by Bianca Vix
Both Dev and Bryce are suddenly busy drinking beer. What’s with men and talking about relationships? I don’t get why they’re almost always so weird about it. I know these guys are both used to me being blunt. That’s not what’s scaring them. It would almost be funny, if there wasn’t so much riding on Dev’s answer.
Finally Dev looks at me. “What do you mean exactly, about making it permanent?”
“I mean, we need to be in the same place. All of us living in the same city, at least. We need to spend time together if we want to have a real relationship. Then eventually, we’d all live together. You know. Going the same way as any other relationship would go.”
“Cora.” Dev picks up my hands. “That sounds amazing. I’ve been thinking about it myself. And I’d like to do it. But I can’t leave Chicago. Not now, anyway. I really need to work as a general manager at the new hotel. It’s a huge opportunity. Once I’ve been working in that role for awhile, then I could find work in LA a lot easier too.”
Bryce is sitting silently, his face expressionless. Dev turns to him. “What about you?”
He shrugs, lifting his head but not quite meeting Dev’s gaze. “It’s a good thing we’ve got going here. Wouldn’t be a bad idea to see where we can take it.”
Coming from unemotional Bryce, those words are practically a declaration of undying love. Dev looks as thrown as I am. I know Bryce is on board. I just wasn’t sure he’d admit to it now.
I gaze into Dev’s eyes. “If we have to, we can do the long distance thing for awhile. Visit each other all the time. It wouldn’t be forever. Just until you can come out to LA. So, what do you think?”
He leans back, taking another slow sip of his beer. “I’m in. Let’s do it.”
Chapter 13
Dev
It’s so hard to be at work today. Not because of a big lack of sleep. But because I could be back at home with Cora and Bryce right now. When I found them at my place last night, it was way too late for me to take today off.
I’m almost done. I’m still counting the minutes until it’s over.
There’s a hotel guest approaching me. I try to call up a friendly expression.
“Hello there, how can I help you?” A smile springs up automatically to my face, even as I want to bare my teeth and chase the man away. This better not take long.
“I just saw the guy in the room beside mine bring an animal in. It might have been a squirrel, I couldn’t quite tell because it was mostly covered by a blanket. Before I left the floor, I went back into my room because I forgot something. And I could hear noises through the wall. Whatever it is, it doesn’t sound happy.”
I stifle a sigh. “Thank you for letting me know. I’ll take care of it right away.” I pick up the desk phone to call security as the man turns to leave.
“Pete, apparently a guest has brought in some type of animal. Room 615.” I eye the time as I give the details. Fifteen minutes left.
Ending the call, I go back over to where Austin’s tapping away at the computer. The soft beep of the front desk phone sounds before Austin can say anything. Exhaling sharply, I answer it.
“It’s Pete. It’s not a squirrel.”
“What, then?” It takes a huge effort to try to hide my impatience.
“It’s a raccoon.”
“Christ. Okay, I’ll take care of it.”
“The guy’s out of his head on something. He keeps insisting it’s his dog.”
My fingers tighten around the phone. That’s just great. This could get sticky and I’m so not in the mood to make nice. “Pete, call the police.”
They can take care of it. I turn back to Austin to find him calling after someone. A middle-aged man who’s practically running towards the elevator.
“What’s going on?”
“His credit card was declined, and he hasn’t given me another one.”
“I’ll get him.” I stride across the floor quickly, but the elevator doors close just before I get there. “What room is he in?”I call back to Austin.
“521.”
I stab at the button for the fifth floor. The hallway’s empty when I reach the man’s room. Thank fuck.
I knock sharply on the door. “Sir, since your card was declined, you need to come out and supply us with another method of payment.”
Not getting a response of any kind, I pull out my master key.
It doesn’t work. He’s deadbolted the door.
After a couple more rounds of knocking and requests, I head back towards the elevators. As I’m waiting, I make another call to security.
“Pete, are the cops here yet?”
“Just arrived.”
“When they’ve taken care of the first guest, send them up to 521. Austin can give you the details.”
I’m done. It’s already past the end of my shift. I’m not going to stay a moment longer to deal with a couple of morons. Not this time.
I duck out without saying goodbye to anyone, not even Austin. The moment I reach my building, I feel like I’ve downed a few espressos. I take the stairs two at a time.
“Hey, Dev.” Bryce is spread out on the sofa. “I just ordered dinner.”
“Great.” I push his legs away so I can sit down. He drapes them back over me. “Where’s Cora?”
“She’s taking a nap.”
He sits up and stretches. “We’ve got some time before the food gets here.” He leans into me. Our lips press together and my cock throbs in response.
Bryce pinches at my nipples, twisting them until they’re burning. Right away our kiss goes from being casual to demanding. Filled with energy and passion. Our tongues fight and I grip Bryce’s hair. He’s unbuttoning my shirt, pushing it over my shoulders.
We come up for air. I tug Bryce’s t-shirt off. Our hard cocks are grinding together through the fabric of our pants.
A sharp knock startles the hell out of both of us. Bryce grunts in annoyance. “That’ll be the food. This building needs to get the front door lock fixed. Do you know that anyone can just walk in?”
“I know. The company knows about it already. They’ll probably get to it in a couple months. Or next year.”
“Hang on. I’ll get this one.” Bryce looks around for his wallet.
I get up to go answer the door while he’s searching. I start to call back to him as I open the door to tell him not to worry about it.
The words catch in my throat when I see who’s there.
It’s not the food.
“Hello, Devin.” The man takes in my lack of shirt and rumpled appearance. “Is this a bad time?”
I can’t speak. I just stare at him. He’s about to start talking, but his jaw drops instead. He’s looking beyond me, at something over my shoulder.
Before I can turn to see what, I find out. Bryce comes up behind me. Still shirtless. He winds his arm around my waist. I can feel his erection bumping against me. It has to be visible to the stranger at my door. There’s no question that we look like we were messing around together.
Clearly the man can tell. He says nothing, but his expression says it all.
“You got the food?”
“It’s not the delivery guy.” My voice doesn’t even sound like my own.
The man turns his gaze to Bryce. “I’m George Thompson.”
“Thompson?” Bryce looks between us as we both stay silent.
“Yes. I’m Devin’s father.”
Chapter 14
Cora
I wake up to the muted sound of voices. Dev must be back. I jump out of bed and run my hands through my hair to tidy it up as I head out to the living room.
I stop short when I get there. “Mr. Thompson.”
Everyone looks over at me. I didn’t even mean to say his name out loud. The last thing I want is that man’s attention on me. But seeing him is suck a shock. Especially sitting right here in Dev’s living room as if he belongs here.
Which he absolutely doesn’t.
What the hell is he doing here?
He doesn’t even answer me. Just glances up in my direction and looks away again, like I’m not worth his time.
“You remember Cora, don’t you?” Dev makes an effort to cover up for his rudeness. How a total asshole like that man managed to father a great guy like Dev is hard to even imagine.
He gives an unenthusiastic grunt. He probably has no idea who I am. It’s not like I ever wanted to hang out at his house when Dev and I were kids. There’s a reason Dev practically lived at my place.
And this man is it.
I slide in beside Bryce. I don’t know what’s going on here, but the tension in the room is off the charts.
“What brings you by?” Dev directs the question to his father. He glares at Bryce and I before he answers.
“It’d be better if we talk in private.”
I swallow down what I’d really like to say to him. Obviously Dev’s invited him in. I’ll be civil to him for as long as Dev is. Not a moment longer.
I force a smile. “Bryce, why don’t we go get some coffee.”
“Coffee?” He looks at me like he’s a fish out of water. “Yeah, sure. Great.”
I glance at Dev. “We’ll be back in a bit.”
“Okay.” He’s super-uncomfortable. Maybe whatever’s going on will go better without Bryce and I here.
Once we’re out on the sidewalk, Bryce looks relieved. “What do we do now? Do you know this neighborhood?”
“Yes. There’s a nice bar a couple blocks over.”
“Let’s go.” Bryce circles his arm around my waist as we walk.
“So what on earth is Dev’s father doing here?” I still can’t believe it. Seeing that man, after all this time. He makes my skin crawl.
Bryce shrugs. “He just showed up at the door. We thought it was dinner being delivered. Dev didn’t expect him. Not at all.”
“Wait. You answered the door with Dev?”
“Yeah. He got there at a bad time too.”
“A bad time? So he thinks there’s something between you guys?”
“Uh huh. There’s pretty much no way he wouldn’t have noticed we were messing around right before he stopped by. What’s with that guy, anyway?”
“He’s a prick. I mean, he always was. But if he thinks his son is gay, that explains why he’s being even more of an asshole than usual.”
Bryce’s eyes widen. “Hey. You never talk about anyone that way. Did he do something to you?”
I shake my head. “Not me. Dev. Dev was like a part of my family when we were growing up. He spent so much time at our place. Because of his father. He’s an abusive drunken ass. He only paid attention to Dev if he wanted to shout at him, or worse. I can’t stand that man.”
Bryce holds the door open when we get to the bar. “I had no idea. Dev never talked about him before. I never thought much of it at the time.”
“I can’t imagine what he’s doing, showing up out of the blue like this. Dev hasn’t spoken to him for years. This can’t be good.”
“Don’t look so worried. Whatever it is, Dev will take care of it.”
“I hope so.” But there’s a growing knot in my stomach. I have a terrible feeling about this. That man is nothing but trouble. I can’t see him being concerned about Dev. Only himself. It’s who he is. Who he’s always been.
Chapter 15
Dev
I’m lying on the sofa when Cora and Bryce get back, staring out the window at nothing.
Cora comes right over to me. “Are you alone?”
“Yup.” I shift over so she can join me.
She leans against my shoulder. “So. How’d it go? I guess you haven’t seen him in awhile, right?”
“Not for years.” I can tell she’s holding back from asking me all about what’s going on. I want to tell her. I don’t know exactly how to start.
Bryce doesn’t hesitate. “So, what’d he want?”
“Bryce! You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to, Dev.”
“No, it’s fine.” I try to think of how to make it short. “He wants to be a part of my life again.”
“What?” Cora’s head whips around so she’s facing me head-on. “Why? Why now? Why ever?”
“Basically, he says he’s changed. He was down south, doing rehab for a long time. He wants to act like a father again or something. Make up for lost time.”
“Is that right.” She doesn’t believe a word of it. I get where she’s coming from. “He wasn’t really a father the first time around. I don’t think he can try to do it ‘again’ now.”
“So what’d you tell him?” Bryce asks. “Do you want him in your life now?”
I rub at the back of my head. “I don’t know. But he’s here. He’s making an effort. Maybe I should too.”
“Really, Dev?” Cora’s so upset, she looks like she’s about to cry. “After the way he treated you?”
“People can change.” It happens. Doesn’t it?
“I guess.” She sounds about as convinced as I am. “I mean, sure. But do you believe he has?”
“I don’t know. But there’s only one way to find out.”
“So, what does he want exactly? Like, how’s it going to work?”
“We didn’t really make any plans. He’s living here now. So we’ll get in touch. See what happens.”
“Okay. I mean, I guess there’s no harm in trying. There’s some time before the tour ends and we’re all flying back and forth to visit each other all the time.”
“The food came while you guys were out. I’ll get it.” I walk out before Cora can say anything more.
I collect the boxes from the kitchen. It’s pretty clear she’s not on board. It makes sense. More than anyone else, she knows what a bastard he is.
Or was. Maybe he’s changed. That’s what rehab is supposed to do. Make changes. He was pretty convincing that he’s a different person now.
Surely I should give him a second chance.
I get back to the living room before I realize the food’s probably gone cold. “I could heat this up, but the microwave’s not working. Could try the oven.”
“It’ll be fine. I eat leftovers cold all the time. No different with this.” Bryce grabs a container from me.
“Me too. It’s fine.” Cora won’t stop staring at me. “What’s up, Dev?”
How does she always know when I’m not telling her everything? I exhale. “I think I want to give my father a chance. See how it goes.”
“Oh?” She’s not eating. Neither am I.
I don’t want to say it. “I’ll need to take some time to see where things go with him. Between working at the new hotel, and spending time with him, I don’t see how I can manage a long-distance relationship. I mean, it won’t be possible to get out to LA. Not as much as I’d need to.”
Bryce swallows hard. “Yeah? Really?”
“I need to see where this goes.”
“Dev, are you sure?” Cora reaches out and touches my hand. “After everything he’s done. And all the chances you’ve already given him. You can’t forget what he gets like. Do you really want to go through it again?”
I can’t meet her eyes. She’s always been able to see right through me. “I think he’s telling the truth. That he’s changed. He never tried rehab before, you know. Now he has, that’s a big thing.”
Bryce’s foot is tapping out a rapid beat on the floor.“So we could be the ones visiting you instead.”
“I mean, I can’t make any plans now. But it’s not like I don’t want us to be together.” This was all easier to decide when my father was talking to me. He was so convincing. Now nothing’s as clear as it was before. “We can still try the long distance thing. I mean, you’re still touring for awhile anyway.” Cora and Bryce aren’t saying a word. “Right?”
“Yeah.” Bryce starts eating again.
“Sure.” Cora picks up a fork, but only toys with it. She sounds extremely sad. I don’t know how to convince her that this is a good thing.
That’s pro
bably because nothing about this feels right to me either. But at the same time, it’s like I want to see if the guy’s serious. It’s like it’s something I just need to do, no matter what. I can’t explain why.
The three of us eat in silence, unspoken words thick in the room.
Chapter 16
Dev
“So, Devin. What are you doing for work these days?” George settles back into his seat.
We’re at a baseball game, of all things. It was his idea. Is this what adult fathers and sons do? I guess it must be. It’s weird being surrounded by thousands of people the first time we’re getting together. But when he suggested it, I went along. Anything else would probably be just as strange.
“I’m the duty manager at the White Stone hotel.”
“Hey. That’s a pretty nice place. What do you do exactly?”
“I work with guests. I represent upper management too. Pretty much anything can come my way that needs taking care of.”
“That’s great. I always knew you’d do well for yourself.”
That’s the first I’ve heard about him knowing that. I don’t know what to say to him. “What about you?”
“Oh, I’m in between jobs right now. It hasn’t been easy finding something since I got back into town.”
The action’s starting up down below us. Now I am glad we’re here. The game gives us something to watch and fill up the awkward silence with.
I like baseball, and I haven’t been to a game in so long. Even so, it’s distracting watching it with my father beside me.
I still don’t even know what to call him. He’s certainly not my dad.
But in a way, this isn’t going too badly. It doesn’t take long before we’re both getting into the game.
At the seventh inning stretch, he turns to me. “Having a good time?”
“Yes.” I am. It’s still a little weird. But it’s better.