Borrowing Trouble (16 page)

Jay rolled over and looked at Landon, then kissed his forehead. When he leaned back up, the serene smile on Landon’s face made his chest feel warm from the inside out. He felt like a little kid when he wrapped his arms around Landon, burrowing his head under Landon’s chin, rolling on top of him. “Fuckin’ A, Landon Petty. I love you!” He playfully hugged Landon tightly and Landon guffawed.

“You’re ridiculous, Jay Hill.” Landon wrapped his arms around Jay and squeezed him back, a little too tightly. “But I love you too, you silly bastard.”

Silly. Something he’d only ever called himself. But he couldn’t say he’d ever been in better humor than he was today. He’d definitely never been so in love as he was today.

***

The next Monday at work, Landon walked in with not just a little swagger. Ms. Lynne scowled, but she’d been given a what for by Landon’s mama over her gossiping, so whatever thoughts she had, she kept them to herself. After Landon told his mama it wasn’t idle gossip, she’d told him, “Well, it wasn’t her business to be spreading, anyway, then. It’s a family matter.”

Family. Landon had to admit, even with the personal red tape they still had to get through, Landon thought the word summed up what could be. Landon signed his mileage sheet, counting the days until he was finished with that particular task, then headed back to Jay’s office.

They’d agreed to maintain their working relationship as they had, being circumspect at work. They did still live in Montgomery County, and the crew was still full of men who wouldn’t appreciate Jay and Landon’s type of love. But that didn’t mean Landon had to ignore the man. After all, he hadn’t seen him in two days. Silly or not, he’d missed Jay. But Jay’s kids had needed him.

He knocked on the door and found his daddy sitting in one of the chairs across the desk from Jay.

“Oh, sorry, guys. I can come back later.” Dammit.

Landon’s daddy stood, heaving a sigh. “Naw. I’ll get out of y’all’s way.” The slight turning up of one side of his daddy’s lips relieved some of the tension Landon hadn’t realized was there. “No more neckin’ in the office, though.” His daddy pointed at Landon.

Landon and Jay both quailed.

Ricky belly laughed. Old bastard. “Y’all ain’t very smooth.” He grew somber. “But I don’t want trouble for y’all. I suspect there will be some anyways.” His daddy looked at him. “Landon, I was just telling Jay here that I’m not okay with this. But I’m okay with this.”

Landon’s brows went up. His daddy rarely discussed his being gay. In fact, the statement was downright confusing. But he nodded, acknowledging his daddy was trying. That was more than most of the old timers around those parts would do.

“Figure y’all got enough trouble without me getting on your case. Just don’t cause no troubles for us here, okay? You’ll be done in a few months, then you two can… do whatever you two do.” Ricky looked decidedly uncomfortable with those words.

“Yessir,” Landon and Jay replied in unison. Their gazes met, Jay’s held more than a little humor. Ricky harrumphed and made his way out.

“Well. That was something,” Jay stated.

“They’ve had a long while to get used to it. Remember, I told ‘em years ago.”

Jay nodded sagely. “I remember you’d said that. Guess after all the drama, I expected something more climactic.”

“I think we’ve had enough of those climaxes.” Landon fluttered his eyes at Jay. “I can think of other climaxes to focus on now.”

Jay let out a put-upon sigh. “That’s not keeping it out of the office.”

“Gotta get it where I can,” Landon teased. Jay shook his head, resigned but smiling.

“What do you need, Petty?”

“Just came to see how you were.”

Jay leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m good. Things at home are still tense with the girls.”

Landon’s eyes widened. “Beth’s still here?”

“Oh, naw. She went back the other night after I left your house. But Millie has been spending a lot of time on the phone with her.” Jay frowned. “She’s probably gonna go live with her mama when she moves back here after Christmas.”

“Oh, Jay,” Landon said sadly, moving to sit on Jay’s desk, putting a hand out. He felt relief wash through him when Jay’s frown morphed into a half-smile and he took Landon’s hand, giving it a quick squeeze before letting it go. “It’ll be okay. Probably would have turned out that way either way, once Bethany moved back down. This is just sooner than I’d thought.”

“You think it’ll be okay?”

Jay looked at Landon fondly. “I know it will.”

“If you need anything…”

“I do,” Jay responded.

“Oh?”

“The kids are going to their school’s fall something-or-other tomorrow night. Curfew isn’t ‘til eight, so I need you to invite me over to yours. Maybe we’ll have some dinner. Just the two of us.”

Landon’s cheeks hurt from smiling so much. “I’d like that.” Landon looked toward the half-open office door, then shot a smirk Jay’s way. “Think you’re too sore for us to give that a go again?”

Jay choked on the coffee he’d been drinking. “Damn you, Landon.”

“That a no?”

Jay’s cheeks turned that shade of pink Landon loved, more because it reminded him of how Jay flushed when his dick was in Landon’s mouth than anything else.

“We’ll see,” Jay said with dignity. “Now, go. I’ve got work to do.”

Landon hopped off the desk and started to head out. Jay called to Landon, pulling him up short. He turned and the smile on Jay’s face brilliantly lit up the room. Life wasn’t perfect, there was so much to figure out, but hey, that smile was worth everything so far, and anything to come.

Epilogue

2 Years Later

    Grumbling as he signed and filed his final grades, Landon missed simpler days of filling out mileage log sheets. Not that he’d go back to that, but Lord, he was glad the school year was over and he had no more averages to figure or papers to grade.

    He shut down his computer and left his classroom for the last time—well, for two months anyway. Checking his watch, he whistled happily when he noticed he still had an hour to make it home. Clint’s graduation party was that night, then he and Jay were off to the beach for two weeks.

    They’d damn well earned the vacation.

    Jay had hemmed and hawed about the trip, feeling bad for leaving his new job managing the office at a feed and seed co-op in a small town about fifteen miles from where they lived. The adjustment after people started catching on to their relationship a year earlier had led to Jay’s not being able to function as supervisor at the saw mill. It’d never gotten too hostile, thankfully, but it’d been bad enough that Landon’s daddy had been more than willing to give a good reference when Jay’d found a new job.

He was closeted to his employees there, mostly, but the owner was a lesbian, so she was at least on his side. Landon hated how rough it’d been, but the pay was decent. Jay, though, felt so much loyalty to the woman who’d hired him that he’d not wanted to leave her in a lurch for two weeks.

But it was going to happen, dammit. They’d not gone further than a weekend Christmas shopping in Birmingham the previous holiday. They’d lived in their separate houses up until last week when Clint had graduated.

Granted, Clint had been easily won over in the end and had adjusted fairly well. Landon had figured it wouldn’t be so bad, and he was right. Even Millie had come around in her own time. They were young enough, and had enough gay friends now, it didn’t register as an issue.

But out of respect and Jay being cautious about anything to do with his kids so far as a step-parents went, they’d not forced the issue until they’d been together a little over a year. Landon didn’t have much experience with dating, especially guys with kids, but he figured it had been par for the course. Even Bethany hadn’t introduced her new boyfriend until they’d hit the six month mark a few months back.

Landon made it the few miles to their new house. The one they’d picked together after they’d sold off their old houses. It was in Starkville. Not the most liberal town, but it was a college town, and since it had more than twenty-thousand people, it felt like a safer bet than staying together in the country. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and Montgomery County wouldn’t be ready for gays in a hundred more years.

After turning off his truck, Landon made his way into the new house, a brick rancher just outside of town. He was happy to see Jay’d used the day off to finish emptying the boxes that’d been lying around the house.

The house may be owned by a couple of thirty-something men, and neither was too good with decorating, but they could at least not look like hobos when they were having a party for Clint.

Millie came flying out of the kitchen, but stilled when she saw Landon. “Oh, sorry. Thought you were Clint.”

She’d shot up like a weed lately, and even he couldn’t believe how much older she looked at fourteen. He’d only been around the last couple of years, but he had grown attached to Jay’s kids. Lord knows they were as close as he’d ever get to being a parent. And that was A-okay with Landon.

“No. He’s not supposed to be here for another hour at least.”

“Good. Dad is trying—and failing hard-core—to put together that surround sound y’all got. He wanted to use it for the music or something. Meanwhile, he hasn’t put together any of the stuff for the party.”

Landon winced. “Does he know what time it is?”

“Please,” she said with a scoff. “You know how he gets when he’s putting together stuff and not asking for help. He’s been cussing and throwing things around in the den for an hour.”

Landon sighed. “Great.”

“The house looks nice, by the way.” Millie’s compliment was genuine, which made Landon smile goofily. He and Jay both worried how the kids would take it with them actually cohabitating. It’d held Landon up more than Jay until papers were signed and it was all over but the moving.

“You’re cool, right?” he asked.

“For the millionth time, yes.” She shook her head, exasperated, and looked so much like her dad, it hurt. Landon wanted to hug her, but he still didn’t have his footing where that stuff was concerned, so he just patted her shoulder. He heard Jay saying in his head, “
You’ll get it in time.”

“Is your mom coming?”

Millie grimaced. “Um. Not a chance. She did a dinner for him with my grandparents last night. I don’t think Clint wanted to tell dad, though, in case it hurt his feelings.”

Landon sighed. Yeah, Bethany still wasn’t on Team Hill-Petty. She wasn’t cruel, and she still spoke with Jay frequently. She even bought Landon a Christmas gift. But awkward was definitely the appropriate way to describe her continued reaction to anything that involved Jay and Landon as a unit. He wasn’t all that surprised she wouldn’t be coming over to their new home for a while. He hoped, for Jay and the kids’ sake, that she’d come sooner rather than later.

“Well, let me go tell your dad and try to get his butt in gear. Will you go get the table cloths put on the picnic tables out back?”

She gave a nod and shot out to the garage where they’d put all the decorations.

Landon walked into the den, which was a separate room from the living room. The sunken in space was one of the features that’d made them jump on this particular house. Watching football had brought them together and still remained one of their favorite activities, so a man-cave had been a dream want when they’d looked around for a house.

Landon chuckled to himself when he saw Jay bent over behind the catty-corner flat screen TV, wires draped over his shoulders.

“Jay. Could you have picked a worse day to do this?” Landon smirked at his boyfriend. God he loved that word as it related to Jay, even if it sounded juvenile to some.

Jay straightened and scowled at Landon. “Damn.”

“What?”

“Dad, really? This was
your
idea.”

Landon turned to see Clint and Millie looking exasperated and fairly amused.

“I know. I just didn’t know it’d be so complicated.”

“We need to set up for
me
now, so wing it.”

Jay scowled at his son, who walked over and shoved papers in his hands. “Come on, Millie. This could be a while.”

“No doubt, and they might start kissing.” Millie gave a mock shudder. Landon didn’t get offended. She meant that as a teenager who had to witness their parents kissing, nothing else. They’d both seen Jay and Landon be affectionate by this point.

“Well. Damn.”

“You said that already,” Landon chuckled.

Jay came from behind the TV, dropping wires and cables. “Damn.”

Landon huffed.

“Sorry. I just… last time I did this, someone was pregnant so I thought I’d go for romance.”

Landon’s heart stopped. Jay shuffled from foot to foot. “Jay?”

“So, since we’re leaving tomorrow, I wanted to talk about this today, since you were done with school and we could celebrate and it could be a honeymoon. I didn’t think about having a house full of teenagers and your parents.”

Landon knew his jaw was touching his chest, but he couldn’t shut his mouth. He also couldn’t help Jay out because… hell, he’d been so happy they were living together, he really hadn’t thought of marriage as an option—not in the south. Of course he wanted to be married one day, he’d dreamed of it, but until just the last while, it hadn’t been possible where they lived. As much as Landon wanted marriage, he didn’t think he wanted to move that far from his roots to make it happen.

As Jay shuffled nervously, Landon realized if Jay proposed, there wouldn’t be some commitment ceremony with vows just in front of their friends and tons of paperwork with an attorney. They could…

“I didn’t know what the hell I was doing the first time I got married. Then I didn’t know what the hell I was doing when we divorced. I sure as hell didn’t know what I was doing when you and I got together and started being more to each other. I didn’t know what I was doing when it clicked in my head that I wanted this forever with you.” Jay stopped shuffling, took a deep breath, and that same determination returned, the kind he’d had when he’d raced to Landon’s house two years ago to tell Landon that he loved him. Landon saw it in his eyes and it choked him up.

“The last couple of years with you has been scary and sometimes stressful, and I’ve had too much damn self-evaluation and my brain’s been all crazy. But you have always stood by me, you’ve been my rock, been the person who made me smile, made it all right.”

Jay walked up to Landon. “I didn’t think you’d appreciate flowers or a diamond. You’re a simple guy, like me. We have the same roots and come from the same place. That’s another thing I love about you and you say you love about me. So I hope this simple moment where this simple man hands you these papers that, thank God, only need a simple signature nowadays, is enough to show you I never, ever want to be without you.”

Landon looked at the papers Jay’d handed to him. The application for a marriage license in the county they’d be vacationing in. “How’d—”

“Oh, those kids and their Google. They got ‘em.” Jay watched Landon expectantly. “Uh, I hate to rush you, but we have no time ‘til—”

Landon jumped at Jay, hugging him. “You fucking silly bastard.” Landon hugged Jay tight, not wanting to let go. “And we can, can’t we?” Landon could hear the awe in his own voice, realizing even in their town in Missi-fucking-ssippi, they’d be for real married. He’d be married to Jay Hill.

“What d’you think? Former heterosexual worth the risk?”

Landon kissed Jay’s lips, then laughed and kissed his chin and his eyelids and his cheeks. “Fuck yes. So much yes.”

Jay seemed to sag with that, and they embraced. Then Jay pulled back with an “Oh, yeah.” He dug into his pocket and pulled out a simple gold band. Landon blinked, trying not to get too emotional, but failing as he realized just how fucking significant the ring Jay held was.

“Look inside.”

Landon cocked his head as he took the band from Jay and read the inside inscription.

Borrowed trouble. Worth it.
Landon tossed his head back and laughed. “You’re ridiculous.”

Jay took Landon’s hand. “Let’s go help the kids.”

“And you’re terribly romantic,” Landon said, drily. Then he stopped Jay, tugging his hand. “Wait. What were you doing with the TV?”

“It was a recording of the first football game we ever watched at Woody’s.”

Landon snorted.

“What? That’s romantic!” Jay sniffed, offended.

“Romantic is letting me do what I wanted to do when Felicia was flirting with you that night.”

“Why would I let you punch me?”

Landon shoved Jay’s shoulder playfully, then put his face next to Jay’s ear. “I wanted to fuck you over that bar. I didn’t want anyone’s hands on you but mine.”

Jay cleared his throat and they both looked over to the wet bar they’d installed in the den before they moved in.

“You just had to say shit like that while the kids are here,” Jay grumbled.

“The beautiful part is…” Landon kissed Jay one more time. “That’ll be here a long time. And so will we. A long, long time. Together.”

Jay’s face went soft and happy. “Yeah. We will.”