Authors: C. Kennedy
“Do you believe Rich or Tony gave him the idea?”
“No,” Michael and Jake said in unison.
Nero gave them another long, considering look. “I’ll mention it to the detective.”
Mac finished packing away his delicate equipment. “I think we’ll take you up on your offer, Nero. Bobbie, why don’t you pack a few things for us?”
“Excellent idea.” Nero couldn’t have been more pleased.
M
ICHAEL
was about to step into a nice, hot shower when his mom knocked on the door. He wrapped a towel around his waist and answered it. “Hey, Mom, you okay?”
“I only wanted to give you one more hug before I went to bed, honey.”
Michael wrapped his arms around her. “Don’t worry, Mom. I’m okay, and we’re safe here. From now on we’ll have security with us all the time. Everything will be all right.”
“I wish the damn police would catch him.”
“They’ll get him, Mom. It’s only a matter of time.”
She looked up at him. “How’s Christy?”
“Believe it or not, he handled it. He didn’t freak. He passed out once, and they revived him with smelling salts, and he was fine by the time we got him home.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“How’s the baby?”
“Oh.” She rubbed her temples. “The mother took street drugs during the pregnancy. The poor child was born with a missing chromosome and is terribly deformed.”
“Sorry you had to leave the hospital.”
“No matter, honey. We did all we could do. It was up to the surgeons to do the rest. Your father will check on her, or him, tomorrow morning.”
“Her or him?”
“The child was born intersex.”
“Are they going to assign gender?”
“No, the poor little thing has too many other, more pressing concerns and has been left to the hospital. The mother walked out within hours of delivery. With the father’s help, I might add.”
“Abandoned?”
“It’s legal to abandon your baby so long as it’s to a hospital and not a dumpster or toilet.”
Michael winced. “How do you do it, Mom?”
“Days like today cause me to wonder. You’re all right, Michael? Truly?”
“Good, Mom. It’s all good. Go get some sleep. Maybe talk Dad into sleeping in tomorrow?”
“You know he won’t go for that. He has hospital rounds at six, and I always have the office open by eight.”
Michael shook his head. “You can’t close due to a family emergency?”
She smirked. “You know how stubborn your father is. I love you, Michael.” She hugged him again.
“Love you too, Mom. Night.”
Michael watched her leave the bedroom on weary feet and shook his head. Seeing her like that made him all the more livid with Jason. He had no right to torture them like this. The cruelty defied explanation.
He tossed the towel aside and stepped into the steaming shower. The heat felt good as it rained down on him, and the tension in his neck and shoulders began to slip away.
What a freakin’ day
. A morning brawl, a farcical challenge at lunch, rallying and thanking the team—
Jeez, I’m officially out now—
taking Christy to a self-defense class, an incredible afternoon of firsts making love, the sadness of knowing how much of life and learning Christy had lost to unimaginable horrors, a death threat, a car bomb, and losing a car he actually liked—
and my fantastic music collection. Crap, I spent months making those CDs—
both his parents were a wreck, and—
“And a partridge in a pear tree,” Jake sang as he stepped into the shower.
“Whoa! You scared the crap out of me!”
“We’re not supposed to shower without supervision for twenty-four hours.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot.”
“I know you did. Never fear, Jake is here.”
“Man, Jake, you scared me.”
Jake chuckled. “If you weren’t so wrapped up in your thoughts, you might have seen me coming.”
Michael rubbed the water from his eyes. “Can’t help it. It was a full day, and I didn’t get enough sleep last night. I’m beat.”
“Here. First you have to turn these on.” Jake reached around him and turned on the other two showerheads.
Now the shower, built to accommodate five, became a sauna.
“Then, you have to flip this switch. It warms the bench so when you sit on it, you don’t freeze your ass off. Give it a minute, and you can sit and enjoy the steam. It’ll take all the kinks out.”
“This shower has more gadgets than a freakin’ spaceship.”
“Once you get used to it, you’ll never go back. Then, take this mentholated eucalyptus rub and put it on your neck and shoulders like this.”
Jake rubbed it into Michael’s shoulders, and Michael groaned in appreciation.
“The most important thing—drink water. Lots of water.” Jake pressed one of the marble tiles on the wall, and it opened to reveal a small, built-in refrigerator. He withdrew an ice-cold bottle of water, handed it to Michael, and took one for himself. “Sit.”
Michael sat. “Luxury.”
“It is. Strangely, I don’t much partake in it.”
“Why not? This is great.”
“I’m too busy most of the time and, well, it’s boring unless you want to be alone.”
“I’m sure Sophia would love this.”
Jake smiled. One of his rare, boyish smiles. “I hope so. I really like her, bro.”
“I know. I haven’t seen that smile on your face in over a year. I’m happy for you, man.”
“I’m happy for me too.” Jake looked down at him, and his smile faded, his dark eyes suddenly filling with sadness.
“Talk to me,” Michael said softly.
Jake took the bottle of water from Michael’s hand, set it on the bench with his own, and lifted Michael to his feet. Without preamble or warning, he kissed Michael. Really kissed him. Michael hesitated at first, then kissed Jake back.
“Ah, what was that for?”
Jake pulled Michael down to sit next to him on the bench. “Just had to do it.” Jake took a swig of water.
They were quiet for a long time.
“You’re sexy as hell.”
Michael coughed a laugh through a gulp of water. “Where’d that come from?”
“Just had to say it. You have a big dick too.”
Michael nearly spit his water. “No bigger than yours.”
“Crap if it isn’t. I’m a show-er. You’re a grow-er. Believe me. I’ve held my own dick enough to know.”
“Don’t talk like that, bro. I’ll get hard.”
“So, get hard, and we’ll choke the chicken one last time for old time’s sake.”
“J
AKE
!”
The guttural scream tore a hot slice up Michael’s throat as it fractured the moonlit night.
Jake flew out of bed and bolted across the hall to Michael’s room. “I’m right here. I’m right here.”
Mrs. Santini flew into the room next, satin robe barely clinging to her shoulders.
“He’s okay, Mama. It was a bad dream.”
Michael sat up and focused on the unfamiliar room, orienting himself as to where he was.
“I’m right here, Michael. You’re okay.” Jake sat behind him on the bed and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
A disheveled Mac came into the room next. “Michael,” he said softly as he came to the bedside and set a gentle hand on Michael’s curls.
“He’s okay, Dr. S. Only a nightmare. Just a real bad dream,” Jake reassured.
Michael fell back against the pillows and scrubbed his face with his hands, surprised to find tears on his cheeks. Then again, he wasn’t. The dream had been awful. Jake had blown up with the car.
“Michael, sit for me. Drink some water,” Anna encouraged.
Michael sat on the edge of the bed and held the trembling crystal to his lips but failed to deliver. Water landed on his chest and dribbled down his bruised abs.
“Jacob, hold him. He’s upset.”
Jake pulled Michael back against him and put an arm around Michael’s chest. “Let me hold it, Michael. Drink slow.”
Michael refused to relinquish the glass, spilling the water again. Anna put her hands over his on the glass. “Calm, Michael, calm. Our Jacob is okay. He’s here for you. He holds you,” she soothed.
J
ACOB
curled around Michael as they settled into bed.
“Sorry.”
“Always here for you, bro.”
“Love you, Jake.”
“Love you too, Michael.”
I
N
THE
morning, Jake showed Michael the basics of the guidance system in the SUV. Jake programmed their homes, their fathers’ offices, Wellington, and the school into it so Michael could find them with a touch. Michael knew his way around town, but it was a way for Michael to become familiar with the system. When the thing began to talk, Michael made Jake turn the voice off. “You can’t tell me you drive around with that thing talking to you, bro.”
“No, man, I hate the thing. The only time it’s good is on long road trips. It’s nice to be reminded that you need to get off the highway in three miles. Give me your phone.”
Michael handed it to him. Jake pressed a few icons, scrolled through Michael’s phone settings, and synchronized the phone with the guidance system. “Now, when you start the car, your phone will synch with the system and you don’t need a Bluetooth. But beware, everyone in the car will hear your conversation.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, listen.” Jake withdrew his phone from his pocket and dialed Michael. The ring came through loud and clear over the car’s sound system. “Touch that.”
Michael touched the green telephone icon on the screen and was immediately connected to Jake.
“There you go, bro. You’re in like Flynn.”
“Holy crap! It echoes through the car!”
“Unfortunately, yeah. A word to the wise, don’t use it on a date.”
Michael laughed. “A voice of experience?”
“It falls into life’s most embarrassing moments.”
“How do I shut it off?”
“You can’t. Hit the little red phone icon to disconnect the call like this.”
“I don’t think I like that.”
“If I’m alone in the car, I love it. If I’m not alone, I ignore it unless it’s you or one of my parents.”
“Thanks for the heads up.” Michael adjusted the seat and started the car.
“Be easy on the accelerator. You can end up going up someone’s ass in a second with this engine.”
“Got it.”
“Okay. You set?”
“One more thing.”
“What?”
“I want to know that kiss we had last night isn’t going to mess us up.”
Jake grinned. “We’re cooler than ever, bro. If I didn’t like girls, you’d definitely be my boyfriend.”
Michael’s face flushed. “Don’t say things like that, Jake.”
“Serious. I’d be asking you to marry me in about two months.”
The declaration had tears filling Michael’s eyes. “Jake, I don’t know what to say.”
“Tell me you’d say yes.”
Michael hugged Jake and wiped the tears on Jake’s silk shirt before they got the better of him. “Yes, except I have Christy now.”
Jake laughed. “Don’t go all mushy on me. I can’t handle it, especially this early in the morning.”
Michael leaned away. “It’s a good thing you like girls, then, because I get mushy all hours of the day, and I just ruined your shirt.”
“I’ll live with it for a day. You all set?”
“I’m good, bro.”
C
HRISTY
’
S
jaw dropped when Michael pulled into Wellington. Michael parked and climbed out of the car quickly, knowing he’d probably need to help Christy into it the first time. This SUV was a lot bigger than his own was. Christy bounded up and threw himself into Michael’s arms. “Morning, babe.”
“
Kaliméra, filos
,” he whispered and pecked Michael’s lips. “The car?”
“Courtesy of Jake’s dad. Bullet-resistant glass and body.”
Rob stepped onto the porch with a soft whistle.
“Don’t get excited. It gets nine miles to the gallon.”
“Ouch. Christy slept well last night and has the signed paperwork for the self-defense class.”
“Really? You’re going to go for it?”
Christy mouthed, “Try.”
“Excellent!” Michael hugged him, lifting him off his feet and spinning them around.
“There’s only one condition, Michael. He must wear a neck brace to protect his neck from accidental trauma. Your father said he’d have it delivered to the gym sometime before the class starts today.”
“You okay with that?”
Christy nodded.
“All right! See you this afternoon, Rob.” Michael opened the car door for Christy, and Christy studied the car for a minute before reaching for the handle and swinging in. He accomplished it perfectly on the first try. “That was great.” Michael reached for the seatbelt and buckled Christy in. As with the first time Michael did this, Christy stole a blistering kiss. Michael prayed Rob wasn’t watching. “We’re going to get into trouble.”
Christy nodded one of his vigorous, shameless nods, and Michael couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re unbelievable.”
J
AKE
met them in the parking lot, having parked in the farthest corner of the lot. “Why did you park way over here?”
“My dad will kill me if it gets dinged.”
“Good to know. I’ll be extra careful.”
“How’d you sleep, Christy? Okay?” Jake asked, putting and arm around his shoulders and kissing the side of his head.
Christy froze and began to shake.
“Oh God, Jake, move back.” Michael folded Christy into his arms. He didn’t give a care who saw it. “It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s only Jake. You know how he is.”
“What’d I do?”
Christy peered up at him from the safety of Michael’s arms.
“Nothing, Jake. It isn’t your fault. He doesn’t like to be touched, that’s all.”
“Ah crap, Christy, I’m sorry. I didn’t think.”
Christy slowly turned in Michael’s arms to face Jake and motioned him to him.
Jake looked from Christy to Michael and back again. “Hint?”
“Do you want to hug Jake?” Christy nodded, and Michael gestured to Jake.
Jake bent and hugged Christy very carefully, as if he were a glass figurine. “I’m sorry, Christy. I didn’t mean to freak you.”