex was—or pretty in the way every Milton seemed to be. He smiled at me, holding a cup of cocoa between his legs, careful not to spill.
I wanted to find Joe.
But…I didn’t want to be rude.
“You want a turn?” Alex offered. “June’s gonna start throwing hands if she keeps up this losing streak for any longer.”
“I’m good,” I promised.
And I was.
So good.
There wasn’t space for sadness or loneliness in this room. Packed as it was, full of people. Sleeping bags lined the floor. A few air mattresses beside them. Making it clear that the family was staying here to be close to Joe, rather than at the B&B.
I was melting.
Sinking into a headspace that felt…comfortable.
“Do you want a cracker?” Mavis offered me a moment later. I remembered Alex’s advice, so I said yes. She handed me a soggy, sweaty animal cracker. I smiled at her.
“Thank you.”
When she wasn’t looking, Alex offered me his hand.
I gave him the cracker and he surreptitiously tossed it in the trash.
After giving me another thumbs-up, he headed toward where George was sitting and plopped down behind him.
Wrapped around him like a human-blanket as George fussed over the presents and their organization.
Apparently, Joe wasn’t the only Milton who needed things to be done a certain way.