Chapter 11
I had football practice after school, so for a little while I was free of Lexi's constant torture.
I had agreed to eat with Lexi and her brother at their house afterwards, so I took a quick shower and ran to my car to not make them wait too much for me.
When I parked my car in the Grayson's driveway, there was another familiar car already parked there.
Frowning, I walked up to the front door, and knocked, expecting my girlfriend to open the door and explain to me what was happening.
Instead, I was greeted by Josh.
"Ah, Blake darling, you're finally here," he said with a grin, pulling me in.
I frowned, completely confused. Sure, both Graysons knew Josh, but it didn't really make sense for him to be here, especially if I hadn't been there first. "What are you doing here?" I asked.
"Adorable," he just said, laughing, not answering my question, and grabbed me by the arm, dragging me towards the kitchen. "Come, the food is almost ready."
Lexi and Tyler were sitting at the counter in the kitchen, snacking on cheese and crackers.
"Why is Josh here?" I asked, as I sat down beside Lexi, giving her a quick kiss on the temple. Like this was just a natural normal thing. Like it was no big deal. Like it didn't give me butterfly in my stomach and make me insanely happy to be able to kiss her this casually.
"We needed a ride home," Lexi explained, passing me a cracker with cheese on it.
"You said Daphnee was driving you," I replied, taking the food.
She just rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that had been the plan."
I looked at her brother with a raised eyebrow. "You texted him?"
Tyler made a disgusted face at me. "Don't you ever check our group chat?"
Josh was giving me the same disgusted stare. It was a little eerie.
I flipped them both off. "I stopped reading the texts when you guys started to debate at which moment you'd be ready to become cannibals."
"In a survival setting, when there's nothing else to eat," Tyler replied automatically.
"You're both crazy," I said, rolling my eyes.
"No, you know what's crazy? Dying of hunger because you're not ready to eat a lil human flesh," Josh replied,
"I'm very sorry I introduced Josh in your life," I told my Pumpkin, ignoring the two other idiots.
I was a little grateful for them though. They seemed to be distracting Lexi enough that she'd forgotten she'd been on a torturing spree with her flashing crusade today.
Maybe I wouldn't have to run away from her.
"He's fucking Daphnee, she was going to meet him eventually," Tyler said.
Josh just shook his head, taking stuff out of the oven. "Debatable, I don't think her blonde friend would have ever wanted anyone to meet me."
"And why is that exactly? What weird thing have you done to warrant that?" Lexi asked with a chuckle.
"Surprisingly, unbelievably even, I haven't even one anything that weird," Josh replied, grinning back.
"You're just meat for her," Tyler replied, his mouth full of food, clearly making a point to be gross with it.
"I'm just an object used to satisfy her needs. Please, Tyler, hold me while I cry for a while," Josh whined and walked around the counter, and Tyler just stayed sitting there but wrapped his legs around Josh and was running his hands all over my best friend's face dramatically, both of them making fake weeping sounds together.
"Are they always like that when they hang out?" Lexi asked me.
"Worst. They're usually worst," I admitted.
"Should I be calling Vanessa and Daphnee and tell them to be worried?"
Josh stopped his antic automatically hearing that. "Yes, absolutely. Call that Vanessa. Tell her I'm actively trying to steal her man."
"Babe, you had me at eating my flesh," Tyler said, running his hands over his face again.
"Babe," Josh replied doing the same things.
They looked more like the were fighting than anything with how ridiculous their hands gestures were.
"Babe."
"Baaaaabe."
Lexi made a gagging face. "I'm gonna barf."
Tyler turned his head to stare at his sister with a grin and said, "I've eaten barf."
I pressed my hand to my face, discouraged, while Lexi did the gagging thing again. "Jesuuuuuus," she whined.
"Anyway, why are you still here?" I asked Josh, grabbing a piece of cheese.
Josh let go of Tyler and went back to his food. "I was driving them home and they said they were going to order pizza. Dominos pizza." He was the one making a gagging face now.
Lexi looked insulted. "What's wrong with Dominos? Seriously? Dominos is cheap and excellent. And they have lava cakes!"
"Please. Don't be a peasant," he told Lexi and then turned back to me to continue explaining, "so I took it upon myself to feed them correctly. We stopped at the grocery store on the way."
"Grocery shopping with Josh is an experience," Lexi interjected.
I knew my best friend, so I could imagine the experience.
"I'm really sorry," I told my girlfriend, pressing another kiss to her temple.
She smiled at me. "It's fine. And at least I know he won't blow up my kitchen, unlike someone else."
"You know I'm an excellent cook," Josh agreed, and then motioned to the food he'd made and now spread on the counter. "Here, calzones with roasted vegetable and a coleslaw salad."
We all grabbed plates and filled them with food, sitting back around the counter.
"Pizza would have been fine," Lexi suddenly said, as we were all eating like starving animals.
Josh swallowed his mouthful and said, "Blake, I'm gonna murder your girlfriend and use her flesh as my next calzones stuffing."
Tyler made a face beside him, looking at his sister apologetically. "I do have to disclose that Josh's criteria for what he considers an okay moment to be a cannibal are a lot less... strict than mine."
"Meat's meat. Be worried," Josh said with an evil grin.
"When you think Josh has traumatized you as much as he can..." my Pumpkin said, shaking her head lightly, but still eating his food.
Josh was still grinning like a maniac. "Never gonna happen Calzone Stuffin'. You haven't even scratched the surface of my depravity."
Lexi raised her eyebrows. "And we let him make our food?"
"Look, he does make good calzones," I pointed out.
"True," she agreed.
We all ate, fairly quickly. Everyone was hungry, and Josh was an awesome cook, it was an undeniable fact.
He'd lived alone for a while. And he'd asked Anita to teach him anything that she could.
Of course, Anita was the best cook, but Josh was a close second.
When we were done eating, and everything was cleaned up, we all just still hang around he counter.
"Alright, Tyler, now that you've been dined, you know what happens next," he told the youngest Grayson and wiggled his eyebrows at him.
Lexi passed right beside him, and slapped him behind the head. "Pig."
Josh ignored her. It wasn't the first time he was hit for saying something stupid. "Tyler, darling, what were your evening plans?"
"Playing video games?" Tyler replied, not sounding quite sure.
"Excellent. Lead the way."
That was how we all ended up in Tyler's room, Lexi and I sitting at the head, our backs against the headboard, Tyler sitting on the ground right in front of his television—he probably needed glasses—and Josh was just sprawled on the bed on the space by Lexi and mine's feet.
Tyler and Lexi were mostly the ones playing video games. Josh and I weren't that good. The Graysons had us beat at this particular hobby.
"So, what happens now?" Josh whined at one point. "Naked pillow fight?"
"Ew," Lexi automatically replied.
"Gross, my gross sister is here," Tyler agreed.
"Oh true," Josh said, sitting up. "Lexi, go to your room."
She kicked his arm lightly. "Hey! I'll have you know that me and Blake are the only people in this room who should be having naked pillow fights, so if there's anyone that should be excluded from naked pillow fights, it should not be me."
"You don't speak for the group. I ain't straight, Calzone Stuffin'" Josh replied.
I wasn't sure if Lexi knew this. She probably did. It was such an obvious fact for me, but then again, I hadn't realized Alex was gay, so really, just because something was obvious for one person, didn't mean it was for everyone else.
Lexi didn't seem surprised with this admission though.
"Unsurprising," she said, rolling her eyes.
"So, you should all watch yourselves, you're all fair game for me," Josh said, pointing to all of us.
Lexi looked unbothered. "You have zero chances. Blake has me, and Tyler has Vanessa."
Josh flopped around the bed dramatically. "Yes, I know the sad fact that my sweet Tyler is lost to me as I have one leg too many."
"I mean, let's keep my options open," Tyler replied, his eyes fixed on the television as he shot monsters. "I might have just not met the guy for me yet. Maybe that's all gonna change suddenly when I met a rugged man with a complicated past, rock hard abs and twelve inch cock."
Lexi and I snorted laughs.
Josh sat up suddenly, staring dagger sat Tyler. "Wait? So you're telling me that I'm not enough to make you play in the other team? Me?"
"Sorry," Tyler just replied with a shrug.
"Devastating," Josh replied, getting up from the bed. "I'm gonna go find a bridge to jump off of now."
Tyler kicked him behind the knee. "Sit your ass down."
"We could have been so happy," Josh whined from the ground.
I was surprised that Lexi was just laughing beside me and not throwing insults at the both of them for how ridiculous they were. It was an entertaining show though, so I understood.
"You gave up so fast," Tyler replied, looking appalled. "You think you deserve me? I don't do quitters."
"I didn't quit! I'm giving you your space!" Josh replied, shaking Tyler's arm.
"Quitter. One bad kiss and you just give up."
Oh, now Josh looked horrified. "Bad kiss? Did you just call me a bad kisser?"
Tyler grinned sweetly. "If the hat fits."
"I'll show you a bad kiss," Josh said, trying to grab his face.
Tyler slapped his hands away. "You don't have to, you already showed me."
"Come here you troll."
And now they were running around Tyler's room, jumping over the bed and throwing stuff at each other.
Sometimes... Like this moment. Sometimes, Tyler reminded me of my brother. The dynamic when he was there with Josh and me, he almost felt like my brother. It was the oddest of feelings, because it kinda felt like Jayden was here, but at the same time it wasn't like he was replacing him. It was the strangest feeling.
I could feel Lexi's smile beside me as she looked at Josh and Tyler running around, and at me, beside her. I grinned back. "What?"
"This is nice," she just replied.
"It is," I agreed, keeping her tightly tucked against my side looking at our two brothers being idiots.
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Happy Monday my little Pumpkins! <3
I hope you enjoyed the Blake/Tyler/Josh moment. They're always fun to write!
In recurring news, I am the definition of exhausted. My Mom got married to my step dad yesterday! I decided to make lil gifts for the guests. And I did that till 1AM the night before. Had to wake at 7AM to get ready. I had to drive to our estate in the middle of the forest. Then it was party, party. And then I had to drive back home right after. I hit a raccoon with my car. 0_0 Very unintentional, but it did feel like payback for all the times raccoon killed my chickens and left just their heads in the chicken coop as a present. Anyway, did all of that while feeling like shit. I actually thought I was gonna faint when I did my lil speech. XD Oops. I did make my step dad cry like a baby, so I was very proud of that moment. It legit took like 15 seconds of my speech to accomplish that. I've gotten efficient at making people cry. MOUHAHAHAHAHA I also made my mother cry, but that doesn't count. She's a crybaby. She was crying while watching the moon shine over the party tent. She's an easy target.
Anyway. All of that to say. Going to bed now. Imma pass out.
BYE! Love you guys! See you all next week! <3