Maureen was holding her phone and said, “Robbie just texted me. He forgot his wallet and is stuck on the S.F. State campus without his Muni pass, so he needs a ride home. Sorry to cut this short, but we need to go get him.” Tippy emerged from under the table and shook himself, wagging happily as we gathered up all the bags that had come with us.
My nephews were getting tired and cranky, so Dmitri carried both of them, one little head on each shoulder, as we walked back to my neighborhood and Erin’s minivan. They cried when he put them in their car seats and Brennan demanded, “We want to see Uncle Jamie and Uncle Meaty again soon!”
I burst out laughing at that, and said slowly to Brennan, “Dmitri.”
“I said that! Meaty!” Brennan insisted, crossing his chubby arms over his chest.
“Close enough,” Dmitri said with a smile, ruffling Brennan’s hair.
“Bye, Bro. We’ll be there on Sunday,” Erin told me.
“Sunday?” I echoed.
“Yeah. You know: when you and Dmitri face the Nolan firing squad.”
“Oh God,” I said, running my hands over my hair. “You don’t have to come. It’ll be worse with an audience.”
“You’re going to need some people in your corner,” Maureen said. “So we’ll be there.”
“I’ll get a sitter for the boys though, so Dad doesn’t teach them a lot of colorful new words,” Erin said, giving me a quick hug and then shocking me by giving Dmitri one as well.
Maureen did her one better, kissing first me and then Dmitri on the cheek before telling him, “It was great meeting you. And it’s time you told my brother what you told Jess.” Then she winked at me, scooped up her dog and hopped into the passenger seat.
“Oh come on!” I exclaimed. “Does everyone know what was said besides me?”
Dmitri’s hand grazed my arm, and I turned toward him. And he said softly, “I was waiting for the right time to tell you I’m in love with you.”
My breath caught in my throat, and I touched his face and said, “I love you too.” Then I glanced at the van. Both sisters were staring at us with rapt attention, grinning hugely. My nephews were watching too, so I took a half step back from Dmitri and cleared my throat awkwardly.
That earned a big, dramatic sigh from Erin, and she exclaimed, “Oh for God’s sake! I’m not raising my sons to be small-minded bigots. Just kiss the boy already!”
I blushed vividly at that, and thought I’d never loved my sister more. I leaned forward and gave Dmitri a fairly chaste kiss on the lips, and for some reason that set Tippy off on a barking rampage as he tried to jump out of Maureen’s open window.
“The dog’s jealous,” she said with a grin, struggling to hold on to the tiny, squirming animal. “He’s in love with Dmitri too. Bye guys, see you in a few days!” And with that they drove away, the dog still barking wildly as they rolled down the block.
I took Dmitri’s hand and led him back to my apartment as I asked him, “So, do you need to get back to work?” And yes, part of me wondered exactly what kind of ‘work’ I was keeping him from.
He answered both my spoken and unspoken questions by saying, “I cleared my schedule when I decided to come over. I was supposed to be interviewing bartenders for the club all day, but I pushed them back to tomorrow.”
“Good. Then come upstairs with me so I can get the powdered sugar off you.”
I led him straight through to the bathroom and stripped him as the water warmed up, kissing his body as I pulled off his clothing. And then I got naked too and got in the shower with him. I started to wash him meticulously, but after only a couple minutes of this he kissed me passionately, then pushed me against the wall of the shower as he went down on me. I gasped and ran my fingers into his hair as he took my length down his throat, and in only a few minutes he sucked me to a leg-shaking orgasm. I cried out as I came, trying to stop myself from bucking into his mouth, then sank to my knees after he released me and kissed him.
I held him for a long moment, both of us kneeling in the shower. “I love you so much,” he whispered, holding on to me tightly.
“I love you too,” I murmured. And then I asked him, “Do you want me to do that for you now?”
“I just want you to hold me.”
I got up and turned the water off, then held out my hand to him. He took it and followed me out of the shower, and I dried us off before leading him to my bedroom.