I hope y'all have your tooth brushes, 'cause this chapter will give you some cavities. Fluffy as cotton candy.
Mimi, I hope you're having a better day, I'm so glad my writing brought you even just a little happiness on a crappy day.
Shadow, enjoy the ITH references, they're peppered about, just because I like giving you a scavenger hunt, I also really appreciate you highlighting the differences in their lovemaking, that meant a lot, I always try to keep their personalities at the forefront of their motives.
Paggers, just you wait, I've got some shizz in the works.
Thank you all so much for your kindness, enjoy this chapter and if you're digging it, please leave a review, they really do make my whole day!
"There she is!" John pawed at my side as we saw Polly walking up from the gate.
She met eyes with her brother and beamed, John vibrated beside me, and she burst through the gate, running up to greet him.
"Jackie!" She kissed his cheek.
"Polly girl!" He embraced her in one of those John hugs, the ones that were all consuming, imbued with the power to erase all of the worst parts of your day and leave you feeling ready to take on the day. She let him go and turned to me.
"Alexander!" Remembering my aversion to hugs, she nudged me with an elbow.
Despite myself, I gave her a quick, loose embrace, "hi."
Polly's accent seeming so thick and out of place here - I wondered how long it would take being around Polly before John abandoned the use of his 'r' sounds for 'ah' and drug an extra syllable out of his words - she beamed at me, "it's good to see your face."
I nodded and the three of us walked to the baggage carousel, "how was your flight, little bit? Any problems?" John tugged at the end of her hair, shorter than last time I'd seen it, the new cut making her look older.
"Nope, it was all good. I can't believe I'm actually here."
"Believe it, kiddo, your brother here has all sorts of shenanigans planned for this week." I took John's hand.
"Like what?" She bit her lip around a smile and looked at John.
"Like going to see Wicked tomorrow. Heathers later this week." John confirmed.
"No! Really?" She rose to her tiptoes, bouncing, and her jaw dropped.
"Really really."
"Oh, my god! That's so exciting, I can't wait, are you coming with?" She looked at me.
"Nope, musicals aren't really my thing."
John drug her heavy suitcase off the carousel.
"Ready to see my house?" John asked her.
"Um, duh! How is living together? Is it so awesome?" She looked between the two of us.
"It's pretty cool," John agreed, "how's life with Pats?"
Polly rolled her eyes, "about as good as you think, she's trying to be mom."
"Come on, Polly, be fair. She knows she's not mom, it's just who she is, she's a lot like mom."
"I know." She rolled her eyes.
"Anyways, Alex is about to start a new job." John bragged.
"Really? That's cool. Where?"
"It's this, uh, little online thing." I confessed.
"That's cool, way to go, Alex!" She cheered.
"Alexander to you," John corrected.
"You call him Alex." She rolled her eyes, making a 'what gives' gesture.
"He's my boyfriend, when you get a boyfriend you can call him whatever you want, but until he's your boyfriend he's Alexander. I can get away with it because I'm so cute." John flipped his hair.
"Cute... Right." She pursed her lips at John.
We stepped out into the cold evening, John hauling Polly's bag, she stared up at the high rises, the same awestruck expression on her face that everyone had when they first saw the city.
She was breathless when words found her, "oh my god. Look at it! This is the greatest city in the world."
John patted her on the back, and looked up, too, his and Polly's eyes filled with refracted stars of the neon lights matching the constellations of freckles dotting their faces. I leaned up and kissed John's cheek, more in love with him every time I saw that sense of wonder on his face, even more in love with him when that look of awe was directed toward me.
"Alright, come on, ya tourists. Let's go home where it's warm." I grinned and tugged John along.
"It's just so incredible!" Polly was vibrating, a combination of the cold and the thrill.
"You bring a heavier coat, sunshine?" John noticed her teeth chattering.
"I brought my ski jacket, but it's packed up, it was 73 out when I left earlier."
"Shoulda left it out, dummy." He unzipped his coat and shed it, helped her into it. The coat dwarfed her, but she accepted it happily. John buttoned his sportcoat and tucked closer against me.
We got on the subway and Polly looked around like this was the most magical moment of her life. I couldn't ignore the lingering scent of piss that clung to the train.
"This is so cool!" She pushed the far too long sleeves of John's coat up to reveal her hands.
I glanced at John who had set his teeth into his bottom lip, trying desperately to still the chatter that he'd gotten in his teeth from the cold without his jacket. I rubbed his arm quickly, trying to warm him some. He noticed and smiled over at me around his bit lip.
"This is us, come on." John stood, legs far apart, the spidey sense center of gravity that all New Yorkers got to be able to navigate a moving train, he took her elbow as she stood up and took a faltering step.
I took her suitcase from John as he steadied her during the careening halt the train was in, once the doors opened we stepped off. I hauled the suitcase up a few steps before John took the wheel end and picked the back half of it up. It looked too easy for him, I'd been grunting and on the brink of breaking a sweat from hauling it for four steps. Fucking Adonis, all strong and beautiful. At the top of the stairs he took the handle of the suitcase from me.
"Is Laf here?" She asked, her voice filled with even more excitement.
"No, you want me to call him?" John offered.
"Can you?" She grinned.
"Yeah, sure," he held the door to the building for her and called him once we were on the elevator.
"Hey, I got someone here who wants to see you," he held the phone out to Polly who shouted a greeting, "you busy? ...Well then come over!"
He hung up and scoffed in annoyance, pulling out his best - but still terrible - French accent, "I am just bored at home, so alone."
"Where's his boyfriend?"
"Switzerland. He's a fashion designer."
Her eyes widened, "that's like, really cool."
I unlocked the door for us and John welcomed her in, while he gave her the tour I set out some cheese and crackers and grapes for her, figuring that she was probably hungry after traveling. I mean, I'm really not a complete ass.
Lafayette knocked a quick tap-tap and let himself in, still having a key, "sup, Laf?" I nodded to him.
He waved and was ambushed by Polly launching herself at him, setting him off kilter, losing his footing and falling against the door.
"Jeez, Poll, let him get in the door first." John smiled sympathetically at our friend.
"I missed you!" Polly squealed.
"I missed you, too, ma douce fille," he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and took her hand spinning her in a circle, "look at you! You're so grown up! You are not a little girl!"
"You'd know that if I saw you more than once every five years."
Lafayette feigned offense, "but you see me now!"
Polly gave him a look, and he made a show of throwing his hands up defensively to shield himself from her glare.
She turned her attention back to John, "are we doing anything tonight?"
"Up to you."
She took a piece of cheese and a cracker, and thought it over, "I'm a little worn out, can we plan out tomorrow and just hang out?"
"Of course."
We talked about all of the things she wanted to do while she was here, she couldn't wipe the smile from her face when talks of seeing Wicked came up. Lafayette grilled her about school and boys and what she liked to do. She talked happily and asked him all about Hercules, demanding to see pictures. We were all crammed on the couch, me on an end, John beside me, Polly next to him, and Lafayette against the other arm of the sofa. He was showing her pictures on his phone, she asked questions about nearly every shot. John turned on netflix and started Heathers, mentioning that they should 'pregame' before seeing the musical later in the week.
Within an hour Polly was sound asleep, head on Lafayette's shoulder, arm around his chest, legs kicked up and draped across John's lap.
"You wanna go to bed?" John asked me in a whisper.
I shrugged, "your call, I'm good to keep watching this or go to bed or whatever."
"I can't believe you've never seen Heathers." He shook his head.
"I haven't seen most things, John, I've watched more TV in the last six months with you than probably in my whole life."
"To be fair, no one watches as much television as John." Lafayette agreed quietly.
"Whatever, I appreciate the art."
"The art of 'Real Housewives'?" Lafayette teased.
"Oh my god, I watched one season. One!"
"You watched a whole season?" I asked in disbelief.
"You guys are the worst. And it's Herc's fault I like Next Top Model and Project Runway so much." He pointed a finger at Lafayette.
"That, I will concede, is true."
"See! Now, are you staying over or going home? I'll make up the air mattress."
"I will go home, what time is the show tomorrow?"
"It's a matinee at two, I'm working a half day before that."
"I will have dinner with you. Bonne nuit!" he slipped careful out from under Polly and lowered her head onto a pillow and snuck out the door.
I got up first and John slid out from under Polly's legs, setting them on the couch, he tucked a blanket around her and took my hand. We got ready for bed.
"I'm so happy she's here." He said, rubbing his face with a washcloth to get all the cleanser off.
"Me, too. She's a good kid." I agreed, braiding back my hair.
He moisturized his face and traded me places so I could brush my teeth. After finishing our rituals we climbed into bed. John settled against me in the dark.
"I'm a man of my word, John." I sighed into the darkness, voice filled with drama.
"...O-okay, yeah, I guess I'd agree."
"And I promised that I would fuck you senseless even with your sister at our house. I would hate to be seen as someone who can't keep his promises." I stroked his chest, feeling the rise of goosebumps.
He rolled over, chest against my side, "then it's a good thing she's here for a week. Good night, Alexander." His voice was musical, an annoyed humor.
"So what, I think you're sexy and want to act on my carnal urges any time that the opportunity presents itself. Is that such a terrible thing, to be the focus of arousal for your lover?"
He leaned up and pressed a kiss on my lips, effectively quieting me, and repeated, "good night, Alexander."
Petulance creeped into my tone, "ugh, fine, good night… All I'm saying is-"
"Oh my god, stop talking."
I laughed, deriving pleasure from annoying him, "it's really your problem, you looking all sexy, being so sweet to me all the time, being just a stand up kinda guy, really does it for me, mm, and then there's the freckles, wanna kiss each one of 'em, and ugh, your dimples, try and make you smile all the time just to see 'em," I felt for his face in the darkness, finding his cheek and thumbing the divot there, feeling his grin, "see like right now, uh… hold on, let me get my phone and... there we go," I lit up the screen and saw his wide smile, all crinkles and dimples, he squinted against the light, "mm, beautiful, sexy." I licked my lips.
"I think I like you better aloof and mysterious."
"Again, that's all your problem, I had no problem being aloof and mysterious until you walked into my life, then you had to go and make me all happy and shit, make me believe in love again and all that shit, get me into therapy where I talk about my feelings and work on becoming a better person and all that shit."
"You can keep talking, I'm going to sleep, I love you." He rolled away from me.
"Oh, look, now I get to compliment your ass," I smacked it and then grabbed a palmful, "so tight, your whole body's banging, mm, but this ass, though." I grabbed his hip and heaved him toward me, pressing my pelvis against his ass.
"Stop." He whined, dragging the plea out to four or five syllables.
"Fine, I just love you," I snuggled against his back and kissed his shoulder, his hair tickling my face, I brushed it aside, "can't believe I didn't mention your hair, sexy curls, the way it falls on your shoulders, ugh, and then there's when you pull it back and I get to see all of your pretty face, ooh, and then there's when you pull it back to suck my dick and I get to see your pretty face, that's the type of shit they write sonnets about."
"Alexander Hamilton, if you adlib a sonnet right now, so help me god."
"Thine freckles, stars upon my lover's skin
Body like damn, so inviting, my love
Make a man commit original sin
That ass is so tight, fits me like a glove
Those curls, a mane that draws me in deep
I know you're annoyed but I don't care
You mostly wish that I'd just go to sleep
Even my dreams filled with thoughts of lover's hair-"
John groaned and cut me off, only halfway done, "I can't believe you," he rolled back over to snuggle against me.
"Shakespearean rhyme scheme, bitch!" I raised my arms out straight, miming a mic drop.
"Of course it is. Now good night. I love you, nerd."
"I love you, too, querido." I kissed him and decided to shut up.
