Page 57 of A Case of You
John’s parents, who’d insisted Brandon and Stuart call them Mom and Dad, wanted Stuart and Brandon sitting close to them so they could spend more time talking to them.
Brandon wished his own family had been this warm and accepting of him growing up, much less of his family situation now. “If you all ever want to come to Florida to visit, we’d love to have you. We live in Sarasota. Great beaches nearby. We have plenty of room. I’m sure Emma and Jeff would love to meet you.”
“Thank you,” Maria said, “that’s very kind of you. We might take you up on that.” She playfully poked her husband. “It’s difficult to get him to take time off, and we aren’t getting any younger.”
Stuart got Eileen’s attention. “Is Mom coming over today?”
She shook her head. “This evening. I told her we have it under control. Do Ilookstupid?” She, her friends, and the Martinez sisters all burst into laughter. “I have enough help. We’re not doing a lot of decorations, just putting the centerpieces together and setting the tables and stuff. We kept this low-budget.”
Using his phone, Brandon made sure to get plenty of candid pictures for them of breakfast, including some video they could post on Facebook. Then one of John’s friends offered to hold Brandon’s phone and take pictures so he could be in them.
The way Stuart beamed when he looked into Brandon’s eyes, he knew in his gut this had been the right call, despite the irritation Jake was proving to be.
It still wasn’t a fraction as bad as Stuart had obviously built it up in his mind.
Something Stuart even admitted later after they returned to their hotel so Brandon could check e-mail and they could call home.
“I don’t know why I was so scared of him all these years. Why any of us were.”
“Because you were legitimately scared of him as a kid. He’s eight years older than you. That kind of early conditioning is hard to overcome. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”
* * * *
It was kind of all Stuartcoulddo. Beat himself up over it. Maybe he’d suddenly grown a spine in the better part of a year since leaving Iowa, but it couldn’t bethatsimple.
Could it?
The bogeyman from his youth was now nothing more than a sad paper tiger. With the entirety of the Martinez clan standing up for him, as well as his own family, he’d been sorely tempted to walk up to Jake and punch him.
As the afternoon wore on, Stuart’s elation at how Jake had been deflated last night waned and then completely faded. Not even Brandon giving him another spanking and working him up without release could help.
As they dressed for the wedding, Brandon helped Stuart retie his necktie when it was obvious he was so nervous he kept fumbling it. Brandon stood behind him at the mirror, reaching around to tie it. Once he had it—perfect, of course—he held Stuart and met his gaze in the mirror.
“Just breathe,” he said. “That’s all you have to do. The worst is over.”
“Is it?”
“We don’t know if Jake will show up tonight.”
“Oh, he’ll show up.”
“Maybe, maybe not. He might have taken a big enough hit to his ego to leave it alone now that he knows it won’t be any fun. Or he might show up and behave himself and leave. But worrying about it won’t help.”
Stuart leaned back against Brandon, reaching behind him and wrapping his arms around the man. “I wish Jeff was here. Safety in numbers.”
“I know. Me, too. But having John’s sisters as backup was more than enough. We also have his friends. Nothing’s going to happen tonight. If it does, you step back and let us handle it. Okay?”
“Yes, Sir.”
Brandon nuzzled his head against Stuart’s. “You look good in a suit, boy. I like this look on you.”
He smiled, feeling Brandon’s rigid cock pressing against his ass through their dress slacks. “I have a feeling I’m going to be ordered to dress up more often.”
“You’d better believe it. Not that I don’t think you look sexy normally, because you do. I guess I have a suit fetish after all.Stay.”
Brandon disengaged himself from Stuart, grabbed his phone, then retook his previous position except with one arm holding his phone in front of them, the rear camera activated to take a selfie of them.
Cheek-to-cheek, Brandon said, “Smile, boy.”
