On the Streets

Ok, I don't know the Backstreet Boys, nor is this story intended to imply anything about the sexuality or personal lives of the Boys.

I'm sorry this part has taken me so long to get out, I've been bogged down with work at the moment, but I've only got a few days before I break up for Easter holidays now, so I'll try to get them out quicker now. However, I have got exams coming up in a month or so, so I might end up doing revision for a lot of my time, so don't expect the parts to get too frequent!

On The Streets - Part 28

"So, Brit, what are you doing over Christmas?" I asked as we walked slowly out of the mall.

"Well, we're basically spending it at Justin's house, but because all the guys live around here and all, and seeing how their families are all coming down for the holidays, we're gonna be hanging around all over. We might even pop over see you on Boxing Day." She had a huge grin on her face.

"Yeah, yeah, I know you're just trying to get a meal out of us. But it would be cool to see you over the holidays, I guess we'll just see what comes up huh?" She nodded with a broad smile on her face. We were out in the parking lot. "I'll see you soon, ok Brit? Oh and thanks for the help today I don't know what I would have done..."

"Hey Jared, it's ok, it was good to see you too, we'll see you in a couple of days probably, ok? See ya!" And she was off, with her two friends who had remained surprisingly quiet, towards her jeep.

On the way back to Kevin's house, I suddenly remembered that I probably shouldn't be driving with a cast on my arm, I probably shouldn't have taken Kevin's car without telling him where I was going, and I probably shouldn't be driving without a licence. I drove back to Kevin's very carefully, to make sure I wasn't pulled over or anything. Pulling into the driveway, I saw Kevin at one of the front-facing windows, and I saw his figure move from the window as I pulled into the driveway, and just as I put the handbrake on, he was at the driver's door. I opened it and stepped out. I looked at Kevin, and he looked at me. I was expecting him to be angry with me, or something, but there was nothing. He started talking very quietly.

"Jared, please don't do that again, you scared the crap out of me." Kevin finished. I nodded at him, and then he leant forward and hugged me, apparently I had worried him a bit more than he was letting on. We walked back into the house, his arm never moving from my shoulders. Once we were back inside, I saw this big Christmas tree leaning against one wall in the living room. I smiled at Kevin when I saw that. I love Christmas trees, I guess something about bringing a tree into the house always seemed a bit surreal to me, and I liked it. "So, you want to start decorating it?" Kevin said with a grin on his lips. I nodded, and we both walked over and I tried to help him stand it up straight. Once the base seemed straight, we looked up. Oh Shit. It hit the ceiling, and the top few inches of the tree were bent. Kevin apparently hadn't made height a consideration when picking out a tree. He walked into the kitchen, and came back with what looked like a mini-saw. He leant the tree down and slowly cut through the sappy wood until the top six inches or so were off. It looked a little rounded along the top now, but it was still a nice tree. It took us quite a while to decorate it, and me working with only one arm, I had completely forgotten about how tired I was at the mall, and I was excited that it was Christmas. Well, two days from now, but still Christmas! I could feel the box in the large pocket on the front of my hooded jumper as it tapped against my stomach as I leant across to hang some lights on the tree. Finally we were finished. Kevin and I stood back and admired our handiwork. It was a nice tree, even if it was a little 'stumpy'.

Kevin and I stood looking at it for a moment, then I felt his eyes looking at me, so I turned and looked straight back at him. We got closer and closer, and finally we just kissed. I was having another one of those perfect moments: I was warm, not too hot, I was with the person I loved, I had friends, I was kissing this gorgeous man, I was home. Finally, we broke the kiss and I heard the clock in the hall chiming 7 o'clock. We decided to just sit down and watch some TV, we would have a late supper, whatever we could throw together with some of the vast quantities of groceries Kevin got today. When we turned it on, we were on one of the news channels.

"And now we're going to our live webcast from Europe to see the festivities beginning in that part of the world. And don't forget - it's already midnight there because of the time difference!" The broadcaster said in a slightly chirpy tone. What kind of idiots did he think we were? Of course it's a different time zone. The stage was filled with an image of a darkened tree, and a few thousand people standing around it, some holding torches or candles. All of a sudden, the tree flashed into light, bathing the surrounding crowds with it's radiance. My breath caught in my throat. I knew where that was. I didn't want to think about it, but I knew where it was. I worked there for a long time. It was London, that was the Norwegian fir, I'd seen it lit up so many times. I couldn't think about anything else for a while, and as the image disappeared off the screen, I shut my eyes, remembering what it was like all those times.

"Jared? Jared?" I heard Kevin speaking. I opened my eyes, and saw him looking down at me with those beautiful green eyes.

"Huh?"

"You froze off for a moment there, are you ok? Was it the pictures of London?" I looked up at him, and nodded, releasing a sigh of breath as I did. "Do you miss it?" Kevin asked, looking concerned, almost sad as he looked into my eyes.

"No Kev, it's part of my life that's over. I don't want to go back, it's nothing, it's just, I don't know, I feel out of place here Kev, I'm still not used to living like this." I smiled up at him. "I'm okay, really, I am." I smiled up at him, trying to assure him, but I don't think it worked.

Christmas Eve was spent with us putting some decorations around the house - we expected the guys, and Kevin's family to be here for Christmas, and Kevin wanted it perfect. I helped as much as I could, but I couldn't really carry anything around, unless it could be tucked under an arm, or could be held in one hand. One thing I will say is that Kevin got closer to me somehow: the feeling of Christmas in the air, somehow made him want to touch me and kiss me more, not that I was complaining, but it seemed every time we passed one another, he would grab me and kiss me passionately, or as I walked past, he would just put his hand on my ass and cop a feel. I really wasn't complaining - it was nice to know that Kevin still felt like that, and we could still act like that, I was just wondering what had brought it on. Kevin's family was due to fly in this evening, and it was raining outside. Kevin went to pick up his family at about 6:30 - their flight was due in at 7, so I kissed him goodbye and off he went. There wasn't really much else for me to do. I put Kevin's present away - I didn't want him finding it, and as he hadn't put a present for me under the tree, I guessed he wasn't keeping to that tradition.

I started thinking, if I hadn't been with Kevin, what would I be doing now? Well, freezing my ass off, but besides that...I would be doing nothing, looking for some pickup who was desperate the night before Christmas, and then later I would go to Midnight Mass. I wondered whether Kevin's family did that, but I realised it probably wasn't worth the hassle, and besides, why bother?

Kevin arrived back at almost 8 o'clock. "Jared?" He shouted out as he came in the door. I stood up and walked to the hallway. There was Ann, Jerald and Tim standing, sopping wet and Kevin was directing his mom and his brothers up the stairs to the rooms they'd be staying, and to dry off now.

"Hello Jared." Ann started. "Oh my goodness! What happened to your arm?" Kevin hadn't told her about me breaking my arm, so I quickly explained, and she gave a sympathetic look before heading upstairs. Once the others had gone up, Kevin gave me a kiss.

"It's gonna be ok." He said as he held me in a hug.

"What's gonna be ok?" I asked.

"I know you don't like Jerald, Jared, but it's ok he's going back up tomorrow night, it's not like he's here for long." Kevin answered.

"It's ok Kev, I would never not want you to be with your family, I want you to be close to your family. I really do." I told him. Kevin smiled, and kissed me again. I heard a throat clearing from the stairs, it was Tim. I walked back into the living room while Kevin and he talked about something, and Kevin joined me a few seconds later. "Jared, Jerald and Mom want to stay in, but Tim would like to go out and get a bite to eat. Would you like to go out with him, or would you like to stay here with Jerald and Mom?"

"Let's go out." I smiled up at Kevin. He nodded, and went back to Tim to tell him we'd go out with him. Soon, we were sitting down in the back of a restaurant somewhere, well, it wasn't really a restaurant, more of a diner and we were eating burgers. I know, not exactly healthy, but it was quite late on Christmas Eve. There wasn't exactly much available. We made small talk for the hour or so that was sat in there, and then headed back.

Christmas Morning. My eyes slowly drifted open, and I shaded my eyes from the bright light that poured through the window. I looked over, and Kevin was standing there, buck naked sipping on a cup of coffee while looking out the window. I licked my lips looking at the succulent sight in front of me. Kevin turned and saw me staring at his butt and grinned at me. He put his cup down on the windowsill and walked over to me. "Merry Christmas Jared." He said as he knelt by the bed and kissed me on the lips.

"Good morning Kev, Merry Christmas to you too." I said as I reached over with my good arm, and pulled him in for kiss two. We -had a bit of fun- before heading out into the world. None of Kevin's family was up yet, and do you realise how difficult it is to really get into a blowjob when you've only got one arm to work with? We headed downstairs, and I pulled Kevin's gift out of where I hid it. We sat down on the couch in the living room, where the tree was, and I saw him reach over to a side table, and pull out the drawer. Inside, there was an envelope and he pulled it out. Kevin looked at me, with a glint in his eye. He looked so cute then, like a big kid, who can't wait to open his gift, except he was looking at me, not the gift.

"I'm so happy that I've got you this Christmas, you make me so happy Jared, this Christmas is gonna be perfect, thank you for being here with me." Kevin said quietly.

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, you mean everything to me Kevin." I answered as I reached across and kissed him again. "Now, would you like your gift?" He nodded like a big kid with a grin on his face. I gave it to him, and he in turn passed me the envelope. I slipped my hand inside, and pulled out the flap which had been tucked in. As I pulled it out, two pieces of paper fell out. I picked them up, and read them. They were tickets. They had times on them and everything, the names of the ticket holders: me and Kevin, and then I saw what they were. They were tickets for a cruise: a Caribbean cruise! I was shocked, but really excited. I'd never been on a cruise before, I had hardly ever been on a boat before, this was incredible, and Kevin had got this for me? Wow, this must have cost a fortune, I couldn't believe how lucky I was to have someone like him, but what about his gift? The one I'd given him, it suddenly seemed really worthless, I'd spent so long trying to find something for him, and then had to spend ages trying to decide on how much to spend and everything, heck, if I'd bought these tickets it probably would have cleared out my bank account, a few times over! Kevin was looking over at me with a smile on his face, but then he saw the scared look on my face.

Kevin's point of view<

"Jared, what's wrong?" I was expecting a thank you, a kiss, something, but he just looks so worried.

"Kevin, I can't accept these." Jared said shakily.

"What? Why not?"

"Cos I don't deserve them." He stuttered out. Tears were building up in his eyes and he was blinking rapidly to get rid of them.

"What do you mean you don't deserve them."

"Kevin, don't you understand? I don't deserve all this, I don't deserve you, and I don't deserve this present." Jared sat there, clutching the empty envelope in his hands, the tickets sitting on the empty cushion between us. Tears fell from his chin onto the white envelope which had contained his gift. I shifted over to hug him, and while he was tense at first, he eventually relaxed into my arms, and sobs shook his body. After a few minutes, he sat up straight again, and seemed okay.

"Now, you want to tell me what brought that on?" I asked him. Jared took a moment, thinking about it.

"What I got you was so cheap, it's nothing compared to your gift, and what you got me, I could never afford a tenth of, I just feel like you give me the world and I can't give anything back." Jared stared at his lap and tears continued to fall from his chin. I took a hold of his chin, and turned it to face me.

"Jared, I don't want the world, I want your heart, and your love." I said as earnestly as I could. Jared's head jerked back with a surprised expression on his face.

"Did you look at your gift?" I shook my head. "Open it." Jared said quietly. I pulled off the wrapping paper, and inside was a velvet box, black. I opened it and inside was a gold chain, and hanging from the chain was a pendant. Looking closer I saw what it was: two hands, holding a heart. "I give you my heart." Jared muttered. I looked down at the present again, and I felt tears dripping from my face, and my breath became ragged. "What's wrong Kevin?" Jared asked in a concerned tone.

"Thank you Jared, I mean it, a lot, thank you so much." I didn't know what to say. He'd given me exactly what I'd always wanted for Christmas: his heart.

Jared's point of view<

Kevin worked in the kitchen for the next couple of hours. We had both been up by about 8, and had come downstairs wearing just pajama bottoms. He was dancing round the kitchen making various dishes, and I could see the glint of gold around his neck. He was so happy that it was infectious. He couldn't get this grin off his face, and every time he walked past me he kissed me on the cheek, the lips, the shoulder, whatever part was closest. I was so happy too, he had accepted my gift, and he wasn't upset because it was nowhere near as good as his, far from it, he saw the gift I gave to him as the best gift he could imagine, I was almost ecstatic when he explained this to me. Finally, Tim came down at about 9:30, and, after the customary 'merry christmases', we sat in the kitchen talking. Kevin never took his eyes off the food long enough to join in the conversation.

"So, what'd you get for Kev for Christmas?" Tim whispered while Kevin had his back turned.

"Do you see the chain around his neck?" Tim nodded. "That's what I got him."

"What's that hanging from it?" He asked.

"It's a Claddagh symbol: two hands holding a heart." I explained quickly before Kev turned back around.

"Hey Kevin, let me see the chain." Tim said to him when he saw us looking at him. He padded over in his bare feet and bent slightly so that Tim could see. Tim held the pendant loosely in his hands and eyed it over. "It's nice." Tim said and smiled at the two of us. I looked up at the clock and saw that it was almost 10.

"Shouldn't your Mom and Jerald be up by now Kevin?" I asked out of curiosity. Tim and Kevin both snickered.

"They're both very heavy sleepers Jared, I used to practise on my keyboard in the room right next to my Mom's at 7 in the morning, and she would not wake up. I could play from 7 till 9 and she still wouldn't get up. Jerald's just as bad. Tim used to share a bunk bed with him, and Tim used to practically stand on Jerald's head every morning as he climbed down." I laughed a bit with Tim and Kevin. I had never been a very heavy sleeper, so imagining somebody who could sleep that heavily seemed funny. I decided that I should go up and get dressed. I still had some trouble getting clothes on with this cast, but I managed now, thank god it would be off in a few days. I came back down in a pair of jeans, and a t-shirt. I had a shirt to pull over the top if we went anywhere or if I got cold. Kevin was still standing in the kitchen, leaning over a saucepan. I came up behind him, and gently wrapped my arm around his waist. I turned him to me and kissed him on the lips. We stayed like that for a couple of minutes, then, we heard a bang from upstairs, and I jerked my head away and looked up.

"What the hell was that?"

"Jerald's up." Kevin smirked at me. I gave him a concerned look. "Jerald's a noisy riser - he has to make noise when he gets out of bed for some reason - he slams doors, he bangs his feet, anything to make noise. I think it's the only way he can wake himself up." Kevin smiled again. Then we heard another set of footsteps moving around, slightly lighter. "Mom's up too." Kevin added. "I'll just head up and get dressed ok?" Kevin kissed me again, and turned to leave. Tim was standing in the doorway of the kitchen once Kevin had walked out. He smiled at me.

"You have no idea what's coming today do you Jared?" He smiled a devilish grin. He looked a lot like Kevin sometimes, same colour hair, similar build, same eyes. I shook my head at him. "Backstreet Boys Christmas, it's...an event, you'll see." He said with a grin. About half an hour later, Ann came down, we all exchanged Merry Christmases, and we all hugged and kissed and whatever, and then Jerald came down the stairs, and we went through it all again (ignore the kissing bit!) and finally Kevin came back down. The first load of food that could be put in the fridge until later was ready, and Kevin started pulling food out of the oven, and shoving it into various pots and dishes. I sat in the living room watching TV while the family talked in the kitchen. I wasn't gonna be much help to them, so Kevin had practically insisted I sit down. About 12, Brian and Leighanne appeared, as did Brian's mum and dad, and his siblings. About another half hour later, Nick turned up with his younger brother - his parents weren't coming. It was the first time I'd met Nick's brother though, who apparently sung as well. I'd never heard of his music even though Nick talked about him quite a bit when we had been on tour. AJ wasn't coming - he was spending Christmas with his family. Apparently over the past year he had had a bit of trouble 'communicating' with them, and he had been drinking a lot. I guess he just wanted to get close to them again. Howie was down in Miami with his family, so we wouldn't be seeing any of him today. There were way too many people here, I couldn't remember the names of half the people I'd been introduced to. I just sort of blundered my way through. Brian introduced me to his Mum and Dad - they seemed nice, kind of like Kevin's mum, accepting, kind, on the whole nice people. Nick's little brother...Aaron I think his name was looked so much like Nick it was funny - the only difference was Nick was a bit taller. Kevin's cousins were too numerous to account for. Kevin had decided to have a buffet style meal - there were too many people to sit at any table in the house, so he started bringing out food about 1:30 and laid it on a side dresser in the dining room. The food spilt over onto the table in the dining room, and then into the sitting room too. There was eventually food covering most of the surfaces in most of the rooms. I just shook my head when I saw the variety - Kevin had a habit of making too much food. But he was a great cook, so that made up for it. I ate pretty much by myself - I think the novelty of 'Kevin's new boyfriend' had worn off for most of the people there. Nick and Brian occasionally said a few words, but were more interested in the food, or the younger members of the family. Kevin was still dishing up food at 2, and I had finished - I was bloated, so I went and joined Kevin in the kitchen. I sat down at the table, and watched him work.

"What's the matter Jared?" Kevin turned from the stove and looked at me curiously. "I thought you'd be ok out there." I didn't want to be rude and say something like 'yeah, but your family started ignoring me once they'd met me, and it's really hard to get into a conversation about baseball when you don't know the difference between a shortstop and a baseman, and most of the people out there I do know seem to be more interested in the babies like your younger cousins who are here', so I lied.

"I want to spend some time with you ok?" I think my response came out a bit harsher than I had meant it to. "Sorry, I just don't...I don't" I couldn't lie. "I don't feel like I fit in Kevin, you're my link to them, and you're not even out there. I'm not used to being round that many people, and actually talking to them all. It's weird having so many conversations going on at once. You remember when I first joined the tour right?" He nodded. "Well, this is ten times worse. There are so many people out there, it's really difficult, and it's nothing like Britney's wedding, I had you the whole time then, or one of the guys, but now they're more interested in their families, and you're in here. I don't hold it against you guys," I tried to add emphatically, "I just...I want to be around less people for a while." I looked at my hands. Kevin came and knelt in front of my chair.

"Well, then we can do two things I guess, I could come and join you out there, or we could sit together in here, your choice." He said with a smile, god he has a gorgeous smile.

"Can we stay here for a while, my head's still spinning." I said with a small smile. He nodded and stood up. He stirred something on the stove and then came and sat down again.

"Did you see my new cousin Abbie?" Kevin asked with a broad smile on his face.

"The little baby? Yeah I saw her, she's really sweet, she's so tiny, it's hard to see how we all start out like that." I smiled back at Kevin. I yawned, I guess my stomach was full up, I always get a bit tired when I eat too much. I saw Kevin looking over at me with a concerned expression again.

"Is everything ok Jared? Did you not sleep very well last night?" Kevin asked.

"No, I slept fine, I always get a bit sleepy after I eat too much." I said with a sheepish grin on my face. Kevin reached across the table and took my hand, and wrapped it up in both of his. He brought it up to his lips and kissed it.

"Why don't you go upstairs and lie down for a while? You look a little tired." I smiled at Kevin and nodded slowly. I stood up and walked around the table to Kevin. I leant down and kissed him.

"Mer'Christmas Kevin."

"Merry Christmas Jared." Kevin replied, and I turned and walked out the kitchen. I felt like my eyelids were made of lead. I plodded up the stairs and walked into our bedroom. I literally fell onto the bed and was fast asleep.

Two Hours Later:

I felt it more than anything else. I hadn't heard him enter the room, but I felt him now, his hands on me, his lips gently touching mine, his goatee tickling my cheeks, his heat, his weight, his scent pervaded my nostrils, and my eyes flickered open. I looked into the most beautiful green eyes. Kevin's eyes twinkled back at me, even in the semi-gloom of our bedroom.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I missed you." He said with a pout on his lips.

"I missed you too. Is everyone still downstairs?" I asked him.

"Yeah, they're playing some game. I wanted to see you though." He grinned at me.

"What are you thinking?" I asked him. Kevin leant down and kissed me again. His hair fell over me and acted like a curtain around our heads. I opened my eyes slightly as he pulled away. He had a devilish grin on his face. He kissed me on the chin, then the jawline, then he moved down to my neck. He kissed my Adam's apple, then he moved a bit lower. His hands reached to my waist, and moved under my t-shirt. I whimpered slightly, I couldn't help myself. I felt so good. Kevin's hands rubbed up and down my lower back, and he forced the shirt up slightly, and then when it was up high enough, he moved down again, and started kissing and licking my chest. He moved all over, and kissed my nipples. I was getting so hot now.

"Kevin what about the people downstairs?" I know, random thought, but this is our house, shouldn't one of us be down there?

"Mmmm, don't care." He mumbled as he moved lower and 'ate' my abs. He licked around my navel, and then using his teeth lightly bit on my cock through my jeans. I moaned loudly. He reached up with his hand and covered my mouth. "Shhhh." He said with another grin. He moved down again, and, unzipping my jeans pulled them open. I felt his warm breath even through my underwear. My cock was rock hard and he was making me so horny, I needed his mouth on my cock now. He lowered my underwear, and my precum made the cloth stick to my cock. I moaned again as I felt his mouth move closer, and then his soft lips enveloped the head, and slid down. I groaned and I could see my eyes lose focus. My good arm reached down and I ran my fingers through Kevin's long hair. He was bobbing up and down by now, and I was so horny - it had been a while since we'd done anything. I groaned again, and within a few seconds released my seed into the hot recesses of Kevin's mouth. Once I'd finished, and my hips had stopped bucking, Kevin sat back on his haunches, and he licked his lips. He climbed back up on top of me, and kissed me. I could still taste the slightly salty flavour from the cum. "Thank you Jared." Kevin kissed me again and got up with a smile on his face. He pulled my jeans up and did them up, and then pulled my t-shirt back down. He reached out his hand for me, and I looked up at him, confused. Didn't he want anything back. "Come on Jared, will you please come downstairs with me now? I promise I won't leave you alone with my family again?" I shook my head with a smile, took his hand and we left the bedroom. I needed to take a piss, so I told Kevin I'd meet him downstairs. He nodded and I saw him turn the corner. After doing my business, I headed for the stairs, but stopped when I heard sounds coming from inside one of the bedrooms. I put my head closer to the door, and heard it more clearly now, it was someone crying, sobbing, really loud. I knocked on the door, and after a few seconds tried the handle. It was light enough in the room to see Nick sitting on the end of the bed. The bedside lamp was on, casting strange shadows throughout the room.

"Nick?" I called to him, he obviously hadn't heard the knock.

"Whoa! Jared, you scared the shit out of me." He said, his voice cracking with the sobs.

"Nick, what's wrong? What's the matter?" I walked over to him quickly and sat down in front of him.

"Nothing Jared, please, just leave." He said with a pained expression on his face.

"No Nick, please tell me. Whatever it is, I'd like to help, please tell me what's wrong?" I said again.

"Jared, I can't...I can't tell you what's wrong." He broke into sobs again, his face creasing up in pain, and his mouth creasing into a grimace as sobs wracked his body. I wrapped him up in my good arm, and I felt his arms reach around my chest. He held tight, very tight. "No!" He suddenly shouted, and pushed me back slightly. "This is how it started." Nick said. I gave him a look of confusion. He sat back onto the bed. "Fine Jared, I'll tell you what's wrong, but you're gonna hate me."

"Nick, I'll never hate you, I might get mad, but I would never hate you." Nick shook his head and took a deep breath.

"Jared, do you have any idea how lucky you are with Kevin?" I gave him another confused look.

"Of course I do Nicky, I thank God every day for bringing Kevin into my life."

"Well Jared," Nick continued. "I don't have a Kevin." He looked into my eyes for a moment to see if I understood, I did. "That's why I needed that guy the other night, so badly. I'm going through exactly what Kevin suffered from before he met you. I need someone Jared, I feel so cut off from everyone, and it's weird, the more lonely I feel, the less I want to be around people, which just makes me feel worse. I don't know what to do Jared, I feel so alone." Nick wailed and he broke into sobs again. He was jealous of what Kevin and I had. It was no longer just me as it had been, he wasn't jealous of the fact Kevin was with me, he was jealous of what Kevin and I have. I held him close, rubbing his back, telling him things would be alright, but how? "I need someone to hold me Jared, not like you're holding me, but really holding me, loving me. I need someone Jared, and I don't know how to find someone." It struck me as strange that someone who looked as good as Nick, who had his confidence, who had his talent and personality couldn't find someone, but then I remembered that he couldn't just come out to the world.

"But you're bi right? Why don't you just date a woman? That would be ok right?" I asked him.

"I don't want a woman Jared, I need a man." He said, mumbling. I released a sigh and stood up.

"Have you thought about talking to Kevin? He knows more people over here than I do, I'm sure he could find someone for you." I said as I pulled him up, his tears were going away now.

"I'm not sure I want to talk to Kevin about this Jared, I just can't, I don't know, it's just..."

"Look Nicky," I interrupted him. "Kevin cares a lot about you, he will help you if he can, just talk to him ok? It doesn't have to be today, but if you're unhappy, I'm sure he'll do everything in his power to help you." I knew this was true, I knew Kevin would help Nick, it's just the type of person he is. "Come on, let's clean you up and go downstairs. I took Nick tot he bathroom and ushered him inside he cleaned up and came back out. We walked back out and went downstairs.

It was getting pretty late by now, and most of Kevin's extended family had already left. Remaining were Brian and Leighanne, his parents, obviously Ann, Jerald and Tim, as they were staying here tonight anyway, and Nick and Aaron. On the way downstairs, Nick told me he would tell Kevin, but not today. He was gonna take Aaron home now, it was a bit after 8 by now. We all said goodbye to them, and Kevin and I saw them to the door. Hearing Nick's sports car rev and skid down the road, I remembered my ride in it. Perhaps I could get Kevin to swap his car for one? Hmmmm. We sat around talking for a while longer. We'd see more people tomorrow, generally friends who we had to take gifts to, that sort of thing. There was still some food left, so we basically had another meal, though much smaller as we had all bloated ourselves at lunchtime. Kevin and I spent the entire time sitting next to each other, and I felt like I fitted in again. Kevin occasionally leant over to me and kissed me. My hair had fallen out of the cornrows, and he ran his hand through my hair. I kissed him back, and we sat there feeding the things Kevin had cooked to each other. The others saw us, and I could see them all smiling at us, even Jerald. I think he was genuinely happy for us, even if he was a bit of a jerk sometimes. Finally, Brian and Leighanne left, as did his parents and siblings. We were left alone with Kevin's mum and brothers, and we talked until about 11. Ann went up first, and Kevin brought out some beer for all of 'the men' who remained. The jokes started coming.

"Hey Kevin." Jerald started. "Tell me, if we want to have a guys' night out, who do we take, you or Jerald?" I know, a little tasteless, but funny all the same.

"Yeah Kev, that's got the biggest ball and chain I've ever seen!" Tim said pointing at me. Kevin and I were chuckling along with them, and we occasionally cast looks at one another and just shook our heads at his brothers' antics. About half midnight, the two elder brothers fell asleep where they were sitting. Kevin got blankets, and he covered Jerald while I covered Tim. We headed upstairs, and got ready for bed. We climbed in and got close enough to feel each other.

"Night Kevin, Merry Christmas." I mumbled, already falling asleep.

"Goodnight Jared, Merry Christmas."

End of Part 28 To Be Continued...