by M. A. Innes
It had to be them. I couldn’t think of anyone else who would do something like that. And the list of people who knew Kevin and I were related was really small. Bryan and Maddox were too honest and too nice, and the therapists had that medical confidentiality stuff which kept them from calling the cops unless I was actually hurting him, or we were going to hurt ourselves. Dr. Sheppard knew us better than that. And at the very least, Bryan would have probably picked up gossip around the office that would have given us a clue something was wrong.
No, it had to be them.
As we started talking about plans for the drive up and how many cars to take, the server came back with our food. Bryan had settled on a spicy black bean burger with sweet potato fries, calling that enough vegetables to get him dessert for a week. Maddox had gone with a stir fry that looked pretty good. Kevin and I were boring and totally unhealthy, ordering oversized burgers and regular fries.
Bryan gave our food longing looks but declared his burger, “Not too bad.”
True to his word, Kevin dug into the cake he’d ordered, but he also went back and forth taking bites of the burger and fries, so it probably wasn’t that bad. As we ate, we finalized the plans even though we were still weeks away and talked about other stuff they wanted to do.
“My mother has called twice this week wanting to see when I’m coming to visit. She’s got some kind of party planned, and I think she’s trying to get me to make an appearance.” Maddox’s face tightened up at the mention of his family.
They weren’t as crazy as ours, but they were right up there, so I could understand his frustration. Kevin gave him a confused look, trying to piece things together. “Are you talking with your dad then?”
Maddox snorted and shook his head. “Nope. He’s never home when she calls. No surprise there. And she doesn’t mention him at all. I’m not sure what she’s smoking, but I’m not going back when there’s a really good chance he’s going to lose it again.”
“Dinner with them was interesting enough when he had an audience. I’m not sure we need to see him when there’s nothing to stop him from going postal.” Bryan glanced over at Maddox, concerned at how he was taking the comments.
“No, you’re right. He’s not physically abusive, but verbally, it’s another story.” Maddox leaned over and gave Bryan a kiss before looking at us. “Dr. Sheppard’s been working me in once in a while, so I can understand my parents better.”
“I think that’s a great idea.” Kevin gave them an approving smile. “Having someone to talk to makes a big difference when shit goes wrong. You two have each other, and I have Jeremy, but sometimes having that outside person who can tell you objectively if you’re overreacting or if you’re not seeing it clearly is important.”
“You’re right. It’s been good. And having that authority figure who can tell you it’s okay to set boundaries and protect yourself makes all the difference.” Maddox looked over at Bryan and reached under the table to squeeze his hand. “I’m feeling better about it all and with the business doing so well, if they refuse to pay for school or things keep deteriorating, we’ll be fine. And that takes a load off.”
“Absolutely. And I think with the changes to the website and the advertising you were talking about, your business is only going to continue to grow.” Maddox had a good head for business, and it was easy to see how successful he was going to be.
“He just needs to figure out how to manage it, so it doesn’t get overwhelming when school’s in session.” Bryan gave Maddox a long, serious look before glancing back over at us. It was clear they’d had the discussion more than once. “He’s not going to do summer classes or try to push through faster, but he was crazy busy that last two months of the spring semester.”
“He is right here and will balance things out better.” Maddox grinned and seemed to poke Bryan because Bryan barked out a laugh and twisted in the seat.
“Stop that. Eat your dinner so I can have dessert.”
Laughing, Maddox nodded. “Of course, how could I forget?”
Hearing their talk about dessert had Kevin looking longingly at his empty plate; the only remains of the cake were some smears of chocolate. “The cheesecake looked good. Why don’t you get a piece of that one?”
He gave me a pathetically overacted puppy dog look. If anyone wanted cheesecake, it wasn’t me. “I should get it, huh?”
“Yup. You might even need two pieces. You’re clearly still hungry.”
“Clearly.” I glanced down at my burger, half-eaten with the fries going cold. I was still more worried than anything, but he was right—the picture had looked good.
“Yup.” He grinned, sensing his victory.
He was probably going to bounce off the walls or go into a sugar coma, but all I wanted to do was to keep the smile on his face. If it took too many desserts to keep it there, I’d deal with it. Real life was going to come crashing back sooner or later.
Chapter 5
Kevin
“Whose idea was it to feed me two desserts? I feel like an overstuffed Thanksgiving turkey.” I yawned and tried to find the energy to walk into the apartment. Getting out of the car sounded like a bad idea. On the bright side, my food coma was keeping the panic at bay. It was hard to worry when I was so full all I wanted to do was sleep.
Jeremy could roll me away from the cops. That would work.
“Yours.” Jeremy reached over and rubbed my stomach. “You’re going to be as round as you are tall if you keep eating like that.”
I sat up in the passenger seat and pushed his hand away. “Hey, I’m not fat!”
“I didn’t say that.” He was trying to look innocent, but the laughter from the back seat kept it from working.
I knew he was trying to keep me distracted, but there was only so much he could do to push the fear away. The fact that there were no police cars in the parking lot made me feel better but not much. “You’re sure this is a good idea?”
“No, but our other option is going on the run or calling the cops back tonight, and I’m not sure we’re ready for either of those.” Jeremy gave me a long look before leaning over and kissing me. “It will be fine. Neither of us did anything wrong.”
Bryan piped up from the back seat. “And let’s face it. If you guys were the only two relatives doing something like this, there wouldn’t be social rules or weird internet memes about it.” He gave us a shrug. “They’re cops. They’ve heard weirder. They probably just have to follow up on it or something.”
I sent up a prayer that it would be that easy.
“You’re right. They’ve got tons of other things to focus on that are much more important and much more dangerous than we are.” Maybe if I said it enough, I’d start to believe it.
Bryan kept going, thinking through the possible outcomes out loud. “Cops don’t want any more bad press, and hassling you two wouldn’t look very good for them. Especially once everything came out.”
“I’m not really trying to end up a TV sensation, but thanks.” One of the only things my parents had done right was to keep me out of the limelight. The phone had rung off the hook for a week or two after it first happened, but once they realized I wouldn’t be making a statement or giving interviews, the news people got bored.
Occasionally, I’d get a random phone call around the anniversary of the attack, but even those had almost stopped. Being shoved into the national spotlight because of my relationship with Jeremy wasn’t something I wanted. Bryan was correct, though. If you framed it right, I’d make a pretty pathetic person to put on TV. It could end up looking bad for the cops.
“So we’re too cute to put on trial?” I was just teasing, but Bryan nodded enthusiastically.
“And the whole thing with Jeremy saving you…can you say made for TV movie?”
“I don’t think that sappy movie channel does stories like ours.” I was mostly serious, but Jeremy was laughing so hard I thought he’d piss himself. “At least, not that I’ve heard.”
Mad
dox was doing his best to keep a straight face. “You didn’t see the incestuous BDSM romance that was on last week? It was really sweet.”
Bryan gave him a disbelieving look. “They’re not going to buy that. They know we don’t have cable.”
“Because that’s the only flaw in that story.” I rolled my eyes and looked over at Jeremy who was giving his best hyena impression. “You’re punch-drunk. Bedtime for you.”
Maddox leaned in close to Bryan. “And for someone else too.”
It was Bryan’s blush more than Maddox’s words that made it obvious what kind of bedtime they were talking about. Before I could even open my mouth, Jeremy’s hand went across it again. He had the best timing…or the worst, in my case. I never got my questions answered.
I shifted my eyes to focus on him and raised an eyebrow. He frowned at me but didn’t move his hand. “Can you behave?”
Probably not but that wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear. Nodding, I crossed my fingers. Besides, Bryan needed someone to keep him on his toes and to make him see that the world wouldn’t end if he talked about stuff.
I was good for him.
“Liar.” He gave me a smile but moved his hand away and pointed to the elevator. “Go on.”
As we piled out of the car and headed toward the building, everyone was still giggling, but I could feel the tension growing. It was like one of those horror movies where the audience knew the shape-shifting clown alien with an ax and evil powers was waiting, but there was nothing that could be done to keep the stupid kids from walking into the dark room.
And no more horror movies for me.
Jeremy took my hand and kept his grip tight as we stepped into the elevator. I pressed myself against him but looked forward and tried to seem functional. It was hard. He already understood I was losing my mind, but I didn’t want to make it any harder on him. He was the one they might be looking to arrest.
When all we saw was a note on the door as we stepped off, we breathed a sigh of relief. No one wanted to touch it though. We walked over to the door and stared at it for several long seconds, but Jeremy didn’t even reach out to grab it. Finally, Maddox found the courage.
Yup, he was the daddy. He got to be in charge this time. Made sense to me.
We watched as he cursed under his breath and took it off the door. He opened it and frowned, then read through it again before looking up at us. “It’s not too bad. It’s odd though.”
“That’s helpful.” Yeah, I was a little sarcastic when I was stressed.
But it broke the tension, and Jeremy reached out to finally take the letter. “What does it say?” If it wasn’t terrible, then I wanted to know.
“It’s weird.”
“We’re going to have to work on your vocabulary, guys. That’s not enough words to make a real sentence.”
They ignored my crazy and focused on the letter. Jeremy shrugged. “It’s an apology for upsetting you, but it makes it very clear that he still needs to talk to you. He wrote down his cell for you to call him at your convenience.”
“Weird.”
“Told you so.” Jeremy handed me the letter.
With the pending police invasion halted for the time being, there was a sigh of relief from everyone. The adrenaline rush over, Bryan yawned, and I wasn’t far behind him. It wasn’t late; there were probably little old ladies playing bingo somewhere, but I was done.
“Thanks for coming out to dinner with us.” Jeremy tried to sound like it was any other night.
“And for running from the cops with me.” No point in ignoring that part.
Bryan smiled, still proud of himself. “Welcome.”
As they walked away, Maddox whispering things in Bryan’s ear that made him grin, we headed in. Setting the note on the table, I looked around, frustrated. “My books are still in the car. Remind me to get them out tomorrow? I have a few more things to study before class.”
That made him pause. “So you’re still going?”
Looking over the small piece of paper, I shrugged. “Summer sessions are too short to miss a class and still do well in it. If we’re not being hauled into the station, then I should probably go. Right?”
He smiled but it didn’t look happy, more relieved than anything if I had to describe it. “Yes, that makes the most sense. Do you want to call him before class or after?”
“After.” No point in jumping in if I could put it off a little longer.
“How about we call Dr. Sheppard tomorrow and see if he can work us in sooner?” Jeremy was giving me the same cautious look he’d been wearing most of the night, so I went up and wrapped my arms around him.
“That’s a good idea. We can call him in the morning.” Our usual appointment was later in the week, but I didn’t think he’d mind. Not with everything that had happened.
Obviously relieved, Jeremy’s arms wrapped around me tighter. “Sounds good. Let’s head to bed. We’ll worry about everything else later. I think I’m done for the night.”
“Perfect.” I tried to fight off another yawn, but I lost the battle. “I don’t know why I’m so tired.”
He barked out a laugh. “Sugar crash and a shock like that will take a toll on anyone.”
Leaning into him, I rested my head on him and closed my eyes. He wasn’t playing sports like he had in high school, but he went to the gym on campus a couple of days a week, so he was still in great shape. With all that strength and muscle wrapped around me, I felt safe and protected.
“I’m tired.” It came out sadder and with more emotion than I’d intended.
“I know, Baby. I’m sorry.”
“Do you think they really called the police? I know she tried to manipulate everything before, but there’s been nothing lately.”
“Just the hang-up calls.”
“Yeah, well, I figured they were trying to make sure they could still track us down.” Shrugging, I tried not to get worked up again. “She wasn’t going to let go that easily.”
“Probably. I just don’t like it.”
“Absolutely. But I’m not going to worry about them now.” There would be plenty of time to obsess over them later.
“Let’s go lie down.” Emotion was thick in his voice, and I knew he was feeling terrible about everything that had happened. And it probably had more to do with my stress than his possible problems with the police.
I didn’t really want to move but curling up on the bed together sounded even better, so I forced my eyes to open and took a small step back. Jeremy kept one of my hands and led me back to the bedroom, love and tenderness in every look and caress.
Closing the bedroom door, he pulled me close again and started gently taking off my clothes. It wasn’t intentionally erotic, but my cock tried to point out how good his hands felt on me. It was soothing, and I knew he wanted to take care of me. That dominant part of him coming out, just in a different way.
Even though I was more worried for him than for myself, I knew his thoughts were on me. How everything would affect my life. What kinds of questions they would ask. No matter what the phone call was about, our relationship was going to come into play. Just a simple question about why I was so upset was going to be difficult to explain.
By the time he had me naked and tucked under the covers, I was bouncing between extremes. I was so tired I couldn’t function, and a big part of me wanted to sleep, but another piece was so frightened about what might happen, I felt like I could explode.
Lying there, wrapped up in the blankets and pillows, I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds of him getting ready for bed. When the mattress moved, and I felt him slide under the covers, I didn’t have to wait for him to curl into me. I didn’t even have to open my eyes; I could feel the heat of his body and knew he wanted to hold me.
“Come here, Baby.”
“I’m just so tired.” It was more than simply being worn out. It hadn’t even been this bad when I was studying frantically for finals. It was a bone-deep kind of exhaustion that I
was afraid sleep wasn’t going to fix.
“You keep your eyes closed and relax. You’re going to feel much better tomorrow after a good night’s sleep.” His arms wrapped around me and started rubbing soothing circles on my back.
I tucked my face into his bare chest and I could hear his heart beating. The strong steady thump and the soothing rhythm of his breathing were like one of those sound machines that were supposed to relax people. Except this one was made just for me.
It reminded me of all those nights that he’d curled up beside me and watched me sleep. Keeping me safe and making sure I knew he was there for me. That he’d always be there for me. Tears were streaming down my face, and I wasn’t sure when they’d started, but I couldn’t get them to stop.
“It’s okay…I promise. Nothing will happen. No matter what.” I felt kisses being pressed to the top of my head and a hand came up to cup my face. “Hey, look at me.”
Peeking up at him, I saw the same overwhelming emotions running through his eyes. He pulled me up, so I was draped over him and looking him right in the face. “I promise. Nothing is going to keep us apart. I’m going to keep the bad guys away even if they come with badges. No one is more important to me than you are.”
He stretched up and gave me a short, tender kiss. Emotions were swirling through me. Fear and security were battling it out, but love and more tender things were gradually taking over. What would happen tomorrow started to matter less and being with him right then, showing him how much I loved him, was the most important thing pushing at me.
Through the tears that were starting to fade, I leaned in and kissed him. I started off gentle. Trying to show him how much he meant to me. Gradually, the heat radiating from him and taste of his body turned it into something more. I didn’t need him to try to calm the emotional wreck that was in his arms. I just wanted him to touch me and help me to push it all away.
I wanted there to be just us and nothing else.
He must have sensed the change, because he rolled us over, covering me. One hand came up to touch my face again and the other held his chest up, so he could look down at me. “Are you sure? Is this what you want?”