“But I don’t pay an equal share,” he protested.

“No, but I still consider you my equal,” I told him. “I don’t care about your money, Drew. I just want you to feel like this is your home because it is.”

“Okay.” He flipped off Cam as he walked down the hall mumbling something about needing a shower. I was tempted to follow, but I knew it’d be impossible to resist dropping to my knees to blow him as soon as I saw his naked body.

Everything went smoothly, even after Drew’s parents arrived. His mother kept trying to help Cam in the kitchen, and for the first time ever, Cam didn’t push someone out of his space. Instead, he seemed to blossom even more, soaking in every compliment Susan gave him.

We all sat down to the formal dining table, which Cam had set as though it were a showcase for a holiday TV special, and made one hell of an effort to polish off all the food he’d made. We failed, but it’d be no hardship to enjoy the leftovers for a few days. Drew and I tried to take care of the cleanup, but his mom refused any and all help. She told us in no uncertain terms that we were to relax and she’d pack up all the food and start the dishwasher. That was when everything started to fall apart.

I ran down to the basement to get soda and beer to put in the refrigerator upstairs and Drew’s dad followed me. He motioned for me to set down the six-packs I was carrying. “So, is it true that you’re not going to be with Seattle come spring?”

I bristled at the accusatory tone in his voice. I didn’t know this guy, didn’t have to explain a damn thing to him. I wanted to tell him it was none of his business, but I didn’t.  Pa would roll over in his grave if I was disrespectful, and he’d likely be standing here asking me the same thing if he were still alive.

“Yes, sir,” I responded. As long as I kept my answers short and sweet, I couldn’t piss him off. Drew loved his dad, so it would be dumb of me to do anything that’d make him dislike me. There’d be plenty of that when we dropped the bomb on them about all three of us sharing one bed.

“That’s too bad.” He looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows on the side of the basement where you could walk directly out into the backyard. Heavy snow had begun to fall while we were eating. I didn’t want to think about Drew’s parents driving home. Even if they left now, it’d be slick and dangerous. He grunted and snarled at the sight through the windows before looking back to me. “You know where you’re going?”

“No, sir.” I didn’t tell him I wasn’t going anywhere because there were other people who needed to be informed first. And even if Drew trusted his parents, I didn’t know them well. There was nothing to keep his father from accidentally mentioning something to the wrong person.

“Well, I’ll tell you the same thing I told my boy,” he offered, taking a seat next to me. “If you ever need an ear to bend, I’m here. I know I don’t know squat about how you guys operate, but I’d like to think I’m all right at knowing a shit deal when I hear one.”

I choked up a bit as he spoke. I don’t know why, but I’d expected something else from him. Maybe for him to tell me I needed to take whatever offer came in front of me. Having someone sitting next to me, offering to listen if I needed to talk brought on a fresh wave of longing. This was my second holiday season without Pa, and I still missed the hell out of him. I wanted him to be here. I wanted him to be the one helping me figure out whether I was wrong for considering walking away.

Joe grabbed two of the six-packs and followed me up the stairs. He placed his on the counter and then took the ones I’d been holding. I followed his line of sight and noticed him watching Drew and Cody, who were off in the corner working on homework. Bryce had tried to tell Cody to leave his backpack at the center, but he’d refused, saying he’d never get where he needed to be if he slacked off.

“What’s the story with the kid?” Joe asked, nodding in their direction.

“He’s one of the teens from the shelter,” I responded. “From what Drew and Bryce have told me, his parents kicked him out when they found out he’s gay. He’d been living on the streets for months and had dropped out of school because he was afraid the administrators would force him to go home. Knowing how his dad reacted the first time, he was worried he’d just keep getting his ass kicked, so he stayed away. Now, he’s living at the center and trying to get caught up.”

“Good for him,” Drew’s dad praised, loud enough that he caught their attention. Cody’s face flushed pink when he realized we were talking about him and Drew beamed with pride. “Looks like they’re good for one another.”

“They are,” I agreed. “Drew likes to tell the guys that Bryce and I forced him to start living again, but I think it was Cody who did that. We were just the ones who forced him out of the house.”

That got me a curious look from Joe. He then glanced at Bryce before staring me down. I felt myself shrink back at his suddenly harsh assessment. “You and Bryce, huh?”

Fuck. That explained a lot. After promising Drew that it’d be okay and no one would be any wiser as long as we weren’t pawing at one another, it seemed I’d managed to accidentally out our group.

“Well…um…yes, sir. Bryce has understandably been spending a lot of time here, and the two of us got sick of watching Drew mope around the house,” I said, hoping it was a plausible excuse.

“Kid, I might be from the country, but I’m not as dumb as you might think,” he warned me. “I’m not sure what you boys are doing here, but I s’pose that’s not my place, now is it?”

“Sir?” I questioned, still playing dumb. I half expected Drew’s dad to reach around and cuff the back of my head.

“Whatever you need to do to make my boy as happy as he seems today, keep doing it. Like I said, I don’t get it, but I don’t really need to,” he assured me. I let out the breath I’d been holding as I waited for the top of his head to explode. Bryce had been the one pushing Drew to be honest with his parents, saying that they’d understand and support him but even I hadn’t believed that. “I don’t see you three having an easy go of whatever you have, but I know you boys well enough after just a couple meetings that I’m confident you’ll do right by one another.”

Drew looked over to where his dad and I were talking. He quirked an eyebrow, and I nodded to assure him everything was fine. No thanks to me.

“Now, tell me more about the kid,” he said, quickly changing the topic. I couldn’t say that I blamed him. I wasn’t terribly thrilled with the idea of having to explain my sex life to anyone, much less Joe.

“Drew, can you tell him I’m not a kid,” Cody whined, sounding very much like a child. “I turned eighteen almost a month ago.”

“Oooh, you’re a big man now,” Jason teased as he walked past where Cody still had his schoolwork strewn across the table. “Don’t worry, we still call Drew ‘kid’ sometimes, just to fuck with him.”

“Jason, language please,” Cam scolded, turning quickly to apologize to Susan.

“It’s okay,” she told him. “I’m used to the way the farmhands talk when they walk in for lunch and don’t realize I’m standing there.”

I watched as everyone else went back to their conversations. Bryce and Cam were talking about some plan that Drew had mentioned to Bryce last night while I was out. I felt out of the loop, but wasn’t upset about it since it was my own doing. Once Cody finished his homework, Drew quickly joined Bryce on the couch, curling into his side the way he always did. I considered joining them, but didn’t since he didn’t know that at least one of his parents had seen through our little charade.

The rest of the evening went smoothly. I said goodnight to Drew’s parents as they excused themselves to the loft. Everyone took that as a sign that the day was coming to an end since we needed it to be quiet. Jason and Cam packed up Jason’s truck and they headed out, quickly followed by Bryce and Drew, who needed to take Cody back to the center.