The Gus Diaries

Part 156

Marry Me? I

 I can’t believe he had the nerve to ask! Even more unbelievable was that Jeff seemed to be actually considering his proposal!

How dare he ask Jeff to marry him? That’s exactly what he said. “Marry me, Jeff. Please marry me.”

What the fuck was Matt thinking?

I still can’t believe the sequence of events that lead up to this whole ridiculous situation. I hoped my dads would be able to help us -- somehow. The almost overwhelming feeling of desperation had been more powerful than anything I’d ever felt before.

It’s hard to comprehend how it all started. Thinking back I can pinpoint the exact moment. Oh my God; it was Valentine’s Day. It was supposed to be our best one yet.
 

* * * * *
 

“Hey, Gus, how did you sleep last night?” Pop always seems to have plenty of energy in the morning, even before he’s had his first cup of coffee. I don’t know how he does it.

“I guess I slept okay. It’s not the same without Jeff.”

“Why didn’t he stay here last night? Has Grandma Jen been bugging him to visit more when you’re in for a weekend?” Pop poured a cup of coffee for me and then one for himself.

I took my coffee to the table as Pop opened the refrigerator door and pulled out a carton of eggs to start breakfast for all of us. At least Dad and I are on more of the same page morning wise. We both need something more than the sun to get our engines roaring. “Grandma and Tucker have been really cool. They know we always visit, even though Jeff usually stays here.”

“So what kept him away last night?”

I smiled, remembering Jeff’s reason for staying away and the good-bye kiss that followed. “He wanted to finalize some plans for a Valentine’s surprise for me. Apparently he was going to be busy last night and very early this morning making sure everything will be in place for tonight.”

“That sounds promising.” Pop looked at me and smiled.

“Jeff said it’s going to be the best Valentine’s Day ever for us.”

Dad strode into the kitchen, wearing his robe. His hair was all mussed up and sticking up in all directions. “Is it Valentine’s Day today? I hadn’t noticed.” Dad kissed pop on the cheek. “Morning, Sunshine.”

“You haven’t forgotten or overlooked Valentine’s Day in years.” Pop ghosted his hand over Dad’s cheek and pressed their lips together. “I’m counting on you to make this one the best ever for us too.”

“You have a great deal of faith in me, oh artistic one. What makes you think I’ve even thought twice about Valentine’s Day until Sonny Boy brought it up this morning?”

“Years of refining the Kinney Operating Manual. Remember, I’m not only the author but the editor. Whenever an updated version is released, I’m the first to know.” Pop smiled broadly at Dad.

Dad lowered his head and raised a hand in mock surrender. “Okay, okay, so my hatred of all that is commercial and designed for hetero rituals may have mellowed over the years.” Dad looked directly at Pop. “I hold you personally responsible.”

“I accept the blame completely and with no apologies and no regrets.” Pop smirked.

Dad looked at him with one of the biggest smiles I’d ever seen him give anyone. “You.” He shook his head and gave Pop a whopper of a kiss. If they hadn’t been my dads it might have been a huge turn on for anyone watching.

“Oh God. Can’t you two keep these PDA’s limited to your room?”

“Then they wouldn’t be PDA’s, now would they, Sonny Boy?”

“Besides, Gus, this is our house. When you have one of your own someday, you can make the rules.” Pop winked at Dad and then smiled at me. “Now how would you like your eggs, scrambled or over easy?”

Before I could answer my cell phone started to vibrate. Checking the caller ID, I was pleased to see it was Jeff and picked it up right away.

“Hey, Newbie, how are you doing?”

“Missing you. When will all these special events for us that you’re planning begin?”

“Pretty soon. Why don’t you start by opening your front door? The first surprise should be waiting for you there.” Jeff disconnected, so I turned off my phone and without saying a word to my dads ran to the door.

“Jeff!” I was thrilled to see him at the front door to Britin when I opened it and gave him a big hug and a kiss. He returned the kiss so passionately I could feel my toes curl.

“Hey, Sonny Boy, how about keeping those PDA’s limited to your bedroom? After all, in this case, the door is wide open. It’s a good thing we live on an estate, so no one can see you from the road.” I felt my cheeks heating up as I turned around to see Dad and Pop standing in the hallway grinning, coffee cups in their hands.

“Aren’t you going to ask Jeff to come in for breakfast?” Pop is always hospitable under every circumstance.

“Thank you.” Jeff stepped inside and closed the door behind him. After he placed his coat on the rack near the door and his backpack on the floor, he followed me into the kitchen. “Your Pop knows how to make the best omelets.”

“I’m not sure he was planning on making omelets.”

“No problem, Gus. I’m happy to make you each one of my special Spanish omelets.”

Jeff and I sat at the table with Dad, awaiting Pop’s amazing food. “Glad to have you. Gus was beginning to get very irritable without you around.” Dad raised his cup to Jeff. “Although I can certainly understand how he felt. Whenever Justin’s at one of his never-ending out-of-town shows I begin to get a tad bored with having only my right hand for companionship.”

“Dad!” My dad can be so gross, even if his reasoning is accurate and his words completely honest.

“Brian, leave them alone.” Pop smiled as he served the omelets, sitting down with his own plate last.

“How about we begin our own Valentine’s Day observance after breakfast?” I detected Dad’s grin as he sipped his coffee.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

Pop and Dad can be so annoying, even if it is kind of cool to have parents who are still hot for each other at their age.

“You know, Jeff, after breakfast maybe we can--” I looked into his eyes and winked.

“That sounds great, Gus, but we may have to delay our own plans just a bit.”

I could feel my brow furrow in confused response.

“Got a call from Matt. He’s got some kind of emergency and asked me to call back as soon as possible. I told him I’d touch base before we started our day.”

It was strange having Matt back in our lives. Jeff, Matt, and I had finally found our way to renewing our old friendship despite his foolish play for me a couple of years ago. Knowing we were both stoned at the time, forgiveness wasn’t as tough as it might have been had he tried anything while we were both sober. I wasn’t completely comfortable with him yet, but we were never alone thanks to Jeff’s possessive side -- not something I mind at all.

“What do you think his problem is?”

“Who knows? Maybe he’s having romance trouble and needs us to give him a nudge in the right direction.” Jeff finished his breakfast and wiped his mouth with his napkin.

“Yeah, probably something like that. I remember him telling us he broke up with his latest boyfriend about a month ago.” I cleared my plate as well and took another sip of my coffee. “Maybe he wants us to find him a date; he should just go to Babylon like all the rest of the single fags in the Greater Pittsburgh area. They’ll all be there tonight.”

“I don’t know, Newbie. He sounded kind of desperate -- more than usual.” Jeff snorted.

I wasn’t sure why, but I wasn’t amused. I suddenly and inexplicably felt a chill run down my spine even though the house was warm. Something didn’t feel quite right.

[TBC]

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