“Of course I did. Jesse’s passing the invite on to Malcom since I don’t have his number. Getting to bed is probably a good idea,” Darren replied, giving him a hug. “Even though it means I’ll miss the morning news.”
“I think you’ll survive. Last I checked, the world’s still here.” Rob dished up the chicken pesto with vegetables, poured their coffee, and they sat down to eat. “How was your night?” he asked.
“Busy, for a Sunday, but nothing out of the ordinary. A couple of punks decided to take advantage of stores closing early to try a B&E right after Zack and I started our shift. They weren’t exactly happy when we caught them red-handed coming out of a clothing store with armloads of designer jeans.”
“I bet not. How did they plan on disposing of them?”
“Probably at a flea market. People will always gravitate toward bargains there, without thinking the goods might be stolen.”
“Or care, I bet,” Rob said dryly.
“That, too.”
As soon as they finished eating, Rob told Darren to get to bed. “I’ll wake you around two.”
“So we can clean house before our guests arrive.”
“Naw. I’ll do that this morning.” Rob grinned. “I’ll leave the laundry for you.”
“Gee, thanks.” Darren put his dishes in the sink, started out of the kitchen, then stopped long enough to hug Rob, asking, “You’re okay with this?”
“If you mean our having guests, yeah. If you mean the hug, you don’t have to ask. You know I am.”
Darren smiled. “I like the ‘our’ in what you said.”
“Well, it is both of us, now that I seem to be a permanent resident here.”
“Rob…” Darren took his hands. “You are permanent, as far as I’m concerned. No seem about it.”
“I know. I guess I’m still getting used to the idea.”
“I understand,” Darren replied quietly. “Believe it, because unless you’re thinking of changing your mind…” He looked at Rob in question.
“Nope, not even. You’re stuck with me as long as you want me here.”
“Good.” Darren pulled him into another hug. “Now, I’d better get some sleep or I’ll be useless tonight.”
* * * *
“Table set, dinner cooking, wine chilling, is there anything we forgot?” Rob asked nervously.
“Not that I can think of. So let’s sit and relax until they get here.”
“Easier said than done, in my case. Damn it, Darren, I’m, well, not scared but what if Jesse decides he’s not happy about my being here on a permanent basis? It was okay with him when he thought I was under some strange kind of protective custody, but now?”
“He likes you. Okay, he might find it hard to accept that we’re moving toward being a couple, although I don’t think it’s how he feels, but he’ll deal.” Darren chuckled. “He doesn’t really have a say in the matter.”
“No, but he could still let you know he doesn’t approve, which wouldn’t make your day.”
“Rob, don’t go looking for trouble. Okay? It’s going to be fine, I promise.”
Rob nodded, settling on the sofa then immediately getting up to go check on dinner. Darren watched him with some amusement, although he understood what he was feeling. He had the same worries, although not as badly. Jesse’s an adult. He understands. He hasn’t said anything negative about Rob after the first time they met. Maybe he wishes I’d become interested in someone more like Malcom but he knows the heart makes its own choices. He’s in love, he gets it.
“How’s the lasagna doing?” Darren called out.
“Fine,” Rob replied. “It should be done by the time they get here.”
“Meaning now?” Darren asked when the doorbell rang.
Rob joined him, saying, “They’re early.”
“Nope, right on time,” Darren told him as he opened the door to let Jesse and Leah in. “I figured Malcom would be right behind you,” he said when he didn’t see him.
“He got held up by an overflowing toilet in one of the apartments,” Jesse replied. “He said he’d be here as soon as it was fixed and he’s changed clothes.”
“The joys of being a building manager.”
“No kidding.” Jesse looked past his father, his eyes widening. “You look great, Rob. I like the haircut.”
“Thanks.” Rob smiled ruefully. “I’m still getting used to it. We have wine, if you two would like some.”
“I’d love some,” Leah replied. “It was one of those days.”
“Busy?” Darren asked, while Rob went to get their drinks.
“That’s putting it mildly, but we survived.” She thanked Rob when he returned with the wine, and coffee for himself.
“Sit, relax. Dinner’s almost ready,” he told them.
“I’m guessing lasagna, from the smell,” Jesse said as everyone sat—him and Leah on the sofa, Darren and Rob in the armchairs.
“Got it in one,” Darren replied, sipping his wine. He saw Jesse glance at Rob, a speculative look in his eye. “Go ahead and ask,” Darren told him.
Jesse nodded. “It’s none of my business, but is he…” He turned to Rob. “Are you here permanently? Dad said you might stick around after they catch those guys.”
“Which I did. A couple of days ago,” Darren replied. “So,” he winked at Rob, “he’s here of his own free will, now, not because he has to be.”
Rob frowned at Jesse. “You don’t approve?”
“I do. I think it’s great. You’re a much better housemate than the dog Dad planned on getting.”
Darren rolled his eyes, laughing in relief. “He’s even housebroken, which is an added perk.”
“What about him?” Leah asked when Smokey came down the stairs. She made a kissing sound, grinning when the cat immediately came over, jumping onto the sofa next to her. “You’re a beauty. When did you move in?”
“If you two would visit more often, you’d know,” Darren told her. “He’s been here for, what?” He looked at Rob. “Almost a month?”
“Three weeks tomorrow.”
“If you’d invite us over,” Jesse protested.
“Since when do you need an invite?”
Jesse shrugged. “I guess we don’t, but we didn’t want to…umm…” He gave Leah a pleading look.
“What he’s trying to say is we didn’t know what the situation was with you and Rob and we didn’t want to do or say something wrong.”
“Like that I shouldn’t be here?” Rob asked tightly.
“Not at all!” She leaned over to pat his knee. “Honestly, we hoped you would stay after they caught those punks.” She smiled. “I have the feeling you’re good for Darren, and vice versa.”
“Are the two of you—” Whatever Jesse’s question was for Rob, and Darren had a feeling he knew, he didn’t get to finish because the doorbell rang.
Darren went to answer, letting Malcom in.
Obviously Rob had figured out what Jesse was going to ask, too, because when Darren and Malcom came into the living room he was saying, “Sleeping together? Not yet. We’re still getting used to our being more than friends, I suppose you could call it.”
“Well, damn. I guess that leaves me out of the running,” Malcom grinned at him.
“Uh-huh.” Rob got up to hug his brother. “You were never in the running, Jesse’s wishes to the contrary.”
Malcom laughed. “True, but he kept hoping, until that, should I call it that fateful night at his place?”
“It was definitely that,” Rob agreed. “Do you want some wine with dinner, which should be ready by now.”
“I’d love some,” Malcom told him, following him into the kitchen.
“Dad,” Jesse said quietly when they were out of earshot. “I know you’re worried I don’t approve. You’re wrong. If he’s the man you want in your life, I’m all for it.” He grimaced. “Boy, did that sound pretentious.”
Darren chuckled. “No, it sounded like a son who’s glad his father
has found someone who makes him happy, although we’re still getting used to the idea we’ve become more than just friends. Hell, we haven’t even kissed, yet.”
“What’s stopping you?” Leah asked, looking amused.
“That, my dear, is a good question.” Darren pointed a finger at her. “It will happen, so don’t go trying to push, okay?”
“I think pushing is Jesse’s domain,” she replied, winking at him.
“I was only looking out for his best interests,” Jesse protested.
“I know.” She kissed his cheek.
* * * *
“You look happy,” Malcom said, leaning against the counter, wine in hand, while Rob removed the lasagna from the oven.
“I am. It took a while to get to the point where I could accept that Darren does care for me. I wasn’t exactly the kind of guy someone would fall for.”
“I don’t think that’s true,” Malcom replied. “Okay, yeah. I get that there was a long time when you were looking and maybe acting pretty rough because of the way you were living. But that was all exterior. Inside, I’m pretty sure you were still the brother I loved before things went bad.”
“I tried to be.”
“I’d say you succeeded. If you hadn’t, you wouldn’t have caught Darren’s attention to begin with and become friends.”
“True. I’ll admit I never thought it would be more than that, but he’s nothing if not persistent. Not the way you’re thinking.” Rob wagged a finger at his brother. “He pushed to get me off the streets, because we were friends. The rest…this…came later.”
“When you finally let yourself believe someone could care for you,” Malcom said softly.
“Yeah.” Rob nodded as he got the bowl of salad from the fridge. “I’ll admit I was pretty hard to convince. I was sure he would ask me to leave once those guys were arrested. He didn’t.”
“Of course I didn’t,” Darren said, coming into the kitchen. “I wasn’t eavesdropping,” he told them. “I wanted to find out what the holdup was with dinner. I should have figured you two would be catching up on things.” He crossed to where Rob was standing, the bowl still in his hands. Taking it, Darren put it on the counter, then with a glance at Malcom, he said, “I’ve been told I’ve been remiss about something. Or we both have.” Cupping Rob’s face with his hands, he kissed his gently.
It took Rob a second to assimilate what was happening. Then he kissed him back. It was brief but heartfelt. Stepping away, he traced a finger over Darren’s lips before saying, “We have hungry guests so we should probably get dinner on the table.”
“Definitely,” Darren agreed. “But later…”
“We might kiss again?” Rob asked as he got the potholders so he could carry the lasagna into the dining room.
“Oh, yeah. No doubt about it.” Darren picked up the salad bowl. “Often, if I have my way,” he added as he left the kitchen.
Malcom shot Rob a knowing look. “That should eliminate any lingering doubts you might have that he wants you in his life.”
Rob’s smile was brilliant as he replied, “It does.”
* * * *
Dinner went off without a hitch. Jesse and Leah filled everyone in on what had been going on in their lives, including the fact they had finally set a date to get married. Jesse apologized for not telling Darren immediately. “Since we knew we were coming here tonight, and we didn’t decide until yesterday…” He shrugged.
“Have you told your mother?” Darren asked Leah with a mischievous grin.
She laughed. “I did. Then I put my foot down. I let her know I was quite capable of planning it, and while I’d appreciate her input, she was not to come up here every weekend to—” she rolled her eyes, “—aid and abet.”
“How did she take that?”
“She promised she wouldn’t. I guess time will tell. It’s only a month and a half off, so even if she breaks her promise, I guess we’ll survive.”
“What can we do to help?” Darren asked.
“Show up for it. Both of you,” Jesse replied.
“I think that’s a given. It’s not often my only son gets married.”
“It better be only once,” Leah retorted, shooting her soon to be father-in-law an amused look.
“Okay, I’ll admit that didn’t come out quite right,” Darren replied before they moved on to other topics.
The evening ended early because Jesse had to be at work at eight the following morning.
“This was nice,” Jesse said, giving his father a hug. “We should do it every week.”
“As long as we trade off,” Darren replied.
“You’re on,” Leah said, giving Darren a hug, too. Then, much to his obvious surprise, she hugged Rob as well. “You’re good people. I’m glad you and Darren found each other.”
Rob smiled, hugging her back. “He did the finding, I just went along with it.”
“And look what it got you,” Darren said, putting his arm around Rob’s waist.
“A cop with a savior complex. Not that I’m complaining.”
“On that note, we should get out of here before things get mushy,” Jesse suggested, grinning.
“Thanks for dinner,” Malcom said. “Maybe we can split the Monday night dinners three ways, if you don’t mind my being involved. I’m a passable cook.”
“Mind? I’ll insist on it,” Rob told him. “Now that we’ve reconnected, I don’t want to lose you.”
Malcom snorted. “That’ll be hard to do. You know where I live, and I’m not planning on selling the building.” He gave Rob a warm hug, and then everyone left.
“Tonight was great,” Rob said when he and Darren began doing the dishes.
“And you survived.”
“I know.” Rob stopped what he was doing to put his arms around Darren. “If I had any lingering doubts that you want me in your life, they’re gone now.”
“Good, because I’m not letting you leave.”
Rob arched an eyebrow. “That sounded a bit stalkerish.”
“That’s not how I meant it, and you know it.” Darren brushed a kiss over Rob’s lips. “As far as I’m concerned, I’m in this for the long haul and I think you are, too.”
“Definitely!” Rob cupped his hand behind Darren’s head and kissed him—quite thoroughly as it turned out when Darren reciprocated.
Breaking it, eventually, they gazed at each other for a long moment. “Yep, I’m not going anywhere unless you decide you’re tired of having me here,” Rob said softly.
“That will never happen,” Darren replied firmly.
They kissed again, stopping before it became too heated because as Darren said when it ended, “If we keep this up we’ll end up in bed and I don’t think we’re to that point quite yet.”
“Physically…” Rob looked down at their crotches. “I’d debate that. Emotionally, however, yeah, we aren’t. We’re getting there but we’re not going to rush it.”
Darren nodded. “I agree, so let’s finish cleaning up, watch the news if it’s still on, and get to bed. I might not have to be to work until tomorrow night, but you…Okay, you’re off tomorrow.”
“Yep. So let’s do something exciting.” Rob grinned when Darren licked his lips. “Not that kind of exciting. Lunch out and then that movie we saw the previews of on TV.”
“The horror one?”
“Yep.”
“You’re on.”
Chapter 11
“She’s a beautiful bride,” Rob whispered as he and Darren, and a multitude of other wedding guests, watched Leah walk down the aisle. Helen, Jesse’s mother and Darren’s ex-wife, who was sitting on the other side of Darren, nodded, obviously having overheard him.
Darren had introduced her, and her husband, Bill, to Rob before they’d entered the church. After he had, Helen had taken him aside while Bill and Rob chatted, asking, “Where did you find him?”
Darren wasn’t certain what she meant by that, so he went with the simplest answer, “We’ve been friends fo
r a long time and things developed from there.”
“He’s quite handsome, although he could do to put on a few pounds.”
“He’s working on it.” Darren wasn’t about to let her know why Rob was so thin—although he had the feeling Jesse might have told her at least something about how Rob had ended up in his life. If he had, Helen was polite enough not to say anything in front of either him or Rob with other people around.
He remembered saying to Rob, a couple of weeks previously, “You’re finally putting on some weight.”
“Good food and good loving will do that,” Rob had replied hugging him.
The food was a given, especially since Rob was the primary cook in their relationship, refusing to relinquish his dinner-making chores. As he put it, “I’m wide awake, you’re about to fall on your face half the time, so deal with it.” Darren had no problem with that.
The good loving had begun a week after their first kiss.
* * * *
It was Monday evening. They’d spent the afternoon, once Darren was up and moving, cleaning house and doing laundry.
“How about we do something different tonight,” Rob said when they finished eating.
“Such as?” Darren replied.
“I don’t know. Catch a movie, go for a walk, watch the moon come up from the hill in Redland Park?”
“We could combine it. Walk to the park and watch the moon. It’s only a couple of miles from here,” Darren suggested. “It’s a nice night and honestly I’m not in the mood to sit in a movie theater.”
Rob grinned. “I’m with you on that. I just tossed it out so you’d have some choices.”
“Uh-huh. If you say so.”
The sun was going down when they took off. On an impulse, Darren suggested they get ice cream cones from a shop they were passing. “This takes me back to my childhood,” he said as they continued toward the park. “Almost forty years ago. Well, forty years if you figure I was five before I was allowed to hold my own cone.”
“And your mom dealt with the dribbles going down your fingers?” Rob asked, laughing.
“Always,” Darren admitted, licking his thumb. “It comes with the territory if you don’t gobble them down. If you do, then ice cream headache.”
“No kidding.”
Lonesome Men Page 11