“You seem awfully quiet today.” Curtis could feel Peyton’s gaze drilling holes into his side. His friends were also terribly observant—well, at least some of them.
“I had a rough day yesterday.”
“Something for the class?”
Curtis nodded. Definitely something for the class. Peyton reached over to pat Curtis’s thigh. The gesture lacked all sexual innuendo and was full of friendly support. Exactly what Curtis needed. He parked in front of the building where Emilio now lived in Leeland’s apartment and they got out. A quick look around showed the Volvo Leeland used to drive around, the brand-new Mercedes van Richard had gotten for Dean so he and Emily were safely encased in as much metal as possible when driving, and the white Harley with the pink and turquoise stripes that was Seth’s ride.
“Seems like we’re the last ones,” Peyton murmured. They made their way up the stairs, and after a short ring, Emilio opened the door.
“Curtis, Peyton! Good to see you. Please, come in.” Emilio stepped aside to let them in. The apartment was filled with the warm smell of curry. Peyton made a show of sniffing, which had Emilio laughing.
“There’s a new Indian restaurant two blocks away, and they make the best naan bread I’ve ever had. And before you ask, it’s heavy on the garlic.”
Peyton grinned. “Then it has to be good.”
They shed their shoes and light jackets before they joined the others in the spacious living room. The TV was already set up; the food sat in warming boxes on the coffee table. After the usual round of hugs, they all filled their plates, and for the next ten minutes, the only sounds were the light clatter of cutlery and some almost orgasmic moans. Curtis loved the fact that all his friends enjoyed food as much as he did. He hated eating with people who counted every single calorie. Even Emilio, whose master, Garrett, kept him on a strict diet to further improve his body—which, in Curtis’s opinion was already perfect—had a free pass for their evenings together. According to Emilio, Master Garrett had grumbled and complained, but finally he had realized it was just plain cruel to make Emilio watch while his friends stuffed their faces with everything tasty under the sun. Carrot sticks with low-fat yogurt just couldn’t compare to a plateful of spaghetti carbonara followed by some rich dessert.
After their initial hunger was sated and they all had congratulated Emilio on finding such a good restaurant, it was time for talking. Their evenings followed a routine that was never strictly implemented, but helped them to keep track of one another’s lives, since they couldn’t always talk openly at Whisper and Peyton and Seth weren’t members there. It was always a merry-go-round, this evening started by Dean. He wore a silly smile that made his eyes glow.
“I can finally tell you all! The surrogate is pregnant, and it’s the first week of the second trimester. We wanted to wait until we started telling people in case something went wrong again.” For a moment, Dean’s face fell. He doubtlessly remembered the two times the surrogate miscarried within the first eight weeks. That wasn’t uncommon with in vitro fertilization, but for Dean, who had been looking forward to a sibling for Emily, it had been devastating. Now those dark times were behind him, and he accepted the heartfelt well-wishes of his friends.
“I’m going to be an uncle again! I need to tell Martin that we have to go shopping, and, Peyton now you get to design another nursery, just don’t forget to leave one wall free so I have room for the mural, because shifting the furniture in Emily’s room was exhausting, and I think I could use dragons or perhaps all the best characters from fairy tales, though fairy tales can be pretty cruel and bloody, and I found a book about how Snow White was originally told, and I didn’t know one could die from having to dance in heated iron shoes, though I think dancing itself is hard when your feet are burning, and yes, she was evil, but killing her like that seems a bit over-the-top, and I don’t think I want to draw somebody who’s dying because their feet are on fire, but then again, children often see things differently. I mean Emily had no problem when Dean killed the evil racoon in our first story, though I’m not sure if she really knows what death means, and that is something I envy her.”
Collin had to finally get some air, which gave Peyton the chance to chime in. “Dear Collin, if I’d known you back when I designed Emily’s room, I would of course have left at least one wall to your artistic genius. As it is, I’m definitely taking your ideas into account and a fairy-tale theme can also be done gender neutral.” He looked at Dean, who just shrugged.
“This is up to you, Peyton. You know Richard and I have no strict policy on that subject.”
“You just find the single-color schemes boring, don’t you?” Leeland grinned and poked Dean in the ribs.
“Hey, that’s perfectly okay! I just think it’s more fun having different colors and not just shades of blue or pink.” Dean shuddered. Emily was a little over three now, and there had been a brief period around her third birthday when her favorite color had been pink. In all shades, preferably with glitter. After a concerted effort from Collin, Peyton, and Curtis, her taste in colors had broadened again, though Curtis would never forget the sea of pink balloons and streamers for Emily’s birthday. He still couldn’t look at his light pink button-down without hearing the delighted squeals of a bunch of three-year-olds, let alone bring himself to wear it. Perhaps he would give it to charity.
“You’re absolutely right, Dean. My congratulations, and I could do a quilt for the little one as soon as Peyton and Collin have decided on a theme.” Seth smiled warmly at Dean. The latest addition to their little group was a study in contrasts, a fascinating mixture of bad biker boy and trendy twink. Seth’s stature leaned more toward muscular leather stud, while his grooming choices branded him as a stereotypical gay. Though the eyeliner and lip-gloss did look good on him, and he somehow managed to combine the two looks and own them.
After they had all congratulated Dean thoroughly, Peyton told a funny story about one of his clients. Leeland had nothing to contribute, but since he was busy with his studying, nobody expected him to. Emilio shyly announced that Master Garrett had deemed him ready for his first fitness convention, where he would show off for Garrett’s chain of fitness clubs.
“That’s great, Emilio! You worked so hard on your body and you’re so disciplined, you’ve earned this!” Dean smiled at the youngest member of their group. Emilio blushed and looked down on his now empty plate.
“Thank you, Dean. I’m pretty nervous. I don’t want to disappoint my master.”
“You won’t.” Leeland’s voice held a hint of steel. “And if he gives you any trouble, you tell me, Emilio. Okay?” Leeland winked at Emilio, and for somebody who didn’t know Leeland well, it seemed like a playful gesture. Curtis knew Leeland and Deanverywell, and if the wink had managed to distract Curtis from the strange undertone in Leeland’s voice, Dean’s visible tensing would have put him right back on track. Something was going on, but neither Leeland nor Emilio seemed to want to share it, and from the way Emilio reacted more to the wink than the words, Curtis wasn’t sure if they had talked about it yet and if Emilio was aware that Leeland seemed to have latched on to something. Curtis furrowed his brows. They usually were very open with one another, and he wondered what was going on. Before he could ponder that thought any further, Emilio smiled at Leeland.
“I will, Leeland. Thank you so much for being there for me.” Curtis looked at Dean, who just raised one eyebrow. So this was something Leeland was chewing on, and he wasn’t ready yet to voice his problem. Curtis knew the best course of action in this case was to let Leeland work it out for himself. They would find out sooner or later.
Now it was Collin’s turn, and the radiant smile on his face told Curtis it had to be something good.
“Martin and I have set a date!”
“What?” It came from Dean and Leeland in unison. Peyton made a face, while a smug grin appeared on Emilio’s lips. Seth looked suspiciously unperturbed. He must have known.
“That’s great, Collin! My congratulations!” Curtis hugged Collin, who was sitting right next to him. He was truly happy for his young friend, though it only made the date from yesterday look even worse. Curtis felt a twinge in his heart, not of jealousy, but of sadness, because it seemed as if he would watch all his friends finding their men and going steady while he stayed alone. He knew he was being a bit overly dramatic, but after the date with Andrew, he definitely had a right to be.
“Man, couldn’t you have waited another four weeks?” Peyton didn’t look too happy. “Now I owe this little stud over there a hundred dollars and can’t collect his workforce to clean my apartment.”
Emilio grinned broadly before he stuck his tongue out. “I told you Master Martin was getting impatient. But you never listen to me. Serves you right, Peyton.”
“Wait, you agreed to clean that dump Peyton calls his apartment?” Leeland sounded incredulous. “And you’ll only get a hundred dollars from him? He tried to pull one over on you, Emilio.”
“Shut up!” Peyton interrupted him. “You make it sound as if I’m like one of these hoarders. Just because you can’t eat off my kitchen floor—” Leeland made a gagging sound. “—doesn’t mean my apartment is some kind of war zone.”
