Faster Than a Kiss

4 - Family?!

I thought a family was something we were born into and could never get back once it was gone. Imagine my surprise when a French oaf suddenly makes me revise my own dictionary, literally.
- S. K.

The car ride to the condo was silent between Ryan and I. He didn't seem to really mind though, as he and Thomas continued to sing to the songs playing on the radio.
On the other hand, my mind kept wandering off, left and right. From the project and my role as the male lead, which would be impossible since I have zero acting skills, to my marriage lifestyle.

"Michael is probably really jealous right now," Ryan said loudly, still singing here and there.

"What do you mean?"

He smiled, glancing at me, "He wanted to drive you back to your condo. But of course, his work wouldn't let him, with all those papers to correct."

I suppressed my urge to chuckle and asked, "Have you known him for a long time?"

"Since high school. He wasn't hard to miss." He said, stopping the car.

"Was he popular?"

Ryan snorted at this. "If you mean popular in the underground, then yes. Incredibly!" I was sure the look on my face once I understood what he meant was priceless. Out of all the things I thought my once plain, boring and irresponsible teacher would be, I would have never guessed that he was even close to badass.

Holding Thomas' hand, I got out of the car and thanked Ryan for the ride. "You forget we live right beside each other." He said matter-of-factly as he got out. "Plus, if I didn't, I would've probably woken up with a new bruise on my attractive face."

I laughed as we walked towards our doors. "I won't doubt that, but it would've heartbroken the ladies."

"You should tell your husband that!" He answered enthusiastically, before disappearing into his condo.

"How does a man like Michael and a guy like Ryan become friends, huh Thomas?" I noted, walking inside and heading for our room. He giggled and said, "Michael is nice."

Smiling, I agreed. Thomas walked over to the drawer, pulling the bottom one open and taking out a jar of tiny, star shaped candy. "He gives me rewards when I help at home!"

"Make sure to get a lot," I told him encouragingly, ruffling his hair and pulling out my books from my bag. A piece of paper fell out and I opened it curiously. 'Study hard! – M' I looked at it for a second, feeling that familiar squeeze in my chest. I almost wanted to laugh at myself. I did have my dumbfound moments, but that didn't mean I was oblivious when I suddenly got the case of the flutters.

Taking out the tape, I stuck the note onto the wall and continued on with my homework. From time to time, I would rest a bit, playing with Thomas as he told me about his first day in preschool. "So was it fun?" I asked, drawing a flower on our tiny art project. "Yeah! Everybody was nice. Ryan was always being funny, too!" I grinned, "Yeah? How about the others? Anything happened?"

He was silent for a while, which made me look at him. I was surprised when I saw him squeezing his lips shut as he began to blush. "Thomas?"

He looked at me and smiled, "There was this one girl. She was really pretty, like you!" I just laughed and said, "Oh yeah? Tell me about her."

"She seemed nice. She laughed a lot, too. But I was too shy to talk to her."

Awn. You and me both, buddy.

Looking at the time, I was starting to wonder when Michael would be back when I heard the door open. "Come on, bud."

Thomas stood up, rushing out the room as I followed. Once I saw him, his shirt a bit more crumpled than last time, I was worried he was about to collapse. If he was tired before, I seriously didn't know what he was feeling now. "You okay?"