Chapter 22: Twenty-one

Travis’ Point of View

I’m happy and sad at the same time that Mickey won’t be home for thanksgiving because my parents weren’t able to get her out of school. I’m happy because Seth won’t have to deal with her. Someone being rude to him is the last thing he needs right now. He’s the happiest I’ve seen him in a long time and I’d love for it to stay that way. I’m sad because I miss my baby sister. I miss my big brother too. It’s really too painful to think about him because we grew up like twins and we’ve been separated since junior year and graduation was the last time I saw him.

Shaking my head, I tried to rid myself of my sad thoughts and went to search for Seth. After searching and searching I heard groans coming from the kitchen. I made my way in there to see him standing near the pantry with bag of potato chips stuffing is face.

“What are you doing?” I asked him. We were supposed to be out the door a while ago. “Babe, you look like you’re about to be sick.”

“I’m so nervous.” Sighing, I walked over to him and took the bag from his hands, placed a clip on it and put it back in the pantry. No wonder he looked sick. I’ve seen him nervous before and he couldn’t even eat. He was forcing himself to eat now.

Walking to the fridge, I got a bottle of water and opened it before handing it to him. “Slow down,” I warned him after watching him chug more than half the bottle. Grabbing him by his cheek so that my thumb is on the right side and my other fingers are on the left, I turned his face that he was looking directly in my eyes. Now, my intention was to get him to focus and instead I lost my focus and started kissing him. His lips tasted salty with a hint of his cherry flavored chapstick. Moaning, I nibbled on his bottom lip one last time before pulling away.

His beautiful blue eyes fluttered open to meet mine, a smile playing on his lips.

“Okay. I’m good now. Let’s go.” Chuckling, I followed behind him and couldn’t stop my eyes from wandering down to his ass. His skinny jeans hugged him good, making his ass look even better and showing off everything.

I reached my hand out to hold on to his and pulled him back to me. His chest was pressed against mine and that surprised, innocent look on his face just made my stomach tightened with desire. Slowly, I slid my hands down his back until I was squeezing both cheeks into my palm. Seth breathed heavily as I started walking us towards the door. I dipped my head down, taking his bottom lip between my teeth and tugged on it.

“Stop touching me like that if you want us to get out of here.”

“Have I ever told you how much I love looking at your ass?”

His gulp was audible and it wasn’t from our close proximity. “We have to go.”

“I want to take you back upstairs, slowly undress you, kiss every inch of your skin and touch every inch of your skin, so that the sound of you moaning can drive me crazy.”

“Stop,” he panted. “You’re making me hard.”

“I know. I can feel it. Can you feel mine?”

He shivered. “We have to go.”

One last peck, and I let him go. “We have a lot of catching up to do when we get back to Philly”

“I can’t wait.”

I slapped his ass, laughing as he swore at me and made my way to my dad’s Range Rover

***

We waited in the car at the private airport. Seth was back to being nervous again. I know this because the movement of his knee going up and down distracted me.

“It’s just my mom and dad.” I told him. “You’ve met my mom already and my dad is…I really can’t find a word to describe him. He’s awesome and I promise he’ll be nice to you.”

“Are you sure?” Worry etched across his features as stared out the windscreen.

“I’m sure. If my parents were douchebags, I’d be a douchebag, right?”

He smiled. “You can be a jerk sometimes.”

“And you can be irritating,” I shot back, watching his smile get bigger and bigger until he was laughing.

“Touché.” His head turned to the side for a second and he gasped. “They’re here.”

I looked in my side view mirror and sure enough my mom was stepping off the plane with my dad a step ahead of her holding her hand. “Come on!” I said to Seth, not able to hide the elation in my voice.

The first person to greet me was my dad with familiar loving arms. As usual, he kissed me my cheek then my forehead. “You got big,” he said, holding me at arms length.

“Dad, you say that every time you go away.” He opened his mouth to argue but I quickly grabbed Seth from where he was standing off to the side and pushed him in front of me. “This is, Seth.”

The smile that stretched across my dad’s mouth was almost creepy. “Hi, Mr. Ortega.”  Seth stretched his hand out to Shake my dad’s on and he did so then ruffled Seth’s hair.

“It’s Cris or dad since you’re dating Travis again.” I could practically feel the heat off of Seth’s blushing face.

“Hey, mom,” I greeted as she caught up to us, walking up to her for one of her warm motherly hugs.

“Hey, baby.” Her smile got wider as her eyes caught of who I’m assuming to be Seth. “Hey, baby!”

“Hey, mom.” I watched them hug and the scene just had my heart overflowing with warmth, happiness, and pride.

“Wait a minute,” dad started. “How comes Gen gets to be mom and I’m Mr. freaking Ortega?” Now there’s a shocker. My dad said a F word. To be honest, I don’t know if he’s kidding or not.

Seth started blinking rapidly and I saw the babble coming on before he even opened his mouth. “I-she-we-well-I know her and we’ve met before and I didn’t meet you so I didn’t know how you were and—”

“I’m kidding,” dad said and we all sighed. “Travis, tenemos una sorpresa para ti.”

A surprise? “For me?”

“Si, turn around.”

Hesitantly, I did as he instructed. When I saw who was at the doorway of the airplane I froze. Slowly, I felt the smile, then the tears and I still wasn’t able to move as he trotted down the stairs. At first he was walking slowly then he took off in a dead run and I still wasn’t able to move. I can’t believe he’s really here. After being away for so long he’s really here.

When he was close enough I seem to have gotten my senses back and took a speedy step forward into his arms. I sighed deeply as we embraced. This feeling, a feeling that felt old but felt new at the same time.

We pulled apart and looked at each other, seeming to be lost for words, only to laugh a second laughter and embraced again.

“Hey, little bro,” he said, laughing when we pulled away again. Even though he was laughing his face was as wet as mine.

“Damn, I missed you,” I told him honestly.

“I heard you have a boyfriend now. You’ve got so much to tell me and I’ve got so much to tell you. I’m back…for good this time, by the way.” And just like that this entire thanksgiving holiday just got better.

***

“I don’t get it,” Seth was saying on the ride home. Christian and I had caught up quiet a lot and him and Seth kicked it off. They seem to like each other very much and I’m thankful for that. Nothing would make me happier than having the two people that I’m closest with to be close with each other. “So you guys aren’t twins, yet you look exactly alike, like duplicates, almost perfect copies and you’re both twenty. Not only that but you were born the same year?” Everything he said was a fact, yet it came out as a question.

“Well,” Chris started. “We’re ten months apart. My birthday is in February and as you know his is in December. Mommy and Daddy were bad teenagers, right mom?”

“Shut up, Christian.” The car erupted in a fit of laughter.

“Mom, you know what I really want?” Chris seemed to be in deep thoughts. I could practically taste the nostalgia radiating from his features.

“What, baby?”

“Pizza and some nice barbecue chicken wings. You know the ones where the meat is basically falling off the bones? I haven’t had pizza in so long. I haven’t had anything I grew up with to eat in the past two years. Please tell me you guys are making dinner and we aren’t going out.”

“I’ll text the order to 3.14,” I said, fishing out my phone and scrolling for the number to text. 3.14 has always been Chris’ favorite pizza place and when he took me there it became mine too. I’m not exaggerating when I say they have the best pizza ever. I really don’t know why people get excited for popular franchise pizza when these little pizza shop sells pizza that taste ten times better. 3.14 is a really cool pizza place. The atmosphere is great and friendly. People like it more because you can text your order instead of calling. They actually respond if you ask a question, which is really cool. “Are we picking it up or they’re delivering it?”

“Let’s pick it up, I missed that place. Ever had pizza from there?” I was about to ask Chris if he lost his memory but I realized he was talking to Seth, who shook his head. “Well, Travis, my brother, you’ll need to find a new boyfriend. Seth here is going to fall in love.”

“Oh, it’s good but I have something better.”

“Disgusting,” mom and dad said at the same time. That seem to be the funniest thing they said all morning because we all fell on top of each other laughing. Even Seth and without seeing his face I knew he was blushing.

Soon we were at the pizza place picking up the pizza. Chris started devouring the thing the second the guy handed a box to him. Knowing he was most likely going to eat a whole pie by himself, I ordered two. His behavior was kind of disturbing. You’d think he was having sex or had some bizarre pizza fetish the way he was carrying on.

When we got home for some reason I felt really exhausted so I went up to my room for a nap and dragged Seth with me. I got change into comfortable clothes, a pair of red Stewie pajama pants but kept the long sleeve shirt I had been wearing.

Seth was getting into sweats when I walked out of my closet. “You seem to miss your brother a lot…” I know that was Seth’s way of asking for an explanation. I don’t remember talking about him much. I might have mentioned him here or there but I never went into any depths about him.

“He wants to be a doctor. During junior year he won an essay competition for an internship with a Physician. He would earn his credits for his diploma and credits towards college so he accepted. He was in Africa for two years and he only came to graduation but he didn’t march or anything because he got his diploma long before that. I didn’t talk to him much while he was there and we’re pretty close so that’s why I missed him so much.”

“Oh okay.”

“But he’s back now, for good so it’s all good.”

“Good. I’m happy you got your brother back.”

“You’ll have yours soon, don’t worry.”

“I hope so.” I know so.

“It’s so hard to fall asleep without you now, that’s why I brought you up here with me.”

Seth looked at me for a second, and then he moved from where he was sitting on my bed and lying next to me. He then went on his side, took my hand and placed it over his waist. With his back against my chest, I cuddled up closer to him, unconsciously tightening my hold on him and fell into one of the best naps of my life.