Chapter 25

Embarrassed, with sheepish expressions on their faces, the two men walked into the restaurant, gazes held low until they were inside. Neither missed the camera shutters. When they did finally look up, they realised there was a large table by the window that had all eyes on them. There sat the 10 members of their two families. It was at that moment they realised they had seen them from the moment they had arrived.

Henry couldn't help but look at Joshua, the two making short eye contact. He had not expected it, but the embarrassment was clear as day on the other man's face, for once you could tell exactly what he was thinking instead of being stuck trying to read his calm and collected poker face.

Both shuffled over to their seats. The older man sat between his two siblings, to the left of his parents. The younger man sat in the middle of the two couples that comprised his family, opposite Archer.

For once, the whole restaurant did not have their eyes on the two beautiful men the second they walked in. It only emphasised how rough a morning the two men had; they had gone from being the centre of all attention everywhere to passing off as normal, unimportant people.

Of course, the servers were another matter. When they saw the two figures walking right past he 'please wait to be served' sign and go straight to the most beautiful table of people they had every served in one go, their interest was piqued. It took a good look before they one by one started to recognise the two men as the famed couple. Some of them could not believe their eyes, as beautiful and attractive as they were when you looked at them, they acted strangely normal.

Of course that was not entirely true, even when acting normal they stood out, they just looked a little rough around the edges at the moment.

It was only as he sat down next to the recently released Penelope Lore did Joshua remember he had not gotten a chance to brush his teeth this morning. He quickly found himself getting more and more self-conscious, although he could not deny that it was quite refreshing for it not to be related to his pretty looks. He could feel his sister's stares and hidden smirk from his left, from his right it was the same from Archer. Suddenly, the 23-year-old wanted to dig himself into a hole and never surface again.

The younger man was not free of the coy stares either, two burning gazes from both sides. It was not just his brother or sister-in-law hiding smirks, his eccentric parents had also joined in. Unlike the Lore family, where the siblings were half-subtle and the parents were to the side, mostly composed, the Reyes's had no intention in hiding their amusement.

John Lore was struggling to hide his own amazement at how shameless his son had allowed himself to go, not quire understanding what he found so funny about the situation. But the understanding was not necessary, the man having to try twice as hard as he made short eye contact with the elder Reyes couple, Marcus and Caroline having a similar problem.

Hanna was the only one of the ten spectators sat at the table who had managed to keep a straight face, determined to chastise both boys for their tardiness and unseemly image. For this reason, with more effort and dedication than she had possibly put into anything before in her life, she avoided everyone else's eyes. Just one look and she knew she would crack.

"What time do the two of you call this? And why are the two of you wearing such rumpled clothes?"

The rest of the parents marvelled at Hanna's strength. Hanna marvelled at her own strength, she did not think this would be as difficult as it was, all she wanted to do was gush at the couple. Samuel and Meera met eyes with Archer and Penelope from across the table, the for of them snickering in unison.

The two in question could only avert their gaze and turn away, faces still lit up in embarrassment.

"Well?" Hanna started to feel rather motherly, she could not remember the last time she had scolded Joshua, it was more fun that her memory served.

Hearing his mother's voice, Joshua could do nothing but turn away, face crumpling in shame. Penelope had to cover her mouth to stop an obnoxious laugh escape her lips. She had never seen her brother act like this, he had always been the most perfect family member; never a hair out of place, never a word too many. In the last week, however, she had seen innumerable sides of her second brother that had never been seen before. A lot directing stemming from embarrassment – an emotion she though he was alien too. It brought he teenager nothing but joy, however wanting more seeing as she could only hear of this sort of thing or be shown pictures. This was the first time she had been face to face with Joshua as his face lit with unfamiliar expressions. Now that she had seen it, she wanted more imperfections to surface.

It seemed that Joshua was not the only member of the Lore family with a streak of sadism at heart.

Henry had come to a realisation that he had developed a troubling habit: whenever he felt pushed into a corner or unsure of what to do, he looked to Joshua Lore. What was more troubling than the habit itself was how effectively it calmed the man down.

Why had he only just come to realise this? Because, as always, he looked to Joshua following Hanna's question, and for the second time he did not have his usual, calm expression on his face. In turn, there was a lack of comfort from looking at Joshua, that had made him feel strange. It was only after a second's thought he realised that Joshua usually played a part in calming his nerves.

For a moment, he felt lost.

Suddenly it hit him, why did he have to rely on Joshua Lore? He was not big-headed or prideful, but neither was Henry lacking in self-awareness. Henry knew he was a capable man, not one that would usually need support, especially in a situation like this. Even if he was a thin-faced man, he was able to face his own mistake mostly head on. As embarrassed as he was, that did not mean he could not open his mouth.

Henry also knew that Joshua was not always the best with words in situations like this. If Joshua was not going to answer his mother, who else was left but Henry himself?

And so he answered.

"We found we have a mutual friend, he dragged us out last night for a few drinks to relax. We drank a little too much and overslept."

Joshua felt relief wash over him, glad he did not have to speak.

Henry, as confidently as he said those words, found his nerves quickly shaking. He was suddenly unsure how long he could keep this up. That doubt itself made the young man want to smash his head into a wall in shame, all he had said was a couple of lines so far.

"Are you two not functioning adults? Do the two of you not know your own drink limits? Both of you knew of this morning's plans." Hanna was not sure how much longer she would last either.

The straight-faced woman accidently crossed eyes with Caroline, her mask cracking immediately. Both mothers looked between their sons and then back at each other before falling into giggles. The aforementioned sons immediately snapped their heads towards the two middle-aged women who were now acting like schoolgirls.

"I can't go on; your son is too cute."

"My son? Look at how adorable your own is, his face is bright red."

The two women decided that was something to cheer to, both of them raising their untouched mimosas, clinking the glasses together.

The whole table laughed – not too loudly of course, it was ingrained into every member of the two families to not bring trouble for others – everyone enjoying confused, almost shocked looks on the engaged couple's faces.

"Do not worry," Marcus said with a laugh in his voice, "the tardiness is not a problem, next time just call us and take your time getting ready properly. The drinking is not an issue either, just don't go so far too often." For the first time, Marcus could accurately read both his son's and Joshua's faces perfectly, both of them felt like fools for rushing so much.

"Oh, and maybe not leave your hickeys and, um, other marks on show." Archer added, his voice the least serious so far. "Losing your virginity is great but keep it subtle."

Henry lost all colour in his face.

Joshua felt his face curl into a grimace.