Page 54 of Buddy System

I feel like I can finally take a deep breath. What a colossal waste of time that experience was. Levi and Brooke have been so great through it all. I know I’ve been a moody bastard now and then when the stress got me down. I need to step it up and let them know just what their love and support mean to me.

As soon as we get home, however, Brooke sails into the house and says breezily, “How would you guys like to have a scary movie marathon night? I can pop some popcorn and make hot chocolate. Or I can bake brownies, and we can have them with ice cream…”

We both gape at her like she just grew an extra head.What?

“Hah! Gotcha!” she giggles. “You should see the looks on your faces. Let’s go to bed. Now!” She zips down the hall with us in hot pursuit, all three of us pulling off articles of clothing along the way. Since Levi and I are in suits, undressing is a bigger pain in the ass than it is when we wear shorts and t-shirts.

Brooke is the first one out of her clothes and grabs the lube while Levi and I hang up our suits. Soon, we’re all piled on the bed kissing and stroking anything that’s handy. “I think,” she says breathlessly, “we need to focus our attention on Skyler tonight. He has something big to celebrate.”

I get a different idea though, and before Levi can answer, I say, “Can you guys wait a bit for the fun to begin? I have something I want to show you, and this seems like the best time to do it.” They look at me questioningly, so I add, “I promise I’ll be right back.” I streak out of the room and head up to my studio. I’m out of breath once I get there, but I’m so excited, I barely even care. In less than two minutes, I’m back again in the master bedroom with them. I can barely catch my breath when I find them making out on the bed.I guess they didn’t miss me too badly, I think as I chuckle inwardly. They look so beautiful together, it makes me hard, despite the sudden rush of second thoughts washing over me. I clear my throat.

They pull themselves apart, and Brooke gets a knowing look when she sees what I have in my hands.

“Ooh, it’s finished?” she asks. “Levi! Wait till you see this!”

Levi looks curious, but he’s still stroking Brooke’s body. He can obviously see it’s a painting; I hope he loves it. Brooke only saw it in the beginning stages, and it’s changed quite a bit since then.

“Levi,” I tell him, “I did this for you. It’s the best way other than just loving you that I can express what you mean to me. You’re my hero, and if I’d never met you, there’s no way I’d be this happy. You exploded into my life, and you bring me incredible joy. When you insisted that Brooke could be an equal part of my life with you, I was blown away. I think what the three of us have is perfect and special, and probably better than anything I deserve. And maybe after I show this to you, we can finally give Brooke her birthday present. What do you think?”

“I think that’s a great idea,” he tells me. Brooke looks baffled but happy. Everyone loves a good gift.

“Ready?” I ask as I switch on the overhead light for optimum illumination.

“Show me already!” he laughs.

I flip the painting of him around and hold it up so it rests on the bed. Brooke gasps, and Levi stares at it bug-eyed. “Wow. That’s how you see me?”

I grin as Brooke begins to carry on. “He’s captured your bravery and patriotism so well. You can also tell, looking at that painting, that Levi has an enormous capacity for love. It’s absolute genius.” She looks at Levi and says, “You could use this for an album cover one day.”

“I’d be honored if you did, Levi.”

“I’ve never been so impressed with a painting in my life, Skyler. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love how you incorporated the fireworks in the background and made me look military and brave but also approachable at the same time. It’s just amazing, and I’m incredibly flattered.”

“May I have my gift now too?” Brooke asks, looking all excited as she almost jumps out of her skin.

Levi laughs, making a crack about her being greedy, and I take the painting into the other bedroom so we don’t knock it over before it’s hung. I return with a gaily wrapped package in my hands. It’s large and flat, and Brooke reacts to its weight as I hand it to her.

“Hmm. Heavy. Feels like a book…” she muses.

I sit down on the other side of her opposite Levi and tell her, “We want you to look through this and choose what you want.”

She gives us a quizzical look and then rips off the paper. As soon as it registers what we’re giving her, she squeals. “A dog? I can choose any dog? Oh, I can’t wait to read through it. Thank you, guys!” She opens the book and flips through some pagesexclaiming over and over at the wonderful photography of all the different breeds. Every section explains the specific breed’s characteristics, personalities, special requirements, sociability, and on and on. It was a great find. Sure, we could have used the internet for dog shopping, but the book itself is kind of a piece of art. It was worth it, too, to see her excitement.

“We also printed up a list of AKC breeders of note in case you want to call around and see who has puppies or visit the dogs to see which ones you like. Levi and I have our favorites, but the choice is all yours. We can also talk to Dr. Lassiter—the local vet—to see what he knows about puppies around here. Their family has always had lots of dogs.”

“Do you know any breeds that are particularly good with children?” she asks.

“Several of them are,” I tell her. “My parents’ three labs are great with them, for instance.”

“Okay…well…” Suddenly Brooke is blushing. “Since we’re all giving gifts, I guess I have a big one for both of you too.”

“You guess?” Levi says with a soft laugh. “What is it?”

“Um…a baby.”

“What?” Levi cries.

At the same time, I grab Brooke and squeeze her, asking, “When did you find out and what happened to having an IUD?” I can’t stop smiling and laughing.

---