by Amy Lane
“Hi, Jade. We, uh, were sort of tying up a loose end for Jackson. Lance, this is Jackson’s sister and Ellery’s paralegal. Jade, this is my friend, Lance.”
“Friend?” Jade said, her face set into stoic lines. “That’s what we’re going with? I’m so disappointed in you, Henry.”
Lance watched in fascination as Henry’s color went from peach and tan to a magenta very close to Jade’s hair.
“Boyfriend,” Henry mumbled, looking at Lance sideways. “He’s my boyfriend. It’s new.”
Jade’s severe expression melted as she offered her hand to Lance. “So very nice to meet you,” she said. “Are you here to keep Henry in line?”
“Absolutely,” Lance said with his own sideways look at Henry. “He needs someone like that.” His heart beat triple-time, he was so excited to actually hear the word.
“Mm-hmm.” She glared at Henry again. “Tying up loose ends. You do know we can’t pay you yet, right? I mean, not that I mind one less thing for Jackson to do, but—”
“I know,” Henry said, with unexpected humility. “AJ first.”
She sighed. “Well, we might have another path for AJ, so that would put you next on our roster. I’ve got to tell you, I’d rather feed you to the cannons than that kid, so I’m rooting hard for it.”
Henry cocked his head. “Where is he going?”
“Well, we might have a line on a scholarship for him at an electronics school—so, surveillance, computers, technical stuff.”
“That would be great,” Henry said softly. He looked at Lance and smiled a little. “AJ’s a great kid, but, you know, I’d be worried about him doing what we just did.”
“And what did you just do?” Jade asked sweetly.
“Yeah, Junior,” Jackson said, emerging from the hallway with all the swagger Lance had seen even when Jackson had been bleeding on his bathroom tile. “What exactly did you just do?”
Lance leaned casually against Jade’s counter when Henry’s cocky grin weakened his knees.
“Nothing you wouldn’t do,” Henry told Jackson, all teeth.
“Oh dear God,” Jade said. “Did you learn nothing from our little adventure last week? Nothing?”
“Hey,” Henry said, on the defense. “It was not my fault. Lance got me in all legal and shit, and I took those pictures and sent them to you and K-ski—”
“K-ski.” Jackson gave a cat smile to Jade. “I like it. We’re keeping it. Can do?”
Jade grinned back. “It’s going in the contact files, so noted.” Then she looked back to Henry. “Continue, Junior.”
“And then Summer Frasier got there, and we dove into the closet,” Lance said baldly, because he was not about making this into a storytelling moment.
“Oh!” Jade clapped her hand over her mouth, but that in no way hid her delight. “Caught? You got caught!”
Henry arched his eyebrows at Lance and turned back to her. “Well, once we shut the closet door, I texted the evidence to everybody, and then, when it was obvious she was heading back to the closet anyway, I stepped out and shut the door behind me.”
“Classy,” Jackson said, and he and Jade nodded together in agreement. “Very nice. Your stock is rising already.”
“See?” Henry directed the comment at Lance, and then turned back to finishing the story with relish. When he finished up with telling Kryzynski that he planned to stick around a while, Jackson laughed softly, and for the first time Lance caught the breathy sound of someone who was not getting enough oxygen.
“Well done,” he said soberly. “We need to find some way to pay you. I have the feeling—” He took a deep breath. “—we’ll be asking you to help until I’m back to full strength.”
“Or maybe beyond,” Jade said pointedly, but Jackson just shook his head.
“When are you going in?” Lance asked, and Jackson’s mouth twisted.
“A week from next Monday, if I can keep putting on weight. You guys are coming to Ellery’s party, right?” He darted a look over his shoulder. “He’s invited like a thousand people. It would be great if Jade and her boyfriend weren’t the only ones to show—” Another inappropriately deep breath. “—up.”
“Sit down,” Jade said softly. “You got your nitro?”
“I hate this,” he muttered. “I hate it so bad.”
“Yeah, baby. It’s a picnic for the rest of us. So much fun. Your lips are blue. There is a couch right there in the reception room. I’ll go get Ellery.”
Jackson started to move slowly to the couch, regulating his breaths with every step. Lance put a steadying hand out to take his elbow on instinct, only to be met with a withering glare.
“I. Dare. You.”
Lance assumed his best bored expression and took his arm anyway. “When you’re all recovered, you can come to the apartment and kick my ass. I’m fine with that.”
“Henry, deck him,” Jackson breathed as they sat him down on the couch.
“Yessir. I’ll get right on that.”
“I hate you. You’re fired.”
Henry winked at Lance. “I’m not even on the payroll yet. I’m not scared.”
Jade came bustling back out from the offices with Ellery in tow. He looked a little more composed than Lance remembered, but the worry in his eyes hadn’t changed.
“Here,” he said, handing Jackson a tablet. “Was that so hard to ask?”
“It was sudden,” Jackson told him, shoving the tablet under his tongue. He let it dissolve a moment before swallowing, his cheeks already getting ruddy again. “All better now. Go talk to your client.”
“Go home and rest,” Ellery said, no compromise in his voice. “You did a solid morning’s work on the computer, now go sleep.”
“We can take him home,” Henry offered, but only because he opened his mouth before Lance did. “It’s no problem.”
Ellery gave him a grateful smile. “You guys can hang out—swim, raid the refrigerator, whatever. I would….” He bit his lip. “I would just really like to know he wasn’t alone all day.”
“I’m fine, Counselor,” Jackson murmured but without heat.
“I’m not.”
Jackson closed his eyes for a moment. “I can take myself.”
Lance stood up and said, “Get used to losing that fight for a while. I’m going to go get the car.”
He didn’t meet Henry’s eyes on his way out, because in that moment, watching the fiercely independent Jackson fight over comfort or help or self-care, he’d seen his life with Henry, as Henry did the same.
He hurried back the two blocks they’d come, wondering if he’d have to call in reserves if Henry got hurt, wondering if Henry would have as many people gathering around him as Jackson Rivers seemed to.
But then he remembered the day Henry had found Martin Sampson’s body, and the way the apartment had rallied around him. He remembered the day before, when Henry had gotten home from a funeral and launched into papa bear mode, taking care of one of the kids.
Henry might not have learned good parenting from his own parents, but he’d definitely picked up on responsibility from the military and kindness from, where? Maybe his brother. But somewhere.
Yeah, Henry would be a handful if he got hurt, but Lance would have help taking care of him, just like Ellery Cramer had help taking care of Jackson.
Ellery had been right, that one day in the hospital. They had a lot in common. At least Lance would apparently be able to learn from a master.
Obvious Solutions
HENRY HAD to admit that Jackson was an appreciative audience. They sat in Ellery Cramer’s spacious American River home, a movie paused on the big-screen TV, while Henry regaled his new mentor with the story of the poor porn kid and the really effective exfoliant depilatory.
“Oh no!” Jackson sympathized. “Poor kid! I mean, that sounds hilarious, but… oh, man. Ouch. How’s he doing?”
And that was Jackson. In the closet, listening to Summer Frasier come unglued, Henry had wondered what Jackson wou
ld do. He’d remembered the memorial service for Martin Sampson, and the way Jackson had found the one human kernel in a man who had hurt so very many, and he’d had his answer. Seeing the gun hadn’t scared him—he’d recognized an amateur gun handler from the get-go—but the thought of Lance in the closet had. If Lance had jumped out in some misguided attempt to save Henry’s life, his chances of getting shot would have gone up exponentially. It had been absolutely imperative that Henry control the situation.
And in order to do that, he had to see Summer Frasier as a human being.
It hadn’t been hard. He’d apparently had a lot of experience being human himself.
“He’s been taking a lot of oatmeal baths,” Henry admitted. “And we asked John’s permission and got him some edibles to chill him out while the hair is growing back. It’s weird—he’s always been sort of hyperactive anyway, but now, suddenly, he can sit still long enough to think things through.”
“I wonder if he’s got some other issue,” Lance said thoughtfully. “You’re right. Those edibles are really helping him think. Ugh. We’ve got a mental health caveat on our insurance. We should probably take him in.”
Henry grunted. “I can do it tomorrow. He’ll still be eating pot gummies and the idea won’t freak him out quite so much.”
“You guys are a good team,” Jackson said drowsily. He’d played the charming host for the first hour, asking them if they wanted to swim, locking his psychotic cat in his bedroom. But after Henry had paused the movie to talk, he’d looked more and more exhausted. “You going to play mom and dad to all John’s lost porn stars for a while?” Jackson asked Henry.
Henry grimaced. “Well, it’s good when couples have things they can do together,” he admitted. “But it would also be really awesome if we had time to do each other together.”
“Oh God!” Jackson groaned, covering his eyes with his hand.
“Henry!” Lance complained in embarrassment.
“Sorry!” Henry nonapologized. “It’s… God, I’d really like to sleep in a real bed that’s actually meant for two grown men.”
Jackson chuckled. “Yeah, I can see why that might be important. But it’s not like that’s the only apartment in the complex, right?”
Henry stared at him. “What?”
Jackson just rolled his eyes and then worked really hard to keep them from fluttering shut.
“Go to bed,” Henry said softly. “We’ll stay here until Ellery gets home.”
“Fuck,” Jackson muttered. “Fuck this shit. Fuck it to hell. I’m so done. And no, Junior, I don’t need help getting to bed.”
But Henry was already on one side, helping him up. “Sure you don’t.”
“Most days aren’t like this,” Jackson insisted. “This is the first bad day I’ve had since—”
“Since Friday when you almost died,” Henry nagged. “Yeah, I get it. Now get your ass into bed and don’t let your cat eviscerate me.”
“Well, don’t get too familiar with my cat and he won’t get ideas,” Jackson told him peevishly. Lance had gotten up and was on his other side, waiting in case Jackson suddenly needed him. He didn’t, but he did sink gratefully down on his bed when he got there. Billy Bob, his tattered three-legged Siamese cat, was lying on the coverlet, looking affronted when Henry pulled it back so Jackson could lie down. “I’m fine,” he grumbled, even as Henry tucked him in.
“You’re a pain in the ass,” Henry told him. As he turned away, he saw Billy Bob butting his head against Jackson’s chin. Without a word, Jackson lifted his covers and the cat wiggled in, then curled up against his chest, licking his chin as Jackson fell asleep.
“Aw,” Lance said as they emerged from the room. “What a sweet animal.”
“That cat scratched up my face, you know. I tried to be nice to him, and he jumped on my head.”
Lance raised an eyebrow in pure skepticism. “I remember the scratches. What did you do to the cat?”
“Nothing,” Henry muttered. “I pet him. I swear to God.”
“I don’t believe you. But did you hear what he said?”
“Yeah, he said don’t get too familiar with the cat.” Which made Henry sound like some sort of pervert, and he was not pleased.
Lance snorted. “Come sit down. No, not on the other side of the couch—next to me. I know we’re babysitting, but we’re adults and even teenyboppers get to feel each other up in front of the TV.”
Henry rolled his eyes. “Teenyboppers? Are we in our forties now, Lance? Is that what people our age call kids these days?”
Lance shut him up with a kiss. “I’m serious. Because your friend, who is feeling like complete crap, by the way, just dropped an amazing idea in our laps, and I would like to talk to you about it.”
Henry snuggled closer. “Can’t we make out first?”
Lance kissed him, hard enough to make Henry’s head swim and his nipples point and his cock stand up and take notice. Then Lance pulled back and glared at him.
“What?” Henry mumbled. “Wha’d I do?”
“We’re not having sex on a stranger’s couch,” Lance told him. “And we’re not going into the guest bedroom either. Are you horny now?”
Henry leaned his forehead against Lance’s. “Yes!”
“Well, we’ll probably find a way when we get back to the apartment because I’ve already made it clear that I have no shame when it comes to you. None. I’m a big doormat.”
Henry almost choked. “That is hilarious. Oh my God, if you were a doormat, I’d have spikes in my feet.”
“Henry! Do you want to hear this idea or not?”
Oh please. Like Henry hadn’t seen the idea too. “You want to rent an apartment in the same complex. I’m not stupid, Lance.”
Lance seemed to deflate a little. “But… why aren’t you excited about this idea? And by the way, I was dying, trying to figure out how to keep an eye on the guys while we got some privacy.”
“I’m not stupid, but I am broke. Remember? I don’t make half the rent. Even if Ellery can scrounge up some money for me, I’ll be going to school. I’m stuck on that couch until I get a job that pays!”
Lance smacked him on the top of the head. “You’re so stupid.”
“Ouch! What?” Henry rubbed his head and tried to figure out what he’d missed.
“I don’t need you to pay rent!” Lance snapped, absurdly enough keeping his voice down. “I just need you to move in with me!”
Henry blinked. “Lance, we’ve been sleeping with each other for a week.”
“But we already live together! And seriously, if we get a separate apartment, and it doesn’t work out, you know, move back into the flophouse!”
Henry laughed softly and sprawled across Lance’s chest. “Galahad?” he said, trying to be reasonable.
“I don’t trust that name.”
“You should. It’s amazing. Do me a favor and relax, okay? We’ve got some privacy, we’ve got a movie. We’ve got air-conditioning. I am, at this moment, a very happy guy. I may even get lucky tonight, and that makes me even happier.” He kissed Lance’s cheek, giddy all over again that this guy seemed to want him. “I haven’t been this simply happy in a long time. Let’s not fuck with the happy. Not now. Let’s make out on the couch and pretend we’re teenyboppers, okay?”
Lance grunted. “Fine, but I still think it’s a perfectly good idea—”
“It’s a great idea. But it’s not going to happen this week, or even next week. This weekend, Ellery’s having a party, and he’s invited some of our friends and my brother, and you know what?”
“What?”
“I’m looking forward to that. Because last week, when Ellery was issuing invitations left and right, it was always followed up with, ‘As long as Henry’s not in jail.’ So I’m not going to jail, and I have a boyfriend, and I did something sort of heroic this morning. There may be more shit to come.” He sobered. “Malachi is still out there. I still need to pass my classes and get my license. There’s always shi
t to sort, but….” He swallowed, suddenly unable to joke about this. “A few months ago, I was trying to get out of an abusive relationship I wouldn’t even admit was happening. Can we just let… let a good reality sort of sit on our shoulders a little? Please?”
Lance let out a breath. “Sure,” he rasped. “It’s… this morning, you walked into a room and confronted a woman with a gun. And I get that you’re still high from that, but it made me realize that you are… really special to me. And you’re going to be doing shit like that a lot more than I’d like. So I don’t want to waste any time.”
Oh. Oh wow. Henry took his mouth, savoring the sweetness. “It’s never wasted when we’re together. We’ll find a way.”
Lance sighed and kissed him back, and Henry spent the next few hours on the couch, learning the joys of having a boyfriend you could kiss indiscriminately, and who was as much fun to talk to as he was to have sex with.
More, in fact, because there was respect, and kindness and humor in all that banter, and the sex was a promise, not a threat.
ELLERY GOT home about two hours later, right when Jackson got up. Jackson looked much better after his rest—his color was good, his eyes twinkled wickedly as he gave Ellery crap about saving the world while Jackson was down for a nap.
Henry and Lance made a quiet exit while Ellery was trying not to swoon all over his boyfriend, because it was obvious the two of them needed privacy and that every moment alone for them right now really was a sorely treasured miracle.
“Dinner?” Lance said on the way out to the car. “We could go somewhere.”
“What would you want to eat?” Henry asked, keeping his voice neutral.
Lance let out a sigh. “It would be mostly for you,” he admitted.
“Which is nuts because we skipped lunch.” Then Henry remembered his own words about just letting them be happy, and let it go. “Anywhere you’d eat,” he said. “I mean that.”
