Secretly Dating the Lionman

by Sue Brown

  “Children always make the mistake of thinking their parents are oblivious to what is going on in their lives. I did some research when the boys were teenagers.”

  “You knew they were gay?”

  “I suspected Mikey was. Then a good friend called me. He’d been talking to a young man in a laundromat who told him about his boyfriend, who had the same name as my eldest son.”

  Cris blinked. “The old guy.”

  Mr. Petrovski gave a wry smile. “The old guy. I never knew about Bennett until then.”

  “I had no idea.” Cris had outed Bennett without even realizing it. Bennett would kill him.

  “I love my sons.”

  “I can see that, sir.”

  If he’d kept their secret for that long, his love was fierce and protective. It was a shame he couldn’t have talked to them about it before Mikey started to fall apart.

  “My wife loves them too.”

  Cris kept quiet. He knew that she did, but her idea of love was alien to Cris. Mr. Petrovski gave him a wry smile.

  “You take care of my son, and I’ll take care of my wife.”

  “I won’t let her hurt him,” Cris warned.

  “You’re a good boy, but I know my wife. She needs time to think and process. You’ll see. She’ll see our sons are still good boys.”

  “Maybe you need to see them as men in their own right,” Cris suggested.

  Mr. Petrovski was silent for a moment. “Maybe we do, young man. Maybe we do. Give us time.”

  The conversation seemed to be over, so Cris said goodbye and rejoined the others in the hallway.

  “What did Tata want?” Bennett asked as he helped Cris shrug on his jacket.

  “I’ll tell you later,” Cris muttered.

  He wasn’t sure how Bennett was going to take the fact that he’d inadvertently outed him to his father.

  Bennett looked at him curiously but dropped the subject. “Let’s go home.”

  Cris had never heard a better suggestion.

  Neither sibling seemed willing to engage with their mother, and they left the family home. When they got outside, they parted company with Hannah and Adam and Cris studied Bennett.

  “What do you want to do now?”

  Bennett shoved his hands into his jacket. “Can we go back to your place?”

  “Yours is closer.”

  “That’s why I want to go to yours.”

  “Only if you don’t hog our bed,” Cris teased.

  “Our bed. I like that.” Bennett gave his first smile since he told his parents his news, even if it didn’t reach his eyes.

  Cris was pleased to see it, but he was waiting for Bennett to fall apart, and he’d be ready to hold him together when he did.

  “I like that too.” Cris bumped him with his elbow. “You’re still gonna steal all the space, aren’t you?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Bennett said haughtily.

  “Sure you do. Space hogger.”

  Bennett snorted. “Snorer.”

  “You snore.”

  “I never snore.”

  “You always snore,” Cris scoffed.

  Bennett stopped and turned to Cris. “No one ever knew that before.”

  Cris wrinkled his brow. “Knew what?”

  “That I snore or hog the bed. I’ve never shared a bed with anyone.”

  “You do now.” One tear spilled over onto Bennett’s cheek, and Cris wiped it away with his thumb. “Let’s go home, baby. We can curl up in bed, and then you can fall apart.”

  Bennett didn’t call him out on the endearment, and he didn’t deny that he was going to fall to pieces.

  Chapter 18

  CRIS BUNDLED Bennett through the door, stripped him down without ceremony, and hustled him under the bed covers. Then he did the same and climbed into bed, He wrapped his arms around Bennett, who let out a whisper of a sigh and pushed back against him. Cris rested one hand across Bennett’s heart.

  “Now you can let go,” he whispered. “I’ve got you.”

  Bennett made a noise in the back of his throat, and then the dam broke. Sobs tore from his throat, loud in the silence of the bedroom. Cris did nothing but hold him. The storm passed as they all do, and finally Bennett relaxed against Cris.

  “I’m sorry.” He sounded worn beyond belief.

  “Nothing to be sorry for,” Cris said.

  “I’ve brought you nothing but trouble.”

  Cris kissed the nape of Bennett’s neck. “You, never, but your family needs work.”

  Bennett sighed as he turned in Cris’s arms and buried his face against Cris’s chest. “I’m exhausted.”

  “Then go to sleep. We can talk in the morning before work.”

  “I don’t even know if I’ve got a job to go to in the morning.”

  Cris stroked Bennett’s hair. “I think you have.”

  “Tata—”

  “Already knew about you.”

  “I wondered, but he never said.”

  “He didn’t throw you out tonight. He’s not going to tomorrow. Your father may not like it, but he loves his boys.”

  “Mama—”

  Cris sighed, turned onto his back, and tucked Bennett more comfortably against him. “She also knew. She just didn’t want to admit it.” Cris was never going to repeat the conversation he had with Mrs. Petrovski. Bennett didn’t deserve that.

  “Is that what she said?”

  “More or less. She knows about Mikey too.”

  “I ought to warn him.”

  “No, this is between Mikey and your parents. Your dad will speak to him.”

  Bennett pressed a kiss into Cris’s skin. “Why did you look so freaked when you came away from talking to my father?”

  “Freaked? Oh, yeah. I’ve got a confession to make.”

  “Oh?”

  “I kinda outed you.”

  “Huh? We’d already had that conversation. I told him, remember?”

  “Not today. I met an old guy at the laundromat who watched me draw you. He showed me a photo of him and his husband, and I did a quick sketch for him. I never thought he might know you when I told him I was in love with you. It turns out he’s a friend of your father’s.”

  “I wonder who? Tata’s never mentioned knowing any gay men.”

  “He didn’t know the man was gay until that conversation. He was named Charles, and his partner was Pip—Philip.”

  “Uncle Charles? You’ve got to be mistaken. He was married to Auntie Pip. I never met her, but they were together a long time. He was devoted to her.”

  “Uh-huh.” Cris let out a wealth of expression.

  “Oh my God. Uncle Chuck is gay?” Bennett let out a bark of laughter. “Poor Tata. His world is turning upside down. I bet he hasn’t told Mama.”

  “At least your dad is making the effort.”

  “Unlike Mama?”

  “She’s got a way to go yet,” Cris said a touch grimly. He wasn’t ready to forgive her for the way she’d treated her son.

  “I thought it would be Tata who would lose his shit.”

  “In all fairness, your dad’s had time to process his feelings. Your mom has just buried hers.”

  Bennett huddled closer to Cris. “Is it awful to say I can’t take on her feelings too? I’ve spent so long trying to deal with mine and Mikey’s. I need her to suck it up and deal.”

  Cris pressed a tender kiss into his hair. “It’s human to want your parents to behave like the grown-ups in the arrangement. You don’t have to take on her feelings too. That’s what your dad is for.”

  “Poor Tata.”

  “Your sister is a tiger.”

  Bennett chuckled. “You don’t want to get on the wrong side of Hannah. She could take down me and Mikey with one hand tied behind her back.”

  “She’s got your back, though.”

  “I know. I’m very lucky.”

  Conversation trailed away, and Cris was almost asleep when Bennett said, “I’ve got you too.”<
br />
  He was too tired to do anything more than kiss Bennett, tumble into a warm, cozy sleep, and leave the world behind.

  CRIS SAT up next to Bennett, heart pounding as someone did their level best to hammer their fist through the door.

  “What the hell? Is there a fire?” Bennett stared at him, looking adorably sleepy and confused.

  “This is déjà vu,” Cris muttered. He climbed out of bed and pulled on the nearest sweats.

  “What?”

  “You’d better get dressed. I think this is Mikey.”

  This time Cris had the foresight to stand back before he answered the door and managed to avoid a fist in the face.

  Mikey stormed in and pushed past Cris as though he were a mere triviality. “Bennett, where the hell are you?”

  Bennett came out, looking sleepy and rumpled. “Mikey? What time is it?”

  “Six a.m. What the hell happened yesterday?”

  The fear on Bennett’s face was plain to see, so Cris went to him and put an arm around his shoulders.

  “What happened?” Bennett asked.

  “I called Mama last night. She refused to take my call. Then I called Tata. He said he’d speak to me today. He wants me to go into the office at three.”

  The muscle twitched in Bennett’s jaw. “I think you’d better sit down.”

  Mikey’s expression hardened. “If you don’t tell me what’s going on, I’m going to friggin’ kill you.”

  Cris stepped between Bennett and Mikey. “Sit the fuck down,” he ordered.

  Mikey huffed, but he threw himself onto the sofa. “I need coffee.”

  Cris stared at him a long time, and then Mikey reddened and said, “Please.”

  He nodded. “I’ll make coffee.”

  Bennett frowned and said, “That’s my phone.”

  He backtracked into the bedroom as Mikey called, “It’s gonna be Tata warning you.”

  Unseen by both the brothers, Cris rolled his eyes heavenward. It promised to be a long morning, and he was working the late shift at Cowboys and Angels.

  Bennett walked back into the living area with his phone to his ear. He wore the pinched look Cris was starting to hate. “Yes, he’s here. What did you say? I know she wouldn’t, but you should have warned me…. Yes, I know she’s upset. Let me…. Okay, later.” He huffed and threw his phone onto the coffee table. “He expects me at three p.m. too.”

  “What the fuck happened?” Mikey demanded. “What did you say to them?”

  “I told them I was gay and Cris was my boyfriend.”

  Mikey’s jaw dropped. “Why the hell did you do that? Are you fucking nuts?”

  Bennett took on a mutinous look. “I’m not going to live out the rest of my life as a lie.”

  “Dammit, you didn’t need to tell them. You only needed to say Cris was a friend.”

  “There’s more, Mikey,” Cris said quietly from the doorway. “Shut up and listen.”

  Mikey turned, and something in Cris’s face made him pull back. “Go on.”

  “They know about you too,” Bennett said.

  “You told them?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “What the fuck exactly?” Mikey’s face flushed red, and he clenched his fists.

  “They both knew or suspected. Tata was very calm. Mama… she lost it, tried to throw me out. But Hannah said if I went, she’d go too.”

  Mikey stared at Bennett in horror. “Hannah knows?”

  “For fuck’s sake,” Cris snapped. “The mistake you two make is thinking everyone is stupid.” He suddenly remembered Mr. Petrovski’s words from the day before.

  “Stay out of it,” Mikey snarled.

  “No.” Bennett glared at his brother. “He’s right. We spend all our time thinking no one will suspect us. How can they not suspect when you’re picking fights and being an ass to Julianne? I’m so busy trying to be the perfect son and pretending I haven’t found the woman of my dreams. I’ve found the man of my dreams, and I’m not about to lose him because of our lies. I’m not a celebrity. Yeah, guys like us work with some guys who are homophobes, but guess what? I can hold my own, and they can fuck off and work elsewhere if necessary. They know about Dan and Gideon. Most of them know Cris now. I’m not you. I’ve never wanted to fall in love with a woman and have a family. What I want is Cris. And if he’ll have me, that’s what I’m going to do.”

  “It’s not that easy,” Mikey growled.

  “It is that easy. At least this part is. They know I’m gay. Hannah and Adam have my back. Cris is by my side. What about you?”

  “You just wait until you can’t get guys for the jobs, until they refuse to work for a faggot.”

  “It’s time you got over yourself,” Cris snapped. “Those guys you’re talking about? They drink at Cowboys and Angels. They’re served by me, and Dan, and Gideon. If they had an issue, they’d go drinking elsewhere. Give them fucking credit for being in the twenty-first century.”

  “If that did happen, I’d leave Petrovski,” Bennett said quietly, “but I don’t think it will.”

  Cris studied Bennett’s face. He was pale but resolute. Bennett caught his gaze and nodded. He had made his stand, and he wasn’t backing down.

  “You’d leave?” Mikey looked shocked. “What about Tata?”

  “He’s always put the business first. He’d find someone to take my place if it were necessary. Maybe Adam or Hannah.”

  Mikey shook his head vehemently. “They couldn’t do half the job you do.”

  “Thanks, Mikey.” Bennett smiled at his brother.

  “You leave, and I leave.”

  Cris snorted. “Is this a family thing?”

  At Mikey’s confused look, Bennett said, “Hannah said the same thing.”

  Mikey grunted. “Good.”

  Cris went to get the coffee and brought it in to hear Bennett say, “You’ve been wanting to leave for a long time. Maybe now’s the time to do it.”

  “I can’t,” Mikey said. “You know that.”

  “Why not?” Cris asked as he handed out the coffee.

  “No money.”

  Cris grunted and took a sip. The heat and caffeine spread through his system and damn, it felt good.

  “What about me investing in your company?” Bennett asked.

  The naked desire to say yes was clear on Mikey’s face before he shook his head. “You can’t do that.”

  “I can, and I will. Mikey, you’re a talented craftsman. You’ve got the potential to be a great one. Do what you want to do. Let me help you.”

  “What about the business?”

  “Petrovski will survive. We have good people working for us.”

  Cris listened to the exchange with increasing frustration. Yet again, Bennett was putting his brother’s needs and desires before his own. Why didn’t he ever put himself first? Then he glanced at Bennett’s face and realized that was Bennett’s raison d’être—the chance to give Mikey what he wanted made him truly happy.

  “What will Tata say?”

  Bennett wrapped his hands around the hot mug. “We’ll find out this afternoon. But Mikey, you’ve got to face up to the truth.”

  “You mean Julianne?” Mikey muttered.

  “I mean yourself.”

  “It’s so hard. I don’t want to hurt her.”

  “You’re hurting her now, dude,” Cris said. “And everyone else, including yourself. Mikey, you’re gonna end up in jail if you carry on this way. You’re not a pretty blonde chick. You’re a big man, and you can’t bat your eyelashes and expect them to give you a pass.”

  Mikey grimaced. “Wow, don’t hold back.”

  “I’m not. Bennett’s been protecting you for too long. It’s time to grow up, Mikey-boy. Face what you are and do the decent thing. Julianne deserves a boyfriend who wants all of her, not just a beard.”

  “She’s not a beard. I love her.”

  “Not in the right way,” Cris said. “You’re looking for guys to fuck before you’ve even set the date
.”

  Bennett gave his brother a wan smile. “Cris is right.”

  “You would agree with him,” Mikey said, his tone petulant.

  “Grow up, Mikey,” Bennett snapped. “I can’t keep pulling you out of the fire. You have to face up to reality. We keep telling you that, but you’re not listening.”

  Mikey drained the last of his coffee and slammed his mug on the table with such force Cris expected it to crack. “What am I gonna tell our parents?”

  “That’s up to you, but how about the truth?” Cris suggested.

  “They already know,” Bennett pointed out. “It’s not gonna be a surprise. I’ll be there this afternoon. I have your back.”

  Mikey smiled grimly. “I need to see Julianne first.”

  “Do you want me to come with you?” Bennett asked.

  “You need to go to work. Can’t have two Petrovskis skipping work. I should do this by myself.”

  He stood, and Bennett did too. They hugged for a moment, and then Mikey pulled back.

  “Gotta go.”

  Cris refilled their coffees as Bennett saw his brother out of the apartment. When he returned, he looked tired and drawn. He sat next to Cris and murmured his thanks for the refill.

  “Is he gonna do it this time?” Cris asked.

  “I don’t know,” Bennett admitted. “He says so.”

  “Watch this space.”

  “Indeed.” Bennett sighed and finished the drink. “I have to go. I’m already late for a meeting with two of the contractors on the housing project.”

  “See you later at the bar?”

  Bennett kissed Cris on the cheek. “I’ll see you there.”

  Cris turned to give Bennett a proper kiss that left them both breathless. When he pulled back, Bennett took a moment to focus on him and licked his lips.

  “Umm.”

  “You’re welcome. Go to work.” Cris was pleased to see that all parts of Bennett had enjoyed the kiss.

  The apartment seemed empty when he left, and Cris wandered around for a while, wondering what to do. He could go back to bed but that didn’t appeal when Bennett wasn’t there. He considered going to the gym, but the thought of his peaceful studio won out, and he showered and dressed. He’d spend the day on Bennett’s portrait instead of worrying about him.