Chapter 21

(Mandy POV)

Mandy walked to the kitchen and put the bag of leftovers onto the counter. What the fuck had she just walked in on? Well, that was really a stupid question. She knew what she had seen. But she was just so surprised! Ian had been right! And Mickey was finally smiling again!

She went to her room, grabbed a set of clean clothes, and got into the shower. By the time she was done, her brother and her best friend were already sitting at the kitchen table and eating the leftovers she'd brought. Mandy took the third seat at the table. She looked at Ian first. He was trying to keep his expression serious, but she could see the smile in his eyes. She moved her gaze to Mickey. Her poor brother looked so embarrassed and guilty, she almost felt bad for making him wait so long before saying anything. His eyes kept darting to Ian and he was biting his bottom lip.

Mandy grinned, in an attempt to show him that she wasn't angry nor bothered, but he wasn't looking at her. "So, you're into guys now?" she finally asked him.

Mickey still didn't make eye contact. "No..." he muttered.

"No?" Ian asked, warily.

"No." Mickey's response was more firm. "Just Ian," he added, peeking up at Mandy.

Mandy thought about that. Well, she supposed that was possible. Mickey had sex with girls quite often, until recently. Maybe he was just bisexual...

"How long have you liked Ian then?" she asked, curiosity getting the better of her. She knew she was being a bit nosy, but she couldn't help it.

Mickey sighed and gave Ian what looked like an apologetic smile. "I think I always knew; I just didn't want to face it."

He finally met her stare. "Are you done harassing me now?"

Mandy nodded, grinning.

Mickey got up and pulled Ian by the neck of his t-shirt. "Come on..." he ordered, dragging Ian to his room.

With the boys gone, Mandy took her time drying her hair. She then cleaned up the empty food containers they'd left of the table and laid out the ingredients for the birthday cake she wanted to bake for Ian. She'd gotten a recipe from Mrs. Lombardi in the morning. Taking out her phone, she typed out a text to Travis.

[6:48pm Mandy: don't 4get bout Ian's surprise party 2nite! i know Matt has off, so i expect both o there!]

By the time she had the cake in the oven, Mickey had left for work. Ian walked out and joined her in the kitchen. He leaned against the counter and smiled at her.

"You were right all along..." she said, smiling right back.

"Apparently..." Ian sighed. "Well, I just wish I hadn't given up. I feel like I wasted the last 8 months. Maybe I wouldn't have screwed Jimmy's dad!"

Mandy laughed and shoved Ian's shoulder; his elbow slipped off the counter. "What is it with you and married men?" she teased. He laughed in turn and stuck his finger in the mixing bowl, then licked the red velvet cake batter off, grinning.

They spent the rest of the evening just hanging out like they used to. Mandy took the cake out to cool before icing it. They drank a few beers and talked about what they expected from their senior year. Ian told Mandy about the trip to West Point and showed her some of the brochures he'd been obsessed with since getting back.

"The best part is that I'll be so close to you... and Mickey..." He was practically blushing.

"Did you two talk about it?" She didn't have to explain what she meant by 'it'.

"Not exactly. This is Mickey we're talking about, right? He's not the biggest talker in the world. I don't know if forcing him to discuss what he's feeling and whether or not this is a "relationship" is really the best thing to do right now."

"You sure?"

"Yeah... I mean, it's clearly something... but we haven't defined what that thing is. I'll give him some time to figure it out. I don't want him to feel pressured or uncomfortable or anything. I'm just really happy right now, regardless."

Mandy got up and brought over two more beers.

Ian thankfully accepted the beer and drank half the bottle before working up the courage to say what was on his mind. "Hey Mands?" Mandy knew her friend well enough to be able to read his expression.

"Hmm?" She knew he was going to ask her something that he was embarrassed about. She could see it all over his face.

"Would you mind not mentioning it to everyone? I don't think he's ready. He didn't even want the lady at the bed and breakfast to see us holding hands."

Mandy's face fell. She put a hand on Ian's shoulder and hoped the gesture would show him the sympathy she felt for him. Mandy knew her brother was emotionally stunted, for lack of a better word. He was a Milkovich, after all. They didn't talk about their fucking feelings... but she never took him for being a coward. They lived in New York, for God's sake. It wasn't the fucking South!

She held her tongue. It was Ian's birthday and she didn't want to sour his mood. She supposed she could understand Mickey's point of view. It was a big thing to come out, and being out of the closet in front of people, friends and strangers both, went against everything they had learned. She knew that South Side mentality/fear was going to be a problem for him and Ian, but she hoped Ian would be strong enough to wait it out. She had more faith in her brother than most people did.

They had Chinese take-out for dinner and then headed over to the bar at around midnight. Mandy knew it wasn't really a surprise party to Ian since he'd seen the cake already, but she appreciated that he still pretended to make her happy.

Mandy introduced Ian to Travis' boyfriend Matt. She'd only hung out with him a few times, but he was attractive as ever—maybe even cuter without all the leather and gelled hair that he always donned for work. He seemed like a really nice guy. Matt suggested that they all come to dinner at his apartment in Brooklyn on Saturday. He said lived right near Coney Island so they make a whole day out of it, and Mandy was really excited about the prospect of a day at the beach. The only convincing Mickey needed was for it to be an early dinner because he had work that night, and Matt's response was that he was in the same boat so it wouldn't be a problem.

The rest of the week passed without a hitch. Mandy was busy working her ass off because she'd be cutting down on her hours when school started up again the following Monday. She tried to give the boys as much privacy as she could when she was around the apartment. They were constantly being all cute together whenever she and Travis weren't around. She felt bad the few times she walked into the kitchen and saw them cuddling on the couch while watching TV because Mickey stopped as soon as he noticed her. She tried not to laugh at the fact that her brother was now a cuddler—it was just too adorable and so out of character.

She didn't feel bad for spending time with Brian at nights because she knew Ian wasn't alone and just killing time in the apartment. He told her he would go to Sullivan's and sit at the bar, idly talking to Mickey until the older boy was done with work and ready to close up for the night.

If Travis or Brian had noticed anything about Mickey and Ian, they sure as hell hadn't mentioned it to Mandy. She was fine with that, though. It meant she didn't have to lie or be evasive. She'd kept her mouth shut, like Ian had asked her to. It wasn't that she was keeping it a secret, exactly—she just wasn't announcing anything.

Saturday finally rolled around and it was a beautiful day. They took the bus over to the F train in Flushing which took them directly to Coney Island. They passed by the Cyclone, Coney Island's famous wooden roller-coaster, but it was closed for repairs. They walked over to the boardwalk with their folding chairs and towels, and set up a spot on the beach. Mandy had insisted on getting there early enough to beat the crowds.

When they were settled in, Mandy put on sunscreen and passed the bottle around. She was only half paying attention to the rest of the group, still focused on rubbing the cream into her skin, when she saw Mickey violently shove Ian's arm away from him. Her brother got up and walked towards the water, anger radiating off of him.

Ian was frowning. She gave him a quizzical look. "I just tried to put some sunscreen on him..." he explained in a low voice that only she was able to hear. Mandy shook her head in disapproval. Ian got up and dutifully followed Mickey to the water.

She told the other boys that she would stay and watch their stuff while they swam, since she wanted to do some tanning. She read a magazine while they played in the waves. Eventually, the boys walked to the pier and started jumping off into the water below, despite the fact that there were signs everywhere saying that diving off the pier wasn't allowed. She smirked—as if a sign was going to stop them. Their dives created quite the crowd of spectators. It was a steep drop, after all; people were even taking pictures.

The boys came back exhausted and laughing, talking about their somersaults and Brian's terrible belly-flop. Her poor boyfriend's whole stomach and chest were so red that it looked like someone had dragged him down the street. He grimaced as he dried himself off with the towel Mandy handed him.

At lunch time, Matt went and bought hot dogs and cheese fries for everyone from the original Nathan's. He insisted that they all absolutely had try deep fried Oreos for dessert from the boardwalk. He and Travis went to get some and returned with the treats in addition to some classic funnel cakes. Ian blew some of the powdered sugar off of his funnel cake into Mickey's face, and Mandy expected her brother to flip out again. She was relieved when all he did was smirk and steal Ian's Oreo in retaliation.

The weather only got nicer as the day progressed. Matt and Travis left early to go back to his apartment and get everything ready for dinner, but they made sure Brian knew how to get there from the beach before leaving. Mandy finally went swimming after she felt like she had gotten enough color. She would never be dark like Sara—she'd come to accept that that just wasn't possible for a Milkovich—but she was content with not being paste-white anymore as a result of spending most of the summer at the diner.

Matt's apartment was nice. It wasn't anything crazy, but it was on the first floor and he had a deck in the back where he had set up the table and was already grilling some steaks. Travis passed them each a beer as they walked outside.

"This is a really cool apartment," Ian said to Matt when they all sat at the table and began eating. "I like the neighborhood too. I always heard negative things about Brooklyn, but this doesn't seem as bad as everyone says." Mandy picked a rare steak and loaded her plate up with salad and oven roasted potatoes.

"Yeah, thanks man. It's close to the city and the crime in this area has really been going down since the younger crowd started moving in. There are a lot of families with little kids, so they created a neighborhood watch."

Mickey, Mandy and Ian all snorted at the same time. When the rest of the guys looked at them questioningly, Mandy explained that something like that would never work where they were from.

"Well, the closest thing we have to a neighborhood watch would be a bunch of us walking around with wooden bats. This summer, some asshole on the bus exposed himself to my little sister Debbie." He shook his head. "We filed a police report but that did a lot of good," he added, full of sarcasm.

"My brother Lip and I looked online at the list of registered sex offenders in the area. Some asshole child rapist named Blake Collins had moved in three blocks down from our house, so a bunch of us grabbed our bats and went to give the son of a bitch a beat-down. It turned out to be a woman. An 8th grade teacher, actually, who had screwed one of her students. She was really hot."

At Mandy's raised eyebrow, Ian said, "What? I can be objective... She was blonde and had a nice body. Anyway, it was pretty awkward. She said she had loved the boy that she supposedly raped and had served five years for it. She was out on probation. We left after that, but my Lip was convinced he could prove she was still a pedophile, despite having served some time in jail. He went over to her place and seduced her, and took some pictures with his cell phone. He hasn't stopped talking about the amazing blowjob she gave him, and it's been like a month now. I don't think he's gonna do anything with the pictures. I'm sure he wouldn't want to ruin his chances of a repeat."

"That's fucked up, man," Brian said. Ian nodded.

Mickey was scowling. "You never said anything about that before..."

"Your brothers were there with us when we first went to the house. I didn't want to bring it up."

Mandy looked at Mickey. Ian had made a good choice in not telling them. Hearing about her brothers, even now, made Mandy nervous, and she could see the same reaction mirrored in Mickey's eyes. She didn't know if Terry had said anything about Mickey stealing the weapons or the car, but they'd definitely want their cut of the profits if they found out. Their whole family was full of greedy motherfuckers.

No doubt sensing the sudden tension, Travis decided to change the subject. "So guys, Matt asked me to move in with him."

That did the trick. The previous conversation was forgotten and everyone turned to look at the long-haired boy. They'd only been dating since June. She hadn't realized things had gotten so serious already.

"Seriously bro?" Brian asked.

"Yeah. I know it's fast and all, but..."

Matt interrupted him. "Look, I have the space, and we've talked about it a lot. It's not a big deal. It beats sleeping on a futon, right?" He gave Travis a kiss on the cheek. "This way Trav doesn't have to waste any time we could have together traveling back and forth between Brooklyn and Queens."

Travis looked at his friends guiltily.

"That's great news," Mandy said. "I don't think two months is fast. You've found someone who appreciates you. You're right to not want to waste any time. When you know, you know, right?" She flashed him a smile, but flicked her eyes to Mickey. Her brother was staring down at his plate, biting his lip.

They finished eating dinner. The food had been delicious. There wasn't even a single potato left. Mandy always believed that the sign of truly delicious food was when you didn't need to add any sauces like ketchup to it. If it's good, it should taste good alone. Tonight, she hadn't even added steak sauce to her meal. Mandy made a mental note to ask Matt what seasonings he'd used on the potatoes.

"So Ian, when are you coming back to visit next?" Travis wondered.

"I'm not entirely sure. I was hoping that I could come again around Thanksgiving, but I don't think my sister would believe another lame ROTC excuse. Especially not on an important family holiday."

"Can't you just tell her the truth?" Brian asked.

Ian cringed. Mandy didn't miss the quick flash of his eyes to Mickey. "Um... it's not that easy..." Ian said, vaguely.

Mickey got up then. "I gotta get back. Gotta be at the bar in like an hour." When Ian put his napkin down on his plate and made a move to get up too, Mickey put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down. "You guys stay here. It's Ian's last night. I'll see you back at the apartment. Thanks for the food," he added, nodding in thanks to Matt.

No one had argued with Mickey. Ian made every effort to be polite and engage in their conversations, but Mandy could tell that his heart wasn't in it. He was quiet during the entire train ride back.

"Hey, think you can go to the bar and cover for Mickey tonight?" she whispered to Brian.

"Why?"

"You know... Ian's leaving tomorrow morning. I'm sure he wants to hang out with us and just didn't ask because you covered for him on Monday night." She hoped that would be enough of an answer to satisfy Brian.

"Sure, no problem."

Mandy smiled at her boyfriend. He was so nice that sometimes she had a hard time believing this was really her life.

"Thanks baby," she whispered again before kissing him sweetly.