“The fuck, Stone. You can’t ask my boyfriend over for family dinner.”
“According to the rules, I can invite one non-family friend whenever. Technically, he falls under the family umbrella since he is your boyfriend. However, since I invited him, he can still be my guest. What do you think, Aaron?” He looked at me like he genuinely wanted an answer.
“Let me figure out my plans for Sunday and get back to you.” He seemed satisfied with that answer.
River ordered our dinner. Stone went and talked to the older men in chef’s coats. They all kept looking at us but seemed to be back to cooking. He left the kitchen just as the guy he called Storm walked in. He stood politely away from us.
“Bring it over, Storm, and meet my boyfriend.”
“Yay! Okay.” He came over eager to talk but polite enough to wait. He reminded me more of River than Stone did.
“Storm, this is Aaron Gentry. Aaron, this is Stefano Storm, another one of my brothers.”
Storm smiled and opened the wine. “It’s nice to meet you. We don’t see River nearly enough. Will you be coming to our family dinner on Sunday?”
“I’m checking to see if I am available.” I started to chuckle under my breath.
“I need to get back up front. Enjoy your wine. It’s the best wine we have in this state. In my opinion, their reserve stock is the best in the country. I keep telling Papa he needs to talk to Sun Harvest Winery and have them make something just for us. I’ll see you Sunday, I hope.” Leaving the kitchen.
“I’ll be right back,” Everyone’s eyes seemed to follow River. He returned with a caddy of six shot glasses filled with clear liquid.
He set it on the table, taking one shot and setting it in front of me, then taking one himself. He held it up. I picked up the shot glass and eyed it warily, “Salute!” and down the hatch it went. My eyes watered a little, but it wasn’t horrible.
“It’s Grappa. I know right now I need it. I don’t know why I thought this would be a good idea. Everyone says how wonderful bringing someone you care about back here is. I am so sorry I didn’t consider how my family might react.”
I whispered. “Can I show you affection here in front of your family?”
“Oh yes, of course. That was nice of you to ask. Man, you are such a good person. You deserved so much better for our date.” He looked around every way except at me.
“River,stop,” I said quietly but firmly. He looked down at the table. “Can I get you to look at me, please?” He turned his head but wouldn’t meet my eyes. I put my fingers under his chin; he looked awkward and embarrassed. “I am having a wonderful time. I am with a great guy. The people I have met so far have been truly kind. Obviously, everyone here is happy for you and maybe a bit curious about what’s going on, but that is perfectly okay with me. I am honored you brought me where your family is.”
I kissed him on the nose. “Now relax, let's have fun.” I took another shot and handed him one. “Salute!” The second one went down much smoother than the first. He moved closer to me. His hand rested on my knee and then slid up my inner thigh. The side of his hand was against my balls. I swallowed hard. I realized for the second time today how impressed I was with the fancy underwear. They kept things in place and didn’t bind when I was rock hard. Since I spent so much time in this state around River, I might need to buy a dozen pairs.
“Okay, you guys, you can come meet him,” River said. One of the two men whistled. More chefs appeared and took over for the older men. The two women making pasta smiled at each other and joined the men.
The grappa made me warm and loose. River took a deep breath.
“Aaron, this is my papa, Anthony. Call him Tony. My Uncle Giovanni, my mother Josephina, and my Aunt Cecelia. Everyone, this is my boyfriend, Aaron.” Their heads rapidly looked at each other, then me, then River, then me, then each other. They were obviously trying to figure out what to do with this information.
Stone came back into the kitchen, and Tony waved him over, whispered something to him, then shooed him out. The spell seemed to break all at once. The ladies had huge grins on their faces. “Rinalto,we are so happy we didn’t know you were coming here tonight.” She gently slapped Cecelia’s shoulder. “Someonedidn’t mention it to me.”
“Wasn’t my story to tell. Plus, I have a Non-Disclosure Agreement with Hot Shots. I can't disclose anything.” She looked at River, giving him a big wink.
“Aunt Cecelia is my assistant. She controls my life, and you will get to know her. If you haven’t figured it out, my dad and uncle are the chefs here, and my family owns the place.” I took all this information in when Cecelia and Josephina scooted into the booth beside me.
“Oh, he is hot, Rinalto.” River’s eyes got wide, and he shushed his mother.
“Mama, please don’t talk about how hot you think he is. It's weird.”
“Your Madre can do as she pleases, especially after raising five hellions. As I was saying, he is quite a handsome boy. You’ve chosen well.” She smiled at me. Her eyes crinkled around the corners like Rivers did when he was happy. I could see the family resemblance.
Tony and Giovanni came over and shook my hand.
“It’s nice to meet you, Aaron. Why does the name Gentry sound so familiar to me.” Giovanni asked.
“You have probably seen the banners on the side of buildings downtown,” River said before I could answer.
“Like the one on the building a few doors down?” I had forgotten site two was on this block.
