Chapter Thirteen: Closer Together
Nick touched his lips to the softness of Greg's cheek, gently smoothing his fingertips through his tousled hair. Greg slowly tilted his head to the side as he began to stir. Slowly fluttering his eyes open, a wide smile spread across his face as he saw Nick lying on his side beside him. Nick closed his mouth over Greg's, kissing him with an untamed hunger. Greg returned the affectionate kiss, sliding his hands down the chest of the warm body beside him. "Mmm, I'm still gonna have to get used to that." Greg purred against his lips.
"Used to what?" Nick queried, stroking his fingertips down the side of Greg's cheek.
"The morning kisses from my best friend." He beamed a wide smile at him, sliding his palm across his broad chest. "It takes some getting used to."
"Really?" Gently caressing his boyfriend's cheek, Nick looked deep into his eyes, asking him, "Doncha like em G?"
"Nope . . . I love em." Greg turned his hips to align Nick's, smiling widely against his parted lips. "It just takes some getting used to." Hooking his leg around Nick's thigh, he brought their bodies closer together as their warm lips merged together.
"Gregory!" His mother's voice shouted from outside his bedroom door. "Are you up yet?" Greg put his finger to his lips as he looked up at Nick. "I heard you talking!" She shouted a few seconds later. "I know you're awake!"
"What mother?" He shouted as it was clear she wasn't going away.
"Don't speak to me like that young man. Your brothers here Gregory and AJ's already had breakfast; I hope you don't mind Nicky."
"No, that's fine." Nick shouted back to her. "Thank you Mrs Sanders."
"See, at least somebody has some manners." Jean directed that comment towards her son. Greg threw his head back against the cushion beneath him, hearing his mother finally walking away.
"We should get up G." Nick pressed a kiss to Greg's forehead. He laughed softly as Greg shook his head, tightly clamping his eyes shut. Nick went to climb out the bed, stopping as he found a photo of Greg sat on the bedside table. "Who's this little cutie?" Greg snapped his eyes open, looking at the picture Nick was holding in his hands.
"No, don't look at that." Greg whimpered, trying to pull the photo from his hands. As soon he pried it from Nick's grip, he held it tightly against his chest. "I hate my mom for leaving all these photos everywhere."
"Let me see it, you look adorable." Nick tried to tickle the photo free from his hands, but Greg rolled onto his stomach, holding the photo tightly as Nick continued to tickle him.
"No I don't." Greg giggled and squirmed as Nick rolled him over, trying to hold the photo tighter but he eventually lost his grip. Nick pulled it from his hands then rolled away. "No, give it to me Nicky. Please don't look at it!" He begged with embarrassment.
"You look so cute . . . what are you supposed to be?" Nick chuckled, holding Greg's arms away so he couldn't reach the photo.
"I was a witch. Please give it back." Greg pushed Nick down onto the bed, sitting on his hips as he pried the picture from his hands. "It's horrible. I look like a total dork."
Nick laughed softly tickling Greg's sides. "You're cute. How old are you there?"
Greg shrugged as he looked at the picture. "Three or four." Greg placed it in the bed side draw so it couldn't be seen anymore, folding his arms across his chest as he looked down at Nick. "You can't look at anymore pictures. Promise me or I'll ring your mother and ask her to send me every embarrassing photograph of you." Greg warned him.
Nick smiled softly, pulling Greg down on top of him for a passionate kiss. Rolling their bodies so Greg was underneath him, he slowly pulled back from his lips, resting his palms either side of his head. "Okay, I won't look at any more pictures of my gorgeously cute boyfriend, especially not ones of him in cute little witch outfits."
"It's not a cute witch outfit. It's a bin bag that my mom cut holes in for my arms and head. She got outfits for Betty, Connie and Mark, but she forgot about me so I got a bin bag." Nick couldn't help but laugh. "It's not funny, everyone else at the party was dressed in cool fireman's outfits, cowboys or superheroes, and I was the kid in the bin bag."
"G, you were four." He smiled down at him. "You're cute whatever you wear. Don't be embarrassed. One Halloween party I went to, my sisters dressed me as a girl with the makeup, wig, dress and everythin' else. The most embarrassin' part is that everyone thought I really was a girl and they had no idea what my costume was."
Greg burst into a wide grin, struggling not to laugh. "And how old were you?"
"Seven. They called me Nikki, the girly version all night. That's real embarrassment G." Nick went to crawl off the bed, but turned back to Greg to give him a warning, "Oh and you tell anyone at the lab about that, you're a dead man." He smiled down at him then climbed off him to grab his clothes off the floor.
"I won't tell a sole." He promised, giving him a cheeky grin.
"You comin' downstairs?"
"Not if my brothers there." Greg shook his head, remaining on the bed.
Nick leant over him, pressing a kiss to his forehead then gently ran his fingers through his bleached spikes. "Why not?"
"Well I don't know what your relationship with your brother is like, but we hate each other. He's always picking on me; he's like the meanest big brother ever." Nick sat on the edge of the bed, giving him a curious look. "Okay, stop with the look. He's seriously going to hate me when he finds out . . . I'm..."
"Gay?" Nick finished for him. "Believe me I've been thinkin' the same thing about my brother. You just have to get up and face it G, you can't hide up here the whole time."
"Says the man whose brother has no idea he's gay." Greg pouted up at him.
"I have a feelin' your brother will be more understandin' than mine."
"You haven't met him."
"Maybe I should." Nick pressed a soft kiss to Greg's forehead before he climbed off the bed. "Get up Greg; I'll be back in a few minutes to check on you." Nick smiled at him then head off out the bedroom door to go check on AJ downstairs.
"Good Morning Nicky," Jean smiled widely at him. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yes thank you." Nick smiled as AJ stepped around the counter, reaching her arms out to him. He lifted her up into his arms, smiling as she rested her head on his shoulder, wrapping her tiny arms around his neck. "You miss me that much?" He smiled at her. AJ shyly hid her face against his shoulder as she smiled.
"I got her a change of clothes from the back of your truck Nick." Jean handed him over his car keys. "And you really should have a warmer jacket for her in this weather Nicky." She advised him, cleaning up the mess in the kitchen.
"Yeah I know . . . I really suck at this dad thing huh?" He whispered to AJ. She shook her head at him giving him a slight smile.
"I think you're doing a great job too." Jean added, starting to set up the breakfast tray for her husband. "It's not easy to be a parent, especially when you had no idea it was coming. Would you like some coffee Nicky?"
"No, I'm fine thanks."
"Well help yourself to anything, where's Gregory?" She suddenly noticed he wasn't with him. "Did he make you come down here by yourself?"
"Nope, he said he'll be down in a minute. I'll go check on him." He smiled at her, carrying AJ off up the stairs with him.
Walking back into Greg's bedroom, he saw he was still snuggled up under the covers with his eyes closed. Nick quietly crept towards the bed, putting his finger to his lips as he looked at AJ. Carefully setting her down on the bed, they both tickled him furiously to wake him up.
Greg opened his eyes, laughing as he reached out for his attackers. "You're not supposed to be goin' back to sleep Greg." Nick smirked, dropping onto the bed beside him. Greg smiled up at him then lifted AJ towards him for a warm hug.
"I'm sleepy." He mumbled, reclosing his eyes.
"Nana Jean said you're lazy." AJ told him.
"Oh did she now?" Greg laughed, tickling her sides making her giggle. "She's got you calling her Nana Jean already I see. She brainwashed you into calling her mom yet?" He asked looking towards Nick.
"Nope." Shaking his head Nick lay down beside Greg, resting on his elbow beside his head.
"Did you meet my brother?" Nick shook his head. "Lucky you."
"I did." AJ declared.
"You did?" Greg asked her.
She nodded to him. "At breakfast. He don't look like you dough Greg."
"That's because he's really old." Greg chuckled softly. "Sorry Nicky, he's like a year older than you."
"Are you callin' me old?" Nick tickled his fingertips down Greg's sides making him giggle. "I'm only four years older than you Greg."
"Yeah I know, but Mark looks way older. And you're gorgeous Nicky." Greg watched AJ wrapping her tiny fingers around his thumb. "And you're so much luckier than him."
"Oh yeah," Nick rested his head against Nick's, wrapping his arm around his waist. "And whys that G?"
"Coz you've got the most beautiful daughter in the world." He smiled softly, receiving a warm kiss to his lips.
"I also have you." Nick smiled against his lips. "C'mon, time to get up. You've gotta face your brother some time soon. AJ, you comin' down with me?"
"Yeah." AJ climbed to her feet, being lifted up into his arms.
"Nobody wants to stay with me?" Greg pouted.
"Well you can get dressed and come down with us then you won't be alone." Nick smiled round at him. "Say bye to Greg AJ." AJ sweetly waved to Greg as Nick carried her away.
Greg waved after her then scrambled off the bed to grab his clothes. Before heading downstairs to face his brother, he decided to head upstairs to see his father.
Meanwhile Nick wandered around downstairs, looking around the Sanders residence with AJ in his arms. He wandered off into a library, looking around amazed at all of the books in there.
Walking along the wall beside the shelves, he glanced at all the titles, stumbling upon an English to Norwegian dictionary. Curiosity getting the better of him over what Greg had said to him last night, he decided to take a peek.
Nick set AJ down on the floor as he lifted the book from the shelf, taking a seat on the edge of the coffee table as he flipped through it, trying to remember exactly what Greg had told him.
'Jeg elsker deg'. It rang through his mind once again.
"Gregory, what are you doing up here?" His mother scolded him as she entered her bedroom. Greg and Daniel were both sat against the pillows together, just like they used to when he was younger. "You're supposed to be downstairs with Nicky. He's all alone down there. He hasn't met your brother yet either."
"That's good." Greg nervously bit his lip as he thought about the two of them meeting. "At least I don't have to worry about Mark sleeping with Nick unlike my prom date." Daniel nodded to him then smiled as his wife handed him a tray of a healthy breakfast meal. "Do I get any?" Greg asked her.
"You can go and make your own you little monster." Jean laughed as she made her way off out the door. Once she was gone, Daniel handed Greg the bowl of oatmeal, which he hated absolutely hated the taste of, but Greg loved it.
"So why you hanging out with me when your boyfriends downstairs?" Daniel asked his son curiously.
"Because Mark's downstairs."
"So instead you're gonna leave him alone with your boyfriend?"
"How many more times are planning on saying boyfriend today dad?"
"Sorry, just usually I'm talking to my daughters about their boyfriends. Mark never asks me for advice on his girlfriends, and now I get to talk to you about yours... just don't ask me for dating advice. Because I have no clue." He smirked, making Greg giggle.
"I woulda thought you had more ideas coz he's a man." Greg smirked then giggled as his father gave him a funny look. "Relax, I'm not gonna ask you for advice dad, just your support."
"And you have it . . . as soon as I meet Nick." He added. "Not right now though, maybe your mother will let me out of bed at some point today."
"You have to take it easy dad, for at least a couple of weeks." Greg smiled at him, eating the last spoonful of oatmeal. "How much medication are you on?" He asked as he saw all the pill bottles on the bedside table.
"Um... well there's the beta blockers, ACE inhibitors... the doctors explained them all to me, but it's hard to remember. All I know is that they're keeping my blood pressure normal, reducing the pressure on my heart and stopping blood clots. Relax Greg, I'm gonna be fine." He assured him again with a warm smile. "I shouldn't have worked so hard is all. I'll be fine. Now go find Nick." He insisted.
"I love you dad." Greg gave him a warm hug then stole one of his strawberries as he scrambled off the bed.
"Love you too Greg." He shouted after him.
AJ leant against Nick's knee with her thumb in her mouth as she watched him flipping through to the relevant pages of the dictionary. He stumbled upon 'deg' first, which he found out meant 'you'. He flipped through the next few pages, feeling tingles rushing up his spine and a warm swirly feeling in his stomach as he thought of all the possibilities of things Greg could have said to him.
Next he found 'elsker' which meant 'love.' A wide smile spread across his lips. By now he had already figured out what 'Jeg' meant, but he decided to look it up anyway . . . just to be sure.
He soon found it, deciding to check over each word again just to be sure.
"I love you." He whispered to himself as he checked it over again. He smiled to himself as the warm tingles inside his stomach sped up, making his whole body bubble with excitement. A wide smile spread across his face as he heard Greg's voice telling him it again.
AJ looked up at him curiously, wondering what was making him smile so widely.
"Nick!" Nick spun around, looking towards the voice in the doorway. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Greg's mother Jean smiled softly as she made her way into the room. Nick stuffed the book down by his feet as he looked around at her. "I was just going to ask if you changed your mind about something to eat?"
"No, I'm not hungry. Thanks any way."
"That's okay." Jean looked at AJ resting against his knee then gave Nick a slight smile. "Nick, can I talk to you a moment. Alone?" She requested.
"Um... sure." Nick looked at AJ, not really wanting to leave her any where alone.
"Mark can take her for a while." Jean walked towards the door, shouting Mark's name until he heard her. "Can you look after AJ a minute? That's okay right Nick?"
"Um... sure." He repeated, lifting AJ into his arms as he climbed to his feet to meet Greg's brother.
"Mark this is Nick. Nick, this is my eldest son Mark." She introduced the two of them.
"Hi Nick." Mark shook his hand then lifted AJ free from his arms. Nick looked at him curiously, noticing he looked nothing at all like Greg. Mark looked a lot more like Jean. He had her light hazel eyes and dark brown hair. He didn't have slim cheekbones like Greg, nor did he have a crazy hairstyle and big puppy dog eyes.
They didn't look anything alike as if they weren't even related.
"Just entertain her for a few minutes." Jean ushered him away then pushed the door slightly shut once he was gone. She turned around to face Nick, giving him a warm smile. "Let's sit down." She directed him over to the couch, sitting down first. Nick nervously took a few steps towards the sofa, taking a seat beside her. "I know." She simply stated, making the hairs on the back of Nick's neck stand on end. "I know you're with my son. He told me. It's pretty obvious from the way you two look at each other, but shouldn't you be thinking about your daughter?"
"What do you mean?"
"Nick, I don't know if you noticed but Greg's a man, like you obviously. Your daughter may not be asking questions yet, but she's going to."
"I can't help my love for Greg, Mrs Sanders. AJ loves him too; they get on really well together. I know she's goin' to have questions, but I'm not goin' to lie to her..."
"What do you mean you can't help your love for Greg? Two men is... well I don't want to say unnatural, because that's not what I mean at all. I mean, you've always been straight. You better not be leading my son on mister. He has a big heart, he'll fall for anyone that boy, he's been hurt too many times. I don't want you hurting him when you get fed up with him."
"I won't." He assured her. "And I haven't always been straight; I've hidden that part of myself from everyone." He sheepishly admitted, thinking he should really be having this conversation with his own mother rather than Greg's. "I'm not leadin' him on . . . I swear. Two men is just as natural as a man and a women or two women gettin' together. I . . . really love Greg. You can't help who you fall in love for. I fell for Greg . . . one hundred percent . . . who he is as a person, not his gender." Nick admitted to her. "His body's just a bonus."
Jean smiled proudly at the sentimental cowboy her son had been bragging about for years but never mentioned once that they were dating. A single tear fell from her eye, gently rolling down her cheek as she looked at Nick. "Thank you so much Nicky . . . that was so beautifully put."
"I meant it."
"No one's ever loved my baby boy that much. You'll take care of him, won't you?"
"Yes I will." He promised her then looked up as he saw Greg stood in the gap of the doorway with a wide smile on his face. "I promise."
"Thank you." Jean suddenly threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "And make sure he calls me every day. You know how much I miss him."
"Yeah, I will." Nick smiled over at Greg, wondering how much of their conversation he had heard.
"Good, now let's go see if Greg's finally come down yet." She smiled as she climbed to her feet.
"Oh I think he is." Nick nodded, watching Greg quickly scrambling away. "Don't worry Mrs Sanders; Greg will be fine with me. He's the only person I've ever loved." He assured her as he climbed to his feet, anxious to go and check on AJ after leaving her with a stranger.
He head back through to the kitchen, watching Greg and Mark in a tussle on the grass.
Somehow Mark had pushed Greg down on the ground, and was holding his arms tightly against his chest while Greg was squirming beneath him. He didn't appear to be in any pain, they seemed to be fighting the way he and his brother always did, only his brother always sat on his head when they were fighting.
"Boys!" Jean shouted as soon as she saw them. She rushed out into the garden to separate them, clapping her hands together angrily. "You're acting like a bunch of two year olds in front of a six year old. Pack it in!"
"He started it!" Greg protested, trying to push his big brother off of him. "He tricked me!"
"I don't care who started it. I'm ending it! Now cut it out." Jean insisted.
Mark finally let go of his younger brother's arms, climbing to his feet to let him free. "Nice to see you again squirt."
"I'd like to say the same." Greg climbed to his feet, brushing down the grass and dirt from his clothing. "How much are you eating? You weigh a ton."
"Be nice." Jean warned him. "Where's AJ?" Greg pointed over to the flowers patch where AJ was walking away. "Don't stand on my flowers!" Jean rushed over to AJ, lifting her from the flowers patch before she flattened any of them with her feet. "The flower bed is completely off limits okay?" AJ nodded, running towards Nick as Jean set her down.
"Hey Nick, you play ball?" Mark indicated towards the basketball net on the side of the garage door.
"You can't play with Nick." Greg protested, flattening his tousled hair with his hands.
"Aww, Greggy afraid I'll make your boyfriend like me more?" Mark teased him, shoving his little brother out the way. "You play Nick?"
"Yeah, I do." Nick set AJ down on the ground, following Mark off towards the garage door.
"Gregory, come inside and help me will you." Jean called after him. Greg watched Mark tossing the ball over to Nick then reached for AJ's hand, leading her off into the house.
"Mom, I asked you not to talk to Nick."
"I didn't . . . much." She insisted. "I was just looking out for you honey. And don't worry, I completely approve of your new boyfriend."
"I wasn't looking for your approval mom." Greg smiled at her. "But thanks."
"You're welcome. Now what does Nicky like to eat?"
"Why?"
"I want to make him a special dinner. So what does he like to eat?"
"Anything with meat. Nick will eat anything. He's not fussy." Jean looked up at her son holding AJ in his arms. AJ was holding a flower in her hands that she managed to pick before Jean lifted her from the flower bed. Her son looked like a natural parent holding her in his arms. "Mom, remember you used to plait Betty and Connie's hair?" He suddenly asked her.
"Yes." She looked up at him curiously. "Why?"
"Can you teach me how so I can teach Nick?"
Jean smiled at her son then walked around the counter towards them. She lifted AJ from him, setting her down on one of the stools so she could show her son how to braid AJ's hair.
"I know you and my brother are... together Nick." Mark truthfully told him as he bounced the basketball around his feet. "What I wonna know is what you see in him."
"Well he's Greg," Nick felt awkward talking to Greg's brother about their relationship. Mark was nothing like Greg. He looked like Jean but he had Daniel's personality whereas Greg looked like his father and had his mother's personality.
"That's not an answer." Mark threw the ball over Nick's head, scoring another basket. "Basketball not your game?" Nick shrugged at him, catching the ball as it fell from the net. "So, why do you like him?" Mark asked him.
"Because, he's special. In the non-retarded sense of the word. He's unique, and he's always so full of life. He can make a joke about everythin' . . . and just when you think he can't surprise you anymore, he's goes and does it again. He makes me feel alive."
"That's a better answer." Mark smiled at him, snatching the ball from his hands then throwing it towards the basket, only this time he missed. Nick caught the ball as it fell, scoring himself his first basket. "I used to play this with Greg when we were younger. Mom always had to watch, if the ball hit him in the head or the hand too hard she'd end the game." Mark threw the ball over to Nick, giving him a slight smile. "You won't break his heart will you? I know Greg and I don't get along that great. But he's my little brother. I'd die for him. I really wonna see him happy, and I can tell he's happy with you. You brought the light back in his eyes."
Nick smiled softly as he had noticed Greg was a lot happier lately too. He didn't know it was because of him though. Jean and Mark were looking at him as though he was some kind of saviour, when really he thought Greg had saved him.
Mark looked round as he saw Greg stepping out of the back door. "Think fast!" He shouted throwing the ball towards his little brother.
Greg quickly ducked out the way before it hit him in the face, giving his brother an evil scowl.
"Mark, I saw that!" Jean shouted out the window.
"Slipped." He acted innocent, giving his mother an innocent smile. "You gonna come give yah big brother a hug Midget?" Mark asked his little brother. Greg folded his arms across his chest as he looked over at him. "Fine by me Shrimp. Nice meeting you Nick." He winked at him, heading off towards the back door where Greg was stood. "Didn't cha miss me lil bro?" He asked him as he pulled him into a bone crushing hug, ruffling his knuckles through his hair.
"Hey, ouch!" Greg protested, trying to struggle free from his brother's grip.
"Boys!" Jean shouted out the window, feeling as though they were teenagers again when she was constantly telling them off for fighting.
Mark finally let go of Greg, watching him flattening his hair. "You still hair obsessed?"
"You still a jerk?" Greg retorted ducking out the way as Mark went to hit him. Greg watched his brother walking back inside before he walked over to Nick. "Having fun?"
"He's not so bad." Nick gently brushed his fingers through Greg's tousled hair, readjusting his spikes. "He's a lot nicer than my brother. But he's still a bit of an asshole." He smiled softly, earning a smile out of Greg. "So what did you wonna do today?"
"I got some errands to run for my mom, if you wonna come with? I'll throw lunch in." He sweetly added.
"Okay, can AJ come too? Or you want it to be just us?"
"You can't come unless AJ does." Greg cheekily added. Nick checked no one was looking then pulled Greg towards him by his belt loops, pressing their lips together. "First public kiss." Greg smiled as they pulled apart.
"What public?" Nick asked him, touching his lips to his cheek. "C'mon, I'm drivin'." Nick stepped past Greg, heading back over to AJ sat at the table in the kitchen. "Hey sweetie, you wonna come out with me and Greg?" AJ nodded to him, setting her crayons down on the table and standing up on the chair. Nick lifted her into his arms then turned round to look at Greg who was stood outside the door with a wide smile on his face. "You comin' or what G?"
Greg nodded, following Nick through the house out to his truck.
"Hey G, did you braid her hair?" Nick asked as he buckled AJ into her car seat.
"Yeah, do you like it?"
"Uh huh, you'll have to teach me how you did it though." He smiled as he climbed out the back of the car. "I really have no clue what I'm doin' with all this dad stuff."
"I think you know more than you think." Greg smiled softly, climbing into the passenger's seat.
"So," Nick climbed into the car, pulling his seatbelt down over his shoulder. "Where to first?"
"Chemist." Greg pulled the prescription from his pocket. "Some heart medication and pain killers for my dad."
"Okay." Nick leant across the gear shaft to capture Greg's lips for a passionate kiss before he started the car and reversed out of the drive.
"What was that for?"
"You know." Nick smiled at him, knowing that he heard what he had said to his mother earlier.
Greg quickly rushed off to the drug store while Nick took AJ around the shops. As a first time parent of a six year old, he had no idea what kind of toys he was looking for. AJ's eyes seemed to light up at the endless rows of teddy bears; short, tall, small, fluffy, cuddly... endless lines of all different shapes, sizes and colours. And some of them were even bigger than her.
"Found your way to the teddies section I see." Greg smiled as he approached them.
"Uh huh . . . and I have no idea which one."
"Well you're supposed to ask the person you're buying it for. My dad bought us a teddy bear each birthday. He took us out in the morning to the store, and we were allowed to pick one teddy bear."
"How come I haven't seen any of these teddy bears?" Nick asked him curiously.
"Because they're all upstairs in the old play room, and that's the last place in the world I want to take my boyfriend." He smirked then lifted AJ from Nick's arms, setting her down on the floor. He handed Nick the bag of medication while he rushed off with AJ to look at all the teddy bears. Nick was so glad he had Greg to help him out; he'd be completely clueless otherwise.
AJ picked out a baby blue coloured bunny rabbit with rainbow coloured hands and feet, with a cute little white ribbon around its neck and long floppy ears.
Once Nick bought it for her, she wouldn't let it go. They finished the rest of Jean's errands then stopped for lunch in the park. AJ held onto her new best friend 'Bugsy', which Greg helped her name; climbing on the frame, sliding down the slide and swinging back and forth on the swings.
"That's bunny is gonna be dirty by the end of the week." Nick noticed.
"You can wash it. Teddy bears are designed to be washed, that's why they make em so soft and fluffy. I'll show you how; you might not want to wash it with clothes though. One time I washed this rainbow coloured teddy with a white t-shirt, when it came out it was like this marble rainbow colour, the t-shirt not the teddy, because that was already rainbow coloured obviously. It did look really cool, and my sort of style, but I threw it out anyway as it looked kinda dorky and I was in college. Not that I had a lot of teddies when I was in college. Just the one, and I hid him well so no one would find him. Oh and don't do what my mom used to do to our teddy bears when we were little; whenever one of our teddies got too dirty . . . she just threw it out without even telling us. We'd be looking for our missing teddy bears for days, and she'd just say 'look under your bed', but I looked there and they were never there. But as soon as Connie and I checked the trash, we knew exactly what she was doing with them. After that we always tried to keep our teddy bears extra clean, and never leave them unattended, especially around our mother." Greg licked the ice cream from his lower lip, looking up into Nick's eyes to see him staring at him. "What?"
"Nothin' . . . just it's so unbelievably cute when you ramble like that." He smiled at him, earning a wide smile from Greg.
"You think it's cute? Most people moan at me trying to get me shut up."
"I think it's adorable." He smiled wider. "Talk about somethin' else."
"Like what?" Greg licked his lips again, enjoying the look of love in Nick's eyes.
"Anythin' you like."
Greg licked the top of his ice cream again, trying to think of something to say. "I can't now you made me nervous."
Nick laughed finding that hard to believe. "I thought you talk more when you're nervous."
"Yeah, but if I'm really nervous, when I'm already nervous . . . I just can't think of anything to say."
"You don't have to be nervous around me. We've known each other years..."
"Never in the romantic relationship way." Greg interrupted him. "Even when you were just screwing my brains out every other week, we never talked so intimately."
"Because we weren't datin' then." Nick smiled at him. "We haven't exactly been on a date yet. We got a little busy after AJ." Nick looked over his shoulder to check she was still okay. "What would you ask me if we were on a date? We already know each other well enough after... what like eight or nine years now."
"Nine years, three months, two weeks and... a few days." Greg corrected him.
"Thanks for that." He smirked. "My point is I know you better than I know some of my sisters. So don't feel embarrassed to be intimate with me G."
Greg licked the ice cream dribbling down his hand then gave Nick a smile. "Okay, so let's pretend this is our first date."
"In a kiddie park?" Nick questioned him.
"My first, very first date was on this guys bed which was covered in dog hair."
"On a guy's bed? And how old were you?" Nick asked him surprised.
"Seventeen, we didn't go past first base."
"Why not?"
"Because he was so drunk, he threw up on the bed beside me, so I high tailed it out of there. And that's the story of why I didn't lose my virginity until I was twenty two."
"Huh . . . well I for one am glad. Not about the virginity thing, although you are very smart for waiting. I meant the sleepin' with the drunk guy on the hairy dog bed." He smirked.
"See, this first date is like a million times better than that." Greg smiled sweetly at him. "So Nicky, what's your favourite childhood memory?"
Nick rested his elbow on the table, slumping his chin in his hand as he tried to think. "Probably when I used to go for a long walk with the dogs out the woods, there was this favourite spot of mine where no one could ever find me."
"Alone?" Greg asked him.
"Yeah, I used to love bein' alone. It was my own private escape."
Greg looked at him curiously, copying his actions by leaning on his elbow too. "Escape from what?" He asked him curiously.
"I don't want you to know every detail of my childhood G."
"Why not?" Greg asked him surprised. "I thought you had a happy childhood?"
"I did . . . besides the family stuff. It's tough growin' up, findin' out you might be gay when you live with my father. I asked him once what he'd do if he found out any of his children were gay . . . I think I was around thirteen or somethin' . . . and he said we'd be out the door so fast we wouldn't know what hit us. I was terrified to be myself in my house." Nick looked up into Greg's eyes then bit his lower lip. "See, this is why I hate talkin' about it . . . I don't want sympathy G, it's in the past."
"I wasn't giving you sympathy, I was just listening."
"Well I don't like talkin' about it . . . so can we talk about somethin' else please?"
"Okay, moving onto the next question. Would you rather be smart and ugly . . . or dumb and beautiful?" He asked him next.
"I'd rather be you, smart and beautiful." Greg blushed as he smiled up at him. "You're cute when you blush."
"You're cute when you're a flirt." Greg teased him, making him blush too. "You're also cute when you're in daddy mode . . . and when you're sleeping. I love to watch you sleep. That doesn't make me a freak or a little weird does it?"
Nick shook his head. "No . . . I love watchin' you sleep too G." He admitted as he smiled up at him then glanced back over to AJ who was stood at the top of the climbing structure beside the slide, watching the older kids going down. "Greg, do you like AJ?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Are you really okay with datin' me . . . even though AJ comes along with the package?"
"Yes, AJ's adorable." He assured him. "I love spending time with both of you. I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Even though we'll never have time for ourselves?"
"We will, we can make time. I don't mind spending time with you when AJ's around. Just because you're a father, doesn't make me want you any less. And AJ really is adorable. She's like a miniature you."
"Is that a good thing?"
"Yep." Greg sweetly smiled at him, finishing off the last of his ice cream. "I want both of you in my life."
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I would have posted it sooner but I've been busy working on some vidding projects on Youtube.
Please Review