Manny To The Rescue: Gay Romance

by Trina Solet

Connie had just left and now Maggie was running to him, distraught, her blond curls bouncing.

  "Uncle Owen, Connie is stealing my socks!"

  "She's not stealing. She's borrowing."

  Maggie made a whiny noise then ran away probably to fight with Connie about socks. Listening to them, Owen thought how nice it would be to have someone to dump this on. It was going to be good to have a manny. Despite being railroaded, Owen was relieved not to be left alone with the girls. Having Dan living there with them was bound to be weird mostly because he was so attractive. Being around him, Owen was going to have trouble keeping a decent thought in his head.

  The next time Owen opened the front door, he was greeted with an accent and a bear hug. Kostas was solidly built, easy to get along with, and always ready to indulge the girls and Mom too. Too bad Mom met him right after he sold his chain of electronics stores and had the time and money to take her away to his native Greece. What terrible timing. Actually Owen had encouraged his mother to follow her heart and her dreams. When it came to taking care of the girls, he had taken a back seat long enough.

  And Kostas was a great guy. He made the girls laugh the whole way to the airport and once they got there. He never gave them a chance to get sad. Mom left with a smile on her face though Owen could tell how hard she fought not to cry. Once the girls lost sight of her, the waterworks started. Maggie was first, and Owen picked her up.

  "No crying," Connie reprimanded her little sister while starting to cry herself.

  "It's OK. A little crying is OK," Owen told her and picked her up too. With both girls hanging around his neck, sniffling, he was too busy trying to breathe to even worry about being sad himself. Then he remembered his ace in the hole. "Hey, girls. We have to text Dan to tell him to come over," Owen reminded them.

  They cheered up immediately. They blinked eagerly, their eyelashes still wet with tears.

  "Do it. Text him," Connie urged him.

  "Dan, the man!" Maggie said.

  The girls jumped down from his arms and watched him texting. He showed them Dan's reply, and Connie read it out loud for Maggie. "On my way." Short and to the point, it made all three of them smile.

  Chapter 2

  Before she left, Mom had hidden presents for the girls in their room. Once they got home, Owen told them about the presents, and they went on a treasure hunt. They were going to turn that room upside down. It was good of his mom to think of giving them something to do. Owen hoped the search would keep the girls occupied until Dan arrived.

  Though he was afraid he might seem too eager, Owen stayed by the front window and kept an eye out for Dan. He opened the front door before Dan had a chance to ring the bell. He wanted to talk to him before the girls swarmed him and started vying for his attention.

  Dan came in with only a backpack over his shoulder.

  "Is the rest of your stuff in the car?" Owen asked like he couldn't wait for him to move in.

  "I figured this is all I need for the next two days," Dan said.

  "Optimistic, aren't you?"

  "I just don't want to get ahead of myself. How did it go at the airport?" Dan asked, setting his bag down.

  "Not too bad. The girls were sad. Mom held it together, so that helped a lot. It's not easy for her to leave them. She hid some gifts in their room. They're searching for them. That's why you're not fending them off right now."

  "So what am I going to be doing?" Dan wanted to know.

  "Usually you'll just keep the girls on track, getting ready for school, doing homework, supervising them mostly. Help with light housekeeping, meals, the girls' laundry. Don't pick up after the girls though. But do pick them up from school. I know you have your own car, but when you're driving the girls, use the grandma mobile, Mom's Lexus. It's all set up for them."

  Hearing his long term duties outlined like that, Dan looked surprised. "You make it sound like I'm already hired."

  "Unless you light up a joint right in front of me, you are pretty much hired," Owen told him. He wasn't going to pretend he was still making up his mind.

  "That's good to know. So what can I do today?"

  "Just hang out with the girls, get to know them. Today and tomorrow, let's just keep them distracted, keep them busy," Owen said. "You were already a big help. Just mentioning your name cheered them up after they saw Mom off."

  Dan smiled. They both stood there uncertainly for a moment. Other than grabbing Dan and kissing him, Owen couldn't think of anything else to do.

  "You can take your bag up and see what they're up to," he said to Dan. "The spare room is all yours. I have to handle some stuff." Owen pointed to his office. "Be strong. Don't let the girls get the better of you."

  Dan saluted him and went up the stairs two at a time. Owen watched him go then kicked himself for it. If he didn't keep himself in check, he was going to come off as a sleazy uncle.

  *

  When Dan went to the girls' room, they were unwrapping two small gift boxes tied with oversized pink ribbons. They showed him two silver chains with lockets shaped like teddy bears. Each one was inscribed with the girls' names and the words "Grandma loves you". Inside was a picture of each one of them with Kate. Dan helped them put on the necklaces. After he was done admiring them, the girls showed him every single toy in their room.

  There was a built in shelf where dolls and teddy bears were lined up. Girls' own artwork was tacked up on a corkboard above that. The girls' beds had ice cream themed covers and pillows in the shape of apples, strawberries and orange slices. In one corner, Dan saw a wooden doll house with a roof covered in pink paint and glitter. By the time the girls told him all about every adorable toy they owned, he was dizzy from a girl toy overload. The sound of Owen's footsteps on the stairs promised some relief.

  Dan expected Owen to be looking over his shoulder more while he was with the girls, but Owen had given him plenty of time before he came up. Dan came out to meet him. He leaned his elbows on the railing as he waited and enjoyed the sight of Owen. Dan's gaze traveled up Owen's long-limbed body and over his broad shoulders. He could kiss those shoulders then down his arms to his fingertips. Admiring Owen's strong hands with long fingers as they gripped the railing, Dan wanted those hands on his body. Those fingers would look great wrapped around his cock. Just as that thought became vivid in Dan's mind, his eyes met Owen's. Dan held his breath. Owen's dark eyes always looked like he was holding back a smile. Dan had forgotten that about him. He did remember that every time he saw Owen, no matter how briefly, he wanted to get close to him. The age gap made that impossible when Dan was still a teenager. Now here he was, staying in the same house with him. Too bad there were other reasons why Owen was out of reach.

  "I see you are in one piece," Owen said as he stopped in front of Dan. "Have they introduced you to all their dolls and all their teddy bears?" His pleasantly deep voice tickled Dan like someone running a hand down his spine.

  "I think so," Dan said. "I hope I'm not expected to memorize all their names and all their life stories."

  "Not only that, you have to kiss them goodnight too. I've kissed so many dolls," Owen lamented.

  "I'm not kissing dolls," Dan vowed.

  "No one is going to give you a choice. Maggie is just going to hold up some mop of hair in a pink dress, and she's not going to give up till you smooch the thing."

  "Who are you? Stephen King?"

  "Make no mistake, we're living a horror movie with those two."

  "What are you talking about," Connie asked as she and Maggie came out of their room. They both looked from Owen to Dan suspiciously.

  "How scary you are," Owen told them straight out.

  "Uncle Owen is afraid of girls," Connie said to Dan.

  "Just you two," Owen told her as the girls pulled both of them into their room.

  "Now I'm going to be covered in glitter," Owen said as they went in. "We buy it by the gallons."

  Maggie tried to make them sit on the colorful carpet between their beds.


  "This is our magic carpet," Maggie said of the rug with butterflies and ladybugs on it.

  "Does it fly?" Dan asked.

  "No," Maggie said, shaking her head at Dan like she thought he was crazy.

  "What does it do?" Dan asked.

  "It's magic," she said and frowned at him for not getting it the first time. She then saw that Connie was poking around inside the dollhouse in the corner.

  "I'm redecorating," Connie said.

  "No redecorating!" Maggie yelled.

  "Girls!" Owen warned them. Then he turned to Dan with a smile. "That's right. This is your job now."

  "I'm supposed to referee disputes over tiny furniture?"

  "That's up to you. Just don't wait for the hair-pulling to start," Owen told him.

  "They don't do that?" Dan said.

  "Not much," Owen said and left him at the girls' mercy.

  Dan caught up on some texts while the girls played. They got restless around dinner time so Dan went to see if he needed to do anything about making dinner. He figured the more useful he was, the more likely Owen was to keep him around.

  He found Owen in his office, busy and oblivious to him. Dan enjoyed the sight of his broad shoulders and the deft movements of his long fingers over the keyboard. He also took a second or two to check out his office. The space was modern and well organized but showing signs of Owen's busy work life even at home. Crowded with papers but still orderly, Owen's desk faced two windows that let in plenty of light. With soft gray and white as the dominant colors and touches of orange and bright red, the place was cheerful and energetic.

  "I was thinking of taking the girls out for dinner. You up for that?" Owen said when Dan got his attention with his question about dinner.

  "Is distraction on the menu?"

  "It is. I hate to see them sad. I think a dinner at home might remind them that Mom is gone," Owen said.

  "They were peering into your mom's room just now," Dan said then he had an idea. "I know, let's go to The Blue Tulip. They're having a pie throwing and pie eating contest at six."

  "That's a college hangout," Owen said with distaste.

  "So? I took my brother, Jason. He loved it. You don't think the girls will enjoy seeing some college kids get a face-full of pie?"

  "They will," Owen admitted. "I don't know about me."

  "Too lowbrow for you? Are you too sophisticated and mature to enjoy that kind of thing?"

  "You think you can get me to do anything just by implying I'm stuffy and old. I'm twenty-eight. That crap doesn't work on me yet. Give it a few years," Owen told him archly.

  "I have more strenuous methods of persuasion when I get serious," Dan threatened.

  Owen backed down immediately. "Fine. Let's go watch college kids make fools of themselves."

  "That's the spirit."

  The Blue Tulip Café had the look of a European café but the atmosphere of a nerdy, hipster hangout. Whole tables full of them were arguing loudly so you couldn't hear even a hint of the indie track playing in the background. Dan could tell that Owen felt out of place, but the girls stared around with big smiles on their faces.

  "There are lots of big kids here," Connie said.

  Dan was about to object since these were people his own age when he saw Owen laughing. Dan decided not to give him even more ammunition by protesting too much.

  "Pies!" Maggie pointed at the area in the back where they were lining up the pies. Plastic sheets were on the floor and hung over the back wall.

  They managed to get a table with a good view. That's when Dan saw a table full of familiar faces even closer to the action. Everyone sitting over there in the splatter zone was waving at him.

  Owen noticed them, and said, "Are they your friends? You can go and sit with them if you want."

  "I dance with the one that brung me," Dan said. "I'll just go and say hi to them."

  "You better come back," Connie said to him.

  "You better," Maggie echoed.

  When Dan got to their table, his friends were all looking past him and eyeing Owen.

  "So that's your new job?" Dahlia said, arching an eyebrow. "I like what I see, minus the kids, of course."

  "They're sweet girls," Dan said.

  "So you like the whole package," Stella said suggestively.

  "I didn't say that," Dan lied.

  "But you did bring him here to show him off," Paul pointed out.

  "You're already parading him around? You are shameless." Clay shook his head with fake disapproval and maybe a hint of jealousy.

  "I'm not," Dan said though he knew he was fighting a losing battle.

  "You're flaunting that six feet of gorgeous. You're rubbing our noses in it," Paul said.

  "Not mine," Gary said. "All I see is something blocking my view of that cute freshman with perfect boobs."

  "Gary, we know you're straight. You don't need to mention boobs every time you open your mouth," Clay told him.

  Gary was often the only straight guy in the group of girls and gay guys.

  "Considering that I think about boobs every single second, I'm not really mentioning them that much," Gary said.

  "I'll leave you guys to your intellectually stimulating conversation," Dan told them.

  "Ask your guy to shift over," Gary said to him as he left.

  When Dan got back, the girls were thrilled. Owen was more subtle, but he wasn't displeased to have Dan rejoin them. Once he sat down, Dan leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Move your chair. My straight friend wants to eyefuck a freshman. You're blocking his view."

  "Straight? You want me to facilitate a heterosexual transaction?" Owen asked, not bothering to whisper since every word was incomprehensible to the girls.

  With a look of disdain, Owen moved over. That put his chair closer to Dan's. Gary was a better friend than he knew.

  Once the pie action started, the girls watched so closely and laughed so much, Dan and Owen had to remind them to eat. Owen wasn't too interested though. He spent most of his time looking at his phone. Seeing him texting so much, Dan jealously wondered if Owen was seeing someone. As if on cue, Owen put away his phone.

  "Sorry. A client was having trouble filling something out. They're allowed to duck?" Owen asked about the pie throwing. He had been busy on his phone when they explained the rules. As he spoke, he leaned close to Dan to be heard over the cheering and jeering.

  Dan swallowed. He wanted to lean into him, get more of his body heat and that enticing scent, but he kept his cool as he answered, telling Owen about the rules. Dan had a feeling that Owen didn't care about the rules. He wanted to stay close to Dan. Just as Dan was hoping that wasn't just his imagination, he caught Stella giving him a thumbs up.

  By the time they went home, it was almost the girls' bedtime. They all went upstairs together, and Owen gave Dan credit for his idea.

  "They were thoroughly distracted, I'll give you that. And we're not buying any pies for a while."

  Dan had grabbed a few more things from his car and took them to his room. The room had style but not so much that Dan couldn't make himself at home. The ceiling was high, going right up to the slanting roof beams. He went to check out the view from the window of his new bedroom. He saw mostly rooftops and trees dark against a moonlit sky. Some high-rises were lit up in the distance. Turning he saw that Owen was joining him.

  "It's not a bad view, but it's better in the daytime," Owen said.

  "I like it," Dan agreed, but his eyes were on Owen not the view out the window.

  Maggie came in and looked around the room critically.

  "This is your room? You'll get lonely if you sleep here," Maggie said then she ran off.

  "That's the baby room," Connie told him as she poked her head in.

  "It is?" Dan saw no sign of that. It just looked like a guest room.

  Owen told him what Connie was talking about. "It was Maggie's. She had her own room for about half a second. That's why Mom and I got this house, so everyone would get their own roo
m. But every morning Mom and I found Maggie asleep in Connie's bed. So we moved her in there with Connie."

  "That's sweet," Dan said, but Owen disagreed.

  "Sweet? Do you know how many territorial disputes we have to break up?"

  Dan only laughed. Maggie came into the room carrying a brown bear with a yellow bow tie. She looked down at the stuffed toy gravely then handed it to Dan with a frown on her face.

  "This is Mr. Butterscotch Bear. He'll stay with you so you don't get lonely," she told him.

  "Won't you miss him?" Dan said.

  "Yeah, but I have a bunch and you don't have any."

  "OK. I'll just borrow him until I get one of my own," Dan said and looked over at Owen, who tried to figure out the reason.

  "You want me to buy you a stuffed toy?" Owen asked as a confused look crossed his face.

  "Try again," Dan told him.

  "Maybe he wants a dinosaur. Boys like dinosaurs," Connie said.

  "Dinosaur it is," Owen said. He obviously didn't want to address what else Dan's look might have meant. Dan decided to take that as a gentle rebuff.

  Chapter 3

  Sunday morning Dan joined Owen at the kitchen table so they could plan their day. They each had a cup of coffee but nothing else.

  "Let's drive to Orchardville," Dan suggested right off.

  "What's over there other than a jam factory?" Owen wanted to know.

  "Glen Meadows. It's a retirement home. I was hoping I could stop by and see my great-grandmother."

  "Didn't you just visit her with your brother when we had the wedding?" Owen asked.

  "I did, but she wasn't feeling well. I like to go and see her as often as I can. She doesn't get many visitors. Her kids are both dead. My dad never visits. My aunt visits once a year."

  "That's nice of you. What else is over there that the girls might like?"

  "There are some antique stores and good places to eat. Oh, and there's this place called Beesley Gardens. You pay a fee and go in to look at all kinds of flowers. I took my great-grandma a few times when she felt up to it. They have a tearoom too."