Page 98 of Mr. Naughty List

“How many people am I going to have to impress today?” RJ asked, putting his hand on Aaron’s thigh and squeezing.

“Around thirty people will come and go throughout the day, but my cousins will be the ones most interested in you. But don’t worry, they’ll be so distracted by their hellcat kids that they won’t have time to do more thanwishthey could interrogate you.”

Andme, he thought. Aaron was glad his father had prepared the family for the fact that he’d be arriving with a male lover, and God, he hoped his dad hadn’t used that word. Though he still really liked it. Even if he no longer hoped it also meant fleeting.

“Anyone I need to be warned about? Aggressive huggers or shoulder clappers? Or homophobes?”

“I’m not sure about homophobes,” Aaron admitted. “I think they’ll keep it to themselves since we’ll be in my dad’s home. But my cousin Rory Lynn is a big hugger, and her husband Nails is really fond of those aggressive bro-dude taps that knock you over. You know the kind.”

“Closeted?”

Aaron laughed. “Maybe? But I don’t know. He’s always had girlfriends.”

RJ nodded and made the turn down the farm’s driveway. There were half a dozen parked cars near the farmhouse, and one of the goats was out headbutting the wheels of his cousin Woody’s big-ass truck.

“Looks like most of them are already here,” Aaron said, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

“You ready?”

“I guess.”

RJ peered at the house. “We can take a minute before we go in.”

“Two weeks ago, I never imagined that I’d be here with you.” Aaron spoke slowly, trying to figure out how he felt about what he was about to say next. “Never imagined I’d be here with anyone. Ever.”

“It’s a big change.”

“Yeah.” He broke into a smile. “A good one.”

RJ squeezed his thigh again. “Ready?”

“I am.”

They managed to get inside without being headbutted by any goats. Inside, the house was warm, cozy, and already overrun with people. Aaron’s little cousins Silas and Garner shot by “flying” old-model airplanes from his father’s collection. The youngest cousin, Annaliese, was crying and arching back out of her mother’s arms, screaming for a cookie, while her older sister, Ruby, stood on a chair nearby eating one and dancing to the Christmas carols playing from his dad’s stereo.

“Cracker! Let me take that!” Aaron barely had time to thank his cousin Rory Lynn before she swept the Jell-O salad from his hands, and his other cousin LeeLee swooped in for the green bean casserole from RJ. They both looked like they wanted to greet him with hugs and beg for an introduction, but there was a sudden shout and crash from the kitchen and a child’s wail rose up from the middle of it.

“That’ll be Raisin,” LeeLee groaned, and she and Rory Lynn took off with the food to see what was going on.

“Raisin?” RJ asked.

“Like I said. Nicknames. It’s a thing. Sorry.” Aaron grinned. “Hope you don’t mind if you end up with one?”

RJ shrugged and winked. “I’m a fan of Santa, myself.”

Aaron motioned for RJ to take off his coat and scarf, and they tried to hang them up in the overflowing coat closet. In the end, they sort of draped their coats over other coats and hoped for the best. Then Aaron rolled back his shoulders, put his chin up, and decided to get this over with.

“Come on, let me introduce you around.”

RJ seemed to blend right in, which was a surprise and a half. In some ways he was a better fit in the family than Aaron, what with his rough-sounding voice, hyper-masc presentation, and guitar-slinging lifestyle. RJ might not be a farmer or mechanic, nor was he into Harleys the way most of his male cousins were, but he had stories about life on the road, and a way about him that said, “Don’t fuck with me.” Aaron’s cousins could respect that.

As for the female cousins, they were delighted, though in a completely different way. Rory Lynn and Candace cornered Aaron on the staircase.

“So, how’d you meet him?”

“At a club.” He’d already decided to obscure the full truth, though maybe he should have told RJ the plan because…

“He said you were his teacher back in high school.”