Josiah
Josiah made the coffee into travel mugs so they’d be easier to take to Denny safely.
He felt drained as if his own emotional release, telling his whole story to his best friend, had wiped out half his energy for the day. The worst was yet to come, but at least he’d gotten Denny to talk about Dave a bit already, so that was positive.
Josiah knew that he needed to cut back the cuddling if he was to keep his heart intact, but something about the way Denny wielded his masculinity was like catnip to Josiah. Denny was strong and sensitive, and extremely loving and protective of his friends. Denny gave his heart to people he trusted and didn’t expect anything back.
“Emotional service top,” Josiah muttered under his breath, then snorted.
He fixed the coffees and went back out, only to hear Denny cackle across the lawn. Josiah smiled as he went down the stairs and padded across the grass that had already dried a little. He handed one of the mugs to Denny who said “hold on” and put the phone on speaker.
“Hey Bunnyman!” Sammie said brightly.
“Hello, hello. How’s things?” Josiah climbed onto the boulder and leaned back, then sipped at his coffee.
“It’s good. The end of this tour can’t come fast enough.”
“Getting tired?” Josiah asked.
“Yeah. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love the UK, but the traveling… ugh. Anyway, I just wanted to check in with you guys.”
Josiah and Denny exchanged a look.
“What was that look for?” Sammie asked, as if she’d seen them do it.
Denny cracked up while Josiah tried his best to be affronted.
He knew how to rile her up, so he said, “Listen there, missy—”
“No. Absolutely not. Tell me.”
“Damn, she’s not taking the bait, Jo. Better be honest.”
Josiah stuck out his tongue at Denny, and somewhere across the pond Sammie giggled.
“I told Denny about how I came out to my parents and why,” he said, his voice still quiet and maybe a little vulnerable.
Sammie hummed, the sound immediately serious. “Okay. How did that make you feel? Both of you?”
Josiah chuckled. “Are you our therapist now?”
“Yes, this is couples therapy. Talk.”
He could hear the amusement back in her voice, but also this edge Denny would no doubt recognize.
“I got weepy, okay. And I’ll tell you the same story the next time we meet. I hope it’ll be easier then, but I don’t know.”
“I felt angry,” Denny all but growled out, to Josiah’s surprise.
“Really?” Sammie asked.
“Yes. I don’t understand how anyone would do what Jo’s parents did to him. It’s just… you should have basic human decency. I guess it takes a fucking horrible person to do that to one’s child.” Denny handed the phone to Josiah and scratched the back of his neck like he always did when agitated. “I mean, I’m eternally grateful for the universe for giving us Josiah, don’t get me wrong, but his parents… I hope karma has been kicking their ass, hard.”
While Josiah tried to keep his composure, Sammie huffed in agreement.
“One hundred percent agreeing with you there.” Then she sighed. “Okay, I got to go. You boys take care of each other. Don’t get too drunk tonight, Denny, okay? I worry.”
Josiah cleared his throat. “I’ll keep him safe.”
