True (True Believers #1)(28)
Author: Erin McCarthy

“Am I doing this right?” Easton asked anxiously.

“Don’t cut off your finger,” Tyler called from the back deck, where he was flinging the trash.

“You’re doing awesome,” I told him. “And the best part of being the person who cuts the fruit is that you get to sneak some.” I popped a strawberry in my mouth.

Jayden did the same. “Holy crap, that’s good!” he said.

Tyler laughed at Jayden’s enthusiasm.

When we sat down at the table five minutes later, the chicken, mashed potatoes, and glazed carrots on four mismatched plates, Jayden was downright ecstatic. “I really like you,” he told me with pure adoration in his voice. He had that awesome guilelessness that people with Down’s have, and I smiled at him.

“I like you, too, Jayden.”

“Hey, careful there now, buddy,” Tyler told him. “Rory’s here with me, you know.” He leaned over and kissed my temple. “I think what my brother means is, thank you for dinner.”

“Yeah, thanks, Rory,” Jayden said, his mouth full of mashed potatoes.

“You’re welcome.” I felt ridiculously pleased.

Easton was studying his carrots like they were going to bite him. “You don’t have to eat those,” I told him. “I didn’t know what you like or don’t like.”

“At least try them,” Tyler urged, rubbing Easton’s head back and forth, causing his fork to vibrate on his plate. “You don’t even know if you like them or not because I honestly don’t think you’ve ever had a carrot.”

“Yeah. Don’t be a dick, Easton,” Jayden told him.

Tyler let out a loud laugh. “Dude, you have a f**king potty mouth.”

“Do you hear the irony in what you just said?” I asked him, taking a bite of chicken.

“Nope,” he declared, even though he clearly did.

Easton licked a carrot suspiciously. He seemed to deem it acceptable, putting it into his mouth, but he carefully set his fork back down and chewed methodically. Jayden and Tyler were shoving food into their mouths like it was going to disappear if they didn’t inhale it.

“Did you get me a job application?” Jayden asked Tyler.

“No, sorry, man, I forgot.”

“I need a job, Tyler. How else am I going to get my tattoo?” He tapped his bicep, which admittedly was not in the same condition as Tyler’s. He had the soft muscle tone most Down’s kids seem to have.

“What do you a want a tattoo of?” I asked him. Jayden was easy to talk to, easy to like.

“The same one that Tyler and Riley have. TRUE Family.” He tapped his arm again.

My heart pretty much collapsed in my chest in a giant mass of liquid Jell-O. “That would be cool.”

“U thinks a tattoo will help him with the ladies,” Tyler said, with a wink at his brother. “Right, bro?”

Jayden caught on that Tyler was teasing him, and he said loudly in annoyance, “Well, it worked for you! You got Rory, didn’t you?”

“You think Rory only likes me for my tattoos?” Tyler gave me an amused look and picked up his bottle to take a long drink.

“Why else would she like you? It’s not like you have a big dick or anything.”

I dropped my fork and my jaw. Hello.

Tyler’s beer shot out his nose at Jayden’s pronouncement and he thumped at his chest, choking and laughing. “What do you know about how big my dick is or isn’t?” Then he held his hand up, still wheezing and chuckling. “Never mind. Don’t answer that. We shouldn’t be talking about this shit at the dinner table. It’s not good manners.”

“It isn’t?” Jayden asked.

“No. Genitalia has no business at the dinner table. Right, Easton?”

His little brother shrugged, still chewing the same carrot. It had to be like baby food in his mouth by now.

“Why does Tyler call you U?” I asked Jayden.

“Because my mom always calls me ‘Hey, you,’ so we shortened it to U.” Jayden didn’t seem at all bothered by that.

Me, on the other hand, I wanted to cry again.

“That doesn’t seem very nice,” I said.

Jayden just shrugged. “It’s easier to spell and it fits in the tattoo. It makes it perfect.” He looked proud of that fact.

“Yeah, without the U we don’t spell a damn thing,” Tyler told him, leaning over the table to fist bump with him. “We need you. Ha ha. Get it? You? U? God, I’m funny.”

“You’re stupid,” Jayden told him good-naturedly.

“Are you sleeping here tonight?” Easton asked, pureed carrot sliding out onto his lip as he spoke. The question seemed innocent enough, but there was fear in his dark eyes.

“Yeah.” Tyler studied his brother carefully, before putting his hand on his shoulder and squeezing. “After dinner I need to take Rory home, but then I’ll be right back. Promise.”

“Will you read Harry Potter to me?”

Easton seemed younger than his ten years to me, both in appearance and mannerisms, and I wondered how he did at school. I couldn’t imagine things were easy for him.

“Sure,” Tyler said easily.

“I don’t have to leave yet,” I blurted out, then shoved more potatoes in my mouth, embarrassed at how that sounded. I didn’t normally invite myself to places. “I mean, I don’t want to interrupt your night. You can just take me home whenever.”

“Okay,” Tyler said, and I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

“Can you spend the night?” Jayden asked, leaning over and licking the remaining glaze off of his plate. Every last bite of food was gone.

“I . . .” My cheeks burned. If I said either yes or no, I was possibly going to look bad to Tyler. I would look desperate if I said yes, rude if I said no. I felt backed into a super awkward corner. Besides, as it was I wasn’t sure if I was ready for sex at all, so I certainly didn’t want to do it with his brothers in the next room. Or hell, for all I knew, the same room. But Tyler wouldn’t either. Right? Did he even want to have sex with me? Or did he just want to be friends who kissed each other?

The silence was deafening.

Tyler said to Jayden, “Only if Rory wants to. And you can’t expect her to make you breakfast.” Then he looked at me, eyes burning with desire and something else that I couldn’t quite gauge. But it didn’t look like a friends-only stare. “I would really like it. But I’m selfish that way. You should definitely feel like you can say no.”