Kennedy is King

by Cameron James

  Stephen next to me, Cassidy across the table from me, Harrison next to him. Father at the head of the table. Mum sat next to me, and one empty space, but I guess that was because of Stephen, he kind of unbalanced the table. I turned as the door opened and Father and Mum came in. They smiled at us all, then Mum kissed his cheek nodding before walking away from him.

  She kissed Cassidy on the cheek, smiling pleasantly before walking around the table so she could kiss me on the cheek.

  “How are we all?” She whispered, she wasn’t expecting a verbal reply, a verbal reply would get us told off by Father. I tilted my head at her, Cassidy sighed, Harrison nodded ever so slightly and Stephen somehow managed to look completely terrified. I put my hand over his on the table so he looked at me,

  “You’re good.” I whispered; he took in a deep breath.

  “I’m good.” He agreed, I smiled lifting his hand and kissing the back of it.

  “That, well that could’ve been worse.” Cassidy said as he sat next to me on the garden furniture, his legs were folded into his body his head on my shoulder. Stephen laughed.

  “It was far more pleasant than I was expecting.” Stephen said as he crossed his legs on the single seat next to me. I smiled at him as I continued to roll a joint on the table between us. Harrison laughed from where he was sat at the end of the couch we were on.

  We were sat at the bottom of our garden. Mum had, had a summer house built when we were quite young. It had been built for Cassidy and I, somewhere we could escape to whenever it was needed, and we had used it, a lot because sometimes we just wanted to get out of the big house.

  It was a long building, mostly tall windows. There was a couch and a single armchair in one corner, and a bar with spirits hanging on the walls in the other corner. That had been a later addition, there used to be far too many toys to count but slowly we’d gotten rid of them.

  Bunton lined the walls, something Cassidy had put up at some point and a little heater circulated warmth. Strips of lightbulbs hung from the ceiling creating quite a lot of light.

  “I’m so done with them.” Cassidy sighed; Harrison laughed.

  “It doesn’t matter where you are, you’ll have to still go.” He said, Cassidy’s eyes glittered.

  “Even when I’m on Broadway?”

  “Even then sunshine.” He said, Cassidy tutted as I held the rolled joint up. He grinned as he examined it.

  “Well, I hope to have to come for years.” Stephen said, we all cooed at him, he laughed dramatically at us.

  “Until the babies born.” Harrison said, “I bet.” He added, Stephen shook his head,

  “Are we having kids?”

  “You said we’d be okay.” I said quickly, he laughed covering his face.

  “This was not the way I wanted to tell you.” He wailed dramatically. Cassidy laughed.

  “I would’ve let you in the theatre.” He said as he lit the joint, Stephen blew a raspberry at him.

  “No.” he said simply. Cassidy grinned, inhaling from the joint then blowing the smoke up and away from us. He passed it to Harrison.

  “I’d imagine we married before we had kids.” I said, Stephen rose his eyebrow at me. “Just a thought. You could wear a white suit.” I said, he hit me with one of the pillows he was leaning on. I pulled my tongue at him as I took the joint from Harrison.

  “What would you guys do if you didn’t have to do this every year?” Stephen asked as I passed the joint to him, he examined it almost frowning at it.

  “Have you never smoked weed?” Cassidy asked, Stephen laughed.

  “Never smoked full stop.” he said, Cassidy moved forward towards Stephen. “Hold it between your lips, not too far in. Inhale, hold for five.”

  “Don’t count elephants.” I said, Stephen grinned as Cassidy hit my thigh,

  “And breathe it out.” he finished, Stephen nodded to him, he inhaled softly, the end flickering then he began to cough, Cassidy smiled. “You’ll get it baby, don’t worry.” He said softly as Stephen passed the joint back. “In answer to your question, New York, three hundred and sixty-five days a year. Work there, live there, love there.” He sighed contently then inhaled the joint, he released it in little circles.

  “Show off.” I muttered then, “I’d grow a beard.”

  “A beard?” Harrison repeated amused, I nodded.

  “I am so here for that.” Stephen said nodding as if he was considering it, “like, sign me up.”

  “Me too. I am team Kennedy Beard.” Cassidy said as the joint came back to me.

  “You could still do that.” Stephen said as if he was asking, I grinned at him as I blew the smoke out.

  “Yeah, but it’d then be removed every Christmas.”

  “But you could have it all the rest of the year.”

  “I think Stephen wants you to have a beard.” Cassidy didn’t whisper.

  “I am just imagining what it’d feel like on my thighs.” He stated then inhaled again. He kept it in this time. It coming out of his nose as he breathed it out.

  “I’ll throw water over you both. Don’t think I won’t.” Harrison murmured, I looked at him as he smiled at me.

  “I’d spend Christmas eve with my kids.” He said, we all overly mocked him until he was laughing. “We know he’s going to be in New York, where are you going to be K?” he asked, probably to shut us up.

  “I want to stay here.” I said nodding to him, “I love Brighton, and would love to live here.”

  “Can I live with you?” Stephen asked, I looked back at him as he grinned. “I hate London, I always have it’s too busy and everyone’s always in a rush.”

  “Of course.” I said nodding, Stephen smiled.

  “If you guys left this house though, would you lose your money?”

  “No.” Cassidy said thoughtfully, then frowned at Harrison, “I don’t think so.”

  “No.” Harrison agreed as he passed the joint back to me. “When I moved out Father practically paid for my living costs. He sends me money every six months or so, it’s not as if we’re struggling, my salary is comfortable and Dom’s was too before Ryder was born, now he’s a stay-at-home Dad, but we’re still comfortable.”

  “Would you?” I asked, Stephen snorted lightly.

  “I technically already have…” he sighed. “Pretty sure I’ve been cut out of the will and everything, but I’m okay with that, I plan to start training come September, and I’ll be paid for that. I won’t be as rich as I was but I’ll be comfortable – I think. Sorry.” He added, I laughed.

  “I plan on having a job that’ll pay me about two hundred pound a week. We’ll be fine.”

  “With your beard.” Stephen said nodding, I nodded back as Harrison laughed.

  The roof to the summer house was also windows, which Stephen had so rightly pointed out as we lay on multiple blankets on the floor of the summer house. Harrison had gone home, deciding he wanted to be home in time for Ryder’s night feed to give Dom a rest. Cassidy had pretty much left us alone then too. Wishing us a Merry Christmas as the clock flipped over to the twenty-fifth, kissing us on the cheeks then going to bed.

  We’d waited until Cassidy had at least reached the house to start kissing. It getting deeper quickly, the groan low in my throat as Stephen’s hands searched my body trying to find somewhere, he could touch skin. I on the other hand slid my hands up the back of his polo shirt, stroking over his back feeling as he shivered against me.

  He broke the kiss, looking straight at me, his eyes tracking mine so I grinned at him. He groaned lightly then tugged on my jumper pulling it out of my jeans. I laughed happily as he did, leaning his head on my chest, so I kissed the top of his head.

  “Hey…” he whispered, looking up at me so I nodded as he stroked over my cheeks again his finger tracing down my jawline to my chin. “I love you too.”

  ♕

  “Yes! This is why we won.” Otis said happily as he conducted us through the last few bars. “Beautiful boys. Beautiful.” He stat
ed as I lowered my saxophone, taking a deep breath listening as the song finished around me.

  Otis applauded as it came to a perfect end telling us we could pack away and leave. I turned to put my saxophone away, then looked up and frowned at Cody as he smirked from where he was clipping together his cello case.

  “What?” I asked, then jumped out of my skin when two fingers went into my sides. I turned quickly, my arms wrapping around Stephen as he laughed covering his mouth and shaking his head.

  “Hello.” He said through his laughter, he bit his lip as if that’d help him stop laughing, it didn’t not really. “Ready?” he added, I nodded as I picked up my saxophone case.

  “I just need to get changed.” I said, then looked over my shoulder at Cody as he came to stand beside me.

  “I’ll meet you outside, okay?” he asked, I nodded accepting the light kiss he gave me before he left the orchestra hall.

  He waited outside of the boarding house, grinning at me when I came out then offering me a helmet.

  “Ready for this?” he asked, I shook my head as I put the helmet on.

  “No.” I said, he laughed.

  “We agreed.”

  “Yeah, yeah, the only way I was taking you to a musical was if we cycled there, I remember.” I said as I got onto my bike. He grinned at me from his as he rolled back and forth, his hands on the seat. “The last time I rode a bike…”

  “I know, I know you broke your elbow for me.” he said dramatically. “Come on, you can complain and cycle.” He said as he set off, I laughed setting off behind him, soon matching his speed.

  “You’re lucky I love you.” I said, he laughed turning to look at me, nodding to me.

  “I know.”

  ♕

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