The Boys are Back in Town

The Boys are Back in Town: Seven

The following morning, it took a second for me to remember that the boys - my boys - were back. There was a spring in my step as I got out of bed.

I needed to believe that we would go on as we used to, even though Adrian would be leaving for college and Alek would soon follow. I shook my head at the thought, rubbed my eyes and pushed the covers back.

When I opened my door, I heard their voices coming from the kitchen. I ran downstairs with a barely contained smile, and sure enough there they were - squeezed into our small round table - eating breakfast.

Mom spotted me at the foot of the stairs and smiled. "Good morning, honey."

"Morning," I said. "Dad?"

"Early class. It's Friday, remember? I'm off too." She gulped the last of her tea, kissed me on the cheek and hollered a goodbye to the boys in the kitchen. "Dinner at Abby's later!"

Andre spotted me, his face brightening as he pointed his fork at me. "Hey, look who's up! Will we ever see you in anything other than pajamas this year, Cupcake?"

"Probably not," I replied as I took four mugs out of the cupboard and started brewing coffee.

There was a plate set out for me next to Alek. The three of them alternated piling my plate with an assortment of breakfast foods: bacon, waffles, scrambled eggs, and fried sausages. I slapped Andre's hand when he tried to add another waffle to the heap. "I can't eat possibly finish all this."

"And you wonder why you're not growing," Adrian admonished. I rolled my eyes and dug in.

"What are you guys doing today?" I asked, pausing to take a sip of coffee. The sweet, black liquid scalded my tongue.

"I'm driving you to school," Alek replied. "and then I have to catch up on a few lectures before lunch."

"I'm going to the library," Adrian said. "Andre's not doing anything of importance as far as I know."

"Hey," the youngest brother retorted. "I'm going to Pablo's to buy Cupcake the banana nut muffins we promised."

"You're right, that is important," I said. "How dare you, Musket."

"And then I'm going home to watch the G.I. Joe films I unearthed from my closet last night."

"Busy day," I agreed. Alek nudged my foot under the table, and I nudged back.

The boys demolished the rest of the food while I went upstairs to get ready. I showered quickly and got dressed. My things were still laid out on the desk where I left them yesterday, and I scrambled to get everything I needed inside my bag while I left my hair to air-dry.

When I got back downstairs the boys had cleaned up and were loading the plates into the dishwasher. Alek handed me a second cup of coffee in a canister and lifted my bag off my shoulder.

"All set?"

"Thank god it's Friday," I sighed.

"Have a great day, sweets!" Andre hollered from the kitchen. "See you at dinner!"

"Be good!" I called back.

Alek dropped my bag in the backseat and opened the passenger's side for me. For the first time in two years, I felt a little bit sullen at the thought of going to school when I could be spending time with them.

"So," I said. "Dinner later, what should I expect?"

"A feast," he replied, backing out of the garage. He glanced at me for a second and smiled. "Leave your belt at home."

"Got it."

"What classes do you have today?"

I pursed my lips, remembering the half-memorized french verbs. "French, AP English, Chemistry and Lab."

My stomach flipped when we arrived at the student parking lot and I remembered how many students actually hung out or milled about the area before the first period. I normally parked my bike at one of the racks behind the Sciences building to avoid the crowd.

Alek found a parking space and I tried to quell my panic. If anyone saw him, it would be chaos. I wasn't sure if I could handle it.

"You don't have to open my door for me," I blurted.

His face slowly broke into a smile. "Why not?"

"I mean... it's fine, I can get out here no problem."

"You're not..." he narrowed his eyes. "embarrassed by me, are you?"

"No!" I stammered. "Why would I be?"

Alek unbuckled his seat belt. "Then it's fine, I should give you a proper send-off."

"Alek," I all but squeaked.

He reached over and pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. "Don't worry."

Then he got out, walked around the car and opened my door. My face burned as I got out of the car, half with embarrassment, half with pleasure. He was still smiling, holding my bag. When I reached over to take it from him, he leaned in to brush a soft, lingering kiss at the spot next to my ear. My skin came alive with goosebumps. Open-mouthed, I stared at him as he slid the bag on my shoulder.

"Have a great day, sweets," he said, his mouth curled in amusement. "Pick you up at two."