“Look, I just want this to go smoothly. Is that too much to ask for? I’ve wanted nothing but to be part of his life. He’s nervous, skittish, and has been through enough.”
Hollis wrapped his arm around my shoulders.
“Relax, bub. Tonight will be great, and the bathroom is clean.”
I nodded and then walked around the great room to make sure everything looked okay.
“Okay, now listen, everyone. Just some reminders—”
“No standing behind Brandon,” Morgan cut me off to go over things. It’s like they’d heard these reminders before.
“No touching Brandon. This includes hugging. Handshaking is acceptable,” Patrick said.
“No asking him what happened to him after high school,” Hollis added.
“Oh God, my heart breaks into a million pieces every time I think about what that poor young man went through,” Mom said.
“Horrific,” Dad said.
By now, I’d told my family everything I knew about Brandon’s past. I’d also outfitted my parents and brothers with the Socks and Coffee collection along with things Salem had made.
“No making any comments about having a male…” I was trying to think of the word I wanted to use. Boyfriend? Significant other?
“Dominant,” Morgan casually added.
“Morgan.” Mom’s tone sounded just like a mother who shuddered to think about one of her kids being into the kink and BDSM scene. She was supportive when she learned of Morgan’s lifestyle, but I was sure she cringed too.
“The, um, titles still make your mother uneasy,” Dad added.
“Would you prefer the title Sadist?” Morgan asked. “To be fair, James actually is a Sadist.”
“Why’d you call him a Dominant, then?” I asked.
“I figured Mom would be more comfortable with a Dominant than a Sadist,” Morgan answered and shrugged.
“I’m not comfortable with a Dominant or a Sadist, Morgan,” Mom said while she took the plastic lids off the vegetable and cookie trays.
“Well, you’re going to be comfortable with James. He’s very charismatic,” Morgan told her.
“Why would you think Mom would be okay with the Dominant?” Hollis asked.
“You know… the books and movies out there,” Morgan said.
“Have you seen those or read them?” I asked.
“We read the books and saw the movies,” Dad volunteered.
Oh?I looked at my brothers and then at Mom. Mom looked up at our dad as if he shared news she would have rather kept under wraps.
“What, honey? There’s no shame,” Dad said. Mom and Dad both looked at Morgan.
“Exactly, there is no shame in anything you boys do.”
“Precisely. No shame,” Dad reiterated.
“We read the books and saw the movies once we learned you were into that… er… sort of thing,” Mom said to Morgan.
“I probably could have recommended other reading material to you,” Morgan said.
