AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’m practically running as I take the steps up to Mr. C’s front door two at a time. I can’t believe I’m nearly forty-five minutes late to my first dinner with my boyfriend’s family. We haven’t actually had a discussion about us being boyfriends yet, but I don’t have another word for it. Well, I do, but I’m not quite ready to say the M word.
My only saving grace is that Lake is even later than me. Hopefully that’ll take some of the pressure off me, not that I’m overly concerned about meeting Lake’s dad and family. I could tell River liked both of us right from the start, after we stopped interrogating each other, at least. And from the little I know about Mr. Simmons, he’s the kind of guy to support his children and their decisions even if he doesn’t necessarily agree with them. I doubt he’s gonna completely reject us, even if he’s confused by the whole throuple thing. Fuck, I’m confused myself.
I hear some chatter as I pull out my key. Mr. C never took it back from me so I could always enter the house. But as soon as the door opens and I call out, it gets silent. What the fuck?
Before I get my coat off and step out of the foyer, Ev practically flies into the room. What’s going on?
I hang up my coat as I look at my oldest friend and new lover. I didn’t get a chance to change, but luckily, I was wearing civilian clothes today, so I still look relatively presentable. “Ev, what’s going on, babe?”
Without answering, Ev wraps his arms around me and kisses me. I immediately return the kiss, letting my man melt into me as I tug him tight to me. “I missed you,” he whispers.
“I missed you too.” And it’s true. We picked up another doozie of a case, shocker, but all day I was distracted thinking of Ev and Lake—my bad boy who’s a closet nerd and my buttoned-up man who I know has a wild side just waiting to break free. I can’t wait to get them alone tonight.
“Ev, is everything ok?”
He smiles and kisses me one more time, reluctant to let go. But I don’t blame him. I don’t want to let go either.
“Oh yeah. You’re gonna love Lake’s family. His dad is crazy hot for an older man. And his sister is awesome.”
“But, something is wrong.”
“No, not wrong. Mr. Simmons is concerned that we might be taking on more than we can chew with Lake, especially with his job and, I guess, the surrogacy, though he hasn’t mentioned it. Since I’m the one who’s gonna be sitting here day after day while you two do your thing, he’s particularly worried about me.”
I frown as I tip Ev’s chin up so he can look me in the eyes. “Areyou ok with it? I know you’ve always dealt with it in the past, but it’s different when it’s your boyfriend, or both of your boyfriends. Especially when we don’t even know what Lake really does, so we can’t fully prepare for the danger or what might happen.”
Ev smiles and the sincerity shines through his eyes. “I promise you I’m fine. I might struggle here and there, I’m human after all, but I'm committed to making this work.”
I kiss Ev one last time. “Good, me too. Let’s go prove that to Lake’s dad.”
Ev takes my hand, and we go into the dining room to face the fire.
* * *
Ok, Ev isn’t kidding. Mr. Simmons is fucking hot. It’s strange for me to say this, since I still haven’t found any other men attractive except Ev and Lake, but there’s something about Luke Simmons, and I’m not ashamed to say I have a little crush. Of course it’s nothing compared to how I feel about his son; it’s more like I want to be this man when I grow up.
I think Ev and I eased some of Mr. Simmons’s fears, but I’m still not entirely sure if he’s convinced about the relationship. He lets it go, though. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t disapprove, but I know Lake has never had a relationship before, so it’s only natural for his dad to be a little overprotective when he’s suddenly seeing two men and we are all claiming that it’s serious. But now, everyone is back to eating and chatting conversationally when the bell rings, and fucking finally, Lake’s here.
I don’t think any amount of words will convince Mr. Simmons we’re genuine. The best thing we can do for him is to let him see us with his son. Ev and I jump up. “We’ll get it,” I tell everyone at the table. And ok, I do grab a piece of cornbread for the trip, but hey, don’t judge me.
We open the door to Lake, and I’m surprised to see he’s on the phone.
“Really, Zoe? And the doctors are ready to move to the next step? Yes, that’s fantastic. And how about you and Avery? Are you ready right now? I know you weren’t sure between the Broadway show and my job?
“Oh, that’s great! No, I’m definitely all in. I mentioned the possibility to my boss and he’s willing to work with me. Or he was after I went above his head and threatened to file a complaint with HR as well as leak his sexist ways.”
Lake seems to realize Ev and I are standing here for the first time. He offers us a small smile and cute little wave, but I can tell he’s distracted. At least this seems like a good conversation. I glance at Ev, and I can tell he realizes what’s going on. It looks like our little bird is gonna be a daddy. Or well, carry someone else’s child. I’m still a little unsure about what this means exactly. I guess it’s time for a conversation.
“Yes, I can come in then. I’m happy to speak to the counselor. I completely understand that there’s going to be a lot of psychological components to this and I want to be the best possible surrogate I can be.”
My heart melts and I squeeze Lake’s hand in support. We’re obviously taking too long because there’s a lot of chatter in the dining room and then Essie and River pop into the living room, both with concern and curiosity showing on their expressions. River is carrying a gurgling Miri in his arms.
Lake is still working out the details with who I figure must be Zoe and doesn’t realize he now has an audience. I walk up to his siblings. “I think that’s Zoe on the phone.”
Both of their faces light up, “Wait? Does that mean what I think it means? Are they going to do it? Are Avery and Zoe going to have a baby?” River blurts out, clearly ecstatic.
“It seems like that. I guess we’ll wait and see.” While Lake finishes his conversation, Ev takes his jacket and the overnight satchel he brought with him and hangs them in the hall closet next to my coat. It’s late October now, and we finally need a jacket, not just a long-sleeve shirt or sweater. Apparently, he’s planning to stay over too. Maybe we should go to mine or Ev’s place. It’s kind of weird to crash at Mr. C’s place in Ev’s childhood bedroom, right?
Lake finally hangs up, his whole face lit up like he’s a kid on Christmas. He looks at me and Ev, and the absolute excitement on his face hits me like a freight truck in my core. Gods, what are these men doing to me?
