by Zach Jenkins
“Whatever, man. Don’t pretend you give a shit about the team. Things didn’t work out with us, and you’re mad about it. You need to let it go. I’m not coming back and letting you make me feel bad about myself again.”
“So you’re the new guy?” Riley asked, turning his attention to Levi.
In a low growl that wouldn’t carry to Daxter, Levi coldly said, “I don’t know you. But if Inigo says he doesn’t want to be around you, I’ll bet you’re a real piece of shit.”
Riley’s eyes darted back and forth between their faces. “Well, well, aren’t you two quite the pair. Sounds like you’ll be perfect for each other.”
He let his eyes settle on Levi. “Until Inigo gets bored with you, of course. Then maybe you’ll have more interest in being nicer to one of the many, many guys who has already gone through what you’ll be going through. You think you’re special? You’re just the next in line.”
Inigo wasn’t going to let Riley talk about his boyfriend like that. He took a step toward Riley, but Levi threw his arm in front of him to hold him back. “Not in front of Daxter.”
Inigo was pissed as hell, but he knew Levi was right. Daxter deserved for Inigo to be the more mature man right then. But surely, glaring at Riley was acceptable.
“Whatever,” Riley said. “If I’m not on that team, there’s no way that bout will happen. Don’t forget that you need that money, Inigo. How will you keep the roller rink open if you don’t host the bout? You’ll probably have to sell the place and take that job out in Washington, won’t you?” He smiled cruelly at Levi. “Sorry. But you had to know you were only temporary. Inigo doesn’t stick around long enough to set down roots.”
Inigo and Levi watched Riley walk away before either said a word.
Inigo was about to thank Levi for helping him stay under control. He definitely didn’t want to fight Riley, but the idiot always brought out the worst in him. He was so toxic. The complete opposite of Levi.
What would I do without him?
Levi broke the silence first by asking, “Washington?”
Panic flooded all of Inigo’s senses when he heard how angry Levi sounded. His defenses rose and he was on the edge of snapping back when he realized that causing a fight between them was exactly what Riley wanted.
It was exactly what Inigo would have done prior to meeting Levi, too.
Levi had been right. Riley was a piece of shit, but Inigo was no saint, and he’d left a trail of sad men behind because of his inability to stay calm and weather the difficulties that arose in any relationship.
But he needed time. If he spoke now, the fight would be inevitable…and right in front of Daxter.
“Can we talk about it while we finish up the round? Daxter looks ready to move on to the next hole,” Inigo asked, pointing at the kid.
Levi nodded, but the expression on his face made it clear he had plenty of questions that still needed answers.
21
Levi
Levi moped through the next two holes lost in his thoughts and without saying a word. It was bad enough to be confronted by Inigo’s ex-boyfriend without any warning, but that wasn’t the real source of his foul mood. Levi knew Inigo had plenty of exes just like anyone their ages. Who didn’t have a crazy ex that popped up every once in a while? It would be stupid to be mad about past relationships.
He could deal with that. The problem was the bomb that the ex had tossed at them before casually walking away.
He knew the jerk was just trying to drive a wedge between them. Levi was mad that he was letting it work.
But if it isn’t true, why didn’t Inigo refute any of it?
Levi held his words, hoping that Inigo would eventually speak up and reassure him that everything was going to be okay, but Inigo’s slumped shoulders and lack of eye contact eventually convinced him that no assurances were coming.
Instead, Inigo smiled and helped Daxter with each throw as if he cared about building a relationship with his son. Levi had no idea what to make of it all.
After Daxter gave another high-five to Inigo before running off to chase after his Frisbee again, Levi finally broke the silence again. “Washington?”
Unlike when he smiled at Daxter, Levi thought the smile looked forced when he turned in his direction. Inigo must have seen that Levi wasn’t buying it. “It’s not like a guaranteed thing. I’m not packing or anything. I haven’t even accepted the job yet,” Inigo said in a rush of words.
Levi cringed. There was something more to the story than just the ex being a dick. “State or DC?”
Not that it really mattered, but Levi needed them to be saying something. The uncertainty was too much. Things had been going too well between them and Levi was unprepared to handle a curveball.
“State.” Inigo grabbed Levi’s hand.
Levi didn’t pull away, nor did he squeeze Inigo’s hand to let him know that things were okay.
“Like I said,” Inigo continued. “It’s just a job offer. My roller rink is barely getting by, and it has some expensive repairs coming up in the near future. I don’t know how I’ll afford to keep the place open.”
Levi knew the right response would be to offer comfort. A second-best option would be to offer possible solutions. Even just staying silent would be better than the question that came out of his mouth. “So the answer is to just run away from the problem?”
He knew he was rapidly heading into being a dick territory, but couldn’t seem to stop himself.
What right do I have to expect him to plan his future around me?
“No,” Inigo said with more than a hint of anger and annoyance. “The plan, in fact, was not to run away to Washington. The plan was to host this derby and hope it brings enough money between it and the people coming back over the next few weeks because of how much fun they had so that I can afford those repairs and stay right here in Illinois.”
His voice grew softer and quieter as they walked to the next tee box where Daxter was jumping up and down, waiting for them. “But if that doesn’t work out, it’s nice to have a backup plan.”
Levi counted backward from ten, which gave him plenty of time to throw away several cruel questions that would do nothing to help the situation. Inigo clearly had a problem, and didn’t need Levi adding to it.
While Levi figured out what he should say next, Inigo helped Daxter line up his next throw, patiently correcting the way he was holding the Frisbee three times before Daxter made his throw and sprinted off after it.
Why does he have to be such a great guy? It’ll just make it that much harder to lose him if he moves away.
They each threw their own Frisbees and slowly started down the fairway. Watching Daxter dart back and forth all over the place while making several throws of his own to match the distance of their initial throws brought a smile to Levi’s face.
He wanted more of these little perfect moments. Throwing away Inigo because of a potential future problem would be stupid. He reached out for Inigo’s hand, and, as calmly as possible, asked, “What’s special about this job in Washington? How is it different from here?”
Inigo sighed. “For one, I wouldn’t own the place. I’d just be a manager. So all the overhead and money would be someone else’s responsibility. I’ve kept my place afloat for years now, but I’m not a very good businessman. I make less money each year and at some point I just have to move on, I guess. And there isn’t a ton of demand for rolling rink managers, you know?”
Levi nodded. It wasn’t like firefighters, where there were stations everywhere and more opening daily as suburbs expanded and subdivisions popped up around the country. Once a firefighter had a job, he could pretty much always find one somewhere else if he really needed to.
“Do you really think it’s a sign that you’re a bad businessman, or that it’s just a bad business to be in?” Levi asked.
Inigo shrugged. “At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter. I don’t think I can keep doing what I’m doing at my place. Some
thing has to change. Washington’s an option, but like I said, I’m just trying to hold onto things long enough to get through the derby, see how that goes, and then make up my mind after that.”
“That sounds perfectly logical,” Levi reluctantly conceded. “Sorry if I was a jerk.”
Inigo laughed. “Don’t worry. Riley brings that out in everyone.”
Levi smiled back. He had plenty more opinions to share, but knew when to shut his mouth and live to fight another day.
He definitely wasn’t happy with the outcome. The prospect of Inigo moving across country and leaving him behind wasn’t appealing in the least, but at least they’d been able to talk about it without flying off the handle.
Well, mostly.
He understood what Inigo was going through, and Inigo had to have at least an idea of how Levi felt about it all.
Unfortunately, about the only actionable thing that Levi had really learned was that he’d have to protect his heart going forward. If Inigo wasn’t in a position to commit to staying in the area, Levi wasn’t sure a relationship between the two of them could work out. After all, he couldn’t just move on a dime. He had his own career. It was possible to find jobs all over the country, but not necessarily always possible to find one in the exact city he might need to move to.
Plus, now he had a son to think about as well. The last thing Daxter needed was to move once again after finally starting to feel like he had a home, and family and friends who cared for him.
“Let me know if there’s anything I can do,” Levi offered. “And definitely let me know if you ever want to talk about the pros and cons of moving, man. You don’t have to go through all those kinds of decisions by yourself.”
“Do you promise to be unbiased?” Inigo asked, barely hiding his smile.
“Not at all.”
“Good.” Inigo pulled him down for a quick kiss before hurrying after Daxter.
Levi put on a happy face for their round of Frisbee golf, but even as they piled into the car afterward on their way to get ice cream, he couldn’t completely shake the feeling that they weren’t out of the woods yet.
22
Inigo
Inigo sat down in the chair at the salon in the back of Ezra’s house before he had a chance to change his mind.
Ezra wrapped the barber’s cape around his neck with a flourish and said, “So what are we here for today?”
Inigo’s conviction faltered for a moment, but he finally managed to answer. “To hell with it. Chop it all off.”
Ezra was not the only person in the salon to gasp.
“What happened to you that has you considering something so drastic?” Ezra asked, slapping Inigo’s shoulder with the back end of a pair of scissors. “You're a goddamn fool if you think I’m going to shave off that glorious mohawk without more of an explanation than that.”
Inigo knew he should have just gone to the store to buy a pair of his own clippers, and taken care of it himself in his bathroom.
“I’m just done with it. I’m getting too old for silly things like mohawks. What kind of bank is going to offer a business loan to some crazy idiot with hair like this?” he asked, running his hand through his stiff hair. He sighed, knowing that he’d miss his wild locks.
He’d known Ezra would try to talk him out of the change, so Inigo had decided on the way over to blame the decision on his business, and not his relationship.
The less they talked about his love life, the better.
In the mirror, Inigo saw Ezra purse his lips and shake his head, and braced himself for the argument. But it wasn’t Ezra who called him out first.
“What kind of badass rebel shaves off his plumage to appease a bank?” Ezra’s mother asked.
When Inigo tried to turn his head so he could answer her directly, Ezra grabbed his cheeks and held him facing the mirror. While his mom drew close, Ezra tsked at Inigo while continuing to shake his head.
“Well, I’m not exactly looking forward to it, ma’am,” Inigo said. He added the ma’am knowing how many times in his past that simple word had caused older women to cool off when he was doing something they disapproved of.
Ezra’s eyes shot wide open and his mouth made an O, providing Inigo with all the warning he would get.
“Don’t you ma’am me, you wannabe punk rocker. I’m not all that much older than you, dear sir.” She mockingly emphasized the last words. “I was at a Ramones’ concert with Ezra’s dad back in the early ‘80s. I could teach you a few things about punk. We did things backstage afterward that would make you blush, but I’ll save Ezra from needing to hear about that. But I’m not buying your bank story, mister. I’m guessing even if you get the haircut, you don’t have anything besides jeans and a t-shirt to impress the bankers with anyway. Am I right?”
Inigo desperately wanted to get out of the verbal assault and just get his head buzzed, but when he didn’t answer, she continued. “That’s what I thought. Listen, honey. There’s nothing wrong with getting rid of any haircut, but even I can tell that doing it will make you sad. Beauty salons are better than therapy, and cost a hell of a lot less. So what’s really going on, Inigo?”
Ezra let go of Inigo’s face to try and chase his mother away.
Inigo had heard about how she’d sold the house with the salon in the back of it to him for a dollar when she retired. He wondered how often Ezra had to remind his mother that she was no longer in charge.
“Shoo, shoo,” Ezra said, waving his hands at her. “Stop harassing the customers. That’s my job, Mom. Don’t make me kick you out of your own old house.”
Inigo took advantage of the distraction to turn his chair to face the rest of the room. There were a few other customers and beauticians in the salon, but all activity stopped to watch the show Ezra and his mother were providing.
He wondered how Ezra’s mother had been able to read him so easily.
Maybe getting an outside opinion isn’t the worst idea in the world.
“No, Ezra. It’s okay. She’s right. I’m not cutting it because of a bank. Not exactly.”
Ezra’s mom nodded her head at her son.
“Get over yourself, Mom,” Ezra playfully said. “Of course he’s not doing it for a bank. I can tell that. But it doesn’t mean I’m going to let you badger him until he spills the beans. After all, I already know what guy he’s doing it for.” Ezra returned a cocky victory nod back to his mother before turning his attention back to Inigo. “Trouble in paradise?”
Inigo tackled the easier issue first. “Well, the bank thing isn’t total bullshit. The roller rink is having trouble. I might have to sell it if I can’t make enough money over the next couple months to pay for some repairs on the place.”
Ezra sat down on a free chair and said, “A few repairs don’t sound so bad. We’ll just help you pick out a fancy suit and a briefcase, and send you off to some loan officer who looks like he likes pretty men.”
Ezra’s mom was leaning against the hair wash station. She smiled ruefully at her son. “Sometimes I wonder if giving you this place so cheaply was really the best thing I could’ve done for you. I’m glad I was able to help you get started, but you really have the business sense of a hedgehog most of the time. Even if he gets the money, son, that’s just the one-time infusion of cash. He’ll have to pay it back. If he can’t afford to pay for the repairs with his current income, he’ll probably have trouble repaying the loan.” She locked eyes with Inigo. “Right?”
Inigo nodded and pointed at her in agreement. “Yep. You hit the nail right on the head. People just don’t go to skate like they used to. The birthday business is pretty decent, but outside of that it’s almost always pretty slow. I’ve been thinking about shutting down for a couple more days a week. But if I keep doing that, it won’t be long until I’m only open on Saturdays for a few hours for birthday parties, and that makes no sense at all.”
As painful as it was, the more people he told it to, the easier it was getting to talk about his financia
l problems. He just hoped that someone eventually would have a magic wand to wave at the situation. “But here’s the kicker: a guy I know has a bowling alley out in Washington. It’s one of those newer ones with modern video games, a few bowling lanes, and even one of those computer golf games where you swing a real club. He’s doing well out there, but he wants to get away from the day-to-day operations. He offered me a job running the place.”
“But what about Levi?” Ezra asked, cutting to the heart of the matter.
Inigo definitely wasn’t comfortable talking about that. With a sigh, he muscled on. “I know, right? I finally meet the right guy, only to find out that it’s the wrong time.”
“Would he go with you?” Ezra’s mom asked. “A move like that would probably take several months on your part just to get everything organized and your rink sold. You have plenty to take care of before you go. Do you see things with Levi being serious enough that he might be willing to go with you?”
“He couldn’t,” Ezra said before Inigo could open his mouth.
Inigo sat back and let them talk through his options.
“Levi just got custody of his son,” Ezra said. “I don’t even know if he’d be allowed to move. Does the state put restrictions on things like that? Probably not, I guess, since the mom is out of the picture, but even if Levi could just run off, I don’t think he’d do that to the poor kid. The little guy is probably just getting used to having a real room and real friends.”
Inigo pointed at Ezra and nodded, but once again wasn’t quick enough to get any words in.
“Well that’s just stupid, I say,” Ezra’s mother said. “I understand the sentiment, I really do. That boy losing his mother is tragic. But what could be better for the kid than having his dad in a happy long-term relationship? And once they get to Washington, they could settle down there for the rest of the kid’s life.”
Inigo felt like he was watching a tennis match as Ezra and his mom argued.