Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78340 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78340 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
“I know. So, you can join the guncle gala. Then once he falls asleep, you can go have fun while we watch him like a pair of hawks.” I’d never realized there was a word for gay uncles until Lark started calling himself a guncle. It was a title he wore with pride.
“If you want, or he can sleep in JoJo and Yolanda’s room like last week,” I said. “That worked out really well, and they offered to watch him again.”
“No way, we’ve totally got this! Don’t forget, Dylan is a former firefighter and therefore an expert in the life-saving arts. Not that there’s going to be an emergency or anything. I’m just pointing that out because I can see why Nurse Yolanda and JoJo might seem like the better choice.”
“I know you’re going to do a great job,” I said, “and it’s not that I’m worried about anything. I just thought you might have other things you wanted to do tonight.”
My brother shook his head. “Nothing’s more important than our nephew. Plus, we have a nice night of cuddling and movies planned after the baby falls asleep.” He and his boyfriend exchanged the sweetest smiles when he said that.
I was so happy he and Dylan had found each other. Lark was quirky, to say the least—as was currently evident by the knit cap with ear flaps and a unicorn horn he was wearing. Meanwhile, Dylan was definitely on the serious side. Even so, he wholeheartedly embraced my brother’s eccentricities, instead of just tolerating them.
In fact, Lark had managed to find exactly what he needed—what we all needed—someone who truly accepted him for who he was. In return, he clearly brought a lot of joy and sunshine into Dylan’s life, and it seemed like that might have been lacking before my brother came along.
Like JoJo and Yolanda, these two were definitely relationship goals. I loved the fact that Owen would be growing up with these examples of loving, healthy relationships, which was something I’d never had as a kid. In fact, my parents had been so miserable in their lives and their marriage that it had made me question whether finding a happily ever after was even a possibility.
Okay, so maybe I needed to see these strong relationships as much as Owen did.
Once he and Dylan finished eating, Lark leaned in and lowered his voice, not that the baby had any idea what was being said. “Do we need to have an s-e-x talk before you go out on your first date with a guy, Logan?”
It felt like my cheeks had just burst into flames. “No. Really, I’m fine.”
“Right, but a-n-a-l isn’t the same as v-a—”
I cut him off with, “I know! Please, I’m begging you. Stop.”
“So, you know about l-u-b-e and d-o-u-c-h—”
“I will literally pay you to stop talking.”
Owen started squirming to get out of his high chair, signaling lunch was over. Before I could do anything, Dylan jumped up and said, “Let me take Owen and clean him up, so Lark doesn’t have to continue his spelling bee.”
I asked, “Are you sure? He managed to get an extraordinary amount of banana on himself.”
“That’s not a problem.” He picked up the baby and said, “Come on, buddy, let’s go trash the bathroom. What do you say?” Owen was smiling happily as Dylan carried him from the kitchen.
As soon as they were gone, Lark turned to me and said, “I bought you lube, condoms, and a douching kit, since I figured you probably hadn’t had time to do any shopping. I don’t actually know if you plan on bottoming, but I figured it was best to be prepared. All of that’s on the top shelf of the linen closet, for safety. Condoms are a total choking hazard. Don’t ask me how I know that.”
“Thanks, but I don’t even know if we’re going to do anything tonight. We might just hang out and play chess,” I muttered, as I got up and put my sandwich in a plastic bag, then stuck it in the fridge for later.
Lark chuckled at that before saying, “You and I are very different people, Logan. But yeah, I know you’re not necessarily knocking boots tonight. Whenever you do though, I wanted you to be ready. And I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable or anything. It just means a lot to me to finally get to do the big brother thing, since I missed all of your teen years.”
I turned to him when he said that and saw a lot of emotion in his eyes. I was also struck all over again by the many similarities we shared, from our dark brown hair and eyes and pale skin tone to our slight build. It was surprising actually, since we didn’t really look like our parents, or like our older brother and sister. We just looked like each other.