Enemies with benefits

Patreon teaser #2

'Family Tree' starring Finley and Brent as Finley introduces his boyfriend to his dad.

Writing this bonus chapter made me realise how much I don't like When we were Wallflowers. In my opinion, it's a very insecure book as it was the first one I wrote after the huge success of Enemies with Benefits. I'm thinking of reworking it: relying less on references to Enemies with Benefits and giving Finley as a character more space to breath. There's also references to early 2020 tik tok in that book that has already caused it to age horrifically and be slightly offensive in places. Basically, if you see it being updates, that's me giving it the effort it deserves.

Anyway, here's the chapter!

To be embraced by Brent, to be truly held by him was to feel peace.

His skin, his voice, his touch, his smell, all of it left Finley feeling a calm fuzziness that clouded his mind and made him forget his worries. There was no greater place in the world than within Brent's arms.

Finley dreamt of nothing at all which was arguably a sign that he was having one of the best sleeps of his life. Something stroked his back. Up and down. As light and tender as a summer breeze. It could've been summer for all Finley knew. His relaxation had taken him to a place withdrawn from time and season. A hand ran over his head, playing with the ends of his locks. His locks may have been too thick for someone to run their fingers through, but he enjoyed the attention to them nonetheless.

He could stay like that forever. He wished he could, but all too soon:

"Finley." So soft, so quiet. "Finley, your parents are going to be home soon."

Ah, he could've lived in a world without hearing that. It didn't bother him though. So what if Brent was going to meet his dad for the first time, it was no big deal. He was unfazed. Cool as a cucumber. Nothing to be scared of.

"Are you awake?" Brent asked.

Finley's eyes fluttered open and he winced slightly from the light that came pouring in through his bedroom window. He couldn't be too angry about it though, the light was perfect for his wide assortment of plants that littered his window sill. They were mostly small plants. Each one coming into bloom, the most beautiful colours slowly unveiling themselves from their green cocoons. Finley's favourite was the plant that hung from the ceiling and was also kissed by the light that came from the window. Long leafy limbs climbed out of the pot and cascaded downwards, almost touching the ground. It had been short and tiny when Finley had been gifted it, now it was a fire hazard. He couldn't be more proud.

Brent's hand ran over his locks again. The feeling sent shivers down his spine from the gentle tingling Brent's hand left behind.

"I love your hair." He said. "It always looks great, feels nice too."

"My sisters would do your hair too if you wanted."

"I don't think I could pull off all these different styles like you do. Maybe at some point though."

"Just be careful. If you get braids, Miria will try and put the pinkest beads or charms she can in them."

Brent laughed. "You looked really nice with those beads."

"I looked like barbie. Luckily, pink is my colour. Along with every other colours as well."

Finley couldn't bring himself to move. Brent's chest made for the best pillow in the whole wide world. He'd never been this comfortable in his life and now he had to get up for this dinner.

If he stayed like this forever, could he just ignore the whole thing?

"Are you nervous?"

"Aren't I the one who's supposed to be asking you that?" Said Finley.

Brent stroked his hair again. "Maybe. But, you seem really tense today."

"How am I tense, I fell asleep."

"You always sleep when you get too stressed."

It was a pain getting his tired face muscles to work, but Finley frowned despite that. Although, it probably looked a bit droopy. "No, I don't."

"Yes, you do. Remember when we had that AP bio test last week and you hadn't revised for it, so you fell asleep at your desk then woke up with five minutes to spare and filled in the whole test."

"That's just one time." His mom was going to kill him if she ever found about that.

"I have more examples." Said Brent.

"Okay, okay, you've proven your point." Brent was wrong though. Finley wasn't nervous. What would he have to be nervous about? Just introducing his boyfriend to his dad. No biggie. No fucking biggie. "Are you nervous?" He asked Brent.

"Yeah, a little. I want to make a good impression."

Finley snorted. "You don't need to worry about that. My mom and sisters already adore you. This house is a matriarchy, it won't matter what he thinks. When I get around to introducing you to my grandparents, then we can get nervous."

"Your grandparents know you're gay?"

"As if. My Grandma got suspicious at one point though. My mom had to make up this whole elaborate story of a good African girlfriend who was long distance and I was waiting till marriage to even hold hands with. So, if my grandparents come round, your name is Brenda."

Brent's chest shook as he laughed. "I don't think they'll believe that."

"Sure they will. We'll slap you in a dress, put a wig on you. Introduce them to my sexy super tall, super buff lady. My girlfriend Brenda, ladies and girlfriend."

He heard Brent snort before he was pushed off of his chest. "Go make sure your food isn't burnt, you doofus."

With great reluctance, Finley got off of Brent and rolled of the bed. It was his own fault they couldn't stay there. Ever since he told his family he was applying to culinary courses at different colleges, they'd quickly appointed him main chef of the house. Said it was practice for him. Greedy sons of guns.

He went to the kitchen and checked on his pork in the oven, the timer going off as soon as he opened the door. Looked good to him. He grabbed his bedazzled oven gloves that Colby had gifted him for his birthday and pulled it out. He always enjoyed putting the final touches on things. In his opinion, presentation was just as important as taste. You had to convince people to eat it before they would take a bite.

Plus, who didn't love a good looking dish?

He took time to cut the pork into perfect slices that oozed with juice as the knife cut through. He carefully considered what to place on the side, decorating each dish with a selection of vegetables picked fresh from his dad's backyard garden. Except for Miria's plate, she just wanted curly fries. Everything was done to Finley's standard, an aesthetic beauty to the dish that almost had the opposite effect of what he intended. It was almost too beautiful to eat. He prepared the table and made some gravy. He thought of nothing else when he prepared the dish.

Voila!

That was a job well done and it had only taken him fifteen minutes.

Maybe he should do more. Rearrange the cutlery, place flowers in the middle, the salad was stupid he really should replace it with something else. Jesus, what would his dad think? The food probably tasted terrible and he hadn't made any extra to try. Fuck.

If he still had some time, he could...

The front door opened. His mom came into the kitchen, she slid her long red coat off from her shoulders as she walked in. She smiled at Finley's handiwork.

"Hey, this looks amazing." She said. "I am so hungry." She turned her head to the doorway. "Ready for dinner, baby?"

His dad walked through the doorway and Finley could barely stand to see his reaction. He wasn't a very tall man —this wasn't a family of giants, like Brent's— but in that moment, he looked like a giant to Finley. His hair was curled tightly to his head, no longer than a grain of rice. He tilted his head down so that he could see over his wireframe glasses. He looked at Finley, then looked at the food. "Looks good." Was all he said.

Okay.

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