A Tale of Three By J.C. Vascardi
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Legal Disclaimer: This story is fictional, as are the characters featured herein, which are solely the product of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, either living or dead, is entirely coincidental. If you are under the age of eighteen, offended by male/male material, or if such material cannot be legally viewed where you live, then you should be leaving now. Otherwise, please enjoy the story.
Character Profiles: http://jayson.worldofslash.com/a-tale-of-three/profiles/index.htm Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/storiesbyjayson Writing Journal: http://jaycolin.livejournal.com
This story is ©2004-2010, 2011 by J.C. Vascardi. This story is the sole property of its author and may not be copied, in whole or in part, posted on any other website, or included in any form of book or media, without the explicit written permission of the author.
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Chapter Ten, Part One Joshua's Perspective Saturday, January 8, 2005
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To some people it might seem very strange, but when Jayden and his friends started discussing Aaron's conjoined cousins, I was more than a little intrigued by the idea. Actually, intrigued would be an understatement, as I was totally turned on by it. I suppose that is why I am a member of two groups on the internet for people similar to me who like conjoined people, specifically conjoined men. Both groups that I belong to have photo galleries full of pictures that have been modified to make the men in the picture conjoined. One of the groups even posts pictures of guys who dressed up as conjoined twins for Halloween. I know some people would probably think that I am certifiably insane to like such a thing, which is why I really don't share my fetish for conjoined twins with many people. In fact, the only one that I've actually met in person that I've told about it is my best friend, roommate, and occasional lover, Brandon Wallace.
I met Brandon on my very first day of college and we had so much in common that we were best friends practically overnight. At the beginning of our sophomore year, we both decided that we'd had enough of dorm living and neither of us really had the time or desire to join a fraternity, so we moved into a small one-bedroom apartment off campus. Since we were at that point, and still are, sharing a bed, it wasn't long before we began to have sex on a fairly regular basis. Of course, as our friendship deepened, Brandon began to think of me as the brother that he never had, and more and more I also began to think of him in the same way that I thought of Jayden, so after a while the sex became rather awkward and much less common.
Sharing a small one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment with someone makes it very hard to keep things from one another, so it wasn't long before Brandon found my collection of edited pictures. The day that he confronted me about them was quite frankly the scariest day of my life, because I was utterly terrified that he'd think I was sick and not want to be friends with me anymore. His reaction, however, was to ask me where I'd gotten the pictures because he'd looked for similar pictures on the internet before and never found any. It was then that we got even closer to one another upon the realization that we both liked conjoined men.
I was brought out of my thoughts when the cab I'd taken from O'Hare stopped in front of my apartment building. I quickly paid the driver, who helped me take my luggage out of the trunk, and then made haste for the warmth of my apartment. My modeling gig in Wilmington wrapped up the day after I helped Jayden and his friends study for their upcoming history test and, despite some protests from my mom, I packed up to head home that night. It's not that I don't like spending time in Wilmington with my family, as I've always enjoyed their company, but I missed Brandon and I knew that even though my agent had my cell phone number, I needed to get back to Chicago just in case.
Neither Brandon nor I could afford to miss any modeling opportunities that came our way, as we were saving up our money to finance our own fashion house. We didn't have much in the way of collateral, and neither of us wanted to ask our parents to put their homes up as collateral, so Brandon and I couldn't get a bank loan to move our business aspirations along faster. While we were working rather steadily as models, we weren't making a ton of money as neither of us had managed to really hit the big time, so to speak. At that point, the majority of our work was modeling underwear for department store catalogs and occasionally being asked to model swimwear and various other clothes. Of course, the slow saving up of our combined income did give us both time to sit down and perfect sketches for our future clothing lines.
Another reason for the slow going in starting our fashion house is because neither one of us knows the first thing about business. We'd both studied fashion design in college, but we were smart enough to know that, in order to run a successful business of any kind, you had to have someone running the company who knew what they were doing. Brandon and I are both fairly intelligent and we tend to learn new skills rather quickly, but still, it would be much easier to pick up the necessary skills to run a business if you actually had someone to teach you how to do it rather than learning everything by yourself. Having to learn everything by yourself also means running the risk of making so many mistakes along the way that you could quite easily end up failing so badly that the company would go belly up in less than a year, and since it was a lifelong dream on both Brandon's and my parts, we weren't willing to risk that.
Arriving upstairs at the door of my apartment, I quickly pulled out my keys and, after unlocking the door, I went inside and put my luggage in the bedroom. It was then that I noticed the smell of lasagna coming from the kitchen and I knew that Brandon must be cooking his grandmother's prize-winning lasagna. Brandon's maternal grandmother was Italian and she started teaching him how to cook almost as soon as he was old enough to walk. The result was that before she died, Brandon knew as much about cooking as she did, and while she was never professionally trained, she was considered by everyone who ever tasted any of her food to be a fabulous chef.
"Hey Bran," I said as I entered the kitchen. I am pretty much the only person that Brandon allows to call him Bran, as he usually prefers to be called either Brandon or Brad.
"Hey Josh," Brandon said with a smile. "I hope you're hungry."
"Famished," I said truthfully. "I didn't get a meal flight from Wilmington, so I haven't eaten since last night at my mom's house."
"Good, because I've made enough lasagna to feed a small army," Brandon said, "or at least two very hungry twenty-five year olds."
"So how was your holiday?" I asked as I sat down at the kitchen table with Brandon.
"It was okay," Brandon said. "Mom made a great dinner and then we went down to one of the local homeless shelters to help pass out food."
"Sounds nice," I said with a smile.
Brandon doesn't have any siblings, his father and his grandparents are dead, and both of his parents were only children, so his mother is the only family that Brandon has left. I was tempted to ask him to come to Wilmington with me and spend the Christmas holidays with me and my family and to bring his mom, but I knew that he had been feeling a little homesick as the holidays approached and wanted to go home to the house he grew up in for Christmas.
"What about you?" Brandon asked. "How was your holiday?"
"It was good," I said. "Mom and Dad cooked a great dinner and I spent some time with Jayden and our Uncle Carter. We opened gifts and sang Christmas carols; it was really very nice. They all bought gifts for you by the way; they're in my luggage."
"Oh cool," Brandon said. "I'll have to make sure to send them thank you cards."
"I did find out something over the holidays," I said. "Something of mutual interest."
"What's that?" Brandon asked as the oven timer went off and Brandon got up to take the lasagna from the oven.
"Well, Jayden slept over at a friend's house," I said, "and Mom asked me to take an overnight bag for him. I also took a bag for his friend and neighbor Brian Foster. Anyway, when I got there they were in the den doing their homework and studying for a history test they had the next day. I stayed for a little while and that's when Brian asked me if I'd heard the news."
"What news is that?"
"Well, it turns out that Brian and Jayden's best friend Aaron's mom is pregnant with their friend Nick's uncle."
"Weren't they married to one another?" Brandon asked as he began dishing out lasagna for the both of us.
"Yeah, they're divorced now," I said, "but I guess they still managed to conceive a child first. Anyway, Aaron said that it was a boy and that his mom told him she was going to e-mail his cousins, Nat and Jon, so that they could tell his aunt and uncle the good news."
"No offense, Josh, but is there a point to this?" Brandon asked. "I mean, I'm happy and all to hear about Aaron's mom and Nick's uncle having a kid, but you said you'd found out something of mutual interest?"
"Yes, well, the something of mutual interest," I said, "is actually a someone. Two some ones actually."
"Just spit it out," Brandon said with a smile as he set a plate heaping with lasagna in front of me.
"Aaron's cousins, Nat and Jon," I said. "They're twins. Conjoined twins."
"Really?" Brandon asked with a smile. "That's so cool. How old are they?"
"Twenty-one in June," I said with a grin. "Wouldn't it be great if we could meet them?"
"Oh yeah, definitely," Brandon said. "I don't suppose you know what they look like, do you?"
"Well, I feel a little bad, but I did manage to steal a picture of them from one of Aaron's mom's photo albums," I said as I stood up, took an envelope from the back pocket of my jeans, and tossed it over to Brandon. "It was labeled as being taken at their last birthday party."
Opening the envelope and taking out the picture, Brandon whistled and said, "Whoa, they're hot."
"Aren't they though?" I asked with a grin. "I'd gladly part with a kidney if it meant I could date either one of them. Even if they weren't conjoined, which is just an added bonus as far as I'm concerned, I'd still love to date one of them."
"I'd have to agree one hundred percent," Brandon said with a smile. "Um, Josh, how about we forget the lasagna for now? We can always heat it up later."
Smiling as Brandon stood, I said, "I'll race you to the bedroom." I knew the reason that Brandon wanted to forego satisfying his hunger for the moment was because he was overcome by a different sort of hunger looking at the picture of Nat and Jon. Brandon and I quickly went into the bedroom and within seconds we were lying side by side on the bed, jacking each other off as visions of Aaron's cousins and what we'd like to do with them danced through our heads.
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Chapter Ten, Part Two James' Perspective Saturday, January 8, 2005
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Leaving Drew to keep Kevin and our cousins occupied, I quietly slipped out of my apartment and over to Jordan, Matthew, and Kyle's door. The way the floor is laid out, there are actually three apartments. Two smaller two-bedroom, two-bathroom units which are occupied by Jordan, Matthew, Kyle, Drew, and myself and the larger four-bedroom, four-bathroom unit across the hall where Kevin and my cousins were going to be living. Drew's and my apartment shared a wall with Jordan, Matthew, and Kyle's, and because the doors to our apartments were in like a mini-hallway type alcove off the main hallway, it's almost like we were across the hall from each other as well.
Ringing the bell outside their door, I waited for about a minute and a half before Matthew, clad only in a pair of light gray boxer-briefs and a pair of matching gray socks, opened the door and said, "Hello, um..."
"Jay," I supplied, knowing that Matthew wasn't sure if it was my brother or me.
"Hey Jay," Matt said with a smile. "What can I do for you?"
"I was wondering if I could come in and talk to you and your other halves for a few minutes."
"Sure, come on in," Matthew said as he stood aside to allow me to enter.
Following Matthew into his living room, I saw Jordan and Kyle clad very similarly to Matthew, only Jordan was wearing black and Kyle was wearing white.
"Who was at the door, Matt?" Kyle asked without looking up.
"Jay Matthews," I said to make my presence known.
"Oh, hey, Jay," Jordan said with a smile as he looked up and saw me standing there. "Please forgive the mess. We're heading down to the laundry room this morning, so we were just working on getting everything sorted."
"No problem," I said. "I won't take up much of your time. I just wanted to talk to you guys for a few minutes."
"About what?" Kyle asked as he grabbed a white mesh bag full of towels from a nearby armchair and said, "Please have a seat."
"Thanks," I said as Jordan, Matthew, and Kyle all sat down on the only other free chair. It looked a bit uncomfortable to me as the three of them were all practically sitting on top of each other, but then again the three of them are together so they probably didn't find it the slightest bit uncomfortable.
"So what did you want to talk about?" Matthew asked.
"Well I need a favor and I'm hoping that you guys can help."
"Well, we'll certainly do whatever we can," Kyle said. "Especially after everything you and your brother are doing for Sean."
"It's our pleasure, Kyle," I said. "Drew and I really do hope that he gets his life in order. Anyway, the other apartment on this floor has now been rented."
"Oh really? By who?" Jordan asked.
"Well, my identical triplet step-cousins, Tiernan, Tristan, and Trevor Carmichael will be living there," I said. "Along with Trevor's boyfriend, Kevin Perry."
"Cool."
"Well, maybe, maybe not."
"Why do you say that?"
"Well, Jordan, I'm sure that when you guys meet them," I said, "you'll very likely form the same opinion that, please don't be offended by this, most people of limited means would form. All four of them present themselves as stuck-up, spoiled rich snobs."
"Then why on Earth are they moving into this building?"
"That's a very good question, Matt," I said. "The short answer is that they have no other choice."
"Well, I take it that they're all rich, so why don't they have a choice? I mean, there are plenty of much nicer places than this in the area to live for those with the means to do so."
"Yes, Matt, that is true," I said with a sigh, "but you see, they no longer have the means to do so, because their parents have decided to cut them all off completely. They've been given one year in which to demonstrate that they are capable of holding down jobs and going to college, and maintaining high grade point averages - 3.5 in the triplets' case and a 4.0 in Kevin's case. If they can do that, they'll each start receiving an allowance from their trust funds totaling $250 a month.
"My step-uncle, Victor Carmichael, has taken care of the security deposit, first and last month's rent on the apartment, and he called in a few favors to get the four of them enrolled at UNC for the semester starting two days from now. Tuition will be covered by their trusts and Victor is covering the book costs for his sons this semester, but Kevin's parents are making him buy books himself. They've given them each a laptop computer and $5,000 in cash in which to decorate the apartment and to cover other expenses, which at this point will likely include meal plans from the college, seeing as how none of them can cook."
"So what exactly is the favor?" Jordan asked.
"Well, Jordan, I was hoping you could call Jessica," I said. "Get her to help them decorate their apartment because there's no way they'd be able to on their own. They've grown up having unlimited funds, so they don't understand the whole concept of a budget. I was also hoping that the three of you, being employed yourselves, might be able to help them with getting jobs. Drew and I would help them, but since we live off our own trust funds while concentrating on school, we don't really know that much about the local job market."
"Well, I suppose we can try to help," Kyle said, "although if they're as bad as you said, I don't know. I've never had much patience for spoiled rich people."
"That's totally understandable, Kyle," I said. "Truth be told, I doubt Drew and I would really be able to stand them ourselves normally. Drew and I were raised to not act the way they do and to not flaunt the fact that we're rich. Kevin and my step-cousins never learned that however, because it's just not something that was taught in boarding school or instilled in them by their various nannies."
"What about their parents?"
I couldn't help but laugh before I proceeded to explain to Jordan, Matthew, and Kyle how exactly Kevin and my cousins were brought up. They all looked rather shocked as they listened to my explanations. Although, I suppose it was pretty shocking to think that a parent could treat their own children the way that Kevin and my cousins were treated growing up.
"Who raised them then?" Kyle asked. "I mean, I assume they weren't left entirely to their own devices growing up, right?"
"Well, they weren't alone, no," I said, "although they might as well have been. Both my aunt and uncle and Kevin's parents hired a string of nannies to take care of them. Nannies, I might add, that were not hired because of their qualifications but because they were cheap."
"Exactly how rich are these people, Jay?" asked Matt.
"My aunt and uncle are worth roughly a billion dollars," I answered, "and Kevin's parent's are worth about three-quarters of a billion. I know it sounds bad that they have that much money and they don't even care enough about the welfare of their kids to at least hire a qualified nanny to take care of them. Honestly, they just didn't want to spend any more money on the kids than they absolutely had to."
"They didn't want to shell out the money for qualified nannies, yet they still paid for a Scottish boarding school?" Jordan asked.
"No, actually they didn't, because my cousins' grandfather and Kevin's grandmother both set up educational trusts for them when they were born; money which was only to be used for education purposes, whether it be boarding school or college. Of course, the Scottish boarding school depleted the education funds, so now the money for their college education will be coming from the trusts set up for them by their parents at birth, which they have complete control over until Kevin and my cousins turn thirty-six."
"If they're as bad of parents as they seem to be, why even set up trust funds for their kids?" Kyle asked.
"Its standard practice for the old, rich families," I answered, "even if the child is unwanted. It's done to ensure that the family stays wealthy into future generations, although that doesn't always work. It all depends on the restrictions that are placed on the trust. It's all a bit complicated and I don't pretend to understand any of it; math was never my strong suit."
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Chapter Ten, Part Three Jordan's Perspective Saturday, January 8, 2005
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After Jay left, I headed into the kitchen to call Jessica while Matt and Kyle went back to sorting the laundry.
"Hello, this is Jessica," my sister said.
"Hey Jess, it's Dan."
"Hey Danny-boy."
Grumbling under my breath about Jessica's continued use of that infernal nickname, I said, "I just wanted to call you and remind you about Kyle's brother Jake's birthday party this afternoon. You are still planning on attending, right?"
"Of course, Danny," Jessica said. "Colton and I wouldn't miss it for the world."
"Okay, well, there's something else, too."
"What is it?"
"James Matthews just left," I said. "He needs a favor from you."
"Oh really?" Jessica said. "What is it?"
"They need your help decorating an apartment."
"Decided to move, did they?"
"No, it's not for them," I said. "It's for their step-cousins, Tiernan, Tristan, and Trevor and Trevor's boyfriend Kevin. They've been cut off by their parents and will be living in the four-bedroom, four-bathroom unit across the hall from us. Of course, they won't be able to give you the same budget that Jay and Drew gave you."
"What kind of budget are we talking about?" Jessica asked, and I knew she had gotten out a pad and a pen to start writing down the details.
"Well, as I said, their parents cut them off," I said. "They were each given $5,000 for decorating and other expenses. I'm assuming they'll probably want to save some of that for any emergency expenses that might pop up, and they'll also have to spend some of it on meal plans from UNC since none of them can cook, so I'd guess maybe $10,000 for the decorating budget."
"Hmm, I should be able to handle that," Jessica said after a minute. "I'll make sure to give James a call then."
"Well, you'll see him this afternoon," I said. "Kyle invited Drew and him to the party. They're also going to bring Kevin and their cousins, so maybe you can get an idea of what they like. Just know that they grew up rich and will probably have much more expensive tastes than what they can now afford. Oh, and Jay said to try and cut them a little slack if they act kind of stuck up, because their parents didn't give a damn about them while they were growing up. Hired a string of cheap, unqualified nannies to care for them and then sent them all off to boarding school as soon as they were old enough. He also said that, in Kevin's case, his parents made sure he knew he wasn't wanted and that they think of him as the biggest mistake of their lives."
"Hmm, well I'll certainly try to cut them some slack in that case," Jessica said. "No child deserves to grow up that way."
"Just don't act like you feel sorry for them or anything."
"I know, Danny, I know," Jessica said. "Okay, well, I have a call on the other line, so I'll let you go now and I'll see you at the party. Love ya, Danny! Bye!"
"Bye, sis," I said as I hung up the phone.
When I went back into the living room, I just shook my head in mild exasperation when I saw that Matt and Kyle had ceased to sort the laundry like they were supposed to be doing and were now instead making out like crazy on the sofa. Walking as quietly as I could, I snuck up on them and carefully hooked a finger under the waistband of Matt's underwear, pulled it back, and then let it snap back against his flesh, which quickly broke up my mutual boyfriends' little impromptu make out session. They looked up at me and had the grace to look sheepish at being caught making out when they were supposed to be working.
"Sheesh, I can't even leave you guys alone for five minutes to call my sister without you jumping each other's bones."
"You're more than welcome to join us, Jordan," Kyle said with a suggestive grin.
"What about the laundry?"
"The laundry can wait," Matt said, giving me the same suggestive grin that Kyle was giving me.
"Need I remind you two that we have to go to Jake's party this afternoon?" I asked. "What are we supposed to wear if we don't get the laundry done?
"Don't worry about that Dan," Kyle said. "The clothes for the party this afternoon are clean. I took them to the dry cleaners yesterday and they're hanging up in the guest room closet right now."
"Hmm, well, in that case," I said with a grin, "why don't we head into the bedroom? Even without any sheets on the bed, I'm sure it'll be more comfortable than the sofa."
Matt and Kyle's only response was to jump up from the sofa and practically run down the hall to our bedroom. I wasn't about to complain though because I was hot on their heels the whole way.
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Chapter Ten, Part Four Taylor's Perspective Saturday, January 8, 2005
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I was lying on my bed in my dorm room reading a book when the alarm on my watch went off. Looking at it briefly, I quickly put a bookmark in my book, grabbed my jacket, and keys, and headed for my car. My sister-in-law Alexis and my nephew Zane were arriving today and I promised to meet them at the house that my half-brother John maintained here in Wilmington. It had been a few months since I'd last seen Alexis and Zane, so I was really looking forward to their visit. Even though we were never exceedingly close growing up, mostly due to the seven-year age difference, a part of me really wished that my half-brother John would have been able to come as well. Of course, I knew how dedicated he has always been to his work, so I understood that he couldn't really get away.
Pulling up in front of the house about half-an-hour later, I turned off my car and prepared to wait for Alexis to arrive. As it would turn out, I didn't have that long to wait. About five minutes after I arrived, Alexis' car pulled into the driveway, at which point I got out and headed over her to greet her.
"Alexis!" I exclaimed with a smile as she got out of the car.
"Taylor! How good to see you," she said as she pulled me in for a hug. "It's been too long."
"Yeah, that's true," I said. "So, where is that little ball of energy I like to call my nephew?"
"Unca Tay! Unca Tay!" Zane exclaimed as his mom opened the rear car door and began to take him out of his car seat.
"Hey buddy," I said with a smile as I took my almost three-year-old nephew from Alexis and gave him a hug. "I've missed you."
"Me miss Unca Tay too," Zane said as he wrapped his small arms around my neck.
Alexis grabbed a large black tote bag from the backseat of the car before closing it and activating the alarm. She then proceeded to head up the front walk as I followed her with Zane still clutched to my neck.
"So, how have you and everyone else been lately, Taylor?" Alexis asked as she pulled her keys from her jacket pocket and unlocked the front door.
"I've been fine, myself," I said as I followed Alexis into the house. "Still single, but hoping that'll change eventually."
Once we were in the house, Alexis took Zane from me and took him into his room to put him in his crib for a while, since he was falling asleep. We then sat down in the kitchen to continue our conversation.
"So how are Matthew, Jordan, and Kyle doing?"
"They're fine," I said. "Kyle's brother Ryan is back from Italy now. I guess he lost his job over there and decided it was time to come back home. Oh, and Sean came home too, so they're all understandably stressed about that seeing as how he still has his problems."
"Will he be at the party?" Alexis asked. "I'm not sure I want him around Zane if he's drunk or high."
"He'll be there," I said, "but he won't be drunk or high. Kyle, Ryan, Jake, and Chris have had him on twenty-four hour guard since he got back. They've flushed all the drugs he brought with him and have gotten rid of everything alcoholic in the house. Last I heard they had some doctors come to the house with the necessary equipment to put him through chemical detoxification a few days ago, so he's sober now."
"I really don't know much about that," Alexis said, "but, being married to a doctor, I do pick up a few things. Such as, I know enough to know that drug and alcohol-related detoxification is usually done in the hospital, or at least a medical facility and not in private homes."
"Yes, that's certainly true," I said. "Of course, if you pay them enough, people tend to bend rules and do things in ways that they wouldn't normally be done."
"That's true, but unless something has changed since I last heard, nobody in the Bradley family is well off."
"Again, you're right," I said. "From what I'm told though, the Matthews twins paid for it. I've never met them myself, but they live in the apartment next to Matt, Dan, and Kyle. All I know about them is that they're identical twins, seniors at UNC, and that they come from a very wealthy family. I think I once heard it mentioned that their father is worth over a billion dollars."
"Well, then they would certainly have the financial resources to pull a few strings."
"Yeah. Matt says that Kyle asked them if they would help only because he figured that in the state he was in, it would have been too risky to try and take Sean out of the house to go to the hospital to have it done. Figured he'd somehow give them the slip and disappear again for Lord only knows how long. None of them wants to have to go to their twenty-three year old brother's funeral, so they're basically willing to do anything to make sure they don't have to."
"I may be an only child, but I can certainly understand why they wouldn't want to go to Sean's funeral. Anyway, as long as he's sober, then I suppose I don't mind Zane being around him during the party this afternoon."
"Well, as I said, they've got him under constant watch. I'm sure they'll make certain that there's no way that Sean can do anything that would be detrimental to himself, Zane, or anybody else."
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Chapter Ten, Part Five Kyle's Perspective Saturday, January 8, 2005
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"Ryan, is this really necessary?"
"Yes, Sean, it is," Ryan said as he locked half of a pair of handcuffs on his wrist--the other half of which was already locked around Sean's wrist.
"Why, damn it? You had a slew of doctors in here. They all said that I'm sober. You've removed all of the liquor from the house and all of the drugs that were in my backpack were flushed down the toilet. Why do I have to spend the day handcuffed to you?"
"It's really very simple, Sean," Ryan said. "You have a history of running away and I intend to make sure that you don't run away today. The house is going to be fuller than normal because of Jake's birthday party, and I refuse to give you the chance to slip away and run."
"I promise I won't," Sean said as he held up his left wrist and pointed at the cuffs. "Just please take these off!"
"Sean, you're wasting your breath," I said, deciding that I'd stood silently in the kitchen doorway long enough. "Ryan isn't going to unlock them, so I suggest you just grin and deal with it."
"Oh come on, Scotty," Sean whined, using my childhood nickname. "You're not going to let Nicky do this to me, are you? I mean, come on! I'm your big brother, Scotty."
"You're right, Dougie," I said with a grin as Sean flinched at the use of his own childhood nickname--two can play at that game. "You are my big brother and it's for that reason that I am not going to do anything to convince Nicky," I continued while Ryan gave me an odd grin as I used his childhood nickname, "to unlock you. I care about you too much, and with your history of running, I'm not going to take any chances. I don't know if you heard me a few days ago or not because you were so drugged up, but I love you Sean and I refuse to have to go to your funeral. At least, not for another sixty or so years."
"Gee, thanks for nothing."
"No problem, bro," I said with a huge smile as I hugged Sean. After a minute or so, Sean wrapped his free arm around me to return the hug.
"Who's all coming to this party anyway?" Sean asked after we stopped hugging and had all sat down at the kitchen table.
"Aunt Miranda for one," I said. "Matt's brother Taylor, their sister-in-law Alexis and her son Zane, Jordan's sister Jessica and her son with Jake, of course, and Chris' mom might put in an appearance. We aren't really sure."
Actually, that was a bold-faced lie on my part. Christian's mother had no intention of coming to the party, as I doubt she even know about it since she hadn't been invited. I'd had an interesting conversation the other day when I'd answered Sean's cell phone, that left me wondering just what his true feelings on homosexuality actually were. I discussed it with Ryan earlier and he agreed it would be a good way to get onto the subject.
"Why not?" Sean asked.
"Well, he hasn't spoken at all to his dad since he came out of the closet at 18," Ryan said. "His mom still talks to him, but their relationship is very strained. She doesn't approve of Chris being with Jake or any guy for that matter."
"Well, the idea of two guys being together that way is totally sick," Sean said.
"Sean, drop the act."
"I don't know what you're talking about Kyle."
"Sean, I talked to Daniel," I said as Sean got a stricken look on his face. "Yes, Sean, the same Daniel whose phone number is in your address book, along with five gold stars and the words, and I quote, 'one of the best pieces of ass I've ever had.' What I really don't understand Sean, is if you're really as homophobic as you claim, why on earth did Daniel call you on your cell phone to set up a meeting for sex?"
"I'd very much like to hear the answer to that myself," Ryan said. "As a general rule Sean, people who think of homosexual activity as sickening do not engage in it. Ever since Jake and Kyle came out, you have made it seem like you are a total homophobe, including during a handful of times that you were sober, so you can't blame the drugs or the alcohol and say that you didn't know what you were doing when you did it with Daniel."
Sean remained quiet for a few minutes as he looked down at his lap, before finally mumbling, "Fine, I'm gay."
"What was that? I don't think I heard you," I said.
"Oh, for heaven's sake! I'm gay, all right!" Sean said much louder this time.
"That's what I thought you said," I said after a moment. "I have to ask though, why have you been acting like a homophobe if you're gay? I mean, a few days ago you called Chris Jake's fuck toy."
"That was the drugs talking," Sean said. "As for why I've always acted like I was homophobic even while sober, it was my way of denying it. I didn't want to be gay, so I figured that if I acted like a homophobe and denied it to myself enough times, that I would somehow not be gay anymore. For a while it worked, but I realized the first time that I tried to have sex with a woman that the female physique did nothing to help me rise to the occasion and I had to think about a guy in order to do it. So after that I figured I might as well just accept that I liked guys, instead of dating women and then fantasizing about guys while I was with them."
"Hmm," I said, "well, I guess that's something else we have in common. I'm sure you'll remember that growing up, at least until you started with you know what, that we were always very close."
"Oh please," Ryan said with a grin. "Close? That's the understatement of the century. Ever since Mom and Dad moved Jake into his own room and had you two start sharing, you were almost inseparable. Started dressing like twins and did everything together. I still remember the huge fit that you had Kyle when Sean had to go off to school and you couldn't go with him."
"Okay, Ryan," I said, "we get the point. Sean and I were very close growing up and had a lot in common."
"Yes, I suppose that's true," Sean said. "Except for the fact that I've never had two lovers at once. I don't suppose you'd ever consider sharing?"
"Not for all the money in the world," I replied. "Especially since I don't know where you've been."
"What do you mean?"
"Sean, we saw the contents of your backpack," Ryan said. "We saw the bags full of cash and your phone book, completely full of men's names, most of which have varying numbers of gold or silver stars after their names and comments making it clear that you've had sex with all of them. Judging by the amount of money that you had in that backpack..."
Sean cut Ryan off and said, "You assumed I was having sex for money?"
"Yes," I said.
"Well, rest assured, I wasn't," Sean said. "The money you found was from gambling. I was out in Vegas for a while last month and had a few lucky hands of blackjack. As for all the stars and comments in my phone book, most of them were intended to make Daniel jealous. Truth of the matter is, I don't even know half the people in that book. I just wrote down a bunch of random names, made up phone numbers, and then put in the stars and comments to make Daniel jealous. He isn't the only guy I've ever slept with, but we had been dating on and off for over a year and I remained faithful during that time.
"Anyway, I started to fall for him, so I figured if I made him jealous and think that I was having sex with a ton of guys, that he would put a stop to it and commit to me. Needless to say, it didn't work. He was totally unfazed by it because, as I later found out, he basically sleeps with anything that moves. It was then that I decided to come home for a while to get away from him. Had I answered the phone I would have told him to go to Hell and leave me alone."
"Well, at least that answers that question," I said, although a part of me couldn't help but wonder if Sean was really telling us the whole truth. "Sean, you should probably know that Ryan had Dr. Canfield run some additional tests on you."
"What kind of tests?"
"Tests to determine if you had any sexually transmitted diseases," Ryan said. "I got the results back this morning and thankfully you were completely clean."
"Of course I was, Ryan," Sean said. "I may have been drugged up quite often, but I still had enough sense left to make sure I used protection. I'm not a total idiot, you know."
"Well, that's good to know," Jake said as he walked into the room with his arm around Chris' waist.
At this point, Sean stood up from the kitchen table, forcing Ryan to do the same since they were handcuffed to one another, and walked over to Jake and Chris. He just stared at them for a few minutes before pulling them both into a hug. After several minutes passed, Ryan cleared his throat to get Sean's attention, as I think he was getting a little tired of having his arm dangling in mid-air while Sean hugged Jake and Chris. Before Jake or Chris could say anything about Sean's sudden show of affection, Sean said, "Jake, Chris, I'm sorry about a few days ago. I really shouldn't have called you those names and I definitely should not have said what I did about Jessica and Colton. I'm really sorry."
Jake studied Sean for a minute before putting his hand on Sean's shoulder and squeezing it lightly. "Apology accepted, Sean."
"You'll never believe this, Jake," I said. "Seems you and I aren't the only ones who play for the pink team in this family."
"You don't mean... " Chris said, looking rather shocked.
"Yes, he does, Chris," Sean said with a rather smug look on his face.
"You mean that Ryan is gay?" Jake asked, looking just as shocked as Chris.
"No, Willy, you dolt," Sean said, once again calling one of his brothers, this time Jake, by their childhood nickname. "I'm gay."
"You?" Jake said as he turned to look at Sean, a totally skeptical look on his face. "Sean, if you're gay, then I'm a monkey's uncle."
At that moment, Jay Matthews knocked on the glass of the open sliding glass door leading to the rear deck, stuck his head in, said, "Hey guys."
Complete silence, other than the small yelp of pain from Ryan as he was dragged across the room, reigned throughout the kitchen as Sean walked over to Jay, placed his free hand behind Jay's neck, and pulled him into a passionate kiss with very obvious tongue action. Jay just stood there frozen for about a minute or so before returning the kiss that Sean had initiated. Looking over at my brother and Chris, I noticed that their mouths were hanging open and the most shocked expressions I've ever seen in my life were gracing their faces. After nearly three minutes of watching their lip-lock, Ryan cleared his throat again, causing the two to break apart, at which point Sean smiled at Jay and said, "Hi, I'm Sean, and you are?"
"James," Jay said after a moment, "but please call me Jay."
His eyes never leaving Jay's face, Sean smiled brightly at Jay and said, "You're a very good kisser."
"So are you," Jay said as he too continued to drink in every inch of Sean's face.
I couldn't help but laugh when Jake, who could clearly see the reflection of Sean's face in the glass of the door and the look of lust written all over it, finally found his voice and, after placing a hand on my shoulder to get my attention, said, "Kyle, I feel the need for a banana."
"So do I," Chris said as he walked over to the bowl of fruit on the kitchen table, grabbed two bananas, and handed one to Jake. They then just peeled them both and started eating.
Ryan, who had stayed quiet during this whole exchange, was just studying Sean and Jay, who had yet to take their eyes off of one another. After a moment, he reached into the inner pocket of the black vest he was wearing and pulled out a small silver key, which I soon learned was the key to the handcuffs. Ryan quietly unlocked the cuff on his wrist and deftly placed the cool steel around Jay's wrist before returning the key to his vest pocket. The feel of the handcuff locking around his wrist caused Jay to tear his eyes off of Sean, first looking down at the handcuff and then at Ryan, a questioning look written all over his face.
Ryan smiled and said, "I have two bruised and one broken rib. I can't take Sean dragging me around anymore, so Jay, you get the honor of being his keeper for the day. Although, judging by the way you two have been looking at each other for the last five minutes, I don't think that'll be a problem."
Jay just stood there looking at Ryan for a second and then, turning back to Sean, he asked, "Do you mind if I'm your keeper for the day?"
"Not in the slightest," Sean said with a smile.
"Good, because I don't mind either," Jay said, returning the smile. "Oh, by the way, Drew is out on the deck with Taylor, Kevin, and our cousins, and Jordan and Matt are asking for you Kyle."
"Not that I mind or anything," Sean said, "but Jay, who exactly are you? I mean, that you got invited to the party and all. Kyle didn't mention your name earlier when I asked who'd all be here."
"My twin brother Drew and I live next door to Jordan, Matt, and Kyle."
"You have a twin brother?" Sean asked.
"Yeah," Jay confirmed. "We're identical."
"Um, you are gay right?" Sean asked.
Jay nodded and grinned. "Yeah, I am."
"I don't mean sound to crude or anything," Sean said, "but you think he'd be up for a threesome? I've always wondered what that was like, what with Kyle and his boyfriends and all."
"Hmm," Jay said, "if you'd said something about twenty minutes ago, I think he might have gone for it. Although, now," Jay looked over his shoulder and into the backyard, "he seems very taken with Matt's brother, Taylor."
"Uh, Jay, I suggest you take Sean and go rescue your brother," I said.
A confused look on his face, Jay asked, "Rescue him? From what?"
"From feeling foolish if he starts flirting with Matt's brother," Ryan answered. "Taylor is straight."
Jay just shook his head. "Oh not again. My brother's gaydar is seriously broken and he's always had a tendency to try and go after guys he doesn't stand a chance with. Thankfully, mine isn't. I had the feeling Taylor wasn't gay, but I wasn't sure so I didn't drag Drew away, but now that I know, I guess I had better go save him... again."
As it would turn out, Ryan hadn't been the only one who'd had the thought of handcuffing Sean to make sure that he couldn't slip away during the party. Walking over to Jay and Sean, Jake grinned as he pulled another pair of handcuffs out of his pants pocket and locked one end around Sean's free wrist, leaving the other cuff dangling unlocked, as he said, "There. Sean, why don't you and Jay go kidnap Drew and then they can both keep an eye on you today?"
"You know, normally, I'd be pissed off about you guys thinking I need a keeper," Sean said.
"But?" I asked, knowing that there was one.
Sean grinned. "Spending the day handcuffed to a pair of hot gay twins? I'm so not going to complain."
Jay was grinning as well as he said, "You're not so bad yourself, Sean. So, shall we go kidnap my brother?"
"Lead the way," Sean said, as the two of them left through the sliding door to the patio in search of Drew.
"Are we going to have to deal with another Bradley that insists on having two boyfriends now?" Ryan asked. "Sheesh, you guys are killing us lonely single people."
Patting Ryan on the back, Jake said, "Ah don't worry, Ry. I'm sure the right girl for you is out there somewhere." Then raising an eyebrow, he asked, "It is a girl you want, right?"
"Yes, Jake," Ryan said, as he playfully hit his brother upside the head. "Unlike you three, I am firmly a breast man. There's only going to be one dick in any relationship I have and it's mine."
"Oh Nicky, you don't know what you're missing," I said with a grin. "Dicks are so much more fun."
"And just how would you know that, Kyle?" Ryan asked. "You've been with Matt and Dan since you were teenagers and you've never had a girlfriend."
Before I could say anything, Jake shook his head and said, "I have had a girlfriend though and while I love Jessica dearly and wouldn't trade my time with her for anything, especially since it gave me Colt, I have to agree with Kyle. Dicks are so much more fun."
"You know what?" Ryan said. "I take back what I said the other day. Kyle didn't lose his title to you Jake. He's just sharing it with you now."
Chris, Jake and I laughed at that, but then Chris said, "I wouldn't be so sure about that Ryan. Seems to me that Jake and Kyle are getting some and quite frequently. You, however, confessed you haven't gotten any in three years, so if anyone here is the horny Bradley, I'd think it was you."
Groaning and shaking his head, Ryan headed out to the patio in a huff, as Jake, Chris and I laughed some more, before heading outside ourselves.
-o-0-o-
To be continued.