Something More (15 page)

“Okay.”

We walked to the entryway together, the tips of his fingers brushing against my hand. On instinct, I wanted to reach and thread our hands together, but he stepped away a moment later. It was hard not to take it as a personal rejection, but it wasn’t—I knew that.
 

Noah stood next to me as we watched Gladys wait while Jay pulled his car from the garage. Once she was inside the car, we retreated to the privacy of the house, front door closed and locked. Noah leaned against the wall, a pained expression on his face.
 

I moved in front of him, my legs outside of his, and smooshed him against the wall with my body. “You okay?”

“Getting better by the second.” He pulled me even closer. “Just give me a minute to regroup and we’ll talk.”

Standing in the quiet, we held each other for several minutes before Noah’s hands began to roam.

“You’re late, by the way,” he said. “You were supposed to be here by six.”

I laughed. “Well, it’s a good thing, right? Who knows what poor, proper Gladys would have found if I’d been on time.”
 

“Touché. Come on, let’s go sit down. I need a break from this day.”

His rough hand surrounded mine as we walked to the couch. He sat first, pulling me into his lap, and I curled around him as best I could. I had so many questions I wanted to ask, but he’d said he needed a break, so I left them alone for the moment. We were quiet until the garage door began to open and we heard Jay park and then get out of his car. Once he was back inside the house, he joined us on the couch, sitting next to Noah, his hands on my calves.
 

“Jesus,” Jonathan said, shaking his head. “She is such a piece of work.”

“What’d she say?” Noah asked.

“I guess she had a fight with Dad. She thinks he’s sleeping with his secretary. He probably is, the fucker.”

I reached for Jonathan’s hand. “I’m sorry, Jay.”
 

“It’s okay. They’ve been like this for as long as I can remember, unfortunately. She said she needed to get away for a few days. I just wish she’d called, you know? She didn’t even knock, so of course, we thought it was you. Noah made a completely inappropriate comment before she came into the kitchen, and now she thinks you two are having an affair.”

He sighed, his face tight with emotion.
 

“I’m sorry, Olivia. I just…I didn’t know how to explain it to her,” he said. “I never really thought about what I’d tell my parents. Noah’s mom and dad are so amazing, they’ll gladly accept our situation, but Gladys?” He’d said her name with such irritation, I almost laughed. “She’s a society lady with very high standards and expectations. She practically disowned me when I came out to her, only to realize a few years later just how
in
it is to have a gay kid.”

I felt terrible for him. He’d just told me about so much of his past, not in detail, but many things seemed to fall into place. I understood much more about him after those few minutes of conversation.

“It’s okay.” I moved to Jay’s lap. “We’ll work it out. She doesn’t have to know yet.” I kissed him gently, my lips tentatively moving against his, silently asking him to still be okay with what we had and what we were.

“Hi.” I smiled at him, kissing him again.
 

“Hi,” he said. “I’m glad you’re still here. The whole drive back, I was worried you’d be so pissed that you’d leave and never come back once you realized how complicated and messy this might be.”

“Life is complicated. Besides, I like getting messy with you two.”

Noah moved to join our embrace, and after a few moments of getting reacquainted, we headed back to the kitchen for prep work. I shed my work shoes and blazer and put an apron over my blouse. Noah reminded us of our task lists, and we worked together, trying to laugh through the underlying tension while listening to music for several hours. I was exhausted by the time we were done, ready for a shower, some alone time with them, and several hours of sleep.
 

Unfortunately, I had to make do with only the sleep. They were both evidently ready to actually close their eyes. We needed to be up early in the morning—Gladys was apparently coming back for breakfast, planning to spend her entire day with us.
 

“The only way I even got her to stay at a hotel was by pointing out how rude she was being, kicking Olivia out of the guest room,” Jay said.

“We’ll just sneak your suitcase in there before she shows up in the morning. No big deal,” Noah said. He kissed me then yawned and turned onto his side, facing away from me. “Get a good night of sleep,” he warned. “You’ll need it for tomorrow. The woman never stops.”

Anxiety balled in my stomach, and I slipped a hand into each of theirs, lying flat on my back as I stared at the ceiling. I needed to calm down and go to sleep, but unfortunately, I mostly tossed and turned. I listened to them as they slept and thought about how much I needed them. I could tolerate a cantankerous old lady if it meant getting my planned vacation days with my boys.
 

By the time morning rolled around, I realized that I actually wanted her to like me, not just tolerate my presence.
 

When we woke, Jay’s alarm startling all of us, they helped me gather my stuff. I moved my luggage and clothes into the guest bedroom, and they took my toiletries into the guest bathroom. We’d agreed that was best, in case she called a cab and showed up even earlier than Jay told her she could—something they both fully expected to happen.
 

All I could do was try to be her friend and to show her how much I loved them in my own friendly way, I decided while I showered alone. It wasn’t how I wanted my extended weekend to go, but I could roll with it. I wouldn’t let her get me down. And besides, we’d have the nights after she went to her hotel to spend together.
 

What I hadn’t anticipated was Gladys staying all goddamned night, practically.

The day was full of chaos and frustrations. After my shower, I got dressed in my sweats and made my way into the kitchen, where the three of them already were. Sure enough, Gladys had shown up hours before Jay’d asked her to. She insisted it was to help then complained about Jay not being able to pick her up. After he reminded her that he had too much to do already, she clucked her tongue and shot a glance my way.
 

I could feel her eyes on me, studying and judging, and it was unsettling. I didn’t like someone jumping to such nefarious conclusions about me and my intentions without even giving me a chance or getting to know me.

When I took my usual spot at the breakfast bar, Noah brought me a plate of food. Suppressing the urge to reach over and kiss his cheek exasperated me. Did friends do that? Would she be even more suspicious if I did? I must’ve had a sour expression on my face because Jonathan came over and sat next to me.

“Sleep well?” he asked, taking my hand into his beneath the counter so that no one could see.

“Not really.” I sighed, squeezing his fingers, willing him to hear what I wasn’t saying.

His forehead wrinkled and his eyebrows got closer together. His hand squeezed mine back, but it wasn’t what I wanted. I felt petulant and pouty.

“Sorry. Anything I can do to make tonight better?”

“Nope,” I said, looking down at my bacon. “It’ll be okay.”

“Maybe you’d sleep more comfortably at your own home, Phoebe.”

“Gladys!” Noah said, gasping. “You know well and good that her name is Olivia. And please, don’t be disrespectful to our guest.”

Somehow, his tone was both scolding and teasing, and he swatted at her as she walked by him, rolling her eyes. I knew there was only so much tension his good nature could defuse, so I tried to muster up my best manners.

“Thank you for your concern, Gladys. I don’t get enough time with Noah and Jonathan, though, so I plan to stay through the weekend. I’m sure I’ll sleep better tonight.”
 

Jay smiled at me, mouthing his thanks.

“How was the hotel, Mom?” he asked.

He stood up then whispered in my ear, “Thank you for staying. We don’t get enough time with you, either. I promise to make this day up to you,” before walking back to the main area of the kitchen.

I was dumbfounded, lost in a sea of dirty thoughts of all the ways he could thank me. When Gladys sat next to me with a cup of coffee, I was startled and put on my best proper face.
 

Why no, I hadn’t just been thinking about your son with his face between my thighs, making me scream…

After I smiled at her, I turned back to the boys. “Do you need help?”

“We got this,” Noah said, winking at me.
 

I guess he’d forgotten about Operation Defuse Gladys’s Suspicions.

Even I forgot about the plan when she got up to use the restroom and Jay sat next to me again. We turned to face each other, and his hands slid from my knees up my thighs. Our legs wove together like the teeth of a zipper, his knee hitting me exactly where I wanted more of him. When his lips met mine, I forgot about everything else around us. The snapping of Noah’s towel in our general direction was what brought us back into the moment.

“What’s going on here?” Gladys asked as she came back into the room, eyes darting between Noah and Jonathan.

“I was trying to get that fly,” Noah said. “Did you see it?”

“You boys better not have flies in here,” she chastised, shaking her head. “Do you need new window screens?”

“No, Mom,” Jay said, his turn to roll his eyes, and I laughed to myself at how similar to her he looked in that moment.
 

By the time we sat down to eat, we’d all taken several “bathroom breaks” to sneak privacy with each other—moments of naughty teasing and flirting. Jay and I went first, and I thought I’d die when he put his hand down my pants.

“We don’t have time for this.” I bucked against his hand, needy and insistent.

Jonathan kissed my lips and made his way down my neck. “I know. Just a little tease.”

“Damn it.”

He pulled away and washed his hands, and we both tried to rejoin the group while seeming as normal as possible. No, your son definitely did
not
just have his hands down my pants, Gladys.
 

A few minutes later, Noah made an excuse to slip away and winked at me, inclining his head slightly, inviting me to join him. He picked up where Jay left off, almost as if they’d coordinated their actions. Noah’s fingers slipped along the wetness at my swollen pussy, earning him a gasp and a moan. I got him back, running my fingers along the seam of his pants as he hardened beneath my touch.

I was amped up, twisted on the inside, and hornier than I could remember. As the champagne and wine flowed, things seemed to relax, and I found myself giggling and thinking about what Gladys might say if she knew the truth about her son and his husband.

Of course, she chose when I had a mouth full of champagne to drop the bomb I was certain she’d been keeping in her back pocket the whole time.

“What’s the latest news on your adoption?” she asked.

I choked, the bubbles suddenly tickling and suffocating me.

Gladys had a smug fucking smirk, like the cat that didn’t just eat one canary—she ate the whole goddamned flock.

“Sorry,” I rasped, still trying to clear my throat.

Ignoring me, she pressed on. “Have you thought any more about getting one of those adorable little girls from China? They’re so popular these days.”

Aside from my complete shock that Noah and Jay had been considering adoption, the fact that she spoke about children as if they were accessories sickened me. I didn’t know which to be more upset about.

“Mother!” Jay said.
 

My eyes lifted from my plate up to his crystal blue eyes, seeking some kind of an explanation that I wasn’t even sure I was owed.

“You know very well that our adoption has been on hold for several months now,” he said. “And we certainly aren’t adopting a baby from China. Don’t even speak that way about kids. Jesus, Mom. It’s a child, not a piece of jewelry for everyone to admire.”

I looked back to my plate, painfully aware that we’d need to broach this topic again soon. It was awkward and uncomfortable, but I felt one of them nudge my leg under the table, and when I looked up, they both seemed to be trying to soothe me. The rest of the meal passed slowly, knives and forks scraping against plates and glasses settling against the table. I leaned back when most of my food was gone, finally taking a deep breath and looking up at everyone. My own private bubble of thoughts was broken, and I was glad. I’d gone to dark and scary places, wondering if I’d allowed myself to get too hopeful about the three of us.
 

“Pie?” Jay asked, standing to clear the plates.

“Pie would be perfect,” Noah said, eyes boring into mine, eyebrow lifted playfully.
 

“I’m so glad I wore my stretchy pants,” I said, rubbing a hand over my belly.

Gladys made a noise of disapproval, having worn a casual pair of slacks with a sweater set, and turned to look in the other direction.
 

I shrugged at Noah, who was still looking at me, and sighed. Jay came back into the room with a pie in each hand.
 

“Could you go grab the whipped cream, sweets?” he asked.

For half a second, my body reacted, muscles tightening to stand and get what he’d asked for. Then my brain kicked in, and I relaxed as Noah stood to get it.
 

Jay dished up the pie as Noah dropped cloud-like dollops of whipped cream on top, and I couldn’t help but smile. If I couldn’t spend the day in bed with them, a well-baked dessert was a distant second, but acceptable substitute, I surmised.
 

I also decided that it was time for a little salacious teasing. Nothing too overt—I just moaned a little softer than normal when I took my first bite of Noah’s magnificent pumpkin pie, and then reached my tongue out to lap at the whipped cream left on my fork. It was enough, though, and I knew from the reaction on their faces that I’d pay later.