Every Saturday Night (Firsts and Forever 6)

Chapter3

It wasn’t that I’d been avoiding Lucky, exactly.

Okay, maybe I was. Meeting—and kissing—him had been magical, and the following week I counted down the days until Saturday, when I’d get to spend time with him again.

In between though, I altered my routine a little. Owen and I still went on our morning run, and I still stopped at Mr. Chen’s bakery for a muffin and coffee. But now, I brought our treats home with us, and we enjoyed them in the kitchen instead of sitting outside the bakery and waiting for Lucky to show up.

I didn’t want to run the risk of ruining everything before our next date—or first date, technically. What if I said or did the wrong thing, and he changed his mind about me? If we didn’t see each other, it was impossible for me to screw things up.

By the time Saturday finally arrived, I was overthinking everything. I was excited to see Lucky and spend time with him, but I was also worried about how the date might go.

Was I really going to sleep with him? Having sex with a guy was something I’d fantasized about for years, but now that it was a very real possibility, I was a bundle of nerves. I liked Lucky and was undeniably attracted to him, but was I ready to go there? And if I didn’t, would I regret it forever? This guy was completely out of my league, and chances like this didn’t come along every day.

“Are you alright, Logan?”

I’d been lost in thought at the kitchen table, my sandwich untouched while the baby smeared mashed banana all over his high chair tray. Dylan and Lark were eating lunch with us and had been talking animatedly to Owen, and apparently they’d noticed when I zoned out.

“Yeah, fine,” I said. “I was just thinking about some stuff.”

My brother smiled at me. “If you’re thinking about your date tonight, you don’t have a thing to worry about. Dylan and I have a whole evening planned with Owen. I got us matching outfits and everything.”

“That’s really sweet, but I’m not planning on leaving until he’s asleep.”

“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.