Page 53 of The Virgin
But it was their first time. Another first from Spencer that had Jonah smiling and nearly forgetting where they were and what they were about to do. Jonah had brought Spencer to family breakfast at the diner before, but not as a boyfriend. Not as the most important person in his life.
They entered through the front, Spencer pulling the door open for Jonah and placing a hand on his lower back as he passed. He followed after, linking their hands again. Jonah’s dad wasn’t at the table, and there was some kind of ruckus going on in the kitchen.
Jonah looked at Spencer and furrowed his brow. “Come on.” Jonah tugged Spencer into the kitchen.
Taylor was at the grill doing his thing, scrambling eggs and frying bacon. He was good at what he did, and usually he enjoyed his job, but today Jonah saw the tight set of his jaw and the redness in his face that didn’t have anything to do with the heat.
Colby stood off to the side, his arms crossed over his chest. “I said I was sorry, okay. It’s not a big deal, Taylor.”
Colby’s gaze swept over to Jonah and Spencer. He immediately clocked where Spencer and Jonah’s hands were joined, but he didn’t comment on it.
“Let’s ask Jonah ifhethinks it’s a big deal. I bet he doesn’t.”
Taylor whirled on Colby, pointing his metal spatula at him. “Don’t you dare. You’ve already—God—I fucking hate you sometimes.” Taylor threw the spatula down on the stove and stormed out the back door.
“Well, fuck.” Colby took his hat off and raked his hands through his hair. “I have to go fix that. Can you man the stove, Jonah?” Colby asked, but he didn’t wait for an answer before following Taylor outside.
“Well. So much for our big reveal,” Jonah joked. He was disappointed, in truth. He’d come with good news, with something important to him to share, and yet again his life was overshadowed by his brothers’ bullshit. Because other people’s lives were always more interesting, more worthy of attention than Jonah’s was.
Jonah quickly washed his hands before grabbing the spatula. He checked the tickets and picked up where Taylor had left off. He sniffled a few tears back and tried to get himself under control. It was a stupid thing to be mad about, but he couldn’t help but feel like he was the least important person in the room.
The kitchen door opened, and Jonah’s dad came in. “Are those two idiots still fighting?”
Jonah said nothing, not trusting his voice not to break.
“They went out back,” Spencer offered.
Jonah heard his dad grumble under his breath, but he wasn’t paying much attention. It had been a long time since he’d manned the kitchen, and he was rusty, which was good because it took all his concentration, leaving no room for him to feel sorry for himself.
Spencer’s presence at his side was comforting. A familiar hand swept down Jonah’s back. “We can leave if you want.”
Jonah opened his mouth to say something, but the back door swung open and the familiar sound of Taylor and Colby bickering flooded the kitchen.
“I said I was sorry, Taylor. Jesus. Don’t be such a baby.”
“You’re such a jerk, Colby. Stay out of my face.” Taylor scrubbed up in the sink then stepped into Jonah’s space and took the spatula from him. “Thanks, Jonah.”
Jonah stepped away from the stove. “You’re not welcome. Neither one of you are. Fuck you both. I wanted one day. One fucking minute where my shit mattered. I even texted that I was coming to breakfast and had something to tell everyone. But no one cares. And most of the time I don’t care that you ignore me. But I just wanted ten fucking minutes today to tell you that I’m in love with Spencer, and we’re really fucking happy. And I come here and you two have to act like little bitches all the time. It’s always about Colby and Taylor, because they’re the youngest and they need the most. And when we were kids, that was fine.” Jonah sniffled and, to his absolute horror, he realized that everyone was staring at him. His cheeks were wet, and his throat burned with the need to scream at them. “Fuck you both.”
Jonah pushed his way past them and went out the back. He hated himself for losing it like that. Hated that he might not have if he’d gotten more sleep, but he’d been up half the night with Spencer.
The fresh air didn’t help Jonah feel better, but it was an improvement over being inside where he was always an afterthought. Where even when he’d said he had something to say, his brothers had to have center stage.
“Hey, kid, wait up.”
Jonah’s steps faltered at the sound of his dad’s voice, and he came to a stop. He didn’t even know where he’d intended to go.
Instead of saying anything, his dad swept him into a hug. It took Jonah a few moments to catch up and make his body move. He put his arms around his dad and let himself be hugged. He felt suddenly small and stupid…and a little better because it was his dad that had come chasing after him. Jonah sniffled again.
“Are you going to tell me what this is all about?”
Jonah pulled away and wrapped his arms around himself. “I just—I wanted five minutes of those assholes being happy for me. And I show up, and they’re so self-absorbed in their own little bubble of bullshit that they just overshadow everything.” Jonah sniffled again. He wanted Spencer to come out and take him away from this. His appetite was ruined now, and he just wanted to go home. To climb under his covers and let Spencer hold him and pretend that this morning had never happened.
“I don’t even know why those two assholes are at each other’s throats, but I’m sorry they spoiled your morning. If it makes you feel better, they’ve promised to shut the hell up and be happy for you if you’ll come back inside for breakfast. Taylor’s whipping up french toast for you.”
French toast was Jonah’s favorite. He almost said no, and his dad must have seen what was coming because he slid an arm around Jonah and tugged him into his side.
“Let them fawn over you a bit. Let them be sorry, okay? You might as well milk it while they feel like the assholes they are.”
