In the morning when I got up, Joe had already been up for an hour. As I was going out to the living room to try to get myself awake, Eric, Bear, and Andy followed. We went into the living room, or started to, when Joe looked up, telling us that breakfast was on the table. My brother had ordered catering, and ordered a HUGE spread! How he had the money for it, I'll never know, but every breakfast food you could think of was on the counters in the kitchen.
I just grabbed a plateful, went to the dining room table, and started stuffing my face. Joe walked in, sat down at the table with me, then told me when I was done eating, to join him in our bedroom, because he had something to tell me. So, after I finished my breakfast, I first went in to brush my teeth, then joined Joe in our room. As I went in, Joe had a nervous look on his face, I've never seen him look at me that way before, even before we were split up, Joe just wasn't a guy that got nervous over anything.
"There's something I need to tell you Mikey." Joe said, "But you gotta promise me you'll keep it on the down-low, okay?"
"Sure!" I said.
With that, Joe pulled out a very recent photo, of him and another guy.
"Who's that?" I asked, pointing to the other guy in the photo with Joe.
"That..... is my husband." Joe replied, thinking I'd be shocked.
"And?" I asked.
"You mean you're not shocked that I'm gay?" Joe asked.
"What did you tell me yesterday Joe? You said as long as I was happy, that's what mattered. Same thing applies to you. If you're happy, that's what matters." I told Joe.
Joe gave me another one of his huge hugs, "I knew you'd understand." Joe said.
"I'm an LGBTQ member too, remember? I'm with Eric. If anyone would understand, it's me. Besides, you're my brother, why wouldn't I support you? Lord only knows mom and dad won't." I replied.
"Yeah, they'd be pretty angry, thank God we don't talk to them anymore." Joe said.
"If you still don't want me to tell anyone, I won't, but Bear and Andy are husbands too, I forgot to tell you, so if anything, everybody here would only congratulate you." I assured Joe.
Joe nodded, then we walked out of the room together. Joe eventually worked up the courage to tell everyone else that he was gay, and just as I told him would happen, everyone only congratulated him. Then after that, Joe asked Eric another question that would catch me off guard, but since Joe lived so close to Eric now, it didn't appear to be a problem.
"What is it Joe?" Eric asked.
"Would you be against me taking Mikey home to live with me?" Joe asked.
"Why would I be?" Eric answered, "It's not like you live 800 miles away now, Mike and I would still be able to see each other quite often, so I see no harm in it. You live like what, ten minutes away? If that?"
"More like six and a half." Joe replied, "I timed it."
I tapped Joe on the arm to get his attention, "What's your husband's name? I forgot to ask."
"His name is Gabe, and you'll love him Mikey." Joe replied.
I looked at the picture of Gabe and my brother. Gabe looked to be only about 6'2", but like my brother, he was built like a tank. He wasn't quite as big looking in weight, but he still wasn't small either. Joe and I would be leaving the next day, so I had to go upstairs and re-pack what little I unpacked when I got to Eric's house, which thankfully didn't take long, I only kept unpacked what I needed for the night, then in the morning all I'd have to do is pack up that little bit of stuff, then Joe and I could be on our way.
Later that evening after dinner, I went from the living room to Joe and I's room, so I could get my pajamas for bed, but noticed the door was closed. I heard Joe in the room talking to some people on what sounded like a video conference call, none of which sounded familiar to me. I couldn't help but to eavesdrop on the conversation, and this is what I heard.
Joe: I'm bringing my little bro back home with me tomorrow, and I want to make something very clear to all of you. When you meet my little brother, under NO circumstances are you to let him get hurt, or make him feel left out of a conversation. If he wants to hang out with you, let him. I don't mean to get nasty with you guys, but now that I've finally found him, I want to make sure he's taken care of, whether it be by me, or you guys.
Voice #1: We got you Joe, you know us anyway man, any friend of yours is a friend of ours.
Voice #2: He's actually kind of cute!
Joe: He has a boyfriend.
Voice #2 again: Damn!
Joe: OK guys, I gotta go, my little bro and I should be back sometime tomorrow afternoon, then I want you guys to come over to meet him, sound good?
Voice #1: We'll see ya then Joe, be careful getting back.
Joe: You know it guys, goodnight.
As soon as I heard the conversation end, I tried to make a break for it so Joe wouldn't know I was listening in. However, before I could get up, the bedroom door flew open, and I heard Joe laughing hysterically, then he came over to help me up to my feet, making sure I was okay in the process.
"Eavesdropper!" Joe shouted, trying hard now not to laugh.
"Huh?" I replied, trying hard, but failing at making it look like I wasn't listening.
"You were listening in on my conversation!" Joe replied, laughing hysterically again.
"Okay, okay! You caught me." I replied, becoming almost submissive, "Just don't kill me!"
"Wait... why would I kill you?" Joe asked.
I told Joe about a few instances I had with our parents, where after he left, if I was listening in on a conversation between them, they would beat me. Joe took me in our room with him, sitting with me on the bed after closing the door. He looked genuinely worried after I told him this little piece of information.
"Mike, I'm not dad bro. You remember how I always protected you, right?" Joe asked.
"I know, but I still have those memories inside me, and they're hard to just get rid of." I told Joe.
Joe hugged me again, "When we get home tomorrow, I'm going to make sure the guys know to look after you if I'm not around, especially Gabe. We have to make sure you're protected at all times." Joe told me, "I'm friends with some pretty big dudes, most of which I've met doing strongman. I'm sure you'll get along with every single one of them."
"Are you sure they'd want to be seen with me?" I asked, "I'm not too familiar with strongman stuff, I don't wanna feel like a fish out of water."
"You won't Mikey, the guys I know are good people, they'd only be too happy to make you a part of the group, trust me." Joe said, ruffling my hair.
With that, Joe and I went to bed early, because we wanted to get an early jump on traffic before rush hour hit. I laid in bed that night nervous as hell, not knowing who I was going to meet, or how they'd react when they met me. The only one I was sure of, was Gabe, my brother's husband, aside from that, I wasn't sure what I'd be getting myself into.
Little did I know, I would be greeted at Joe's house, by the biggest welcome home I had ever gotten.
TO BE CONTINUED.........................................................................................................................
YOU ARE READING
The Lone Star Adventures
Fiction généraleMike moves out of his family's home in search of a new life. He moves to the lone star state of Texas, where he starts with nothing, but ends up getting more than he could have ever imagined.
