Vaughan turned to look at Frederick.
“She ah—she sent you something.”
“Justin, can we talk about that later?” Vaughan asked. “I want you to understand that Frederick and I…”
“Are having sex,” Justin said. “I get it. You know, I’m not Mom and Dad right? Frederick, is he always this anal?”
Frederick chuckled. “No, not as much as I am, but I’ve loosened up a bit. He doesn’t really like to share details about his … ahem, private affairs. His friends kept calling him Sin, and now I know it’s for more than just the first three letters in his last name.”
“Wow.” Justin laughed. “My brother is a freak!”
“Seriously!” Vaughan groaned. “I need to hurry and make lunch so you two will have something to put in your mouth.”
“Hey, I brought headphones so if you two wanna…”
“Tin Tin!” Vaughan called, his cheeks on fire.
“Not necessary. Vaughan, you did say we needed to get going so please, enjoy the time with your brother. I’ll leave you two alone to talk. In fact.” Frederick got up, then reached down to grab Nefertiti. “Nef and I will go play for a bit. It was lovely meeting you, Justin. I hope we get to see each other soon.” Frederick nodded. He kissed Vaughan quickly on the cheek before leaving the room.
“Um,” Justin said, glancing toward the door. “Was he wearing make-up?”
Vaughan took a breath. “Yup. That’s not really my thing, but it makes him happy.”
“And you’re cool with this?”
“Have you ever been in love, Justin?”
“No.”
“I love him, Justin,” Vaughan said, seriously. “And I’m willing to put up with a little eyeliner and lip gloss if it makes him happy. If you’re not okay with that…”
“Vaughan,” Justin sighed. “I’m not here to judge. I’ve known you were gay ever since I was a kid. I’ve never had an issue with it. If this dude makes you happy, then make-up or not, I’m good. Now, would you pull the pickle out of your butt and let me give you what Mom sent?”
“Fine,” Vaughan said, moving to the fridge to grab stuff to make scrambled eggs and sausage. Maybe Frederick would like something lighter—eggs were light.
“Here.”
Vaughan turned and accepted a white envelope. His hands shook as he ripped it open and unfolded the letter. Inside, was a check, which fell to the floor and Vaughan ignored—and on the paper was his mother’s polished scribble.
Vaughan,
I know it has been a while since we’ve talked, and I would like to rectify that. Your father cannot understand why having you gone is breaking my heart. Honestly, I don’t think he ever will. At this point, I really can’t say I care much. You’re my son, and I will have to answer for turning my back on you like I did.
As you know, my father left you an inheritance when he passed. I am enclosing a cashier’s check for the full amount. This is not your father’s money or mine, but what is rightfully yours. I know it can never make up for what we’ve done, but I am hoping to one day be able to have you speak to me again.
I love you,
Mom
“Papa left me money?”
Justin nodded. “Yes. But he left Dad in charge of disbursing it. After you came out, Dad thought you didn’t deserve it, so he kept it. Mom didn’t know. She lost her mind when she found out.”
“How is she?” Vaughan asked.
“Sad. She’s been sad since you left. Sometimes when she thinks no one is home I can hear her crying. For the longest time she would go into your room and just sit there.” Justin picked up the check and handed it over. “You have a life, Manny. You have a man in there who I’m sure one day you will want to marry.”
Vaughan chuckled and looked down. His eyes bulged. “Freddy!”
The sound of the door opened, and Frederick came rushing out with Nefertiti on his heels. “What, love. What’s wrong?”
Vaughan said nothing. He simply handed over the check.
Frederick eyed it and passed it back to Vaughan. “It is a large sum of money. What do you intend to do with it, love?”
“I don’t know,” Vaughan replied. “Can we just pretend we didn’t see it and go away like we planned? I can’t…” Vaughan couldn’t breathe. “I can’t—breathe.”
Frederick rubbed Vaughan’s shoulder and leaned in to kiss him. “It’s all right, love. We can still go away. Put it in your bank account and forget about it. Or leave it here, locked away. You don’t have to deal with it until we return.”
Weak, Vaughan wrapped his arms around Frederick and pressed his face into Frederick’s neck. He didn’t care that Justin was there. He needed strength, and Frederick was the perfect person to give it to him.
“Put it in your account,” Justin said. “I wouldn’t leave that lying around.”
“Yes, do as your brother says. It will stay there until you return. Well, did you want to stay here with Justin a little while before we leave here or…”
“No,” Justin said. “He’s going to take his time away like he’d planned before I showed up. Right, Vaughan?”
Vaughan inhaled deeply and rose to his feet. “You are welcome to stay here,” he said. “I’ll have to tell Kelliani you’re here so she doesn’t come check in and kick your ass.”
“Kelliani? Maybe I wouldn’t mind an ass kicking from her.” Justin smirked.
Vaughan grinded his teeth. “Seriously, are you staying? Can you stay?”
“Well, I am the boss so I can take as much time off as I need,” Justin said. “We have a lot of catching up to do so I’ll be here.”
“I think that’s a wonderful idea. Thank you for staying, Justin. Vaughan, should we get ready to go? I’m hungry, but we can grab something on the way.”
Vaughan grabbed an apple and tossed it to Frederick. He then turned to Justin. “You’ll be okay here? There’s food in the fridge, and I will leave you the access card and key. Do you have a car? I’m sure…”
“Manny!”
“You’re going to need to get around. And you don’t ride so you can’t use my…”
“Vaughan Emmanuel Singleton Jr.!”
“What?” Vaughan asked.
“Stop freaking out!” Justin told him. “I’ll be fine. I’m not a kid anymore. You don’t need to take care of every little detail for me like you used to.”
Vaughan sighed and glanced over at Frederick, who was eyeing them curiously. “Fine,” Vaughan said, turning back to his brother. “I’ll get dressed and we can go.”
Frederick tsked. “Good.” He bit into the apple. “Come on, Vaughan. You brother assured you he’ll be fine.”
Vaughan turned for the bedroom but stopped, walked back to Justin and hugged him tightly. He pressed a kiss to the side of his brother’s head. “I really missed you, Tin Tin,” Vaughan said. “I never thought you’d be here.”
“Aww, man.” Justin moaned. “You’re hugging me in front of the celebrity.”
“You know who he is?”
“Duh! Mom listens to him all the time. Now, go before your man starts giving me dirty looks.”
Vaughan laughed. “I love you.”
“Love you, too. Go.”
Vaughan nodded and let the room then. “Frederick, can you grab my phone and call Kelly? The code is 5787.”
Frederick did and held it up to his ear. “Hello? Yes, hi, Kelliani. We just wanted to let you know we’ll be leaving now. And we thought you should know Vaughan’s brother is here. Is he sexy? I’m sorry, I don’t have an opinion, because I only have eyes for Vaughan. You know that.” Frederick pulled the phone away and laughed. “She wants to talk to you.” Frederick handed Vaughan the phone.
“Um…” Vaughan took the phone but didn’t answer until he had his pants done up. “Hey, Kelly.”
“So your man is boring.”
“Why?”
“He can’t tell me if your brother is sexy.” Kelliani groaned. “Can you tell me?”
&nbs
p; “That’s not weird at all.” Vaughan laughed. “You wanna come down to meet him and to see us off?”
“Be right there.”
Dial tone.
Vaughan moaned. “This is going to be a long day.”
“Why?” Frederick snickered.
“Kelliani is on her way down. She wants to see for herself if Justin is sexy.” Vaughan finished getting dressed and zipped his bag closed. “Do you have a car or do we need to rent one?”
“I have one. We only need to make our way out there.” Frederick pulled his t-shirt on over his head then shook his hair out.
“Okay. Let’s carry the bags out and we can wait for Kelly. Once she gets here, we grab Nef and go.”
“All right.” Frederick zipped his bag and tossed it over his shoulder. He held his unfinished apple in the other hand.
Vaughan gathered his bag then ensured he had everything. By the time he was done, Nefertiti was standing at the door. Vaughan stopped to pick her up.
“Okay, your highness, we’re going on a trip,” he said, kissing her head. “Come on, let’s find your favorite toys.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Once Frederick and Vaughan left Vaughan’s place, they were on their way to Patrick’s home in Charlotte, Vermont. Frederick recognized the homes because he’d visited a couple when his parents had friends near here. It was a gorgeous place, with very few residences in the area due to the small ponds surrounding the properties. His parents had entertained moving here, but his father didn’t like the time it would’ve taken to commute to the hospital and his practice.
Since Frederick didn’t want to be spotted, he asked Vaughan would it be fine if they stopped at a drive-thru for something to eat. He’d worked up quite an appetite with all the excitement for the morning, and as he’d thought, he was definitely ready for a nap. For this reason, Vaughan drove them to Patrick’s residence. Besides that, Vaughan knew the exact location while Frederick did not.
Halfway to dreamland, Frederick was awakened by his phone ringing in his pocket. The song Frederick had picked for Deena blared from the cellphone’s internal speaker, sounding more like a synth party in his clothes than just a phone.
“Hello, love.”
Vaughan eyed him curiously, but kept driving.
“Deena?” Frederick said, on purpose so Vaughan wouldn’t think he was talking to anyone else.
“Frederick, are you okay?”
“Yes, of course. Why wouldn’t I be? Did something happen at the press conference?”
“No, no, it went well. Get ready for a ton of flowers, cards, and everything to come your way though through the PR company. Everyone sent their well wishes. You sound tired though. Have you eaten? Have you started taking those vitamins I gave you? Have you—”
Frederick laughed and changed the phone from one end of his face to the other. “Lovely, I’m fine. I told you don’t worry about me, okay? Go back to Los Angeles and do the career you love. I have more than enough support here with Vaughan and my parents.”
“Oh Freddy! I … I don’t want to leave. I’m going to miss you.”
“Deena, it’s not forever. We’ll see each other soon. You need to get out there and find a man. Tell you what? Go back for now and when we return, I’ll ask Vaughan about introducing you to his friends from the Marine corps. How about that?”
Deena said nothing. He could tell by the silence she was upset.
“Ah, Freddy. I don’t want you to think I’m not happy about you finally having a boyfriend, but … well damn, it just seems like you don’t need me anymore.”
Frederick laughed. “Don’t need you? Love, I will always need you. You’re my best friend. You’ve been with me through thick and thin. None of that changes, Deena. Ever.”
“Oh, Freddy! Do you mean that? I mean, gosh you have me crying right now.”
Vaughan drove the car up a paved driveway until it stopped at a grey frame house with well-manicured shrubbery on each side.
Frederick looked over at Vaughan, who didn’t bother saying a word.
“Don’t cry, Deena. I’m happy. I want you to be happy, too. You should be glad you don’t have to babysit me, the lame ass anymore.”
“Oh, Freddy. You’re not lame. Special, a little touched in the head, but not lame. You’re the coolest violinist I know.”
“I might be the only one, but we won’t discuss that now. Listen, I have to go. I’ll call you in a few days, all right? Now officially starts my vacation, and I must say goodbye.”
“Okay, don’t do anything I would do.” Deena laughed.
Frederick glanced at Vaughan again and smiled wryly. “Oh no, Deena, I positively will do everything you would do. Bye, love.” Frederick heard her say bye and he clicked the disconnect. “So. Six or so days with no one to disturb us?”
“That’s the plan,” Vaughan said, pulling out his bag and tossing it over his shoulder before reaching into the trunk for Frederick’s. “Patrick had the fridge stocked so we won’t have to really leave for a few days. You remember the DJ from the party, right? The large Russian?”
“Yes, I do.”
“He’s ready to settle down. Good guy, loyal, maybe he’d be perfect for Deena.”
“Oh good, even though Miss Deena said she’d like to take both on.” Frederick snickered. “Perhaps he could convince her that one is all she needs. Just someone special.” Frederick reached over and caressed Vaughan’s cheek.
Vaughan dropped a quick kiss to Frederick’s lips then smiled. “Viktor doesn’t share. He may look like a playboy, but he isn’t.”
“Then he might be the exact one to settle her down then.” Frederick looked over his shoulder and into the backseat where Nefertiti was jumping up and down. “Are you ready, Your Majesty? This place looks to be perfect for us.”
“Hold on to her, Freddy. This is new territory, and I don’t remember if the backyard is fenced in,” Vaughan said, walking toward the front door.
Frederick reached over and grabbed her, then got out of the car. “Whoa, absolutely gorgeous.” Frederick noticed the small flower beds on each side of the house. It mimicked his parents’ home in Reading except for the stone pillars that held the house up as well as the two-car garage to the right.
After he shut the door with his foot, he walked slowly up the concrete steps with Nefertiti in his hands. He could tell she was restless, but he refused to put her down. “C’mon, girl, only a couple of minutes more, hm? Patience.”
“She’s my baby. Don’t be teaching her bad habits,” Vaughan called from the top of a curved staircase. “Let me put these into the bedroom. You can take a look around.”
Frederick watched Vaughan’s backside move in those jeans and grinned. He lifted the dog to his lips, kissing her on the head. “Nef, this place is amazing. The carpet, the hardwood floors. It’s modern, not stuffy like my parents’ place.”
Frederick walked through the living area, which was only partially exposed flooring. A paisley rug covered part of the room, where two sofas sat opposite each other and a fireplace in the middle. The room had two large French styled windows in the back, showcasing a gorgeous view of the backyard leading to the lake. Everything looked so peaceful. Serene. It was the perfect spot to retire to for a few days to unwind with his man and take it easy as Prescott had told him.
“No fence back there, Nef. We’ll have to keep your running around aimlessly in the inside.”
Nefertiti whimpered as if to say she hated that answer.
Frederick walked closer to the windows and stood, gazing at the sun shining on the small body of water with a dock. He wondered if Patrick owned a boat. Frederick assumed he did since there was plenty of space for him to own one.
Vaughan’s footsteps carried down the stairs until he made an appearance. Nefertiti wiggled so much in Frederick’s arms, and when Vaughan took her, she barked as if having a conversation, telling Vaughan what a meanie Frederick had been. Vaughan laughed. “Freddy, what did you do to my queen?”
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“I told her she might have to stay inside to run around. There isn’t any fencing in back, just the pond.” Frederick turned to Vaughan. “Should we take a walk outside to have a look, or do you have better ideas?”
Vaughan laughed. “She has to go do her thing first. I have a leash, so I’ll take her out for a run.”
“All right.” Frederick leaned in and kissed Vaughan. “You do that, and I’ll make myself comfortable for your return.”
****
Vaughan took Nefertiti out and had her run around on the leash. He didn’t mind—truth be told he needed the workout, too. When they returned, he stopped at the car to grab her food and two new bowls they’d picked on the drive over. Balancing them in one hand he held Nefertiti’s leash in the other and entered the house. As he did so, Nefertiti began barking. Vaughan knew she hated the leash, so he set the bag of food down to unhook her. She darted across the space, sliding on the floor almost hitting the wall.
“Slow down, Queenie!” He sighed. It was like he was yelling at his kid.
Before going to search for Frederick, he set up Nefertiti’s meal and water bowls in the kitchen then managed to corral her and bring her to where they were. This way she would know where food was located in this house. She sniffed at the bowls, glancing up at him while wagging her tail.
“Yes, they’re yours,” Vaughan said, hunching down to pick up a few pieces of her meal and holding it out to her. Nefertiti sniffed at them before gobbling the pieces. Once it was proven that it was her food she ignored him and went to eating. He smiled and patted her rump.
Vaughan found Frederick lounging in the living room. The remote sat beside Frederick on the sofa, but the large television was off. Vaughan stood behind the sofa, leaned over and kissed the side of Frederick’s head while sliding his palms from Frederick’s shoulders to his waist. “You know, my son, if you turn it on the pictures will come.”
Frederick chuckled. “I had it on, but then I promptly turned it off when I saw Delaney answering a barrage of questions about me disappearing. He handled it well, I might add. And then a reporter asked about my new lover boy who carried me out of the venue a few nights ago. That was my cue to push the power button.”
Love at the Right Tempo Page 23