Together, we pulled out three plastic chairs, complete with matching cushions, and set them up around the fire pit. Once that was done, I tended the fire. It was nice and steady, so I ran inside to grab paper plates, plastic silverware, and a cooler full of drinks.
Adam brought over the chicken on a serving platter, steaming hot and slathered in BBQ. My stomach growled simply by looking at it. Sky was nearly drooling. “Wow, that looks incredible,” he said, which made Adam laugh.
“Only the best for my boys.” He winked.
We all grabbed plates and piled the food on, then sat around the fire, chatting while we ate. The chicken was delicious, as always. Perfectly cooked, tender and juicy, and not at all tough or dried out. Adam was the king of his castle with all things food, that was for sure. I thought back to those very first few months after he’d taken me in, how awestruck I’d been by his cooking.
Now look at us, running a business together in a town where pretty much everyone knew our names. We’d come so very far. My heart felt full of love for my mate—and for our young Omega who grinned as he chattered on in a way that made me ache in the best of ways, when just six months ago he barely uttered a few sentences to us and hid in his room most of the time.
“I guess I had one good birthday that I can remember,” Sky said between bites of an oatmeal raisin cookie. “It was our ninth birthday. River and I got an ice cream cake, and second-hand Gameboy Advances with a bag of random games. Our mom didn’t have a lot of money, but she saved for months to buy us the devices and some games for us to share. It was like Christmas came early that year. We were so excited.”
“I didn’t know you gamed,” I said.
Sky smiled, but the tilt of his lips was sad. “Yeah… Not in a long time.”
“Would you like to? What do you like to play?” Adam asked.
“I don’t even know anymore, honestly,” Sky admitted with a shrug. “It’s been a long time. I don’t even know what games are out there.”
Adam caught my eye. I smiled and stood up. “I’ll be right back. Need me to throw away any trash since I’m going inside?” They both handed me their empty plates, and I carried the pile into the kitchen. I dropped the garbage into the trash can before heading deeper into the house.
I knew what Adam was thinking. The two of us had a Switch we played sometimes, but lately, it’d been gathering a lot of dust. It’d just been sitting in its dock in Adam’s study for months now. I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t thought of this sooner, but better late than never, right?
Plucking it up, I tucked it under my arm and went back outside to my guys. I sat back down in my seat, and when Sky looked at me quizzically, I offered him the game system with its neon red and blue Joy-Cons lighting up beneath the firelight. “Happy birthday!”
Sky froze, his eyes widening as he stared at it for a moment. “I… I can’t take that,” he insisted.
“Sure you can,” I said. “We don’t really use it that often, and it’s got a ton of games on it. It’s getting no use right now, sitting in the office on a shelf. Might as well get some love. Here.” I pressed it into his hands. “It’s yours, Sky. Happy birthday, really.”
His blue-and-brown eyes welled up, like he might cry, try as he might to blink the tears away. “I… Thank you.”
Taking it into his lap, he turned it on and fiddled with the buttons, flipping through all the games on the main page, completely captivated by the new toy.
Just like he was nine years old again.
Adam and I shared a smile.
Then Sky set the device aside. “I’ll play with it tonight,” he said, his voice thick. “Right now, I want to spend my birthday with you guys.”
“Aww,” I said, giggling. “Well, you know, you never tried my dessert…”
Sky made a face. “Do I have to?”
“Yep!” I hopped up and grabbed a plate of green fluff for myself—cottage cheese, pistachio pudding, pecans, maraschino cherries, whipped topping, and crushed pineapple—and took it to my spot by the fire. I scooped a spoonful up and held it out to Sky. “Do I need to do the airplane sounds?” I teased.
Sky snorted out a laugh and shook his head, then leaned in to taste it. He chewed, his expression strange. He swallowed, tilted his head. “Okay. Let me have another bite. I’m on the fence.”
I laughed and got him another spoonful, making sure to get a cherry in there. Sky ate it and then sat back in his seat. “You know? It’s not what I was expecting, but it is kind of good, in a weird way?”
I beamed. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Adam chuckled. “I, for one, love your Franken-fluff.”
“Adam likes to freeze it and eat it like ice cream,” I explained.
Sky raised a brow. “Now that I could get behind.”
“It’s damn good. That’s what we always do with most of the leftovers,” he said.
