"I got it," Elliot said before he pulled what looked like a DVD from his messenger bag.
"Are you kidding me?" I said when I saw what movie it was. "El, he's not old enough—"
"Am!" Ryan said. "Please. Will not get scared. Not like you."
I eyed my youngest. "Excuse me?" I said with pretend irritation.
Ryan did his lopsided, sheepish smile. "Frozen, Dad."
"Hey," I protested. "That ice monster was scary!"
Both my sons began laughing. Cruz was smiling but when I looked at him, he put his hands up. "I agree with you. I almost peed my pants when Anna, Kristoff, and Sven were being chased by those wolves."
"Thank you," I said to the young man before turning my attention back to my two giggling children. "Jurassic Park is a far cry from Frozen."
"But it's the original," Elliot said as if that would somehow explain everything.
"Yes," Ryan chimed in. "Dinosaurs, Dad. Please."
"The dinosaurs eat people, Ryan."
"We've got that covered, Dad," Elliot said. "Everybody take their positions."
I watched in amusement as Cruz, Elliot, and Ryan moved to the living room. Cruz lifted Ryan from his chair and settled him on the couch before he and Elliot sat down on either side of the little boy. All three looked at the black screen of the TV before Elliot suddenly yelled, "Dino dining!" With that, Elliot covered Ryan's eyes with his hands while Cruz covered his ears. I found myself laughing when Elliot called, "Dino done!" after a few seconds and all three resumed their normal positions.
"See?" Elliot said.
"See?" Ryan mimicked after Cruz detached the communication board from the wheelchair and held it up for Ryan.
"Okay, fine," I said. "But no begging to come to bed with me tonight, young man," I warned Ryan. "And who's going to cover my eyes?"
It was at that moment that the front door opened after a brief knock. My heart nearly stopped at the sight of Matias. What was he doing here so early? I began to panic and try to come up with some explanation for the man's presence when Elliot said, "I'm sure Matias will protect you."
"What?" I croaked. "Why would he… I don't know what you're—"
"I hope you don't mind that my brother invited me to tag along for movie night, Mr. Wittier," Matias said to me, his voice steady and even.
"What?" I asked, completely confused. Why the hell was he calling me Mr. Wittier? And why was it turning me on?
"It's fine, right, Dad?" Elliot said. "The more, the merrier when it comes to family movie night, right?"
"Yeah, right," I somehow managed to get out. "You're always welcome to join us. I'll, um, go put the pizzas in."
I was sure at that moment that everyone in the room knew exactly what was going through my head, but only one pair of eyes stayed on me. I shot him a quick glance and then hurried to the kitchen. I heard footsteps behind me a moment later, but when I turned around to confront Matias, it was Cruz that I came face-to-face with.
"Oh, it's you," I said stupidly.
"Yeah, I was going to grab everyone some drinks, if that's okay," Cruz said.
"Absolutely," I responded. "There’s soda for whoever wants it and there's a few beers in there for your brother… and you… and Elliot."
Jesus, why couldn't I get control of my mouth?
"Thanks," Cruz said before heading to the fridge. As he rifled through it, he said, "I'm sorry about not asking you ahead of time if Matias could join us. We stopped by his apartment to drop off some paperwork before coming here and Elliot offered for him to join us."
"Not a problem," I responded as evenly as I could. "He's always welcome."
Cruz let out a rough laugh. "I don't think anyone has ever said those words about him or to him."
Cruz's voice sounded off somehow. My mind went back to the last real conversation I'd had with Matias. He'd mentioned Cruz wanting to see their dying father. Matias had been upset about it and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was still a point of contention between them. I didn't know how to find out without setting off warning bells for Cruz.
"Well, I'm happy to have all of you guys here. It will make Ryan's night." That part was true enough, though admittedly, I was nervous about Matias and Ryan. I supposed there was a part of me that had been avoiding this meeting because I hadn't wanted to give up my relationship with Matias. If he treated my youngest son with even the tiniest bit of disrespect, that was exactly what I would do. I wasn't particularly proud of the fact that I would've rather lived in blissful ignorance and enjoyed however many more reckless nights of abandon I could get out of the arrangement than face the truth of Matias's character, but it was what it was.
"You’ve got two amazing kids, Sam. I know you don't trust me after everything that happened with Declan, but I love Elliot with everything I am. I promise to never give you a reason to doubt that ever again."
"I've seen the way my son looks at you, Cruz. Your feelings for him have never been in doubt. Not in my mind and certainly not in his. You and I are good, son."
Cruz swallowed hard and nodded before returning his attention back to the refrigerator. He seemed embarrassed, so I didn't focus any more of my attention on him as he left the kitchen. But within seconds, his footsteps returned. "Did you forget something?" I asked as I turned to smile at him. I was greeted with firm lips settling over mine and a familiar tongue sweeping into my mouth.
I groaned as Matias pulled me into his arms.
"I didn’t get to do that last night because someone fell asleep on me," he murmured.
He kissed me again before I had a chance to respond. It was the sound of the television turning on in the next room that reminded me of where we were. I pulled free of Matias's hold and said, "What are you doing here?"
"Needed a bottle opener," Matias said as he held up one of the beers.
"It's a twist-off cap," I said.
"So it is," Matias said without even looking at the bottle.
His intense stare had me quivering and if we’d been alone, I would've already been on my knees by now. Or my back. Whichever he preferred.
I shook off the image of him taking me on my kitchen floor. "What are you doing here in the house?" I asked. Not surprisingly, Matias didn't answer.
Elliot calling from the next room made it so he didn't have to. "Come on, movie is starting, guys!"
"So is it true?" Matias asked softly as he pressed even closer to me.
"Is what true?"
"You're not a fan of scary movies."
"You going to poke fun at the movie wimp too?" I asked. I allowed myself a few precious moments to let my body sink into his.
Matias dropped his head and nuzzled my neck. "Don't worry, baby, I'll protect you," he whispered, then he pressed the softest of kisses against the spot where my neck met my shoulder. He held there for a moment before finally stepping back. He twisted the cap off the bottle of beer and tossed it into the garbage can in the corner of the kitchen. Then he was gone, and I was left thinking only one thing.