by Lane Hart
I drop to my knees and lay my head against her bump, spreading my palms flat on both sides. It doesn’t take but a few seconds to feel him or her move. It’s incredible, knowing there’s a tiny person bouncing around inside her.
“I tried to call you. How are you holding up, Joe?” Lacy asks, combing her hands through my hair. I can only shake my head in response.
“It’ll be okay,” she says reassuringly, but my eyes burn knowing it’s a lie. Trusting the one person I’ve wanted for so long, finally getting her, and watching everything fall apart is too much with all that’s going on with the baby.
“I can’t lose you,” I tell Lacy.
“You won’t,” she replies, but despite what she says, I’ll be left behind when they become a family. Hours apart but a lifetime away from what they’ll have here. “Come on. I need to get back in bed. We can cuddle there.”
Getting to my feet, I follow her to their room, knowing every second I’m here will make it that much harder to let her go when I’m alone again, but right now I’m too stupid to care.
…
Katie
I’d talked to almost every woman in the courthouse, listening to them gossip incessantly about the man I was falling in love with being gay. How they’d love to be a fly on the wall when he’s with Chad. My heart breaks a little more for both men with each word, but still I listen and ask questions. Since they all believe I’m the ‘victim’ of this new revelation, they talk freely to me. Finally, later in the afternoon, I get a name. Hoping this is it, I put one of our small digital recorders in my purse and walk over to Chad’s office. It’s a large firm and I’ve never been inside the tall structure in the middle of downtown, just a few blocks from the courthouse. After asking the receptionist to see Leah, she sends me to the far side of the building.
The assistant’s desk is across from another set of elevators with Chad’s name plate beside an office directly behind her. His door is open but the room is dark. I wonder if he’s with Joe, and where they both are. I’d almost bet Joe went to Charlotte to see Lacy. My chest hurts, wondering if he’ll sleep with her.
“Hi, can I help you?” the oh-so-helpful assistant asks.
“Hey, I’m Katie Albright. I was hoping to find Chad. Do you know where he is?”
She gasps and gnaws on her slutty looking, red, painted lips. “I’m so sorry. I heard you were dating Joe, but not anymore I bet…” She’s right, because he thinks I’m the one that outted him and Chad.
“What? Oh, Joe and I are fine,” I lie. “That ridiculous rumor about him and Chad is completely unfounded. I mean, I know for a fact that he definitely doesn’t swing that way, if you know what I mean.”
She winces and hisses. “Oh, you poor thing. I hate to tell you this, but he actually does.”
“He-he does? How would you know? Because I was intimate with him… just last night.” I mix a little truth in with the acting to make it seem more believable.
“He really does, honey,” she says, leaning forward to the point her much too inappropriate for the office cleavage is about to fall out of her blouse. “I saw them together,” she whispers.
“You-you did?” I ask.
“Joe was here ‘visiting’ Chad the other day. When he left his pants were unzipped, and when I went into Chad’s office he was slumped in one of his guest chairs in the same state of undress. I actually saw his cock hanging out!”
“Oh my God!” I pull out what little acting ability I’m capable of. “So, you’re the one who told everyone because you saw it first hand?” I hold my breath for her answer.
“Oh yeah. I mean, I didn’t want you, or any other women, wasting time when they are obviously ‘together’.”
“Great, thank you!” I say, walking over to hit the elevator call button. I pull the recorder out from my purse and see it’s still ticking. After hitting the stop button, I replay the last recording and fast-forward until the end. Our voices are loud in the quiet office.
Oh my God! So you’re the one who told everyone because you saw it first hand?
Oh yeah. I mean, I didn’t want you, or any other woman, wasting time when they were obviously ‘together.’
“Perfect,” I say as I wave goodbye to the awestruck assistant and take the elevator down to the lobby.
Now I just need to find Chad and see if Candice can work late tonight. After she assures me she can stay until whenever I get home, I do an online search for Chad Flanagan, hoping his private address is listed. Thank goodness it is. He lives in a really nice apartment downtown near his office. When I find a place to park, I walk inside and take the elevator up to the fourth floor, apartment 4B, and knock.
Chad opens the door wearing nothing but navy blue sweats, holding a beer bottle in his free hand. The normally professional, put together man looks...lost. Realizing it's me, he squares his broad shoulders and his golden jaw clenches. "Did you do it on purpose to cut me out of his life? If so, congratu-fucking-lations, it worked." His speech is slurred and the smell of alcohol is emanating strongly from him. He's devastated that not only is his secret out, but apparently, Joe also ended things between them.
"I'm sorry everyone found out, but it wasn't me. I swear I didn't say a word to anyone."
His gray eyes narrow in disbelief. "Then who the fuck was it? Because no one else-"
I reach in my purse and hit play.
Oh my God. So you’re the one who told everyone because you saw it first hand?
Oh yeah. I mean, I didn’t want you, or any other woman, wasting time when they were obviously ‘together.’
“Motherfucker,” Chad mutters, immediately recognizing the voice. “That bitch. She is so fucking fired. Our firm has a strict no gossiping policy. Can I get a copy of that?” he asks, nodding to the recorder.
“Sure. I can download it and email the file to you.”
“Thanks,” he says with a sigh. “I guess I owe you an apology.”
“It’s okay,” I assure him. “Of course you and Joe would think it was me, it makes sense.”
Chad winces. “He didn’t at first, but I may have persuaded him that you were the most likely culprit.”
“Well, hopefully when I explain and play this for him, he’ll know the truth.”
“Yeah,” he says, resting his forehead on his arm that’s gripping the doorframe. “Too bad the truth won’t do me any good.”
“I’m sorry,” I tell him honestly. “I wouldn’t try to push you out of his life. You mean a lot to him, even if he doesn’t admit it or understand it himself.”
“It took months to get him to open his eyes, and now with just a few words…”
“This doesn’t have to change anything.”
“Bullshit. There’s no way he’ll let people think he’s gay.”
“Because he’s not, and you’re not. Why can’t the three of us be together and you both just be openly bisexual? Fuck everyone and their opinions. If you’re willing to give up your happiness because you’re scared of what other people think, then both of you are idiots.”
He smiles before pulling me against him in a one-armed hug, since he’s still holding his beer. “He’s lucky to have you, and I think I am, too.”
“There’s plenty of room in my life and my bed for both of you,” I tell him as I wrap my arms around his waist, resting my head on his bare chest. “So are you ready to go to Charlotte and convince Joe that this can work?”
“Hell yes. Let me get dressed. But you’ll have to drive because I am so drunk,” he says, making me laugh.
…
Joe
“We haven’t…not since you and him…” I hear Lacy’s voice as I come awake in her and Will’s bed after a midday nap. The kind of nap where you fall into such a deep sleep that when you come to you don’t know if it’s day or night or how fucking long you’ve been out. Hell, maybe the rumor that I’m gay is all just part of that dream.
“I thought that he still might want to be with you, even after…”
Now I’m pr
etty sure I must be dreaming when I hear Katie’s voice.
“He’s only wanted you, even from the beginning. I was just a stand-in.” At Lacy’s confession, I open my eyes to figure out what the fuck’s going on. Katie and Lacy are sitting on the foot of the bed facing each other, both of their heads turned to look at me.
“Are you two gonna kiss now? Cause that would be really hot,” I joke with them.
“Maybe next time,” Lacy says with a smile and a shake of her head before she gets up and leaves.
“I didn’t tell anyone,” Katie says right off the bat.
“You didn’t?” I ask. “Not even Victoria? Because you’re the only one-”
“It was Chad’s assistant, Leah. I have her admission recorded. She saw you leave Chad’s office with your pants open and then Chad’s in the same state…”
“Oh shit.”
As soon as she says the words I remember the day before we left for the conference. I’d gone to his office…Leah told me my fly was open and apparently went into Chad’s office that I left open.
“Fuck.” It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have gone in there because I knew exactly what I wanted when I did. And now we’re both out because of it. I owe Chad an apology and need to make sure he knows it wasn’t Katie. How could I have doubted her so easily? The look on her face now still shows the hurt my accusation caused her. “I’m sorry, Katie Kat. I should’ve known you wouldn’t.” Sitting up, I reach for her and pull her down to the mattress wrapped in my arms, just holding her. She snuggles up to me, fitting perfectly.
“I need to talk to Chad,” I finally say into the silence.
“He’s here.”
“He is?” I ask in surprise.
“Yeah, how do you think I found you?”
“So…he’s not pissed at us?”
“Of course not. And you can’t just push him away because of what some bitch told everyone. He’s a part of your life, like Lacy and Will. I get that now.”
“You do?”
“Uh-huh.” She nods against my chest. “Why didn’t you tell me you don’t have any other family?”
Family. Yeah, I guess Lacy, Will, and Chad are the closest thing I’ve ever had to a family. A threesome and a homosexual relationship are the components of my fucked up family.
“What is there to tell? That I was raised in a children’s home because my parents didn’t want me? That I spent two years in foster care until they had their own kids and they returned me to the home? That by that time I was school-aged, older than the babies most families were looking for, so that’s where I lived until I could legally leave on my own? I don’t want the pity, because that shit is absolutely worthless to me now.”
“It’s not pity, Joe. It’s empathy. I want to know because I care about you. You shouldn’t be embarrassed by your past. You should be proud of the fact that despite how terrible your life started, you’ve done better than most people could ever dream of. I know how tough it was to get into law school. How expensive. It’s not an easy feat to accomplish, but you did it all on your own. That just makes you even more amazing.”
“I don’t feel very amazing.”
“You are. And this rumor will go away soon, and things can go back to normal. Even if it doesn’t, we can still be together; me, you and him, if that’s what you want.”
“You think so?” I ask, wondering if it’s really that easy. Over the years nothing seems to have come easily.
“Yes. That’s what Chad and I want. Forget what people think and let’s keep doing what makes us happy. So will you please come back to Greensboro with me and Chad tonight? I need to get home soon, so that Candice can leave.”
“Okay,” I finally agree, since being with both of them tonight is where I want to be. “I want to do this, and I don’t care who knows, because I’m falling in love with both of you.”
Chapter Eleven
Katie
Despite how crazy the day before was, Joe, Chad and I got a good nights’ sleep and were up bright and early Friday morning, ready to take on the gossip head on. The smell of syrup had my mouth watering after I finished getting ready. Chad has gone home to get dressed for work, but Joe’s still here, cooking me breakfast again. He’s spoiling me. I haven’t cooked all week.
"Good morning," I say to Joe, since we skipped the greeting this morning when we woke up; the three of us naked and both men buried deep inside of me at the same time. Even though the threesome was really hot, watching the two men make love to each other last night after we got home was even hotter.
"Morning," Joe says over his shoulder with a smile.
"Whatcha cooking?" I ask, taking a seat up on the stool at the kitchen counter.
"French toast. You like French toast, right?"
"Of course." I’m content to sit and watch him work. "Smells delicious."
"Yeah, it's almost done."
"I don't know which I like better, waking up with you in my bed or in my kitchen cooking," I joke.
He gives me another over the shoulder grin. "There's no reason you can’t have both."
I laugh and get up to fix coffee, seeing the pot’s already made. I don't know what to do with myself. It’s nice sharing my morning with someone else. Drew usually sleeps in and barely wakes up before I leave for work.
Joe interrupts my musing when he sits a plate of food in front of me with a bottle of syrup. Taking a seat beside me on the other stool at the counter he settles in to eat his own plate.
I cut my first bite and dig in. "Mm. This is really good. Thank you," I tell him.
"Sure," he says absently as he looks at the pile of mail on the counter where Candice left it last night. I haven’t had a chance to sort through it yet. Now that I’m actually looking at it, I realize there’s an envelope with Drew's name and our address handwritten on the front.
“Drew already gets mail?” Joe asks.
“Not usually.” I pick up the envelope that doesn’t have a return address and open it. Inside there’s a black and white photo of Drew from his birthday party me and a few women from work threw for him a few weeks ago. He’s wearing his party hat, blowing out the number three candle. I'd posted it on Facebook, thinking nothing of it since I only accept friend requests from people that I actually know.
Flipping the envelope over again, I notice the postmark was stamped from Raleigh. A few friends from college stayed in that area after we graduated from State, but I can't figure why they wouldn’t put their name or a note inside.
"What is it?" Joe asks.
"I'm not really sure,” I say, handing the photo and envelope to him.
"There's no return address," Joe says, lifting it to look at the front and back.
"Yeah, weird, right? It's the picture I put on Facebook, but I don't know why one of my friends would send it without a note or something."
"Raleigh?" Joe exclaims when he notices the postmark. His fork clatters loudly down on his plate.
"Several friends from college still live down there. I went to undergrad at State."
"Katie, you know what else is in Raleigh, right?" he asks seriously, his tan face seeming a little paler than normal.
I shrug, not really understanding his question. "A lot of things, why?"
"It's also where Central Prison is."
"You think an inmate sent it? That's crazy. No one there could see my Facebook pictures, and it doesn't have their stamp on it. You know the prisons always stamp the front, labeling it as inmate mail. I get those letters all the time at work from pissed off defendants."
Joe exhales and relaxes his shoulders a little. "Yeah, you're right. All the prisons in the state are required to label them. It's just, it seems…odd."
He quickly pulls out his phone from his pocket and calls someone, despite the early hour.
"Tyler, sorry to call so early, but did you check on where that inmate is being held?" he asks the police officer. "No, that's okay, I figured you just got busy. What? Why?" he asks into the phone, then
puts it away.
"What's going on, Joe?" I ask, growing more concerned.
"The other day I asked Tyler about your sister's case. He said he thought Rakes was in Central and would check on it. He'd forgotten but said he'd look it up while I was on the phone, then he cursed and said he'd call me back."
"Rakes?" I ask. "You mean…" I try not to ever think of that man's name, much less say it.
"Yeah. But Tyler said Rakes doesn't know that Drew survived."
We both sit in silence until a few minutes later Joe's phone rings. Still holding it in his hand, he answers right away. "Tyler?" he asks, then he jumps up, sending the stool backwards until it slams against the floor. "You've got to be fucking kidding. Are you absolutely sure? Email it to me. Okay, that's probably a good idea. Thanks."
Joe runs a hand through his messy morning hair in frustration when he ends the call. "You won't believe this shit, but Rakes is missing."
"Missing?" I ask, jumping off my own stool. "How can he be 'missing' when he's incarcerated at a high security prison?" I yell.
"I don't know. Tyler's making some calls to the warden to figure out what's going on. They've apparently kept it real quiet, only a nonspecific alert to the local police department that Tyler was able to find through his department. It just says that three inmates in transport to a medical facility, and the two guards with them are missing. They've been careful not to say they 'escaped.' The RPD has kept it quiet, basically under the impression they wrecked and are all dead somewhere, but the transport vehicle hasn't been seen since it left the prison two days ago."
"Two days ago! How could they not report this or put out a statewide alert?"
"Have you got any Ziploc bags?" Joe asks.
"What?"
"I want to take this to the evidence room and get them to run prints on it. Even though we've both touched it they might be able to find something," he says nodding to the picture and envelope. Oh, that’s actually a really good idea. I’m not thinking clearly.
Now shaking from head to toe, I go over to the drawer where I keep plastic bags and hand Joe a large bag. Using a napkin, he picks both pieces of mail up and puts them inside.