jerk,” he said, elbowing John out of the way and pulling a beer and some ground hamburger out. He shoved the beer at John and waved him toward the island before turning toward the stove. “Lasagna okay for dinner?”
“Sure.” John sat at his customary spot and watched Lukas work. After a few minutes, he finally said, “It is too soon because it’s only been a couple of months and your parents don’t even know yet, but it’s not too soon because I love you and want you with me all the time.”
Lukas froze, then peered over his shoulder. Hope and joy filled his chest with warmth, and he couldn’t stop his smile. “Really?”
“Baby…” John stood and circled the island, coming up behind Lukas and pressing against his back. He wrapped his arms around him, tucking his face into Lukas’s neck, and sucked in a deep breath. “I’m too old to mess around. Whenever you’re ready, I want to build our life together. But until you’re certain, we can keep going back and forth so poor Leeloo doesn’t feel abandoned.”
Leaning back into John, Lukas turned his head to kiss the side of his jaw. “I love you,” he whispered, practically shivering with happiness. A life with John was what he’d dreamed about for so long. How had he gotten so lucky? “Why don’t we revisit this conversation after we make sure my parents don’t disown me?”
John grunted and nipped at Lukas’s neck, causing him to make a totally manly squeak. “Your mom would never let that happen.”
Ruby started barking at something in the other room, but they both ignored her, and she quieted quickly, whatever having caught her attention outside probably moving out of sight.
Lukas turned in John’s arms and wrapped his own around John’s neck. John’s hands slid down—predictably—to slip into Lukas’s back pockets. “Not permanently anyway, but my dad is going to be pissed no matter what. Maybe we should just tell her first so she can help us keep him from having a stroke…”
John tilted his head back and forth a little in contemplation. “Maybe. But what if—”
“What the fuck!”
They both jolted, and John sprang back, putting three feet between them in a blink of an eye, but the damage was done.
Lukas stared in horror at his parents, dread filling his gut with a churning mass of fear. His mom was carrying a covered roasting pan, and his dad had a six-pack of beer in one hand and a full reusable shopping bag in the other. They were staring at John like he was some sort of heinous villain they caught assaulting him.
Before Lukas could come up with something to say, his dad was carelessly tossing the things he was holding onto the island and advancing on John, his face getting alarmingly red.
“How dare you!” his dad yelled, somehow already in John’s face and shoving at his chest. “We invited you into our family, and this is how you thank us? By taking advantage of our son?”
John flinched like he’d been struck in the face. “Dave, that’s not—”
“Shut up!”
“Dave.” His mom stepped forward, still holding the pan. “Let’s just take a breath—”
“No! I don’t need to do anything except get Lukas out of here.” His dad turned to him, his face full of anger and betrayal. “Get Ruby and meet us out in my car.”
Lukas couldn’t help it—he laughed. The idea that his dad was saving him from John was… literally hilarious. Slapping a hand over his face, he turned wide eyes to his mom, silently begging her for help. Frowning, she carefully set the roasting pan on the island counter and stepped forward, grabbing his dad’s elbow and pulling him back away from John. His dad was staring at Lukas in shock, and John didn’t look much better, his face sheet white and eyes wide.
“Lukas—”
He stepped closer to John, trying to offer support without making the situation worse. “Dad, I’m not going anywhere. You need to calm down and listen to us. John and I are in a relationship—”
He wasn’t sure if it was the word “relationship” or the “calm down,” but his dad tugged out of his mom’s grip and turned on John again. “You’re supposed to be my best friend! How could you do this to me?” His dad’s sense of betrayal seemed to be starting to outweigh his shock and anger.
“Dave.” John made like he was going to step forward, but Lukas grabbed his hand and held him in place. No way was getting