by Trina Solet
"That's understandable," Trevor said.
"See. You two are the same," Lance claimed just as they heard a knock on the door.
Diego was back, and Trevor let him in. He admired the way Diego looked dressed in a suit. His body was amazing in jeans and a T-shirt, but a business suit gave him an aura of power and gravity. It wasn't Trevor's favorite look, but on Diego it was scorching hot.
"How are things going?" Diego asked.
"Pretty well. Zane is asleep. Jamie is playing quietly."
At the moment, he was playing with Lance who had joined him in the living room and stretched out on the floor.
Finding Lance lying down, Diego asked him, "What are you doing down there? You can't be low energy around kids. They'll eat you alive."
"Who is low energy? How dare you!" Lance said, sitting up.
Jamie objected and tried to push him back down. "Hey, get back down, Lance." Then he explained to his dad. "He's the bridge from The Frogs Under the Drawbridge, but he can't go up yet."
"See, I'm a bridge," Lance said defensively.
"I'm a frog," Jamie said.
"You are a great frog," Diego told him and gave him a hug and a kiss.
Trevor heard Zane fussing, and went to get him. Guess his nap was over. When he came back, Jamie smiled but then he looked around Trevor's small living room where everyone was hanging out.
"We're too many boys now," Jamie said.
"That's called a sausage party," Lance informed him.
"Don't teach him that," Diego hissed.
Lance changed his tune immediately. "Sorry, I was wrong. Your dad is right. There's no such thing as too many boys."
"So how would all you boys like to stay for dinner?" Trevor asked though he wasn't sure what he was going to make.
"Only if you let me order in," Diego said.
"Good idea. That chicken you took out is still frozen," Lance said.
"Then you're the one inviting us to dinner," Trevor pointed out to Diego.
"Is that what I just did?" Diego said and grinned at him.
"What is this thing you two have going on?" Lance asked. "I feel like a third wheel."
Trevor stammered a little, but Diego only looked around the room then back at Lance.
"You might want to count the wheels again," Diego told him then he tickled Zane.
"Are we having pizza?" Jamie said cutting to the heart of the matter.
As they waited for the pizza and a few other things they ordered, the kids and Lance were playing on the floor in the living room. Trevor was in the kitchen getting the plates when Diego joined him.
"Thanks for hosting this dinner. This kind of thing keeps me from missing you, and also makes me miss you even more," Diego said.
Trevor just stood there speechless, holding a stack of plates.
"Don't drop those," Diego told him and took them from him. Their hands touched. An electric current passed between them, and Trevor looked helplessly into Diego's eyes. Did he want to discourage him or throw himself into his arms? At that moment, he couldn't remember.
"I think I'm going to call you tonight before I go to sleep so your voice can fill my head," Diego told him.
"Damn you," Trevor said under his breath.
"I'm getting to you," he said, but he had been getting to Trevor since they met.
Chapter 9
It was Saturday, and Diego was chatting with Lance. Lance wanted sympathy for being stuck having to study and work over the weekend. Then he switched to interrogating Diego.
"I saw you two when we were having pizza at Trevor's. How you and Trevor were not looking at each other. Don't deny it. Something is up."
"I didn't look at the guy trying to hand me an advertising flyer for a free appetizer either. I guess I have something going on with him too?" Diego said.
"I don't know, Diego, do you?"
"Yes. And all the other guys I don't look at. All of them," he said then he sighed. "I am finding it harder to keep my cool around Trevor. I want to help him out whenever I can, but it's more than that. You know when you really like a guy, I mean when you're really into him, crazy about him, how you want to give him everything?" Diego stumbled over his words, not sure how to explain himself.
"What are you talking about? I'm poor! What can I give a guy?" Lance snapped at him.
"It's a feeling, like I want to give him the world, the moon, the stars," Diego said. Maybe there was no way to explain how he felt.
"Kind of," Lance said.
"OK. Go and study. Talk to you later," Diego told him and he hung up to the sound of Lance grumbling.
Diego knew he had to get busy too and do a few chores. He noticed some of their wastebaskets were full so he called Jamie over.
"Want to help me?" Diego asked him. They got all the trash together and grabbed the recycling too. On their way back from throwing out the trash and recycling, Jamie spotted Trevor and Zane on the landing and jumped up and down. "Look!"
"Let's see what they're up to," Diego said and took Jamie's hand as they went over to them. They couldn't spend all day doing chores, could they?
Trevor said, "Good morning" and Zane started waving but he was now saying hi and instead of bye.
"He did it right," Jamie said.
"He's learning something new every day," Trevor told him.
Taking in the view, Diego asked, "You want to take the kids out there?"
"To the construction site?" Trevor said, overshooting the mark.
Jamie agreed immediately. "Yeah! Let's go!"
"Cool idea, you guys," Diego told them sarcastically. "But I was thinking of something a little closer. That field out there is begging for someone to play soccer on it." The field was just across the street. It was an empty lot that would one day turn into another construction site. Until then, it could be their playing field.
"We have a soccer ball," Jamie told Trevor.
"OK. We could do that," Trevor said.
They got the ball, Trevor brought a few things for Zane and soon they were out there playing soccer, sort of. There was a lot of running around after the ball but not a lot of scoring. With some help from Diego, Zane got to run around too. He even got to kick the ball, mostly by accident. Though the teams were sometimes unclear, it was supposed to be Diego and Zane against Trevor and Jamie. Every time he saw the ball, Zane wanted to run after it.
"Look at him. He wants to run before he can walk," Trevor said.
When the ball was close again, Zane lunged for it then hugged it to him.
"Zane sure likes that ball," Diego said.
"He doesn't want to kick it. He just wants to pick it up and hug it," Jamie complained.
"He is breaking the cardinal rule of soccer," Diego said. "No hugging the ball."
As Zane looked up at them with wide, blue eyes, no one had the heart to take the ball away from him, but Trevor did list more of Zane's crimes. "He also won't give the ball back and he tried to eat twigs and grass but not any of the snacks that I brought for him to eat." Done scolding the grinning, little devil, Trevor got down and tickled him.
"He's laughing again," Jamie pointed out as Zane giggled.
"That boy is working up an appetite," Diego said and got out his phone to get a video of him and Trevor in the grass.
Then Trevor sat up suddenly. In the next second, Diego knew why as a drop of rain hit him. A sudden, summer shower had caught them by surprise as it came on while the sun was still shining in the sky. They ran back across the street and then for the side entrance of the building. Standing just inside the archway, they watched the rain for a bit.
Trevor decided Zane should get changed out of his damp clothes and out of his diaper too, so they went up. Once that was done, they didn't go their separate ways but hung out at Trevor's watching the rain some more. Leaning by the window, Trevor held the freshly changed Zane while Jamie kneeled backwards on a chair so he could see out the window. The rain was loud with big, heavy drops that Zane tried to catch right th
rough the glass.
"This is when rainbows come out," Trevor said.
"Where?" Jamie said looking all around.
"I don't see one yet, but rainbows like it when it's raining and sunny at the same time," Trevor told him, but the sky was already darkening. Then he spoke to Diego. "That's something I need to learn. When it comes to kids, if you mention something good, you better be able to produce it on the spot."
"Like ice cream," Diego said with a devilish grin.
"Are we gonna have ice cream?" Jamie asked right on cue.
"I have Popsicles," Trevor told him and gave Diego the stink-eye. He went and got the Popsicles and then passed them around. He even let Zane have a few licks of his, but the little guy was undecided and frowned at it. "I have a weakness for them and any other kind of food that my aunt bought for me when I was a little kid." He was thoughtful for a while so Diego decided he needed a change of scenery.
"Let's take the kids somewhere out of this rain. We'll take a drive and look for some fun," Diego suggested.
"I can't afford fun," Trevor said.
"We'll have cheap fun. Come on. We need to get out there and show Zane the sights. What do you say, Zane? You want to look at some nature?" Diego asked Zane.
Zane wiggled around and made a dadada noise.
Jamie translated that as, "He does."
"I bet he just wants to put some nature in his mouth," Trevor said. "OK. Let's go."
"Oh, do you have a car seat for Zane," Diego asked since he knew Trevor didn't have a car.
"I do." He went to the hall closet and hauled it out.
"You're it," Diego told him.
Trevor looked at him, not understanding him. "What?"
"You're installing it," Diego told him.
"I've had lots of practice. I've had to get it in and out of a bunch of cars."
"You're a hero. I decided when it comes time to remove Jamie's car seat, I'll just sell the car as is. Buy a new one. I'm not dealing with that again," Diego said as Trevor shook his head.
Once they got on the road, it didn't take long for them to drive out of the rain. They hit clear skies and sunshine as they drove through farm country. They saw farmhouses and fields and even some horses and cows. Pointing out the window, Jamie tried to show them to Zane, but the little guy looked everywhere but where he wanted him to look.
Driving around was nice, but Diego was hoping they might find something fun to do. They brought the soccer ball, so they could always stop somewhere to continue their game of soccer. That's when Diego spotted a sign.
He pointed it out to Trevor. "Looks like Quailville has something happening."
"There's a farmer's market today," Trevor said reading the sign that also had an arrow pointing the way to the parking area. "Sounds good."
Diego made the turn toward the small town. Parking was an empty field and there were plenty of cars already there. There were even people loading up their cars with crates and bags full of produce.
"Hope those guys didn't buy everything," Diego said to Jamie as he held his hand and they walked toward the market.
"Look, Dad. They have more," Jamie said and pointed out the stalls with fruits and vegetables.
Diego also noticed a few places where they could have a quick lunch. That was the first order of business. They grabbed some sausage and vegetable kebabs and sat down at the picnic benches nearby. Zane had a taste of grown-up food, but mostly he ate carrots from a jar.
After that they walked around buying whatever looked good. Trevor's shopping was very restrained. That's why Diego bought extra so he could share with him.
Diego stole glances at Trevor now and then, but he controlled himself for the most part. Otherwise he would be staring at him and grinning like a fool the whole time. It was wonderful to be out with Trevor and their two little boys.
"I found something we have to do?" Diego announced and came to a stop in front of a stall with watermelons.
"Buy a watermelon?" Trevor guessed.
"Get messy eating watermelon," Diego corrected him.
Zane was already reaching for one. What an ambitious little guy. They picked one of the smaller ones. The man who sold them had a big knife, and he had the watermelon cut up for them in seconds. Jamie was in awe of him.
They got paper plates and plenty of napkins. "These napkins won't even put a dent in what's about to happen," Diego predicted as they went to sit down.
"That's ours," Jamie said and they headed for the same picnic bench where they sat before.
Watching Trevor put a bib on Zane, Diego told him, "We all need those." As a substitute, he tucked some napkins in the collar of Jamie's T-shirt.
What happened next was a lot of dribbling and wiping, and all the napkins got used up. When only rinds were left, they looked for a place to clean up. They spotted a row of stone sinks with old-fashioned looking faucets. Diego didn't know what they were for originally, but they came in handy.
"Better stick your whole face under there, Jamie," Diego told him as he turned on the water. "And Zane can have a bath."
They didn't go that far, but they cleaned up pretty well. Now they were fit to keep shopping. Once they reached the limit on how much they could carry, they headed for the car.
There was another empty field next to the one used for parking and two little girls were picking flowers there. Jamie asked to get the soccer ball from the car. Diego could tell what he had in mind and he helped him get it.
Jamie then said, "Let's go, Zane." He looked at Trevor and Diego expectantly, and led the way to the other field. With the ball held in front of him, he approached the two little girls and the kids started playing. Another little boy joined them as did Zane and Trevor. Diego was busy shooting video. There were no goals, the kids were just happy if they got to kick the ball in any direction. It was utter chaos with the kids laughing and screaming.
Arriving back home, they all crashed at Trevor's. Since they got all these vegetables, they threw together a salad and had dinner together. Zane went straight to bed after he ate, and Jamie went with him, lying down on that big pillow. Diego collapsed on one side of the couch and Trevor on the other.
"They had such a big day," Trevor said. "Zane got to eat watermelon for the first time. That's pretty major. I'll see how he likes that squash I got. And you know you bought too many peaches."
Trevor stretched next to him, and Diego smiled at the sight. "I couldn't resist. You only bought two. I'll give you some of ours if we can't finish them."
Diego's shopping bags from the farmer's market were still sitting on Trevor's kitchen counter, but there was nothing in them that had to go in the fridge right away.
"It will be a challenge to use up everything we bought, but we got a lot of good stuff for these growing boys to eat. And we showed these kids a good time," Diego said.
"This trip was a success," Trevor agreed.
"I never doubted it for a second. We need only one thing to have a good time, and that's you guys," Diego told him.
Trevor looked shy but also kind of pleased. "I could say the same thing. All the fun things Zane and I got to do were thanks to you." He then grew a little more serious. "It helps take my mind off things. I had a text from my stepcousin this morning. She's been keeping me updated on what my stepmother is up to. She didn't have any news though."
"You have a ally on your stepmother's side of the family?" Diego said.
"Stepcousin Stephanie. She's bi and her aunt wants nothing to do with her. When Stephanie heard that her aunt was going for custody of Zane and why, she decided to help me out," Trevor explained. "Today she texted only to touch base and let me know she was keeping her ears open. She didn't give me any reason to worry, but I can't help it."
Diego knew that even if there was no news, the situation had to be weighing on him. "You're doing everything you can to make sure you get custody of Zane."
Trevor smiled sadly. "All that food we got reminds me of why I have to succeed."
&
nbsp; Diego gave him a questioning look.
"When I lived with my father, I don't think he worried much about feeding me. I was always hungry. Those days are kind of hazy, but I remember a dirty kitchen with no food in it. Though my father might have turned his life around, I could never trust him with a helpless child like Zane."
"Zane is already where he needs to be. He's not going anywhere," Diego said. He looked toward Zane's room where that little boy was sleeping. It was unthinkable for him to be taken away from Trevor.
Just as he caught himself frowning, he felt Trevor take hold of his hand. Turning to him in surprise, Diego saw that Trevor was looking straight ahead, like Diego was not supposed to notice that he had interlaced their fingers and that his hand was clasped in a strong, warm grip.
"Thanks for that. I guess I get scared about Zane too," Diego admitted. "But I shouldn't be. You obviously know how to hold on."
"And you know how to tease," Trevor told him.
"I can be more direct," Diego said. To show him, he raised Trevor's hand to his lips and kissed it.
He heard a small gasp from Trevor and that's when Diego realized he had closed his eyes and he was still holding Trevor's hand just close enough for his lips to brush over his knuckles. Slowly he opened his eyes and let him go.
"I don't mean to push," he told Trevor apologetically. "Sometimes I just need to let you know how I feel or I'll burst."
With Trevor's beautiful eyes on him, he couldn't feel bad. All he could do was steadily return his gaze and will himself not to move, not one inch. If either of them drew closer, it was all over. Then Trevor's head tilted a little, just enough to tip the balance.
The next thing he knew, Diego's fingertips were on Trevor's sharp jaw line. His mouth was drawing closer and then sealing over Trevor's. With a shudder of pure pleasure, he felt Trevor sigh into the kiss, press their chests together and wrap an arm around his lower back.