It turned out that Andrew didn't have to go get Maxwell since he was able to hear when his brother and Amir arrived, as well as when Rose, Jordan and Richard arrived. Turns out, they had carpooled together.
Rose had swung by to pick everyone up, and so, here everyone was.
Maxwell ca out, looking a little tired from his work, but excited to host everyone. Andrew had wanted to co out of the kitchen, felt like he needed to, but Maxwell had asked if he had more to do in the kitchen first. When Andrew said yes, Maxwell pushed him back into the kitchen and told him that Maxwell had it, he could relax now.
Andrew didn't really think either one of them was relaxing, but when he went to argue with the man, Maxwell had given him a firm look that told Andrew not to push it. Andrew gave up control, and let Maxwell take over as the host.
With the help of May and Jenny. There was no way he was going to be able to tell either of them off, so he was stuck with the two of them glaring at him and making sure everyone who was here to help organise was fed and watered.
It was hilarious to Andrew that they were here to help get everything set up when this was over half of who was supposed to be there for the night, but he decided not to point that out to anyone. If he did, he had a feeling he might get stabbed.
Andrew turned his attention back to the main dishes while everyone else worked around him. It was strange that he didn't feel like he was being more hands on, but at the sa ti…He was fine with it. While he wanted to be more helpful to Maxwell, he was told, several tis, that he was helping.
Maxwell couldn't cook. He wasn't even sure he could boil a pot of water without assistance, so Andrew focusing on this helped him quite a bit. That, and no one made him feel left out in the kitchen.
People kept floating in and out of the kitchen. Amir practically set up ho on one of the comfy stools pulled up to the island so that he could chat with the others and steal bites of food. Andrew was glad to see him eating, since he'd had such a hard ti when he first got pregnant, and Amir was happy to be included.
Rose and Jordan kept coming in and out, and Ben was obviously circling because Amir was around so many other people.
Richard was the one who was showing up the least, but Andrew had a feeling that had to do with why Maxwell was showing up not as much as he expected. It was sweet, actually, to see how close Richard and Maxwell had gotten over Richard's late manifestation. It was a good thing that Andrew found it cute, because he could feel the part of him that would beco suspicious of the closeness rearing its head.
It was like Maxwell had a tir, like he knew that Andrew was going to get jealous because he ca around the corner at that ti and reached for Andrew. Andrew, about to pull the roast out, turned and didn't even give it a second thought before he bent and t Maxwell's lips with his own.
Andrew could hear May sigh heavily, but he could also hear as she pulled the roast out in his stead. Maxwell's fingers reached up, twirling his fingers in the small hairs at the base of Andrew's neck as they kissed. Andrew's hands slid to Maxwell's waist, holding onto him as Maxwell had his fill.
Maxwell only pulled back after a few minutes, and Andrew felt sothing hit his shoulder.
"Get a goddamn room." It was May, with a sour tone to her voice. It was only when Andrew glanced over at her that he could tell that she was just poking fun at him. Maxwell laughed.
"We did. This is our house." Maxwell bragged. "You are guests. You're lucky I'm on my best behaviour." Maxwell warned. Amir giggled, while Rose and May groaned. Ben sounded pained as he spoke.
"Are you serious? I don't need to know anything. As far as I know, all you two do is kiss." Ben's disgust felt genuine and Maxwell gave him a middle finger.
"Yeah. And the baby in Amir's tummy happened through invitro, right?" Maxwell shot back and Ben growled.
"Of course." Ben shot back and Andrew wasn't sure where all the tension ca from. Richard ca around the corner at the mont, looking a little flustered and embarrassed.
"Uh, Andrew, can I have a word?" He asked carefully, ignoring the scene that the rest of the group was playing into. Andrew, who hadn't really had a mont with Richard for a while, looked towards Richard with surprise.
"Sure." Andrew said readily, and glanced at Maxwell. Maxwell had this proud look on his face, but his back was to Richard so Richard couldn't tell. Then, he smoothed his face out and turned, releasing Andrew with a gentle pat. Andrew swallowed, smiled, and glanced at Jenny and May. They motioned for him to go with Richard. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by NoveI-Fire.ɴet
"Go. We can manage on our own for a little bit." Jenny encouraged, glancing between Richard and Andrew. Andrew felt that it was probably a good thing that it was Jenny who told him to go instead of Richard's Mom. May stepping in might have made Richard feel poorly about it, like he was taking too much of Andrew's ti.
At least, from the look on Richard's face, that was what Andrew was getting.
"Alright. Did you want to speak sowhere more private, Richard?" Andrew asked and Richard glanced at Maxwell, before he swallowed.
"Can we speak in my room?" He asked softly, and Andrew wasn't used to this kind of Richard. He wasn't normally this…quiet. He could be awkward, but not quiet.
"Yeah, no problem." Andrew responded, and followed the man up the stairs to his room.
Andrew hadn't really been in Richard's room since they had given it to him. Mainly because he was an alpha and his scent could cause him problems, but also because he wasn't like that. He felt that everyone should have a space that belonged to them. While Andrew and Maxwell shared a room, Maxwell had his office, and Andrew had…the kitchen for now, but they were working on getting him his own space as well. He could be patient.
Richard's room was ssy. Even though he hadn't been here for a while, there was clean clothes in a few baskets, papers all over a desk, and the bed was unmade. Andrew tsked, and Richard flinched.
"Co on. I haven't even said anything yet." Richard protested. Andrew sniffed.
"I can't believe that you brought soone ho into this. I'm disappointed in you on that alone." Andrew said and watched as Richard flinched more. Andrew stared at the hunched shoulders, the way that he was carrying himself, and the fact that when they were leaving May had given him a strange look.
Andrew glanced at Richard, really taking him in before he let out a deep sigh. He made sure the door was closed behind them before he grabbed the chair at the desk and slid it out. He sat down, the chair creaking under his weight and Richard glanced back at him. He gestured for the ssy bed.
"Sit down so that we can have a proper talk. I don't think this is going to be sothing quick, right?" Andrew said, giving a little half smile. Richard smiled in return, before sitting down. The silence dragged on.
"I…I slept with Mr. Newman." Richard blurted out. Andrew already knew this, and Richard knew that as well.
"I am aware." Andrew said carefully. Richard gulped.
"He…He wants to date with the intention of marriage." Richard blurted out, his face red and blotchy. "But I haven't even been in a relationship before, especially not one as weird as a double oga relationship." Richard weaved his hands together, looking awkward and unsure. "And…he's forceful. I barely knew what was happening with my body when we slept together. It was so slly and I…" Richard trailed off and a sick knot ford in Andrew's gut.
"Did he force you?" Andrew asked and watched as Richard didn't speak right away. Andrew felt every muscle in his body tense, about ready to get up and bounce out of the house to strangle the man he normally liked when Richard sighed.
He looked nervous, but he seed to have made his mind up about this.
"I…no, I'm sure that wasn't the case. I was just overwheld. I told him that too after, and he looked ill. He wouldn't stop apologising." Richard looked upset a bit. "It was why he wasn't there when you two got ho." Richard told him and Andrew settled back down.
If he didn't want Andrew to beat up soone, why was he talking to him about this? He was fairly certain that given his level of experience, Maxwell was probably going to have experience that was going to be more relatable compared to Andrew.
"Okay. I'm glad that's the case. What was the reason that you wanted to speak to specifically, Richard?" Andrew asked and watched as he grew even more twisty and uncertain.
"I…I don't know if I like him." Richard told him softly. "I have no clue. I've never considered it. Maxy isn't any help because he took one look at you and just knew you were his, and speaking to others…they were the sa. Given that you've dated the most, I felt that it was finally ti to speak to you about it." Richard said. Andrew felt his lips twitch.
"Oh, finally coming to , huh?" He teased and watched as Richard's shoulders hunched more.
"Look, I didn't want to co ask you about it either. I know that now that I'm an oga things are different-" Andrew blinked, shocked. Richard thought that things were different between them now? What?
"Where the hell did you get that impression? I have no problems with you, Richard. None at all. No problem with your scent, nothing. My biggest concern was that you were going to have problems with . I view you even more as part of my family, but in a completely platonic way. Does that make sense?" Andrew said and Richard looked genuinely relieved.
"You do?" Richard asked softly and Andrew wondered who the hell had been in his ear telling him falsehoods. He needed to keep his cool though, since he could feel his anger feeding into his own pheromones.
"I'm going to step out to calm down so that I don't overwhelm you with my pheromones, but then we're discussing who or what gave you that impression. I'm not like the others. I don't think just because you're an oga in my ho that I think you owe anything, or that you belong to , am I clear? I've never been like that, and that's at my core. You know that." Andrew insisted and watched as Richard let out a few shaky breaths.
"I'm sorry. I didn't an to upset you. I do understand, I do know that, but with everything shifting…" He trailed off, looking just as upset and pained as Andrew felt. Maybe it had been too early for Richard to go to that damn party. He had a feeling that was where it all happened.
First things first, Andrew needed to calm down, and talk to Richard. It was clear that Maxwell had already spoken to him about this, and now it was Andrew's ti to straighten him out. He could do this without freaking out more. He was calm, cool.
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