“Go relax.” Del gently pushed him toward the door.
Harper looked over his shoulder as he walked, not wanting to break eye contact. When Del was out of view, he focused in front of him, heading for the living room. In the doorway, he studied the two little boys, who were on the couch working on their laptops. They looked up and made space between them for him. Harper retrieved his book from the bookcase and joined them. As they leaned on him, he thought he could get used to having them around. Moments later, Del joined them, carrying his own book. He sat beside Rey and put his hand on the back of the couch against the back of Harper’s neck. Harper reached up, touching his hand before focusing on his book. It was too late. He was already used to having them all with him.
Only two days and already I want them here all the time. Remember, this is not the start of a relationship. It’s too soon. Just enjoy being around them.
Harper kept reminding himself of this as they ate, enjoying the fun banter and the boys’ inquisitive questions. They were indeed smart, and some of their questions stumped him, but Del answered. Later, he escorted them to the door.
“When are you coming to sleep over?” Rey looked up at him.
Harper didn’t know how to respond. The boys had talked through dinner about their sleepover last night at Bur and Ramirez’s house, then of how eager they were for the one at Bernie and Tomas’s. Del coughed, making Harper look up at him. There was a grin on his face. Harper returned his attention to Rey and Dar, who were waiting for an answer.
“If your brother keeps testing my nerves, it might never happen.” Harper lifted his head as he replied, looking pointedly at Del before focusing on the boys. “I’ll give the books you asked for to Del tomorrow.”
“Okay. Thanks, Harper. ’Night.” Rey hugged him.
Dar, who was more shy, followed, saying softly, “Thanks for being Del’s friend.”
“I’m your friend too.” Harper hugged him and kissed his cheek.
Rey tapped his shoulder, and Harper kissed his cheek too. The boys stepped outside, going to the railing of the porch.
“No farther,” Del called.
They giggled, whispering to each other too low for them to hear.
“I wonder what they’re talking about.” Harper leaned against the doorjamb.
“Probably plotting ways to get you to sleep over.” Del stood before him.
“No way.” Harper gazed at the boys by the rail, then their older brother.
“Yep. You’ll learn; those two plot like Bur,” Del said fondly.
Since he had been on the receiving end of Bur’s plotting a few times, Harper hoped the boys were not thinking of ways to get him over to their house for a sleepover because, if they were, he’d find himself there with no idea how he got there. He focused on Del, who closed the distance between them, pressing his body to Harper’s. Harper stifled a moan. Del kissed him hungrily, groaning into his mouth.
“They’re kissing,” Rey spoke.
“Kisses are yucky,” Dar replied.
“I like when they kiss me on my cheek,” Rey stated.
“Me too. But that looks gross,” Dar said firmly.
Del released him from the kiss, laughing. Harper laughed too, resting his forehead on Del’s chest as it rose and fell with his mirth.
“Is it gross, Del?” Rey’s voice sounded closer.
Harper glanced down and saw he was standing by them, looking up. So was Dar, with a scrunched-up look on his face.
“Not in the least. It’s like when you eat ice cream. All sweet, gooey, and gives you this cold thrill that you keep wanting to repeat.” Del straightened.
“We love ice cream,” they said together.
“You better clarify that before they go kissing people in school,” Harper warned.
Del frowned, then said, “You know how, when we go to get ice cream, there are so many flavors to choose from? Rey, you love strawberry and always pick that because you know it’s right for you. But, although Dar loves caramel, he always carefully checks over the flavors before deciding, and then picks caramel anyway.”
Harper watched Del, then the boys, who were listening raptly. They nodded.
“Before you get your ice cream, you have to find the right flavor before you can taste it. Enjoy all the richness of it.” Del’s voice deepened.
Harper couldn’t resist touching his stomach. The look in Del’s gaze was warm and inviting.
“Comparing me to ice cream.” Harper stroked along his stomach. “Who told you I’m an ice cream junkie?”
“You are?” Del tapped his forehead. “Making a mental note of that for future reference.”
“Only bring me some from the Flavor Shoppe. They make awesome ice cream.”
“Where is that?”
“You’ve never been to the Flavor Shoppe? Next time you and the boys”—Harper included them in his look—“come by, I’ll take you. It’s in walking distance of here.”
“Okay. Well, let me get the boys to their sleepover. ’Night.” Del kissed him briefly.
“’Night.” Harper leaned back against the doorjamb.
He watched them as they walked across the porch.
“Del, I’m not sure if I want to eat all that ice cream to find the right flavor I want to kiss in a yucky way. My tummy would hurt,” Rey said.
“Yeah, me too. Why would you want to kiss ice cream, anyway? It would be messy. Why not eat it?” Dar asked.
Harper laughed hard. Del glared at him, leading the boys down the steps, explaining about it being an analogy. Harper couldn’t make out what Del was saying clearly as he put them in the vehicle, then got in himself. Harper wiped his eyes, watching them drive away. When they were out of sight, Harper hurried into his house, grabbed his keys, then put on shoes before heading to his SUV. In minutes, he was on his way, driving until he pulled in front of a house and got out. Harper went up the walk and pressed the doorbell, then waited for someone to answer.
Someone finally did, and he didn’t wait for a greeting before he blurted out, “I have a date tomorrow night.”
Chapter Four
“WAIT… WHAT?” Simon Harris blinked slowly, his blond lashes fanning over suntanned cheeks and briefly shielding his deep-blue eyes.
Simon grabbed Harper’s arm, pulling him inside and through the house. Simon led him into the family room and closed the door. This was Simon and Hector’s favorite room. Harper saw Hector Rodriguez reclining on the couch, watching TV. From Hector’s rumpled appearance, Harper realized he had interrupted. Hector glanced up at them, looking curious.
“Sorry to interrupt, Hector. I’ll just go.” Harper twisted his wrists to get out of Simon’s hold.
Simon wasn’t letting go, and unless he did, Harper knew he wasn’t going anywhere. Simon was stronger than he looked.
“You stay. Hector, out,” Simon said.
“Nice to see you, Harper. Whatever you did to get Simon revved, thank you.” Hector grinned.
Harper didn’t even have to wonder what he meant. When Simon was excited or agitated, he got amorous. Being one of Simon’s best friends, Harper had heard many details about what he did when either of those two things happened. Hector got up and walked toward them. He kissed Simon firmly, then left, not asking what was going on, even though Hector looked curious. Simon turned to Harper, and he saw the “get out of my way or else I might hurt you” look, and realized the expression was another reason Hector left without pushing. Simon pulled Harper behind him to the couch and pushed him down on it. Sitting beside Harper, Simon pulled one leg underneath him.
“Who do you have a date with?”
“Del.”
“Del,” Simon said slowly, then asked, “If you’re ready to date, then why with that cold bastard?”
“He’s not cold,” Harper objected, slumping back on the couch.
Simon looked surprised, then speculative. “I didn’t even know you knew each other.”
“Only secondhand. I saw him at my store two da
ys ago, and we’ve spent some time together. He wants to fuck me.”
“Like that’s going to happen. You need to know someone first.” Simon waved his hand. “You don’t know him, since he’s been so solitary, not getting to know us.”
“He doesn’t like people.”
“We’re not people. We’re family,” Simon countered.
“That’s what he said, too, but not about our friends. You’d like him, Simon. He’s a lot like you. Not what he seems.” Harper looked at his friend. When people first saw Simon, all they saw was his sexy face. Then they noticed how he dressed. Simon was very particular about clothing. Hell, he was that way with his environment and everything else too. People saw that and made assumptions about him that were vastly unlike who he was.
“I highly doubt that. I’ve met Del a few times at various functions when I’m working. He’s a hard man, and it shows. In business circles, people speak in awe of him and Jerrod. He was Jerrod’s protégé, and the two of them are known as badasses in business. You don’t mess with them. Sheldon either. He’s underestimated because he lets Jerrod be the face, but he’s savvy too. Anyway, Del is not an easy man. Are you sure about dating him?” Simon asked.
Harper didn’t answer his last question yet, but asked instead, “You met Del before? Why didn’t you put together he and Bernie were related?”
“Because when I met him, he was in full Dillard Jenkins, multibillionaire businessman mode. He looked nothing like he does now. When Bernie said he was his brother, I was shocked, because the man I met before didn’t look in any way like Bernie. Wait. I have one of those rare magazine articles with a picture of him in full businessman mode. I heard he bought the magazine because it took his photo and had the gall to print it. He fired everyone and brought in his own people. He’s ruthless.” Simon stood, went to the entertainment center, and got the magazine, flipping through it as he returned and sat. “Here. This is the man I met. I didn’t make the connection that he and Bernie were related, much less identical, because of how he looked.”
Harper glanced at the page and recognized the cold and composed expression on Del’s face. It was the one he had been wearing when he was in Harper’s kitchen earlier, before they talked clearly about what they wanted. Looking at the photo, Harper realized that Del had been distancing himself from him, erecting a wall. To him, the Del in the photo looked as lonely as the boys had stated the first time they came to see him.
“I don’t know how you could not see he and Bernie are identical. He looks just like him, even in this picture.” Harper handed it back.
Simon stared, then grinned. “Your response answered my question on if you were sure about dating him.”
“How? Because he had me—”
“Flummoxed. Like I was when I met Hector.” Simon smiled fondly.
“Humph. More like you wanted to knock Hector out for insulting your car.”
“At first. But then I was captivated by him,” Simon said.
“Waxing poetic about your meeting and becoming a couple. It wasn’t that easy.” Harper shifted to face Simon.
“We were both pigheaded. But it worked out. You helped me with that,” Simon said.
“Hell, I had started to break you in as a best friend. Couldn’t lose that.” Harper winked.
Simon laughed, then shifted to his side, putting his head on the couch facing Harper. Simon placed his hand on Harper’s waist, pulling him close. Harper moved over, knowing what Simon was doing. When he was close, Simon put his forehead against his. He knew about how he was most serious.
“Tell me what’s bothering you that you had to come here to me,” Simon said.
“I could just have missed one of my best friends and felt the need to visit him,” Harper protested.
“Then you could have gone to Gerald, Bur, or Malik, since they didn’t make it to poker yesterday or Sunday brunch at Bacchus Sloan today. I was at both places, and we spent lots of time together. Then again, I know my face can make people lose their mind. Have you lost your mind, Harper?” Simon rubbed his forehead against his.
“I feel like I have. How can I be thinking of going out with someone when Karl….” Harper trailed off, unable to complete the thought.
“He’s gone, Harper. I know that’s hard. I loathe to imagine what I would do if I lost Hector so suddenly.” Simon tightened his grip on his waist, then relaxed it. “Going on without him would be so hard to do.”
“Yes, exactly.”
“You know, Hector and I were reminiscing the other day about when we met. And I thought of how, when I met you and Karl—the old married couple of the group, as Hector introduced you—the two of you were so in tune with each other. And in that moment, I knew that’s what I wanted with Hector. Well, when I could stop thinking of wanting to knock him out. That man was aggravating.” Simon frowned.
Harper chuckled. “And you loved him anyway.”
“I did, although I hadn’t admitted it to myself yet. Later, Hector told the story of how, nine months after meeting, you and Karl got legally married in the Netherlands.” Simon squeezed his waist.
“Yeah. Hector was newly out of law school and figured out that because my mom never married my dad, she was still a Dutch subject. It helped me to be able to marry there, but I still don’t know all the legalities. Hector did it all. He was determined that we would get married and have our happily ever after. Which we did, for ten years and three months.”
“You all were together almost eleven years. Just one week shy of it. So being with Karl for that long, what do you think he would say about Del? Wait. I’ll get us started. I’ll be Hector. Let me get into character.” Simon straightened up and worked his mouth, then sprawled beside him.
Harper put his hand over his mouth. Simon’s sprawl looked just like Hector would do.
“Come on. Be Karl. Get into character.” Simon waved his hand.
Harper thought about it, then sat up, rolling his shoulders, and crossed his legs under him, leaning back, putting one hand over his stomach and the other behind his head.
“Yes. That’s it.” Simon cleared his throat, then spoke, his voice deeper. “That Del is something to look at.”
Simon looked at Harper expectantly. Harper, taking the cue, pushed out his chin and then rubbed it, making his voice deeper. “Yeah, he is, but….” Then he looked to the side, away from Simon. “I’ve got something better at home.” Harper glanced at Simon again. “But if I didn’t, I would so get into that.” He shifted his head again. “Wouldn’t you, Hector?” He called Simon by Hector’s name since he was acting as him.
“I know Simon would think of it, but can’t top the awesomeness of me.” Simon’s deepened voice made Harper turn back as he spoke.
Simon grinned, sitting up. “That is exactly what Karl would have said.”
Harper straightened, nodding. They had been out many times, and that was exactly how it played out. Hector and Karl scoping out the men, and messing around with him and Simon about who they would get with. He and Simon had known it was all in fun; they were all faithful and didn’t share.
“You have Karl here.” Simon pressed his hand over Harper’s heart. “And here.” He tapped his finger on the side of his forehead. “You’ll never forget him. But if you’re interested in someone else, you know he would want you to get happiness if you can. Find someone new you can share your life with.”
With Simon’s words, Harper felt less guilty about going on a date with Del. Just talking things through with Simon had made him feel better. That’s why he’d come to Simon; he had a way of listening with no judgment that helped you work out your problem. Sometimes his method was strange, but always effective.
“If you were to pass away, would you want Hector to find someone else to replace you?” Harper glanced at him.
“That’s the wrong thinking. You’re not replacing Karl. He will always be a part of you, and Del will have to accept that.”
“He asked me about him. Said he wanted to kno
w Karl from how I saw him.” Harper thought of Del saying that and felt a warmth fill him.
“That’s good.”
Harper was quiet for a bit, then asked, “You didn’t answer me about Hector finding someone else. So, would you want him to?”
“Sure, but since I plan to haunt him if I go first, he wouldn’t need anyone.” Simon shrugged.
“But you’d be a ghost, and he wouldn’t be able to see you,” Harper pointed out.
Simon snorted. “Please. I’d haunt his ass. Feel him up and make sure he was very pleased, even if I was a ghost. He’d be too worn out to want anyone else.”
Harper laughed until tears rolled down his face. Simon joined him, the two of them laughing hysterically.
“You all are laughing. That’s a good sign that whatever was wrong has been fixed. What’s so funny?” Hector asked.
He strolled into the room and sat beside Simon, putting his hand on his leg. Simon put his hand over Hector’s.
“We were discussing if I died first, that I would haunt you so you wouldn’t need to find anyone else,” Simon said.
Hector’s face blanked, and then he said softly, “Promise me you won’t ever die on me. I’ll go first.”
Simon rolled his eyes. “I can’t promise that.” He kissed Hector softly, then grinned. “But we can try to go together. Well, unless you piss me off enough, and then I’ll have to kill you first.”
“Nah. You won’t ever hurt me,” Hector said.
“Damn man is right. Can’t kill him. I love him too much. So what should I do if he pisses me off?” Simon glanced at him. “Harper, what should I do?”
“You don’t need my help with that. You know how to push his buttons,” Harper replied.
“True.”
“I forgot to ask you about what happened at last Saturday’s poker game when you met Calhoun Buchanan,” Harper said, referring to one of the TrebleBur band members.
“He lost his mind,” Hector replied.
“I did not.” Simon slapped Hector on the leg.
Something in Common (Dreamspinner Press Bundles) Page 52