The Only Exception [BoyxBoy]

09 | нαтє тнαт ι ℓσνє уσυ

You know exactly what to do
So that I can't stay mad at you

Chapter 09 ~ Hate That I Love You

Ryan Rivera

My family was anything but normal.

For starters, I had two white parents who were in a gay relationship that somehow stood the test of the time, even when it was obvious that they couldn't stand each other.

"Shit!" Jamie hissed as he pushed his husband out of the way and tried to salvage whatever mess that Scar had done on the stove. He removed a pan from the stove, almost burning himself in the process, and continue to curse under his breath.

"The recipe says we need to—" Scar started to stay over Jamie's shoulder, but he whipped around to burn a cold stare into him.

"Drop the spoon, Patterson. I have it under control."

"But—"

"Drop the spoon!" Scar rolled his eyes, but eventually did what he was told and dropped the spoon, quite literally. Jamie's response was a sibilant sigh followed by a, "what the hell is wrong with you?"

I saw Scar's lips twist into a frown as he reached down to retrieve the spoon. "I was trying to make you laugh, but it's obvious that someone shoved something up your ass and it certainly wasn't me." His comment awarded him the smallest of smiles. Satisfied, he threw the wooden spoon into the sink, nearly hitting Bryan in the face.

"What did I tell you guys about talking about sex in the kitchen?" Bryan asked in annoyance as he placed the wooden spoon into the water bath.

I had a twin brother who, though identical to me, had the life that I always dreamed about—football jock, great hair, tons of friends, and heterosexual. Not that there was anything wrong with being gay, it just seemed to make things a little harder—like flirting with guys, for example.

The way I fumbled over my words when I thought I was going to have a chance with Felix was similar to the way that Kahori always clammed up when she talked to Bobby.

Kahori, my Asian little sister, was the manipulative one in the family. Even though she was so good at getting what she wanted, it didn't seem like she had the social skills to interact with her peers. It was something she was insecure about, something that she'd occasionally cry about, and we had tried to do everything we could to get her to come out of her shell but nothing has worked.

"Is it weird that I know so much more about gay sex than I do about straight sex because of you guys?" she questioned as she rounded the corner to enter the kitchen.

"Does that make us bad parents?" Jamie asked.

"Yes," Bryan stated just as Kahori contradicted with, "no."

Kahori grabbed a few clean plates from the counter so that she could continue setting the table and said, "It makes you guys awesome parents!"

"Okay," Jamie breathed out, "good."

My parents continued to go back and forth with my siblings, but I checked out of the conversation, growing disinterested. Instead, I eased off the stool tucked into the kitchen island and strolled over to the family room where everyone else was seated around the flat screen TV. At my presence, everyone lifted their heads to greet me with that classic I-haven't-seen-you-in-forever talk even when it had only been a few months.