I Am Not Uptight!

Daniel part 3

“Joshy! Hey!” Gary called out loud. Josh didn’t turn to look as he was too busy frying, but he let out a sigh. “I knew I loved you the moment I met you,” Gary continued, making Dustin raise an eyebrow even while looking at his phone.

“Jane says you threatened him when you met,” he told Gary who was quick to give his wife a disappointed look.

“Sweetheart, come on,” he sighed.

Jane simply smiled lovingly at him and blew a kiss. “Love you, babe.”

Daniel laughed as Gary tried to act all pouty. By then, his measly job of heating up the skillet was done—which Josh was using to cook the bacon bits—so he leaned his back on the kitchen island behind him and asked, “How was work, Jane?” while the lady took his place beside Josh.

“The usual,” she said with a shrug, looking quite engrossed in watching the newcomer expertly cook. “A kid threw up from crying so hard because his parents wouldn’t buy him a penguin stuffed toy.”

Daniel noticed Josh slightly frown at that even when he seemed to act like he wasn’t listening, while Gary let out a non-sarcastic, “Sounds splendid, honey!” from the living room.

“It was, actually,” Jane agreed with a smile as she moved to the other side to watch the oil bubbling around the breaded pork cutlets. Daniel fondly observed as Josh subtly moved an inch away from her. The man's shoulders looked stiff and he shifted uncomfortably. Obviously, he did not appreciate other people in his space, which Jane innocently didn’t seem to notice as she leaned closer to watch Josh fry. “Where’s Wells?” she asked no one specifically.

“Probably in a basement with someone tied to a chair,” Dustin muttered with a smirk, which made Gary turn his entire body towards him with a curious look on his face.

“Why must you think of the man in such a kinky way, Dusty? Do you have the hots for the new guy?” he asked before immediately glancing at the kitchen and correcting himself. “Oh, sorry, Joshy here is the new guy now.”

Dustin rolled his eyes and finally put his phone down to glare at Gary. “I didn’t mean it like that. Geez.”

Gary had a smug “oh really?” look on his face which was meant to further tease the kid. It was clearly working, but he stopped when he heard something from outside the house. Like a dog excited to see the mailman, Gary dashed towards the window to look out. “Oh, a car’s pulling up,” he announced enthusiastically. “Yup, that’s Wells right there.”

Barely five seconds after he said it, the door swung open and in did come the man. Everyone looked in his direction—even Josh who was busied in the kitchen glanced at him. Wells was dressed in an expensive suit and he wore the same expression he usually did—one that nobody could be too sure if it meant he was tired or angry, or both.

Daniel and the others found it scary during his first week living in the house, but at some point after that, everyone just decided to act casually around him despite his unwelcoming appearance.

“Darling boy!” Gary exclaimed with open arms to welcome him, which Wells simply ignored as he changed into his slippers. Daniel fought a smile. He would never get used to the sight of the large, intimidating guy wearing bright blue, fuzzy footwear inside the house.

“Nice to see you’re able to make it, Wells. How was your day?” Daniel said with a smile—a question he had probably asked the man more than a dozen times but was never really answered.

As expected, Wells barely cast him a glance as he said, “I’m going to change,” with a flat affect. Jane moved towards the half wall that divided the kitchen from the living room. To everyone’s surprise, Wells walked towards her and handed her a paper bag—which she accepted with a giddy smile as if she was expecting it. Then, he headed towards the stairs, passing Dustin in the process—who didn’t fail to notice the small red stain on his otherwise perfectly white and expensive shirt. Dustin followed Wells with narrowed eyes until he disappeared onto the second floor.

Meanwhile, Gary hurried over to Jane and pointed at the bag she was holding. “Is that—"

“Shush!” Jane was quick to hiss, nodding her head towards Josh whose back was turned to them. “It’s a surprise, babe!” she whispered.

Gary’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped. “I can’t believe he actually got it,” he said in astonishment as he put a hand over his chest. “He really does love us.”

Daniel couldn’t help but chuckle, knowing fully well what they were talking about—both what was in the bag and Gary’s reaction. Wells had been with them for around a month, and all the while he had been unapologetically cold and avoidant; but that night he finally took a small step forward, for in that bag was a small gift that Jane had asked for him to buy on his way home in their group chat. It wasn’t exactly the biggest show of camaraderie and Daniel was sure it barely inconvenienced Wells, but it was more than enough to make him feel like they were finally beginning to get under the man's seemingly impenetrable skin.

The moment of pride, however, was quickly ruined when his second cousin and youngest of the bunch suddenly appeared beside them and whispered, “Did you guys smell that?” with a crinkle of his nose and an accusing tone. “A different perfume, and did you see that stain on his shirt?”

Gary tutted and heavily patted Dustin's shoulder with a disappointed look on his face. “You’ve got to stop smelling dudes, then claiming you’re not into them, my man.”

Jane snickered and Josh subtly smiled, while Dustin shoved Gary's hand away with an annoyed, “Oh, f**k off, Gary.”