Page 71 of Dickathlon

“SO?”

“Significant other. Rene’s been stuck doing it for years…though there was that one year Travis brought a girl home, I forgot her name though. So…now it’s you, buddy. Get crackin'.”

“Okay, I’ll head down in a sec.”

Pierce lingered in the door.

“I’m naked, but if you’re interested I’m sure Ty can tell you all about it.”

“No, sorry, bro. Wasn’t waiting for that, though I’ll think about it.” He winked. “I’m just happy he found someone. He’s had a rough year and he seems really happy. See you in a bit.”

I had only just met Pierce, but I knew he was the one that stayed with Ty after the accident. If he could already see a change in Ty, then it had to be real.

I slipped out of bed, careful not to disturb my sleeping bae. After pulling on a fresh pair of briefs, I grabbed some sleep shorts and a t-shirt out of my bag and dashed across the hall to take a quick shower.

A few minutes later, the flashlight on my phone helped me find my way down the stairs in the semi-dark. I didn’t want to accidentally wake anyone up by turning their lights on. Which was great and all, but more to the point, I didn’t know where anything was. How the hell was I supposed to make pancakes?

I could see the kitchen light was already on. Wonder who’s up.

No one seemed to be there though, but there was a box of Bisquick on the kitchen island. Well, that makes that easy.

It felt like a game show, but in three cupboards, I had found the griddle and the Pam. The milk and eggs were much easier to locate. There were a few dozen eggs, so I decided to get fancy and make scrambled eggs too. While the first batch of pancakes was on the griddle, I had the idea to check for sausage or bacon. I found both and added those to the growing panoply of pans on the stovetop.

Coffee!

Not sure how I forgot that, considering I had a cup every morning.

After I had about sixteen pancakes warming in the oven, I heard the telltale signs that children were awake and running. It wasn’t long before I was joined by the others.

“Wow!”

“What’s happening here?”

“What did we do to deserve this?”

I turned to see the kids running past all three couples - Victoria and William, Rene and Kyle, and Owen and Christa.

“Did you guys plan on getting up at the same time?” I asked, teasingly. “And what does it look like? I'm the new SO, so I’m making pancakes for everyone.”

“SO?” Victoria asked.

“Uh, significant other. Pierce said I needed to make pancakes since Rene wasn’t the newest one anymore.”

“Pierce!”

I heard the giggling just before I realized I’d been had.

“Not another constructive prank, bro.” Kyle pushed him out from the hall he was hiding in.

“What? Now we all have pancakes, and if they taste good, then Declan earns some points with the family.”

“I’m sorry, hon.” Victoria gave my back a little pat. “You’ll have to get used to Pierce. Oooh, coffee too! Thank you, Declan.”

“It’s okay, really. It wasn’t that bad of a prank. I like to cook.”

Inwardly, I was rolling my eyes. Pierce was giving off fuckboy vibes.

“Where’s Tyler?” William asked.