Only Box Set

by Lane, Shawn;

  But he was getting way ahead of himself. They’d just started seeing other and certainly weren’t close to having difficulties.

  “Hey there.” Barnaby’s head appeared around the cubicle wall.

  “Hi, Barnaby. I’m surprised you’re still here.”

  Barnaby nodded. “Doing some overtime. You look happy. Love life treating you well?”

  Darrell smiled a little at Barnaby’s knowing smirk. “Pretty good.”

  “At least things are going well for one of us.”

  Darrell pushed away from his desk and stood. “Problems? I’m surprised to hear it. I’d expect you’d have a different man at your beck and call every night.”

  Barnaby shrugged. “Have fun tonight. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”

  Darrell studied him for a few seconds. There was something definitely off about the young blond. “You’re quite subdued.”

  Barnaby’s raised one eyebrow. “Me? Hardly. Have a good night.”

  He decided he wouldn’t push it. Though he’d been getting friendlier with Barnaby lately they still weren’t good enough friends for him to be too nosey.

  Darrell had just gotten into his car when his cell phone rang. His caller ID indicated it was his little brother, Micah. “What’s up kiddo?”

  “Nothing much. Just wondering if you wanted to go see a movie or something.”

  “I’m busy tonight, actually.” It felt strange to actually be able to say that.

  He figured his brother thought it was strange, too, considering the lengthy silence. He cleared his throat. “Micah?”

  “You working late?”

  “No, I have a date.”

  More heavy silence. “A-a date?”

  God, was he that pathetic to his family? “Well…uh…I’m seeing someone.”

  “You mean you have a boyfriend?”

  Darrell grimaced. “You don’t have to sound quite so incredulous. Yes, I think I do, yes.”

  Micah chuckled. “Sorry, I just, well, you’re not that outgoing so I was a bit surprised that’s all. When do we get to meet him?”

  “Meet him?” Darrell shook his head, forgetting for a moment Micah couldn’t see him. “It’s a bit early for that.”

  “Bring him to the family dinner a week from Sunday.”

  Darrell’s stomach twisted. “I’ll think about it.”

  “You know Mama will insist as soon as she hears.”

  Oh, hell.

  “She’s not going to hear, Micah.”

  Micah merely laughed. “Talk to you later.”

  Darrell glared at his phone and tossed it on the seat next to him. If he didn’t get going he would be late.

  Chapter 8

  Travis reluctantly opened the passenger door of Darrell’s sedan. He’d just parked and turned it off in front of his mother’s house. They’d been seeing each other for two solid weeks now and somehow Travis had been talked into this family dinner.

  Given his experience with Alan’s family, Travis was more than a little nervous. Of course, at one time he’d gotten along with Alan’s family. Before Alan’s drinking got to be too much for any of them to handle, really, and before the accident.

  Resting his hand against the roof of the car, Travis studied the single-family home situated in the Los Angeles suburb of Culver City. Darrell had told him his older brother bought the house for his mother five years before. It was a simple ranch-style painted a pale blue with white trim.

  “Okay?” Darrell asked.

  “Sure.” He forced a smile and followed Darrell up the walkway to the house. He was a trial attorney who faced tough opponents every damn day.

  Get a grip.

  Darrell reached for his hand and gave it a quick squeeze. He twisted the knob. “Mama? It’s Darrell.”

  They stepped down a short hallway and turned left into what was apparently a living room. On an elegant mauve sofa sat a middle-aged African American woman, with her ear to a phone. She smiled briefly at them.

  “Jen? I have to go, my son has arrived. Yes, I’ll call you later. Bye.” She rose and came toward them. “Darrell, how lovely.”

  “Mama, how are you feeling?”

  Mrs. Lincoln was an attractive woman with high cheekbones and sparkling dark eyes. She wore her hair pulled tight into a severe bun and was dressed in an A-Line black skirt with an ivory blouse. She offered her cheek to her son, who quickly kissed her.

  “I’m all right. I do have a smidge of a headache. This must be your…friend.”

  Travis heard the slight hitch in her voice, but he pretended not to and smiled, taking the hand she gave to him.

  “Yes, this is my mother, Olivia Lincoln,” Darrell said to Travis.

  “Travis Anderson, Mrs. Lincoln.”

  “I’m pleased to meet you, Travis. As I’m sure my son has told you, he’s never brought a man to meet us before. I’m glad you could join us for dinner.”

  “Thank you for inviting me.”

  She smiled. “Well, I’m going to go check on dinner. Micah is getting it ready. It’s just simple spaghetti.”

  “Sounds great.”

  Mrs. Lincoln left the living room and Darrell turned to him. “You look nervous.”

  “I am,” he admitted.

  “It’s fine,” Darrell assured him. “Nothing to worry about. Would you like a drink? We should have beer or wine.”

  “A glass of wine would be great.”

  Darrell patted his shoulder. “Red okay? I think she has some pinot noir.”

  “Great.”

  And then he was alone in Mrs. Lincoln’s living room. He wondered if he ought to sit. Besides the mauve couch, there were two chairs. One green easy chair and one rose colored high back Queen Anne style chair. He decided the easy chair would be much more comfortable and lowered himself into it.

  He straightened when he heard footsteps. Travis hoped it would be Darrell, because his palms were sweating at the prospect of making small talk with Mrs. Lincoln.

  “Here you go,” Darrell said, coming into the room. He handed the glass of wine to Travis. “Looks like dinner is ready.”

  Travis stood. “Good, I’m starved.”

  * * * *

  After dinner, Travis followed Darrell out into his mother’s backyard. She had a large running fountain shaped like a fairy. Next to that was an extravagant vegetable garden.

  “Mama spends a lot of time out here,” Darrell explained.

  “It’s really nice.”

  Darrell closed his hand over Travis’s. “I think it went well. Mama and Micah both seemed to really like you.”

  Travis smiled. “Yeah? I hope so. I was on my best behavior.”

  “I admit I was a bit nervous.” Darrell glanced toward the back door and then pulled Travis closer. Their lips met. It was a soft, gentle kiss Travis suspected was meant to be brief. But he opened his mouth and the other man’s tongue plunged in and his arms closed around Travis’s waist.

  Travis put his arms around Darrell’s neck even as the kiss deepened.

  The sliding glass door slid open and Darrell tore his mouth away, almost pushing him. They broke apart in a hurry, Travis feeling the heat in his cheeks. Damn, when did he go back to being embarrassed at being gay? He didn’t like the feeling, even though he supposed he understood where Darrell was coming from.

  Mrs. Lincoln cleared her throat. “Micah could use some help in the kitchen with dessert, Darrell.”

  Darrell smiled sheepishly. “Be right there.” He went past his mother into the house.

  Travis waited for her to follow her son, but instead she walked farther outside and closed the slider. Small talk time. “Your garden is really spectacular. I’ve never been able to grow anything.”

  “Thank you. It’s my pride and joy. Other than my sons, of course.” She came to stand next to him by the fountain. “I wonder if I might have a word with you.”

  “Sure.”

  “This isn’t an easy subject so I’ll just get straight to the point. I’
d prefer it if you stopped seeing my son.”

  Travis froze, his spine stiffening. Of all the things he had expected her to say, which really he’d had no clue what he had expected her to say, that wouldn’t have been in the top five. So, stupidly, he stared.

  She held up a hand. “Let me explain before you judge me a monster. I’ve been forced to raise my three boys pretty much alone their whole lives. Even before my husband was killed he was hardly much of a father to them. I try to focus them on the positive, but the truth is my husband drank away much of the money he earned at his odd jobs. He was killed outside that bar because he and his friend were always at that bar. My point being, I’ve worked hard to be both a father and mother to those boys.”

  Travis sensed when she paused that she expected some sort of acknowledgement from him, so he said, “Okay.”

  She didn’t look at him, but rather at the fountain. She crossed her arms across her chest. “Being African American, Darrell automatically faced prejudice in this world. When he told me he was gay I admit I was pretty upset.”

  He didn’t say anything this time, but he knew already the direction she was going. Or thought he did anyway.

  Mrs. Lincoln sighed. “I was afraid for him being black and gay. I love my son, so I had to accept. I thought, maybe someday, long into the future, Darrell would bring home a man he wanted to have a relationship with, but I expected that man to be African American like Darrell.”

  Travis exhaled slowly.

  “I don’t want my son hurt and I can’t help but believe that adding yet another thing against him can’t be good.”

  “And you think being with me is a thing against him?” he asked with a calmness he didn’t really feel. He’d had experience with a lover’s difficult family. Alan’s family had been different, of course. They expected him to save Alan from himself.

  “I’m not trying to be cruel, Travis, but an interracial relationship as Darrell’s first real relationship is not good for him. That is why, I’m asking as his mother, for you to stop seeing him. Now, before things get more involved.”

  The back door opened and Micah called out, “Dessert is served.”

  * * * *

  Darrell drove away from his mother’s house feeling distinctly uneasy. Travis had become very quiet over dessert. He responded when spoken to, and had even offered a smile or two, but something had definitely changed. His gut twisted with tension.

  “Thanks again for meeting my family.”

  “Sure.”

  He swallowed. “You must be pretty tired.”

  “Yeah, I am,” Travis said softly. “In fact, you know, I have an early case Monday and there are some documents I left at home. You should probably take me home instead of to your place.”

  Uh-oh, not good.

  “Of course we can stop at your place,” Darrell said, purposely misunderstanding.

  “No, I mean, just take me home.”

  “Travis—”

  “I’m just tired, Darrell.”

  He wanted to say Travis could sleep at his house, but guessed he would be fighting a losing battle. The muscle in his jaw jumped as he tightened his jaw. “Okay, no problem.”

  Darrell wanted to ask what happened. Was it something his family said to him, but he was getting too upset and he didn’t want to deal with it while he was driving.

  When they reached Travis’s house, the man got out without looking at him. His hand hesitated on the car door. “See you Monday, Darrell.”

  Chapter 9

  Darrell stared unseeingly at his computer screen. He’d barely seen Travis since the Saturday they’d gone to meet his family. It was now the following Thursday.

  He closed his eyes. He was going to have to quit. If this was Travis’s way of breaking up with him, and it was pretty damn cowardly Darrell thought, then he would have to quit. It had been a terrible idea to get involved with Travis in the first place.

  “Stupid,” he muttered to himself and shut off his computer. It was late. After six already. He might as well go home to his lonely empty condo.

  “Hey, D, you leaving?” Barnaby stopped in front of his cubicle. “I was just heading out myself.”

  “Is Travis still here?”

  “Yeah, he’s in his office. Came back from that trial about an hour ago. Closed the door and haven’t heard from him since.” Barnaby shrugged. “I got a date so I’m blowing the place. You want to walk out with me?”

  Darrell nearly agreed. But…this was bullshit. If Travis didn’t want to see him anymore the man was going to say so. He’d been moping around all week and hadn’t gotten a straight answer, but he sure as hell wouldn’t leave the office tonight without one.

  “No, I’m going to see Travis. Have a good night, Barnaby.”

  Darrell walked down the long hallway to Travis’s office. He hesitated outside the door, his fist raised to knock. Then he lowered his hand. Suddenly he felt less sure, more defeated. He wasn’t the aggressive type. Not over stuff like this. It was true though, he’d never had experience with broken relationships.

  Grimacing, Darrell rapped on the door.

  “You can go home, Barnaby,” Travis’s voice called through the door.

  He twisted the knob. “It’s not Barnaby.”

  Sitting behind his big oak desk, Travis looked up from his paperwork. “Oh, hi.”

  “Look, I don’t want to take up a lot of your time.” Darrell closed the door and came forward.

  Travis nodded and gestured to a chair in front of his desk. “Have a seat.”

  He took the chair and folded his hands in his lap, feeling awkward. He ducked his chin for a moment, but then raised his gaze to look at Travis. “Can I ask what I did?”

  Travis set the pen he held tightly in his grasp on his desk. He inhaled. “Darrell, I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you. I guess it’s not easy.”

  “You don’t want to see me anymore,” Darrell supplied.

  “I think that would be for the best.”

  “Why?”

  The other man frowned. “Why?”

  “I thought we were doing pretty well. Now, all of a sudden, you’ve shut down on me. I think I have a right to know what happened.”

  Travis looked away.

  “At least look at me.”

  Travis did, then, but he didn’t look happy about it. “You want to know why, okay. I think you do deserve to know, because I really do like you, Darrell. A lot. Your mother asked me to stop seeing you.”

  Darrell stared at him dumbfounded. “She what?”

  “She said she didn’t approve of us.”

  For a moment, he thought maybe he had entered Twilight Zone. He shook his head. “I don’t get it. Why didn’t you just tell me this? And why would you listen to her, Travis? It’s my life.”

  “I know, but she’s your mother.” Travis sighed and ran his hand through his blond hair. “I really hate the idea of coming between you and your family, Darrell.”

  Darrell was torn between relief that Travis’s problem with him was incredibly fixable and irritation at his mother for interfering in his budding relationship. He supposed he should have guessed.

  “So basically when my mother told me she accepted my being gay she meant as long as I didn’t become involved with someone. I guess it’s easy to accept someone when they don’t have a partner, but not so easy when you’re faced with it.”

  “Well, she specifically mentioned my being white.”

  For a moment he saw red, but after blowing out a breath, he forced himself to calm down. “You’d think someone who had lived with so much prejudice her whole life wouldn’t resort to it herself.”

  “Darrell—”

  “Travis, while I appreciate you not wanting to get between me and my family, that’s really not a problem. The only one who can cause problems with me is them. You aren’t the cause.”

  “You say that now, but what about down the road? What if it got bad enough that they didn’t want to see you or in order
for them to see you, then you had to go by yourself?”

  “That’s still on them, not you. Look, my mother would probably have trouble accepting anyone I wanted to be with unless they were an African American woman ready to have a bunch of babies. That’s not ever going to happen.”

  Travis reached across the desk and took hold of his hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about this before.”

  He nodded. “I know. Just don’t let my mother win. She doesn’t get to say who I’m with. And believe me, I intend to have a long talk with her. I like you a lot, Travis. I mean, I really like you, and I think we could have something really great together.”

  Travis smiled. “I feel the same.”

  Darrell returned the smile, his mood much lighter than it had been all week. “Good, because I think I should quit.”

  “What?”

  He almost laughed at the look of surprise on Travis’s face. “Think about it. We are involved in a relationship now and it’s only going to get more serious. This past week, I’ve been miserable working here and you’ve avoided me like the plague.”

  “I can do better.”

  “With my job skills and a great reference from here, I should be able to find a good job somewhere else.”

  “Damn, I hate this.”

  He smiled. “Me, too, but you know I’m right.”

  Travis sighed. “Maybe.”

  “I like working here, but I like you even more. Look, a guy like you liking a guy like me? It just doesn’t happen. You’re the kind of guy I had a crush on in high school. Pretty, athletic, popular.”

  Travis opened his desk drawer, fiddled with something inside, and then stood and came around the desk. He knelt in front of Darrell and took both of his hands in his. “You’re wrong.”

  “What?” Darrell blinked.

  “I’m the lucky one. You’re really terrific. I’ve been attracted to you since you first walked into the office for your interview.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Oh, yeah. But like you said, you were an employee. And you were so damn shy sometimes. I’d try to get you to talk to me and you’d freeze up.”

  “When was that?” Darrell asked, bemused.

  “All the time. At the coffee maker, in the hallway. Remember the Fourth of July potluck? I tried to talk to you, but you ended up in the corner of the room talking to Mary.”