Home and Away

by Ariel Tachna

  “That’s fair. You think your new guy’s different?” Pete sat on the bed across from Linc.

  “I do,” Linc answered quietly.

  “Why?”

  Linc wanted to bristle at the question, but now that Linc was talking, Pete’s tone had lost its aggressiveness and simply conveyed his care. “He just is.”

  “Nuh-uh, you ain’t getting away with that. Details, man, or it don’t count.”

  Linc scrubbed his hand over his face and tried to put his gut feeling into words. “So, you know how the groupies are. They fixate on something related to basketball to the point of making it a fetish. Our height, our muscles, our stats, they always bring up those details like that’s what makes us interesting.”

  “Yeah, I had one girl who could tell me every basket I’d hit since I got here.”

  “Kit ain’t like that. Sure, he’s a fan. He goes to the home games and watches the away games on TV, but he don’t dwell on it. He’ll tell me good game, or he’ll say something specific I did, but then he’s happy to change the subject, and he’s more interested in other things than he is in anything related to the game. He sees me. I didn’t realize how much I needed that until I got it.”

  “And now that you have it?”

  “Now that I have it, everything else just feels… right.”

  “Hang on to that,” Pete said. “No matter what it takes, don’t let that slip through your fingers.”

  Linc smiled. “I won’t.”

  LINC shook the snow off his shoes and brushed it off his coat and hat before knocking on the door to Kit’s apartment on Wednesday night. Tonight wouldn’t end the way Monday had, no matter how much he would enjoy it if it did. He’d specifically told Kit he wanted to really meet Phillip and Ephah, not just introduce himself in passing. If he was going to hold on to Kit no matter what it took, like he’d told Pete he would, he needed to know the other people in Kit’s life too.

  Phillip opened the door tonight. “Hey, Linc, come in. Kit’s cooking again. And let me tell you, we’re feeling spoiled. You can come over as often as you want if it means he cooks every time.”

  Linc took a deep sniff, trying to guess what Kit was cooking tonight. He smelled pork—sausage or bacon, he wasn’t sure which—and he didn’t know what else. “What’s he making tonight?”

  “A Mexican shrimp and rice stew, with sausage and tomato and I don’t know what else,” Phillip said. “I stay out of his way and just clean up when he’s done. Let me take your coat.”

  “Thanks.” Linc handed Phillip his coat and went to the kitchen to greet Kit.

  “Linc,” Kit said happily when Linc reached the entrance. “You made it.”

  “I told you I would.”

  “I know, but I wasn’t sure if the snow would interfere. Uncle Blake even stayed home today, and I didn’t think that would ever happen,” Kit said. He arched up for a kiss. Linc bent to meet him.

  “No smooching in the kitchen,” Phillip called. “We have to eat that food.”

  Kit rolled his eyes as they separated. “Are you sure you want to get to know my idiot brother?”

  “Don’t tell me you’ve never given him shit about his girlfriend,” Linc said with a laugh.

  “Of course I have, but not recently. I like Marisol too much to do anything that might run her off,” Kit said. “Phillip either doesn’t have that much consideration, or he’s never liked any of my boyfriends or girlfriends enough to care.”

  Linc hoped Phillip would like him enough to want him around. “Will Marisol be here tonight?”

  “No, it’s just us guys tonight. Marisol has rehearsals on Wednesdays for a community dance group she belongs to,” Kit said. “And Zoe, Ephah’s girlfriend, has choir rehearsal. It doesn’t get out too late, so she might drop by, but she won’t be here for dinner.”

  Was it good or bad to have it just “us guys”? Linc’s brothers were always less obnoxious in their teasing with their girlfriends around, but Linc would take whatever Phillip and Ephah dished out. Kit was worth that and a lot more.

  “You want beer or margaritas with dinner?” Kit’s question distracted Linc from his thoughts.

  “Probably better stick with beer. Coach wants us at practice early tomorrow.”

  “Modelo it is.” He pulled a bottle out of the fridge, popped the cap, and handed it to Linc. “I have to cover this so it can simmer a bit, and then we can go sit in the other room. You don’t have to wait for me.”

  “I don’t mind.” Linc leaned against the doorjamb to watch Kit work. Kit beamed at him as he stirred a big pot full of bubbling liquid, turned down the heat, and put a lid on it.

  “There, now we let that simmer until the rice is soft. Then we can eat.” Kit looped an arm around Linc’s waist and guided him toward the living room. “Beer’s in the fridge if you want it. Make your own margaritas if you want those,” he told Phillip and Ephah. “What are you watching?”

  “Whatever’s on the History Channel,” Phillip replied absently.

  Kit grabbed the remote and clicked off the TV. “If you don’t even know what you’re watching, we don’t need the TV on.”

  “Are you at UK too?” Linc asked Phillip, searching for a safe topic of conversation.

  “No, Ephah’s an electrician, and I’m a foreman at Dalton Construction,” Phillip said. “Kit’s the scholar in the family.”

  “Don’t diss yourself like that,” Kit said with a huff. “You’re one of four foremen, and since Uncle Thane and Derek are two of the four, that’s saying something.”

  “I’m not even from Lexington and I’ve heard of Dalton Construction,” Linc said. “I see their logo all around campus, anywhere there’s construction going on. Are you involved with any of those projects?”

  “Nah, Uncle Thane still has me running small projects. He handles all the big ones himself or sends Derek if he’s busy,” Phillip replied.

  Linc frowned in confusion.

  “Thane and Uncle Derek founded Dalton Construction when they were our age,” Ephah explained. “They built it from the two of them to a company with four teams running most of the time and a good forty full-time employees, not to mention people they bring on for big or specialty jobs.”

  “Sorry,” Kit said. “Uncle Thane’s such a larger-than-life personality. I tend to forget not everyone knows him by name.”

  “It’s part of getting to know you,” Linc replied, leaning into Kit. And it showed how close Kit was to his family. Linc was glad. Having grown up in his own tight-knit clan, he couldn’t imagine getting serious with someone who didn’t value those ties.

  Kit smiled up at him. Across the room, Phillip made gagging noises. With a wink for Kit, Linc grabbed a napkin, balled it up, and bounced it off Phillip’s forehead.

  “Oh, you’re going to fit right in,” Ephah said gleefully. “Phillip won’t admit it, but he gives Kit’s dates crap to see if they’ll give it back, but so far all of them have just taken it. Nobody like that would survive long in this family.”

  Linc breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Maybe this would go better than he’d feared. He’d hoped that Phillip and Ephah would treat him as Kit’s boyfriend, not a local celebrity, but he’d been on guard anyway. Instead Phillip had teased him the same way he’d teased all of Kit’s past dates. He relaxed a little and shot Ephah a grin. “A bunch of smartasses?”

  “Oh my Jesus, yes,” Ephah said. “You ain’t seen nothin’ until you’ve seen Thane and Uncle Derek start in on each other. They’ve known each other since they was six, and it shows every time one of them opens his mouth. They ain’t brothers, but they might as well be.”

  “I got brothers,” Linc said. “Three of ’em, and there ain’t nothin’ like them for givin’ me shit.”

  “And I got Kit and Phillip,” Ephah said in a flat tone that made Linc wonder what that was all about. He didn’t ask, though. They didn’t know each other well enough yet, country roots aside. “You just keep on keeping on and you’ll fit right in.”
r />   “Good to know. I’m pretty handy with a hammer, but I never done any electrical work. Too much science for me,” Linc said.

  “You can do science fine,” Kit interrupted from Linc’s side. “You just have to concentrate on it.”

  “I concentrate enough on basketball. I don’t want to concentrate that hard when I’m off the court. And messing up on the court can’t kill you like electricity can,” Linc replied. He smiled down at Kit. “You ever work with them on the construction sites?”

  “I used to, in the summers,” Kit said. “Something to keep me busy and give me some spending money. But last summer was probably the last time. Once we graduate, I’m hoping to get hired on at Alltech full-time.”

  “Don’t get him started,” Phillip begged from across the room. “If I have to hear about the future of algae-based technology and clean fuel one more time, I’m gonna kill someone.”

  “As long as it’s not me, I don’t see no problem with that,” Linc said. “Kit listens to me when I get going about basketball. Shouldn’t I listen to him too?”

  Phillip muttered something under his breath that sounded like “whipped,” but Linc ignored him. “Tell me more about what you’re doing.”

  “The problem is that petroleum is finite and pollution-causing,” Kit said. “We need a renewable, cleaner fuel if we’re going to keep industry moving and still have a planet to live on. And the work we’re doing at Alltech aims to use algae byproducts to produce biofuel that can replace most petroleum-based gasolines even on existing cars without all the pollution, the environmental damage caused by drilling, and at the same time, the algae recycles carbon dioxide for oxygen, which helps overall air quality.”

  Linc knew just enough biology to guess it wasn’t nearly as simple as Kit made it sound, but the kitchen timer went off before he could ask more questions. Kit hurried into the kitchen to serve the stew, leaving Linc alone with Phillip and Ephah.

  “Saved by the bell,” Phillip muttered. Linc laughed and beaned him with another wadded-up napkin.

  “C’mon,” Ephah said. “You don’t want to miss this.”

  Linc stood and followed them to the table just as Kit brought out a big bowl with steam rising from it. He set it in the middle of the table and grabbed the bowl in front of Linc. “How much do you want?”

  “Fill it up,” Linc said. “It smells wonderful.”

  Kit beamed at him and filled the bowl almost to the brim. Linc waited while the others filled their bowls as well, his mother’s lectures on manners and being a good guest running through his head, then dug in. The flavor of tomatoes and rice hit his senses first, along with the bite of sausage. Then the spices kicked in and his eyes started watering. He swallowed and reached for his beer. “Wow, that’s spicy! What’s in it?”

  “Jalapeños,” Kit said with a grimace. “I won’t put as many in next time.”

  “No, it’s good,” Linc said when he’d gulped down several swallows of beer. “I just wasn’t ready for it.”

  “You get used to it,” Ephah said from across the table. “When I first came to Lexington, I didn’t know anything but country cooking. Now, I eat anything, the spicier the better. Kit’ll convert you too.”

  Linc took another bite and met Kit’s eyes across the table. “He already has.”

  THE evening ended far sooner than Kit wanted. He basked in the laughter that had rung out around the table all through dinner and in the way Phillip and Ephah had disappeared into their rooms as soon as they’d finished cleaning up, leaving Kit and Linc alone in the living room. They wouldn’t have the same privacy as they’d had on Monday, but it was better than nothing. “Did you have a good time?” he asked as they cuddled on the couch.

  “I did,” Linc said, “but it’s getting late. I should go.”

  Kit tightened his arms around Linc’s torso. “No, it’s too soon. I like you right where you are.”

  Linc chuckled, the sound vibrating through his chest to Kit’s cheek. “I like right where I am too, sugar, but if I miss practice, Coach’ll have my hide, and then where will I be? I don’t want to ride the bench for a game for something like that.”

  Kit sighed and pushed into a more upright position. “No, of course not. You’ll come back for dinner again tomorrow, right?”

  “I said I would, and I aim to keep my promises,” Linc said. He dropped a kiss on Kit’s lips. “Although you keep feeding me like that and Coach’s gonna put me on an even stricter diet. I’m gonna gain ten pounds on your cooking.”

  “You can tell him it’s all healthy,” Kit said. “I use organic produce and meats.”

  “I’ll be sure to mention it.” Linc’s teasing grin was too much to resist. He tackled Linc backward onto the couch and kissed him, lightly at first, but deepening it when Linc went loose beneath him. He flicked his tongue along the seam of Linc’s lips and delved in when Linc opened for him. He could lie like this for hours, just making out on the couch, but Linc was right. He had an early practice, and Kit had a lab at eight. Unless Linc was going to spend the night—and they hadn’t talked about that yet—he needed to leave soon.

  With a resigned sigh and a bit of a pout, Kit sat up again and then stood, offering a hand to Linc as he did so.

  “I should pull you back down here,” Linc said as he took Kit’s hand and stood next to him.

  “I’d let you,” Kit replied as they walked toward the door.

  Linc slipped his feet into his shoes, but instead of pulling on his coat, he pulled Kit into his arms. “You can’t say things like that when I’m fixing to leave. It makes me want to stay.”

  They were totally having that stay-the-night conversation, just as soon as they could do it without interruption. He reached up to kiss Linc again instead, lingering as long as he could. Finally, though, they broke apart again, and Linc pulled his coat off the rack. When he got it on and his gloves in place, he stroked Kit’s cheek and leaned down for one more tender kiss. “See you tomorrow.”

  Kit leaned against the doorframe as Linc walked down the hall and out of sight. Then, shaking his head at himself, he went back inside to get ready for bed. When he walked into his room a few minutes later, he found Phillip sprawled across his bed.

  “What’s up?” Kit asked.

  Phillip scooted over to make space for Kit on the bed like he’d done when they were little, and again after their mom died and they’d gone to live with Uncle Thane.

  Kit stretched out next to him. “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah, it is. For the first time in a long time, I really think it is.”

  Kit frowned. He’d thought things were going well between Phillip and Marisol. “Did something happen with Marisol?”

  “No, something happened with you. You’ve dated some decent guys over the years, but there’s always been something about them that didn’t quite sit right.” Phillip turned on his side so he was facing Kit. “Ephah was partially correct when he said one of the reasons I’d always be as obnoxious as possible around your dates was to see how they’d react. Not to drive them off, just to sort of test them. Someone who sat there and took it didn’t have enough wit or nerve or both to keep up with you. You need someone who will banter with you, the way you and I have always bantered. And who is confident enough to do it no matter who’s around. If they thought they needed to be on their best behavior around me, they weren’t going to give you what you needed.”

  “Don’t you think that’s my decision to make?” Kit asked.

  “Did any of them break up with you because of something I said or did?” Phillip countered.

  “Not specifically,” Kit replied, thinking back over past relationships. “It was always more of a general not working out kind of thing.”

  “So either I didn’t have anything to do with it, or they wouldn’t have lasted, because giving each other shit is what we do in our family. The only person who doesn’t is Uncle Blake, and even he does on occasion.”

  “And now?” Kit asked.

&n
bsp; “Linc not only didn’t blink. He gave it right back in his own way,” Phillip said. “If my approval means anything to you, you have it.”

  Kit punched Phillip in the shoulder. “Thanks.”

  Phillip punched him back as he sat up. “You’re welcome.” He moved out of Kit’s reach. “But I still don’t want to catch you naked.”

  Kit flipped him off, but he smiled as he did it.

  KIT waited impatiently for Linc to text him after the UK-Auburn game. He’d watched it with his frat brothers, but he hadn’t hung around with them once the game was over. He wanted to talk to Linc, and he wanted to do it in private. The phone rang shortly after he made it into his room and shut his door.

  “Hi, Linc. Great game!” Kit said, because whatever else was going on, Linc had played brilliantly again and Kit wanted him to know it.

  “Thanks, sugar. I thought it went pretty well. I miss you. I missed looking up in the stands and seeing you cheering me on.” Linc’s voice was warm and familiar through the phone, although Kit would have preferred having him there in person. Watching the game—watching Linc—on TV had been harder than he’d expected. Every time Linc scored, Kit cheered and drank in the sight of him on replays, all while feeling each image like a punch in the gut because Linc was there on TV instead of in Lexington with Kit.

  He had to stop doing this to himself. Linc deserved better than a boyfriend who couldn’t let him out of sight for more than a few hours. The regular season was almost over, but then the tournaments would start, and that was nonstop games for nearly a month.

  Kit quailed internally at the thought.

  You can do this, he told himself. It’s only temporary.

  “I missed being there,” Kit replied. “But you’ll be home soon, and then we can celebrate in person.”

  “I like the sound of that,” Linc said. “Are we just celebrating beating Auburn, or is something else going on?”