Disasterology 101 (36 page)

“Hello?” Although he recognized the ringtone he didn’t say a name. It could be his ex-wife or one of the kids.

“I need a huge favor,” Jenny said. “Will got into a car accident. Nothing serious, but the doctor wants to keep him overnight for observation,” she explained quickly. “We’ve been here for a couple of hours now, and the kids are tired and hungry. Can you pick them up and keep them tonight? We’re at East Memorial.”

“Is Daddy coming?”
He heard Brianna ask in the background.

“Sure.” Kevin took his change of clothes out of the backpack and put on his boxer briefs. “Give me about….” He stuck his head out of the door so that he could see the clock on the bedside table. “Shit.” It’d take him twenty minutes to get to Penn Station, and the next train to New Jersey was in twelve minutes. “I’ll be there in two hours or so.”

“Two hours?” Jenny repeated. “We’re forty minutes away from your house, Kevin.”

“Need to wait for the next train out. I’m not home.”

“Where are you?”

“Still in the city.”

“I wanna go with Daddy.”
He heard Ava whine. She sounded half-asleep and definitely cranky.

“Working overtime?”

“No.”

He zipped up his jeans, and sat down on the toilet to put on socks. Cedric was looming by the bathroom door, but Kevin didn’t look at him. For some reason it felt wrong to ogle his almost naked lover while he was on the phone with Jenny.

“
Oh!
” Jenny cleared her throat twice before continuing. “Did I interrupt something?”

“It’s fine.”

“I would’ve called my sister, but the kids insisted….” Jenny sounded apologetic, and a little awkward. As if she’d guessed five minutes ago he’d had his finger on another man’s asshole. Kevin blanched at the possibility. “You know what? I’ll—”

“Tell the kids I’ll pick them up as soon as I can.”

“Yes, sure… that’s fine….”

“Bye, Jenny.”

He ended the call, finished lacing up his boots and put on his t-shirt. He still couldn’t look at Cedric.

“Jenny?”

“My wife.”

“You mean ex-wife, right?”

Kevin glanced up just in time to catch Cedric’s sneer, and a dangerous-looking fire burning in his eyes. “Ex-wife,” he confirmed, not wanting Cedric to get the wrong impression. “Didn’t I mention her name before? Anyway, it hasn’t been that long. I’m still getting used to it.”

Cedric gave him a dirty look. “I’d think almost two years is long enough.”

“Could you please not make an issue out of this?” He raked his fingers through his hair, and walked up to Cedric. “Sorry to bail on you, but my kids need me.”

Cedric shook his head, and gave Kevin a quick peck on the forehead. “Don’t even mention it.”

The sweetness of the gesture almost undid Kevin.

Three hundred days…. He’s here for three hundred days….

Kevin went back to the bathroom and grabbed his stuff. “Want to get together tomorrow?”

“Of course I do.”

“What time?”

“Let’s discuss it on our way,” Cedric said absently.

“On our way where?” he asked, following Cedric out of the bedroom.

“I’ve never been to New Jersey, but I think I can get you there much faster than the train.” He flashed a smile over his shoulder and pointed toward the stairs, a gesture Kevin took to mean he should wait there. “Give me a few minutes to get dressed and we’ll be on our way.”

Kevin stood frozen in the middle of the hallway, his mind spinning, and his heart thumping with a mixture of fear and excitement.

Cedric was driving him to New Jersey? Why would he offer? Was he trying to make it up to Kevin for scolding him? Or was he trying to make light of the fact he’d just dropped the equivalent of a bomb into what Kevin foolishly thought was their budding relationship?

That had to be it.

But, whatever happened to his three hours limit to be in other people’s company?

“Are you practicing your delayed responses to your rituals again?”

He didn’t get an answer.

Kevin charged in the direction of Cedric’s bedroom, but had the good sense not to cross the door’s threshold. He’d never been invited inside. He knew it was the guy’s sanctuary, and so far, off-limits.

“You know,” he said softly, watching Cedric clean himself with a wash towel, then put on a pair of black Armani boxer briefs. The guy didn’t seem to wear anything that wasn’t from a high end designer. “I really appreciate the offer, but by the time we make it to Jersey it’ll almost be three hours since we got together.”

“You’re right.” Cedric took a black wife beater out of a dresser, shot a troubled glance in Kevin’s direction, and continued getting ready. “Three kids,” he said under his breath as he buckled his belt and put on a big, very expensive looking watch. “Three….”

“Two girls and one boy, ages fourteen, twelve, and almost four,” Kevin said, even though he’d probably provided his kids’ ages twenty times in the past.

“Three,” Cedric repeated. “I can handle that. Three is safe. It’ll be fine.”

Kevin thought about smartass TK, talkative Brianna, and touchy-feely Ava, and how disorganized they could be. It’d be no time before they had Cedric running for the hills.

“You don’t have to do this,” he said.

“Yes, I do.”

And if looks could kill, Kevin would’ve dropped dead on the floor.

Confused, he ran his fingers through his hair, and eyed Cedric as he covered his upper body with layer after layer of fabric. The wife beater disappeared under a black, fitted, long-sleeved t-shirt, and on top of that he threw on a gray and black plaid button down, and a black scarf. A black bandana came next, and once he tightened it around his head he put on a pair of full leather gloves.

Armor in place, Cedric walked into the closet, and started rummaging around. He was carrying a small travel bag stuffed full, and a set of bed sheets, when he came out. Too focused on Cedric’s appearance, Kevin didn’t ask what was inside the bag, or why the hell he needed bed sheets.

That outfit had to come straight from the hip hop runway. No doubt about it. The piercings might be Goth in style, but the rest was straight up millionaire rapper. And that wasn’t even the worst part.

Never before had Cedric looked as young as he did right then, closer to Kevin’s son’s age than his own. He couldn’t imagine Jenny’s reaction to Cedric’s looks, and truth be told, he was worried about it.

They’d strictly forbidden TK from dressing the way Cedric did, for Christ’s sake. What if she thought Kevin was going through a mid-life crisis or some shit? What if she thought it was too soon to bring a boyfriend around the kids? Not to mention, Kevin wasn’t even sure he wanted to do it. Not because he was ashamed of Cedric, but because it felt like rubbing Jenny’s face in the cause of their divorce. He didn’t want to disrespect her that way, and he didn’t want to introduce his kids to a casual lover.

But there’s nothing casual about your relationship.

Get real, will you? He’s leaving.

“Is the bandana necessary?” Kevin grunted as Cedric turned the bedroom light off and led the way to the front door.

“Absolutely.”

The elevator ride to the building’s underground parking garage was quiet, but Kevin forgot about his trepidation—and almost moaned in pleasure—when Cedric stood between an apple red Aston Martin Vantage, and a dark blue Chevy Tahoe.

“Oh man.” He was gawking like a fool but seriously, who wouldn’t?

“You like it?”

“That is one fine piece of automotive machinery.”

“It was a present.” Cedric slid a hand over the trunk fondly. “My father gave it to me to celebrate my three month anniversary in New York City.”

Kevin flipped his hard hat from one hand to the other, and forced a smile. “That’s… wonderful….”

And what did Mr. Haughton-Disley plan to give Cedric if he changed his mind about leaving and made it to three years? The moon? A trip to it? Way to make a boyfriend feel inadequate. There was no way to compete with that kind of present on a construction worker’s salary. Not that he was Cedric’s boyfriend or anything.

“Over the top, if you ask me.” Cedric patted the roof of the car three times, and disarmed the alarm on the Tahoe. “I was planning on having Roberto drive us, but we can take it when we go to Greenbriar’s annual dinner party in a couple of weeks if you want.”

“When we go
where
?”

“A dinner party where Greenbriar recognizes workers who’ve made contributions to the community,” Cedric explained, his deep voice resonating in the underground parking lot. “I donated a design for a mental care facility this year,” he added bashfully, “and my father insists I attend the event.”

Kevin placed his hat and backpack in the back seat of the SUV, and jumped in the passenger seat. “And when were you planning on telling me about this?”

“I just did.” Cedric started the SUV. “It goes without saying you’re my date.”

“You just assumed I’d go with you?”

Cedric tugged his lip ring, and cleared his throat nervously. “You wouldn’t?”

Jesus.

“Do you think that’s a good idea?” Kevin cranked his neck and looked out the window. “I’m a framer for Greenbriar, and your father owns the company.”

“As I’ve told you before, that isn’t a problem.”

Kevin closed his eyes briefly.

What if someone from his job saw him? He had a decent relationship with the other construction workers, but they didn’t know he was gay, or that he swapped spit with one of the company heirs. What if they took exception to that? What if they made Kevin’s life miserable? What if
he
wasn’t ready to step out as a gay man?

“Sounds like a formal gig,” he said quietly.

“It is.”

“I don’t have anything to wear.”

“Give me your measurements and—”

“I’ll take care of it,” he interrupted Cedric before he offered to buy him something. No way was he letting the guy pay for his clothes. “You’ll have to tell me more about this design you’re getting recognized for.”

“I’ll show you the drawings when we come back home.”

Home.

Kevin gulped.

“This truck isn’t too shabby either.” Kevin let the smell of butter-soft leather distract him, and took a quick look at the luxury interior. Same as the Aston Martin, it was way above Kevin’s budget.

“Where are we going?”

Kevin gave him the name of the hospital, then buckled his seatbelt and got comfortable while Cedric entered the information into the navigation system.

“What are you going to do with all your stuff when you leave?” he asked as casually as he could.

“I haven’t decided.”

Haven’t decided what? If you’re leaving or staying?
Kevin screamed in his mind. “
What to do with the cars? With your job? And what about me? Have you thought what the fuck you’re going to do with me?

Fuck!

“Is this the truck Roberto drives?” he asked as they joined the late night Manhattan traffic. Better to keep the conversation as impersonal as possible.

“This one is mine.”

“Does that mean you actually bought it with your own money?”

Cedric shot him a dirty look, and fiddled with the radio. A few seconds later some god-awful techno-hip hop combination about flopping bottles and feeling fly exploded from the speakers. “The one Roberto drives belongs to Greenbriar,” he said over the music.