Fletcher took his shoes off and walked over to sit on the couch. And both Marina and Caleb fought over who got to sit next to him. Fletcher scooted down so they both could sit on eitherside of him.
“What if I wanted to sit next to him?” Taylor pretended to pout.
“You can just sit on his lap or something,” Marina answered. Taylor snorted. Been there, done that, kiddo.
Pancek came down the stairs in a fancy suit as he was messing with his cuff links. “You about ready to leave, babe?” he asked his wife. Taylor stood up to give Gretchen a hand up off the couch. She let out a groan as she stood to her feet.
“This fucker is sitting right on my bladder. I think I need you to come help me, so I don’t pee on this dress,” Gretchen told her husband. Caleb and Marina both laughed as if it were the funniest thing ever.
Taylor took a moment to take in Fletcher’s appearance. His sandy brown curls were pushed back in a relaxed style. He wore a plain white tee and some dark wash jeans. Simple but really fucking attractive. Taylor couldn’t wait to peel those clothes right off him.
His eyes met Fletcher’s who gave him a flirtatious look. Taylor’s heart started to beat a little quicker. He would never not react this way when he saw Fletcher. He was well past pretending he wasn’t attracted to him. Really fucking attracted to him.
“So, we ordered a few pizzas. They should be here soon. Money is on the table,” Gretchen said to Marina. She turned to Caleb. “You’re still grounded from video games. That includes the iPad. We will know if you try to sneak behind Taylor’s back to play them,” she warned sternly.
“And you,” she turned to look at Taylor. “There are beers out in the garage fridge. Those are fair game. But if you touch my special imported German beers there will be hell to pay.”
Taylor snorted. “It’s not like you can exactly drink them.”
Gretchen narrowed her eyes at him. “No touching, Piers.” Taylor raised his hands in surrender.
After their parents left, Caleb and Marina both hopped up from the couch and pulled Fletcher up to stand. “Let’s go play with Papa’s golf game,” they both beckoned. Fletcher shot Taylor a look that screamed “please save me,” but Taylor laughed and shook his head as he followed them into the den where Pancek had a golf simulator.
After the kids ate dinner, Taylor turned a movie on in the living room for them all to watch. Caleb asked for Harry Potter and Marina protested, but when Fletcher also voted for Harry Potter she was suddenly very excited to watch it. As the kids sat on either side of Fletcher, Taylor walked over to the kitchen and made a few bowls of popcorn.
He handed two bowls to Caleb and Marina and took his own bowl over to the other end of the couch and put it down on the coffee table. “Umm, where’s my popcorn?” Fletcher complained.
“Patience. I need to go grab the gluten-free stuff from downstairs,” Taylor answered.
“Okay, I’ll come with you.” Fletcher hopped up from the couch and grabbed his red backpack before following Taylor downstairs to the basement.
“So this is all yours?” Fletcher asked.
Taylor nodded. “Yep, all mine. We’re fixing up the other room down here for my brother Jesse. He’s going to come stay with us until he starts college in the fall.”
“Wait, what? Why’s your brother coming to stay?”
Taylor looked at him and frowned. “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later, maybe.”
Fletcher walked up to him and cupped his cheek before kissing him. It caught Taylor off guard, but he immediately kissed Fletcher back. “God, I’ve missed you, baby,” Fletcher sighed. He gave Taylor one last peck on the lips before pulling back. “After the kids go to sleep.”
Taylor nodded in agreement. “Okay, sweetheart.” He felt his heart flutter. He really, really liked Fletcher.
After they finished the movie, the kids begged to watch the next one. And normally Taylor would end up giving in. But another movie meant less time with just him and Fletcher. And that was non-negotiable. Fletcher told the kids goodnight before Taylor walked with them upstairs to make sure they actually got in bed. Surprisingly, Caleb wasn’t much of an issue. He was one of the perfect angel kids who fell asleep almost immediately. Marina, on the other hand, was a notorious insomniac.
“Your mom said you can have two melatonin gummies,” Taylor lied to her. Definitely a harmless lie because he knows Gretchen usually gave her two on school nights, so she wouldn’t be mad. But not on weekend nights. She called it balance.
Marina furrowed her brows. “She said I could double the dosage?” Taylor nodded. “And if you promise to stay in your bed all night, I will let you watch TV in your room for as long as you want.”
“Deal,” Marina said. She shook hands with Taylor before Taylor eagerly ran back downstairs.
* * *
Taylor sat down on the couch next to Fletcher.
“Is big brother tired?” Fletcher asked in a fake baby voice.
Taylor’s mouth curled up into a smile as he turned towards Fletcher and cupped his jaw. “Not yet,” he told him as he connected their lips in a kiss. Fletcher let out a little moan as Taylor tugged on his bottom lip with his teeth.
