Catching Feelings Ch. 06

The first court date they had to make was a simple one, which was just trying to get an order of protection put in place for Jeremy against Jasper. His lawyer, Wren Campbell, who was taking lead because Ryder technically couldn't represent him, included all of the proof of the family contacting Jeremy and his friends as well. Even Ryder had been getting texts, which Ryder thought was idiotic of them, but it gave them plenty of evidence.

The judge granted the protection order without any hesitation, and included his family as well. Wren made it clear he was willing to hand over the information to the prosecutor to help them prove witness tampering if it continued, and Judge Mann told Jasper that he and his family should tread incredibly carefully here.

The next court date would end up happening after the holidays, as the courts tended to already be booked in advance and no one really wanted to work around Christmas. After some talk, they decided that splitting up the holidays would be easiest. The Thayers were okay with Jeremy missing Thanksgiving given that he was living in Ohio, and so long as he came for Christmas time, which Jeremy was willing to do. Plus, the Morrows were going to host their group around Christmas so they didn't need to worry about an Airbnb or hotel. Or more like, Ethan was hosting them for the holidays, while Mr. and Mrs. Morrow spent most of their time out and not with their son.

"We likely won't even see them," Ethan told everyone, mostly for Wayne and Jimmy's sake. "So when everyone comes into town, you can just pick a room and chill."

Jeremy set up with Zoe when they would be doing the family meeting so she could mediate through Zoom. It was decided it would be done when everyone could be there. Most of them would just be silent support for Jeremy, but as his friends were essentially his chosen family, he felt more comfortable knowing they would be there.

As Thanksgiving break rolled around, Jeremy was more nervous than he felt he had any right to be about the idea of meeting Jimmy's family. All he knew about them was that his parents were divorced, Jimmy had a sister, and that they were willing to overlook Jeremy's gender due to his family's wealth. Jimmy had been right that it wasn't really a compliment, but it also gave him a slight upper hand considering that they might be less likely to be homophobic toward him if they thought they could get something out of it.

Not that Jeremy was willing to use his family's money to get in good with them. While Jeremy would be more than willing to use his own personal wealth eventually once he had a job and access to his trust fund to help Jimmy's career goals and the like, Jimmy had his own career to consider and would likely not want Jeremy just paying for everything, and that was fine for Jeremy. He wanted a partner, an equal, not a dependent.

He wasn't going to tell them that outright though until they better got to know him. Jimmy, for his part, began making apologies for his family as soon as they set plans for Jeremy to meet them. He had never actually brought a partner around his family before, mostly because he hadn't been serious with anyone before. His family was generally fairly shallow, though their hearts were usually in the right place most of the time.

Jimmy never really considered whether or how Jeremy would use his wealth. The money never entered his mental framework, for some reason. Probably because Jeremy never pushed his wealth into Jimmy's face at all. Jeremy tried to live as modestly as he could. Even his car was more modest, as it was just a slightly used Toyota Avalon in a black color.

Their plan was to drive down early the day of Thanksgiving to help out, and Jeremy had offered to drive. They said goodbye to their friends before leaving. Ethan was spending the day reading and making his own food (which usually meant ordering ahead of time), while Chloe had left it up to Wayne what he wanted her to do. She could go with him or she could stay with Ethan and share a meal with him, as her parents were too busy for frivolous holidays like that.

Wayne's parents had decided to go on a cruise this year, so he offered to stay in with Chloe and Ethan and just snack on takeout. He explained that his parents always laid out a huge spread for the family and no one ever chipped in at all, so they decided to spend that money on themselves this year instead. He applauded them and told them he'd see them after their trip.

"Jimmy, if your family drives you nuts, then grab Jeremy and come to our place," Ethan told them. "You know, it gives you an out. I've given Jeremy that invite every year."

"I'm sure Jimmy's family can't be worse than mine," Jeremy grumbled.

"You're about to find out," Ethan joked and then they got into the car to leave.

They arrived at Jimmy's mother's house before noon and, after introductions, helped her prep the turkey and get it in the oven. They sat down after that and broke up several loaves of stale bread that had been baked fresh a few days ago into small chunks while Jimmy's mom ("Call me Paula, dear", a name Jimmy hadn't even known she had) prepped the other ingredients for the stuffing she liked to make.

Once the stuffing was prepped it went into the oven under the turkey's roasting pan and they started in on the sugar snap peas and mashed sweet potatoes. Jimmy seemed to know his way around this kitchen like he'd been cooking from an early age. He ordered Jeremy around with the confidence of an experienced chef and when his sister got there she jumped in to help without comment, merely stopping to kiss her mother's cheek and wave hello to Jeremy.

This was far different to how Jeremy would have been spending Thanksgiving, but he found he liked it. Back in the Thayer household, the kitchen staff would be the ones getting the meal prepared. Jeremy didn't think he had ever actually seen Sidney Thayer cook before. Jeremy knew how to cook mostly because he was the one who was always kind of outside the family, and he didn't like making the staff make all of his snacks and meals. Once he went to college, he didn't want to hire anyone so he sat down with recipes and ingredients and just had fun with it. Some meals were disasters, others were amazing. At this point, the amazing far outweighed the disasters.

This also felt far more personal. They were spending time as a family working together, which also wasn't what the Thayers would do. The men might drink scotch and chat, while the women did...Jeremy actually didn't know what the women tended to do when the men spent time together.

He shook his head at that realization, as if he was trying to baffle it out and get it out of his head at the same time. At some point he would have to ask Scarlett or Kat what they got up to on their downtime. Right now, all he could imagine was knitting and needlepoint, but that felt incredibly Regency and he realized he might have been reading too much of Chloe's Jane Austen.

Every time Jimmy would look over to give another direction or just to check how Jeremy was doing, Jeremy would give him a little smile that was meant only for Jimmy. It was loving and conveyed that he was enjoying his time with him in the kitchen. They finished up with a pumpkin pie (store-bought, no one's pumpkins had survived the halloween season). Once it was in the oven, Jimmy started in on dishes until his mother kicked him out of the kitchen to relax a little.

Once they got into the living room, Jeremy looked over at his boyfriend with a curious expression. "So, do you ever see your dad around the holidays?"

"Yeah, he's welcome over for turkey day, but he usually works late. We may see him around 6, if he comes at all," Jimmy said with a shrug.

"This is kind of a nice, cozy way to spend a holiday," Jeremy said to him, looking around the small, packed living room. There was a drab old couch and two chairs that all looked like they'd last seen sunlight in the 1980's. The room was clean, but cluttered, with chotchkies littering the end tables and books piled here and there as if Jimmy's mom didn't have enough space on her bookshelf. "It's so vastly different from home. Better, though."

Jimmy smiled and tried to tidy things up, but gave up when he couldn't find any better place for any of it. Jeremy chuckled and put his hand on Jimmy's leg.

"You don't need to clean up for me," Jeremy told him. "Everything about how clean my parents' home is because of staff and the lack of real personal items."

"It's still embarrassing. There's always clutter..." Jimmy said.

"That's not the worst thing in the world," Jeremy replied quietly and they both looked up when his sister came into the living room, with Jeremy giving her a smile. Cathy smiled back, though her smile didn't really touch her eyes. She had figured out how to model normal human behavior at a young age and fooled nearly everyone. She was their mother's favored child, though Paula would vehemently deny it.

"So, like, you're into dudes now?" she asked Jimmy abruptly.

Jimmy put on a long-suffering look. "Yeah, something like that. How about you? Are you still 'into dudes'?" he asked her, making Jeremy snort in surprise.

"Thinking about switching teams, honestly. You know my track record," Cathy responded.

Jimmy rolled his eyes as he nodded. "Yeah, what did that last guy do for a living, again? The... 'Tree Doctor' was it?"

"That's a career option?" Jeremy asked. "Should we tell Ethan?"

"Who's Ethan? Is he one of your gay buddies?" she asked ignorantly.

Jeremy looked amused. "No, not my gay buddy. I actually hang out with very heterosexual people, which explains my issues with finding a boyfriend until now."

"Well, that's gay," she said, making Jeremy cringe at the usage of gay in that context, "Does he like girls?"

"No," Jimmy said, "he's more into necrophilia. If he was into bestiality I'd ask if he wanted to date you."

Jeremy smirked at his boyfriend. "All our friend is really good for is a one night stand. He's more focused on his studies than he is on sex and relationships."

"That's too bad," Cathy said, then sat down, pulling her phone out of a tiny pocket in her too-tight jeans and disappearing into the glow of the screen.

For a moment, Jeremy just stared at her in amusement before turning back to Jimmy. "She kind of reminds me of my aunt. Such a...pleasant person. We have some time before dinner though. Show me your room?"

Jimmy nodded and showed Jeremy to his old room. He told Jeremy that his mom had tried sending all his stuff with him to college but he had told her that the dorm room was already furnished. It was, but he also wanted an excuse to visit her whenever he could. As they entered the room, Jeremy took in the sportsball trophies and posters of hot singers.

Jeremy smiled at the posters. "Yeah, your type really never included cock before, did it? I would have gotten my ass kicked if I put posters up of my celeb crushes at home, but I had a wall in the tree house for a bit."

"I felt a need to conform for a lot of my life. It wasn't until I got to college that I dared to branch out. My celebrity crush was actually Velma, to be honest. And the crazy one from 'The Craft'. Nancy." Jimmy said. "Even those two would have had my father questioning my sanity and my sexuality. You'll see, if he shows up. Mom can only put up with him for an hour or two these days."

"I'm surprised she puts up with him at all," Jeremy admitted. "I've seen some divorces thanks to dad's work and the couples rarely like being in the same room afterwards. Chloe's parents have been on the brink of divorce time and time again. One day I think it will stick, and then we'll never see those two in the same room again."

"He got pretty abusive and she was never one to suffer a fool, so she kicked him out. He spent a few years trying to get back on her good side, then went full-on douchecanoe." Jimmy said.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Jeremy said as he sat down on the bed. "Dad has always been a perfectionist when it comes to his children, but he treats mom well. It's just us, because you know, we're supposed to be extensions of him. Luckily for your dad, I've learned to be pretty politic."

"That's good for him," Jimmy said, bumping the door closed with his hip and reaching for his zipper as he locked it, smiling wickedly.

"Right here in your childhood bedroom? Scandalous," Jeremy said with a smirk as he leaned back, holding himself up on his forearms.

"I mean, we don't have to," Jimmy said carefully. "I definitely don't want to trigger anything. It's just something I've never done with anyone before. I never dared to bring dates home."

"Why is that?" Jeremy asked, tilting his head curiously.

"Mostly 'cause I dated anyone who asked. My dad thought I should be more picky, like he was trying to relive the glory days through me or something and I thought it was creepy the way he kept asking me to show him pics of my dates," Jimmy said, "After they split and he moved out, I was kind of ashamed of having divorced parents so..."

Jeremy stood up and came over to Jimmy, pressing his body against his boyfriend's. "It's not triggering anything, I promise. I'm only allowed in my own bedroom if I'm alone, or with a woman, but it's not like I ever plan to stay inside the house ever again. And I'm honored to be the first person you can fool around with in your mom's house."

Jimmy hugged him tight, nestling his face into Jeremy's neck. Jeremy wrapped his arms around Jimmy, kissing him on the top of the head. When Jimmy looked at him again, Jeremy leaned in to give him one of those knee-weakening kisses that always left Jimmy breathless.

"Okay, fine, we will wait until after dinner, or tomorrow morning or something." Jimmy said, still trying to catch his breath.

"I'll hold you to that," Jeremy husked before gently biting Jimmy's earlobe.

"I'm so confused," Jimmy said, opening the door to find his sister lurking there with one hand posed to knock.

"Guess who just showed up?" Cathy said, not missing a beat as she lowered her hand.

Jimmy slumped in resignation and turned back to Jeremy, putting his face back in the safety of his boyfriend's neck for a moment while Jeremy rubbed his back soothingly. He straightened up after that and squared his shoulders as if preparing for a bloody battle. "Nothing to it but to go through it." He muttered to himself as he led Jeremy out of the room by the hand. Jeremy gave his hand a squeeze to lend him his support.

The three of them made their way back out to the living room. Jeremy was bracing himself for however this might go, trying to remember all of the years that his father had quizzed them on how to deal with people when in public, because it was a good way to deal with people being assholes in private too. As they approached the living room, Cathy said, over her shoulder in a low tone, "Oh yeah, he's drunk, too."

"I'm guessing he's not the fun-loving type of drunk," Jeremy replied to her, his tone also low so only they could hear him.

Jimmy shook his head, then they were in the living room, and Jimmy's father was saying, "Jimmy! Where are you, boy? Your mama tells me you brought a guest! Finally after all these years..." He trailed off as he saw Jeremy.

"Jeremy, this is James Senior; dad, this is Jeremy, he's my--"

"What in the fuck is going on?!" His father interrupted, loudly. "No son of mine is a boy-loving homo faggot!" James practically shouted that last, prompting Paula to rush into the room and start in on him.

"James Alexander Sparks! You will mind your tone and your words in my home or you will see yourself out of it! Do I make myself clear?" She never shouted, but her words carried a great deal of emphatic gestures as she got directly in her ex's face. "Our son has never been comfortable enough to bring someone around and I am beginning to understand why. Now shut yer yap and keep it civil or get out."

"Jeremy, dear, I'm not a very good baker, can you show me how to tell if this pie is ready?" Paula asked him sweetly.

Jeremy had kept a fairly neutral expression on his face the entire time this was happening, a trick taught to him by his father over the years, but at Paula's request, he smiled and nodded his head. "Of course. I'd be happy to."

"Of course he bakes," James said under his breath as he sat down deflated on one of the chairs. Jimmy ignored him and followed Paula and Jeremy into the kitchen.

"Wait until he hears I suck dick too," Jeremy said under his breath, not really meaning for anyone to hear him but they did.

"I'm certain he'd like to avoid that very topic, Jeremy dear," Paula said over her shoulder. "Bigoted shit. If he wasn't the kids' father I'd never allow him in my home again."

Jeremy gave her a sheepish look. "You're a lot kinder than I would be. I think I'm starting to understand why most divorced couples avoid each other after the divorce."

"Honestly, mom, don't invite him around for our sake any more. Cathy knows where to find him if she wants to include him in her holidays," Jimmy said heatedly.

Jeremy checked on the pie, seeing that it likely needed another five minutes, which he told Paula before he closed the oven and turned around, leaning against the counter while looking at Jimmy. "I didn't mean to make your holidays harder."

"Oh, stop. You know exactly in which way you make things harder and how much I enjoy it," Jimmy said, causing Jeremy to burst into surprised laughter.

His mother affected a mock-scandalized expression, then said, "Why don't you take that sort of talk into the living room and see if you can give that boozed up old fart a heart attack?"

"I like her," Jeremy said with a grin.

"You're too young for me, Jeremy dear, but you're sweet for thinking of me. Now, head on in there and make Mr. High-and-Mighty Super-Straight Guy crazy," Paula said, shooing them out.

With a tense look between them, the two of them made their way back out to the living room, where Cathy was sitting silently with their drunk father. Jimmy sat down on the couch, taking up the center of it and patting his leg for Jeremy to have a seat. Jeremy bit his lip to keep from laughing before coming over and sitting next to Jimmy, though close enough their legs were touching and putting his hand on Jimmy's thigh, which esarned them a glare from James.

"So, tell me, old man: how's the job holding up? You know, the warehouse gig?" Jimmy asked.

"Shit, son, you know that job wasn't for me. I'm working for my buddy under the table doing landscaping," James Senior replied.

"How's that going to work with the winter coming up? I hear it's going to be even colder than last year," Jimmy responded.

"I'll just plow like I did last year. Why you bustin' my balls, Jimmy?" James asked, seemingly confused.

Jimmy rolled his eyes and looked at Jeremy helplessly. His father was no fun to make fun of in this state. Jeremy could think of a few reasons to bust his balls on this particular issue, especially considering his own family's penchant for making sure everyone who came into Jeremy's life wouldn't be a liability in the press, but he didn't want to mention that because he had a feeling Jimmy's father would be trying to look for a way to exploit that somehow.

"Isn't it normal for sons to do that to their dads?" Jeremy asked. "I mean, mine would kick my ass for trying, but I thought normal people usually did. Tease each other and check in on their dad's job prospects?"

James didn't respond, just mumbled to himself a little then fell asleep in the chair. Paula came in not long afterward and woke him up and sent him home in an Uber. "Idiot would just wreck his damned car into my house again if I let him drive." she said as they watched him leave.

"How many times has he done that?" Jeremy asked in bewilderment.