The Chaotic Interim (boyxboy)

Chapter 29

Walt couldn’t hold back his chuckle as he watched the rather comical reactions from the young men. A waiter rushed over to the table with a rag to mop up the drink that was on the floor. Josiah’s face was red with embarrassment as the other patrons in the restaurant eyed their table.

As soon as the waiter left with his soaked towel, Josiah turned to glare at Carson. “Why would you ask him that?”

The brunet’s eyes widened and he grew defensive instantly. “What are you mad at me for?”

“Because! We could have denied it! Now he knows it’s a thing, because you had to confirm it. Way to go, Carson.”

Hurt flashed through his blue eyes as Carson said, “You must be joking.”

“Okay, boys,” Walt said, cutting into their argument. “Just relax. I don’t want you two to fight; believe it or not, that wasn’t my intention for today.”

Carson put his elbows on the table and dropped his chin into his hands. Josiah sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked at Walt and shook his head.

“How did you find out?” Josiah asked.

“It wasn’t that hard for me to figure out,” Walt said. “Carson never was really good at hiding his crush on you.” The brunet blushed and looked down at the table. “And I’ve been watching you two get closer over the last few months. It wasn’t hard to miss.”

Josiah rubbed the back of his neck. “Then how does nobody else know?”

“I have my ways. Oh, and I also spoke to your mother, Josiah. She filled me in on what you told her.”

Carson turned his blue eyes on his friend accusingly. “You told your mother? Joe, what the hell?”

“W-well I needed someone to talk to,” the dark-haired boy spluttered. “It was before we even got together. You wouldn’t hardly talk to me, and she’s my mom, man. I thought I could trust her not to tell Walt.”

The brunet covered his face with his hands. “I can’t believe this.” Carson lifted his head to look at the middle-aged man across from him. “Are you mad? Do you hate us for this?”

Walt laughed and shook his head. “Of course not! Boys, listen to me. I get it. You’re young and you never know what you want. That is, until you find that special person. Carson, you’ve liked him for a long time.” He looked at Josiah and said, “And with how invested you with my daughter, Carson must be pretty special to you in order for you to break up with her.”

“I haven’t broken up with her,” Josiah said quietly. He looked at his boyfriend and said, “And he is special. I really love him.”

Carson blushed again, but let Josiah take his hand in his.

“Either way,” Walt said, “I can’t be too upset with you guys. Carson, you know you’ve always been like a son to me. And Josiah, you’ve been around long enough. I know you’re good kids. You don’t want to hurt Ayden.”

“Exactly,” Josiah said. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. It’s just...I guess I finally let myself fall for the guy.”

“What are you going to do about Ayden?”

Both the young men looked at each other and then shrugged. Carson spoke up first. “We don’t really know yet. We’re on a break right now.”

“We weren’t expecting Ayden to wake up when she did. It kind of caught us off guard,” Josiah added. “I don’t know what to do yet.”

Walt sighed and leaned back in his chair. He watched the waitress walk towards their table and a moment later she was setting all of the plates of food down in front of them. After making sure they were all set, the waitress went back to the kitchen and Walt looked at the two men sitting opposite him. Nobody at their table made a move to touch their food.