At the family gathering.

Sometimes, as much as I hate to admit it, all I want to do is flee.

This is one of those times.

I have never been to a family get together so I wasn't sure what to expect. I had imagined us sitting around a large table just eating and talking, but no, this was one of those dance parties with gross drinks that have tiny umbrellas, yep one of 'those' family gatherings.

This reminded me of school, no one had ever looked twice at Dexter sitting in the corner, waiting for the torture to be over.

Now, it appeared that nothing had changed, even after all those years.

John was definitely out to get me, not that I could blame him. The silent war between the two of us somehow managed to work its way into our everyday lives. And, to my great displeasure, it looked like he would win this round.

At least Foster had remained somewhat oblivious to our conflict. I hated to think of my lover's reaction if he ever discovered our secret attempts to humiliate each other, especially since he thought we had settled our differences.

This was the reason why Foster went along so willingly with his mothers proposition. A social butterfly - what an accurate description of Foster. Even now he was out amongst the guests, socializing with old friends.

I have no idea who threw this gathering that Foster had dragged me to, but I was determined to find out.

"Hey, dance with me?" Foster plopped down next to me, disrupting my slowly darkening thoughts.

"No," I declared without glancing up to face him.

Foster stared at me for a moment, thinking, "You really don't like it here, do you?"

It was hard for me to resist rolling my eyes, "What do you think?"

A smile crossed Foster's face, and he leaned in to plant a kiss against my face, "You are so sweet, coming here for me. Thank you."

The barest tint of a flush stained my face, right before I let out a sigh and stood.

"Just once," I relented, pulling a grinning Foster to the dance floor.

The embarrassment is worth it, I thought as I shot a victorious smirk at Foster's obviously unhappy brother. Take that, you stupid ass, I win.