Tj

"Yeah, I guess I'll marry you," Lori answered as she slipped the ring on her finger.

I smiled as I looked around the room. I could honestly say I was the happiest I had ever been, even with Rachel and John hanging out with us. Surprisingly, we got along all day. No one snarked at anyone and we weren't just playing nice for everyone else's sake. I'm not saying it's possible for us to be friends ever, but we can put our differences aside if we need to.

About five minutes after Lori said yes, Josh finally asked, "Dad, do you mind if Kevin and I take my car for a quick drive?"

Robert shook his head and told him to be careful and don't speed. Josh then turned to the rest of the room and asked, "Anyone else want to come?"

I looked at Sean and raised my brow in question. He shrugged and glanced at Rachel and John. I rolled my eyes and sighed as quietly as I could. Basically the conversation we had went like this.

Me- "Do you want to go with them?"

Sean- "That's fine, but what about those two?"

Me- "I don't give a fuck about them. But I guess it would be rude if all four of us left."

When nobody immediately answered Josh, he asked, "Teej, you don't want to check out my car? Sean?"

Just as I went to reply, Rachel asked, "Actually, if you could drop John and me off at my place that would save me from having to get my dad to come pick us up."

Josh nodded and Lori and Robert got up off the couch to tell John and Rachel bye. While Lori was hugging Rachel and John, Jacob said he was going to head home too. I looked at him and asked, "Are you sure? You don't want to stay and hang out with us since Aaron has to work tonight and I thought Sean and Kevin were going to spend the night."

Robert must have heard what was going on because he came over and said, "Jacob, you're more than welcome to stay a while longer. We're not planning on doing anything but eating dinner in a few hours. And since I was going to send you home with half of what's leftover, you'd be having the same dinner. At least if you stay, you'll be with family. It's Christmas, nobody should be in an empty house by themselves if they don't have to be."

Jacob smiled and responded, "I guess I'll stay then. However, do you mind if I take some of what's leftover and run it to Aaron so he can eat a real meal instead of the sandwich he probably brought for his dinner?"

When Sean heard that, he asked, "Do you mind if I ride with you? I want to at least wish him Merry Christmas." He turned to me then, "Do you want to come with us?"

Before I could answer, Kevin spoke up. "Can y'all wait till Josh and I get back? I wouldn't mind going too."

"We won't be gone more than ten or fifteen minutes. I want to go too, now," Josh added.

Lori looked at Robert, who nodded to her unasked question. "I guess we'll all go. Try to make his day a little better."

Jacob smiled. "I guess we'll have to take two cars. I wonder who else would want to drive one of them."

Josh's arm shot up like a rocket. "That'd be me! I volunteer as tribute."

I rolled my eyes. Sorry, but does the fact that Primrose dies in the last book kind of ruin the whole series and negates the whole reason Katniss volunteered as tribute in the first place. Think about it. Prim's name is drawn and Katniss immediately volunteers to go in her stead because she knows how dangerous the games are and she doesn't think her sister would survive. So, Katniss saves her sister's life for her to later die in a completely pointless way by being blown up after everything had settled down. So, the whole reason Katniss went through everything she did- surviving two games, losing her home, having to move underground in a new District, choosing the wrong boy to be with (she chose the boring baker over the hot hunter? Seriously? Give me a Hemsworth any day of the week. Even the one that's been with Miley), becoming the unwilling icon for a war she wants nothing to do with- to try to save her sister's life only for her to die.

We didn't stay very long, since technically we weren't supposed to be there. So once Aaron had opened his gifts from us, we headed back to our place. We fixed ourselves a plate of leftovers each and sat down to watch a movie. We watched the traditional McNair choice for Christmas movie-

Die Hard

. One of the best lines ever is from this movie and I plan on quoting it often. "Yippee ki yay, motherfucker!"

Jacob headed home after the movie and we got ready for bed. I felt a little bad we didn't do anything to celebrate the engagement, but neither Lori nor Robert brought it up. The next morning, we woke up about nine in the morning to the smell of breakfast cooking. We got up, got dressed, and followed our noses to the kitchen. Lori was sitting at the breakfast bar while Robert was busy cooking eggs and bacon on the stovetop.

I went to grab a piece of bacon from the plate and was rewarded with a slap to my hand from Robert's spatula. "Nope. Not yours. That's for Lori and me. If you want something to eat, you can let me know. Otherwise, wait till I'm finished and fix your own." He turned to Sean and asked, "Would you like anything for breakfast?"

Sean tried to keep his grin in check when I crossed my arms and glared at Robert's back. After Josh and Kevin walked in and Robert smiled their way and asked, "Do either of you want something?" I started tapping my foot. Robert turned back to the stove and from where I was standing, I could see him trying not to laugh.

I walked over and hip-checked him. "Ha. Ha. You're so funny, Robert. Why do you always have to pick on me?"

Robert looked my way and said, "Because I know you can take it. Grab a plate and what you want. Everyone, help yourself. Any special requests?"

I couldn't stop myself. "I want half a grapefruit already sectioned, but with the skin still on. I would like two eggs over-hard. If there is any hint of a runny yolk, I will be extremely displeased. I want a plain bagel with softened cream cheese on the side. The bagel should be perfectly toasted with no burnt edges. I would like four strips of crispy bacon, again not burnt. A glass of milk perfectly chilled to thirty-nine degrees Fahrenheit."

Robert looked my way and responded with, "You hate grapefruit just like every other person who lives in this house, so you know we don't have any. I know how much you hate runny yolks, so your eggs are finishing up now. You've never asked for bagels before, so I didn't know to buy any. There's bread next to the toaster, so help yourself. The bacon in the pan is finishing up right about," he turned back to the stovetop and pulled the perfectly cooked bacon off the heat before continuing, "now. The milk is in the fridge, so grab a glass and help yourself."

Robert and Lori sat at the bar while the four of us teenagers took the breakfast table and dug into our breakfast. A few moments later, I finally asked, "So, did you two talk last night? Do you know when the wedding will be?"

Lori and Robert looked at me like I was crazy. Finally, Lori started laughing and managed to say, "Damn TJ, we just got engaged last night; so, no, we don't know when the wedding will be. But, I have kinda always wanted a beach wedding, but I don't know about making everyone travel to somewhere else." She then turned to Robert before continuing. "You are probably going to have to find four groomsmen, but I don't think you'll have a problem finding four guys who are willing and able and maybe eager to stand up for you."

Robert smiled and said, "I think you're right." He turned to the rest of us and asked, "So, what do y'all think? You want to be my groomsmen? He then turned to me and said, "And, I want you to be my best man."

I turned to Josh with a question on the tip of my tongue; however, his smile was so big, I didn't need to ask him anything. So, I looked at Sean and Kevin to judge what they were thinking. They were both grinning as big as Josh, so I turned back to Robert and said, "Thank you. I guess I'll be your best man."

Robert chuckled and asked, "You guess? You're not sure?"

I shook my head and said, "No, I'm sure. I'll do it. Only I need to ask one thing. What do I need to do as your best man?"

Robert shrugged. "I'm not absolutely sure of everything you're supposed to do. But, planning my bachelor's party is probably the main thing you need to do besides helping me get ready and making sure I show up at the alter on time. Now, what do the rest of you say?"

Sean, Kevin, and Josh all answered, "Yes!" at the same time.

Josh turned to Lori. "Do you know who you're going to ask to be your bridesmaids?"

Lori nodded. "I'm going to ask my cousin, Amy, if she'll be my maid-of-honor. And then my roommate from college, my best friend from high school, and Amy's sister, Natalie, to be my other bridesmaids."

"So, we all get to walk down the aisle with some older women? Woo-hoo! Sounds like fun!" I joked. "They better know we're unavailable. I know I can be irresistible, but you need to control your friends," I ended with a wink.

Lori shook her head. "You don't have to worry. Amy is in a relationship and is in love with her girlfriend; Natalie is married; Beth, my best friend from high school has been dating the same guy since before we graduated; and Olivia, my old roommate, is engaged. I don't think y'all have anything to worry about."

"I'm not worried. I'm just irresistible. Ask Sean. He'll tell you." I turned to my boyfriend and gave him a big dopey smile and asked, "Isn't that right? I'm irresistible."

The room was silent for a few moments before I continued in a slightly more irritated voice, "Go on, Sean. You can tell them how irresistible I am."

Again, nothing but silence. Finally, I practically growled out, "Aren't you going to tell them how fucking irresistible I am? Why aren't you saying anything. I think you like to piss me off. In fact," I turned to look at everyone and pointed at each person as we made eye contact, "I'm on to all y'all. I know y'all pull shit like this to piss me off. Well, you know what? It fucking works assholes."

Sean grunted when my foot accidentally kicked his shin a little harder than I initially intended. He then tried to glare at me, but I don't think Sean could ever be truly mad at me. I know I really can't imagine me being mad at him for real. Unless he cheated on me. Then I'd wear his testicles as earrings.

Sean, still trying to pull off pissed off, said, "Now you're going to abuse me? You all saw it happen. Y'all can back me up."

I scoffed. "They didn't see anything. Besides, that wasn't intentional. My foot slipped and your leg was in the way. You can't prove I did it on purpose."

He finally grinned at me and leaned over and kissed me. "I'm sure my uncle will believe me."

I laughed. "Are you sure? The way he hits on me, I think he might like me more than you."

"You might be right. But I love you more than he ever could. God, now I sound mushy."

Just then, four chairs pushed away from the table and everyone else around us got up. Robert said, "Well, that was entertaining; but, breakfast is over. Let's get the day started. Do any of y'all have plans for the day?"

Before anyone could answer, I almost yelled, "Oh, shit! Noooooo! I have to write a fucking toast for the reception, don't I."

Robert laughed first and then everyone else joined in. Josh said, "Oh, come on Teej. Like you're not looking forward to the opportunity to roast dad? I can't believe that. Not with as much shit as you already give him."

A stupid grin stretched across my face. "You're right. I wasn't looking at this the right way. This will be epic!" I turned to Robert, who had the slightest amount 1of fear showing on his face. "Imagine all the power you just gave me. Thanks, Robert. I love you!"

Robert's voice held some trepidation when he said, "Remember, with great power comes great responsibility."

I laughed darkly, "I've always thought Uncle Ben got that wrong. He should've told Peter, With great power comes great opportunity." I ended with my best villainous laugh. I swear it could give Vincent Price a run for his money from the end of

Thriller

.

"You are truly evil, aren't you?" Kevin asked, trying to hold back his laughter.

I merely nodded and said, "It's taken you long enough to figure that out. So, what are we going to do today?"

Lori said, "Robert and I are going to head to my place later. We'll probably spend the night there. But other than that, I plan on having a lazy day doing nothing if I don't have to."

I looked from Lori to Robert and back again. "When are you going to move in here with us? I mean you spend the night here enough. You already have a key. So, what's the hold up?"

Lori laughed and shook her head. "You really don't hold much back do you. You just say whatever you're really thinking. To be honest, you're the first person to even suggest that as a possibility. Nobody else who lives here has even brought it up."

"Robert, how dare you. I can't believe you haven't even talked about her moving here. Think of all the gas it could possibly save," I said in mock horror.

Robert shook his head. "Don't let her lie to you. I asked her after our second date if she was ready to move in. She brushed it off like I was joking. So, I wasn't going to offer again until she asked."

Lori looked at him deadpanned and said, "You were not serious when you asked me that."

Robert raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? Are you one hundred percent certain I couldn't have been serious?"

She tried to laugh it off, but I could hear uncertainty when she said, "Yes? There's no way you really asked me to move in with you after two dates."

Robert smirked. "Believe what you want babe. But just so you know, I was serious. I like having you around."

Lori looked like she was thinking about something while she took her time before she said, "My lease is up next month. I wasn't looking to move out, but if you're serious, I think...yeah, let's do it! Okay, Teej, I guess I'm moving in at the end of next month."

I smiled at her. "Just don't turn into an evil stepmother and we'll be good."

Josh, Kevin, Sean, and I went into the living room and turned on the TV to try to find something to watch. The first mistake we made was letting Kevin and Sean decide what to watch. Now, I'm going to say something a little controversial, so don't freak out on me. I'll admit I enjoyed watching the football games on Friday nights. But that was because I enjoyed cheering for my friends and seeing Sean do something he enjoys. But as far as watching a football game on TV goes, I can't think of anything worse.

So, when they decided we were going to watch a football game, I pulled out my phone and got lost in it for awhile. It is so easy to get sucked into a rabbit hole and get lost for hours with the internet, I'm not sure what people did before cell phones, mobile games, and 4G were invented. My mom and dad used to make fun of me for being on my phone and playing games or whatever. I would ask them what people used to do in the olden days. They said something about talking to the people in the room with you and having a conversation. They also said people used to play these things called boardgames. I used to act like I didn't believe them. It was a funny little bit we had where we all had our normal lines and at the end we would laugh.

Wow, I miss the fuck out of them. I try to act like shit doesn't bother me, that I'm doing alright. And I honestly am, for the most part. But there are times when a random thought will catch me off guard and I'll turn to tell my mom something, only to realize she's gone. Other times, I'll think of something I need to ask my dad about and realize he can't answer me anymore.

That's what I was thinking about while sitting on the couch next to Sean. I was playing a game on my phone, almost totally tuned out from the world around me. I was brought back to reality when I felt a thumb brush my cheek and heard Sean ask, "Are you okay, Teej? What's going on? Why are you sitting crying?"

I reached up to feel my cheek and was surprised when I felt moisture. I smiled at Sean and answered, "I'm fine. I was just thinking about my mom and dad."

From the corner of my eye, I saw Kevin grab the remote and hit the mute button. I looked over just as Josh stood up and crossed over to me. Without any warning he layed down right on top of me. Now, I was already snuggled up with Sean, so Josh laying on top of me was really just him pushing me over so I was on top of Sean. Josh may be small, but that doesn't mean he isn't heavy. I don't mean heavy as in fat. I mean when you add one hundred and thirty pounds on top of one hundred and fifty pounds, Sean was now supporting almost three hundred pounds of weight.

When Josh landed on me, I heard Sean let out a grunt and a wheezed breath. I tried to ask Sean if he was okay, but then Josh started tickling me and I'm extremely ticklish. So, all I ended up doing was squirming around while laying on top of Sean and laughing so hard, I couldn't do anything else. Sean might have had the breath knocked out of him, but he wasn't complaining. In fact, the next thing I felt was a certain hardening under my ass. I then felt another pair of hands on my sides joining in with Josh's tickling. The more I was tickled, the more I would laugh and squirm. The more I squirmed the greater the effect it had on Sean. The more Sean reacted to my squirming, the more it started to affect me. On top of that, I was now laughing so hard, I couldn't catch my breath, and I was close to pissing my pants.

I tried to warn them it was about to get really wet on the couch, but didn't have a chance. Josh's weight suddenly disappeared from on top of me. Now, one set of hands was still tickling and making me squirm and rub my ass all over his crotch, but with Josh's weight gone, I was finally able to roll off Sean and onto the ground. I heard Kevin laugh and then he said, "Damn, Sean! Put that thing away. I don't want to see that."

I looked up at the couch just in time to see Sean reach his hand into his pants and adjust his cock so it was flat against his stomach. Before he pulled his hand out, we were all able to see the head and about an inch of his dick before he pulled his shirt down over it. I then looked up and noticed both Kevin and Josh were blatantly looking at Sean's lap. I couldn't stop myself from saying, "Kevin, you said you didn't want to see it, but you sure as hell didn't look away, did you?"

Kevin turned red and said, "Screw you, Teej. Be nice to me. I saved you from the tickle torture."

Since I was on the floor, I could clearly see he had Josh draped over his shoulder and was holding him with one arm. I noticed him try to surreptitiously reach down and rearrange things downstairs with his free hand. Just as he was putting things in their place, he noticed me looking at his crotch. He surprised the shit out of me when he winked and shrugged one shoulder with an actual smirk on his face. He said, "What? I'm a gay teenager who just watched my boyfriend on top of two other guys squirming around. And then on top of that, I caught a glimpse of a good-looking guy's really nice dick. It's not my fault my body reacted the same way I'm sure yours did."

"I will neither confirm nor deny if my nether region was altered due to the fact my brother was involved in that scenario, and that's close to incest. I love my brother, but I'm not going to fuck him," I responded just as Robert and Lori walked into the room.

Lori laughed and Robert shook his head. He asked, "Do I even want to know?" with a sigh.

I grinned up at him and said, "Probably not. But rest assured, the four of us aren't going to have sex with each other because brothers shouldn't do that, and friendships come first."