Something Like Rain (Something Like... Book 8) (58 page)

William exhaled. He needed to think it over, but it sounded like good advice. “Did you ever go back to that café?”

“Before it closed down?” Marcello asked. “Yes. Many times, but not to eat. Instead I would guzzle champagne and feel sorry for myself.” His eyes went wide. “The champagne! I knew I forgot something. Here! My pie is in your capable hands. Promise to be gentle with it.”

The pie tin was thrust into William’s free hand. “I’ll guard it with my life,” he promised.

“I’ll return soon,” Marcello said, already turning to leave, but he relayed one more piece of advice as he went. “Shamelessness can be its own virtue,” he called. “Most of my life has centered around that philosophy!”

William watched him go, then faced the house again, feeling more determined. He knocked by kicking his foot against the door and was about to use his nose to ring the bell when the door swung open. Jason stood there, sheepishly at first. Then his expression softened and he moved forward for a hug. William stepped back.

“Pies!” he said in warning.

Jason noticed them and laughed. “Then you better stand still.”

He did so and was rewarded with a kiss. Maybe he didn’t need Marcello’s advice after all. “I missed you,” he admitted.

“Same here,” Jason said, taking one of the pies from him. “Let’s get these in the kitchen so our hands are free.”

That sounded promising! He followed Jason into the house. They paused in the living room, where William said hello to everyone there. Allison waved and introduced her husband and son. Tim grinned at him in a way guaranteed to make William blush. Then they went to the kitchen, where Ben would no doubt hug him and say how glad he was that he was there. He always made William feel welcome, like an essential part of their lives. Right now Ben stood at the oven, concentrating on cooking.

“Hey!” William said to get his attention. “Happy Thanksgiving!”

“OUT!” Ben spun around, swinging a chef’s knife through the air. Luckily they were too far away to be in any danger. “Both of you! Out! Now!”

“We’re just dropping off pies!” Jason stammered. He turned to William. “Quick! Set them down!”

None of the nearby kitchen surfaces were clear. The kitchen resembled a warzone, the battlefield littered with half-chopped onions, crumpled boxes, empty cans, and pots and pans crusted with different sauces. They were forced to venture deeper into the room to set the pies on the table, Ben keeping a wary eye on them until they left.

“Jesus!” William breathed once safely in the living room. “What’s going on in there?”

“He’s been like that all day,” Jason said, “since early in the morning, according to Tim. When I got here, he was hanging out in the garage just to steer clear.”

“Maybe I can help,” William said.

Jason raised his eyebrows. “Sure, go ahead and try, but this time you don’t have a helicopter to lift you to safety.”

“Maybe you’re right,” he murmured, eyeing their surroundings. Allison and Brian were cuddling on the couch. Tim was lifting up their infant son, Davis, and swinging him around, nearly taking out one of the lamps. The scene was inviting, but he wasn’t sure if they were ready for it yet. “Do you want to go somewhere and talk?” William asked.

“About us?” Jason said, shrugging easily. “I’m good. Are you?”

“Yeah!”

The break had obviously worked wonders! Now he was glad Jason had insisted on taking it. He offered his hand, which was accepted and yanked toward the living room. Jason sat in one of the big side chairs, then pulled on him as if they would both fit. They laughed as he tried, William just managing to squeeze in. Davis watched with interest and reached out his arms. Tim noticed this and placed the baby on their combined laps.

“There you go,” Allison said with a relieved sigh. “You’ve found new parents. Now Brian and I can return to a life of blissful solitude.”

“Your loss!” William said with a grin, finger already trapped in a tiny fist. “You’ll regret it eventually because we become a famous television family due to our new world record. Three people in one chair!”

Davis gurgled happily but Allison didn’t look convinced. “I’m sure college kids have beaten you to that one,” she said.

Tim puffed up his chest. “All right. It’s up to me then. Let’s break this record!”

He lifted Davis up so he could sit on their laps instead, Jason groaning in protest. William laughed and felt uncomfortable in the best way possible. Tim started bouncing Davis up and down, then decided to mess with them by bouncing up and down himself. It was getting painful when he stopped suddenly and sniffed.

“Man! Someone needs their diaper changed!”

Allison sniffed too. “That’s not my baby! He might be a stinky little monster, but this smells more like… Oh.”

In unison, they all looked to one side of the room. A stench was drifting in from the kitchen. William was reminded of the time he had attempted to fry pork chops at Christie’s house, had gotten distracted, and burned the meat down to a charred gristle. “That can’t be good,” he said.

“Have you never had Ben’s cooking before?” Allison retorted. “This is pretty much standard.”

“It’s usually not this bad,” Tim said, standing up. “He’s just pushing himself too hard. If he’d let us help—”

They all turned when Ben entered the room, expression manic.

“Everything okay?” Allison asked.

“I forgot something?” Ben said, sounding unsure if that was true. “I need to run to the store.”

Tim opened his mouth. “I can—”

“No!” Ben cut him off. “You’ll get the wrong thing.”

“What exactly do you need?” Allison said, seeming amused. “We could ask Marcello to pick it up on his way over. That giant house of his probably has its own grocery store.”

Ben glared at her. “I need cranberry sauce. A very particular kind. Besides, I don’t want to trouble him.”

“Okay, okay!” she replied. “Just trying to prevent us all from starving to death.”

“We can wait,” William interjected, hoping to dispel tension, “but it won’t be easy because it sure smells good!”

“I’ll be right back,” Ben said. “Nobody goes in the kitchen! You hear me? I mean it. Stay out!”

William looked at Jason, expecting him to be amused. Instead his brow was furrowed, his jaw clenching. “What’s wrong?”

“Seriously?” Jason hissed. Then he shook his head. “This is exactly what led to you-know-what.”

“Caesar?” William said in disbelief, trying to keep his voice down. “I thought we were past that?”

“Not when you keep making the same mistake!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” His voice was rising, but it didn’t matter. The living room was clearing out. Ben had gone, Allison accompanying him, and the rest were using the opportunity to do exactly what they were forbidden: to go in the kitchen. Jason rose as if intending to join them, but William stood and grabbed his hand before he could walk away.

“I don’t get what’s going on!”

Jason spun around to face him. “You! That’s the problem! You would rather lie than hurt anyone’s feelings. It smells good in here? Really?”

William sighed. “I was being polite.”

“You were avoiding the truth. Again. Remember what happened last time?”

William scowled. “You need to get over it.”

Jason looked shocked. Then he glared and pointed to himself. “Now
I’m
the problem? That’s how you’re playing this?”

“Yes, because I didn’t do anything wrong!”

Jason shook his head in disbelief. “It stinks in here. I need some fresh air.”

He stomped toward the front door, William hurrying to keep up. He did his best to calm himself, treating this like an emergency situation. “You said yourself that I didn’t do anything wrong. Before we took a break. We talked about it!”

Jason continued rushing for the front door.

“You need to see past your hurt feelings! Yes, I slept with Caesar. Yes, that’s weird. No, I didn’t mean to hurt you. Are you going to let that ruin our relationship? Is that really what you want?”

Jason stopped with his hand on the door knob, head bowed. “No. I don’t want that.”

William gently took his shoulder to turn him around. “I can’t take back what I did. It’s done. As far as I’m concerned, it’s all in the past. The only one keeping it in the present is you.”

“I’m trying,” Jason said, studying the floor. “I thought I was over it, but then in there…” He gestured to the living room and made eye contact. “I need to be able to trust you.”

“You really wanted me to tell Ben that it smells like he ruined dinner?”

“No, but you could have kept your mouth shut.”

“That’s exactly what I did when it came to Caesar. Look where that got me.”

Jason’s shoulders slumped. “This is so complicated.”

“If I had slept with someone else, if that one-night stand had happened when and how it did, except with a stranger instead of Caesar, would you be mad at me right now?”

Jason frowned and thought about it. “No.”

“To me he
was
a stranger. But I think I get it. You want me to tell you the big stuff instead of keeping quiet. I knew you would be upset about Caesar. If I did anything wrong, it was not telling you sooner.”

“Yeah,” Jason said, but not judgmentally. “That really is the only thing you did wrong. I get why you would want to sleep with him. I get why he would want to sleep with you.”

“And once I figured out who he really was, I should have told you. Imagine how that would have looked though! Like I was trying to split you guys up!”

“And? I probably would have taken it out on Caesar and dumped him sooner.”

“So we could be together?” William said, trying a smile.

Jason chuckled sheepishly. “Yeah.”

William felt relieved, but he wasn’t finished. Marcello was right. He wasn’t ashamed of who he was, or what he had done. “I’m not going to stop being polite,” William said. “Or nice. That’s just me. If you want raw and confrontational, go date Kelly. But I can promise you that if something like this happens again, no matter how upset I think you’re going to be, I’ll tell you right away. Okay?”

Jason nodded. “Yeah. Okay. Sorry I snapped at you.”

“Enough apologies,” William said, pulling him close. “I’m more interested in the making up part.”

They kissed, just a few shy pecks at first. Then Jason got serious, pushing him up against the wall, their lips and tongues tangling together.

“Maybe we should go up to your old room,” William said, pulling away to catch his breath.

“Oh don’t mind me,” Marcello purred. “I was only watching to see if you needed any guidance.”

They both spun around, only one of them not shrieking. Unfortunately, it was Jason instead of him. Marcello couldn’t have been there long. He was shutting the door behind him, the necks of two champagne bottles in one hand. Jason went to take these from him, William trying to hide behind him until his erection subsided completely. They walked as a group to the living room, where they witnessed a funeral procession leaving the kitchen. Tim led this wearing oven mitts, an aluminum pan held before him. Resting in it was a charred and twisted beast. The others followed along.

Tim nodded in solemn greeting to Marcello. “I don’t recommend anyone going in there until it airs out.”

“Should I make a call?” Marcello asked with grave concern.

“No,” Tim said. “I’ve got this one. All I need to figure out is what to do with this.”

A sound attracted their attention. Claws on glass. They looked to the sliding door. Chinchilla stood on the back patio, head cocked to one side.

“You’re the paramedic,” Tim said to William. “Think it’ll kill her if she eats this?”

“You’re better off asking my boyfriend. He’s the animal guy.”

“She should be okay,” Jason said musingly. “Although I do recommend medical supervision.”

“Good.” Tim held out the pan. “You two take care of this. I’ll deal with the rest.”

Jason set the champagne on the coffee table and ran to the kitchen for an extra set of oven mitts. Once the turkey was in hand, William opened the door so they could go outside. Soon they were crouching over the turkey and tearing off dry pieces of meat to throw to the dog, Jason the most concerned.

“We need to make sure she doesn’t get any small bones.”

“I love you,” William said, rising to his feet. When Jason looked up at him, he continued. “I’ll probably hurt you again. I swear I’ll try not to, but if and when that happens, please remember that I never wanted to, and that I love you with all my heart.”

Jason stood and walked toward him. “I love you too. Don’t ever let me push you away again. Okay?”

William took him into his arms, squeezing tight. “Okay, but right now I need to let you go.”

Jason pulled back. “Why?”

“Because I think Chinchilla is planning on making a break for it. Or eloping.”

They looked to where Chinchilla was walking backward, turkey trapped in her teeth and leaving a trail of charred skin where it dragged along the patio.