Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 9

whose eyes looked a bit glazed. "It's party time."
    "Huh?" Eli was trying to pull him back closer. James was flattered, but he was taking Eli to that party if it killed him… and it may very well.
    "You're a doctor, right?" Eli frowned at him. "So, can you die of blue balls?"
    Eli tipped his head as he tried to process what James had said. Finally he snorted and playfully punched James' shoulder. "Idiot. Maybe you'll find out since you made us stop."
    James smiled. "We'll see if you can resist my charms once I apply myself." Eli's eyebrows rose skeptically. "Come on." James walked to the closet and started digging on the top shelf. "You need this."
    Eli stepped back as something small and furry flew at him. He caught it and looked at the fake fur ball. "What the hell is this?"
    "It's a tribble."
    He turned it over in his hands a few times before he started laughing. James smiled; it felt good to hear Eli laugh. He had a feeling Eli didn't laugh that often.
    "I always wanted one of these."
    "It's a real one." Mystified, Eli looked between the tribble and James. "It was actually on the show. My parents got a whole bunch of them back in the day. My uncle worked on the set, and when they got rid of a lot of props and stuff, he picked up a box of the things."
    Eli's eyes widened. "But then I shouldn't take it. What if I lose it?"
    James shrugged. "Whatever. There're more." He snatched it from Eli's hands and flipped it over. "Besides, my mom attached Velcro." He reached out and jammed it on Eli's shoulder where it stuck. "So he'll just stick to you."
    He leaned in and gave Eli another quick kiss. He liked being able to kiss Eli whenever he wanted. "Come on. If you want to see Yeoman Dedrick, we have to get there before he conks out for the night."
    With a grin Eli followed him out of the bedroom, then did a double take when he got a look at them in the mirror. It was freaky to see them in Star Trek uniforms; despite how many cons he'd gone to in his younger days, he'd never been brave enough to wear a costume. He felt like an eighteen year old kid again.
    They chatted about their common interests in the car on the way to the party. Eli told James more about his family and James continued with the background on his siblings as well. Eli was obviously not as close to his parents as James was, but his parents were proud they had a doctor in the family. What Jewish mother wasn't? They thought his sister had married well, and while they knew Eli was gay, Eli always had the feeling that his mother hoped he'd see the light, find a nice Jewish girl and have a half dozen babies.
    Since Nate left, odd e-mails from Jewish dating sites had been showing up in his inbox and he was pretty sure they weren't random spam. However, as was typical in his family, it just wasn't discussed. His sister Johanna knew he was gay and seemed okay with it. She'd never said anything negative, but they just didn't talk about it. It was far too personal and intimate to be discussed with family, which, given what he was finding out about James' family, seemed odd.
    James was the third child. His younger brother Monte lived in LA and worked in the film industry as an editor. Len, the oldest, was in Portland working as a construction contractor. Abby was a software programmer in the gaming industry. Len was married and had two boys, while Monte had a steady girlfriend but wasn't in any hurry to get married or have kids. Eli had been a bit afraid to ask about Abby as sometimes single parents had issues with exes, but Abby just got tired of waiting for Mr. Right, so she had Dedrick with the help of a sperm bank. She wasn't dating anyone now, but wasn't against getting married someday as long as the guy was okay with Dedrick. From the way James talked, the guy would also have to be approved by the three brothers, who weren't about to let some guy treat Abby and Dedrick with anything less than the utmost respect. It was freaky - he knew more about James' siblings and their feelings about family, kids, their jobs and life than he knew about his own sister.
    Eli tentatively asked James' parents' names. James told him it was Sarah and Carl. When Eli raised an eyebrow, James laughed. "I know, I know. My dad tried to convince my mom to change their names after I was born. My mom put her foot down. So my dad had to be content with us kids having Star Trek names. My mom loves the show and everything, but she figured changing her name was taking it just a bit too