Page 36 of Three Meows

We clung to each other tightly, and it reminded me of the months after mum died when it felt like the world was going to fall apart if we didn’t hold each other.

When we parted I was a bit embarrassed at making such a display, but I decided to power through the feeling.

“Right!” I clasped my hands together. “Guys, this is my dad, John. And you already met Seth. Dad, Seth, those are my boyfriends, Elijah, Chester, and Rowan,” I gestured to the appropriate men for the introduction.

“Nice to meet you, sir,” Elijah greeted my father. He looked like he didn’t know where to put his hands and finally linked them behind his back.

Rowan just nodded firmly, his posture a parade rest.

“Hi! Cool house!” Chester immediately went for a compliment, but his eyes darted around the abode as if he was going to rob the house blind.

“It was my late wife’s favorite place,” dad shared with a wistful look in his eyes. “I would prefer to spend the holidays in a warmer region, maybe Bahamas, but…”

“…it’s a tradition!” Seth and I singsonged together, then grinned at each other like loons.

A smile quirked the corner of my father’s mouth.

“So it is. How about you show the guests to their rooms, Lisa?” the way he underscored the men would not be sleeping in my room made me sober up a little. Everything still wasn’t alright. My father being civil for five minutes didn’t mean he approved. Or that I forgave him for being such a jerk. “I will check on the kitchen in the meantime…”

“Don’t act like the turkey and all the other stuff isn’t already prepared and just waiting to be heated up,” I heard Seth tease father as our two groups separated.

“Hey, I’m making the cranberry sauce from scratch! And preparing the mulled cider. Come, I need a willing victim for the taste test.”

Seth’s groan was the last thing I heard as I led our little group upstairs. I took a moment to show the boys around, pointing out where everything was before I showed them to the guest wing. The rooms were already prepared, all crisp sheets and the faint lemon scent of a thorough cleaning. As usual, father hired a crew to prepare everything, be it cleaning, pruning the garden, or cooking the Thanksgiving dinner, but then dismissed them on the day so that everyone could spend time with their own families.

Each of the men had their own room. We grabbed the bags from the car and settled them in, then a whole procession accompanied me to my room.

“Why is it so far from us?” Chester complained.

“To give my father an illusion that we would not be having sex,” I rolled my eyes at my old man’s prudishness.

“Oh? Only an illusion?” Chester perked up.

I shoot him a glance from under my eyelashes.

“Be a good boy and we will see.”

“Yaaas!” Chester pumped his fist obnoxiously. “My body is ready, queen. I don’t need to move at a glacial pace like Elijah here.”

“I don’t want to rush,” Elijah bristled. “Intimacy is… special.”

“Oh boy, it sure is! I hope you aren’t the type to wait until marriage,” Chester snickered. “Because I don’t think that’s happening in our situation.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We need to survive Thanksgiving first. And Chester? Teasing Elijah does not qualify as good behavior. In fact, that’s bad behavior. Bad boy!” I scolded.

“The way you are going, I will get there before you,” Elijah said to Chester and I barked out a laugh at his pointed comment.

Rowan didn’t say anything. He was above the petty squabble when he already staked his claim on my body so thoroughly, but his hand brushed my waist for a moment, unseen by the other two. A subtle reminder.

It’s not like I could ever forget him.

“I will be the bestest boy, you will see,” Chester declared. “AND I will make Lisa’s father like me first.”

With that proclamation he stomped away in the direction of the kitchen, led there by the scent of cooking cranberries. I was left with a lifted hand to stop him, but after a second I thought better of it and let him do it.

“Maybe it’s a good idea to acclimate my father to all of you slowly,” I mused.

“And you think Chester is the right one to start with?” Elijah asked and I winced.

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