Page 21 of A Case of You
Stuart seemed to need a moment. “Are you asking my permission to hook up a hot tub on the lanai? Because…I’m pretty sure you’re the Master and don’tneedmy permission.”
Brandon snorted as he realized the source of Stuart’s confusion. “Would we need to put a new electrical circuit or something out there? You are an electrician, are you not?”
“Oh. Oh! Okay.” He laughed. “Sorry, Master. It would depend on what we got. I’d have to look at the specs. I think some of them run off 110. If so, we might be okay. If not, I’d just add another breaker to the panel and run an outdoor conduit. Couple of hours of work, that’s all.”
“So we could do it?”
“Sure. For Jeff?”
“I was thinking so, yeah.” He smiled down at him. “And for fun, too.”
Stuart smiled back. “I would enjoy that kind of fun.”
“I’m sure you would.”
They headed for their bedroom once Emma safely returned. They managed to climb into bed on either side of Jeff without waking him. As they settled in, Brandon tipped his head close to Jeff’s and inhaled, comforted by his scent. It wasn’t the same with the three of them not in bed together.
It finally hit him he’d never given Stuart an answer about going to his sister’s wedding.
I’ll let it stew overnight.He didn’t want to start a discussion about it and wake Jeff.
Frankly, he wanted to say no. It was his gut instinct, and any time he’d ignored that in the past, bad things had happened.
Except…it was Stuart’s family. And Stuart seemed to want to go, at least for his sister’s sake.
It can wait until morning.
Chapter Six
“We haven’t talked about Thanksgiving yet,” Jeff mumbled early the next morning when the alarm went off on Stuart’s phone.
Stuart thought maybe he’d misheard him, but then on the other side of Jeff, the lamp snapped on and Brandon raised his head. “Huh?”
“Thanksgiving.” Jeff’s eyes were still closed, and he winced as he rolled to his right side, now facing Stuart. “We haven’t talked about it yet.”
Stuart looked over Jeff at Brandon, who appeared as perplexed as Stuart felt. But before Stuart could ask Jeff wherethatthought came from, a soft snore escaped him.
Sound asleep again.
Stuart couldn’t help it. He stifled his giggles and somehow made it out of bed and to the bathroom, where he realized it was difficult as hell to pee standing up while also trying not to laugh loudly enough to awaken a man asleep in his bed.
Brandon stumbled into the bathroom to await his turn, also softly snorting. “I guess that Xanax really did knock him on his ass.”
“Well, he doesn’t even drink. Look what happens if he has a beer, not that he has lately because of his meds. It puts him out like a light.”
“True.”
Stuart finished without dribbling anywhere and stepped aside to wash his hands while Brandon had his turn.
“I don’t smell coffee,” Brandon said. “I take it Emma didn’t have swimming this morning?”
“I don’t honestly know, Master. I forgot to look at the calendar last night.” Stuart grabbed his robe and headed out to the kitchen to get the coffee started. And yes, Emma’s car still sat parked in the driveway when he peeked out the front blinds.
He hit the button on the coffeemaker, then he verified with the calendar that Emma didn’t have swimming that morning.
But when he checked the time, he realized Emma still should have been up by then, getting ready for school and to go pick up Grace, since she was Grace’s ride.
He’d just reached her bedroom door to knock when it flew open and Emma smacked right into him, scaring the crap out of both of them.
