Made Marian, Volume Two by Lucy Lennox
Griff
I didn’t know which I was feeling more strongly about: amusement over how his mouth got the better of him or absolute pants-dropping lust at the guy being so damned hot.
The sexy bartender looked like that guy from the Divergent movies. The actor’s name was Theo something, otherwise known as Hottie Mc-Hot-As-Fuck. I wasn’t sure I’d ever had such an immediate attraction to anyone in my life. I wanted to lick him all over, from his short brown hair down past his moody eyebrows and dark stubble to his Adam’s apple and the few chest hairs I could see sneaking out of the top of his Harry Dick’s T-shirt.
Mmm-hmm.
I’d noticed him every night I’d been there. My eyes hadn’t been able to ignore his biceps moving as he poured drinks and his perfect round ass wrapped snugly in worn denim. Sometimes when he reached to grab a liquor bottle, his shirt rode up and exposed some of that delicious skin above his low-hanging jeans.
Fuck.
Okay, so maybe that answered which one I felt more strongly about. Clearly it was the lust more than the amusement. But they were related. I didn’t want this hot guy thinking I was a slut, or worse—someone picking up guys for money. While I’d never actually slept with anyone for cash, even when I was homeless, I’d done some seriously shady shit for food and a warm place to sleep.
But that’s not what this was about, and I wasn’t that boy any longer. This was about a story I was doing for a magazine. I was a freelance journalist and had been tasked by an editor to put together a piece on using pet names to pick up guys at the clubs.
Before I could go back out there and try to explain things to the sexy bartender, I got a text from my brother Dante asking where I was. He was downtown and wanted to crash at my place. I told him I’d meet him there as soon as I could.
After a quick bathroom visit to wash the stain remover stuff off, I shouldered my way through the crowd toward the exit. One glance toward the bar confirmed Theo was slammed with drink orders. I sent up a silent prayer of thanks that he’d make plenty of tips despite the break he’d taken to help me. I threw some cash under my empty drink glass and made my way to the door.
Dante waited for me on the front stoop of my building. He had his ratty old gray backpack as usual, and his earbuds hung from his ears.
“Hey,” I called out to him as I approached. When he looked up, pulling one earbud out, his face opened up into a genuine smile.
“Hey, Griff. Thanks for letting me crash. I stayed late at the library and didn’t want to bother Mom and Dad.”
“Did you at least text them to let them know not to worry?” I asked as I opened the door for him. My head was killing me from the alcohol; I couldn’t wait to take some ibuprofen.
“Of course. You’re the one who gives them gray hair, not me.” He laughed.
“True enough. What were you working on so late at the library?”
“Research paper about Vincent van Gogh. It’s not due until Wednesday, but I wanted to knock it out tonight so I can enjoy family dinner tomorrow without stressing about it,” Dante said.
“Good idea. I heard a rumor Thad is bringing a friend to introduce to Simone. Should make for some good entertainment,” I told him as we finally made it through the front door of my apartment.
Dante snorted. “Oh shit. She’s going to kick his ass. Doesn’t he remember what happened when Blue and Tristan tried setting her up with that guy they met on their honeymoon?”
“Thad is an eternal optimist. He won’t let one failed attempt stop him,” I said with a laugh.
I turned on some lights and offered him a drink. He grabbed some water out of the fridge and took off his jacket before sitting on the couch.
“So, where were you tonight?” Dante asked.
“Harry Dick’s again. I’m still working on that piece for the magazine,” I explained.
“Pick up anyone yummy?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No. A giant beast put the moves on me but then I got harassed by the bartender until he ended up staining my shirt. And then he got all sweet and goofy.”
Dante looked at me skeptically. “You got hit on by a big guy. The bartender harassed you. Then you turned him into a blob of quivering goo. Okay. Was the beast cute?”
“Uh, only if you like large prehistoric mammals.”
Dante smiled. “Well, was the bartender cute?”
“So fucking hot. Like… how do I describe him? Let me put it this way: I’d have his babies. Even if I had to shove them out of my dick with no anesthesia. That’s how hot he is,” I explained, wiping the back of my hand over my forehead dramatically. “He looks like that guy from Divergent who plays Four.”
Dante smirked at me. “Yes, Griff, but is he attractive?”
“Shut up.” I moaned, falling back against the sofa cushions. “It doesn’t matter because he thought I was a whore.”
“Rewind, brother,” Dante requested.
“You heard me. He thought I was propositioning a john when I started sweet-talking the guy on the stool next to me.”
“That’s why Mr. Harry Dick harassed you?” He laughed. “Oh god. Did you punch him?”
“Hell no. Are you crazy? Then I would have been kicked out for sure. And can we please not call him that? Yuck.”
“Griff, you have a crazy life. No matter how steady and normal I start to think you’ve become, you pull out a story like this. Please tell me you’re going to share this over family dinner tomorrow. It might take Simone’s mind off the fact she’s still the current Marian pity party queen.”
“Even if I didn’t want to tell it, you know Pete will find a way to weasel it out of me. He always knows when there’s embarrassing shit I don’t want anyone to find out about,” I complained.
“Yup. Might as well rest up. Tomorrow there will be a house full of Marians waiting to hear the story of how Griff Fox decided to have Harry Dick’s baby.”
I threw a pillow at him and left him to fend for himself on the sofa. “It’s Griff Marian, you asshole. It’s been years since the adoption, and you still think of me as that scrawny kid from the shelter,” I called back over my shoulder.
“That’s because Griff Fox saved my life. I love Griff Marian plenty. But Griff Fox will always be my hero,” he called after me with a smile in his voice. The words were no less meaningful despite hearing them a thousand times.
The next day Dante and I slept late and had coffee and toast before taking turns in the shower. I loaned him some clean clothes before we made our way down to our family home in Hillsborough.
* * *
The two ofus were the youngest of nine children. There were five biological brothers, a biological sister, then came the three of us who’d been adopted through the LGBTQ youth program. The nine Marian kids ranged in age from Dante’s twenty-one to Pete’s thirty-eight. We were a crazy crew, make no mistake.
Our parents, Thomas and Rebecca Marian, were two of the sweetest, most generous people you’d ever meet. When two of their sons came out of the closet in their teens, Thomas and Rebecca began volunteering at the youth program to show their support.
Becoming a part of this family felt like winning the lottery. Not only were they comfortably wealthy, but they were loving, accepting, and down to earth. Sunday family dinner was practically sacrosanct, but even if it hadn’t been, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.
We got to Mom and Dad’s and made our way toward the kitchen. As soon as we got close, Dante started asking about the sexy bartender again. Jerk. I should have known he’d bring it up the first chance he got. Pete wasn’t the only brother who loved embarrassing me.
“What are you two arguing about?” Jude interrupted us as I reached out to give Simone a hug.
“Remember that piece I was writing about using terms of endearments when picking up guys in the clubs?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Jude said.
“Well, the whole thing got shelved when I took that ghostwriting job in February. Now that I’m done, I decided to take it up again.”
“Tell them about the bartender,” Dante interjected.
I glared at my brother.
“So I’ve done the pickup thing at several clubs already and only need a few more nights of experimenting before starting the article. The bartender at Harry Dick’s keeps eying me like I’m doing something wrong, and last night he finally pulled me aside to accuse me of—”
Dante interrupted again. “Who gives a shit? Tell them about wanting to have his babies.”
I felt my face heat up. “Anyway, long story short, now I want to see him naked.”
Aunt Tilly sighed, resting her chin in her hand. “Tell us more about this studmuffin. Does he have a tight ass?”
Granny chimed in. “More to the point, when are you gonna fuck him?”
I loved my family, but they were not subtle. I felt my face heat up with all the attention.
Desperate to change the subject, I turned to Blue and his husband, Tristan.
“I didn’t know you were driving in this week.” They lived a couple of hours away in Napa where Tristan owned a vineyard.
“We came in last night actually,” Tristan said. “Blue missed his mommy.”
Mom came walking into the kitchen in time to hear that and smiled. “Awww, I missed you too, honey.”
Blue blushed. “Shut up, Tris. I didn’t say I missed my mommy. I said it had been a while since we’d been able to make family dinner. We missed those weekends we were in France, and I just didn’t want to miss another one if we could help it.”
Tristan leaned over and kissed Blue tenderly on the temple. “I’m kidding, babe. I missed everyone too. And obviously Piper missed your dad. I haven’t seen her since we got here.”
Mom laughed. “She slept in our bed last night, and Thomas was in heaven. He’s enjoying her so much he mentioned wanting to get a puppy. I had to smack him. The puppies outside are for Jude and Derek only. None for us.”
Mom was a vet and had her fill of animals at her clinic all week. She said that adopting an animal who needed a home was like pulling a stone out of a dam. The only thing keeping her from crazy animal lady status was her ban on adopting any.
I offered to help fix the salad and joined Blue at the sink cutting veggies. Pete and Ginger’s twin girls dashed through the room with Piper on their heels.
Jamie and his husband, Teddy, showed up looking exhausted but happy. “Where have you two been?” Blue asked. “I thought you were starting classes soon, Jamie.”
“Classes start tomorrow. We flew in this morning from Greenland. Teddy was doing a spread on the Arctic fox for National Geographic. It was amazing, but I’m beat,” Jamie admitted.
Dad finished hugging the guys. “You didn’t need to come all the way here this weekend. You could have had the day at home to recover.”
This time it was Teddy who spoke. “Actually, we haven’t been home yet. We flew into SFO instead of Sacramento and came straight here. If we don’t fall asleep in our food, we’ll head home to Davis. If we do, we’ll crash here if that’s okay.”
“Of course, hon,” Mom said.
Finally Thad showed up with a new friend named Dillon. Simone had gone to the backyard to call the girls in to wash their hands. We all made our way outside with the dishes to the two large tables by the pool. The twins rushed past on their way to the kitchen, and Simone caught sight of Thad and Dillon.
“What the fuck?” Simone snapped in recognition of the new guy as she stepped backward and almost fell into the pool. Dillon lurched forward to steady her, but he overshot and tumbled them both into the deep end.
The rest of us stood there in complete shock while they came spluttering to the surface, Simone screaming, “You jackass. Get your hands off me,” as Dillon tried helping her to the shallow end.
She kept yelling at him until they could both stand. Dillon let go of her and threw up his hands to yell right back.
“You’re so goddamned stubborn. Why the hell can’t you ever accept help, you crazy—?” Anddd, that was when he remembered her entire family, including her father and at least ten other Marian men, were standing there watching everything.
Dillon froze on the pool stairs, water dripping and clothes sodden. His mouth hung open as he saw the audience he had.
“I am so sorry,” he began, holding out his hands in a defensive gesture. “I am so sorry for everything.” He tried to retain his soggy dignity as he apologized over again and told Thad he’d see him later before disappearing through the side gate.
Like in a tennis match, our collective heads swiveled to my drenched sister.
“What?” she snapped. “You’ve never seen someone fall into a pool before?”
Thad finally regained his tongue. “I take it you two have met?”
“Who, Dillon? Nope. Never seen him before.”
Then she stalked off to her bedroom to find dry clothes, not realizing no one had mentioned his name.
Just then, Granny and Irene walked out onto the patio.
“There’s a soaking wet beefcake hitchhiking in your driveway. Tilly offered him a ride and told us not to wait up,” Granny said, looking around at the gaping faces surrounding her. “Shit, what’d we miss?”
