Milo
“Would you please stop twitching?” Moira asked with a grouchy stare.
“I’m not twitching,” I said, sticking my tongue out because if I suddenly displayed any real maturity, my family would wonder what was wrong.
..more than they usually did. I was already worried they were figuring out something was up.
That thing was sitting on my other side at the dinner table, as cool as a goddamn cucumber.
As if he, my stepbrother, had not in fact had his dick in my mouth a few days earlier, and since then we had continued as normal, even though absolutely nothing was normal about us anymore.
“Mmm, you’re a little twitchy,” Eli said, glancing at me as he sipped his drink.
It was something Mason had given to him at the start of the family dinner.
I didn’t know what was in it, but I guessed it was pretty strong, knowing how heavy Mason tended to pour.
He also got a lot of pleasure from coming up with a drink for everyone, which he felt was the perfect fit.
He was actually damn good at it, which was why I was on my second one but pacing myself to make sure I didn’t get too far into the bottle.
The last thing I needed was to lose my head.
“I can’t imagine why I would have a reason to be twitchy,” I said brightly to show I wasn’t being sarcastic because damn it, yes, I could see exactly why I was being so twitchy.
“You didn’t switch to decaf like I advised,” Arlo said with a sigh as he held out his plate to accept the slice of pie our mom was doling out.
“I haven’t had caffeine today,” I said, and then remembered the energy drink. “For several hours, I mean.”
“Probably a good thing, you’ve been bouncing all over the place. Any caffeine right now and you might vibrate into another dimension,” Dom said, already digging into his sizable piece of pie.
“I don’t see how that’s different from any other time,” Jace added, and I glared at him.
I had zero problem with his inclusion at the family dinners; he had been with Mason long enough that he deserved to suffer at the hands of the rest of the family.
I didn’t like that he’d picked up Mason’s ‘sense of humor’ along the way and clearly thought I needed to be bullied.
“All of you can kiss my ass,” I muttered, shoving my fork into a slice of pie and shoveling it into my mouth.
Eli chuckled. “He’s a little sensitive today.”
“Fuck you,” I hissed at him, trying to kick him under the table.
Which, of course, prompted him to evade my attempts but lash out to kick me back.
Our legs flailed all over the place until Moira barked at us to stop, while the rest of the family ignored us, including Micah, who was clearly more patient than his mother.
“Fine, fine,” I sighed, letting my leg relax only to stiffen when Eli’s leg came to rest across mine.
Not that it was unusual for part of him to unconsciously rest against me, but it hadn’t happened for a few days.
It had in fact not happened since he’d decided.
..what? He was curious? Maybe a little bi?
Maybe just into me? I had no idea because I was still giving him time to think things over.
At the same time, I slowly lost my mind, torn between desperately wanting more because that had been just a sample as far as my brain was concerned, and slowly losing my shit as I panicked over whether it was going to change our relationship in the worst ways possible.
I glanced at him as he leaned over to say something I didn’t catch to Micah, the kid snorting into his plate of pie.
If he knew what he was doing, he showed no sign.
He’d had a drink before dinner on top of the one he was nursing; it might make him relax and not think about what he was doing.
I had been drinking too, but that meant I was even more aware of what I was thinking and feeling, and at that moment, I was distracted by the presence of his leg.
His leg.
Jesus. Was that all it took for me to lose my mind? A leg touching mine?
Apparently, getting the chance to blow him had unlocked the Victorian in me because the mere touch of his calf against my shin was driving me insane.
All I could picture was what it would feel like to have our clothes gone so skin could meet skin.
To run my hands up his legs to his thighs like he had done with me, and see if I couldn’t find places with my mouth that would draw out the noises he’d made that were still circling in my head.
I heard my name and sat up straight, looking for the source. The problem was, everyone was looking at me, and I couldn’t recall the voice. I cleared my throat, feeling my face warm. “Uh, yeah?”
Mom looked at me, a piece of pie hanging on a fork as she frowned. “I was going to ask something else, but... are you okay?”
“I was zoning out,” I said with a grin, hating and loving the mild thrill that shot through me when Eli’s leg moved against mine lightly. “What’s up?”
She watched me for a moment longer. “Well, how about I ask both of you since you’re practically the same person most days...I haven’t heard much from you both, so I want to know what’s new?”
“Uh,” I began, glancing at Eli, who was taking a piece of pie, providing no help in deciding what to say.
What, tell her that just the other day I’d been sucking Eli off and was currently wondering what it would take to lure him back to one of our old rooms, preferably mine, where I knew there was still lube from the last time I’d stayed at the hotel with Raf, and see what other things he might be curious about?
Oh, wait...there was something else I should probably bring up.
“Marshall found me,” I said, and watched Eli’s movement for more pie pause, his eyes flicking toward me and then sliding toward our mom. Everyone but Mom looked confused, although there was a thought on Mason’s face, as if the name rang a bell.
“He found you?” she asked slowly.
“I guess he had more information to work off than I did,” I said with a frown. “I guess that makes sense. He knew my name and where I was from, which was more than I ever had about him.”
“And here I had hoped his name wouldn’t pop up again,” she muttered, glancing at Mason. “Would you be so sweet as to?—”
“Dirty?” Mason asked, pushing back from the table.
“Absolutely filthy,” she replied, flashing a brief and troubled smile.
“See, that’s what I don’t get,” I said between clenched teeth. “ You kept hoping his name wouldn’t pop up again, like it was something that could just be buried.”
“I wanted it to stay buried; it was much better that way for years.”
“And when was it gonna stop, Mom? When was what I wanted going to get through whatever drama you have going with him? Pretty one-sided drama from the sounds of it.”
“What has he told you?”
“Not much, he hasn’t offered anything because I haven’t asked.
..yet. But I figured I’d give you the chance to tell me more now that your only other option is for me to ask him,” I said, not caring if it was underhanded.
So was keeping information from your kid about their other biological parent, and without even explaining why that information was being held back. “I’m a grown ass man.”
“You sure sound like it,” Mason said snidely as he mixed at the small bar in the corner of the dining room we used solely for family dinners.
“Fuck you, Mason,” I snapped. “You might have answers about your dad, but I don’t have that luxury.”
“Milo!” Mom gasped as heads around the table snapped to me with a mixture of shock, anger, and worry.
“Watch it,” Jace growled at me.
“You can fuck off too,” I told him, jutting my chin toward him.
Jace gave another low sound but stopped when Mason turned, martini glass in hand, that he set down in front of our mother, his other hand coming to rest on Jace’s shoulder, squeezing.
At the same time, Eli’s hand came to rest on my leg and gave a squeeze.
It was a warning and a distraction, and my attention splintered momentarily.
Eli was trying to tell me to ease off, but I was also caught up by the sensation of his fingers curled firmly around my thighs.
“Sorry,” I muttered to Eli.
“S’alright,” he said with a shrug. “You’re not wrong, but don’t go after the people you love just because you’re upset.”
I struggled with the anger bubbling in my chest and forced myself to look at Mason. “Sorry, that was uncalled for.”
The thinness of his lips told me he was pissed; the subject of his late father had always been a sensitive one, even though Mason pretended otherwise. “I’m not saying you’re wrong, but that was a dick way of getting your point across.”
“I can’t decide if I should agree with you or point out that you’re a bigger dick than all of us at the table combined,” I muttered.
At that, the corner of his lips twitched, but the sharpness in his eyes remained. “True, and I guess I need a dose of my own medicine once in a while. However, I need to drag Jace off to a private corner.”
“God save us,” Dom said, rolling his eyes to the ceiling. “ Why does getting pissed...uh...right, child in our presence. Why does that...do it for you two?”
Moira snorted. “That was more subtlety than most people in this family can manage, including me. Micah?”
“Yeah?”
“Let’s go finish our dessert in my office.”
“But, Mom?—”
“Hey,” Jace said in a rough voice, waiting until Micah looked at him. “This isn’t the time to argue, alright? Go with your mom, I’ll go with you if you want.”
Micah looked around the room, his young face pinched in thought before sighing and pushing away from the table. “Fine.”