Page 118 of Ours
Cory packed the last of his things into the box and sealed it up before walking it outside to Derek and Nic. Nic took the box from him and loaded it into his backseat. Things were tight between their two cars, but they were just able to get everything in. After talking it over, Cory decided he would be riding with Derek, something Nic had groused about, not wanting to miss out on the opportunity for road head. Derek assured him that the next time they had to take two cars, Cory was all his. Cory was just hoping they could take another road trip in an SUV like last time sometime soon.
Not that the boys were planning on leaving the city anytime soon. Ever the prepared daddy, Carl had already put them in touch with a few friends of his in the area, most of whom weremorethan happy to take a trio of kinky young men under their wings. Carl knew that, with the distance, he wouldn’t exactly be able to continue being hands-on with their training, so he wanted to make sure they would be well taken care of. He also gave them the names of the local dungeon and told them about some of the more kink-friendly gay bars, should they want to explore. They boys had already promised to visit when they came home next and tell him all about it.
Cory just walked back outside with another box when he saw a familiar car pulling up—Stephanie! Excited to see her, Cory put down his box to go over and hug her as soon as she was out of her car.
“Hey, nerd!” Stephanie squeezed her friend tightly.
“Says the girl who got into one of the best tech schools in the country,” Cory responded. Steph would be headed to TIM for her first semester any day now. “What are you doing here? Don’t you leave, like, tomorrow?”
“I wanted to come say goodbye!” Stephanie looked over at the cars being packed. “And help pack, but darn—looks like you guys are almost done.”
“Still plenty of boxes inside, Steph.” Derek walked past the two to his car, loading some of Cory’s clothes into the trunk next to his own.
Stephanie rolled her eyes but followed Cory inside, saying hello to Julia and grabbing a few boxes. Cory was glad he got to see her before he left. She was going to be in an entirely different state now. Who knew when he’d get to see her again? They promised to keep in touch, texting or calling whenever they could. He was really going to miss her.
Between the four of them, they finished loading Cory’s stuff into the car in less than an hour just as they had planned. As they were wrapping up, two more cars pulled up to Cory’s apartment—Derek’s and Nic’s parents. Derek’s brought pizza, and Nic’s brought his sisters. Everyone’s parents had come out to get together and have lunch before sending their boys off.
Squeezing back into the small apartment, everyone sat around the living room together, talking, telling stories, and maybe a little crying. All five parents of course had advice for the soon-to-be college students—the best times to take classes, how to find cheap textbooks, and, of course, where to look for free food on campus. Derek’s dad even gave them some info on joining a fraternity, something that at least Cory had no intention of doing. Plans were made for return visits over the holidays with Nic’s mother outright making him swear that he would be back for Christmas this year. Once all the pizza was gone, it was time to go. Cory looked in his room one last time before he joined everyone walking outside to the cars.
“Alright, son. You drive safe, and you let us know as soon as you get there.” Derek’s father hugged him again.
“Derek, I know you’re going to be far away, but your father and I want to make sure we are still there for you however we can.” Derek’s mother squeezed him from the other side. “Please, whatever you need—just talk to us. We’ll answer in a flash.”
“We’re very proud of you,” his father continued. “We love you, and you’ve shown us that you’ve grown up a lot, far more than we expected. We’re very impressed by the man you’re becoming.”
“I love you guys too.” Derek kissed his mother on the cheek one last time. “Promise to make you proud.”
Nic’s parents were currently speaking to him in rapid-fire Spanish, so fast that he only understood about half of it.
“Mama, I know, I know.” Nic hugged his still-speaking mother close. “I’ll call you as soon as we get there.”
“AndeveryFriday.” She poked him in the stomach.
“And every Friday.” Nic fought to not roll his eyes. He knew this was hard on her.
“Lucy, he’ll be fine.” Nic’s father patted him on the shoulder. “We raised him well. It’s time to let him grow up.”
This, of course, set Luciana off on another crying fit, which her husband immediately attempted to soothe.
“Oh god, she’s going to be like this for weeks,” Gabriela commented, shaking her head. “This is all your fault.”
“The last time she cried this much was whenAbuelodied,” Daniela added. “That lasted for almost a month.”
“Okay, could we maybe not talk about me like I’m dying?” Nic requested. “You could at leastpretendthat you’re gonna miss me.”
Gabby sighed and crossed her arms, fixing her brother with a look before relenting and hugging him close.
“Of course, we’re gonna miss you, idiot,” Gabby grumbled. “Still your fault.”
“I’m gonna miss you too,” Dani told him when it was her turn for a hug. “But I’m not gonna miss Gabby moving into your room so I canfinallyhave my own.”
“Ihadmy own room untilyouwere born!” Gabby scoffed.
“You weretwo.” Dani turned to look at her sister. “You didn’t even know what a room was!”
Nic smiled. Between his parent’s blubbering and consoling and his sisters’ fighting, he felt right at home. He was gonna miss his family. At least a little.
“Cory, I just want you to know how proud I am of you.” Julia held her son’s face as she spoke to him.
