Peach Tree Family: Gay Romance

by Trina Solet

  "We can't afford a dog," Theo said.

  "Not even a little one?" Ace asked.

  "We need to shop for furniture. That's what we're doing tomorrow. We're going to Ashbury. You coming with us?" Theo's voice was flat and kind of angry so he had to be talking to Seth, not Ace.

  "Sure," Seth said. He didn't need to do any shopping. His job was temporary and he wanted to save as much money as he could. "You'll need help loading in furniture, right?"

  "Not planning to buy anything heavy. I asked you because we're supposed to share the truck," Theo told him, and Seth was sure he didn't want him to go.

  But all of a sudden Seth had that same feeling he had back when he first saw Theo at the house and he tried to get rid of him. For once Seth wasn't going to let himself get pushed around. That feeling was back, so he told Theo, "In that case, I need to come along to make sure you don't plow the truck right into a ditch."

  That got Theo to turn and glare at him. He was pretty sure it was the first time he looked at Seth since he kissed him.

  "I drove here fine," Theo claimed.

  Ace backed up his brother. "He did."

  "All right then, I'll just come along to make doubly sure," Seth said with a wink and Ace smiled.

  Theo didn't say anything either way and Seth figured that was the best he could hope for.

  When they got to the house there was a van from the power company in front.

  "What does it mean?" Ace asked. He seemed kind of worried and Theo didn't get too excited either.

  "We'll find out if we're getting power, I guess," Theo said as he parked, shut off the engine and went to find the man from the power company.

  "Video games!" Ace said as he jumped out of the truck. Now he was seeing the upside.

  "You got homework you need to do?" Seth asked, not that he was in charge of him or anything.

  "Theo already asked me. I did it with DJ. But Ry wanted to do pencil fighting." Ace did some sword fighting moves.

  "Sounds like fun."

  "Yeah, but DJ and me did it after we finished," Ace said.

  "You're good guys. You know what else you'll have if you get power? A working fridge," Seth said holding up the takeout bags from Peach Tree Cafe.

  "I forgot about the food," Ace said.

  "Let's take it inside." He and Ace went in through to kitchen door and Seth put the bags on the counter. Suddenly the light inside the open fridge came on and Ace got startled and jumped, then he screamed, "We have power! Power!"

  "Do we high five now?" Seth asked and Ace hit his hand hard.

  They saw the van from the power company drive away and then Theo came in and Ace high fived him too.

  "You're happy," Theo said.

  Ace gave him the reason. "Video games!"

  "I'm thinking we eat first. Maybe we can heat up some of this," Seth said taking the food he brought out of the bag. Evening was already coming on and Ace went around to see which lights worked.

  "Too bad we don't have a microwave," Theo said, but then it turned out they didn't have an oven either. Only the range worked.

  Theo had bought a frying pan that came in handy to heat up the rice and then the spicy chicken.

  "This is the chicken that goes into the jambalaya. Wish I had some of that adouille sausage for you guys," Seth said.

  "This is plenty," Theo told him. He had only said a few words to Seth. That made him worry that Theo might kick him out or tell him he wasn't welcome to go with them to Ashbury after all.

  He didn't say anything like that while they ate, but maybe he was waiting until Ace was asleep. With their dinner done, Seth got out three pieces of pie and told Ace and Theo what Mrs. Del Rio said about them, "Something sweet for you sweet boys."

  "We're sweet?" Ace said looking from Seth to Theo like he was doubting their sweetness.

  "Mrs. Del Rio is just a nice lady," Theo told him.

  They ate the pie while Theo checked over Ace's homework. "Good work," he told him.

  "I get to play video games as much as I want?" Ace said, his eyes big and bright.

  "You get half hour and maybe we'll watch something too," Theo told him and that was plenty good enough for Ace.

  "Yes!" Ace said and strutted all around. He was happy and it seemed to Seth that Theo was in a better mood too now that they had electricity. He was plugging in his laptop and other chargers, and Seth could tell all that stuff was important to him. And here he was without even a phone.

  They hadn't talked about it, so Seth wanted to make sure he was welcome to stay the night. He was pretty certain that Theo would have told him already if he wasn't, not kicked him out after dark. Seth still mentioned it but lowered his voice so Ace couldn't hear.

  "I'm good to stay another night here, right?"

  Theo's answer was short. "You are."

  "Thanks. I appreciate it."

  "A place with water and power, you're living the life," Theo said.

  Seth risked smiling at him, but he didn't want Theo thinking he was trying to seduce him to be allowed to stay. He was going to mind his manners and be on his best behavior.

  After eating they settled in to watch some shows Theo had saved on an iPad. They had to sit close to see, and once it got dark, the living room was pretty dim.

  Even with the power on there wasn't a lot of light. Some bulbs had burned out, but there was one light in the kitchen, one in the bathroom and the living room got light from a light set into the ceiling above the front door. The bedrooms were still pitch black so Ace's sleeping bag stayed in the living room.

  Ace had a good time watching and then playing a game on the PlayStation. At his bedtime, he didn't whine too bad. Before he went to brush his teeth, he came over to high five Theo and Seth.

  "We high five at bedtime now?" Theo asked as Ace high fived him up high, down low, then behind his back.

  "That was a good one," Seth told Ace.

  "It's our special combo," Ace said proudly.

  "Looks cool," Seth told him.

  "Ace can't stop high fiving once he starts," Theo said shaking his head as Ace went off to the bathroom.

  "It's nice. Reminds me of doing that when I was a kid. I'd high five for anything." Seth got kind of sad thinking of it. That was when his hands were little and his heart was lighter, when he had friends, but all that stopped for him after the trouble with his folks.

  Looking at him, Theo tilted his head to one side. "Is it making you sentimental or something?" he asked.

  Seth didn't mean to drag all that up, but since Theo asked, he told him, "It's been a while since I had anyone to pal around with. The last few years, I was kind of an outcast in my home town. It was because my mom and dad did something, and it made everyone think I was no good. Some people had it in for me. It was too hard to be my friend." Seth was leaving a lot out. He already made Theo mad at him, he didn't want to lose any more of his trust by telling him what kind of cloud he lived under.

  Theo was no fool. He must have noticed, but he didn't ask Seth for any more than he was willing to tell. "Sorry to hear that. I remember you said you only stayed for your grandfather."

  "He stuck by me when my mom and dad went off, so I figured I should stick by him."

  "Your parents left."

  "They needed a clean start. I didn't blame them for not coming back to Waterfield. I just wish they had sent for me."

  At that Theo went quiet. They both did and Seth wished he hadn't said as much as he did. He wished it even more when Ace came out of the bathroom and asked, "Why is everybody serious?"

  "You know grown ups have to be serious sometimes," Theo told him.

  Ace made a unhappy noise and headed for his sleeping bag. "We're gonna get real beds tomorrow, right?" he said turning to Theo.

  "I don't know about beds, but we'll try and get some mattresses."

  "What else are we getting?" Ace wanted to know.

  "We'll see what we find and what we can afford. Now climb in there," Theo said and sat next to his
sleeping bag.

  "Theo, can we play music now that we have electricity?" Ace asked.

  "I guess so," Theo said.

  "Do it!" Ace said and Theo got up to go and play something on an old iPod he had plugged in to charge. "Dad's music?" Ace said as a song started up.

  "That's what you like, isn't it?" Theo said to him with a smile.

  "Yeah," Ace said and he settled in as the sounds of some music from back in the 90's filled the room.

  Theo zipped up Ace in his sleeping bag, made sure he was warm enough, and then left him to quiet down and fall asleep.

  "How was your first day at the inn?" Seth asked keeping his voice low as Theo sat near enough to hear him easily.

  "Half day really. It went fine."

  From his short answer, Seth thought that maybe he didn't want to talk. Theo didn't go off to play on his laptop or any of the other things he plugged in, and he didn't have his phone out. Like Seth, he was sitting on the floor, leaning against the big backpack. Seth had his duffel bag behind him, and he wondered if he should go and take it to that bedroom and try and go to sleep.

  He thought he should but he didn't do it. Having Theo close by didn't seem so bad even if they were just sitting in silence while music played.

  Thinking about what else they might talk about besides how work was going, Seth wondered, "What will you do about picking up Ace when you work a full day?"

  "I talked to Wyatt and he said he could get Ace along with his boys. He picks up the other kids sometimes and the other parents do the same thing."

  "So they take turns?"

  "Kind of. It doesn't sound very organized," Theo said like he wanted to see a chart and a sign up sheet. "But Wyatt said the other kids already recruited Ace and he was one of them now. He made it sound like Ace was now part of some cult."

  Seth laughed. "Sounds like a good deal."

  "I don't know what I'll be doing to repay them." Theo frowned.

  "You'll figure it out."

  "I don't like taking advantage or owing," Theo said and Seth remembered how Ace worried about taking charity.

  "You won't owe. You'll do your part."

  "How do you know?"

  "That's just the kind of guy you are. Even Ace doesn't like to take charity."

  Theo made a face. "I might have gone overboard with that."

  "You said that was because of some girl." Seth frowned picturing her all over Theo and not liking it though he wouldn't have liked it either.

  "Yeah, I'm not into girls. I might have mentioned that." Theo's eyes were sharp, drilling into him.

  Was he trying to remind him of how quickly Seth was all over him as soon as he found out he was into guys? He was as shameless as that girl who had been after Theo.

  Not feeling so shameless now, Seth looked down. "I am real sorry for getting so carried away when you told me. It was just a surprise. I wasn't up to anything."

  Theo made a noise like he didn't quite believe him.

  Looking over at him, Seth pointed out, "You must believe me at least a little or you would have kicked me out."

  Now Theo sighed. "Maybe I do a little."

  "And you'll be sleeping over by my door, guarding me?" Seth asked and he couldn't help smiling. In return Theo gave him one of his small, cautious smiles.

  Seth couldn't believe how happy and relieved he was to know that Theo didn't hate him. Just that small sign that things might be all right between them made Seth's heart feel like it might be too big for his chest.

  Chapter 7

  Theo slept fitfully, waking up from dreams that he sneaked into Seth's room. Sometimes he found Seth waiting for him naked. Sometimes he caught him jerking off. Other times Theo found him asleep and woke him with a blowjob.

  Glad he was the first one up, Theo stumbled to his feet and to the bathroom to jerk off. His dick had already been too aware of Seth but that kiss in the truck really ramped things up. And Theo still didn't know what to think about it.

  Since then Seth hadn't shown any signs that he assumed that Theo being gay meant he was a slut, free for the taking, willing to suck cock on demand.

  Of course Theo had been kind of dreaming of that in explicit detail and getting off on it. But that was because Seth was right there and they did kiss.

  They kissed. It wasn't just Seth. Theo returned the kiss, enjoyed it, then his brain kicked in.

  Still there was something about Seth aside from his hot body and the way he kissed. When Theo wasn't overanalyzing him, he found Seth to be genuine and kind. And Ace liked him too, and that wasn't a meaningless thing to Theo.

  Since everything that happened with their aunt and Jerry, Ace had been anxious and more cautious around people. He was coming back to himself since Theo got him away from them. Seeing how well Ace was doing since they came to Peach Tree, Theo knew he it was the right decision even if it was risky.

  "We're going shopping together!" Ace said as he rushed through breakfast.

  It was good to see him excited and not anxious, but he was a little too happy to have Seth tagging along with them.

  Not that Theo really minded. If he was honest, Theo felt an uncomfortable tension when Seth was close, but he also didn't feel the weight of responsibility coming down on him quite as hard. That was probably just Seth distracting him, but it wasn't so bad to have him around.

  As Ace was making his last trip to the bathroom, Seth was outside in front of the house, looking over the old truck. When Theo joined him, Seth reassured him, "I'm no mechanic, but it should get us where we're going and back."

  "Good to know," Theo said then they went silent. Seth leaned on the truck with his arms folded, and Theo told himself not to admire the lines of his body or the bulge of his biceps under his old, beat-up jacket. Instead he decided to bring up their living arrangement. "I was thinking, since we're supposed to share this truck, I guess you can stay with us for a while."

  "With you sleeping outside my door?" Seth said.

  "If we get some beds or at least mattresses, Ace and I can share one bedroom. The one with the broken window is all yours," Theo told him.

  Seth nodded. "That would work for me. What about rent?"

  "I'm making you sleep in a room with a broken window. It's not like you're taking up valuable real estate. Just chip in for food and help me fix up the place and we'll call it even."

  Seth smiled. "Thanks. It's a relief to have a roof over my head at least for a while. I appreciate it."

  "I'm not doing you a favor. We both benefit," Theo said with a shrug. He was uncomfortable at how grateful Seth seemed. But it wasn't like he was just keeping a hot guy around the place for selfish reasons. "You've been helpful. It's good to have an extra pair of hands." Now he was talking like he needed to justify his decision to Seth.

  He didn't, but Theo remembered how his friends let him crash with them after his aunt kicked him out when he turned eighteen. That was plenty of reason to let Seth stay with them.

  When Ace came out, Theo gave him the news.

  "Seth is gonna be our roomie," Ace said, looking happy.

  "I'm a roomie, huh? Never been one before," Seth said like he got as much of a kick out of it as Ace did. Then the two of them high fived.

  They got on the road and the whole way Seth and Ace were telling Theo, "Watch out for that ditch. Watch out for that ditch."

  As far as car games went, it was not his favorite, but the two of them didn't get tired of it until they reached Ashbury.

  Right on the outskirts they found the first place where they needed to stop. "A swap meet and a farmer's market. That's the place. I'll buy something to cook for you guys," Seth said as they turned into the field that served as the parking lot.

  "You'll be cooking for us?" Theo said, surprised.

  "I'm helping out with food. That's what you said," Seth told him. "But this time of year, they won't have the good stuff."

  As Seth picked out some produce, Theo found he was kind of looking forward to having him cook fo
r them. Seeing him buying vegetables, Ace wasn't thrilled.

  He did nod in approval when Seth got some potatoes, but Theo didn't like what he saw while he was paying for them. The girl selling the produce was very chatty, taking her time giving Seth his change and smiling at him like she wanted to eat him alive.

  When Seth turned away from her, he caught the displeased look on Theo's face. "Something wrong?"

  Theo denied it and turned away. The rest of the flea market had stuff that was more to Ace's liking, but it was Seth who spotted their first find.

  "A tarp. You've got to get this. It has metal grommets for tying it down," Seth said as he looked it over carefully.

  "That is a good one, and we'll get some bungee cords too," Theo told him.

  "I'm going to find something good too," Ace said then he frantically looked all around and started pointing at random things.

  "You win, Ace," Theo told him but Ace gave him a skeptical look since he didn't buy anything he pointed at.

  It was Theo's turn to find something they needed. "I see a coffeemaker. The tag says ten bucks. It's mine."

  "You didn't even haggle for it," Seth hissed at him as he paid.

  "It looks clean and instant coffee just doesn't do it for me," Theo told him.

  Before they continued on, Seth stopped them. "All right, from now on, when we see something we like, we pretend we don't really want it to drive the price down."

  "Lie?" Ace said.

  "Not lie, just pretend," Theo told him.

  Moving on, Seth nudged Theo and said. "That lamp."

  "Ugly," was all Theo had to say about it but a little later he saw one he did want.

  It wasn't to Seth's liking though. "You don't mean that dented, old floor lamp?"

  Theo saw it differently. "It's a vintage, brass, cantilevered, reading lamp. It has character."

  "What it's got is decades worth of tarnish," Seth said.

  But Theo's decision was made. "I'm getting it."

  "Wait up," Seth said, the back of his hand resting against Theo's chest as he stopped him. "I don't want a repeat of what happened with the coffeemaker. Let me haggle for it."