by Alexa Land
“I know,” I said, looking up at him and running my fingers down his cheek. “But it’s behind us, where it belongs, along with all those other bad things. And our job now is to look forward, instead of back.”
“Do you really think it’s possible to put the past behind us?”
“Absolutely.”
“Okay. So how do we do that?”
“We do that,” I said, “together.”
Chapter Sixteen
“I can’t believe I agreed to this.”
“Just go with it,” I whispered to Brian. It was a couple weeks later, and we were in my apartment because we’d been summoned there by Nana. When she found out I hadn’t spent a single night here since the break-in, she had decided it was high time to eradicate the ‘bad juju’ in this place. I’d actually been spending every night at Brian’s house lately, not because of bad juju, but simply because that was where Brian was.
She was determined to do this for me though, despite being really busy planning Christopher and Kieran’s Fourth of July wedding, which was in just over three weeks. She’d called us a couple hours ago and announced we’d be performing a cleansing ritual that afternoon. Apparently, she’d roped in the Wiccan granddaughter of a friend of hers to help.
But Nana was running late. Brian and I, along with Christopher and Kieran, sat cross-legged on my living room floor, waiting for her. Sarah Meier, the granddaughter in question, sat with us, a Kindle on her lap and a Trader Joe’s shopping bag beside her. Not to stereotype, but she didn’t look much like a Wiccan. I’d kind of expected long, flowing hair and long, flowing skirts. Instead, Sarah was a soccer mom with a short, no-nonsense bob, jeans, and an L.L. Bean fleece jacket. Her attitude was no-nonsense, too. She took this stuff very seriously. As far as she was concerned, she was here to perform a basic public service. Never mind that that service fell under the heading of witchcraft.
Finally, about fifteen minutes after the designated start time, Nana rang the buzzer. When I opened the door to the apartment, I had to smile. She, unlike the actual Wiccan, had dressed for the occasion.
Nana and her six clones burst into the apartment, chattering and excited. Each tiny eighty-year-old wore a Chanel suit in a cheery Easter egg color and carried a handbag big enough to smuggle a Thanksgiving turkey. And each was sporting a tall, black, pointy witch hat.
“Seriously?” Sarah Meier muttered under her breath. She was not amused. But I sure as hell was.
“Sorry we’re late,” Nana said. “You know how hard it is to find witch hats this time of year?”
“That really wasn’t necessary,” Sarah told her.
“Sure it was. What fun is doing witchcraft if you’re not dressed for the occasion?” Nana said. Then she asked, “Where’s yours?”
“I don’t have a hat like that,” Sarah replied haughtily.
“Oh, no problem,” Nana told her. “We got extra.”
She produced a stack of hats out of a big shopping bag and plopped one down on Sarah’s head, then did the same to Brian, Christopher, Kieran and me. Sarah started to take the hat off, but I shot her a look and whispered, “I really wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
“Why not?”
“Because no one crosses Stana Dombruso,” I told her ominously, fighting back a smile. Sarah thought that over for a beat, then left the hat in place.
“Alright,” she muttered, “let’s get this over with.”
She fired up her Kindle and I asked, “What’s that for?”
“All my spells are in here,” she said. Gotta love twenty-first century witchcraft.
For the next half hour, chants and prayers were said, trinkets were utilized, and various substances were burned. I tried to take it seriously, but kept sneaking glances at the clock. I didn’t believe this would actually accomplish anything, but at least Nana was having a good time. She’d put on her huge glasses, the ones that made her look like an owl, and was paying rapt attention, participating enthusiastically whenever the ritual called for group involvement.
Finally, some kind of conclusion was reached, and Sarah pulled the hat off her head, then announced unceremoniously, “Okay, that’s it.”
“Mazel tov!” The little Nana clone in the bright coral suit exclaimed. All the ladies leapt to their feet, and someone popped the cork on a bottle of champagne. Nana pulled out her phone and pushed a button, then yelled into the receiver, “It’s done, all the bad juju is gone! Come on up!”
“Who were you talking to, Nana?” I asked.
“Everybody!” was her reply. She bustled across my apartment, swinging the front door open.
In less than a minute, people began filtering in by the dozens. Trevor and River led the way, carrying huge trays of food. “I hired ‘em because I wanted more of them stuffed mushrooms,” Nana said. “Only now, River knows to add a touch more parmesan. He’s gonna be a top-notch caterer, just you wait and see. Especially now that I’ve taken him and his business partner under my wing.”
“Business partner?” I asked.
“That’d be me,” Trevor said with an embarrassed smile, setting the food on my kitchen island.
“Oh!” I exclaimed. “When did that happen?”
“Yesterday,” he told me, peeling back layers of plastic wrap and revealing some great-looking sandwiches. “Nana wants to help River launch his business, but thinks he shouldn’t go it alone. She suggested we team up, and we actually think it’s a good idea.”
“That’s awesome.”
“It is.”
“So how’ve you been?” I asked. “Have you heard from your cousin Melody?” I’d last seen him four days ago, when we both volunteered at Lunch with Love.
“I’ve been okay, and I haven’t heard a word. I still think she’ll show up sooner or later, though,” Trevor said.
Dante appeared beside me, a bulging canvas shopping bag draped over his arm. “Hey, Hunter,” he said, “Congratulations on ridding your home of all the bad juju.” His amusement was unmistakable. “We didn’t know what to bring to an impromptu post-Wiccan-cleansing house party.”
“But then we thought, booze,” his husband Charlie finished for him as he stepped through the gathering crowd, grinning as he took the bag from Dante and handed it to me.
“Thanks,” I said with a smile, depositing the tote on the kitchen counter. Then I asked, “So, do you have any idea who all these people are?”
“Well, let’s see.” Dante looked around, then pointed out various groups around the room. “That’d be most of my extended family. And that’s Nana’s Ma Jong group. That man over there is her hairdresser, Mr. Mario, along with what I believe is the entire staff of his salon. Oh, and that group, I’m pretty sure, is from Nana’s gun club. The camouflage is kind of a tip-off. Beyond that, no clue.”
“Well, okay then.”
Brian appeared beside me, already eyeing the sandwiches. “Those look damn good,” he said.
Nana overheard him and exclaimed, “Like I said before, that cute little River boy has a gift.” He was arranging a big tray of desserts a few feet away, and grinned embarrassedly. “That’s why I’m getting him to cater Christopher and Kieran’s wedding,” she said. A momentary look of panic crossed River’s face, but Trevor shot him a reassuring smile.
“I still don’t think that’s a good idea,” River said.
“Sure it is!” Nana replied. “Good ideas are the only kind I come up with.”
As Trevor continued to set up the food, he said, “This is an amazing apartment, Hunter.”
“Thanks. I’m probably going to have to sell it, though. My agent informed me this week that my production company is suing me for breach of contract, because I quit the industry before making one last film for them.”
“Didn’t that schmuck call you?” Nana asked me, hands on her hips. She still wore the two-foot-tall witch hat.
“Which schmuck, exactly?”
“Your agent. He was supposed to call you and let you know the lawsuit’s being
dropped.”
My eyes went wide with surprise. “It is? Why?”
“Because I went and talked to him after you told me you were being sued. I convinced him that your last film should be a retrospective, made from clips of all your films. The Best of Hunter Storm. Only, he’ll probably give it a racier title. That way, you don’t have to get back in front of the camera.”
“And he agreed?”
Nana grinned at me. “You say that as if he had a choice.”
“Did you threaten him?”
“See, that’s a common misconception that people have about those of us in the family business,” she said. “We don’t threaten. We persuade.”
“Well, thank you, Nana, I really appreciate your help. I wish there was some way to repay you.”
“There is,” she said. “I seen all of them posters of you that they got down at that production company. That’s some caboose you got there. Me,” she said, slapping her bottom with both hands, “I got no caboose at all. So I’m thinking, maybe you can come to the gym with me and show me a few exercises. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I can turn heads just fine like this. But I figure, if I work out a bit, then I can get me some of them designer jeans and really make the cougar hunters swoon.”
I smiled at her and said, “What does Mr. Dombruso think about you turning the young guys’ heads?”
“That man was dumb enough to stray once. It serves him right to keep him on his toes.”
She had a point.
Later on, when Brian and I were curled up in a relatively quiet corner, I relaxed against his shoulder and watched the crowd. Everyone was obviously enjoying themselves, with the exception of Vincent, who I spotted across the room. He was standing off to the side, hands folded in front of him, looking like a pallbearer at a funeral. Nana must have coerced him into coming. It was so obvious that he’d rather be anywhere but here.
Suddenly, Vincent was in motion. I wondered what had set him off. And then in one fluid movement, he caught a big tray of glasses that Trevor had been about to drop. I watched as the two of them had some sort of one-sided conversation, which I could have sworn ended in Vincent very nearly smiling.
“Did you see that?” Brian asked. “Good ol’ Vinnie just may have a new man-crush.”
“You think?”
“He’s been staring at Trevor all night. Boy, those two are a weird combination.”
“Weird is good. It works for us.”
“That it does,” Brian said with a grin.
“And if Trevor can coax a smile out of him, then maybe he’s the perfect person for Vincent.”
“Vincent didn’t actually smile,” he pointed out.
“No, but he almost did. Trevor gets points for coming close, like in horseshoes.”
Brian chuckled at that. “Like in horseshoes? What does equestrian footwear have to do with anything?”
I grinned and said, “The game of horseshoes, city boy. You know, where you chuck horseshoes at a stick and call it entertainment? You get points even if you miss.”
“Ah, okay. Now I get it.”
I put my head back on his shoulder and watched the crowd. “You know,” I said after a while, “I wasn’t convinced that the Wiccan ceremony was going to shake the cobwebs out of here, but this party is really doing the trick. It’s nice to see so much positive energy filling this place.”
“Speaking of this apartment,” Brian said, “I have something I want to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“When Kieran and Christopher get married, I want to sign the house over to them as a wedding present. So I wanted to ask if I could stay here with you until I find an apartment.”
“Of course. And wow, that’s huge. Are you sure you want to do that? I mean, you grew up in that house.”
“Kieran did too, and after all he’s done for me, I feel like I want to say thank you in a big way. He always loved that house, and I think it would be a really nice gift for him and Christopher as they begin their lives together.”
I kissed him and said, “You’re a sweet man, Brian Nolan.”
“Shhh.” He pressed a finger to my lips, his blue eyes sparkling. “Not so loud. You’re going to shatter my reputation as a straight-up douchebag.”
I wrapped my arms around him and cuddled a bit closer. “You don’t have that reputation.”
“Anymore.”
“Anymore,” I repeated with a big grin. “So, we have a little over three weeks to finish fixing up the house. I think that’s doable.”
“I think so, too.” Then he added, “If you’d rather not have me stay here, it’s fine to say no, by the way. I can figure something else out until I find a place.”
“We haven’t wanted to spend a single day apart since we got back together,” I pointed out. “Why on Earth wouldn’t I want you here with me? I don’t even think it should be temporary, you should just move in.”
“That’s crazy talk,” he said with a smile.
“I know. But still.”
“I want to take you up on that, which proves I’m just as crazy as you are. But it’s way too soon to talk about moving in together. I mean, we haven’t even…you know…”
“Consummated our relationship?” I wiggled my eyebrows at him playfully, and he chuckled.
“Yeah. That.” While we’d certainly messed around plenty over the past couple weeks, we hadn’t actually progressed beyond oral sex.
“It’ll happen when we’re ready.”
“I was thinking,” he said, “That maybe I am ready. So, you should let me know when you are.”
I sat up and looked at him. “Really?” He nodded, a little grin playing on his lips. “Well, I’m definitely ready, too.”
“Would it be rude to pull the fire alarm and clear all these people out of here?” His grin graduated to a big smile.
I laughed and said, “Oh, so you’re ready now.”
“Well, okay, we don’t have to do it right this very minute. I can wait a couple more hours.”
“You sure today’s the day? This is a big deal to you, and we shouldn’t rush into it.”
“How could this possibly be construed as rushing?”
“I just want to make sure you’ve given it some thought.”
“Oh, believe me, I’ve been thinking about it plenty. I even went so far as to have an STD test last week when I went in for my physical, just to make sure we were all systems go.” He flashed me two thumbs up. “It all came back just peachy.”
“Peachy, ay?”
“Yes. Peachy. That was my official diagnosis.”
“Coincidentally, I got tested a couple weeks back. I actually do that routinely, every three months, even though I’ve always played safe. My diagnosis was also peachy. If you still want to use condoms, though, that’s understandable.”
Brian raised a brow at me. “You’re fine, I’m fine, and we’re in a monogamous relationship. Why would you think I’d want to use condoms?”
I broke eye contact and began picking at some lint on my dark jeans. “Well, you know what I am.”
“You practiced safe sex in all your films. I’m not worried.”
“I don’t mean the part about me being in porn, though that’s certainly bad enough. I mean the part about me sleeping with half of San Francisco.” After a pause, I said, “I wish I had more to offer you. You deserve better than some stupid slut who thought he could make people love him by giving his body to them.”
He pulled me into a hug, burying his face in my hair. “That’s not what you are, Hunter.”
“It is.”
“You’re completely wrong.”
“Then what am I?”
Brian pulled back to look at me, his arms still around me as he said, “I’ll tell you what you are. You’re a fascinating, complex, intelligent individual. You’re a wacky sense of humor with the face of an angel. You’re my reason to wake up every morning. You’re sweet and sexy and nurturing, and a million and one good things. You’re the man I l
ove, Hunter.” My eyes went wide, and he grinned at me. “Don’t you dare look surprised at that. You know I love you, even if it’s taken me a while to actually say it.”
“I love you, too, Brian.”
“Okay, see, you don’t have to say it just because I said it. I mean—”
I cut him off with a long, deep kiss, and when I finally pulled back a few inches, I grinned at him and said, “Let’s try that again. I love you, Brian.”
“So, I get that it would seem awkward to leave my declaration of love just hanging there, but still, it’s not like you’re obligated to—” I cut him off with another kiss, and when we came up for air the next time, he was smiling. “I have absolutely no incentive to stop my insecure ramblings. Not if you shut me up with a big kiss each time.”
I smiled too. “You’re a total dork. And I completely love you.”
“I completely love you too.” After another kiss he asked, “Can we pull that fire alarm yet?”
“Nope.”
“Damn. Don’t these people have homes? What are they still doing here?”
“Having a darn good time, by the looks of it.”
Brian sighed and said, “Don’t they understand that I need to be inside you? That I’ve waited weeks and weeks, and another couple hours just might kill me?”
My cock throbbed in response to that, but I said lightly, “No. I’m pretty sure they don’t understand that.”
“Maybe they’d take the hint and leave if I tied you naked to the buffet table and started rimming you.”
“Nah. They’d probably just take out their camera phones.”
“Probably. Bunch of degenerates.”
“I love the way your eyes sparkle when you’re amused,” I told him.
“Oh man. This is what it’s going to be like now that we’ve declared our love for one another, isn’t it? We’re going to turn into one of those sappy couples that are all like,” he raised his voice a couple octaves, “I love your nose, and, I love the way you chew your food, and, I love the way you squeeze the toothpaste from the center of the tube.” In his normal tone of voice he added, “By the way, I don’t love that. Normal people squeeze it from the end. Were you raised by toothless chimpanzees?”