The Current Between Us (32 page)

A smile tugged at his lips as he watched the clock blink five forty-five. He promised Trent he would leave before the kids saw him, but he couldn
’t help but to hold out until the last possible minute. With a sigh, he pulled himself silently from the bed, choosing not to wake Trent. His clothes still lay under Trent’s, and he carefully watched his sleeping boyfriend as he quietly pulled on his pants and then shrugged on his shirt. He only buttoned one button of his shirt before grabbing his jacket and shoes. He lifted them with two fingers and silently walked over to the door.

The lock was set, but he
’d been in the position of sneaking out so many times he knew how to release the mechanism without making noise. He held the lock button with his thumb and turned the knob. The release gave way without a loud click, and he slowly lifted his thumb. He opened the door, slid out, and shut it behind him. The house was quiet, but not quite as dark with the sun just beginning to make its presence known. He tiptoed down the hall, made it to the front entryway, opening the door quietly like he had Trent’s bedroom door.

“
Hi, Gage,” Hunter said. It startled him and he jerked back around to see the little boy standing in the entryway, his Spider-man pajamas on, just staring at him.

“
Hey, Hunter,” Gage whispered back. “What are you doing up?

“
I had to get a drink of water,” Hunter said, rubbing his sleepy eyes. “Daddy’s sleeping, should I go wake him up?”

“
No, don’t wake him. I… I just… I just thought I would surprise him and make breakfast for you all,” Gage said, and he groaned internally as his mind rejected the stupid lie. Even a child wouldn’t believe that silly gesture. Why couldn’t he come up with something better?

“
Can I help?” Hunter asked, the sleep leaving his face, replaced by excitement. Gage watched him closely for any sign that the boy thought something was up.
Score!
He was in the clear.

“
Sure, I would like for you to, but we have to be quiet to make it a surprise,” Gage said, softly shutting the door back as though he’d just arrived.

“
Can Em help? She likes to cook,” Hunter asked.

“
I guess so. Go wake her up and be super quiet for me.”

“
Okay.” Hunter headed off to rouse Em.

Gage prayed Trent would be okay with this turn of events. He weighed his options. He could call out for breakfast, but then the kids couldn
’t help. He could try to pull together something. Maybe scrambled eggs and bacon, if Trent had bacon… But he so wasn’t a cook! Deciding it would be fastest to just try to put together a breakfast, he went into the kitchen and began rummaging through the refrigerator. He got a little lost digging through the different things on the shelf. He never cooked for himself unless there was no other choice, and generally only after starving for a full twenty-four hours beforehand. Those situations happened rarely, usually during a campout in some remote part of the world.

“
Hi, Gage,” Em said through the middle of a big yawn. He dug through the refrigerator, pulling things out, and looked around the door to see her standing there. Her long hair a braided tangled mess, and her eyes barely open. The pink pajamas with princess characters on them fit her personality perfectly. Hunter stood behind her.

“
Hi, honey, you wanna help?” he asked.

“
Yes, please,” she said on another yawn.

“
Good. I’m thinking scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast,” he said, pulling the eggs out last.

“
Daddy likes coffee,” Hunter said.

“
Okay, we’ll make coffee, too,” Gage said.

“
I like chocolate milk,” Em said.

“
We don’t have any chocolate milk, Em,” Hunter said, walking around her into the kitchen to get his stool.

“
I know, I was just sayin’ it,” she said, following him.

“
Where do you keep the bread?” Gage asked, trying to get them moving, sensing an argument coming on. With the kids’ help, he found the coffee components, made the coffee—in all honesty, he was an expert coffee maker—and then started the bacon sizzling. He assigned Hunter to making the toast, and busied Em with stirring the eggs before he poured them in the skillet to cook. The time ticked away, but Gage kept an eye on the clock as they finished the eggs.

About then, he heard Trent coming down the hall, footsteps heavy with residual sleepiness. He could hear Trent flipping on lights, and what sounded like
opening the kids’ bedroom doors as he passed by on his way toward the kitchen.

“
Hunter, Em, it’s time to get up. Hit the floor guys. Only one more week left of school,” Trent said, and the kids started giggling. Gage shushed them and they stood ready for him to walk in the kitchen.

“
Say surprise when you see him,” Gage said in a quiet whisper.

“
Rhonny, I don’t even understand why you’re awake, but thank god you are.” Trent came around the corner, pulling his T-shirt over his head, and stopped in mid tug.

“
Surprise
!” the kids yelled, standing next to Gage. They were both on their stepstools in their respective stations, finishing up their part of breakfast. Gage stood in the middle of them, letting the worry of the moment show on his face, and he shrugged his shoulders.

****

“What’s this?” Trent asked. Hunter hopped off his stool and ran to Trent who scooped him up.

“
Daddy, Gage was coming in the front door, and I was getting a drink of water. He was going to surprise you with breakfast, and he said we could help!” Hunter’s body became straight as a board as he wiggled free, done with being held.

“
I made the eggs with Gage, and we were quiet,” Em said, spatula in hand moving the eggs around the pan, flipping some out as she stirred. “Ooops!”

Trent came through the kitchen, looking at Gage with a very clear
what the hell
expression on his face. He bypassed Gage and grabbed a cup to pour coffee. “I think I need a cup of this before I form any more of a response. You wanna cup, Gage?”

He turned to see Gage helping Em finish the eggs and making sure she stayed safe near the stove.

“A cup would be lovely,” Gage said. He poured another cup, then pulled plates, silverware, and napkins out of the cabinet.

“
It smells good in here,” Trent said, giving Gage the cup of coffee. “The cream is in the fridge. You shouldn’t have done all this.”

“
It’s my pleasure, handsome,” Gage said, turning to give him a wink.

Trent jumped in to fix the kids
’ plates, pour their milk and get them settled at the table. Gage followed suit fixing his own plate and pouring more coffee before he sat. As Trent fixed his plate, Rhonny came through the kitchen door, stopping in mid-stride, looking at Gage, then Trent. Her eyes focused on the kids, then Gage, then back to Trent again. Her long hair piled on her head, held together in a messy knot, and she wore pajama pants and a tank top.

“
Good morning, guys?” she said, her brow narrowing.

“
Rhonny, we cooked breakfast with Gage,” Em said.

“
I see,” Rhonny said, still looking at Trent like he’d completely lost his mind.

“
Gage surprised us… He was coming in when Hunter was getting a drink.” Trent left it hanging there, taking his seat at the table. He could see when the explanation made sense, and she finally turned, heading straight for the coffee.

“
I see, well, lucky me. I get the morning breakfast chores off. Gage, I had a great time last night. Thank you for inviting me,” Rhonny said, pouring her coffee.

“
I’m glad you had a good time. I hope my brother didn’t spoil your night, he seemed very attentive,” Gage said, scooping eggs into his mouth.

“
He was nice, I think we might go to dinner on Saturday night if Trent doesn’t need me,” Rhonny said, grabbing a slice of bacon and coming back to the table. She sat on a barstool, her leg bent, foot in the chair, eating the bacon.

“
That’s ‘cause Rhonny’s in love,” Hunter said.

“
Whatever, squirt! You better hush and eat that breakfast or I’m telling your dad you have a girlfriend at school!” Rhonny said, lifting her brow, acting like she let the secret out.

“
What? A girlfriend?” Trent asked, looking over at Hunter.

“
Rhonny!” Hunter yelled.

“
He does, Daddy, I forgot I was going to tell you. I told Rhonny,” Em said. “Her name is Holly.”

“
Holly and Hunter, that’s cool. Is it the Holly in your class?” Trent asked his red-faced little boy. Hunter refused to speak, keeping his head down. Trent reached over and rustled his hair, looking down, trying to catch his eye. “Hunter, I don’t care if you have a girlfriend. It’s fine, buddy. It’s normal at your age. The books said it, my man…”

“
They’re going to get married,” Em said, and Hunter finally lifted his head, glaring at her.

“
Not until at least ninth grade,” Hunter said. “But, Daddy, she has to stop saying ‘come here’ so much. She makes me stop playing with my friends to come here and play with her.”

“
Yeah, girls are like that,” Gage said, and Rhonny laughed.

“
All right, guys, we have to get dressed. It’s already close to seven. We only have a little while before we have to leave,” Rhonny said. She got them up from the table, working them out of the kitchen.

“
Hunter, come here a minute,” Trent said, and Hunter walked around the table, keeping his head down as he came to stand by him. He wrapped an arm around his little boy and pulled Hunter in close, bending down to talk quietly to him. “Son, I’m very proud of you, and you can tell me anything, you don’t have to keep secrets. I want you to have a good life, okay?”

“
Daddy, I didn’t want you to feel bad because I had a girlfriend and you don’t have anyone. Auntie Sophia said you were lonely and you needed to go out and meet people.” Hunter spilled it all out and finally lifted those big green eyes to his, worry all over his face.

“
Son, how could I be lonely? I have you and Em with me?”

“
Daddy, that’s what I thought, too. I was right!” Hunter wrapped his arms around Trent’s neck and hugged him tight, then bounded off, apparently done with the conversation. Rhonny and Em stood by the kitchen door, waiting on him.

“
Bye, Gage,” Hunter said, zooming from the room.

“
Bye, Gage,” Em called.

“
Bye, guys, thanks for helping me with breakfast,” he said. Em came back to give him a hug before she took off into the living room. Trent sat across the table for several long moments before Gage moved closer, taking Hunter’s seat.

“
You’re a very good father, and I’m so sorry. He caught me at the door and I didn’t know what to do,” Gage said.

“
You covered it well,” Trent said, taking a drink of his coffee.

“
He totally busted me. I waited too long to leave. I laid there watching you sleep and lost track of time,” Gage said, watching Trent closely.

“
You watched me sleep?” Trent asked, his grin growing with each word spoken.

“
Absolutely, I’m a man in love! You’re the most exquisite thing I’ve ever laid eyes on.” Gage leaned in and gave Trent a sweet soft kiss on the lips. “I have to get going. My plane needs to leave by ten. I’m sorry to leave you with the dishes.”

“
No, it’s fine, besides you said whoever cooks shouldn’t do the dishes. Thank you for breakfast,” Trent said. Gage reached across the table, taking Trent’s hand.

“
Thank you for last night. I loved waking up with you in my arms,” Gage said, leaning into Trent again, kissing him a little more than before. Gage gave a small swipe of his tongue this time.

“
I slept good, too. I didn’t want to get up,” Trent said, leaning close.

“
Me either, it’s why Hunter caught me. I’ll have to do better next time,” Gage said, getting up, placing his cup in the sink. “Walk me out?”

“
Sure.” Trent scooted his chair out and took Gage through the living room to the front door. Once on the porch, Gage turned, taking Trent into his arms pushing him to the far reaches of the porch somewhat secluded from the street.

“
I don’t want to leave,” Gage said and leaned in, placing a simple kiss on Trent’s lips. Trent wrapped his arms around Gage, tightening his hold. He didn’t want Gage to leave. He wanted exactly this moment every day from now until… well, forever.

“
Be safe this trip. Make it an amazing story,” Trent said, feeling reasonably sure he sounded convincing.