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“Your mom wants everyone under the banner when they come.” He glanced at Marilyn, Tabby, and Jett. “Hi, I’m Caleb.”
Marilyn introduced herself and Tabby. Jett extended his hand.
“Hey. I’m Jett.”
“Nice to meet you.” Caleb smiled and tightened his grip on my waist. “I’ve got to steal this one away.”
“And we have work to do.” Marilyn turned to Jett. “All done with the prep?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Did you survive my scary family?” I teased as Caleb pulled me away from the trio.
“Shut up.” He bumped my hip with his. “Your family is awesome.”
“Told ya.”
“You’re annoying when you’re being a cocky bastard.”
“You love it.”
He smiled affectionately. “I do.”
We crammed ourselves under the banner that our little siblings had colored. A moment later, the door swung open and Eli and West walked in.
Even though this was technically a surprise party, no one shouted or said anything. Lyla didn’t like sudden noises, and Eli sometimes reacted badly to being startled because of his history with being bullied.
“What the…” Eli’s dumbfounded eyes flicked toward West, then us. “You did this?” He turned to his boyfriend.
“I had some help.” He winked and let go of his hand.
“Did you really think we’d let you move to California and not have a goodbye party?” Mom stepped out from under the banner.
Eli rushed into her arms.
“Is he okay?” Caleb whispered.
“Yeah. He’s just processing everything.”
After a moment, Eli unclung from our mother. He stepped back and looked at me, then at Caleb, then he scurried over and threw himself into my arms.
“I don’t want to be sad right now.” He pressed his face into my shoulder.
I hugged him tighter. “I know. Just remember we love you and we’re so proud of you.”
He drew in an uneven breath. I held on until he released first.
“So.” He spun toward Caleb, a wobbly smile on his lips. “This is our elusive stepbrother.” He studied Caleb up and down. “I didn’t think he’d be so tall. You said he was a scrawny nerd.”
Caleb let out a bark of laughter. “He did?”
“Maybe.” I lightly cuffed Eli on the shoulder. “And he was, back in the day.”
Eli shrugged. “It’s nice to have another science nerd in the family. I gotta go say hi to people, but I’ll be back.” He sprinted off.
“Does he ever move at a normal speed?” Caleb asked, amused.
“Usually. His speed mode is activated when he’s excited or feeling any sort of strong emotions. He’ll slow down once the shock of the party wears off.”
