Remove the Empty Spaces (10 page)

“Are you sure we should be having lunch together if we’re trying to keep things quiet at the company?” Ion frowned.

Adrien grimaced as he headed towards the door. “You’re right. What time do you get home from school tonight?”

“By ten. Are you going to be here?” Ion followed him, then put a hand on his arm to stop him.

“If you want me to be. I don’t want to distract you from homework or anything. I know getting your Masters is important to you. I also don’t want to give you any reason to stop seeing me.” Adrien covered Ion’s hand with his.

Ion pursed his lips as he seemed to be thinking about it. “How about I call you when I get home? I’m going to have some stuff to read and a paper to write. I won’t want to do it if you’re here.”

“I can do that.” He kissed Ion again, then forced himself to leave.

* * * *

At nine o’clock that night, Adrien’s phone rang, and he answered without checking the ID on the screen.

“Hello?”

“Adrien dear, this is your mother.” His mother always said that when she called, like he wouldn’t recognise her voice or something.

“Yes, Mother. I have heard your voice before,” he commented as he flopped back on his couch. He’d been hoping that Ion would call early, but he guessed his lover wasn’t home from school yet.

“No need to be sarcastic, Adrien.” She sighed like he was the most annoying thing she had to deal with that day.

Glad that she couldn’t see him, he rolled his eyes. “Sorry, Mother. How was your day?”

She always liked it when he asked her that. Of course, he didn’t care about anything she did, but Mother liked to tell him about her charity work and social events.

“It was very nice. I had a board meeting for the Children’s Hospital Fundraiser. You will be there of course. I told them you’d buy two tickets.” Before he could say yes or no, she continued, “Also, your sister and her husband will be in town Friday night. I will expect you to be here at six for cocktails.”

“Of course, I’ll buy tickets to the fundraiser.” And though he wanted to say no, he went on to say, “I’ll be happy to join you and the others for dinner. I’ll be bringing a friend.”

He swore he could hear her ears perk up when he said ‘friend’.

“A friend? Really? You haven’t brought one of your boys home to meet us. This must be serious. I’ll inform your father.”

The way she said ‘boy’ put his teeth on edge. “He’s not a boy, Mother. Ion is finishing up his Masters in Business and already has a full-time job waiting for him when he does. I would like you to treat him with respect.”

“Of course, we’ll respect the young man. I simply say boy because I know the type of man you’ve dated before, and I’m sure you knew none of them were really our kind of person.” Mother sighed. “I assume he’s more our type because you’re actually bringing him to have us meet him. Should I have your brother come to dinner as well?”

“No!” Adrien didn’t want Alain there. His brother wasn’t a shining example of the family. Well, to be honest, none of his siblings were really people he was proud of.

He liked Amelia for the most part, and her husband wasn’t too bad. Adrien thought about the fact that he should make more of an effort to spend time with his family. They weren’t the most loving group, but maybe all they needed was someone to show them how.

“All right. I won’t ask him. Goodness knows I have no idea where he is right now. That boy never calls. You’d think he was an orphan or something, the way he ignores his family.”

He blocked out his mother’s complaints about his brother. He could tell her where Alain was since he’d received a statement from a hotel in Monaco where his brother had run up a hefty bill from gambling and partying. Adrien had paid it, though he had wanted to refuse, but he didn’t want to listen to both his mother and Alain complain about his being mean or jealous of his younger brother.

“So we’ll see you at six, right?”

“Yes, Mother. Ion and I will be there at six.” He silently asked Ion’s forgiveness for including him without asking first.

“Why don’t you plan on staying the weekend? Amelia and Jonathon will be here as well. It’ll be nice to have most of my children home for my birthday.” Mother laughed, and Adrien felt like a heel for not remembering that his mother’s birthday was on Saturday.

“Are you having a party as usual?”

If she was, that meant he’d have to make sure Ion had a tuxedo to wear. His mother’s parties were legendary in the Hamptons, and he didn’t want Ion to feel any more out of place then he already would.

“Of course, dear. Why wouldn’t I? Now you make sure to let Ion know he must dress appropriately. I’ll see you Friday night, darling.” She hung up.

After Adrien did the same, he threw his phone onto the cushions next to him. He groaned.
How am I going to tell Ion that the first time he meets my parents, it’s for my mother’s birthday? He’s going to be livid.

He snatched up his phone, then sent an email to himself to remember to pick up a bottle of his mother’s favourite perfume and a box of the Swiss chocolate she loved. It was the same thing he always got her, but she seemed to enjoy the fact that he remembered she liked them.

Setting the phone back down, he shook his head. He was going to have to find Alain and make sure his brother got home in time for Mother’s party. She might act like she didn’t mind if he wasn’t there, but Adrien knew it would hurt her feelings when her favourite child didn’t make an appearance.

As Adrien thought up bribes he could offer Alain to get him home, his phone rang again. This time he checked the screen and saw Ion’s name pop up. Smiling, he swiped his finger across the face.

“Hey there, honey. How was school?” He slowly slid until he rested on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

“Good. Had a pop quiz for some strange reason, but I did well on it. At least I knew all the material.” Ion sounded tired. “How was your day?”

“Bought and sold a couple of companies. All in all, another profitable twenty-four hours.” Adrien bit his lip, trying to figure out a way to bring up going to his parents’ for the weekend.

Ion chuckled. “Not many people can say that without sounding obnoxiously pretentious.”

He winced. “Did I? Probably sounded pretty arrogant, huh?”

“A little, but that’s okay. I know you didn’t mean it that way.” Ion groaned like he was stretching or something. “I called my mama and told her that I’d be bringing you with me to dinner on Sunday.”

“How did she react?”

“She got very quiet, then said she hoped you liked meatloaf.” Ion sighed. “I hope you do too, because she can make a mean one. I swear Patrick is psychic when it comes to that. I guarantee he’ll be standing at my door when I get home after dinner on Sunday. Mama always makes sure to send me home with my own container, just so Patrick will be able to have some.”

Adrien couldn’t remember the last time he had meatloaf. Probably not since he was a kid and eating dinner with the cook and his nanny in the kitchen.
Did I like it back then?
It hadn’t made a lasting impression on him one way or the other, so he was willing to give it a try.

“I’m sure I’ll love it, Ion. I’m not a picky eater, and anyway, I’ll be there to meet your parents, not critique her cooking skills.”

“I know that, but to my mama, food is important and if you don’t like her cooking, she just might not like you.” Ion exhaled loudly. “Hell, she might not like you even if you do like her meatloaf. All because you’re a guy and she wants me to bring home a nice young lady she can teach how to make all my favourites.”

Adrien smiled, then said, “If it’ll make her happy, I’ll take lessons from her every night of the week. I know this is going to be difficult for you, Ion, and I don’t want to do anything that will upset either of your parents. How is your father going to take me showing up with you?”

“He has never really said anything to me about being gay. It’s like as long as he doesn’t discuss it, I’m straight. The weird thing is he’s fine with Patrick. They talk about baseball, and he doesn’t flinch if Patrick says something about how good players’ asses look in those uniforms.” Ion fell silent for a moment before continuing, “Of course, Patrick isn’t his son, so it’s different. He didn’t have a hand in raising him and there’s no feeling of failure.”

He wanted to ask why Ion’s father would think he failed with Ion somehow, but he wasn’t ready to have that discussion. Not when his mind was on his own. “Speaking of parents, how would you like to come out to the Hamptons with me on Friday? We can go out and spend the weekend. Actually, having to come back for dinner with your family on Sunday would give us the perfect excuse to leave early.”

“You want me to meet yours?” Ion sounded surprised.

“Yes. I told you I did. I know it’s rather sudden, but my mother called to tell me she expected me for dinner on Friday. My sister, Amelia and her husband are going to be there. Also, I totally forgot that Saturday is my mother’s birthday, and she usually throws a big party to celebrate. I’ll be expected to stay for that as well.”

Ion coughed, and Adrien wondered if his lover wasn’t starting to panic a little.

“Don’t worry. I’ll buy you a tuxedo, so you won’t have to fork out money for that.”

“I can rent one. You don’t have to pay for my clothes,” Ion protested.

Adrien shook his head, even though Ion couldn’t see him. “Oh no. We need to buy you one because my mother can spot a rented tux a mile away, and so can all her old biddie friends. They’ll never let you live it down, and besides, if you and I continue dating, you’ll be going to a lot of black tie functions with me. It’s best to get a tux tailored for you now.”

“Umm…”

“Please, Ion. If you want, you can pay me back for it. I’ll even charge you interest, but I guarantee you’ll feel better wearing a tux you own than a rented one. The people you’re going to meet on Saturday can be some of the snobbiest people in the world. Trust me, I know. I grew up with a majority of them. I’m not helping my case at all, am I? Maybe I should just shut up now.”

A soft laugh drifted over the phone, and he relaxed slightly. If Ion could laugh, then he wasn’t too upset by Adrien’s babbling.

“All right. I’ll go with you, and I’ll let you get my tux. But nothing else. I can pay for my own clothes. I’m not dating you so you can be my sugar daddy,” Ion informed him.

“Thank you, Ion. I do appreciate you coming, and I promise we will leave as soon as we possibly can on Sunday.” He really was happy that his lover had decided to come with him. Adrien did want Ion to meet his parents, even if he would prefer to do it a different way. He had a thought in his head that he’d invite his parents to the city for dinner, and they would meet at a restaurant where they had to be polite in public. That way his mother couldn’t get too obnoxious.

Unfortunately, now they would be meeting them on their own territory, and his mother would have no restraints. He took a deep breath, not wanting to give even a hint that he wasn’t in total control of every minute of his life.

“Well, you’ll have to deal with my parents on Sunday night, so that’ll go a little ways to making up for what I’m going to encounter this weekend,” Ion teased.

“To be honest, I’m probably exaggerating a little about everything. It’s just you’re the first guy I’ve brought home to meet them, and I really want it to work out, so I’m panicking.”

Ion grunted. “Huh. Who knew Adrien Bellamy, CEO extraordinaire, could get nervous about anything? Don’t worry, dear. I won’t hold your family against you as long as you don’t hold mine against me.”

“Deal.” He heard Ion stifle a yawn. “Why don’t you do whatever homework you have, then go to bed? We should go tomorrow night to give Salvatore as much time as possible to get it done before we leave on Friday.”

“Good idea. I don’t have class tomorrow night, so that’ll be fine. Good night, Adrien. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Sweet dreams.” He hung up, then headed to bed himself.

Chapter Seven

Ion glanced at Adrien as they entered the high-end clothing store. “What are we doing here? I thought we were going to dinner.”

“We are, but remember we need to get some things for you.” Adrien nodded towards the back of the store where an older man stood, obviously waiting for them.

“Some things? I thought we were just getting a tux for me.” Ion looked around, then picked up a shirt. There wasn’t a price tag on it, and Ion realised that he might not want to know how much the items in that store were.

“Remember you agreed to go to my parents this weekend, and attend my mother’s birthday party. I’m afraid you’re going to need another suit besides the tux. We dress for dinner.” Adrien gripped Ion’s elbow, escorting him up to the man. “Salvatore, I’ve brought you a new customer.”

“You always do bring me the best looking men, Mr Bellamy.” Salvatore grinned at Ion. “Come. You must undress, so I can get your measurements.”

He dug in his heels, not letting either of them force him into doing something he wasn’t sure of.

“We need to talk.”

Adrien sighed, but nodded. “Can you give us a few minutes alone?”

“Certainly, sir.” Salvatore stepped to the other side of the store to give them the illusion of privacy.

Ion pointed at the suit on the mannequin. “I’m not going to let you buy me a whole new wardrobe, Adrien. Not when I have a perfectly good suit at home. It might not be Armani or Calvin Klein, but it’s nice and cost me one month’s pay to buy it. It fits me just fine without having to be tailored.”

Adrien took Ion’s hands in his. “I know that, but I thought you might like a few things to help fit in better with my family. My mother is very judgemental. I don’t want you to feel like you don’t measure up to them.”

“Just because my clothes aren’t as nice as yours or theirs?” Ion shook his head. “It takes more than that to make a person, Adrien. I know who I am, and I don’t need designer ones to make me equal to your parents. I agreed to a tuxedo. That’s it.”

He wasn’t going to budge on it, no matter what Adrien said. If he started giving in, then pretty soon he’d have a better apartment, a whole new wardrobe, and no self-esteem. He would become like all those other beautiful men Adrien had brought to Salvatore to dress.