Ch. 17 – We Are Not Party People!

Chapter Seventeen – We Are Not Party People!

"So, what are your plans for the weekend? There's a paaarty at that guy's, Williamson, house!" Raj was yelling into his ear, putting way too much emphasis on the 'a' letter in 'party' which meant one of two things. That either Raj had a date, or second, he didn't, and wanted to convince April to go, too, so that he wasn't alone.

April sighed and moved his phone from one ear to another. "I can't, man. I have a baby to take care of."

"Ah, your boyfriend's baby. I just keep forgetting your domestic arrangement. I guess it's a bit too new for me. That's a bummer, man."

"For you or me?"

"Well, you know, both," Raj said somewhat reluctantly.

"You should ask Gaby. I'm not good at parties, anyway. I went to one and immediately got in trouble."

"Do you mean Frasier-trouble?"

"Yeah," April admitted. "I should know better than kiss random dudes."

"I don't think he has the guts to do anything to you. You know, since your boyfriend is part of the mafia and stuff."

"You and Gaby both are going to be the death of me with your crazy assumptions. He's not mafia."

"It doesn't matter. As long as Frasier thinks that, he'll stay away from you."

"Raj, ask Gaby. I'm sure she wants to go."

"And how about you? I mean, will you go through college now without going to any parties? Can't you get like a babysitter for the little one?"

"I'm the babysitter," April said. "And frankly, I don't trust a stranger with Jay."

"What a possessive parent," Raj joked. "But you know, just bear in mind that, once he's over eighteen, he'll still have to leave the nest sometime."

"I know," April replied. "I'm not worried about empty nest syndrome just yet."

"Empty nest syndrome? Sometimes, you sound like an old person, April."

"Funny thing, you're not the only one telling me that. I guess I spent too much time with my dad. His verbal mannerisms rubbed off on me or something."

"So no partying, huh?"

"Nah, and anyways, I think these parties are overrated," April said.

"Aha, says the guy with the kid. See what marrying young gets you?"

April smiled, knowing well Raj couldn't see him. It was more like a smile for himself. He was perfectly content with not going to any party. Jett would keep him busy anyway, and when that didn't happen, he had to take care of Jay and study, so he was pretty much doing everything he liked.

"What am I saying? I'd love to have a girlfriend, go to science fairs with her, watch anime together, and cosplay …" Raj sighed. "Then I wouldn't have to go to stupid parties."

"Do I sense a little regret there? You always say you love parties."

"I have to, or I'll never meet new people."

"Then maybe you should consider meeting new people where you love going, like science fairs, anime conventions, and so on," April suggested.

Raj fell silent for a moment. "Actually, April, that's pretty brilliant. I might do that. But I'll still go to this party."

"Don't forget to call Gaby," April said to remind his friend.

"Are you playing some matchmaker role or something?"

"No," April denied right away. "I just think that you two have a lot in common."

"I just don't know, man."

"What? You don't like Gaby?"

"Of course, I do. But I don't think she likes me."

"Then there is one way to find out. At least one," April corrected himself right away.

"Yeah, I suppose you suggest that I ask her out, but I'm afraid she'll say 'no', and then we will be all awkward and stuff."

"Actually, I wanted to suggest that you do some project together, and see if you guys click."

"How is that supposed to take me to the point where I find out whether she likes me or not?"

"Raj, my man, Gaby as a project partner is an absolute fiend. I haven't even managed to have her studying side by side with me. She's chewing gum. Loudly. It drove me nuts completely, and she's my friend."

"I don't mind that," Raj replied right away.

"See?" April said. "You're already half-way there."

"Thanks for the tip, my dude. So you're planning a quiet weekend at home?"

April smiled again. His head was completely spinning, and in a good way, since the night before. Jett never ceased to surprise him, and he was supposed to be the straighter guy in their relationship. So far, he was doing everything, and April felt good, but also way too virginal for that. Well, that, too, was going to change, no matter how tempting it was to freak out about it all.

"I guess. Don't worry about me. Just go and have fun."

"Worry about you? You got yourself a handsome boyfriend who's in a gang or something."

"This myth is growing stronger and stronger, I see. See you on Monday, and don't drink too much, 'kay?"

"Sure thing, dad. Geez, April, sometimes I think you were born in the middle of a parental responsibility course."

"I don't think such a thing exists."

"It has to because you do."

With that last laugh, Raj finally cut off the convo, and April stretched lazily on the sofa. Jett was still out and had been so since early morning, which had left him with all the other domestic stuff. He had made pancakes, Jay was fed and happily playing in his playpen, and now all he wanted was to share some late breakfast with Jett.

But where was he? April had a mind to call him, but he didn't know whether Jett was on one of his bone-breaking missions or something, and having his phone go off could be some unwelcome distraction.

Also, although April wasn't keen on admitting it, even to himself, he was a little worried when Jett was out for hours. That night had been a little too much of a glimpse into Jett's way of living, and April knew he had plenty of reasons to feel that way.

He was getting entangled fast in Jett's business. But how could he not? April grabbed a squeaky toy and drew Jay's attention. Observing the small child learning while playing was eye-opening for April. He was a lot of work, sure, but April didn't complain. His dad had taught him that a love for things that were tough and complicated. Maybe it was cheesy to think stuff like 'love will help you go through anything' or stuff like that, but April found it a pretty healthy outlook on life. He knew well how things must have been plenty tough on his dad, much more than on him.

And he also seemed to crush on a man who was tough, too, although maybe not that complicated. At thirteen, April had been a little scared of Jett at first. He clearly had the aggressiveness's gene in his DNA and used it as a solution to almost anything. But April knew there was so much going under that rough exterior.

So far, their relationship was going pretty good, April thought. He didn't have anything to complain, and he was pretty much floating on cloud nine.

"Jay, what do you say about helping me set up my rig, buddy?"

As much as he enjoyed watching Jay play, just sitting around and thinking where the hell Jett was didn't work for him that well. He had a hunch Jay would be quite the assistant while he took care of his crypto mining rig.

***

"Wipe that grin off your face, and help me choose," Zane said as he was staring at two bottles of scotch as if on that choice depended the fate of the universe.

"I'm not going to wipe anything," Jett replied with satisfaction. "Man, I'm telling you, April is the best."

"And, did you tell him about Theo?"

Jett threw his best friend a murderous look. "Zane, do you need me to beat you up to stop yapping your mouth about that?"

"That, my friend," Zane said with conviction, "is your crush for the last seven years or so."

"I told you it wasn't like that. Theo was … he was a good friend, okay? And I blew it. So I feel guilty about that and shit."

"I'm going to buy them both. You're clearly in a mood," Zane said and grabbed both bottles from the shelf while they continued to walk about.

"Who's in a mood, you ass? I'm just telling you to keep it zipped about Theo."

"All right. April won't find one thing about that from me. But, between you and me, man, you got a crush on Theo, and you haven't forgotten about him for the last seven years. Hell, I can't quite remember the first guy I fucked."

"Yeah, well, we're not all field players like you," Jett said and punched Zane in the shoulder, and not in an entirely friendly way.

"Like you haven't played the field for years," Zane pointed out.

"Yeah, but I'm totally good now. I'm a saint. I have a kid, a boyfriend, you know, I got settled."

"Huntsman, you're head over heels. Did you fuck him yet?"

"I'm gonna," Jett promised. "But I'm not going to tell you about it, you creep."

"How I'm the creep? Hey, I always tell you about the guys I get freaky with."

"Even if I don't give a rat's ass about that. Have I ever told you about my getting freaky with anybody?"

"Until now, I haven't been interested, not being into hetero sex and all that. Now I am because April is a total hottie."

"Hey, don't use that word to describe my boyfriend," Jett warned.

"What? Do you want me to say he's not hot?"

"He's dorky and wears glasses. He's hot only for me."

"I bet." Zane wiggled his eyebrows and laughed.

"Other dudes have no business staring at him and thinking that he's hot."

"All right, man, suit yourself. Does he know we're throwing a party at your place tonight?"

"Not yet. We were too busy doing other stuff if you know what I mean. I forgot to tell you."

"What the hell are you two doing if you're not fucking?" Zane said out loud.

Jett offered a forced smile to a middle-aged female customer who eyed them with disdain. "We make out, obviously. And there's plenty of jerking off."

The customer moved along, shaking her head.

"It's like high school," Zane pointed out.

"That will change soon."

"All right. But are you sure he's fine with us partying at your place? I'm not an expert at relationships, but I think you should call him or something."

"Why wouldn't he be fine?" Jett shrugged. "He might be a dweeb, but even he parties."

Zane appeared to want to say something but then closed his mouth. Jett continued the shopping, dropping into the cart anything that he thought suitable for the party.

***

April was getting a bit nervous, as he checked the hour. His mining rig was in place, and now he and Jay were in the kitchen, eating a late lunch. Again, he considered calling Jett but stopped. The last thing Jett wanted was for April to start behaving like a nagging wife. Also, even if his line of work was what it was, April had no right to meddle.

Maybe he would call after Jay's afternoon nap. By then, maybe it would seem natural to call. It wouldn't be nagging, but interest in one's whereabouts, April thought. Damn, Raj was right. Not only he was talking like an old person; he was thinking like one, too.

After getting Jay to sleep in his crib, he began to clean the table when the doorbell rang. Jett obviously had a key, so could it be? For a few seconds, he debated whether it would be okay for him to get the door. After all, that wasn't his home, and whoever was ringing the doorbell had to be interested in seeing Jett, who wasn't in.

Then an idea struck him. What if it was Jay's mom? Maybe she had a change of heart, but she didn't have Jett's number. April almost flew toward the door.

He just stared in surprise, seeing who it was. "How did you get here?"

Dan had a sheepish look in his eyes as he looked at him. "Uber."

April pinched the bridge of his nose. Was Dan trying to be funny? "How did you know I live here now?" he asked.

Dan grimaced and shifted his weight from one foot to another. "Can I talk to you, April?"

April peered into the street, feeling a bit awkward about it all. "Did you just follow Jett's car or something …"

"Or something," Dan confirmed, with a short nod. "I really need to talk to you."

"Well, that's kind of difficult. I'm taking care of Jay … the baby. And Jett's not at home, so I can't exactly invite you in."

Suddenly, Dan dropped to his knees, and April squealed, taking a step back. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"April, please forgive me. I'm an asshole, and I shouldn't have treated you badly. But if you leave your gangster boyfriend, I promise I'll never do that again. I'll come out to the team; I'll do anything. Go out with me. Please."

April stared in disbelief. "All right, get up. Geez, we only half-kissed, Dan. And I'm not traumatized by your calling me names and stuff."

Dan remained on his knees. "I know that you have no reason to trust me."

April put one hand on his shoulder. "Dan, my dude, it's okay. I have nothing against you. I mean, yeah, you were an ass and all that, but I don't hold it against you. And I don't want you to come out for my sake. Do it for yours, okay?"

"How come you kissed me, and then, in a few days, you got hooked up with this guy?" Dan asked in disbelief. "I know how you look at me. At least, used to. Ever since school started … I mean, I thought you had a crush on me or something."

April sighed. "I'm sorry I got you thinking the wrong thing. But could you please get up? Jett could be home at any minute."

"And are you afraid of him? Is that guy abusive toward you or something? Well, I'm not scared of him. I can take him."

Dan seemed a little more courageous now than before, but April decided not to dwell on it. "Look, he's not abusive. We get along. He's cool and --"

"I can be cool!" Dan was sort of sweet, and April knew why he had liked him before, at least the times when he didn't act like a total douche. Well, that had been until meeting Jett Huntsman again and having his life turned upside down.

"Dan, it's not about that. How can I say it … He's my boyfriend now. I'm sorry it didn't work out between us." It was ridiculous even to say such words, but, apparently, for Dan, that half-kiss had been enough to upend whatever beliefs he had.

Dan seemed conflicted, and his pretty face was rumpled paper as he was clearly trying to get a hold of his feelings.

April sighed again. "Please, just get up."

"But I thought a grand gesture would impress you," Dan said and appeared lost, his eyes clean and bright.

April just hoped the guy wouldn't start crying or anything. He was not prepared for that. Jay crying was enough of a challenge for him. He didn't need a grown-ass man doing that. "I am impressed. But I happen to like this guy." April pondered for a second and realized he needed to say something more to convince Dan to drop his romantic pursuit.

"Do you like him? He's a gorilla!"

"I do," April said, and winced a little in apology, "and I kind of like gorillas anyway. The animals, you know. They're pretty smart."

"But you like me, too," Dan protested. "I can lift more, go bigger if that's what you like."

"It's not the size," April said, gesturing with his hands as if he was measuring something. Realizing how weird that was, he put his hands behind his back. "It's, you know, his personality."

"Really?" Dan threw him a weird look, cocking his head to one side. It was still strange and ridiculous that they carried that conversation with Dan kneeling. "He's a gangster. Ah, do you like the bad boy type? I can be that."

April covered his face, rubbed his eyes, and exhaled. "I can't explain it all. It's like …" he searched for the right word, "madness!" Damn, he should have taken some theater classes or something. "Yeah, I'm madly in love with this dude! It can't be explained!"

"Madly in love? With that dude?" Dan seemed flabbergasted by April's confession. At that moment, for some reason, they were both shouting.

April opened his arms wide and said loudly. "Yes, I'm madly in love with Jett!"

Taken by his own artistic performance, he closed his eyes. Hoots and whistles brought him back to reality.

Shit, his brain supplied the immediate and appropriate response. He stared at Jett and Zane, just a few steps away, their arms filled with bags … Was that liquor? April squinted.

Jett just pushed Dan away and planted his bags on the ground. Then caught April by the waist, and kissed him hard on the lips. "Baby, really? Are you madly in love with me?" he drawled, as soon as he released April. "Do you want me to take out this trash?"

April stared down at Dan, who seemed too much in shock to get up and was sitting on his ass. "No. Dan was just … dropping some homework." He smiled in assurance as his eyes turned to Jett.

Jett stared at him through his eyelashes. "Homework? Whatever, I don't care. Let's get rid of this asshole --"

They both looked at Zane, who was helping Dan up. His shopping bags were also abandoned on the lawn.

"And who are you?" Zane asked directly as he gave Dan a once-over that left no room for guessing what the purpose of that was.

"He's just an asshole," Jett replied.

"I like assholes," Zane said, without taking his eyes off Dan. "Let's get inside. Help me with these?"

Zane slung one arm casually over Dan's shoulders like it was the most natural thing in the world. Dan seemed to be in some trance and accepted the bag Zane picked from the ground and pushed into his arms.

"How did he get here?" Jett asked.

"Uber," April said in a deadpan voice. "Wait, what's with all this stuff?"

Jett let go of him to pick up the bags he had abandoned on the ground. "It's party time!"

April opened his mouth and then closed it. "No, it's not," he eventually managed to voice.

"Yes, it is," Jett replied with a wide grin.

"Are you nuts?" April whispered, after allowing Zane and Dan to get inside.

"Hmm, I have a feeling you don't like to party or something," Jett said.

"Jett, we have Jay to care about."

Jett shrugged. "He'll be asleep the whole time. And that thing has a vibrate function. If anything happens, you can go see what's wrong."

April rubbed his forehead. "Sometimes, I wonder how it would feel to strangle you. I might have to put all my strength into it, but it could worth the effort. Let me spell it for you: no party," he enunciated every syllable.

"That's not spelling," Jett pointed out.

April groaned. "That's not the point. We can't have a party with Jay here."

"Do you want to send him away while we have fun? That's heartless," Jett joked. "Now, let's get inside. Not that I don't appreciate you letting the entire street know how much you're into me."

April huffed in annoyance and followed Jett back into the house and then into the kitchen. Zane was not there, but the bags were, so he wondered where he and Dan might have wandered off. "For the record, I was just exaggerating. I need to make a point to Dan."

Jett seemed to remember something. "Did you give that asshole my address?"

"No, of course not."

Jett grimaced and cracked his knuckles in a threatening way. "Then, I need to kick his ass."

"Wait, wait." April hurried to stand in his way. "He's harmless."

"I don't care."

"Don't spill blood in this house. It's a pain to take off carpets."

Jett stared at him as if he was thinking of something. April wasn't sure he liked that look. Then Jett smiled. "I think Zane is taking care of him right now."

April straightened up, and he was the one trying to get out of the kitchen. "Then, I need to find them."

Jett stopped him, grabbing him by the waist. "No, you don't. What you need to do is to explain to me why you said you're madly in love with me, and then took it back."

April wiggled in Jett's embrace. "I told you. It was like a figure of speech or something."

"Figure of speech, huh? Let me try one of my own."

It was too damned much, how good a kisser Jett was. April melted gradually, as Jett kissed him, sticking his tongue into his mouth and challenging him to fight back. How could he? Jett's kisses were the best.

Jett's tongue wasn't the only thing daring and ambitious. When a rough hand cupped one of his buttocks, not adequately protected against such attacks, since he only wore some sweatpants, April got a hold of himself. "Wait, wait, wait."

"I'm horny," Jett said.

"Well, you shouldn't," April replied promptly.

"You are, too," Jett pointed out, sneaking one hand into his sweatpants, the drawstring apparently not that much of a hindrance for what he had in mind.

April smacked his mouth with one hand, in his hurry to stop an instant moan, as Jett played with him. "Well, I shouldn't, either," he replied eventually. "Why the hell did you decide to throw a party? With a baby in the house?"

Jett seemed a bit irritated now. "Because it's my house, and if I want to throw a party, I do."

April stiffened at that. Well, yeah, it was none of his business, but still. "Yeah, that's right."

It was a bit difficult and probably funny for anyone watching, the way he struggled to get out of Jett's arms.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jett asked, throwing his arms to the sides like it wasn't fair of April to react like that.

"Nothing. I'll be upstairs. Until this party of yours runs its course. I hope your guests don't have the bad habit of wandering around and mistaking the bedrooms as brothel accommodations, or worse, the bathroom. And, tomorrow, don't expect me to clean the puke off the walls or whatever. There's only one person under this roof who's allowed to puke anywhere, and that's your son."

April hoped his stride had every bit of rightful indignation he imagined and that it had some sort of impact on Jett. At least, he was allowed to walk away, and that was a relief. After all, he didn't want the conversation to wander back to his stupid declaration of love. It had been Dan's fault, really. He hoped Zane wasn't roughing him up too much.

***

Jett had not one ounce of good mood left, with April out of the room. What the hell had gotten into the dweeb, anyway? He scratched his head and grimaced. Did the dweeb dislike parties so much? And why? That argument with Jay was pretty weak. That kid could sleep through anything. And the party would just be downstairs.

Well, he needed to tell the others to steer clear of the bedrooms upstairs. Usually, there was just one room that remained off-limits at all times, but now April was barring the entire floor for access.

Now, he was a little pissed, too. He hadn't imagined that April didn't like to party. Jett would have much liked to see him with a bit of alcohol in his system. Something told him April was a funny drunk. Maybe he would find out another time.

There were still some hours to kill until the others came, and he had hoped to get April to help around. Not because Jett wanted to exploit him or something, but because he had imagined how it would be to spend those hours glued to April's slender body, keeping him from filling bowls with crackers and complaining about not having enough glasses around. Who needed glasses, anyway?

Maybe April was pissed about how Jett had heard his confession. It had been pretty awesome, Jett mused, as he took out the booze and placing the bottles on the table. The dweeb was in love with him, madly or not, or he wouldn't have said that.

But was he in love with April, too? Jett stopped. He didn't dwell on stuff like that, usually. Feelings were complications. He felt good with April, but Jett didn't do feelings. Maybe it had been that made him behave like that, years ago, toward Theo. Still, it had felt awesome to hear about someone else's feelings, feelings nurtured toward him.

Damn, why the hell did things have to be so complicated? On top of it all, Jett felt something stirring inside him, too. Maybe he was getting a little soft. Between a baby and a boyfriend, some exterior layers were starting to peel off. He shook his head. It was only April's fault. What business did he have to say he loved Jett like that?

***

"Tonight, there will only be you and me, buddy," April said, as he sat on the bed, and watched Jay sleeping in his crib. "Your daddy throws a party downstairs, but we don't need that. We're not party people."

TBC