Brody reached out and gave him a big hug. “Glad you made it safe.” He lifted the guitar case in Diego’s truck. His hand touched the shoulder of the boy next to him. “This here is Jonah. Jonah, this is my friend Diego.”
“Hi.” The little boy looked like a young Brody but with longer hair. His wide eyes locked onto Diego’s guitar case. “Do you know how to play?”
“Sure do. If it’s okay with your uncle, tonight after dinner we can pull it out and make some music.” Diego felt some of that tension slip off his shoulders.
Maybe this would all be okay.
Diego pulled his jacket off once he entered the cozy, warm house, and the first thing that he noticed were the bright decorations everywhere. His eyes widened as he saw a Christmas tree tucked into one corner of the living room. Christmas was still a few weeks away, but there were already several brightly colored presents under the tree. Diego laughed. “I guess Santa’s been here already.”
This earned him an amused snicker from Jonah. “Those are from Uncle Brody. Santa doesn’t come until Christmas,” Jonah told him matter-of-factly.
“My bad.” Diego pointed at the largest present tucked away under the tree and grinned. “Does that one have Peach’s name on it?”
Brody stepped behind him. “It does. She’s a good girl, right Peachy?”
The dog stretched and walked over to her dog bed and flopped down.
Brody glanced over at Diego. “It’s kinda dark, so I’ll take you on the grand tour of the property in the morning. The puppies we picked up a couple of weeks ago are staying inside with us until they’re a little older.” Brody opened a door to show a small bedroom converted to a room for the dogs. Jonah ran inside and dropped to his knees to greet the dogs. “They’re getting bigger every day.”
Diego knelt when he saw them and laughed as the three golden retriever pups piled onto him, sniffing him deeply. “We’ve got cats right now in my apartment. My roommate is fostering them for a few days, but I bet it smells good to these guys.”
Brody reached his hand out to help Diego up. “Jonah, why don’t you go check on Jace real quick, okay? I’m gonna take Diego back to get settled in.”
Jonah scurried off, leaving Brody alone with Diego for the first time since he’d gotten here. Brody pointed at a door at the end of the hallway. “That’s a spare room if you want it. I wasn’t sure how you felt about staying in my room with the rugrats around.”
Diego blinked. He hadn’t considered that, not yet. “What do they know about me?” he asked, his grasp on his backpack tightening. He’d assumed Brody would introduce him to the kids as an old friend of their uncle and stay in the guest room. Would they be uncomfortable knowing their true relationship? “Are they gonna be weirded out by us being together?”
Brody shifted from side to side, his face unreadable. “I don’t know. We talked a little about you coming here, and they know about gay people. Nichole had gay friends, that’s what Jonah tells me, so they understand that sometimes boys like boys and girls like girls.” The corners of his mouth turned up and he snickered. “I’m not so sure about when it comes to their Uncle Brody.”
“Okay.” It felt a little better, having that bit of knowledge. “That settles it then. Let’s just make it easier and put my stuff in here.” Diego opened the door to the spare room and set his backpack on the bed. “This used to be Nichole’s room, right?”
“Good memory, yeah. I use it as an office sometimes. The boys are in my old bedroom.” He stepped into the darkened room and wound his arms around Diego’s waist. “This doesn’t mean that I don’t wanna fool around while you’re here.” Brody’s voice dropped low. “Been thinkin’ about you all week. Need you inside me.”
Those words made Diego’s head spin. “Me too.” He turned to face Brody, looking up at that handsome face. Their lips brushed against each other, soft at first, then deeper as Brody’s tongue teasingly lingered along Diego’s lower lip. “We’ll make it work.”
Brody’s smile lit up his face, even in his dark room. “Okay then.” One more quick kiss and they pulled back from each other. “I don’t know how much experience you got around little boys, but they’re a lot like puppies. The moment it gets too quiet, you better go check on them ‘cause that’s when trouble’s happening.”
Chapter Seventeen
Theyheadedbackintothe living room and found Jonah stretched out on the leather sofa, watching an animated movie on the television. “Haven’t you seen this a hundred times?” Brody asked as he walked toward the kitchen.
Jonah shrugged. “Maybe. But it’s my favorite. Since Jace is still sleeping, I get to pick whatever I wanna watch.” But the little boy’s attention turned to Brody and Diego as he opened the refrigerator. Jonah hopped off the sofa to join them in the kitchen. “What are you doing?”
Brody snickered. Their curiosity at even the most mundane things never failed to amaze him. “I was gonna see if Diego wanted something to eat. We ordered pizza earlier because this one here didn’t eat his lunch at school and was starving when he got home.” Brody reached over to mess with Jonah’s hair. “I can warm up a couple slices unless you want somethin’ else.”
“Pizza sounds great.” Diego glanced into their fridge. “You got some good stuff in here, too. Sliced apples, orange juice, string cheese.” He stepped back and laughed. “My roommate used to tell me that I’ve got the palate of a toddler.”
Brody pulled out the pizza box. “We’re gonna sit and talk grown-up stuff, so go skedaddle over and watch your show.” Jonah nodded and reached for a small box of apple juice and took it back to the living room, where he flung himself onto the sofa. “I wish I could bottle up that energy. The only thing that stops those boys is getting sick.”
“How’s Jace feeling?” Diego asked as Brody plated the rest of the pizza slices and warmed them in the microwave.
“Better, I think.” Brody reached into the fridge for a beer. He offered it to Diego before halting. “Oh, yeah, I forgot. You mind if I have this or you want me to not—”
“Go ahead, it’s cool. I don’t mind.” Diego looked around and grabbed an apple juice box of his own. “This actually sounds good. Haven’t had apple juice in years.”
After they ate, Brody went to check on Jace once more. He felt Jace’s forehead and sighed; no fever. “Sleep well, kiddo,” he murmured as he leaned down and kissed his head.
Brody hopped into his bathroom for a quick tidy-up. He hadn’t bottomed in several years, but his heart raced at the idea of Diego touching him, sliding deep into him.
