by Trina Solet
Our Boys
By Trina Solet
Copyright © 2017 by Trina Solet
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, locales or actual events is entirely coincidental.
Our boys
Gay Romance
Trina Solet
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 1
His day at work was over, and Trevor was waiting for Mrs. Keegan to answer the door to her small, yellow house with the neat garden. She was his old teacher, now retired, and they had kept in touch. When he lost his aunt and started taking care of his one-year-old cousin, Zane, Mrs. Keegan stepped into the role of Zane's honorary grandmother and babysitter. With only a part time job, it was a struggle for Trevor to pay for babysitters and daycare. She was a lifesaver.
As she opened the door to him, Mrs. Keegan greeted him with a warm smile. "The way you rush over here straight from work, that is true dedication."
"I can't wait to see Zane and to let you off the hook," Trevor told her.
"I know it," she said as they went in. "You've always had a very strong sense of responsibility, but Zane is a little sweetheart. I am in no hurry to be rid of him."
Trevor smiled at her. "How was Zane today?"
"My VCR and all my video tapes fascinate him."
"Maybe he'll grow up to be an archeologist," Trevor told her.
"Oh, you," she said and looked at him sideways from behind her glasses. "Other than that, he was exploring away and eating like a champ."
"He looks happy," Trevor said as he went over to Zane who was sitting on the rug and playing with the fringe. Zane looked up at him and smiled big then he reached up with both arms for Trevor to pick him up.
"He's such a friendly boy," Mrs. Keegan said as she watched Trevor holding Zane in his arms.
"Not like me, right?" Trevor looked at Zane fondly. Zane was playing with the metal snaps on his shirt, staring at them like they were the most fascinating things he had ever seen. Considering how Trevor spent the first five years of his life, he couldn't imagine that he was ever a happy child like Zane.
"You were just shy," Mrs. Keegan told him kindly. "The quietest boy in my class. But you warmed up to me as soon as you found out that I used to be your Aunt Christina's teacher too."
That was because his Aunt Chrissie was a truly special person in his life. After a terrible childhood with his father, going to live with her turned Trevor's whole life around. Losing her was devastating to him, and her death left Zane without a mother. Trevor had to step in to take care of him, not only because he loved the little guy with all his heart but also because he wanted to give Zane the kind of home his aunt gave him, a home that was safe and full of warmth and love.
If only he had a full time job to better be able to support him and Zane. At least his work situation had a silver lining – Trevor loved the extra time he got to spend with Zane.
"Always so deep in thought," Mrs. Keegan teased him noticing how serious and preoccupied he was.
"Just thinking about work. I keep hoping Mr. Dundee will turn my part time job into full time so I can prove to social services I can take good care of Zane."
"It will happen," she assured him.
"I hope so."
After thanking Mrs. Keegan, Trevor gathered up all of Zane's things and they were out of there. On the way to the apartment building where they had moved only last week, Trevor showed Zane the sights.
"One day we'll get sandwiches from there," he said as they passed Sal's Deli.
This was a nice neighborhood, perfect for raising Zane but a real strain on Trevor's budget. It would be worth it if it helped get him permanent custody of his little cousin. They went inside the building courtyard with its arched doorway and a shaded area where the mailboxes were. Though he knew mail didn't come until later, Trevor checked his mailbox just in case. He didn't want to miss any official mail about Zane's custody.
"Empty," Trevor said as Zane craned his neck to look inside the mailbox. "You close it." Trevor helped him shut the mailbox and Zane was happy with the noise it made. He probably wanted to open and close it a million times now. That kind of thing could keep him occupied for hours.
Trevor decided to go up the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator. On the landing right between floors there was an opening with an archway that looked out onto some empty fields and, further on, a big construction site. Every floor had one. When they got to the one right below their floor, floor six, Trevor stopped. Since they moved in, he had taken Zane over to the landing with the archway every chance he got so he could have a look around.
It was sort of like having a balcony. The empty fields probably had a future as construction projects, but for now they were a featureless green. On the construction site beyond, some steel beams had already gone up as well as a framework of scaffolding.
Trevor liked to watch the work going on. He wasn't sure if Zane did, but he seemed to enjoy being out here. With the summer in full swing, the day was warm and sunny, but there was a nice breeze. Zane blinked and squinted into the wind blowing on his face and ruffling his fine hair.
Shifting his gaze to the sidewalk below, Trevor saw two figures walking toward the building. One was a dark haired man in his late twenties or early thirties with a great body and a big laugh that carried up to Trevor and made him smile. The other was a little boy with dark blond hair and a determined walk that set his colorful backpack to bounce against his back. He had said something to make his dad laugh.
Trevor expected to see them pass by, but then he saw them disappear right below. They must have gone inside the side entrance of his building. It would be nice if they lived here too.
He didn't expect to have much in common with that man though. That boy was almost certainly his son with no threat of being taken away. And that man probably had a blond wife or girlfriend waiting for him at home to complete the picture.
Having moved for his job and to be close to good schools and daycare, Trevor felt alone. The only person he knew who lived nearby was Mrs. Keegan. Moving away from his friends was hard, but he had to do everything he could to show that he was the best possible person to take care of Zane. Nothing else mattered to him, only giving Zane a good home.
*
Diego was bringing Jamie home from daycare. While they walked home, Diego got an update on all of his adventures. The highlight of his day was when another kid sat on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Diego got a kick out of that too.
The little guy was all talked out by the time they reached their apartment building and got on the elevator. That gave Diego a chance to check his work emails and texts. As Diego was busy on his phone, he let Jamie handle the tough job of pushing the button for floor six. Then he got engrossed in
a lengthy reply to an email, and Jamie practically had to push him off the elevator.
"We're here, Dad. It says six. Six," Jamie said while he steered him toward their apartment.
"Thanks, son. You're a great elevator guy."
They were just about to take the turn to go to number 608 when something got Jamie's attention, and he stopped and pulled on Diego's shirt.
"Who's that?" he asked pointing.
They were at the top of the stairway, looking toward the balcony at the landing. Standing there was a young man holding a very small child.
"I guess those must be our new neighbors," Diego said and gently pushed down Jamie's arm. "Don't point. Someone said a young guy had moved in and he had a baby." The attractive young guy and his little boy made a nice sight, and to his credit, Jamie had spotted them first.
"A neighbor baby?" Jamie said. He looked at the guy and the baby with such intense curiosity. Jamie was four and it had been ages and ages since he was a baby. Diego wished he could have been there to get to know baby Jamie. Of course Jamie from age two and a half to four was plenty to deal with.
"You want to go meet them and say hi?" Diego asked him.
Jamie agreed and marched over. With Jamie at his side, Diego put away his phone and went down the steps. Thanks to Jamie stomping on each step, the guy with the baby heard them come down the short flight of stairs to the landing. He turned and the boy in his arms greeted them with a random baby noise.
The baby boy was actually about a year old maybe a year and change, so not exactly a baby, a brand new toddler maybe. The guy was gorgeous – blue eyes, thick eyelashes, dark hair and a slim physique. No one said the guy who moved in was so hot.
With Jamie peering at them eagerly, Diego greeted the young guy and his kid. "Hi, I'm Diego Dominguez. This is my son Jamie. We're in number 608. Are you guys our new neighbors?"
"I guess we are," the guy said. He was reserved, not unfriendly but cautious. He hesitated for a beat before introducing himself. It seemed like the sight of Jamie put him at ease a little bit. "I'm Trevor Yeager and this is Zane."
"I like his name," Jamie said looking at the little boy with approval.
Zane only blinked.
"Say hi, Zane," Trevor instructed him and the little guy said bye and started waving.
"That's bye not hi," Jamie objected, but Zane didn't care about his disapproval. He just kept waving and waving.
"Waving is like his favorite thing. Once he starts there's no stopping him," Trevor said and gave the little kid in his arms the most beautiful smile Diego had ever seen.
Seeing that he couldn't beat him, Jamie decided to join him. He started waving too. This delighted Zane and he giggled.
"So were you guys watching the construction?" Diego asked as he looked over Trevor's shoulder.
Out of the corner of his eye, Diego noticed that Trevor was slim with a firm body under slacks and a buttoned light blue shirt that looked touchably soft. Everything about the man was touchable from his dark brown hair, broad shoulders, nice chest and abs and further down.
Trevor had turned to face the view and Diego stepped up next to him. "I like looking at the construction site, but Zane was looking at the cars over there. Every time one passes by, he follows it with his eyes," Trevor said and brushed a strand of blond hair from the little boy's face.
"I want to see too," Jamie said since he was the only one who couldn't see over the wall.
Diego picked him up.
"They're building a big building," Jamie said. "Look over there." For Zane's benefit he pointed at the construction to the west. Jamie was fascinated by what he saw, but Zane was not.
"I think we'll be looking up the names of some construction equipment later," Diego decided. "I'm pretty sure that thing sticking way up is a crane."
"Crane," Jamie repeated like he was memorizing a magic word. Then he repeated it to Zane, who was leaning forward.
"Why can't we see the building from the windows, Dad?" Jamie wondered.
"Because we're on the other side," Diego told him.
"We can't see it either. We're in 602. It's one of the smaller ones," Trevor said.
Diego had seen those apartments. They had one decent bedroom and one very small one, but big enough for Zane. "Ours has a third bedroom I use as my office," he said then he heard his phone chime with a new email. "Speaking of which, I better get back to do some work."
"Already," Jamie said and pouted as Diego set him down.
"Don't you want your snack?" Diego asked him.
Jamie nodded. "OK."
"The snack wins out," Diego said and smiled at Trevor. "It was nice meeting you. We'll see you around."
"Nice meeting the two of you too," Trevor said.
"Bye, Zane," Jamie told the little boy. "Now you wave. Wave."
Zane hesitated then he started waving and saying hi.
"He got it wrong again," Jamie said as Zane just kept waving.
Trevor laughed and Diego stared at him for a moment. He just met the man, and when he laughed it went straight to his heart. That Trevor was trouble.
After going home and serving a snack to Jamie, Diego settled down in front of his computer to get back to work. He got a good deal done before he took a break when he saw that Lance was calling him. If he didn't answer him, he would have to deal with a barrage of texts. Lance was a good friend though, and one of Jamie's favorite people.
"The coffee shop cutie wasn't there today. I'm a very sad guy right now. What's new in the world of fatherhood?" Lance asked.
"Not much, but I met a hot new neighbor," Diego informed him.
"Gonna jump into his pants?" Lance asked, getting right to the point.
"I'm not even sure he's gay."
"That means you think he might be," Lance concluded.
"Or maybe it's just wishful thinking." Diego didn't trust himself to make a clear-headed judgment about Trevor.
"Then he must be really hot," Lance guessed right once again.
That was exactly why Diego didn't trust himself when it came to him. "He is, but I'm in no rush to jump into anything anyway." Diego wasn't about to start something with a neighbor. He liked to keep things casual, and that would be tricky if the guy lived in his building and on his floor even. Plus they both had kids to think of. The whole setup was a recipe for a messy situation. This was strictly a case of look but don't touch.
Lance didn't see it that way. "I know you aren't in a rush, believe me," he said with a loud sigh. "You can't let Simon ruin you for all other men."
"Simon was a cautionary tale. The next guy I let into my life will be rock solid," Diego said and heard the fierceness in his own voice.
"Are we talking muscle?" Lance asked.
"You are. I was talking character," Diego told him, but he didn't really expect to find the right man any time soon.
"Oh yeah, let me lie back, close my eyes and picture some rock solid... character."
"That's not what character is for," Diego told him, but if he let his mind linger on Trevor for more than a second, he might be picturing all sorts of things. "OK. Let me do some work. Talk to you later."
"Be good," Lance told him.
That was smart advice and Diego planned to take it. He would be a good dad and a good neighbor and nothing more. Plus there was something about Trevor, a look in those pretty, blue eyes that was a little fragile and vulnerable. It might as well be a warning sign. It said, "Don't you dare break my heart."
Chapter 2
On Saturday, Diego wasn't surprised that he was seeing his new neighbors again. The gorgeous young guy and the kid were in the same place where he and Jamie had spotted them before. They were looking at the view and Trevor was pointing out some clouds to Zane.
"Look! They're there again. Trevor and Zane," Jamie exclaimed and stuck his arm straight out to point at them.
"Yes, they are, and you're pointing again," Diego told him then he waved to Trevor and Zane.
As he went down wit
h Jamie leading the way, Diego noticed that Trevor still looked guarded and Zane was still adorable. Zane burbled at them, and Jamie took that as a sign.
"Zane wants to talk to us, Dad."
"I'm sure he has a lot to say," Diego told him then he greeted Trevor and Zane. "Good morning, you two. I guess these boys have important things to discuss."
Jamie jumped right in and greeted the little boy with a loud, "Hi, Zane." He only got more babbling in return. "He's talking a lot. Do you know what he's saying?" Jamie asked, looking up at Trevor.
"I think he's getting a little ahead of himself, trying to have a whole conversation, but he hasn't learned to talk yet," Trevor told him.
"Maybe he's saying he's hungry?" Diego guessed. "We were just about to go for breakfast. What are you two doing?" Diego had noticed that Trevor had a bag over his shoulder, probably with stuff for Zane, so they might be on their way somewhere.
"We're just going to be strolling around, learning the neighborhood," Trevor said.
"You want to go to breakfast with us?" Diego asked and looked from him to Zane, like he was expecting the little chatterbox to answer him.
"Oh, no. Thank you. We're good," Trevor said but there was something odd about his refusal. Diego wondered if he thought he was hitting on him.
"We're going to have pancakes. Pancakes are really good," Jamie told him and Zane too. Zane shook his head at him and gave him a gummy grin. "It's pancakes. You can't say no." Jamie looked at both Zane and Trevor.
Noticing how reluctant Trevor looked, Diego backed down. "He can say no if he doesn't want to go. Sorry, we're two pushy guys," Diego said and ruffled Jamie's hair. "We won't be offended if you have better things to do. Right?" He asked the last of Jamie to let him know to back off as well.
Now Trevor looked kind of guilty. "You're not being pushy. I'm just trying to save money. I'm on a budget right now. This place isn't cheap and my current job is only part time."
"I was going to treat you. Like a welcome to the neighborhood, but instead of a casserole, you get breakfast. So what do you say? Breakfast is on me," Diego said. He was being pushy for sure now. But knowing that Trevor had money issues, Diego wanted to take them out to breakfast even more than before.