The Way Things Are (33 page)

“Because that worked really well last time,” Patrick grumbled.

“Or we can take him back to your place and we can all work on getting the place cleaned up.”

Patrick shook his head quickly. Even with a new deadbolt and a new alarm, he didn’t want Jay or Ken in that apartment.

Jay leaned forward between them. “I like Denny’s.”

“Fine,” he agreed. “We’ll finish getting the apartment straightened out after dinner and worry about shopping tomorrow.”

At the restaurant, Jay waited until Ken got out of the car, and then leaned forward and touched his dad’s shoulder. “Was it because you’re gay?” Jay whispered.

“Huh?”

“Did he make his boss take over my case so he didn’t have to deal with it?”

“Is that what you think happened?”

“How am I supposed to know? He said he wasn’t freaked out over the shit with mom or anything. What else could it have been?”

Patrick swiveled around and stared at his son. “I asked him out,” Patrick said quickly, regretting it as soon as the words escaped. “Technically, he asked me out. He handed your case off to his boss so we could….” Patrick tried to find some way to describe what they had that didn’t lead into a conversation about sex. “So we could get to know each other.”

“Like
out
out?
Dating
out?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.” In the backseat, Jay relaxed and laughed. “I knew it! I totally knew it!”

“And you can totally keep your mouth shut.” Patrick glared at him. His glare didn’t do anything to dent Jay’s smile, and he found himself smiling too.

“I will, I will. Uncle Corbin’s right. You deserve to find somebody, Pop.”

“You shouldn’t be discussing my personal life with Uncle Corbin.” Patrick turned back around and reached for the door latch. “Also, I don’t want you to get too excited about it. These things take time, and they don’t always work out.”

“I know.”

“So is that what freaked you out? Knowing I like him?”

“Mostly I was worried about him finding out you like him. What if he was grossed out? He can be kind of scary. But if he likes you too….” Jay shrugged.

Patrick chuckled to himself, finally getting it. Jay wasn’t upset Ken had shifted him to another JPC. Jay had been worried about
him
. “You know, everybody’s got to face the chance that the person they like isn’t going to like them. It doesn’t really matter who’s who.”

“Yeah, but a girl doesn’t get pissed about it if you ask her out, most of the time. She just says she can’t, giggles, and runs off with her friends. Girls don’t punch you or something.”

“Jay, I’ve been punched by guys who hit a hell of a lot harder than Ken, and….” He stopped himself, realizing Jay wasn’t just trying to drag the conversation out. Jay was leading up to something. “You worried Michael would punch you, if you asked him out?”

Jay leapt across the backseat as if it had caught on fire. “How did you…?”

“I know you, kiddo. You’ve been drawing him for a month and a half, you stay at his place every chance you get, and you stare at him a lot. You tend to hold your backpack in your lap when you stare at him.”

Jay was quiet again.

“I don’t know him, though. I take it he’s definitely into girls?”

“Yeah.”

“Then the big question is, are you okay just being friends with him?”

“Yes, he’s great.”

“Then you should try not to think about him like that. If he likes girls, he likes girls. It’s not something he can change any more than a gay person can change who they’re attracted to. Believe me, I’ve tried.”

“But what if he doesn’t even want to hang out with me? What if he’s grossed out?”

“If he wouldn’t want to be friends with you over something like that, is he worth hanging out with?”

“It’s not that simple, Pop.”

Patrick glanced out the windshield to where Ken was patiently waiting for them. “It never is. How about this? If it comes up in conversation, tell him about me. If he’s not freaked out to have a friend with a queer father, odds are he’s not going to care who his friends are attracted to. Right?”

“Would that be okay?”

“Yes. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“He could talk to everybody at the gym and they could get together and corner you and beat you up.”

The answer came so fast Patrick realized Jay had to have thought about it a few times. “You think there’s anybody there who doesn’t know Uncle Corbin’s gay?” Patrick tried to turn it into a joke, but Jay still seemed nervous. “Besides, I’m Patrick Connelly. There are a few guys who train there who might be in better shape than me, but when push comes to shove, I shove harder.” That, at least, managed to get a smile out of Jay.

Outside, Ken leaned against the front fender, casting a curious glance in at them both.

“Come on, kiddo. We all need food.”

T
HE
NEXT
morning, Patrick woke up to the sound of the shower running. He was in what was left of his bed, stripped of the shredded linen and blankets he still hadn’t replaced. He figured Jay must have gotten himself up on time for a change, and was about to roll over and go to sleep when he noticed the angle of the sun filtering through the window’s miniblinds. The sun was high enough that light was shining straight down into the street his bedroom window opened onto. If Jay was just getting into the shower at noon on a Tuesday, they had a problem.

After dinner the night before, the three of them returned to the apartment and finished hauling out trash. He’d repaired what could be fixed, then taken stock of what would have to be replaced. Since he was used to working nights, he’d kept cleaning long past midnight, when Jay collapsed onto the futon in his room. And past two, when Ken fell asleep on what was left of the recliner. He wasn’t sure how late he’d been up, but he’d gotten everything done that he could think of. He shouldn’t have been up late enough to sleep through his alarm, though.

Patrick made his way to the bathroom. “Jay?” The shower had stopped but the door was still closed, so he knocked quietly.

Steam poured out of the bathroom as Ken opened the door, wearing nothing but a towel and hundreds of glittering water droplets. Ken glanced down at his own chest, cocking his head to the side. “No.”

“I can see that. Have you seen him?”

“I have. He chugged a cup of coffee and rushed out the door at half past seven with some Pop Tarts and his backpack. He said he was going to school, so I assume that’s where he’s at.”

“He got up on his own to go to school? Was he okay? And can I use the bathroom?”

Ken shifted past him, shoved him into the bathroom gently, and closed the door behind him. Patrick rubbed some cold water over his face, used the toilet, and realized he’d just been shoved into his own bathroom by a very naked hot man. He threw the door open, expecting to have to go track Ken down. Ken was leaning against the wall of the hallway, still in nothing but a towel.

“All done? I left my clothes in there.”

Patrick took a half step to the side, knowing there was no way Ken would be able to squeeze by him without a bit of contact.

“To answer your question, Jay seemed fine. He actually seemed more talkative and relaxed than he’s been since he and I talked Sunday afternoon. And no, he didn’t get himself up for school. Your alarm woke both of us. We couldn’t get you to budge, so Jay turned it off and got ready to go. Was that all right?”

Patrick smiled as he caught the smell of his soap on Ken’s body. “Yeah. Not the coffee thing.”

Ken stepped into the doorway and stopped at the tightest spot, where his hips and chest both had to brush against Patrick. “I wouldn’t worry about a cup of coffee every now and then. I was going to make a fresh pot once I got dressed. You want some?”

Patrick relaxed against the doorframe and took a moment to properly appreciate the sight before him. Ken might complain about not being in good shape, but with his dark brown hair dripping and plastered in every direction possible, Patrick thought he looked damn near edible. “So Jay made it to school, you don’t have to work, and you’re naked in my bathroom.”

“Technically, I’m in a towel.”

Patrick tugged the white towel loose and let it drop to the floor. Ken made no move to stop him.

Ken slipped his fingers into the waistband of Patrick’s flannel pants and tugged him closer. “Well, now I’m naked in your bathroom. Were you planning on doing something about it?”

Patrick traced his fingers down Ken’s chest, over his nipples, and down to his hips. “I want to fuck you.”

Ken’s face flushed, and Patrick could see his cock swell between them.

“Sounds better than coffee,” he said, loosening the tie holding Patrick’s pants up. His pants drooped low over his hips, but Ken left them there.

Ken wrapped his arms around his neck, and he recognized the bit of hesitation as Ken inviting him to take control. Patrick cupped the nape of Ken’s neck and pulled him up into a hard, ferocious kiss. He shoved his tongue into Ken’s mouth and plastered his body against Ken’s, slamming them into the bathroom wall. He rubbed his hands over every inch of Ken’s flesh he could touch, teasing the sensitive skin around Ken’s nipples where he’d learned Ken was ticklish, then massaging the soft mounds of Ken’s ass, spreading his cheeks eagerly.

Patrick pulled away from Ken’s lips, panting. “We might need to wait. Lube. Stuff. I think it all got thrown out.”

Ken shook his head and pulled Patrick against him for another frantic kiss. “My pants are right there,” he whispered, then claimed Patrick’s mouth again. “After Sunday, I figured I had no shot at getting laid this weekend, but I wanted to be prepared anyway.”

Patrick kissed his way over Ken’s chin, down his neck, and to his shoulder while Ken reached for the pants sitting on Patrick’s hamper. He shoved a condom and a small tube of lube into Patrick’s hand, then pushed Patrick’s pajama pants down. Patrick shuddered as the warmth of the fabric dropped away. He was rock hard, and he made quick work of the condom.

Ken nipped at his ear, then turned around, bracing himself against the wall. Patrick spread half the tube around Ken’s entrance and wiggled a finger inside, stretching him as quickly as he dared. Ken opened for him easier than he expected, bearing down to loosen up faster. Patrick growled, the realization that Ken wanted this as much as he did turning him on even more.

Even when Ken was stretched and ready, Patrick took his time rocking into Ken’s body. He used Ken’s hips and shoulders for leverage, inching in bit by bit. When he was finally so deep inside Ken that he felt Ken’s skin against his balls, he wanted to stay right there and savor the sensation.

Ken bent forward, gasping. “Oh fuck!”

Patrick eased his grip on Ken’s shoulder and leaned over his back, rubbing circles into the skin he’d nearly bruised. “You okay?” Patrick asked.

Ken laughed out loud, slipped his hips forward and then shoved his ass back hard. He squeezed his eyes shut tight and groaned at the impact.

“I love feeling you inside of me,” he gasped. “Just like that.”

Patrick chuckled against Ken’s back and kissed his spine, then straightened up again. He rocked in and out of Ken’s body, measuring his angle by how frantically Ken squirmed with each thrust. He held himself in check until Ken’s entire body was spasming against the bathroom wall, his fingers splayed wide, trying in vain to get a grip on the ancient patterned tile. He felt Ken’s ass and legs tremble, stopped holding back, and fucked Ken hard and fast. The pace drove Patrick over the edge at a breakneck speed, making his entire body convulse as he emptied himself inside the condom.

After he came down, he held Ken steady, wincing in sympathy as Ken let out a high-pitched “mee” when he slipped his half-hard cock out. Ken’s legs were still shaking, so Patrick wrapped his arms tighter to hold him up. “Shit, I’m sorry,” Patrick whispered.

Ken’s voice was breathless. “For what?” he laughed.

“I shouldn’t have been that rough. And I didn’t even think about stroking you off this time. You just look so hot with your hair wet.”

The vibrations from Ken’s laughter echoed through his chest. “I managed just fine, hands-free. Rough’s not a bad thing unless we need to be quiet.”

Patrick held him close and kissed his neck, chuckling. “You shouldn’t encourage me. I might take it upon myself to see just how rough I can be before you make noise.”

“Just not today, all right? Rough’s not bad, but I need to be able to walk tomorrow.”

Patrick kissed his neck again, caressing his chest and stomach gently. “I don’t want this to end,” he whispered.

Ken turned around in his arms, rose up on his toes, and kissed his jaw. “It doesn’t have to.”

Chapter 15

P
ATRICK
STARED
at the world below him, watching the green steel container sway a little too far as it descended. He’d overcorrected again. He pulled back on the joystick that controlled the winch to slow and stop the container’s descent.

The lasher waiting to signal him to release the crane spreader extended his hands out wide, palms up. A silent “what the fuck is wrong with you tonight?” from below. He’d been fine until his coffee break an hour ago. The cup of bitter black coffee and the energy drink he’d chugged seemed like they were putting him to sleep rather than waking him up. For the last hour, he’d been forced to slow down. He kept making stupid mistakes, kept overcorrecting, and between shipping containers, he had to fight to keep his eyes open.