“This is where you’re supposed to be, with or without an audience.”
Step ten. Hold his breath while he presses his lips against Jeremy’s and waits for Jeremy to kiss him back.Please, whoever is listening, give me a sign I didn’t fuck this up.
Step eleven. Don’t drop Henry in relief the moment Jeremy’s lips yield to him.
Failure.
“Ouch!” Henry yells. “Uncle Sergio. You dropped me.”
Fuck!Sergio winces. “Sorry, buddy,” he says, then quickly kisses a laughing Jeremy one more time before he picks Henry back up.
Chapter eleven
“Uncle Sergio! Wake up!”
“Oof … morning, buddy,” Sergio says and despite his discomfort, a small smile pulls at his lips while Gus hisses and runs out the door. He is back to kissing Jeremy Owens once every day. He’s done that by carefully following his eleven-step plan for the last three days. And also, luckily for Henry, he only dropped Henry that one time. Though, it’s not like Henry remembers it anyway.
“Dad said to come get you. Breakfast is almost ready.”
“Pancakes, bacon, and fruit?”
Henry nods with the carefree exuberance of a five-year-old, shaking the bed.
“I guess we better not keep him waiting then,” Sergio says and gets up. He ruffles Henry’s hair. “Go wake up Uncle Adrien.”
“Okay!” Henry yells and throws two very enthusiastic thumbs up into the air, then runs out of the room.
“Gently!” Sergio yells, poking his head out the door.
Running, Henry holds up his thumbs higher, then bursts into Adrien’s room.
“Hey, buddy.” Sergio hears Adrien’s groggy voice as he walks past his room and heads down the stairs.
Once in the kitchen, he’s greeted by Holden’s usual and jovial, “Good morning, shithead!”
“Good morning to you, too!” Sergio greets, slapping Holden a high five. He’s feeling so high off those three kisses, he doesn’t even get frustrated when he trips over Gus yet again. After he regains his footing, he grabs the plates out of Rose’s hands without a word of explanation and starts to set the table, properly now, no longer forgetting his task not even a quarter of the way through. Once the coffee is ready, he grabs four mugs and begins to pour, making sure to lead with Rose’s.
“Thanks …” she says, raising one eyebrow and tilting her head slightly.
“You’re welcome.” Sergio winks at her and then holds out a mug of coffee for Adrien at his arrival, with Henry hanging off his shoulders.
“You didn’t poison this, did you?” Adrien asks him as he takes it.
Sergio laughs. “Adrien, you are the last person on this earth I would want to poison.”
Adrien takes a slow sip, squinting at Sergio over the brim of the mug. “Doubtful.”
“Seriously. I would be lost without you,” Sergio says with emphasis on his seriousness. He pours another cup of coffee and places it down in Holden’s spot.
“You take that,” Holden says. “I’ll drink the sludge at the bottom of the pot.”
“You sure?” Sergio asks, already knowing what Holden’s disgusting answer will be.
“Yeah,” Holden says, grabbing the coffeepot and pouring himself the last remnants of the coffee. He takes an exaggerated sip from his mug and smacks his lips after he swallows. “Ahh. Delicious.”
“You’re disgusting,” Rose, Adrien, and now Sergio say together as everyone begins to grab food.
Alright. So far, so good,Sergio thinks, figuring he’s finally got this whole breakfast thing down. Everyone around the table is happy. No one is glaring at him yet. And as long as he stays on this track, he’s well on his way to kissing Jeremy at precisely 6:14 this evening.
