Please, don’t let any of us fuck this up.
FIFTEEN
The stiff leatherseats of Joshua’s car weren’t the most comfortable things for a long-ish car ride through traffic to the nearest grocery store, considering how long it had been since he’d had a dick up his ass. And Van wasn’t small or gentle.
Not that Joshua would complain about either of those things. He’d been taken on a ride he’d not soon forget—both because Van knew how to fuck, and because Benji had witnessed the entire thing. Hell, he’d initiated it and seemed to be toying with the idea of it possibly happening again.
Yes, please, and thank you.
All three of them were well aware that something beyond sex had happened in that bedroom. Now they needed to navigate the strange, dangerous waters of this new thing they’d all discovered.
The shopping trip took close to an hour, thanks to long lines and a back up in traffic heading south. He’d managed to get everything packed into three reusable shopping bags, which he lugged up the short pathway to the front door.
“Hey, Joshua!” one of the girls from upstairs shouted down. The third floor apartment had a small balcony—lucky them—and the blonde whose name he never remembered was wavingat him. Chilly as it was, she still wore a bikini top with her sweatpants.
“Hey,” he shouted back.
“So who was doing all that loud fucking earlier?”
He nearly dropped his grocery bags. Willing himself not to blush, he got the front door open and shouldered his way inside. Van and Benji were on the couch, close enough that their knees touched, and engaged in some kind of spirited discussion.
“—can’t ever match the perfection of season one,” Benji said.
“Well, don’t spoil the series,” Van retorted with a cute huff. “I’m only on season three.”
“It’s not really a spoiler, especially when the show is so old. Sometimes a series can’t capture the magic of its very first season, especially shows that unique.” Benji glanced up at Joshua and grinned. “Welcome home.”
“Thanks.” Joshua kicked the door shut, then headed for the kitchen. “Do I want to ask?”
“Van’s roommate Melody got him to start streamingGleefrom the beginning.”
“Ah ha.”Gleewas one of Benji’s favorite TV shows ever. Being homeschooled, he’d missed a lot of the high school experience, and watching the bullied underdogs turn into school champions really spoke to him.
It didn’t speak to Joshua as much. He’d tried watching it for Benji’s sake, but he simply didn’t like the characters. Most of them were obnoxious stereotypes, and he lived in a state of constant agitation whenever Coach Sue was on the screen. After half a season of Joshua grumbling, Benji had let him off the hook.
“Fantastic,” Joshua said. “Finally, someone you can obsess over the show with.”
“I know, right?” Benji’s smile was big and goofy, so much like the free-spirited Benji Joshua fallen in love with. Benji turnedall of that energy back to Van. “But seriously, none of their performances ever match the joy of the Journey medley.”
“I don’t know,” Van replied. “I really loved ‘Loser Like Me’ because it was so appropriate for the characters. It was like one giant ‘fuck you’ to Coach Sue.”
“Ha! True.”
Joshua half-listened to their spirited debate while he put away groceries. More frozen pizzas, cold cuts and bread, honey mustard for Benji’s sandwiches, bags of apples and oranges, a monster container of coffee, and other assorted stuff. When he was finished, he tucked the shopping bags under the sink, and then took the requested Pringles into the living room.
Benji squealed when he saw them. “You’re the absolute best.”
“I know.” Joshua handed them over and sat in a nearby armchair. “So has Benji told you his all-time favoriteGleecharacter yet?”
“No, I haven’t, because Van hasn’t finished season three, so the character has not yet appeared.”
“Now I’m intrigued,” Van said. “My guess would have been Sebastian.”
“What?” Benji crossed his arms and huffed. “The asshole Warbler? Really?”
“Hey, two minutes ago you were waxing on and on about the Michael Jackson episode. I mean, his duet with Santana gave me chills.”
“Oh, dude has a great voice, and he was awesome onThe Flash, especially the musical episode, but no. I hate Sebastian. Ugh.”
