Chapter Twenty-Four

{Chapter Twenty-Four}

The waitress drops off the drinks and asks if I want to order yet but I tell her to give me a minute so Jer and Ian can order too. After a few minutes, no sign of either of them, I start to get more nervous. What if Ian is freaking out? Or if they're fighting. I want to go in to see if they're okay, and I'm about to. I pocket my phone and grab Jer's wallet in case someone tries to take it, and start to stand until the bathroom door opens. I sit back down, putting Jer's wallet back while the two emerge from the bathroom.

I scan both of them for any signs that something is wrong, but I can't find anything out of the ordinary. In fact, Ian looks more relaxed than he has been since we got here. I relax at that, sighing in relief. They both take their seats and the waitress comes back to take our orders.

"Is everything okay?" I ask, not really aiming it at either one of them in particular, just hoping one of them will answer. Jer's eyes move to Ian whose eyes find mine.

"Yeah." Ian replies with a smile, his gray eyes bright with that familiar light. My eyes move to Jer who lifts his two fingers to his lips in a motion one would do to take a drag off a cigarette, making me realize he probably wants one.

The waitress comes back to get our orders and we all give her our individual orders. When she skips away my eyes move to Ian, still worried about him. What I said at the park was completely true, I don't want him to feel forced into anything. I want him to trust us, and hopefully over time we can build that trust if he really wants this.

"This can be dangerous." I blurt, moving my eyes from Ian to Jer, addressing both of them. Ian arcs his brow in confusion while Jer drops his eyes to inspect his tattoo.

"I know," Jer is the first to speak, lifting his fingers to his lips again but keeping his golden eyes on his thick black cross poking out of his leather jacket on his right hand.

"What do you mean?" Ian asks seriously and I look into his near-white gray eyes. Images of us coming out to just the town flash through my mind; they would be sickened, I know it. It's not that the town isn't open to new things, but I don't know if everyone-or even the majority of everyone-would be open to this kind of relationship. Almost everyone has it set in their minds that monogamy is the only correct relationship, the only type of relationship that's real.

They would be sickened. They could hurt us; Jer, Ian. Images of Ian coming to me with bruises, especially considering he's in a private Catholic school, flash through my mind. What if they get hurt? It would be my fault, I'm the one who's bringing us together. If they get hurt because of this I would never forgive myself.

"You could get hurt," I reply to Ian's question. "You could get hurt because of me. This isn't just a matter of some people not thinking this is right, this is a matter of God only knows how many people thinking this is wrong. We'd be shunned, harassed, loose friends. Are you ready for that? Are you ready to possibly loose all your friends? Get hurt?" I ask near hysteria because the weight of all this is beginning to weigh down on me.

"Levy," Jer starts in a calm voice.

"And you, my mom might hate you. You could go out of business. Get hurt." I add, biting my lip hard to stay in this moment and not get lost in all the possible outcomes. Jer reaches out and takes my hand in his gently, making my eyes snap from the table to him then to Ian when his hand takes my free one.

"Calm down," Jer soothes, running his thumb against the top of my hand in soothing circles. Ian locks our fingers and offers me a smile.

"I know people may disapprove, but I'm not as fragile as you think I am. If someone tries to hurt me, I can and will defend myself. I won't be a victim again." He adds the last part lowly. My heart clenches at that and I squeeze his fingers comfortingly. Jer's eyes look to me in confusion, no doubt wondering what Ian meant because I haven't told anyone what happened to Ian. It's his choice to tell people, I have no right to tell anyone about his past. He'll tell Jer in due time if he wants to.

"We're going to be okay, love. We can take whatever backlash we receive." Jer adds, not voicing his obvious confusion over Ian's earlier statement.

"I don't want you to get hurt." I reply, speaking to both of them.

"We won't." They say simultaneously. My eyes dart between them, reading their relaxed but serious expressions.

"You don't know that." I mutter, dropping my eyes. I know I want to be with them, I love them so much, but I don't want to do something that will get them hurt. I don't want to take that risk unless they're both sure.

"You're not giving us much credit," Ian states and I sigh.

"I'm scared." I reply honestly.

"We can make this work, love, no one has to get hurt." Jer assures and I open my mouth to reply but close it. I don't know how to reply to that. I know he's right, we can make this work and I'm probably getting worked up over nothing, but at the same time there may be a reason to be worked up.

The waitress drops our food off, giving me a distraction from thinking about all this. I pick up my turkey sandwich and take a bite, savoring the smoky flavor. We all eat in silence, each lost in our own thoughts. Ian seems to finish his sandwich first, followed by me then Jer. The waitress drops off the check and I reach for it as does Jer, Ian probably knows there's no use trying to pay, unlike Jer.

"I'm paying," I state, taking the check but Jer doesn't let go.

"I'll pay, love." Jer replies, pulling the check to himself but I stare flatly at him.

"I invited you, I should pay." I argue, yanking the check back towards myself.

"I decided to come and order food, I planned to pay." he argues.

"I don't work hard for my money." I add. It's true, I don't work for my money, Mom and Dad just want me to do well in school and if I do I can keep my credit card as long as I don't go crazy.

"I have more money than you." He replies. I notice Ian is shaking with silent laughter, shaking his head at the exchange.

"I..." I trail, thinking as fast as I can. "I should pay."

"I'm older." He replies and I open my mouth but close it when the black leather book holding our check is pulled out of both our grasps.

"Neither of you are paying." Ian deadpans, pulling his wallet out of his pocket before getting up to go pay the bill. I stare after him, dumbfounded.

"I wanted to pay," I state sadly, watching Ian hand the hostess a twenty before coming back to the table. "I was going to pay," I inform Ian but Jer laughs.

"He thinks he was going to pay." He says, correcting me.

"It's fine, my dads give me a large allowance and if I let you guys continue we would be here all day." Ian replies. I drop my head but smile at Ian anyway, standing up so we can leave.

"Do you guys want to go anywhere?" I ask, stretching a bit while Ian stands, Jer following. Ian's eyes brighten and his lips twitch in a smile.

"Can we go to the beach?" he asks in excitement and I look at the large retro red and black clock with white numbers on the wall across the room, wondering if we would have time.

"I think we can manage that." I reply with a smile and Ian's eyes lighten up. I look to Jer who's smiling at Ian's excitement. "Can you drive? I don't want to get sand in my car." I explain, shuddering at the mere thought.

"Of course, do you want to drop your car off at your house? Or we could drop it at mine since it's closer. Or the office." My eyes widen at the last part and he arcs a brow.

"I am not leaving my baby at your office unattended. She could be hurt...again." I add, cringing at the memory of the scratch someone left on her beautiful paint. Jer looks to Ian in confusion while Ian rolls his eyes in exasperation.

"Someone scratched his car, it's just a surface scratch though. I tried to tell him it was nothing to worry about, that my dad can buff it out, but I don't know if he was listening. " Ian explains. Jer nods, looking back to me.

"You can park it at my house then, it'll be safe and it's closer than yours." He assures but I know what he's not adding.

It's more convenient to leave it at his because if I drop my car off at my house Mom and Dad are going to ask a hundred questions as to why I'm not driving it. And since Lydia doesn't have her license while Jess doesn't have a car, it wouldn't make sense to tell them I'm with Lydia or Jess. It's less of a hassle to drop it off at his house.

We all leave the diner and out to the cars. Ian, surprisingly, moves to the passenger's side door of Jer's black 4Runner. I don't say anything though and instead move to my own driver's door, sliding in and pulling out after Jer. I follow behind him back to his house and pull into his familiar cement driveway while he parks at the curb. I get out, looking at my car longingly before patting it.

"You'll be okay," I assure, petting the pretty blue paint before locking her up and walking towards Jer's truck. I slide into the back passenger's seat and move up to drape my arms on Ian, feeling his strong abdomen under my fingers through his gray shirt.

"Were you just talking to your car?" Jer asks in confusion, pulling away from the curb and driving towards the highway that will lead us to the closest beach.

"Yes, do you have a problem with that?" I demand a bit dramatically, resting my head against the back of Ian's polyester headrest to look at Jer's profile. He shakes his head, chuckling lightly but doesn't respond, instead focuses on the road. My eyes move to Ian as I rub small circles on his chest soothingly while he closes his eyes.

I don't know when it happened but at some point I realize he fell asleep, and despite the fact that if he sleeps he'll probably have a worse time getting to sleep tonight, I don't have the heart to wake him. I lift my left hand to run through his soft dark hair, letting the silky strands fall through my fingers with ease.

"He fell asleep fast," Jer notes and I nod, continuing to run my fingers through his hair.

"He doesn't sleep well at night, and I guess he relaxes enough around me to sleep." I half explain, keeping a close eye on the road because I easily get car sick.

"Why do you suppose he wanted to go to the beach?" Jer questions. I shrug, admittedly I'm curious too.

"Maybe he was just in the mood for it." I offer, savoring the feel of Ian's soft hair. Jer doesn't respond to that, instead he continues to drive down the highway, passing cars.

He moves lanes and turns his blinker on to merge into another lane. He pulls off the off ramp that will lead to the road that will lead to the beach. We pass empty fields with iceberg plants and purple flowers before Jer reaches the parking lot of the beach. Jer parks in an empty spot next to a monstrosity of a truck that I'm sure costs more to fill up per day than Jer makes off bulk sale. I roll my eyes at the comparison, realizing I spent way too much time talking about marketing and money with Jer for the project.

"Ian," I call but I don't stop running my fingers through his hair. He sighs and his eyes open, looking around as he blinks.

"We're here," Ian mumbles and I laugh.

"I know. Come on, babe, let's walk on the beach." I offer, sliding out of the truck. Ian follows, stepping out and leaning against the closed door as he wakes up a bit more. Jer gets out and walks over to us, locking his fingers with mine.

"We can take our shoes off and put them in the back." Jer offers and we nod, moving to the back of the truck. We take our shoes off, putting all our wallets and electronics-watches and phones-in the back before Jer locks it. We move across the hard pavement into the sand and walk towards the water.

I notice Ian breathes in deeply, looking around before a grin appears on his face. He turns to me, grabbing my hand and lacing our fingers, not looking tired in the least.

"Come on," he urges, dropping my hand and running towards the water. I laugh, leaning against Jer as Ian runs to the water. I look up at Jer and kiss him lightly with a smile.

"You coming?" I question and he shakes his head, tipping my head up with his fingers to kiss me.

"Go on, I'll be right here." He assures. I nod and make my way through the soft warm sand to where Ian is waiting, the waves barely missing him. He looks over at my approach and smiles, taking my hand and leading me closer to the water.

"I don't want to get wet." I warn.

"Oh don't worry, you won't get wet." He waves off, walking slower once we get to the hard packed cold sand. We walk close to the water, but not close enough to get wet which I'm grateful for. I look over to Jer who took a seat in the sand not too far from us, smiling at us.

"Lev, look, I found a sand dollar." Ian calls, bending down to wipe at the sand. I bend down on my hunches next to him to look at what he's wiping at but I don't see anything.

"Wait, where?" I ask in confusion. Then I feel it. Freezing cold water splashes me up to my waist and I gasp, unable to move while Ian laughs.

"I'm sorry, I had to." Ian gasps out, pushing me back to the sand and I groan.

"Why," I whine, looking up at him when he leans over me. He smiles, his gray eyes holding that light that makes a smile find its way onto my lips.

"It was just too easy." He explains, leaning in closer as he keeps himself propped above me with his hands in the cold packed sand. I watch him curiously and he drops down further to kiss me.

I smile against his lips while his move against mine roughly. I move my hands up up his shirt but he stiffens under my hands, pulling them out of his shirt with his right hand. I plan to ask if he's okay but then a large wave of ice cold water splashes over us and all thoughts of lust are washed away.

"Ugh," I groan while Ian pulls away, dropping his head on my shoulder as he laughs. "You think this is funny?" I probe, pulling his now wet hair so he's looking up at me.

"A bit."

"I have sand in places I didn't know it would be possible to get sand and I'm frozen." I deadpan but he just continues to smile brightly, the light in his eyes never wavering. He looks so happy, it makes me break my composure and smile.

"Alright, come on, we can get up and you can go complain to Jer about how mean I am." Ian mocks, pushing himself off me and onto his feat before extending his hand to me. I take it and he helps me up, attempting to wipe some of the sand off my clothes but it doesn't help much.

"Come on," Ian coaxes, taking my hand so I won't continue to attempt to wipe the sand off my clothes. We walk back to where Jer is, crossing from packed wet sand to damp loose sand until we reach the dry sand. Jer looks us over and laughs.

"You got wet," he states. I pout, pushing Ian and moving behind Jer.

"He tricked me." I whine, pointing my finger at Ian who's snickering.

"I saw, it was amusing." Jer says and turns to me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. "Come on, we'll take a walk and you can dry off." Jer offers, reaching out to take Ian's hand.

I smile at that and we walk down the beach. We walk through the sand, moving from one end of the beach to the next as the sun slowly moves further down the sky, and everything is easy. We don't have to worry about anything right now, we can talk about stuff with no meaning, we don't have to worry about reality. It's amazing, I don't want it to end.

But as the sun descends further, indicating the day is over, I know we have to go back to reality. We walk back to the truck where me and Ian attempt to get most of the sand off our clothes. Most of it comes off easily now that it's dry but I can still feel it on my body under my clothes. I ignore it though and slide into the back with Ian while Jer slides into the driver's seat.

I rest my head against the window, tired from today. I close my eyes and start to drift off when I feel arms wrap around my arm followed by Ian's head resting against my shoulder.

"Thank you, Levy. This was perfect." He mumbles tiredly and I smile, nodding slightly.

"Anytime, babe." I reply softly before my eyes shut. I don't fall asleep though, I force myself to stay up so I can get some sleep tonight. I let Ian sleep though, I know he won't sleep tonight either way unless he takes a sleeping pill which he seems so prone to doing.

The ride back to town seems faster than it did coming to the beach. I give Jer directions to Ian's house and he parks at the curb in front of Ian's house. I open my mouth to wake Ian, but when I look down at him, I can't.

"Jer, help me get him out of the car. I don't want to wake him." I add, carefully moving him so I can slide out of the truck. Jer gets out and reaches in to carefully take Ian in his arms before handing him to me.

"You got him?" Jer asks quietly and I nod with a grateful smile.

"I have him. I'll be right back, I'm going to attempt to get him in bed without waking him." I add and Jer nods, reaching out to move a stray hair from Ian's face.

"Good luck, love." He replies before getting back into the truck. I carefully walk across the greening grass to Ian's front door. I knock on it carefully with my foot, hoping Haiden or Owen-Haiden-will answer the door. Owen answers and I sigh when his eyes move from me to Ian's unconscious form.

"Before you freak out, he's fine. He just fell asleep in the car and I didn't want to wake him because he doesn't sleep well." I interrupt him before he can say anything, and I know he was about to. He puffs up his chest, looking at me with no emotion before moving aside to let me in.

"Come on." Owen mutters so I carefully move into the house. I hear Owen close the door as I make my way up the stairs. I reach Ian's open door and carefully place Ian on his bed. I pull his shirt off and carefully take his pants off, leaving him in his black boxers. Then I pull his fluffy comforter over his sleeping form and lean down to kiss him on the lips gently.

"I love you, baby. Sleep well." I whisper though I know he's going to wake up sometime during the night. I leave his room, taking two steps at a time before I walk through the hall. To my surprise I make it out the door without either of Ian's dads confronting me.

I walk across the lawn to the passenger's door of Jer's car and get in. He glances over at me, taking my hand in one of his and lacing our fingers together.

"Did he wake up?" he asks and I shake my head, yawning as I rest my head on his arm.

"He will later, but for now he's sleeping." I mumble. I imagine Jer nods but I can't be sure as I close my eyes, waiting to get to Jer's house so I can go home. Though, the thought of driving makes me groan.

"I don't think I can drive." I state, yawning involuntarily as if to prove my point. "Can you just drop me off? I can pick up my car tomorrow." I add.

"Yeah of course. If you need a ride tomorrow tell me, I'll pick you up." He replies. I nod but don't say anything as he continues driving. He stops in front of my house and I lean over to kiss him on the cheek. He smiles, turns his head and grabs my chin to kiss me on the lips.

"I'll see you tomorrow." I say, pulling back with a tired smile.

"I'll see you tomorrow, love." He replies. I get out and lean into the car for a minute.

"I love you," I say before I close the door and make my way up to my door. I slip into the house and after taking a short hot shower I slide into bed. I don't bother to put anything on and instead snuggle into my soft sheets, thinking of the great day as I fall asleep, not ready for Monday.

~~ The extra scene for this chapter (which shows what happened between Ian and Jer) can be found in my book on my profile called Experience The Rainbow, the one shot is called Ian & Jer -MMB Chapter 24.

Here's the link:  https://www.wattpad.com/250465228-experience-the-rainbow-lgbt%2B-one-shots-ian-jer-mmb

The link is also an external link on this chapter. If you have any problems locating it, please leave a comment or PM me so I can send you a clickable link. :) ~~