Kevin’s view:
I try not to laugh as I notice him eyeing my pocket instead of what I’ve laid out on the counter. I wave my hand in front of his face.
“Hello? Space control center to Alex, Alex it’s time to come back to planet Earth,” I tease.
He gives me a weird look, but smiles all the same. “Alex reporting back to Earth, Sir,” he answers cheekily.
For once, I don’t care to wipe the cheeky grin off his face. I show him what I’ve bought, and explain what each is for. Obviously he knew what the razors and shaving cream were for, but as for the toilet paper and toothpaste, well, let’s just say he thought I was right down crazy.
We shave together, and amazingly, he only nicks himself twice.
“You know, you’re doing a whole lot better than I did at your age,” I tell him.
He looks up at me with a look of surprise on his face. “Really? You bled more than I am right now?”
I give a nod and a laugh. “Yep,” I say. “My brother’s got a good kick out of it too. They teased me for weeks.”
Now, another thing you need to know about A.J., is that he’s an only child. He’s never had any siblings, and the closest he’s come to them is us four guys and his best friend Skylar Ross. And trust me, she’s a doll, that Skylar is. A keeper too. Oh, and also, normally A.J. doesn’t like to be called ‘Alex’, as it usually means he’s in trouble. But, obviously, at times like right now, he doesn’t mind so much.
“You don’t think the other guys will tease me, do you?” He interrogates.
“Nah,” I shrug. “And if they do, so what? They’ve been in your shoes, well, minus Nick.”
“If Nick bugs me, I’ll just rub it in and tell him he’s jealous,” he affirms. “I’ll remind him that he hasn’t hit puberty yet too. That always gets him going.”
I shake my head at him. Yep. A.J. is becoming his crazy self once more. But, before he makes the complete transformation back, there’s something I want to do real quick.
“I think it’s time for that surprise now, don’t you?”
I see his eyes glow with interest and excitement, and want desperately to laugh at his child-like eagerness.
