by Land, Alexa
We peered out through a gap in the drapes and watched the buffalo as she finally shook off the tablecloth. Then she walked over to her infant and nuzzled him gently. All was well in her world once again.
Lee and I glanced at each other, and then we both burst out laughing. Rus muttered, “You two are perfect for each other. You’re both out of your minds,” before heading to the kitchen.
As we followed him, Lee said, “I had no idea the life of a hotel manager was this interesting.”
“Dude, never underestimate those of us who work in the hospitality industry.”
“Oh no, never again.”
Rus told me, “Picking up the baby and running with it was both badass and the worst idea ever. I have a newfound respect for you, but I’m also convinced you’re a lunatic.”
We discovered the kitchen was in okay shape overall, although there was food all over the floor and the buffalo had knocked over a large, metal shelving unit. The whole place would obviously have to be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, but it really could have been much worse.
I washed my hands because they smelled like baby bison, wheeled in a room service cart, and loaded it up with all the food that had survived, either because it had been in the refrigerator or in two shopping bags that had gone unnoticed by our hairy visitor. On our way to join the rest of our party, Lee said, “I’m not sure what to do about dinner. My main dish was ruined, and I can’t really pull off a meal for almost a dozen people with what’s left. But maybe I can order takeout or something.”
“Vee mentioned there was food at the house,” I reminded him, “so they might have pulled something together.”
Lee and Rus seemed impressed when we stepped through the gate surrounding my uncle’s former home, and no wonder. It was a gorgeous, modern masterpiece composed of glass and dark wood. The resort was built beside a steep drop-off, and the house jutted past the edge of the cliff and extended down three tapering stories, in a way that had always reminded me of a swallow’s nest.
We let ourselves in, cut across the massive, white and blue living room, and joined our group in the open kitchen. A few people were cooking, and everyone seemed to be having a good time. Elijah, our bookkeeper, was stirring a huge pot of spaghetti, which was his specialty. Meanwhile, his husband Cassidy was chopping vegetables, while Vee sat on the counter sipping a glass of wine and chatting with Tracy and Lorenzo.
Gabriel waved at us when we came in, and the stack of silver bangles on his wrist sparkled in the sunlight that flooded the room. He and Ezra were at a table by the window, transforming bricks of cheese into little squares and artfully arranging them on a tray with some crackers. Ezra’s four dogs sat in a row, their attention totally riveted on the cheese, while CJ stood in the kitchen and waited patiently for someone to drop something.
Ren, Colt, and Isaac were seated at the counter fronting the kitchen, and my uncle asked, “What happened?”
I told the buffalo story in great detail, making sure to play up the drama and excitement. When I finished, everyone applauded. Lorenzo offered us a glass of wine, and Odette, the Wendy to our Lost Boys, let us know there’d be sangria if we wanted to wait a minute. Her little grandson Terrence kept swiping fruit off the counter and either stuffing it in his mouth or feeding it to Clementine the parakeet, so the future of the sangria seemed in doubt.
Rus glared at Tracy before channeling his efforts into completely ignoring him and went to help himself to a piece of cheese. While he did that, I said, “Since I have you all here, I want to thank you for fixing the landscaping this weekend. It looks great! I hear we have Ezra to thank for the great idea of relocating plants from other parts of the property. Way to go, Ez.”
Ezra was still getting used to us and apparently not the biggest fan of being in the spotlight. He hid beneath his shaggy, black hair and tried to disappear into his wheelchair as he mumbled, “It was like, pretty obvious.”
To ease his discomfort, I turned the attention away from him by gesturing at the food we’d brought with us and announcing, “This is what survived the Great Buffalo Incident, so let’s have a contest. Whoever makes the most delicious side dish by only using ingredients from this cart gets to pick the movie tonight.”
Vee jumped off the counter and exclaimed, “Out of my way, kids! I need to win this. Otherwise, I just know we’re going to have to sit through The Fast and the Furious for like, the fortieth time.”
Tracy plucked a bunch of celery off the cart and told him, “We should definitely watch that again. It’s a classic!”
While they argued, I glanced at my boyfriend. He seemed uncomfortable, so I called, “We’ll be back in a few minutes. I want to show Lee the rest of the house.”
Almost all of the home’s noteworthy features were on the main floor, but I led him down one level, then through the huge master suite and out onto the balcony. It was obviously the same panorama we saw from the courtyard, but with the added benefit of privacy. I leaned against the railing, facing away from the view, and flipped my new baseball cap so I was wearing it backwards. Lee wrapped his arms around me, and I said, “I thought you could use a minute.”
“Was it that obvious?”
“Just to me.”
“I’m totally out of my element. It’s not like anyone ever brought me home to meet their family before. I’m especially at a loss when it comes to your uncle. I just don’t know what to say to him, or how to act.”
“You don’t have to worry about Ren. Just be yourself.”
He grinned and said, “That’s terrible advice.”
That made me grin, too. “Be the man I get to see.”
“I’ll give it a shot.” He kissed me before asking, “Is something on your mind? You look worried.”
So much for my attempt at a cheerful façade. “I was talking to Rus about your meeting tomorrow. Even though he swears it won’t be dangerous, I’m still nervous about you returning to L.A. while those people are looking for you. Couldn’t you just do a conference call instead?”
“No, because my men need reassurance right now, and that means showing up in person.”
“But is it worth the risk?”
“It isn’t risky. Only four people know about this meeting,” he said, “in addition to Rus and myself. They’ve all been working for me a minimum of ten years, and I trust them with my life. I promise you, this is perfectly safe. We’ve chosen a random location, and nobody is going to find us there.”
“I want to go with you.”
“That’s not a good idea.”
“But you just told me it was safe.”
“It isn’t a question of how safe it is. I just don’t want you anywhere near that world, Beck. It’s the same reason I’ve never brought you to my house. I run my business out of there.”
“I don’t understand why you think I need to be shielded from that.”
Finally, he admitted, “I don’t want you to see me when I’m playing that role. If you find out what I’m like in the rest of my life, you might change your mind about me.”
It was always surprising when such a strong man showed me glimpses of his vulnerability. I said, “I love you, Lee, and you have nothing to worry about. I already know exactly who you are, and if you have to put up a façade for your job, I get it. Also, I understand wanting to keep your life compartmentalized, so I won’t push.”
He took my face in his hands and ran his thumb over my lower lip as he whispered, “Thank you for being so understanding.”
I was overwhelmed by the love I saw in his eyes. It made me feel safe and cherished, wanted and important. I hadn’t even realized how desperately I needed those things until Leonidas Speros gave me what I’d been missing.
His lips found mine, and for a few glorious moments, the entire world was reduced to just him and me. But eventually, he broke the kiss and said, in a voice that sounded a bit husky, “We should get back to your family. They’re probably wondering what happened to us.” I loved the fact that he called
them my family. It showed he understood exactly what they meant to me.
I looked up at him and nodded. A little smile curved the corner of his mouth as he turned my baseball cap the right way around again. Then he asked, “Do you think it’s too late to enter that side dish contest? I’ve already seen The Fast and the Furious, and I don’t feel the need to see it again.”
“Let’s go find out.”
When we returned to the main floor, we found Rus had joined most of the crew to form a boisterous spectators’ section. They were all sipping sangria (except for Terrence, who had fruit punch) and eating cheese and crackers while providing a running commentary on what was unfolding in the kitchen. Meanwhile, Vee and Tracy were pulling out all the stops to win the prize, mostly because they were both incredibly competitive.
Tracy was beer battering and deep frying everything he got his hands on, while his friend Gabriel acted as his sous chef. The mushrooms, onion rings, and zucchini were big hits. The deep fried celery, olives, and whole cherry tomatoes, less so. But it was all getting scarfed down by everyone within arm’s reach the moment it was cool enough to eat.
Meanwhile, Vee was apparently going for style points. He’d whipped up an enormous vat of Bloody Marys, which Tracy called foul on because they weren’t made with cart ingredients, and was garnishing them with long skewers loaded up with olives, cheese, vegetables, cooked shrimp, and peppers. When he started topping the skewers with tiny grilled cheese sandwich triangles, Lorenzo exclaimed, “Oh, genius move!”
Lee slipped in and got a large pan going on the stovetop. He chopped and sautéed some spinach with onion and garlic, and then he added rice, fresh lemon zest, and dill, topped it all with vegetable stock, and covered it with a lid.
When he joined me and the rest of the spectators, I handed him a Bloody Mary and said, “You’ve got this.”
He grinned and shook his head. “I really don’t. Spanakorizo is delicious, but it’s no match for booze and fried food.” He took a sip from his drink, being careful not to jab his eye out with the multiple skewers that jutted from it, and added, “Plus, this is fantastic.”
“Although technically, Vee didn’t follow the rules of the contest, which is an automatic disqualification,” I pointed out. “The only things that came from the cart were the shrimp, celery, and olives.”
Colt exclaimed, “Thank God! The drinks are awesome, but I really wasn’t looking forward to sitting through another Disney movie. No offense, Vee.”
“I couldn’t let my creativity be stifled by dull, oppressive rules,” Vee informed us. “I had to follow my muse, and she demanded alcohol, because she’s a lush. Also, you all are totally missing out, because I had some new choreography to go with my Lion King sing-along, and it was on point!”
About half an hour later, dinner was served buffet-style. In addition to Elijah’s spaghetti, what was left of Tracy’s deep fried morsels, and Lee’s rice, there were roasted veggies, rolls, a big green salad, a fruit platter, and a tray of deviled eggs. I had no idea where some of that stuff came from, but we all loaded up our plates and dug in.
The conversation over dinner was light and upbeat. My uncle raved about the rice dish and turned the subject to Greek food, which Lee could talk about endlessly. I was so grateful to Ren for bringing him out of his shell.
At the conclusion of the meal, Ren, Colt, and Lorenzo took over clean-up while I called for a vote on the contest. Lee ended up winning, and I turned to my boyfriend and said, “We always start the week with a movie night, and you get to pick what we watch. There’s a home theater with a digital film library, so do you want to take a look at what’s on tap before you decide?”
“Actually, I know what I want to see.” He turned to Vee and said, “I choose the Lion King sing-along, because those were the best Bloody Marys I’ve ever had, and because I’m not a fan of following the rules, either. Besides, I basically cheated, because I’d bought those ingredients specifically to make that dish. And yes, I know I should hand the victory to Tracy because he actually did what Beck asked, but I believe anyone who would deep-fry celery deserves to be punished.” That got a good laugh from everyone, including Tracy.
Vee threw his arms around my boyfriend’s neck, thanked him, and gave him a big kiss on the cheek before strutting off in the direction of the home theater while singing Hakuna Matata. I told Lee, “I hope you realize what you’ve just gotten yourself into.”
“I have no idea, since I’ve obviously never seen that movie. I bet it’ll be an interesting experience, though.” He was right about that.
We all relocated to the home theater, except for Rus, who made an excuse and went back to his hotel. As promised, Vee had been practicing his dance moves, and he ran to the front of the theater for every number and Beyonce’d the hell out of it. Most of our group sang along to the movie, except for Lee and one or two other people, but I did catch him tapping his feet to the music, and that made me smile.
Afterwards, Odette said goodnight and took her grandson back to town, and our resident newlyweds, Cassidy and Elijah, claimed to be tired and hurried to their room with their hands all over each other. The rest of us got comfortable in the living room and lingered late into the night, talking about everything and nothing.
Lee chimed in when he had something to add to the conversation, but he also spent a lot of time listening and observing. His body language was relaxed, and I loved the fact that he wasn’t shy about showing affection. He spent all evening either holding my hand or with his arm draped over my shoulders, and when I snuggled up to him on the couch, he kissed my forehead and held me close.
At around one a.m. our little group called it a night, and Ren and Colt accompanied us to the courtyard. I gave my uncle a hug, and then he shook Lee’s hand and said, “I’m so glad Beck finally decided to share you with the rest of us. Welcome to the family, Lee.”
My boyfriend looked surprised as he murmured, “Thank you.”
Ren and Colt cut through the main building and walked up the hill to their cottage hand-in-hand, and I took a few moments to make sure everything was locked up. Then I turned off the lobby’s main lights before climbing the stairs with Lee. On the way to our room, he said, “What an extraordinary night. I’ve never known such a warm and welcoming group of people.”
“I’m so grateful that you got to meet everyone. And see? You had nothing to worry about with my uncle, because he obviously likes you.”
“He’s a good man. I wasn’t sure what to make of him when you told me he’d let so much of the ranch’s upkeep fall on your shoulders.”
“We all have our struggles,” I said. “He had a hard time for a while there, and I don’t fault him for that. Now he’s making a real effort to get his life back on track. The fact that he finally found his soulmate has given him a lot of motivation to make some positive changes.”
“Do you believe in that?” Lee asked, as I unlocked the door. “The idea of soulmates, I mean?”
I thought about that as we went inside, and then I said, “I know it sounds corny, but yes, I do. I’ve always loved that beautiful quote from Aristotle, ‘love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies’. That’s what it feels like when I’m with you.”
Lee grinned at me. “You’re a hopeless romantic. I like that. Bonus points for quoting a Greek philosopher.”
“I thought you’d appreciate that.”
I turned to my dresser and took a pair of pajama pants from the drawer, and Lee came up behind me and kissed my shoulder before asking, “Are you tired?”
“Not particularly. What about you?”
I turned to look at him, and he shook his head. “I’m wide awake, which is good because we have some unfinished business.”
A smile spread across my face. “Oh, that’s right. I do seem to recall an earlier discussion involving you, me, and the lobby.”
“Exactly. I know everyone back at the house is out of the line of sight, but what about your uncle, and the young couple
that left early?”
“Elijah and Cassidy are in the other building, and their apartment is at the back, facing away from the courtyard. As for Ren and Colt, I know for a fact that you can’t see into the lobby from their cottage, because it’s at the very top of the hill.” I draped my arms over his shoulders and said, “In other words, you can do whatever you want to me downstairs, and no one will see us.”
“That’s excellent news.”
I kissed him before saying, “I need a few minutes to get ready. Wait here, okay?”
“Oh believe me, I’m not going anywhere.”
I put away the pajamas before moving to the bathroom and taking off my baseball cap. Normally, I spent all kinds of time grooming before sex, but all of that just didn’t seem necessary tonight. I wasn’t trying to impress Lee or make him think I was worth hanging on to. He’d already reached that conclusion. So I stripped myself and spent a few minutes just doing the essentials before rejoining him in the bedroom.
He’d actually put on more clothes, which made me grin because that was so totally like him. Instead of shorts, he was wearing a pair of pants, along with a long-sleeved knit shirt and loafers, all in black. Meanwhile, I was completely naked, and that contrast instantly made my cock swell.
Lee drew me into his arms and kissed me, and in no time we were both hard. I leaked precum as he used a leather belt to bind my wrists together in front of me, and then he pocketed my keys, picked up a towel and two pillows, and guided me out of the room and down the hallway with a gentle hand on my shoulder.
I was so wildly turned on by being led naked through the building that I could barely form a coherent thought. When we finally reached the lobby, he led me to a coffee table in front of the fireplace, part of a seating area I’d used with my friends a hundred times. The room was dimly lit but not dark, so I could see exactly what he had in mind when he tossed the towel on a chair, then placed both pillows on the coffee table and said, “Get on your hands and knees, Beck.”