Eli bent down and pressed a kiss to the top of Jordan’s head again. Before Jack, it weirded me out a little to see how Doug and Eli doted on Jordan, but now it made sense. Being their boy didn’t have anything to do with any of the perverted reasons people came up with about relationships like theirs. The way I settled whenever Jack pushed me to be my best, wasn’t because of lingering daddy issues or anything like that. It was simply another way to feel good.
And maybe it was okay for Eli to make me feel good too. Not in a sexual way because… I paused the game when a bizarre thought popped in my head.
“So, if Doug is your Daddy and Jack is my Daddy does that make us cousins?” Jordan’s face scrunched up, and he waved a finger around in the air as he tried to figure out what the hell I was talking about. “And does that mean Eli would be my uncle and Doug is my uncle because they’re my Daddy’s brother and his partner? Eww, gross, but then you’re their partner too, so does that mean you’re my uncle? This is all confusing.”
I sunk deeper into the bean bag, shielding my face with my forearm.
“What in the hell are you talking about?” Jordan shook his head. “Is this really the type of thing you sit up and think of at night?”
“You act like you don’t know me at all,” I scoffed. “Of course, I think about these things. Now answer the question. I need to know if I’m supposed to call Eli something other than Eli, because I don’t want to screw this up.”
Jordan puffed out his cheeks then blew out a harsh breath. He dropped his controller and flipped onto his stomach. “Daddy, Slade has a question for you.”
Eli approached, crouching down in front of us. I was so going to kill Jordan when I got the chance. Or, at least put him in a headlock and give him a noogie. “What’s up, Slade?”
“Nothing,” I mumbled.
“No, now you have to ask him,” Jordan said, chewing on his bottom lip. “Now that you got me thinking about it, I’m going to obsess about it until we get answers. You have to ask.”
“It’s stupid,” I insisted.
“Well, yeah,” Jordan scoffed. “But you’re the one who said it, so now you have to ask Daddy Eli. Or is that…”
I tackled Jordan, clamping a hand over his mouth.
“Don’t say it,” I hissed. “I’m begging you, Jordan.”
“I don’t see why it’s that big of a deal,” he shot back, and we wrestled around a bit more on the floor. I couldn’t tell you the last time I felt this light and happy. It was fun tussling with my friend.
Then, just like when we were younger, a pair of long legs appeared in front of us. We stilled, looking up to see Eli scowling down at us. “Are you boys about through?”
We both nodded.
“Either of you care to tell me what it was that was so important you called me over here?” I pursed my lips and glared at Jordan. He shook his head, and I did the same.
“It was nothing, really,” I reassured them. “I was just being stupid, and Jordan thought I was serious.”
Eli ruffled my hair. “I highly doubt that. Anyway, do you think the two of you can keep from breaking anything long enough for me to go out and see what Jack and Doug are up to?”
We nodded in unison, then I gave Jordan a playful shove. “Thanks, jerk face.”
“What did I do?” Jordan picked up both controllers and tossed mine back to me. “It wasn’t really a bad question.”
“No, but it’s embarrassing as hell. Just because I wanted to talk to you about it, doesn’t mean I wanted you blabbing to Eli about it.”
“Don’t you meanUncleEli?” he teased, and I flipped him off.
We started playing the game, working our way through the levels to try and rescue the princess. I was filled with a lightness I hadn’t felt in forever. Even when I was a kid, I couldn’t remember feeling this carefree. I wondered what it would take to stay like this forever.
