Mchapter9

Josh was getting more nervous by the minute. There were only 5 more minutes before Lance and Justin were going to arrive. Joey had come an hour early to help out and now he and Leah were playing pool in the basement.

He almost jumped out of his skin when the doorbell rang. He went to answer it, checking his reflection in the hall mirror. He opened the door to see� Justin.

�Hey, Justin, come on in,� Josh said, opening the door wider, and smiling at Justin.

�Hi, Josh,� Justin replied, smiling back. Josh liked Justin; he was good for Leah.

�Leah�s in the basement with Joey if you want to join them for a few minutes. We�ll start dinner when Lance arrives,� Josh explained.

�Ok,� Justin replied as the doorbell rang.

�On second thought, why don�t you just tell them dinner�s ready,� Josh said, walking back towards the door, trying to ignore how his hands were shaking.

�Ok,� Justin said again, heading downstairs, leaving Josh alone in the hall.

Josh put his hand on the doorknob, took a deep breath, and opened the door. He saw Lance, standing on the porch awkwardly holding a bouquet of flowers.

�Flowers?� Josh thought to himself, confused.

When Lance saw the look on Josh�s face, he said, �Um, hi Josh. The flowers are for Leah.�

After a short pause Josh replied, saying, �Oh, hi, Lance. That was nice of you. I�m sure she�ll love them.� As Josh talked, he stepped back and motioned for Lance to enter.

�Thanks for inviting me for dinner. It was nice of you,� Lance said, trying to start the conversation. He removed his shoes, left them by the door, and then followed Josh into the kitchen.

�Hey, you�re not supposed to be thanking me at your �Thank You� dinner,� Josh replied, smiling at Lance.

�Too late,� Lance said, smiling back and finally noticing how good Josh looked. He almost licked his lips, but he stopped himself.

�Well, no more,� Josh ordered, his eyes twinkling. �Leah, Justin, and Joey are downstairs playing pool. They should be up soon.� Josh bent over to take a dish out of the oven and Lance took the opportunity to study his ass. But the stampede of people running up the stairs broke him out of his little ass-admiring trance.

Leah was the first to enter the kitchen. She was breathing heavily. �I win!� she exclaimed, grinning.

�That�s because you cheat,� Joey told her.

�I do not!� she protested, sticking her tongue out at Joey.

�Yeah, you do! You said �go� before Justin and I were ready, right Justin?� Joey asked, trying to get Justin on his side.

�Don�t bring me into this, Joey,� Justin replied, holding his arms up and backing away.

�Fine,� Joey mumbled, going to the refrigerator for a beer.

�Stop arguing, children,� Josh demanded, his eyes showing that he was joking. He put emphasis on children while looking right at Joey.

�What are you looking at me for?� Joey asked innocently.

Josh just rolled his eyes. Then he realized that Lance was still standing there, awkwardly holding the flowers.

�It was nice of you guys to completely ignore our guest,� Josh scolded, �Leah, you should know better than that.�

�Oh! I�m sorry. Hey, Lance,� she said, turning towards Lance and smiling when she noticed the flowers. �Thanks for the flowers,� she said, leaning closer to kiss him on then cheek. Then she whispered, �or are they for my dad?� into his ear.

She stepped back and smiled when she saw him blush a little. He didn�t speak, he just held the flowers out to her. She accepted them, still smiling, and went to the sink to put them in a vase.

There was silence for a moment before Josh broke it by saying, �so, Lance, what would you like to drink?�

�Um, I�ll have a beer,� Lance answered, reaching for it when Josh held it out for him.

�So, is everyone hungry?� Josh asked. When he got a chorus of positive answers, he handed everyone a dish and led the way to the dining room. Leah had insisted that they use it since it was a special occasion. Josh had agreed after she�d pouted for a good five minutes. He was such a sucker. He smiled when he realized that Leah had lit two long, white candles, which were now in the middle of the table.

�This room is beautiful,� Lance commented, setting down the dish of mashed potatoes that he�d carried from the kitchen.

�Thanks,� Josh replied, thinking the same thing. He and Leah hardly ever used the room anymore, but now he was glad that they had.

He sat down at the head of the table, with Lance to his left and Leah to his right. Justin sat on the other side of Leah and Joey on the other side of Lance.

�Can I say grace, dad?� Leah asked with a gleam in her eyes.

�Sure,� Josh answered, missing the look in her eyes. She usually said grace, so he didn�t think anything of it.

�Ok,� Leah said, and once they�d all joined hand, she began. �Dear Lord, thank so you much for bringing us all together tonight. Thank you for Lance, who is a savior for both Justin and I. Thank you for Joey, who, although he�s a loser, is a really great friend to dad. Thank you for Justin who is a really great guy and whom I hope I will be with for a very long time. And thank you for dad. Without him, my life would not be worth living. And last but not least, thank you for finding someone for my father to love,� Leah said, ending her prayer.

Josh look over at her with a frown, but she just winked at him. Joey looked over at Josh, his eyes showing how curious he was. Josh mouthed �later� to him, silently promising to let him in on what Leah had meant later that night. Justin also looked confused, but only looked at Leah with a curious look. Leah just smiled back at him.

Then Josh looked over at Lance to see how he would react. Lance was picking at the food on his plate and looking awfully sad.

�Why does he look so sad after Leah mentioned that he was good for me?� Josh asked himself, confused. �I hope he�s ok.�

Josh decided to get Lance alone after dinner so they could talk. Josh was sure why, but he felt bad that Lance looked so unhappy. He wanted Lance to talk to him about it. He wanted Lance to smile again.

And Josh had the perfect opportunity to talk to Lance right after dinner. Josh said he was going to do the dishes, and Lance offered to help. Leah decided for both Joey and Justin that they would go play pool again. Lance and Josh cleared the table as Leah, Joey, and Justin raced back downstairs.

Once they�d brought all the dishes to the kitchen, Josh decided to bring up that Lance looked sad after Leah�s prayer at dinner.

�Are you ok, Lance?� Josh asked while he filled up the sink with water and got out the dishsoap.

�Yeah, why?� Lance replied, hoping that Josh hadn�t noticed that he�d been acting a little different after Leah�s prayer.

�Well, I noticed that you looked kind of sad after Leah�s prayer at dinner,� Josh said cautiously, hoping Lance would be comfortable enough to talk to him.

�Oh, that. Yeah, I was. Um, I don�t know how to say this,� Lance admitted, blushing a little as his hands shook with nervousness.

�Don�t feel like you have to tell me, Lance, but I�m here if you want to talk,� Josh assured him.

�Ok, well, you know how Leah thanked the Lord that you found someone to love?� Lance asked, trying to busy his shaking hands by drying the dishes.

�Yeah,� Josh replied, wondering what Lance would say next? Would he say that he�d never be able to love Josh? Or would he say that he already did love Josh? Josh was hoping for something closer to the second one.

�I, well, I was jealous. I still am,� Lance admitted, finally able to look Josh in the eyes.

�Jealous?� Josh asked, confused. And his face showed his confusion.

�Yeah, jealous of the person that you found to love you,� Lance started, �you see, ever since I met you-�

�Wait, Lance,� Josh said, interrupting. �Sorry to interrupt, but there�s something you should definitely know.� Lance remained silent with a curious look on his face, so Josh continued.

�Lance, she was talking about you. She�s trying to set us up.� Josh said to him, waiting for Lance�s reaction.

�She-she was talking a-about me?� Lance asked, the complete surprise he was feeling showing on his face.

�Yes, she�s convinced that we�d be good together,� Josh answered, looking at Lance.

�And what do *you* think about that?� Lance asked, hoping that Josh would answer in a positive way.

�Well, I was surprised at first, because I hardly know you. But what I do know, I like. And I heard that she told you I think you�re hot,� Josh said.

�Yeah,� Lance said, blushing, �is that true?�

�Of course, Lance. You�re gorgeous,� Josh told him, �especially when you blush like that.�

If possible, Lance blushed even more.

�So what about you, how do you feel about me?� Josh asked cautiously.

�I think that you are one of the most strong-spirited people that I�ve ever met. And from what I�ve learned about you so far, I�d say you aren�t just beautiful on the outside,� Lance admitted. He felt so much better now that he knew how Josh felt about him, and that he�d told Josh how he felt.

It was Josh�s turn to blush.

Lance couldn�t help but think that Josh look adorable when he blushed.

�So, what happens now?� Lance asked, smiling at Josh. He hadn�t been rejected for the first time in his life.

�This,� Josh answered, pulling Lance to him and their lips met in a crushing kiss.