Chapter Thirty-Three – Everybody Gets The Feels Sometimes
"April!" His dad stood there, baffled for a moment, as the music continued playing. "What are you doing home?"
"Really, dad?" April shouted, not knowing, at the moment, how to react.
Mr. Huntsman hurried to turn off the music. That seemed to have the effect of a cold shower on Sid, who began moving right away, removing his apron and hurrying out the door, most probably to put a t-shirt on.
April followed him, and Mr. Huntsman was right behind him, as they all made a beeline for walking out of the kitchen. Although it was funny how each of them jumped over the dropped cake, April didn't feel like laughing.
He was right. His dad grabbed a t-shirt and pulled it over his head fast. April was in so much shock that he didn't know what to say. He turned to see what Jett's dad was doing, but apparently, Mr. Huntsman had disappeared.
Sid ran one hand through his hair, then rubbed his forehead. He looked at April with guilt written all over his face. "Would you sit down?"
April sat on one of the armchairs in the room automatically.
Sid sat on the sofa and linked his fingers together. Then, for a couple of seconds, he stared at his hands, probably searching for the right words.
"What the hell, dad?" April murmured.
"Language, young man," Sid said right away, but he didn't look up.
"Language? You, Mr. Huntsman, I mean, Jett's dad, I mean --" April sputtered.
The other dad in the house walked in and stood by Sid's side, on the sofa, with the same guilty expression on his face, and, thankfully, fully dressed.
April felt like a schoolmaster who needed to straighten up two rambunctious kids. "Does that mean that now Jett and I are brothers?" he said the first thing that came to his mind.
"Are you sure he's the bright one?" Mr. Huntsman reacted, turning toward April's dad.
Sid sighed and chuckled. "He's just joking. I suppose it's a coping mechanism since he, well, walked in on us like this."
Mr. Huntsman just grunted instead of a reply.
Sid finally looked up. "April, ah, damn, how do I start?"
April sank into the armchair, feeling too weak in all his bones to sit straight. "I'm not mad or anything, dad. Just frigging surprised is all."
Sid laughed. "All right. I suppose I'm glad that you're not mad. And this," he gestured between himself and Mr. Huntsman, "doesn't make Jett and you brothers. Just so that you don't worry."
"Thanks," April murmured.
He could look at his dad, but it wasn't the same if he tried to look at Jett's dad. It was as if he did that, he would turn to stone or something like that.
"Hmm," Sid started again, "you see, son, we didn't mean any of this to happen. It just did."
April wasn't sure he wanted to find out what his dad meant by 'it'. No, he wouldn't allow his mind to go there. It was just not something he could do. "Okay," he said in a faint voice.
"It's true," Mr. Huntsman said.
April's head snapped into his direction. "How can you be against Jett and me when you --" He choked on his own words. No, he couldn't let his mind go there.
"He's not," Sid intervened. "I've been working Tom up to gather the courage to talk to Jett for the last few days."
"The last few days? But Jett's dad has been away from home for two weeks! What did you two do all this time ..." April lost his voice and ended up coughing loudly.
The two men across from him shifted in their places, most probably not wanting to go there with the conversation, either.
April buried his face into his hands. "I can't believe it," he moaned. "Dad, did you even ever --"
"Son, don't question your father like this," Mr. Huntsman intervened, his voice as harsh as ever.
April bristled. "Don't call me 'son'. You're not my dad. Oh, wait, but if you marry my dad, oh, no --"
"April, April," his dad called for him gently, "just let us explain, okay? Tom, let me handle this."
"All right," Mr. Huntsman replied, but April could tell from his voice that he wasn't happy with the role of a simple witness.
"I've been alone for many years," Sid started. "Not alone-alone, since I had you and Melinda, but I haven't had a partner in so long."
"I've never thought of that," April admitted, now starting to feel guilty. "I had no idea you were lonely."
"I wasn't lonely, even if I was alone," his dad explained. "But you left for college, and I guess that sentiment eventually began to get to me."
"I'm sorry, dad."
Of course, the nagging question was why his dad had decided to end his loneliness by hooking up with Jett's dad. Wait, was that what they were doing? Hooking up? April couldn't believe he had even thought those words.
"Are you serious about my dad?" April found himself talking and addressing Mr. Huntsman this time.
"This kid has some nerve," Mr. Huntsman said under his breath.
"He has a right to know." Sid justified April's question right away. "No, it's not something --"
"Yeah, it's serious," Mr. Huntsman interrupted April's dad.
"It is?" Both Sid and April addressed the question at the same time.
Mr. Huntsman didn't seem that comfortable, shifting his weight on the sofa, and trying hard to appear casual as he spoke. "Yeah, it is."
April eyed his dad carefully. Sid appeared a bit surprised. Well, at least, he was no longer the only one. "All right, all right, this is a bit too much for me. Mr. Huntsman, why haven't you called to talk to Jett all this time?"
"Call me Tom." That sounded like an order, not an invitation, but April didn't want to dwell too much on such things at the moment. "Your dad's been bugging me for days to do that. I was going to."
"Jett is ..." April had no idea how to say it to be as accurate as possible. "He's upset, big time."
Tom snorted. "For what? Not having his way?"
"Losing you, I guess," April replied in all honesty.
Sid put one hand on Tom's arm. "I told you as much. It wasn't possible for Jett not to feel a thing for you, his father."
"You did tell me," Tom admitted, but not without setting his jaw hard.
Yeah, it was right in front of his eyes. Tom was just like Jett. Well, the other way around, but nonetheless, that was the simple truth. "Jett would talk to you if you made the first step," April said. "And now, since you don't have anything against us ... I mean, do you still have something against us?"
"No," Tom said sharply. "And I just wanted Jett to have a simple and happy life, nothing else."
April shook his head. It was clear as day that he didn't understand everything. "But he was happy with me," he said in a meek voice as he looked down.
Sid intervened again. "Things are more complicated than they look, pumpkin. Grownups have their hung-ups, too. It's not easy --"
"I didn't want Jett to feel as caught as me between two worlds," Tom said.
April couldn't recall ever hearing Jett's dad saying such a lengthy phrase without yelling or berating someone. The meaning of that statement caught up with him, and he felt a rush of something – he wouldn't call it sympathy just yet – toward Jett's dad. But was he right to believe that was what Tom was saying? He didn't exactly have the guts to ask for more details.
"Was the same thing happening to you, dad? Being caught between two worlds?" April asked carefully, just to make sure he didn't commit some blunder by asking such a question.
"No," his dad said simply. "It was, um," he ran one hand through his salt and pepper hair again, "rather a surprise. Let's just leave it at that," he added quickly. "I believe there's a bit of a mess in the kitchen that needs tending to. Also, I should finish preparing dinner."
"Sorry about dropping the cake," April said softly. "It was supposed to be a surprise."
Sid sighed, but when he shook his head, he was smiling. "I suppose it was a surprise, no matter how you look at it. But don't worry about the cake. I'll whip out some dessert, too."
"No need to," April said quickly. "I shouldn't stay."
"Nonsense. You're home now, and you'll stay here. Did you want to visit over the weekend?"
"Yeah, something like that. Jett took off somewhere with Zane --"
"Did he leave his child alone?" Tom intervened with a question of his own.
"Jay is with Carina," April pointed out.
"You both left a woman and her child all by themselves?"
April did feel a little guilty now.
Sid was the one to come to the rescue. "I believe Carina is old enough to be on her own for a couple of days, Tom. Stop being so overprotective."
"I shouldn't have left," Tom said under his breath.
"They're all good kids," Sid said calmly. "April, Jett, Carina, and even little Jay."
"They need someone to watch over them," Tom replied.
April stood there, not quite believing his ears. So Jett's dad was a tyrant because he was overprotective? But it was clear that he hadn't been around much. There were so many things April couldn't get entirely.
"And? Where did Jett go with his friend?" Tom asked April directly.
"I'm not sure. He was so upset that he just wanted, I don't know, some time alone."
Sid snorted. "Like someone else we know. All right, guys. I have a dinner to prepare. April, I don't even want to hear about your going back. You're spending the weekend with us."
"But won't I be in your way?" April asked.
"You could never be." Sid ruffled his hair. "It's so seldom that I have you home, with me, lately. Let me spoil you a little."
"But you're not alone, dad," April pointed out, and this time, he remembered to blush.
"It's all fine by me," Tom said, understanding the source of April's discomfort. "And it's a good occasion to get to know you better, April."
Was he dreaming? Did he need to pinch himself? Mr. Huntsman, no, Tom, actually behaved like a human being.
"Should I call Jett and tell him --" April lost his words. That wasn't exactly the kind of news to deliver over the phone.
"It's better if I talked to him in person," Tom said right away. "And let him have his time out with Zane."
"Do you know Zane, Mr. Huntsman?"
"Tom. Yes, I do. I know more about my son's life than he might think."
April was completely confused now. He searched with his eyes for his dad, but Sid had already disappeared into the kitchen.
Great. Now, he was alone with Mr. Huntsman. Tom.
"So, what did you say you study?" The question came gruffly, the same as before, but April knew better than to be fooled again.
"Computers," he replied in a faint voice.
Tom smiled at him, and April felt his heart melting. Jett had the same smile. Maybe everyone around was a little bit misunderstood, after all.
***
"Man, I want so much to be pissed at you," Zane complained as they walked up the hill.
"Feel free to be as pissed as you want. I'm counting on it," Jett said through his teeth.
"Yeah, right. First, I want to know why."
"Why? Don't you know it, why you should be pissed at me? How's that boyfriend of yours?"
"Hmm," Zane replied with a noncommittal grunt instead of words.
"What? Did you fuck or not?"
"We did," Zane said but didn't volunteer any more information.
"Whatever. I don't really care where you stick it, Zane."
"That's my BFF." Zane chuckled under his breath. "The problem is what you got stuck in your ass. Don't tell me April's bigger than you."
"It's none of your fucking business how long my boyfriend's shlong is."
"Hey, it's just basic curiosity. For the record, on skinny dudes like April, it may be an illusion. A nice illusion, but still."
"Stop talking about April, already."
"Why, did he kick you out of the house for being a dick? I don't see him doing that."
"It's got nothing to do with April."
"Ah, right. It's your dad, then."
Jett remained glued in place while Zane continued to walk past him. Everybody knew him better than himself these days. It was frigging annoying.
"Are you coming already? This was your idea, by the way." Zane turned but didn't stop walking.
"Coming," Jett replied and started moving.
Usually, people went to the woods to bird watch, camp, or hunt. They weren't going to do any of that. Instead, Jett was ready to blow some real steam, and train like a madman until his muscles were so sore and his mind so blank that he wanted to die a little. It had worked in the past, and it would work again.
***
"I don't remember seeing anyone setting up a tent so fast," Zane commented, as soon as they were ready to start.
"Shut up and get ready." Jett punched his gloved hands together, just to give his friend a bit of warning.
Zane jumped half a foot aside as Jett lunged. "Oh, man, this is bad."
"I told you to shut up."
"Why would I do that?" Zane danced around him, light on his feet, teasing him with small jabs. "It's your fight, not mine."
Zane had a point. But Jett wasn't at all in the mood to agree with anything. Again and again, he chased Zane, trying to hit him, but his punches met nothing but air. Not many people could guess Zane's real strength by just looking at him. He looked like Jett, someone who could throw and take a punch, but Zane was also a little vain.
He couldn't stand anyone trying to mess with his face. That's why he had first learned evasion tactics, meant to keep him away from getting hit, as he had explained to Jett the first time they had met. Zane didn't always succeed in saving his pretty face, but, for what was worth, he did fine overall. If he had swung at least both ways, he would have been a lady killer.
Jett stopped and circled his opponent, trying to focus and find an opening. If he were to spend the entire day chasing Zane, he would still land a punch. There was no way he wouldn't do that.
***
"So, do you feel like you got enough or what?" Zane wiped his forehead with his t-shirt and fell next to Jett on the log they used as a bench.
Jett just grunted as he stared into the fire.
"Man, I've never thought that I would say this, but do you need to talk?"
Jett snorted. "I'm doing this because I don't want to talk. Everybody around me wants to talk."
"That's not what I asked."
"Huh? What did you ask?"
"I asked you if you needed to talk, not if you wanted to talk. There's a difference."
"Since when did you turn into a fucking shrink?"
Zane opened the bottle, took a sip, and then handed it to Jett. "Since I'm starting to have feels."
Oh, no. Not Zane, too.
"What? You don't get the feels. Nothing ever gives you the feels."
"Yeah, usually."
"So?"
"So what?"
"Aren't you going to say anything?"
"Say what?"
"Zane, I'm warning you. I'm already pissed. Don't push your luck."
"You're not talking either," Zane pointed out. "What? What's the matter? Your dad did what? You know what, Jett? You're weak, man. You're my best friend, but you're so weak. What, can't you take your dad or something? You're letting him walk all over you? Big news, my dude. He'll never like you. He'll never tell you anything like he loves you and stupid shit like that."
No matter what Zane's game was, Jett had enough of it. "Zip it, Zane. I'm going to kick your ass so bad if you don't stop," he warned.
"Are you getting pissed? Like, for real? By the way, all you did today, prancing around me like that, that was weak, too. Oh, you're getting mad, aren't you? Whatcha gonna do, huh? Beat me? Catch me if you can."
Jett jumped to his feet at the same time as Zane. "Dude, you're pissing me off."
"Ha, and what's new?"
Zane was getting on his nerves, and he knew it. Jett felt broken in parts of his body that he never knew that they existed, but he still had some rage left in him. With a growl, he rammed into Zane's chest, taking him down.
Zane pushed against him, and now they were both rolling down a hill, small bushes and old twigs beating their faces and scratching them everywhere there was a bit of exposed skin.
At the foot of the small hill, they were both breathing hard. Jett pushed himself up. "Come on, tough guy. Let's try again."
Zane stood up with a growl.
Jett rambled on. "Don't hate me if I mess up your pretty face this time. What? Won't your boyfriend like you no more? Don't worry; he doesn't need to stare at your face when he fucks you doggy style."
The force of the punch made him see stars. He lost his balance and took a few steps backward. But soon, he rebounded, and this time, he came after Zane with a vengeance. They locked themselves in an awkward embrace and ended up again on the ground.
It was weird how Zane seemed to have more energy left in him. He gained the upper hand again, and this time, he pressed Jett down with a knee against his chest. "Do you give up already, asshole?"
Jett growled and tried to move, but Zane was keeping him down and was also holding both his wrists into a tight grip. He freed his hands, but just when he tried to hit Zane, another punch took him by surprise, making his head snap to one side.
"Oh, fuck," he moaned.
Zane released him right away and stood up.
All right, so he had thought he had some anger issues, but Zane didn't seem to be his usual cheerful self either. Jett groaned as he moved to one side. Zane hurried and offered his hand. Jett took it and then winced as he worked his jaw. "That was one mean fucking punch."
"You deserved it, asshole," Zane said in a low voice.
"I guess so," Jett said with mirth. "This is going to bruise."
"Well, I guess April won't mind while you're on all fours, taking it up the ass."
"I guess not." Jett laughed. "I need to make it up to him anyway, so I guess I should prepare my ass."
Zane remained silent for a couple of beats. "Is April fucking you?" He offered his shoulder, and Jett leaned against him, as they began climbing up the hill, back to their fire.
"Yeah. Wait, does it surprise you or something?"
"Yeah. Aren't you all macho and stuff?"
"What's that got to do with anything? Wait. Did you get this mad because I said that Dan would have to fuck you from behind?"
Zane remained silent.
Jett started laughing. "Are you fucking kidding me, man? I thought you were versatile! Didn't you say so? I mean, that dude, oh, fuck, I can't remember his name now, wasn't he fucking you? And that other one? Wait, ah, it's because you hit me like a fucking truck that I can't remember."
"Yeah, I'm versatile," Zane replied, and Jett could tell from his voice that the guy was really pissed still. "But only with guys who have, you know, small feminine dicks."
"Feminine dicks?" Jett began laughing, but then he reconsidered as his entire body ached. Between trying to hit Zane for the entire day, rolling down a hill, and getting punched in the face twice, something had to give. "Are you even a gay dude? What's that, a feminine dick?"
"The kind your boyfriend has," Zane shot back, obviously rattled by Jett's teasing.
"April doesn't have a feminine dick," Jett said. "Far from it. Actually, he's pretty big."
"Really? How many inches?"
"Shut up, man. I'm not disclosing that kind of info to you. Well, April's dick is not small or feminine, whatever the fuck that means. I feel it when he puts it inside my ass."
"I never thought I'd hear you say that you got fucked," Zane said, and he sounded surprised. "And how does that feel?"
"How does that feel? Why the fuck are we having this conversation? Well, if you need to know so badly, it feels fucking awesome. I can't sit the next day, but seeing how much dick April gets from me, I can't really complain, or I'd be a total douchebag."
Zane fell silent again. At last, they had reached their fire, but the bottle of booze was on one side, its content spilled almost entirely. Nonetheless, Jett grabbed it and drank from it until the last drop.
"You could've left something," Zane protested.
Jett shrugged. "I'm the one who got beaten. Don't complain, asshole. Wait, is your asshole getting shy about that dude's cock?"
"His name is Dan. I hope you didn't forget his name, too, like you did with the names of all the other guys I've been with."
"Shut up, dude. You don't recall their names, either."
"That's true," Zane admitted.
Jett touched his face gingerly. "So, man, are you scared or something?"
"I'm not scared," Zane protested right away. "Who says anything about that? It's just my pride as a man. How can I let a guy with a bigger tool than mine fuck me?"
"Bigger than yours? Like how many fucking inches?"
"I'm not telling!"
"All right. But, man, is that what you're upset about? You're really something."
Zane sighed. "You know me, bro. I fuck 'em and forget 'em. But this guy, he's like, I don't know, I like him."
"So? Did he try to sneak on you and fuck your ass?"
"Nah, nothing like that."
"Did he ask you to put your ass up then?"
"Not even."
"Then what's the fucking problem?"
Zane took the empty bottle from Jett's hand and stared at it mournfully. "Did you really have to drink everything?"
Jett took the bottle back and threw it away. "You asked me that already. Yeah, I did. Now let's get to it. What's eating you?"
Zane looked away like he was suddenly taken with the surroundings. Aside from the fire and the faint light of the moon, the rest was pretty much pitch black. "I'm not sure I can keep this guy. I want to, but it's not like I can say it."
Jett felt surprisingly good after the two punches he got from Zane. And listening to someone else complaining was also a new feeling, and that wasn't bad at all. "Sure you can," he said matter-of-factly.
"Sure I can't," Zane shot back. "What would that make me? Begging for a dude to be my boyfriend or something?"
"Hey, we already joke around how buzzcut boy is your boyfriend. Joke until it's real. It shouldn't be so hard."
Zane tsked in annoyance. "He runs his mouth about how good it must feel to fuck a tight twink's ass."
"Really? That's what you two talk about when you fuck?"
"Not when we fuck. After. You know Dan's not my usual type."
"Yeah, you usually go for tight twink asses. Not that you're too selective if I remember."
At this, Zane snorted. "I like getting laid," he said with a deep sigh. "I like getting laid when I'm with this guy. More than usual."
Jett grunted as he adjusted his position. "Just go the fuck ahead and tell him you wouldn't mind if he put his dick in you. Who knows? Maybe you'll both like it."
"Yeah, sure. You haven't seen this dude's tool. Dan is frigging monstrous."
"Now you're making me curious. What kind of gun is Dan packing?"
"I'm not saying anything more. You think all this is some kind of joke."
"Far from me. I just think you're chicken for no reason. C'mon, Zane, how do you prep those cute twink asses for your gun? Do the same for your ass. If all those guys took it from you without complaining --"
"They didn't complain; they fucking loved it."
"See? You'll love it, too."
"But I'm the top dog," Zane complained.
"So? What's that got to do with anything?"
"You're frigging annoying, just for the record."
"Come on, man, don't be such a coward. Maybe Dan will love your ass, and he won't dream of twink asses anymore."
"Yeah, right. Who doesn't dream of twink asses?"
"Apparently, you." Jett patted Zane's shoulder. "Dude, are we getting old or something? Since when do we talk about this stuff?"
Zane snickered. "Yeah, that must be it. Once you're over that twenty mark, your brain goes to shits. Hey, man, what's with your old man?"
Jett wasn't expecting the question. It felt good to talk about another dude's problems for a change. "What can I say? He's a fucking tyrant, that's what he is. He just keeps on telling me I should let April go and marry Carina, and stuff."
Zane became serious. "He can't do that," he said solemnly. "Did you make it clear to him that you're not going to let April go?"
"Yeah. And I told him some other stuff. And he left." Jett picked a small branch from the ground and began to trace lines through the dirt.
"Just like that?"
"Not exactly." Jett grimaced. Since they were talking about feels anyway, maybe it wasn't the wrong time to get some things off his chest, either. "I told him to leave. I told him it was my house and if he didn't like what I was doing, he had to leave. So he did."
A few moments of silence followed. "I hate to ask this," Zane started, "but how do you feel about it?"
Jett laughed humorlessly and shook his head. "Like crap, that's how I feel."
Zane sighed. "Maybe you should tell him you're sorry."
"So that he can laugh in my face? No way. And then he'll just get back to telling me how I should live my life. No frigging way."
"No, man. What I'm saying is that you need to be a man about it. You say, 'sorry, dad, I want you home with me, but stop being a fucking asshole about me and April', and that's all."
"He'll only start again from the top."
"Don't let him. Be firm or something. He'll give up."
"He thinks I'm making a mistake. That I should be with Carina and raise Jay together."
"What does Carina say about it?"
"She also told my dad she wouldn't marry me."
"Your dad thinks that both of you should sacrifice yourselves for the baby's sake."
It was Jett's turn to fall silent. "You really think that?"
"Let's say that's my educated guess, as a shrink in training."
"Zane, my dude, you need a license for that, and school, and stuff."
"I will just practice on my friends."
"Good idea." Jett chuckled. "So you're saying that he's doing it out of care for Jay?"
"Something like that."
"But he never held Jay once. Not once. What kind of a granddad is he?"
"A shitty one, I guess, but he still cares. You should just talk to your old man. And if he doesn't agree with your choices, that's fine. We're grownups, too, now, you know? We should be able to live without our parents agreeing to what we do."
"It's easy for you to say. Yours are fine with your choices."
"And you think they've always been? Did I ever tell you how I came out to my folks?"
"No."
"I was in tenth grade, and some guy from the soccer team was giving me head on the sofa in the living room while we were watching some stupid match on TV. My folks walked in on us. It was a huge scandal." Zane said that with satisfaction.
"Why the fuck you're grinning? That must have been crazy."
"Yeah," Zane admitted. "My mom cried. My dad yelled at me for hours."
"Really? And I thought you had the coolest folks in the universe."
"Well, it was a shock for them. Also, I had burnt the carpet with cigarettes. All by mistake, but my mom loved that carpet. They bought it on their honeymoon or something like that."
"Wait, did your mom cry for that carpet, not you being gay?"
"Maybe both. The thing is they vented and then they both sat down with me and asked me about me. I told them the truth. My mom cried a little more. My dad just remained silent for a while. But eventually, they told me that I should be careful who I bring home and to stop with the filthy habit of smoking cigarettes."
"You didn't stop smoking."
"Yeah. But I haven't burnt a carpet since, and I never brought home another dude for suck and fuck."
"So is that all? They don't see you doing it, so they don't care?"
"Not really. My mom now worries that I'm too much of a flirt. Her words, not mine. She keeps asking when I'm going to bring home a date."
"A date?" Jett laughed and then grabbed his jaw again in sudden pain. "And your dad?"
"He just keeps on giving me lectures about how boys should be treated with the same consideration as girls. It's his way of telling me not to be a jerk."
"And you did nothing of what they asked you."
"That's true. But they're okay with me, and I know they care. I suspect my mom has secret fantasies about organizing a gay wedding. I saw some magazines on her nightstand."
"You're only twenty." Jett shook his head. "Boy, do they want to marry you off young."
"They married when they were nineteen. I guess that's how they see me, you know, being happy and stuff."
"So, whatcha gonna do? Will you bring home a date to mom and dad?"
"I might."
"Dude, I was kidding. Wait, are you going to introduce Dan to them?"
"I might," Zane repeated the words.
"Dude, you really are getting old."
"Shut up. You have a baby and a boyfriend. Don't tell me you'll ever let go of April. And having a kid? Raising him? I guess that's grownup stuff."
"Yeah, I guess. But I think I'll let April finish school before I propose and stuff."
"What?" Zane expressed his surprise. "Are you really thinking of tying the knot? For real? Since when did you get gayer than me?"
"I don't know, man. Maybe I'm a grownup, and you're the kid," Jett teased.
"Shut up, asshole. You can't even talk to your dad like you're ten. Give me a call when he sends you to your room."
"Zane, do you still have anything left in you to fight? Because you can sit there, talking smack, all night long, and I won't move to kick your ass."
"Huh? I just did that. So stop asking for it."
"You're asking for it."
They both started laughing at the same time.
"Dude, how could you pack just a bottle of that good shit?" Jett complained as he felt his bruised body.
"Who says I did that?"
"Are you fucking kidding me? Just bring it on already."
Zane jumped to his feet, but he limped a little as he dragged his ass over to the tent. Jett had to admit. Carina was right, in a way. Talking to Zane was better than seeing a shrink. Not that he knew squat about that since all the info he had was from stupid TV shows.
TBC
So... April got some explanations from the two dads, and luckily for him, no one cared about getting too much into details, lol! And Jett got a bit of therapy - a special kind - with Zane.
Now there are only a few chapters left, so get ready! Jett and April already are... I won't spoil things, but this is a good moment to tell you that I thought the big reveal to be something with a meaningful emotional impact. I truly hope that my story - what's left of it - will live up to that.
For those of you interested in Zane's and Dan's story, I created one for my patrons. It's an 8-chapters long side story, it's called Zany About You, and you can read its beginning on my Tumblr blog (it all starts with Zane being all over Dan at the party Jett throws without letting April know about):
https://laurasfox-originals.tumblr.com/post/618661527983128576/zany-about-you-be-the-father-of-this-child-side
Thank you so much for reading and voting for my story with your power stones! You guys rock (and the biggest rock stars of you are those who leave comments)!
All the best,
Laura S. Fox
Chapter Thirty-Four - I Know How You Got That Tattoo
April stole glances in his dad's direction as he was over-consciously chewing his breakfast. His dad looked good. No, he looked fantastic. It was like he was ten years younger or something like that. April couldn't believe his eyes; was his dad in love or something? He couldn't ask such a question. It would have seemed childish coming from him, and what kids ever asked their parents that kind of thing?
For the moment, he needed to settle for what was happening in front of his eyes. First of all, after the initial shock and talking about the situation, now there was a lot of politeness. Tom asked very politely for the salt, and Sid passed it to him just as politely.
"You don't have to be like this for my sake," April thought out loud.
His dad quirked an eyebrow. "Like this, how?"
"You know." April shrugged. "Like you haven't, err, um, like you didn't, ah, like you don't know each other!"
"You don't have to shout each phrase," Sid said.
"Sorry." April hadn't realized his voice was getting louder for no reason. "I never thought I would sit at the same table as my dad's boyfriend."
"Boyfriend." Sid looked amused at his plate, then at Tom.
"I have no idea what's the right word," April murmured and pretended to be absorbed by the food in front of him. As usual, everything his dad cooked tasted heavenly. His mind just wasn't at breakfast. "Lover?"
"That sounds sort of old-fashioned," Sid replied.
"We're partners, son. How's that?" Tom used the same gruff tone, but April was getting more and more used to it.
"Partners, okay." He no longer minded being called 'son', either. In a way, he was Tom's son. Twice, actually, if he thought about it. Once, because Tom was his dad's partner. And twice, because he and Jett were together. Yeah, being called 'son' by that temperamental man sounded right.
"I am going to tell Jett everything myself. So I'd appreciate it if you didn't call him," Tom added.
"No chance of that. I think he went to an area where's poor signal. Plus, it seemed like he didn't want to be disturbed."
Tom smiled. "You understand my son pretty well."
"They've been living like boyfriends for several weeks now. Although April still didn't find the courage to tell Jett a pretty big secret."
"Dad!" April protested right away.
Tom quirked an eyebrow and looked at him. April felt the need to duck under the table.
"Do you use grenades and stuff?" he asked all of a sudden, after a couple of moments of silence.
"Grenades?" Tom looked at Sid, most probably wondering how April's mind worked.
"Way to deflect, April," his dad scolded him. "April and Jett have known each other for many years."
"Really?" Tom asked, his eyes turning to stare April down.
"It was that summer."
Tom grunted in reply, and his eyes became shadows.
"They found some common ground, I believe," Sid continued. "Like us."
Tom grunted again. Now April knew that not liking to talk about feels ran in the family.
"Only that April," Sid stopped for a moment and let out a small sigh which he might have kept in for years, "told Jett at that time that he was called Theo."
"Theo," Tom said slowly. His eyes now became unfocused like he was searching for something in his mind. "Theo, Theo, Theo," he repeated. Then he snapped his fingers. "The missing boy!"
"The missing boy?" Sid and April both asked in surprise.
"Jett kept pestering me at that time about how one would go about finding a missing person. My mind wasn't quite on how to help him find such a person. But he mentioned the name many times at the end of that summer. For a while, I thought it could be some imaginary friend."
April made himself small in his chair. So, at that time, Jett hadn't hated him. At all. Why else could he have asked his dad how to find him? He stared down, feeling ashamed now.
"And you two just met again?" Tom asked.
"By accident," April murmured, "yes."
"And didn't he remember you?"
"He thought I looked like someone he knew. But I told him that no, I wasn't Theo." His voice grew so faint that Tom and Sid leaned over the table to hear him.
"Then you should tell him," Tom said solemnly.
"Exactly what I told him," Sid said.
"Great. Now no one's on my side," April complained.
"On this topic, I'm not, not the way you want me to be, at least," Sid replied. "I think it's long overdue, April. Not telling him is the wrong thing to do."
"All right, I will," April promised.
"Just curious," Tom started, "why did you choose not to tell him?"
"I thought he would kick my ass," April replied promptly.
"They had a bit of a falling out," Sid explained. "They didn't part as friends that summer, although April has had a crush on Jett ever since."
"Dad!" April hoped the urgency in his voice was enough to have his dad drop the issue.
Tom appeared amused. "Funny thing, I thought Jett, too, might have had a crush on his imaginary friend. He was talking about him way too much to be only friendship, although, at that age, one can never know. Kids obsess over so many things. I believe the distraction was good, even if it lasted so little."
It felt so surreal to hear Tom talk so naturally about his son's crush on a thirteen-year-old boy from such a long time ago. Actually, hearing Tom talk naturally about anything was enough to make April stare and gape. He pushed his jaw upward with one hand.
"I will tell him," he said softly. "Just don't give me away, please."
"I would never do that," Sid promised.
"And it's not my job to do that either, so it's all fine by me. God knows I have my own secrets to tell," Tom added.
April looked down again. There would be so many things that Jett couldn't even start to fathom happening tomorrow.
***
"It's been a good run, right?" Zane punched him in the shoulder and shared with him an ear to ear grin.
"Could you just stop it with the punches already?" Jett massaged his shoulder. "You wrecked me, asshole."
"Hey, it was totally your call because you needed it and stuff. Not that I didn't enjoy kicking your ass big time." Zane cracked his knuckles in satisfaction. "Now, I can barely wait to go back to my boyfriend."
"So, serious about this dude, eh?"
"Told you. Serious enough to put my ass up for total destruction."
"Let me know how that works for you."
"Like hell, I will."
"Just testing you." It was Jett's turn to grin. "Hey, don't you want to get inside?"
"Nah. I've had enough of you this weekend. And I guess you want to be reunited with your pretty boyfriend just as much as I want. Tell April and Carina I say 'hi'."
"Will do," Jett promised.
"It looks like it's a party at your home or something. All the lights are on," Zane pointed out.
"Yeah." Jett stared at the house, a bit intrigued. "April and Carina might play hide and seek with Jay or something."
"Hide and seek? All over the house?"
Jett shrugged. "What do I know? I can barely wait for Jay to be old enough to teach him how to throw a punch. You know, basic skills for life."
Zane held his fist up, and Jett bumped it with his. "See you around, man."
"Yeah. And don't forget to tell me all about the wrecking of your ass."
"Sure, sure. Maybe I'll shoot a video, show you everything."
Jett made a face. "Nah, I'll settle for you telling me about it. I don't want to look at your wrinkled balls."
"Wrinkled? Is that what you see in the mirror?" Zane asked with a smirk.
"Just get out of here, Zane. I'm not up for a rematch on the front lawn of my house."
"Too bad. As always, I would have destroyed you completely."
"Dream on, fucker. Bye."
Zane waved and smiled as he turned on his heels and began typing something fast on his phone. Jett could only suspect that Zane was already planning to meet with his boyfriend, and he couldn't blame him.
He walked toward the front door, still smiling. It was good to be back even if he had been away for no more than two days or so. Maybe April was cooking something yummy. That, if he had returned from his visit for some time.
His chest was no longer as heavy. Well, maybe it wasn't all okay, but he was reasonably fine. At least, he could be the same loving boyfriend toward April, a friend to Carina, and a dad to Jay, like he always wanted to be.
"Hey, you're back." April jumped in front of him, as soon as Jett walked through the door.
Jett held April in his arms and smooched him loudly. April pushed him away slightly and looked away. "What? Don't tell me you're still mad at me."
"Um, there's someone here who wants to talk to you," April explained.
Jett stiffened. Could it be that the Z brothers had sent some goons or something, trying to convince him to come back? He let April down from his arms. "Who?" he asked gruffly.
"Son, we need to talk." His dad appeared from the living room.
Jett set his jaw hard. "I have nothing I want to say to you."
"Please, it's important." April squeezed his arm, and Jett looked at him with hurt eyes. April winced, but he didn't look away this time.
"I don't see anything we could talk about."
"Maybe you need to open your eyes for a bit, then." It was someone else's voice who said those words.
Jett looked up and stared at Sid. April's dad was standing by his father's side, and somehow, that picture struck him as off. Why would both dads be here? Had anything happened while he had been away? The ground under his feet seemed to tilt. "What? Did anything happen to Jay? Carina --"
"No, everyone's fine," Sid hurried to appease his worries.
His feet descended back on the ground. Jett had no idea why his mind had chosen to go in that direction out of all things. Now he felt a little stupid. If anything had happened to Jay, April would have told him that first. "All right. What do you want to talk about?" He stared defiantly at his dad.
Tom shifted his weight from one foot to another. "Let's talk in the kitchen. It's kind of private." He scratched the back of his neck with the index finger and grimaced.
I hope he's not ill, Jett thought right away. That would be the kind of thing his dad wouldn't like to talk about in front of others. Jett steeled himself and continued his silent prayers that his old man's health was still good. He looked in perfect shape, but who knew about such things?
With a nod of his head, he followed his father into the kitchen. From the corner of one eye, he noticed April hurrying by his dad's side and the affection with which Sid ruffled his hair. That would never be he and his dad; at that time, Zane had just wanted to rile him up good, but there was truth in that, too. There was a pretty good damned reason why he never liked to talk about feels.
But his dad was still his dad. And he would do his best to help him if it came to that. He needed to be strong if anything happened to his parent.
Tom didn't sit once they were inside the kitchen. There was a pretty nice smell coming from the oven, so April, indeed, must have been hard at work to make something tasty.
Jett sniffed a little. It smelled like roasted pork. And smoked paprika. He didn't recall telling April how much he liked that dish. It wasn't like they talked much about food when they were together. And he would have eaten whatever April cooked anyway.
"I made your favorite," his dad said.
Jett plopped down on one chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, you didn't have to. Now, what you wanted to say to me?" he asked gruffly.
Tom looked away and paced some more.
Jett could feel his resolve to act like a prick waning. "Shit," he murmured under his breath. "You're not dying, are you?"
Tom stopped his pacing and stared at him in surprise. "No. What makes you think that?"
Jett breathed out. "Good. I mean, I'm glad that you're not dying."
"It's good that you care."
"Stop making fun of me," Jett said, frowning and staring down.
"I'm not. I'm serious. I'm glad that you care."
Jett could feel a lump the size of a tennis ball lodging in his throat. He wasn't going to start crying now, right?
"What I want to tell you is not exactly easy," Tom started. "You know how much I loved your mom."
Jett shifted in his chair. Even his dad wanted to talk about feels. What the hell was wrong with everyone? Was something in the water? Someone had to call the health department. "Could've fooled me," he replied eventually.
"I did. She was the love of my life."
"Is this going anywhere?" Jett asked, hating how his voice sounded. There was only this much he could do to stop his mind from going all mush and flooded with things that needed to remain gated and buried. "Are you finally remarrying or something?"
"Or something," Tom confirmed solemnly. "And I want you to hear it from me."
"You don't have to go through all this trouble. I wish you and the missus all the happiness. I might not attend the wedding, though. Not my speed. But I'll make sure to send a toaster or something." He was being a jerk, but he could hardly help it. After all, his dad didn't want him to be happy with April. So, yeah, he couldn't pretend he cared about his dad's remarrying too much.
"It's not a missus. And I'm not remarrying. Not yet, at least."
Jett stared at his dad, blinking. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"
"Mind your language, Jett," his dad barked.
Jett could think of a myriad of angry retorts, but he bit his tongue. The last thing he wanted was to get into another fight with his old man. The less he got involved, the sooner his dad would be on his merry way. "Whatever. Who is it?"
Tom appeared to have a tough time finding his words.
"Well?" Jett asked. "Wait … not a missus … Dad?"
"It's Sid, okay?" his dad blurted out.
Jett was glad he was sitting. His jaw went slack. Was that a joke or something? "Sid? Like in April's dad?" he shouted.
"Yes, April's dad," Tom confirmed, throwing his arms wide open.
Jett shook his head. It was unbelievable. It was fucking unbelievable. No, he couldn't just believe that! "How the hell?" he murmured the question.
Tom sighed. "We didn't plan for it."
"Ha!"
"It just happened."
"Seriously? Wait. All this time, you've been at Sid's place?"
"Yeah. April walked in on us, and it wasn't easy."
"Walked in on you? Doing what? Oh, fuck. Were you fucking?" Jett was well aware his voice had over the admitted limit of decibels, but he couldn't control anything anymore. His dad was calmly admitting to him that he was fucking another man! After all the scandal he had caused because he and April did exactly that!
"No. For God's sake, Jett, pull your mind out of the gutter."
"I can't! You put it there!"
"We were just cooking together, but, well, I embraced Sid and --"
"Oh, fuck! I mean, what on earth … Dad, why? I mean, all of a sudden, you discovered you liked dudes? And you're giving me shit about April?"
Tom looked away, appearing very much embarrassed.
Jett ran both hands over his face. "Sid is not your first dude," he said matter-of-factly.
His dad grunted in reply.
"Fuck," Jett barely managed. "So why the hell couldn't you see why I liked April?"
"I didn't want you conflicted and unhappy." Tom exhaled and shook his head, his hands on his hips, his fingers tapping nervously.
"But I'm not conflicted and unhappy! How blind can you be? I'm in love with April! I love him!"
***
April covered his face and muttered to himself. "They don't exactly keep it private, do they?"
His dad patted his knee in sympathy. "I suppose that's not the way you wanted to hear Jett confess to you, right?"
April nodded, feeling all drained of energy. "He has said many things to me, but never something as direct as this."
"Well, then it's all the more reason for you to tell him the truth. You can't hide forever, April. He might get upset with you, even angry, but you've heard him, right? He loves you. He'll forgive you, of course, if you apologize with all your heart."
"Thank you for the pep talk, dad," April said dryly. "But you're right. And I must tell him that I've always been in love with him, as well."
"That should help you patch things up nicely," Sid said with a smile. "And don't forget you'll always have me."
"Thank you, dad." April put his hand over his dad's. "You have no idea how good it is to know this."
On the other side of the kitchen door, the shouted conversation between Jett and Tom continued.
***
"Why? Why have you been such a damned jerk about it when you --" Jett choked on the words, the realization that he was practically discussing his dad's sex life hitting him hard. "And how long … I mean, when mom --"
"No, never," Tom said sternly. "But it is something I've felt for many years. I tried to push it away, to tell myself that it's just something that didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things."
Jett stood there, staring at the floor, his hands linked in front of him, the chair pushed back from the table. This was all way too much. How could such things happen? "Why now? Why Sid?" he asked eventually.
Tom sighed. "We've found that we have a lot of things in common. We talked."
"And then you fucked," Jett said matter-of-factly.
"Crudely put, but yes."
"That night, when you came late after meeting April's dad, you two --"
"Did it? Okay, because you're in shock over this, I'm going to indulge you, but this is the first, and the last time I'm talking about my intimate affairs with you."
"Amen," Jett said dryly.
"Smartass," his dad retorted.
"But you were still a jerk at that time," Jett pointed out.
"I guess I still couldn't believe that it would be okay to, um, feel something like this."
"What? Did you fall in love at first sight with April's dad?"
"At our age, no one does that," Tom replied. "But then we got into that fight, and Sid called me and asked me to stay with him until I needed to go back to my base."
"And you just went."
"Yes."
"And you two didn't say one word. You just kept it all for yourselves."
Tom set his jaw hard. "Sid has been pestering me to talk to you. I guess April's unplanned visit sped things along."
"How long were you planning to keep it a secret?"
Jett noticed the slump in his dad's shoulders. "I had to tell you eventually. After all, things between Sid and I got pretty serious during these last few weeks."
"That's frigging unbelievable." Jett shook his head. "And now, what? Are you guys going to marry or something?"
"No."
"So, you two aren't serious."
"We are. But it's not like any of us sees marriage like you, young people, might. We were both married. We took our vows."
The atmosphere in the room, no, in the entire house, felt lighter. Suddenly, Jett started laughing. He didn't even know why, but he just did. His father joined him, although probably he had no idea why he was laughing, either.
"So, can I marry April?" Jett asked once he gained back his breath.
"Aren't you guys hurrying a bit too much? April still has to finish his studies."
"Yeah, I know. But it's not like we're going to do it now."
"Have you already talked about it?"
"No, April doesn't know. But this weekend, I just realized that I want to do it. Make it official and all that."
"I'm surprised," Tom said. "I guess you're more responsible than I thought you were."
"Yeah. I guess there's a lot of stuff you don't know about me."
"Don't be so sure."
"So, do I have like your blessing or something?"
"Sure."
"Just like that, huh?"
"I don't know what you mean by it, but yes."
"And you're going to stop giving me shit about April."
"That's a given."
"Sorry about laughing earlier," Jett said all of a sudden, after a short silence. "I don't know what came over me. It's not something to laugh about."
"You didn't laugh about it, son, and I know it. You just experienced a bit of stress relief."
"Oh, yeah? So that's what you did, too?"
"Yes."
"Why would you be stressed about?"
"Talking to you, first of all," Tom explained.
"Really? Do I stress you out or something?"
"You're a handful, Jett. But I guess you know that. Look, from now on, I'm not going to pester you any more about how to live your life. I think you're old enough to make decisions and live with the consequences, too. You never listened to me anyway." The last words were spoken with a small sigh, but they weren't bitter.
"That's true," Jett confirmed. "But just so that you know it, dad, even if I didn't listen to you, I still appreciated it."
Tom quirked an eyebrow. "How's that?"
"I knew you cared, and it mattered. And that's all I'm gonna say."
"So, you're okay about Sid and me?" Tom asked.
Jett shrugged. "It will be kind of weird, but I'm okay. What April has to say about this? He's totally a daddy's boy, unlike me."
Tom laughed. "That's totally him, all right. He was shocked, of course. But a weekend of cooking all his favorites, watching the shows he likes, and even playing tabletop games with him, and I might have won him over. Well, his dad cooked, not me."
"So, you thought about cooking something for me, too?"
"It worked to put April's mind at ease about his dad and me. I thought to give it a try, too."
Jett smiled and blinked a few times. "Am I dreaming all this or something?"
"I see you're wide awake," Tom said with a broad smile. "Now I should go. Sid and I need to drive for a while to get back to his home."
"Stay here tonight."
"There's no room," Tom pointed out.
"You two can sleep in our room. It's not the first time April and I would sleep on the sofa or take the floor."
"Was that a jab at me?"
"A little. But don't go tonight, okay?"
Tom exhaled. "I'll gladly stay here. I'll have to check it out with Sid, though."
"He needs to get to work in the morning, right? It's okay; you can wake him up with the bugle."
Tom's eyes widened, and then he burst into laughter. "Now that's something I didn't know you to have. A sense of humor."
"Trust me, it wasn't funny at all," Jett replied.
"For you, sure, it wasn't," his dad confirmed and laughed again.
Jett couldn't believe his eyes and ears. To be able to talk like that with his dad, like everything was normal between them, it felt surreal. But his old man had given him his blessing to marry April, so it wasn't like he could take it back now.
A shy knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. His dad went to open the door, and Jett saw April.
"Can I talk to Jett for a bit?"
Tom looked over his shoulder at Jett. "I guess he's all yours now, son. And we're okay since you must be wondering."
April's face lit up with a bright smile. "We were wondering. That's great to hear."
Tom ruffled April's hair as he walked out of the kitchen.
"I can't believe he does that to you, but not to me," Jett said with a grimace.
"He might be afraid that you might bite his hand off," April replied.
"So, our dads, huh?"
"Yeah, that was quite the surprise," April said.
"Come 'ere," Jett said, gesturing for April to get closer. "I didn't get to kiss you properly."
April bit down on his bottom lip. "We'll get to that, but first, I need to tell you something."
"What? Don't tell me you're pregnant," Jett joked.
April looked at him, a little crossed. "You wish."
"Hey, I wouldn't mind."
"Jett, stop joking, or I'm going to kick your ass."
"All right, all right." Jett rubbed the back of his neck.
"That tattoo," April started.
Jett moved his head to one side and pulled down the lapel of his jacket. "This one, right?"
"It's your only tattoo," April pointed out.
Jett smirked. "So? Do you want me to get another? I didn't peg you for that type. What do you want? A little red heart with your name on it? If it means that much to you, I'll do it."
"No, that's not what I'm saying," April protested. "It's, oh, fuck, how do I say this?"
"Hey, tonight, I just learned that your dad is fucking my dad. So say whatever."
"How do you know it's not the other way around?"
For a second, they both stopped. April made a face. "All right, let's just stop imagining our dads having sex. I can't, I won't, and I'm forbidden to think of this kind of thing."
Jett put one hand up. "Agreed. Now shoot. It's not like anything else could shock me."
April took one deep breath. Jett shifted in his chair. What could be now?
"I know how you got that tattoo," April said in one heartbeat.
TBC
Yes, I know, I know, feel free to throw imaginary rotten tomatoes ... but we are getting closer to the end, and I won't start spoiling things for you now.
There will be quite the reaction from both parties next time, but that won't be all. There are still some things that were impatiently waiting to happen!
Thank you so much for being on this trip with me! And thank you for all your comments and power stones!
Until next time,
All the best,
Laura S. Fox
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