The Stars That Night [boyxboy]

The Stars That Night {4}

                "Garrett. Garrett Grimaldi!"

                I rolled over and tugged the covers up over my head as my mom's voice got closer. My bedroom door swung open and I gripped the covers.

                Like I'd expected, mom tried to tug them off of me. She let out a frustrated noise when the covers didn't go flying off of me.

                "I know you're awake," she said, trying and failing to pull the covers off of me again. "Pick your head up or I send in the army."

                I sank further under the covers. Mom whistled, and my eyes opened in horror.

                "Get him! Get Garrett! Attack!" mom said.

                Before I could sit up, a heavy weight slammed against me. I could feel paws scrambling as my dog sniffed and tried to claw the covers off of me.

                "I'm up, I'm up! Call him off!" I said as he found my face and began a violent shower of licking. God, Roan would be so jealous if he saw this. Get on my dog's tongue level, Roan.

                "Okay, okay, down, Michigan," mom said, grabbing his collar and pulling him off my bed. "Down, boy. Garrett's up. Attack's called off."

                I used my covers to wipe off my face. "I hate when you send the army in."

                Michigan sat, eagerly watching me, waiting for his next chance to strike. I reached out and pat his head, sighing as he licked my arm.

                "What do you want?" I said, rubbing my eyes.

                "Your friends are in the kitchen. They came to get you, but your lazy butt was still asleep," mom said, pulling my blinds open a little to let the sunlight in. "Dad's making waffles for all of you. Go get ready and head downstairs."

                I checked my phone and, sure enough, had a bunch of missed texts from Akira and Jack. Man, it's like they didn't even know me. Of course my phone was on do not disturb. I wasn't waking up any earlier than I had to.

                "Michigan, come on. You can go lick Jack again. Let Garrett get ready," mom said, pulling the dog out of the room and shutting my door.

                I got up and got dressed, brushing my hair and teeth before heading down to the kitchen. Jack was trying to fend off my overly affectionate dog, and Akira was texting on his phone.

                Akira noticed me. "About time you woke up."

                "You've known me so long it really shouldn't be a surprise," I said, looking over at my dad. "Dad. Father. Parental unit."

                He didn't hear me, so I went over and nudged him. He jumped a little and turned to face me, pointing to his ear.

                "Put chocolate chips in my waffle," I signed. He flashed me thumbs-up and turned back to the waffles. I sat down with my friends, pushing Michigan away from Jack. "So what's the plan for today?"

                "Swimming. But at Jack's house. My father has some business partners over right now, so he doesn't want me or my brother to have anyone over," Akira said. "We figured we'd swim at Jack's for a bit, have some lunch, and maybe go get slushies and go for a walk."

                Michigan's ears perked right up and he barked, hurrying over to Akira and wagging his tail. Akira's eyes widened in horror.