AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Judging by Alex's face, he was apparently thinking along the same lines.
Jakob maybe should have left them to it; disappeared off to see to the long list of things that always seemed to need doing around the stables. Give the kids their privacy, and all that.
And yet…
Jakob had a nagging suspicion Alex could use the support of having a familiar — well…slightlymore familiar face somewhere about in case he got to feeling overwhelmed again. Not to mention Jakob wanted to see how Alex would react to a group of people who celebrated their differences, instead of forced conformity like Alex's father had seemed to demand of his son.
Plus, if he had left? Then Jakob would've missed the moment Alex had turned and spottedLiam.
He was the older brother of Kiya, if Jakob remembered right; home on break from some university on the east coast. Jakob had seen the kid before at the house often enough, dropping his sister off until she and Cassie had gotten their own licenses.
He smiled into his mug of coffee, wishing he could take a photo to send to Ethan at the expression on Alex's face; the way his spine had gone as stiff as a board as he furiously tried to look everywherebutat the lanky, curly-haired teen.
Jakob frowned.
Was he a teen? Couldn't be much older than that, surely.
He would have to ask Cassie tonight. It's not like Jakob was Alex's father — and oh, did that open up a whole line of questions he'd have to discuss with Ethan the next time they talked — and Alex was an adult besides, but… still. No sense borrowing trouble.
He wasn't the only guy to have shown up, either. Or… non-femme presenting, maybe? Cassie's friend group had opened up an entirely new lexicon for Jakob. One that he hadn't yet fully adapted to, if he was honest, though he was trying his best.
They were a lot less restrictive than his own had been at her age, that was for sure; all of them introducing themselves to Alex by name and pronouns before getting down to the serious business of their clothing exchange. Soon enough, Jakob had a living room full of chattering young adults; each joining in with equally loud enthusiasm as they picked up tops and inspected shoes, swapping and helping each other mix and match outfits.
Jakob smiled. It was a whole different world than the one he had grown up in. A better one, in his opinion.
"M'not wearing askirt," came Alex's voice, cutting through the general din coming from the living room.
Jakob's head flew up, his eyes scanning to find the source of the issue before it could escalate into anything like a full-on problem. Even if Alex's words had sounded more flustered than angry…
Kiya shrugged from where she had been holding the offending article of clothing out for his inspection; laying it back over the arm of the couch according to some obscure system of organization that they had decided amongst themselves.
"Suit yourself," drifted her voice over the chatter. "But with your legs? I think you'd pull it off."
"It's his call," rebutted Liam firmly. "If he's not feeling it, I'll take it home myself. Might wear it when we all go see the movie next weekend. Just pick what feels comfortable for you, Alex. That's the main bit, yeah? Hey, did you need another pair of jeans? These look about your size."
"Yeah, I… Th-thanks," Alex muttered, clearing his throat as he accepted the black pants Liam was holding out to him.
Jakob ducked quickly to hide his grin, careful not to let Alex catch him noticing the entire exchange.
Crisis duly averted, he went back to puzzling at the word game on his phone; trying his best to tune out the sheer volume of noise a gaggle of happy, chattering teens could produce.
Jakob chuckled to himself as he watched Alex trying to surreptitiously slip the skirt into his own small pile of clothing; tucking it under an oversized gray hoodie just as soon as he thought no one would see.
Then cursed, as he lostanotherturn on a damn wrong word.
Fuck kind of word went S_NT_, anyway?
Chapter 24
Jakob rapped his knuckles on the guest room's wooden door, the knocking oddly loud in the narrow hallway.
"shit — JUST A MINUTE!" He heard Alex yell from the other side of the door.
There was the sound of rustling, of cloth ripping, then Alex cursing.
Jakob hesitated, worry warring with the hard-learned lesson to give Cassie her space. A rule he was trying to apply equally to both the teenagers now living under his roof.
"You alright in there?" Jakob settled on asking in compromise.
