Chapter Fourteen
...
"Do you have any plans for summer break?" Kelsi asked, swinging her legs up onto Chad's lap as they ate lunch.
Chad swallowed salad and hope. "No. I mean, nothing that's fixed. My parents are going on a cruise in July, so I'll probably house-sit for that time, but other than that, I'm free."
"Would you be open to staying here, if we offered?" Ryan asked, sounding nervous.
"Yes. Fuck, yes. Is there a court around here - actually, never mind, I'll figure out the details later. Yes, when do I have to pack and be here?"
Kelsi smiled brightly, leaning over to kiss him. "We can organise that after lunch, sweetheart. I told you he'd say yes, dear. Ryan was worried that you'd be sick of us and want to go back to Albuquerque. Full disclosure, he was going to suddenly want to visit his parents if you did, and we were going to woo you with tiny swimming outfits."
"What?"
"I know, right? Ryan even bought my bikini; it's mostly floss."
Chad didn't know what to respond to first or how to respond. "You thought I'd be sick of you? Why?"
"Because you're your own person with independence and autonomy, and I am clingy and desperate for love and attention," Ryan said, swallowing hard.
Chad looked at Kelsi in confusion. She sighed, turned to face Ryan, then moved entirely to sit in his lap. "Ryan, dearest heart of mine, I'm going to tell you this with the most love and utter respect for possibly the hundredth or thousandth time: your therapist is a dick."
"That bullshit came from your therapist? I thought they were supposed to be helpful? That's so wrong... well, I am an independent person with autonomy, blah, blah, blah, but you are not clingy or desperate for love and attention. Even if you do want love and attention, there's nothing wrong with that, Ryan. I want your love and attention, too, does that make me clingy?!"
Ryan shook his head reluctantly.
"How do you get a new therapist? Can you fire your therapist? Kelsi's right, they're a dick if that's the sort of bullshit they're telling you."
Kelsi kissed him several times, stole one of his fries, and smiled proudly. "I told you. Chad's right; if I want your love and attention, does that make me clingy or needy? Have I ever told you you're being clingy or needy, even when you're begging me?"
Again, Ryan shook his head. He tucked his head against Kelsi, and sighed. "I've just... they've been my therapist for a long time, I thought... I don't like firing people."
"Then quit them instead. Hand in your resignation, find another therapist, send them a glitter bomb in revenge," Chad said, not entirely joking.
Ryan's sudden laugh startled Kelsi and she almost bit her finger instead of the fry she'd stolen. "Glitter bombs are truly evil, I don't know if I can do that," Ryan said, kissing Kelsi's finger, and biting the rest of the fry out of her fingertips, licking at the salt.
Kelsi cupped his cheeks and kissed him firmly. "Don't worry about that, dearest; I'll send it. In fact, I've got about twelve other addresses to send it to, too."
Chad frowned. "Which twelve... oh, the Giants team?"
Kelsi nodded in response, then returned to her chair with another one of Ryan's fries. "Five of them are already out of prison thanks to their parents paying bail."
Ryan reached out to grab her hand, squeezing. "You have to stop following the news on that, dear. It just upsets you."
"No, I'm not upset. It pisses me off, angers me, and makes me want to stab people."
"Should I be concerned for my safety over summer break?" Chad asked, grinning.
"Of course not; it's not you I'm pissed off at. You can be my alibi," Kelsi said sweetly.
Chad moved his plate away from her. "Go for my fries, see what happens."
Kelsi laughed and grabbed another one from Ryan's plate instead.
"How soon can you be packed and back here, darling? Do you actually need to pack? I can buy anything you need," Ryan offered.
"No. I'm not letting you buy me clothes, Ryan; it'll take two days to get there, pack, and come back."
"You could just wear our clothes; there's enough up there to outlast the plague with a new outfit every day."
"I need to get everything out of my dorm, anyway. It's probably not sanitary to keep it all there for summer break."
"Two days of driving or two days of sex?" Ryan cajoled.
Kelsi pointed at him with a fry. "That is a good point."
"I could fly you there and back; it would be a day, at most."
Chad blinked at Ryan's offer. He blinked again. "What?"
"Well, you're not bringing your furniture, just clothes and toiletries, right? They can fit in the jet easily, and I don't have to worry about you driving two times just to be with us. I can fly us."
"Are you talking about piloting your own private jet plane?"
"Yes?"
"As in you in the driver's seat, no pilot?"
"I have my private pilot licence, so, yes. I can't fly a commercial plane, of course, but I've flown Duckie all over. The only reason I didn't fly the helicopter was because I was too emotional and wasn't going to risk our lives like that."
Chad let out a soft noise, somewhere between incredulous and horny. "Why am I turned on by that?! It's such a rich kid thing."
"I'd normally agree with you, but most rich kids prefer to have someone chauffeur them around. Also, it is sexy, and a far more enjoyable experience to join the mile high club without additional people present," Kelsi admitted, a blush high on her cheeks.
Ryan smiled, smug and proud of it. "I didn't hear you complaining either time, dear."
Chad looked between them, then nodded. "All right, I'll go by plane. I can't believe I'm saying that."
"Excellent decision, darling! Let me make sure the plane's fuelled and ready; we can be in Boston in an hour."
Kelsi saw the expression on Chad's face, and couldn't resist adding, "I'll bring my bikini."
Chad felt some of his tension ease at her teasing, and leaned across to kiss her cheek. "You were kidding about following me to Albuquerque, right?"
"We're about to fly to your university to pick up dirty laundry and a toothbrush, sweetheart; what do you think? Besides, I could've visited my parents, too."
"Maybe we should go, at least for some time to visit. I haven't seen your parents since we were kids, and I haven't met Ryan's parents yet."
Kelsi smiled, soft and sweet. "You want to be introduced to our parents as our boyfriend?"
Chad felt a blush darkening his cheeks, but he nodded. "Yeah, I think I do. I'd like that."
"All right, let's talk about it once Ryan's finished his call."
" - the car will be needed in Boston, too. Excellent, thank you." Ryan ended the call and turned to see Chad and Kelsi talking in soft murmurs, their heads close together. He smiled at the sight and took a moment to watch them together, both of them turning to look at him suddenly. "A car will be here in ten minutes; we're due at the hangar in forty-five minutes. Depending on wind-speed and weather, we'll be in Boston and back home by dark."
"Thank you, Ryan. I would have been fine driving, but... I'm glad you can come with me."
Ryan grinned, Cheshire Cat broad and wicked. "Wait 'til we're at 30,000 feet, darling, I'll come with you then, too."
Kelsi laughed and finished her food, clapping her hands to get rid of the extra salt before hurrying upstairs.
"Where are you going?" Chad called after her in surprise.
"I told you: I'm bringing my bikini!"
"Looks like we won't be the only ones coming," Ryan quipped, taking his seat to finish his lunch calmly.
Chad wondered what the hell he'd gotten himself into but with Ryan and Kelsi by his side, he couldn't bring himself to regret it.
...
"All right, darling. Time to stretch, then we can practise."
Chad looked over at Ryan with a bleary expression. "Wha?"
Kelsi yawned and stretched her way out of bed. "You agreed to let him help train you, remember?"
"Yeah, but I'm better now. Also, it's, like, seven in the morning."
"I don't remember applying a time restriction on your exercises, darling."
"Hard-ass," Kelsi said with a fond sigh, pressing a kiss to Ryan's cheek as she passed by to the bathroom.
"You love my ass. So do you, if last night was any indication," Ryan said with a bright grin, far too awake for Chad's liking, though the memory of eating Ryan out was certainly one he wouldn't forget anytime soon.
"We can have sex instead of doing stretches and exercising."
Ryan gave an exaggerated pout, and moved to straddle Chad's hips, leaning down to kiss him. "Chad, darling, I hate to prove Kelsi right about being a hard-ass, but we can't have sex yet."
"You sure, babe?" Chad asked, rolling his hips up against Ryan's eagerly.
"Yes. You need to keep your skills up over the summer break, and I refuse to be the reason you don't get scouted for the brilliant player we both know you are. Now, I've booked the court, so we need to stretch and get you ready. It won't take long, and we can come back to air conditioning and sex wherever and however you want."
Chad groaned softly, but opened his eyes and looked up at Ryan, who was looking down at him with a mix of anxious and hopefulness. "All right, all right. Let me get dressed, and we'll stretch and play ball, okay?"
Ryan brightened with a smile. "Thank you, darling. It was meant to be a surprise, but I probably booked the court too early and I didn't want us to miss out."
"I thought there'd be a court nearby; what sort of one did you book?" Chad asked, standing and going to his duffel bag full of his clothes.
"Uh... well, the court at Madison Square Garden."
"What the fuck?"
Ryan opened and closed his mouth, then gave a hesitant smile. "Surprise?"
"How? It's... it's not a bookable court, Ryan."
"Double surprise?"
"Just how many surprises have you got for me? This is our first day of summer break together, Ryan."
Ryan lifted a hand and started counting on his fingers. To Chad's horror, he kept counting onto his second hand and then returned to his first. "You know what, I'll tell you about them and you can choose if you do or don't want to do them. Is that better?"
"I honestly don't know, babe. Why'd you organise so many surprises? You know I'm happy just being here with you and Kels, right?"
"I know. I really do. But I like buying things for people I love, and I love you a lot. I bought things for Kelsi, too."
"Do I need to wait at home for deliveries or are they different kinds of purchases?" Kelsi asked from the bathroom door.
"Different kinds. Although, if you'd let me drape you in silk and finery, we could go shopping."
Kelsi laughed and kissed him. "I'll just shop in your closet, dear. Lingerie could be fun though, since you both enjoyed that bikini so much."
"Fuck, yes. If you're so determined to book places, Ryan, book a lingerie place," Chad said, looking between them eagerly.
Ryan grinned. "Yes, sir."
...
Madison Square Garden was as amazing and breath-taking as Chad remembered. The fact that they had the entire court to themselves was a little intimidating, but he was soon running in a familiar rhythm with a basketball thumping along the court and bouncing between his hands.
"I'm open!"
"You're the only one on the court, of course you're open," Chad called back to Ryan, laughing.
"I couldn't get the Knicks at such short notice, otherwise you would've had a proper training session," Ryan admitted.
Chad almost stumbled over his own feet and hurried to catch himself, grabbing the ball before it bounced away. "Jesus Christ. Kelsi, did you know he was going to get the Knicks to practise with me?"
"No, I didn't. Stop pulling a Richie Rich, dearest, we're not going anywhere even if you were as poor as me. You're stuck with us, isn't that right, sweetheart?" Kelsi called to Chad, stepping onto the court to kiss and hug Ryan.
"Of course. I'm not going anywhere, Ryan, I promise," Chad said, remembering Ryan's earlier mention of a nightmare and wondering if it was this very thing.
"Sorry. Should I cancel the Yankees for tomorrow?"
"They're playing, how did you even get them?"
"It's called money, sweetheart," Kelsi called with a laugh. "Now, I want a turn. I can still make a goal, I'm sure of it."
"It's called a basket, dear."
"That, too," Kelsi said with a firm nod, waiting for the ball expectantly.
Chad bounced it over to her, and Kelsi caught it with a proud grin. Her tongue sticking out, she ran forward, bounced the ball in the most awkward way Chad had ever seen, then grabbed it and threw it underarm up to the hoop. She managed to get the ball in the hoop through some sort of miracle, whooping her victory and excitement around her boyfriends until Chad tackled her around the waist and kissed her.
"Excellent goal, Kels."
"It's called a basket," she quipped with a laugh. "All right. Let's play and I'll try to block Ryan from catching the ball, that's a thing, right?"
"Yeah, we can do that. Thanks for being here, Kelsi."
"Where else would I be?" Kelsi asked, rising up to kiss him once more before hurrying off to block Ryan.
God, he loved them so fucking much.
...
"You're doing what?" Chad asked, staring at Kelsi in a mix of horror and curiosity, and not sure which he preferred.
"A jazz dance class. The room is air conditioned, and Ryan highly recommended the teacher. I can compose music at the drop of a hat, but dancing isn't my strong suit, so I thought this could help. I'd like to be able to keep up with Ryan at the very least, and jazz is meant to be energetic," Kelsi said, not convincing Chad to join her in the slightest.
Hell, she was barely convincing herself, and wondered if she could get a refund and if Ryan would be insulted if she quit before she'd even started.
"I don't think anyone can keep up with Ryan; he does those jumping lunge things, you know the ones, right?"
"Yeah. I'm pretty sure that's his background in ballet, not jazz. You can just come and watch me make a fool of myself, you don't have to participate," Kelsi said, secretly terrified of going to dance in front of a room of strangers.
Chad leaned down to kiss Kelsi, his mouth firm and tongue teasing. "I'll go with you, Kels."
She smiled brightly in response. "Oh, thank you so much! I'll feel so much better with you there. Fuck, why'd I sign up to dance in front of people?" Kelsi groaned, her smile slipping and anxiety taking over.
"You'll be fine, Kels. If you can play basketball, I can dance for a bit, hey? How hard can it be?" he asked with a broad grin.
...
Chad would like to retract his statement. Wholeheartedly and with sincerest apologies, and a renewed respect for Ryan and his muscles and energy. Fuck.
Ryan looked in the lounge room to find his girlfriend and boyfriend collapsed on the lounge, groaning in various tones of pain. "Do I dare ask how it went?" A grunt came from one or both, and he made his way into the room precariously. "Hot water bottle, ice pack, icy hot, or heat pack?"
"Yes," Kelsi and Chad chorused.
Biting back a snort of amusement, Ryan headed to the kitchen to look after his lovers.
"Want to go back to next week's lesson?" Kelsi asked.
Chad's groans paused. "I will if you will."
"Deal."
...
"Is the penguin suit really necessary for this surprise?" Chad asked, growing more and more frustrated at the tie and stupid video instructions that didn't seem to actually instruct him on anything.
"It's not a surprise since you agreed to it," Kelsi called from the bathroom where she was doing her makeup.
"Here, let me do your tie for you," Ryan offered, tying the length of silk with an expert hand in seconds.
"How... Show me again?"
"Of course, darling."
"Also, it's still a surprise 'cause I don't know which Broadway show, uh, play, whatever it is we're going to see. It's not opera, is it?" he asked, narrowing his eyes as he concentrated on Ryan's hands and movements for several reasons, only one being the tie.
"No, it's not opera. Though there are some excellent operas playing, I didn't think you would be interested," Ryan admitted.
"No, definitely not. If someone's going to sing at me that loudly, I want to be able to understand it."
Kelsi snorted so loud the noise echoed in the bathroom. "Ow, fuck. If that just ruined my mascara... "
Ryan grinned, kissed Chad firmly, and went to check on Kelsi.
"Is it the Phantom of the Opera? I will have a panic attack and run out of there screaming," Chad warned, following after Ryan and practising on an invisible tie in front of him.
"It's not the Phantom of the Opera, darling."
"We wouldn't do that to you," Kelsi promised, looking at her reflection as she finished her makeup, tongue poking out in concentration.
"Is it - "
"Would you like us to tell you what it is, sweetheart?"
Ryan sighed. "No. I trust you, I'm just... I'm nervous."
"What do you have to be nervous for, darling? It's a date, and you saw our show."
"Yeah, but you two are awesome. What if I hate it and it's stupid? They're not going to be as good as either of you, so that's already one disappointment."
Kelsi blinked at her reflection, pleased her cat eyes were mostly even, and smiled with bright red lips. "If you hate it, we can leave and go somewhere else instead. No one's tying us to our seats, sweetheart."
"Not unless we ask very nicely," Ryan said with a stage whisper and wink.
"Okay. Okay, fine. I know how expensive these things are, so I'll at least stay until intermission, even if I hate it."
"Only if you want to, darling. If you hate it, we can leave five minutes into the show. It's one night out, and we can always continue our date elsewhere, even in the penguin suits and gorgeous gown."
"It wouldn't be the first time we ended up at a fast food restaurant in evening wear," Kelsi admitted with a shrug.
"Really?" Chad asked, relieved and surprised.
"Of course; those fancy dinners rarely feed you enough, they just wait until you're so hungry you forget about being hungry, serve you the smallest amount of food possible to satisfy that one drop of hunger, and then charge you triple when you order the chocolate soufflé as an extra dessert because the chocolate roll was the size of a quarter."
"That is very specific," Chad said, looking at Kelsi and then to Ryan.
Ryan grinned. "We ended up taking a limo to McDonald's; they couldn't go through the drive-thru, so we had to go into the building itself. I'm sorry, dear, but I refuse to call it a restaurant. It's a low-quality fast food diner at best. And I've had some wonderful food at diners, so that's still an insult."
Kelsi's phone alarm stopped her response, and she ushered them out of the bathroom. "Someone take my shoes downstairs while I get my clutch from the wardrobe? The limo will be here in a minute."
"Wait, we're taking a limo, too?" Chad asked as he grabbed Kelsi's shoes from beside the bed and followed Ryan downstairs.
"It's not often I get to spoil Kelsi and you in the same night. Let me have this, darling, please?"
"You flew me interstate on your own damn plane last week, Ryan."
"That wasn't spoiling, that was a necessity."
"I... Are we taking the limo because you want to have sex in there, too?"
Ryan's eyes brightened and he looked Chad over appreciatively. "Well, it is now."
"Limo sex is for after the show; I'm not ruining my gown or makeup," Kelsi said pointedly, taking her shoes from Chad's limp grip and slipping them on. "Okay, let's go."
Once they arrived at the theatre, Chad offered Kelsi his arm on one side while Ryan offered his on the other, and they headed inside together to watch the stage production of Wicked.
They stayed beyond the intermission and to the end of the show itself. Chad spent most of the limo ride expressing his firm belief that most of the problems between Elphaba, Glinda, and Fiyero would have been resolved with a threesome.
"Speaking of, I believe limo sex was on the cards," Ryan said, sidling up to press a hot an eager kiss to Kelsi's exposed shoulder.
"It will be; we're getting McDonald's first," Kelsi said, patting his thigh.
"Of course, dearest. I'll have to get my doctor to check my cholesterol with my next blood test," Ryan said.
"He does that anyway; we haven't had it in ages, and I've been craving a cheeseburger all night."
"I could make you a cheeseburger far better than anything they serve."
"You can do that tomorrow, dearest. And, as this was my idea, I insist on buying," Kelsi said with a broad grin. "What do you want to eat, Chad?"
Chad caught the glimpse in Ryan's eye and grinned back at him. "I'll go in and get it, Kels. I'll pay with your card, deal?"
"Hmm, I guess we don't all have to go in. Cheeseburger meal with a chocolate shake."
"Done."
"Thank you, sweetheart. What do you want, Ryan?"
"You, dear," he said, pulling her onto his lap and kissing Kelsi eagerly.
She melted against his chest and into his kiss, and Chad watched them for a long moment. It took him a few seconds to realise the limo had stopped and they were parked outside of the fast food restaurant. Taking Kelsi's clutch with a kiss to her shoulder blade, he headed inside to order and get their food.
By the time he returned, Ryan was happily kneeling in front of Kelsi and eating her out. Kelsi was muffling her cries with his tie, her hands clenched in Ryan's hair, and she opened her eyes to look straight at him, beckoning him with a mix of authority and desperation. Chad swallowed hard at the sight, and hurried to join them and close the door behind him.
...
"Okay, if we go to the Yankees game, you're buying the beer and whatever junk they have masquerading as food. Ooh, and I want a commemorative cup or bucket or something! Wait, a foam hand! That's baseball, right?" Kelsi asked, frowning as she tried to remember.
"Yes, it is. Are you sure you don't want to take the limo? We can reenact our date to Broadway and buy all of the commemorative things you want," Ryan cajoled.
"He's just saying that 'cause it's easier to find a limo in the parking lot," Chad called, laughing.
Ryan pointed a finger, opening and then closing his mouth. "Well, that's true, but it's not the point I was trying to make. It was mostly to eat Kelsi out again."
"If you can't do that in a regular car, you're not trying hard enough," Kelsi said with a laugh.
"There are cars out there that barely have leg room, let alone entire body room; I know I'm right, I've seen pictures," Ryan added.
Chad laughed. "Who needs pictures when I've got the thing in real life? C'mon, I'm driving my car. I have to use it at least once over the summer break or the engine will probably die a death as dramatic as Elphaba."
"Shotgun," Kelsi called, running downstairs before Ryan could react.
"I assume this means no to getting my driver to take us?"
"No, Ryan. Even Kelsi's driven her car around; you don't need your driver for everything."
"I do if I want to christen your car like we did in the limo," Ryan said.
Chad bit his lip, then leaned over and kissed him firmly. "Good try, babe."
Ryan sighed dramatically. "I know. We'll drive ourselves like peasants, then."
Chad laughed. "Peasants would walk, babe."
"Worse, so much worse!" he said with a gasp, melodramatically fainting into Chad's arms.
Kelsi poked her head up the stairs and into the room. "Are you two coming or am I going to this sports game by myself?"
"If I was allowed to call my driver, we'd all be coming, dear!" Ryan called, grinning from his very comfortable position in Chad's arms.
Kelsi laughed. "Come on, boys, I want nachos."
"Ooh, good idea. C'mon, babe, we've gotta get there early for the food."
Ryan found himself being lifted and carried over Chad's shoulder. "Chad, put me down, your injuries - "
"I'm fine, Ryan. You can go down the stairs on your own, though. I don't want to break our necks. They might take you to a public hospital," Chad teased, setting Ryan down again and kissing him gently.
"No, anything but that," Ryan said drily, tempted to drag Chad back to him and over to the bed.
Chad seemed to realise the danger he was in, so slipped around Ryan and followed Kelsi down the stairs. He placed his hands on her hips as she did a sort of stepping dance down them, humming under her breath. Ryan followed after them, joining in a conga line that continued down the hall, out the door, and to the elevator.
...
Kelsi proudly waved her foam hand in Ryan's face as she sang 'take me out to the ball game'. Chad hummed along to the chorus - he didn't think he'd heard the full song before or known it existed beyond the chorus, really - and then Ryan started to sing along with Kelsi, tap dancing along the carpeted hallway to their apartment. Kelsi laughed and offered the foam hand to Chad before she nimbly followed Ryan's footsteps, both of them putting on an impromptu performance and dance.
Chad stood back, holding the foam hand, and watched them with a sense of pride and awe. He knew just how hard they worked to make each of their movements look so natural, to dance and sing at the same time without being out of breath in a minute.
" - take me out to the ball game - "
As they made their way back up to him with a grapevine that would have had him tripping over his own feet, Chad dropped the foam hand and then caught Kelsi's and Ryan's hands in his own. "You're both amazing," he said, breathless and tugging them close to hug them both firmly.
"Aww, thank you, darling. You're not so bad yourself," Ryan said, smiling broadly against his neck.
Kelsi curled an arm around Chad and smiled up at him. "What brought that on?"
Chad shrugged awkwardly with them both pressed against him. "It's true. Take the compliment, Kels."
"I won't and you can't make me," she said with a delighted laugh, rising on her toes to kiss him. "Come on, let's go inside. Those pretzels made me thirsty and I know there's lemonade."
"Do you want to watch Take me out to the ball game?" Ryan offered.
"It's a movie?" Chad asked in surprise.
"A musical, which is where the song comes from. Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra," Kelsi said.
"I think I've got it on DVD, and we can have hot dogs. I promise they'll be better than the flaccid things they were trying to serve at the stadium," Ryan said, wrinkling his nose.
"Flaccid," Kelsi echoed, laughing.
There was a brief snicker of laughter that accompanied her noise, and Chad frowned when it didn't come from himself or Ryan. He looked between them briefly, then looked down the hallway where the noise had come from.
Standing in front of their apartment door was a man in a suit, a briefcase sitting beside him. He straightened abruptly on realising they'd finally noticed him, and picked up his briefcase. "Good afternoon. I'm looking for Chad Danforth."
Chad's frown deepened, but before he could answer, Ryan stepped forward. "Who are you, and why are you looking for Chad?"
"Oh, of course. I am Kennedy Farrington, a legal representative for the Deckerson family. They have issued a formal apology towards Mr. Danforth, as per the judge's decree, but young Mr. Deckerson would like to offer a more sincere apology face to face. If you, uh, Mr. Danforth is open to it, of course," he added, opening his briefcase and taking out an envelope, holding it out for Ryan to take.
Ryan glanced over his shoulder at Chad, who shrugged in response. He didn't even know who young Mr. Deckerson was in the first place. Ryan took the envelope and tucked it under his arm.
"I'll have my people contact your people. You should know better than to bring something like this to a private address. This isn't how we deal with these sorts of things."
The legal representative didn't blush in response to the reprimand, but gave a slight nod in response. "The Deckersons were quite adamant that I deliver it personally."
"Then I hope you're billing them for the otherwise free postal service."
He flushed red now, in anger or possibly embarrassment at his job and time being reduced to a form of labour he didn't appreciate, and left the hallway without another word.
"Want to read it or set it on fire? We can do it in the kitchen; I've got a fire blanket in there," Ryan said, glancing at the envelope like it was covered in dirt.
"You do?" Kelsi asked.
"I'm curious to see what they've sent a lawyer to deliver. But stand by with the flames," Chad said, smiling briefly.
"All right. Let's go into the kitchen anyway; Kelsi can have her lemonade and I can get started on those hot dogs. If we do set it on fire, we can use the flames to make s'mores," Ryan said brightly, turning on his heel to open the door and head through to the kitchen.
"Should I be worried about how much he wants to set this on fire?" Chad asked Kelsi quietly as they followed.
"Wyatt Deckerson was one of the main instigators according to the blubbering done by his teammates who didn't have rich parents to bail them out like he did. I'm all for shredding the fucking thing and then setting it on fire myself," Kelsi said, far too serious for Chad to think she was joking.
"I need to make this food with love, and that is going to be difficult while this is polluting my kitchen. Do you mind if we open it before the food, darling? Or do whatever you want to do with it. I just... I shouldn't be making this about myself, I am sorry. I should get changed - " Ryan said, setting the jug of lemonade on the bench and going to leave.
Chad grabbed him around the waist, holding like he had only minutes before. "Ryan, babe. Stop. Stay here with me, with us. Please?"
"Of course, darling. I'm right here," he promised, kissing Chad's cheek. "If it's something awful then I can sue them. I'll find a reason, or just send the IRS after them, I don't even care. They all deserve so much worse."
"Sit with me, drink your lemonade, and Chad can open the envelope, okay? Do you need more time, sweetheart? We can watch a movie if you don't want to do this right now. Even if it's polluting Ryan's kitchen," Kelsi added, a warning in her tone as she glanced at Ryan not to argue.
"Of course; you don't have to do it right now. I can take the envelope to the mail rack in the foyer, and we can avoid it for weeks like we do the regular mail."
"No. No, it's all right. I'll open it now."
Chad tried not to let his nerves show - he didn't even know why he was nervous in the first place - as he tore the sealed flap of the envelope and pulled out the paperwork inside.
"What is it, darling?"
"Sweetheart, are you all right?"
Chad stared at the papers in his hand in disbelief. "I understand he wants to apologise face to face, but is it normal for the person apologising to choose the time and place, and send a gold embossed invitation to it?" he asked, holding it out for them to see.
"What the actual - " Ryan bit off his curse as he took the offered invitation.
"Rich people are so damn weird; they probably think this is normal," Kelsi said, shaking her head. "No offence, dear."
"None taken, this is weird. Worse, they're hosting this so-called grand apology at my parents' country club," Ryan said, wrinkling his nose.
"I'm going to meet your parents at an 'I'm sorry I beat the shit out of you' apology party?" Chad asked incredulously.
"We could go earlier?" Ryan offered.
"Jesus fucking Christ, I have to go, don't I? If they've sent this bullshit invitation to me, then they've likely sent it to other rich people, and if I don't attend... " Chad trailed off, shaking his head. "I don't know what they'll do, but it could make things awkward for you or your parents in the future, couldn't it?"
"Possibly, but that is certainly no reason to go to this. I've dealt with plenty of awkward things, mostly because of my own family, and they never threw an apology party and invited strangers to it. Not even Sharpay would do something like this."
Ryan looked as disgusted as Chad felt, which was reassuring, but it still didn't help his sense of obligation to go to what he knew was going to be an utter shitshow.
Kelsi sighed and stood up, starting to open cabinets and doors. Ryan and Chad both looked at her in confusion.
"What are you looking for, dearest?"
"The fire blanket and the alcohol. Not necessarily in that order; lemonade isn't going to be enough to deal with this. Chad, you get to choose the movie, and please feel free to make it as gory and bloody as you need."
He laughed, some of his tension easing from his shoulders. "I've got just the thing. Have you heard of The Raid?"
"No, but I'm sure I'll love it."
"Subtitles, action, blood, and gore. The plot's not bad, either," he said with a broad grin.
"I'll get it setup, you two find the alcohol and - ah, there it is!" Kelsi said, grabbing the fire blanket off the top of the fridge.
"Are hot dogs advisable with a movie like this?" Ryan asked uncertainly.
"Probably not, but let's get too drunk to care."
Ryan grinned and kissed Chad firmly. "Done and done. I'll take a photo so we don't forget the details, then we can set it on fire - "
"The details are burned into my fucking retinas," Kelsi called, dragging a footstool over to open a taller cabinet where she was certain the liquor was hidden.
" - but we should probably burn this thing before the drinking starts," Ryan finished, opening a drawer to take out the lighter he used for the stove.
"Good idea."
"Found the alcohol!" Kelsi called triumphantly.
Chad looked between Ryan and Kelsi, feeling utterly loved and supported, and more than ready to set the stupid damn invitation on fire.
...
End of the fourteenth chapter.
Thanks for reading!