Brothers In Arms

Chapter 15

I woke with a yawn and furiously blinking eyes to an unfamiliar wall. It was a warm golden colour that made the sunlight streaming in from the side of the closed curtains look like shards of white to my tired eyes. With a sudden realisation, I felt a warmth in the bed that shouldn't have been there.

Did Vincent sneak in to sleep beside me after all? I moved my arm down to the weight on my waist and my eyebrows scrunched up. That was too small and smooth to be my boyfriend. I moved in a slow motion to glance over my shoulder and my eyes widened in horror.

"Ahhhh!" I shouted at rolled away from the stranger that laid next to me. That woke the person up and they opened their eyes to blearily glare at me.

"Who the fuck are you?" They mumbled grumpily.

"Who am I? Who the hell are you!?" I hollered back at the lump that was taking over the other side of the bed. The door burst open and Vincent stood there in his pajamas with a worried look.

"Vinny!" The other person shouted and jumped out of my bed. It was a rather leggy teenager with the gaudiest fluorescent pink pajamas on that tumbled out and ran to my boyfriend, jumping into his arms.

"Jesus Vincent, I was going to say 'this isn't what it looks like' but now I am just confused." I say tiredly as I sit on the side of the bed rubbing my face with a scowl.

"Ah, sorry Alex." Vincent said with a blush as he realised his position. He pushed the blond girl off him gently and turned her to face me with a sheepish look. "This is my best friend Jo from Primary. Jo, this is my boyfriend Alex... that is currently glaring at us."

"Oh, hey Alex. Nice to meet you. What is he doing in my room?" She asked pertly with a glance at Vincent. I raised a brow and looked at him too.

"Jo, this isn't really your room. This is the guest room, and Alex is my guest... so you are in his room." Vincent said with a patronizing tone. I might've been grinning at it if I wasn't so pissed off at the moment. Instead I rolled my eyes at her widened eyes and gulp.

"Ohhh, I am just so used to coming over... I didn't think. Sorry Alex. I'll... um... let me just..." She looked around frantically and grabbed a loud purple and pink duffel from the chair before running out of the room with a rather furious blush on her face.

Silence descended on us the moment she left. I sat there, looking at the wall for a minute as the whole situation sank in. I could still smell the floral perfume she had been wearing all over the bed. I felt a little sick to my stomach, but it wasn't really his fault.

"So, 'Joe' is a girl." I mumbled to myself. I saw his nod from the corner of my eye, and he ambled over to me with a cautious look on his face.

"Yeah, I am so sorry Alex. This was definitely not how I saw you meeting her." He sighed heavily and pulled my head into his stomach to hug me. He petted my hair gently while I cursed how good he smelled and how firm his abdominal muscles felt against my cheek. I sighed. I couldn't be mad at him, and that annoyed me slightly.

"I know. Not your fault." I murmured, rubbing my face into his shirt like a cat marking his territory and then yawning again tiredly. I felt him chuckle and grinned a little.

"Come on. Let's get us some breakfast before there is nothing left." He tilted my head back and kissed me sweetly. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the moment. As he pulled away I whimpered in protest, so he gave me another quick peck.

"Oh alright. Lead the way." I let him pull me up off the bed and padded down the hallway behind him with his hand still in mine.

"We usually get more options over the holiday, but my brothers are all pigs so you will have to get to the kitchen rather early if you want any of the good stuff my mom makes." He explained on our way down the stairs. I just smiled and nodded as he glanced over his shoulder at me.

"Oh Alex dear! I am so sorry about the mix up. Come into the kitchen sweetheart and let me make you something fresh." Kinsey was like a whirlwind as she hugged me and dragged me into the kitchen.

There were platters of food, that looked like they were dwindling, sitting on the counter in a buffet style. The laughter and voices carried from the dining room as Kinsey sat me at the island while she bustled about to grab utensils. Vincent smiled and grabbed the last two pancakes, a pile of bacon and enough eggs to cover half the plate.

"It's alright Mom, I can just have what's here." I gestured to the small amount of bacon and eggs left on the platters.

"Nonsense. You are a growing boy and I need to soothe my conscience." She argued reasonably with a smile. I watched her fry up three fresh eggs, cook a half a dozen strips of bacon, toss a medley of onions and potato hash with spices, and put down fresh toast for me. I had no idea how I was going to eat it all.

Jo came in, glanced at me warily, and grabbed a plate to fill. I smiled tiredly at her. Then I watched as she eyed the food Kinsey was making, before looking at the cooling platters with a sigh. She took the last of the food and went into the dining room, where all conversation seemed to die down for a minute.

Kinsey piled a plate full of hot fresh food from the stove and handed it to me with flourish. I salivated at the incredible smells coming from the roasted potato hash and fresh cooked bacon.

"Thank you Mom. This looks incredible." I said, and leaned over to put a peck on her cheek. She actually blushed a little and tapped my shoulder.

"Go on now. Go eat sweetheart. No standing around the kitchen." She said as she pushed me to the dining room. As I left I passed Quinn leaving the room, looking down at my plate with a flash of jealousy.

"That boy is so cute!" I heard her gush to him. The smile on my face was genuine as I walked in with my food. The conversation stopped again as I passed the other boys with my piled high plate of fresh food.

"Oh god, that smells so good." Sydney said with a look of passion.

"No fair. How come he gets potato hash?" Riley complained, staring at my plate enviously. Jo blushed and ducked her head down while Alan raised a brow.

"Hey babe. Sit over here." Vincent pulled out a chair for me and I sat down with a smile.

"Thanks. You aren't getting anymore bacon though." I replied cheekily as I plopped down next to him. He grinned and whispered in my ear.

"That's okay. I'm actually after the hash." His voice going all deep and sensual. I couldn't help the blush that spread over my cheeks as everyone was watching us. I narrowed my eyes.

"We'll see." I retorted. That made Alan laugh and everyone slowly turned back to the last of their plates, or their phone in Sydney's case.

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