My stomach twisted. I didn’t want to force him here. “Does your ex know where that is?”
He nodded.
“Would he think to look for you there?”
Another nod.
“Come inside, then. Fuck that. We need more sleep. Maybe you could call off tomorrow? Shit, I mean today.”
“Okay,” he murmured, which wasn’t exactly the full-throttle eagerness I would’ve liked but would have to do. I grabbed Flynn’s backpack and messenger bag from where he’d stowed them on the floor between his legs and offered him a hand. He smiled as he got out of the car and took my help, lacing his fingers with mine. “You’re sure you want to do this? Get involved? It might get ugly.”
I shrugged. “I’m sure I want you to be okay.”
It was easy to sneak Flynn into the house—it wasn’t as if my parents were keeping tabs on me like I was fifteen anymore, and they didn’t care what time I came and went as long as my grades didn’t slip. The second we were in my room we stripped and fell into bed together. I had zero plans to go to class, and that probably wasn’t smart, but I hadn’t missed any yet.
Much later the sun was stinging my eyes, even though they were closed, and someone was poking at a spot near my left eye that hurt a lot. I swatted at Jury—I knew it was him without looking.
“Fuck off.”
“I don’t think so. Get up now and explain why I got a call letting me know my son was involved in a domestic disturbance last night.” Papa sounded ready to have a litter of kittens, and I groaned, tugging the quilt over my head.
“Too early for this shit.”
“I agree,” he growled out.
“That would be my fault,” Flynn said quietly, and I froze. Fuck, this was not how I’d wanted the introductions to go.
11
FLYNN
Benny Daughtler appearedto be caught between wanting to strangle me and crying as he paced across the living room floor, nearly wearing a hole into their niceand expensiveblue carpet. He muttered something I couldn’t hear, but I didn’t think it was meant for my ears anyway. Judge sat beside me, his fingers entwined with mine, while Jury sat on the other side of his brother in a clear show of support. Roger Daughtler was in an armchair to my left, stroking his chin as he watched his husband pick up speed.
“Benny,” Roger finally said, but Benny held up his hand to him and stopped for a short moment to glare.
“Don’t you dare, Roger. This isn’t the boys getting in trouble at school for setting off a stink bomb under their teacher’s chair. You can’t defend Judge this time.”
I turned to Judge with raised eyebrows, and he gave me a silly grin and a shrug. I couldn’t help but chuckle because at least he hadn’t done that to me.
“Benny, sweetheart.” Roger stood and went over to his husband, placing his hands on Benny’s arms. Roger smiled down at Benny, gaze softening until Roger gave his husband a look that shouted decades of love. I’d always wanted to get the same understanding they easily showed each other from Chris—now, I didn’t need it from him. I got far more consideration from Judge than I’d ever received from him. “Judge and Jury are adults now. If Judge wants to date an older man, we should support him. I don’t want to be your parents and tell him who he can and can’t love. We promised each other we’d always be supportive of our boys, no matter what.”
“ButRoger.” Benny glanced from his husband to us and back again, caught between the urge to agree and argue, if the painful expression on his handsome face was anything to go by. “He’s Judge’s teacher and hasdecades, plural, on him. I wouldn’t care about anything else.”
“Would you care if Flynn was a woman?” Jury asked, earning a glare from Benny.
“No, of course not.”
“But you care that Flynn’s older than me and my teacher?” Judge rubbed the side of his face. “Papa, this isn’t fair. I care about Flynn and he’s my boyfriend. I’m an adult.”
“And he is your teacher!” Benny flung his hands up in the air and turned fully toward us, staring me down. “What would the law school say about a relationship between a teacher and student?”
“It isn’t in their conduct policy,” I admitted, aware of the smirk Judge sent my way.
“You said it was when I first asked you out.”
I laughed and shrugged. “You wouldn’t take no for an answer. I had to try everything in my arsenal.”
“Excuse me?” Benny crossed his arms and turned a fierce glare on Judge, who groaned and fell back against the couch.
