I quickly turned off the car and motioned for him to back up enough for me to open the door. As soon as I did, he leapt into my arms, gripping my neck so tightly I struggled to breathe. I couldn’t help but laugh as he peppered my face with kisses. “That’s quite the welcome home, Angel.”
“I missed you, Daddy,” he whispered before burying his face in the crook of my neck.
“Missed you too, Angel.” I set him on the ground and took his hand, squeezing his fingers to catch his attention. “Are you still worried about me being here?” Matteo nodded. I backed him against the side of the car and cupped his face in my hands. “Is it because you’re not ready for them to meet me or are you worried about how I’ll react?”
“Is it okay if I say it’s a little bit of both?” he admitted, sucking his lower lip between his teeth. I reached up, pulling the skin free. He knew I wouldn’t let him get away with closing down. “I know I shouldn’t be freaking out, but I am. I want them to like you because their opinion has always meant a lot to me. And they’re probably going to be harder on you than they would be on anyone else because you’re the first guy I’ve ever dated and it came out of left field for them. “That means they’re going to come at you from all sides with a ton of intrusive questions, and I don’t want you thinking we’re all crazy. I mean, we are in our own way, but not in a bad way.”
Toward the end of his rambling, Matteo’s words were rushed and breathy as if he was trying to get everything out before he ran out of oxygen. I thought that was the end of it, but before I could reply, he started in again. “And of course I’m worried about how you’ll react to their inquisition. Why wouldn’t I be? Our family’s close and I don’t know what I’d do if you hate them. I don’t want to think that’d be a deal breaker for me, but it’s not like I’ve ever been in this position before.”
He stopped to take another breath, and this time, I sealed my mouth over his before he could say another word. I’d heard enough to know he was hanging on by a thread. We needed to get tonight over with so I could take my boy home and give him what he needed: a good spanking, followed by an orgasm or two and cuddles. Teo draped his arms over my shoulders as he relaxed into the kiss. His lips parted on a sigh and I took advantage of the opening, sliding my tongue into his mouth. He moaned, grinding his hips against mine. This wasnotthe time or place for rutting around, so I pulled away.
“Damn, that’s probably the only thing none of us have tried to get him to slow down when he spazzes out.” I bristled at the teasing tone from the front yard. I spun around, ready to chastise whichever brother had spoken, but Matteo dug his fingers into my biceps.
“Da—Levi, this is Tony. He’s one of the twins,” Matteo explained. “He’s the brother most likely to say whatever’s on his mind without thinking first. I’ll apologize ahead of time for anything he says to offend you, because he most likely will.”
“Angel, relax,” I whispered into his ear, low enough there was no chance of his brother overhearing us. “It’s going to take a lot more than anything these guys can dish out to drive me away.”
“Okay, Daddy.” He drew in a full breath, held it a few seconds, then blew it out. I reached for his arm, squeezing a pressure point near his wrist. He stiffened at the initial pain, but soon after, his breathing became steadier and I felt the tension in his body relax.
“Is there someplace we can go for a few minutes alone?” Teo’s eyes widened and I laughed. “Nothing like that, Angel. We’ll save the good stuff for after we get home tonight. For now, I think you need a few minutes of quiet time to center yourself.”
“We can try sneaking up to my room, but I can’t guarantee we’ll make it through the family gauntlet.” I looked over Matteo’s shoulder, noticing we had quite the audience for our reunion.
“Then we’ll deal with introductions first,” I told him. When he took my hand, I gave him a reassuring squeeze. Without being told which brother was which, it was easy to pick them out based on the information Matteo had given me during late nights spent talking about our families.
Tony stepped back as we passed, offering me a quick nod of what I hoped was approval. Next was Freddie, along with his partner. They both greeted me, but it was little Sophia whose scrutiny I had to withstand. “Who are you?”
I crouched down to her level. “My name’s Levi. And you must be Sophia. Your uncle has told me a lot about you.”
“Are you Uncle Teo’s boyfriend?” She planted her hands on her hips and pursed her lips while I glanced to Matteo for a little help. We hadn’t clearly defined how we’d explain our relationship to others and I wasn’t exactly sure how much he’d told his family about us. The last thing I wanted to do was confirm that we were boyfriends, although that didn’t seem a fitting label for it, if he’d only told them we were seeing one another.
“Yes, Soph, Levi is my boyfriend,” Matteo told her. He seemed much calmer than he had when I first arrived. Based on what he’d told me about how she’d taken the news that another of her uncles was gay and her father was in a relationship with a man, I was blindsided by the scowl she cast our way. “Is that not okay with you?”
Oh hell, we hadn’t even made it inside yet and already one of his family members didn’t like me. Granted, she was the youngest in the family, but I felt the gravity of the moment. The longer the silence drew on, the more I contemplated grabbing Teo’s hand and running back to the car. We could deal with the rest of the introductions and an apology for my rudeness another day.
“Why don’t I get any aunts? This family is all boys now!” Sophia protested before stomping off. Freddie’s face paled as he fumbled over an apology while Peter chased after the little girl when she took off around the side of the house.
“Don’t mind her,” a woman’s voice echoed from the steps. I looked up to the house and saw a shorter, rounder version of Matteo approaching. “She’s been a pill all week. I promise, she’ll love you soon enough. You must be the boy Matteo’s been telling us about. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
I held out my hand and she shook her head before drawing me in for a hug. I stammered over my words, which seemed to amuse Matteo. “Don’t mind Mama, she’s a hugger.”
“So I’ve noticed,” I said when she released me, hoping she didn’t think I was being rude. My family had never been what you would call affectionate. We were loved, but it was more an emotion that was known, not shown. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Marino.”
“Oh, now he’s done it.” The mock fear in Calvin’s voice drew laughter from the entire brood. “You’d better get used to calling her Mama, otherwise she’ll threaten to withhold dessert from you.”
“She will, too,” Tony chimed in. “She’s a smart woman. Knows how to get the behavior she wants whether it’s here or at the restaurant. There was one time…”
As Mama ushered everyone into the house for a late dinner, Tony told me a story about Mama banning someone from dessert at Marino’s because they were being too affectionate in public. That led to Frankie telling me about how her reaction had been part of why he’d been scared to come out, then Peter adding in his own commentary.
If there was a single word to describe Matteo’s childhood home as everyone dished up their food, it was loud. If this was what Matteo dealt with every time the family was together, I could see why it got to be a bit much for my boy. More than ever, I wanted to make a hasty retreat to someplace quiet for just a few minutes, now for myself as well as for him. But that would definitely be rude, so I sat at the long rustic dining table and placed a hand on Matteo’s knee to center both of us through dinner.
The evening was mercifully cut short by an overtired Sophia and Matteo’s brothers who had to work in the morning. We followed Freddie and Peter out to the driveway. After she’d calmed down, Sophia had clung to her uncle, apologizing to both of us for being mean. By the time she’d started to drift off to sleep, she’d reassured me she was okay with me being her uncle, too. I didn’t bother to tell the little girl it was a bit soon for that leap, afraid it’d set her off once again.
“If you’re free and we haven’t assaulted your ears enough for a lifetime, you’re more than welcome to join us at our new place for dinner next week,” Freddie said while Peter got Sophia settled into her booster seat. “We’ll be moving most of the day, but I don’t expect you to help out with that.”
“I’d love to help if you need more hands,” I told him. Of course, it was possiblehewasn’t keen to have someone he didn’t know handling his family’s property, but if they wanted the help, I’d make sure my schedule was clear. And I knew I’d made the right decision by offering when I looked up to see Matteo beaming at me. He’d been so scared I wouldn’t fit in with his family or that I would be put off by them, and now he looked like a little kid who’d just been given the gift he’d been wishing for.
“Man, I hope you were serious, because we have a ton of crap to move.” Freddie held out his hand and we shook before he pulled me in for a one-armed embrace. From what I’d seen, it wasn’t just Mama who was a hugger. They all were. “We were all a bit surprised when Matteo told us he was dating someone, but I can see why he’s so much happier now. Keep putting that smile on his face and we’ll be just fine.”
