Just as that morbid train of thought got started, the alarm on my cell phone went off. I glanced at the clock and swore. I was running late.
I showered quickly then threw some clothes on and ran down the stairs to the first floor. Gracie came trotting over to me but sat at my feet with just a whispered command.
“Good girl!” I said, scratching her ears as I clipped her leash to her collar. It wouldn’t be fair of me to expect Mama D or Mama K to walk her when I was the one who had agreed to watch her.
“That demon cat of yours was taunting her again,” Mama K said as she stirred a pan on the stove. I wasn’t sure what she was making, but it smelled delicious. My stomach rumbled.
“Sorry, Mama. Bottles is just used to ruling the roost,” I said with a grin.
“Hrmph. Some day she is going to mess with the wrong animal,mijo. Then where will she be?” she asked, a smile teasing at the corner of her mouth.
“I dunno, Mama, but I’d put my money on Bottles any day,” I responded, straightening up. “Have you heard from the twins? Is everything ready for the store opening tomorrow?”
The twins, Sonny and Hicks, were my youngest siblings. They were opening a bookstore in Highland Square that week called “Twin Peeks”. They carried gaming materials and comic books, as well as niche authors in sci-fi, fantasy, and LGBTQ fiction. They had held a “soft” opening a few months prior, but they had recently renovated the store and were going to be holding a grand opening tomorrow.
One of the twins knew someone who knew someone, and that someone had convinced a well-known graphic novelist, Mason Cameron, to fly out from Seattle and do a special signing. He was also going to be the headliner for the upcoming Akron Pop Culture Festival in a few weeks.
“They are very nervous, but they won’t admit it,” Mama K answered as she flipped the bacon. “I spoke with Lee last week, and he has agreed to spend the weekend at the store and help them.”
“Mama, you know we’d all help them, if they’d let us,” I said. “Will they let Lee?”
Mama K nodded.
“Sí. He has already spoken to them, and they agreedhecould come out, since he has already been helping them set everything up,” her Spanish accent was stronger than normal. “They said they didn’t need any more help, though.”
I sighed. My twin brothers were so damn independent.
Mama D wandered into the kitchen, her long blonde hair pulled back into a messy ponytail.
“Is that bacon I smell?” she asked hopefully.
Mama K leaned over and dropped a kiss on her lips. “Yes,mi amor.Bacon, eggs, and toast withextrastrawberry jelly. I had planned on letting you sleep a little longer, though, then bringing you breakfast in bed.”
Mama D looked around in mock anxiety. “Did I miss an anniversary?” she teased.
“No, silly woman. I just wanted to remind you how much I love you,” Mama K said, setting down the tongs she was using to flip the bacon. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Mama D and kissed her again, slower this time. I’d swear, there were little hearts swirling around their heads.
“Ewww. Gross…” Came a voice from the hallway as Bishop walked into the kitchen. “Can’t you two be like straight parents and pretend sex doesn’t exist?”
Bishop was naked except for a pair of tiny black briefs, his shaggy brown hair a tousled mess around his head. I knew people who paid a shit load of money and spent hours in the salon to attain that look, and Bish did it just by rolling out of bed… His amazing abs were on full display, the muscles looking chiseled to perfection under his tanned skin.
I was more than a tad bit jealous of my brother’s physique. I was taller than he was, but he was whipcord thin, and damn fast on the mats, all without ever seeming to spend any time in the gym. His briefs hung low on his hips, his happy trail on full display, his trimmed pubes just barely visible above the material. He hadn’t shaved yet, and the stubble covering his face was fucking sexy as hell. Not that I’d ever tellhimthat.
“Gross, yourself, dude!” I said, throwing a dishtowel at him from the counter. The towel hit him in the face, and he completely ignored it. “Put a fucking shirt on, at least! You live in a house full of gay men. You might as well be walking around naked.”
“I had a late night. Lemme alone…” he said, scooping some beans into the grinder, its obnoxious noise playing for a minute while it ground the coffee.
“Bishop, go put some clothes on,” Mama D said when the noise stopped, a small grin tugging at the corner of her mouth. “I’ll start your coffee.”
“Thanks, Mama,” he said, dropping a kiss on her cheek before turning around to go back to his room. He barely caught himself a second before he ran straight into the wall. He righted his heading, eyes still mostly closed, then left the kitchen.
“Want to bet he falls asleep before he gets his clothes on?” Mama K asked, chuckling.
Mama D smiled in agreement. “He’s been studying for his accounting exam. I think they are coming in a week or so. Same as yours, right, Kaine?”
I nodded. Yay, summer session! It was short, but it was brutal to finish a class in five or six weeks instead of the normal semester.
“Do you have time for breakfast?” Mama K asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
