Made Marian, Volume Two by Lucy Lennox
Griff
“Oh shit! I’m so sorry,” I said, holding one of the boxes. It was him. Theo from the bar. My stomach did nervous somersaults while my heart threw up jazz hands. The man was even more beautiful in the light of day.
“What are you doing here?” he asked me with wide eyes of surprise. A deep blush bloomed over the skin of his neck and face; I couldn’t help but grin.
“I volunteer here. When I saw Julio, I came out to help unload the van. Sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going. I feel terrible.” I held the door open for him and then followed him to the reception counter where we set down the boxes.
Theo’s face finally relaxed into a smile, and it felt like the sun had come out and shone its warmth on my skin. “It’s okay. We made plenty of extras in case we ran into trouble. I’d ask you your name, but I think I’ll just call you Trouble instead.” Then he fucking winked at me, and my heart melted into a pool of lava that slowly made its way to my dick.
“Griffin Marian, Griff,” I said, holding out my hand.
“Sam Coxwell, it’s nice to meet you, Griff.” His hand was big and warm. I wanted to hold it forever; instead, I dropped it like a hot potato and quickly stuck my hands in my pockets to keep from grabbing it again.
“Sam Coxwell, huh? Sounds like the name of a prostitute,” I said with a grin before turning to help finish unloading the cupcake boxes. I heard Sam mutter a curse softly behind me.
Once the truck was unloaded and Julio wished us a happy shelter anniversary, Sam hesitated before following him.
“Hang on, Julio,” he called out to his friend before turning to me. “Do you guys need any extra volunteers today? It’s my day off, and I’m happy to help.”
We totally didn’t, but I wasn’t about to give up a chance to spend some time staring at his beautiful self. Especially since the club was closed that night and I wouldn’t be able to see him later.
“That would be great, if you don’t mind.”
Sam said goodbye to Julio, and then I showed him around the shelter, explaining the program in greater detail.
“How did you get involved here?” he asked.
“I was homeless as a teen. A cop found me and gave me an ultimatum: the shelter or the foster system. I chose the shelter,” I explained.
His eyes widened and he put his hand on my arm to stop my progress down the rows between bunk beds. I looked over at him and was blinded by his intense gaze. “I’m sorry, Griff. That’s awful. How did you end up homeless?”
“When I came out, I was kicked out. A pretty common story around here.”
I was pulled into a massive hug. Sam squeezed me for all I was worth, and I stood there frozen for a minute before relaxing against his warm, solid body and returning the embrace. God, he smelled good. As though whatever scent he used was made specifically to attract the Griffin Marians of the world. I silently sucked it in like nectar from a flower. I could live in those arms forever.
“I’m so sorry. That sucks.” His whispered words came out of his mouth and straight into my ear, tweaking all my nerves and leaving me unsteady. I pulled back before I lost my shit and started crying or begged him to throw me down on a nearby bunk and have his sexy way with me.
“Yeah, well, it was a long time ago. So… ah, this is the dorm,” I said in my tour guide voice while looking down at the floor. “It can house up to sixty kids at a time.”
I sensed him looking at me out of the corner of my eye, but I ignored it and continued my tour.
When I finished showing him around, we ended up in the cafeteria where the party was starting. Music played from speakers in a corner and streamers and balloons hung around the walls and ceiling. At least fifty teenagers congregated in clusters around the room. Empty pizza boxes lay strewn around the tables and soda cans tumbled out of the recycling cans. It seemed like the party was a big hit.
My parents were there volunteering as well as a couple of my brothers and my sister. Dante probably had classes otherwise I was sure he wouldn’t have missed it.
I introduced Sam to everyone we came across, explaining that Thomas and Rebecca Marian were my adopted parents. When my mom found out Sam had helped make the cupcakes, she gushed.
“They’re amazing, Sam. So beautiful. How did you learn to make something so fancy?” she asked.
“Culinary school. Actually, my friend Julio was the one who volunteered to provide the cupcakes. I just pitched in to help him get it all done today so they’d be fresh. Otherwise he would have had to make some of them over the weekend,” Sam explained.
“Julio is a doll. We’ve known him for years. We can’t thank you boys enough for providing them. They almost look too good to eat,” Mom said.
“I’m still feeling too guilty about the ones I crushed to try them,” I admitted. “Maybe I can take the smashed ones home with me and eat them later. With a spoon. Alone. In the dark... Where no one can see me hugging and kissing the box,” I joked.
Sam smiled. “That sounds like something I would do, but with pizza.”
My brother Mav heard that one and joined in. “Oh, believe me, Griff would do it with pizza too. The jerk can eat anything and not get fat. If I eat any of the candy our receptionist at the vet clinic brings in, I feel like ass for the rest of the day.”
“Oh, honey,” Mom said. “You know better than to eat that junk.”
Mav laughed. “I do, but sometimes it’s too tempting to resist. Especially if it’s a crazy day and I don’t have time for a meal break. But then I have to run several miles to burn it off, whereas Griff can just go splash in the pool for a few minutes to stay fit.”
Sam turned his head toward me. “You swim?” he asked.
Before I could answer, Mom started bragging. “He swam for USC.”
Sam’s eyes bugged out of his head. “No kidding?”
I smiled. “No kidding.”
“What did you swim?” he asked, meaning my stroke specialty.
“Mostly fly, but I tried to swim backstroke whenever I could,” I said. “You swim too?”
“I just swam on the rec team at Berkeley, and now I’m stuck with laps at the Y,” he said. We grinned goofily at each other after finding a shared passion.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever randomly met another swimmer before outside of a pool,” I admitted.
“Me neither. It’s a little strange.”
Simone walked up and gave me a shot to the shoulder and the evil eye. “What?” I asked her. “Why are you glaring at me?”
“You knew Thad was bringing someone yesterday to set me up with, and you didn’t warn me? Thanks for that, jackass.”
“How did you know that guy anyway?” I asked. Mom had moved off to help one of the boys find a drink, and Maverick cocked an eyebrow. I’d forgotten he’d had to work the day before.
“I didn’t. I don’t. Never mind,” she said before walking off.
I laughed and told Maverick and Sam the story of Simone’s big pool adventure.
“So who’s the guy?” Mav asked. “How does Thad know him?”
“His name is Dillon Fisher, and all I know is that the guy isn’t waterproof.”
Sam put his hand on my arm, and I felt a tingle at his touch. “Wait. I know a Dillon Fisher from culinary school. Does he have kind of wavy blond hair in need of a cut?”
“Yes,” I said. “Looks like he’d play Surfer Dude #3 in any cheesy teen beach movie?”
Sam laughed. “That’s him. He’s a good guy. I can’t wait to give him hell about it when I see him.”
“Good guy or not, no way is he getting anywhere near my sister again. She went ballistic,” I said. “It’s too bad though; he’s kinda cute. I wouldn’t mind having him around the Thanksgiving table.”
Sam’s face clouded. “He’s straight though.”
Maverick laughed. “Griff’s never let that stop him before.”
“Fuck you, Mav. That’s a lie. Plus, crushing on a sibling’s love interest is more Tristan’s family’s thing, not ours. It’s kind of weird though, if you think about it. Six gay brothers yet none of us have ever had a problem come up between boyfriends and brothers,” I said.
“Six gay brothers?” Sam asked. “You’re one of six gay brothers? You’re pulling my leg.”
I shook my head. “Three of six biological kids in our family are gay and the other three were adopted through this shelter. So we were already gay. Then there’s the black sheep. Simone. She’s the only girl. And one of the straight Marians.”
“Did someone say my name?” Simone asked, walking up and handing me a cupcake.
Sam shook his head. “Now you’re just messing with me.”
Mav smirked. “Nope. Just ask Mom or Dad. They’ll be happy to tell you all about it because they get that comment all the time. Simone’s ex-boyfriend used to call us the Gaydy Bunch.”
“Asshole,” Simone and I muttered under our breaths at the same time. It was just what you did when John Alexander’s name came up.
I looked down at the treat in my hand. The cupcake was chocolate with white frosting and some kind of cookie crumbs sprinkled on top. I looked at Sam, feeling guilty.
“Just do it, Griff. Even destroyers of children’s cupcake dreams deserve to eat.” He winked. “Besides, that’s one of my favorites. Mint Milano, like the cookie,” he said.
I took a bite and moaned. “Mmpf, mm-hmm,” I said with the cupcake still in my mouth. “So good.”
Sam’s face lit up. “Glad you like it. If there are any Nutella ones left, you might want to try one of those too. They’re the ones with little rolled up cookie things sticking out of the top of them.”
After I finished the cupcake, Sam and I helped clean up and take the trash out to the dumpster with two of the boys who lived at the shelter.
“Frankie, how’s your backside heelflip coming?” I asked one of the kids.
“Dude, I totally nailed it yesterday. One perfect trick but then I couldn’t reproduce it for shit,” Frankie said. “I need you to show me again some time.”
“Just takes practice. Keep going for it, and it’ll get more consistent. If you get your skateboard we can work on it for a few minutes before I have to head out.”
I bumped fists with Frankie and chatted for a few minutes with a kid named Demarcus while Frankie got his board. After playing around and helping him with his trick for a few minutes, I led Sam back into the building.
When we returned to the cafeteria, Sam thanked Londa, the shelter manager, and told her he’d love to volunteer the next time they needed help. She told him to leave his contact information by her computer at the reception desk, and she’d add him to the volunteer rolls.
He made a point of finding each of my family members to say his goodbyes, and then came up to me with a big smile on his face.
“Thanks for letting me be a part of this today, Griff. I can tell how special this place is, and your family is terrific.”
“I’m glad you joined us, and thanks again for the cupcakes.” For the first time in my life, I felt shy and unsure. “Uh… I guess I’ll see you at the club later this week then?”
Sam tilted his head to study me before responding with a grin. “Sounds good. Take care of yourself, Foxy.” The sweet man walked away, taking a little bit of the sunshine with him.
