“Damn, that’s a lot of zeros,” he said with glee. His heart sank then. “Maybe there’s some mistake.”
After burying his mother then his graduation, he had thought he wanted to work in business affairs, but three months later, he knew he couldn’t do it. His place was by Kofi Olabasu’s side at the real estate office. For the last few months, he’d been staying with his friend in an apartment building. Now, with his first commission check, he could get his own place. Christophe carried the check proudly down the corridor and knocked on Kofi’s office.
“Come in.”
When Christophe walked through the door, Kofi was sitting on the edge of his desk while Kofi’s boyfriend, a sexy Japanese man who had to have been a samurai in a previous life, lounged in one of the luxurious chairs. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know Osaki was here. I’ll come back later.”
“That is quite all right,” Osaki said, rising to his full height. He strode across the room to drop a kiss on Kofi’s lips before smiling. “I know you gentlemen need to speak on business. I will see you later.” He kissed Kofi again.
“Okay, darling.”
Christophe had to hold his breath when Osaki nodded to him and exited the office. For a moment, he stood there frozen, wondering who had given the man the right to be that sexy. When Kofi cleared his throat, Christophe turned and handed over the check.
“Hey!” Kofi cheered. “Congratulations on the breaking of your commission cherry!”
Christophe laughed and did a few mock bows. “Thank you. Thank you.”
“Why did you look so worried when you walked in a second ago?”
“Did they make a mistake with this?” Christophe wanted to know.
Kofi shook his head. “No. This is correct. The house was six point eight million dollars. Your commission is ten percent. No mistake. You really need to relax.” He gave the check back.
“I mean, I would die if I got a call saying I had to send it back.”
Kofi laughed. “Yes, I know that feeling very well. I went through it too with my first commission check and my second and my third. It was just under five thousand dollars back then, because the apartment I sold wasn’t that big of a deal, but I remembered feeling as if I had to hold on to the checks for as long as possible—just in case.”
That was good for Christophe to hear. He swallowed. “I still can’t believe this is all mine—my first solo sell and my commission check is more money than I’ve ever made in my life.”
Christophe collapsed into Osaki’s vacated chair.
“Don’t look so startled, Christophe. I told you this would happen,” Kofi said easily. “Our clients are celebrities and wealthy business people—your commissions will be hefty. You are good at what you do. And after all you’ve been through, trust me, you deserve this.”
Christophe nodded with a smile.
“I’ve been hearing some great things about you too,” Kofi added. “The word is going around about you. As long as you’re good to your clients and those around you, you will get far in this business.”
“Thanks. It feels good to know I’m finally doing something I love. I always thought I’d be stuck working two jobs like my mom did before she got sick. Don’t get me wrong—working two jobs is fine—there’s nothing wrong with that. But she had no time for her, for her happiness.”
Kofi nodded. “I understand. You wanted something different for yourself and your mother. I know for a fact that you wanted something better for you. Now, go home, take a load off.”
He grinned and shook his head. “I’m going to go back to my office and look for a new place,” Christophe told him with a shrug. “Geoff has been kind taking me in and all, but it can cramp the sex life, you know?”
“I know. Listen, the gang and I are having a bit of a dinner tomorrow night, why don’t you come by? It won’t be anything formal just a little get-together.”
Christophe was tempted to decline the offer, but what was he going to stay home and do? Even if he did find a place by then, with all the paperwork, the credit check and blah-blah-blah, he still wouldn’t be moving any time soon. At least if he was out it would give Geoff some time to see his man without Christophe locked in the guestroom with his headphones on trying not to hear through the paper-thin walls. “What time?”
“About eight-ish? Give us all time to finish work, shower and get ready to relax.”
“Okay, good. I have a few showings in the morning and I’m going to see some listings for an apartment—you don’t have any on the market, do you? I want something to lease right now—I think. I’m not sure yet.”
“Not for lease. Just for sale. But I’ll call some of my contacts and see what they say.”
“Thank you.”
“What’re you looking for?”
Christophe shrugged. “I’m not really picky. I just don’t want a loft. Maybe two bedrooms plus an office so I can work from home from time to time. With two bedrooms, I’ll feel like I’m finally settled into life.”
“And you’re looking to lease?”
“Well, I can put a down payment on a condo,” Christophe replied. “It would be nice to be slowly working toward my very own place rather than paying off someone else’s mortgage through rent. Though I wanted to buy a house with an income property but right now, I just want to enjoy my new-found life.”
Kofi laughed. “So—lease”
Christophe laughed. “Whichever, I just want to get out of Geoff’s place.”
Kofi nodded, made a note on the notepad on his desk then looked up. “So tomorrow?”
“For sure. I’ll see you later.”
But going back to his office was a waste of time. He didn’t get any work done whatsoever. His mind kept wandering to where he would go next with his life. That, too, left him befuddled and was a waste of time. Kofi had long since told him good night and was gone so Christophe frowned, turned off his computer and grabbed his things. He stopped to drop the day’s mail in the outgoing tray for the secretary before making his way to the elevator.
Before he left the parking lot, he called Geoff. It took a while for his friend to pick up the phone, but when he did, Geoff was out of breath. Christophe knew why. Instead of saying anything, he hung up. He’d called in the middle of sex which meant Jason, Geoff’s man, was there. He couldn’t go home yet. He frowned with that thought—it wasn’t his home. Simply put, it was just a place Christophe was resting his head until he could do otherwise. His mother’s house was home.
Before she’d gotten sick, Sundays the house had smelled of the best fried chicken he’d ever tasted and hot rice and peas. Saturdays it had been soup—pea soup with okra and beef. The other days, the home had been warm and smelled like apple pie or freshly baked cookies for years. Even after the doctors had told her she was ill, Mary had tried keeping the place normal, but it had never been the same for Christophe after the diagnosis. He’d pretended it was and had gone with the motions of all she tried doing unless it made her exhausted.
Then the chemo had begun and nothing had been the same after that.
Christophe moaned and dropped his cell on the passenger seat.
Instead of heading back to the apartment, he wandered the streets. Part of the time he was in a complete daze, but when he pulled himself back from the edge of depression, Christophe stopped by a flower shop then his mother’s grave.
“Hi, Mom,” he whispered, picking up the old flowers and setting the new ones into the small vase. He sat in the dirt and for a while he just busied himself crumbling the dried rose petals into the soft grass to his side. “I told you I’d be back. I got some good news—got my first commission check today. Well, I usually get anywhere from five to twenty percent of the house I help Kofi sell but the other day he cut the leash completely and allowed me to show my first few houses. So far so good. I did so well word is getting around and I have my own listings now.” He stopped and caressed a finger over the cool stone. “I miss you, Mom. Geoff and Kofi try, but sometimes I feel a
lone. You said I could do this…and I’m really trying. But it’s so hard without you.”
Christophe wiped the back of one of his hands across his eyes to clear the tears before looking up at the sky. A cool breeze seeped through the leaves and caressed his face like Mary would when he would crawl into bed with her those final days. “I love you, Mom.”
With that over, he bought some food from a sandwich shop two blocks from the graveyard, then he stopped at his favorite park.
It was getting dark by then.
Geoff didn’t call back. For some reason that made Christophe feel like a mooch. He thought of getting a hotel room, but just because he had a little money didn’t mean he should spend it all. No—the original plan still stood.
Thinking back to Geoff, Christophe couldn’t remember the last time he’d had sex with anyone but his hand. How sad was that? At his age, he should be out dating and on his way toward settling down. But like everything else in his life, it wasn’t going as it should.
He bit into his sandwich and chewed, silently contemplating what he was really doing eating alone in a park. He was at the age where he should have a bunch of friends and people who cared for him. Yet, he spent most of his time feeling as if he was encroaching on everyone else’s lives.
Lovers walked by him, arms around each other or fingers tangled together, and Christophe couldn’t help feeling a bit of contempt for all of them. Though he knew it was childish, he wanted to chuck pieces of his sandwich at them.
He refrained.
Then again, he couldn’t hope to get everything he always wanted in life. There were a few things that were bound to fall through the great, cosmic cracks.
With dinner finished, he discarded the trash, got back into his car and used his cell phone to go through listings in his desired neighborhood. Kofi had offered to help him, but since he was trying to make himself scarce so Geoff could finish his business with Jason, he had nothing but time on his hands.
Christophe managed to find a couple of condos and with some wrangling, he booked two viewings for that night. That would occupy some time before he really had to go home and take a shower.
The first unit was too small and had carpeting. That would never do. The second one was perfect but he wanted to sleep on it first before he made any rash decisions. And he had to cash his check as well—so much to do just to be independent again.
By the time he wandered into the two-bedroom place he shared with his best friend, it was well past nine p.m. Geoff lounged on the sofa watching reruns of Sleepy Hollow and was shouting at the television.
Exhausted, Christophe hung his keys on the hook by the door then pushed off his shoes. In the living room, he set his bag down beside the sofa and fell beside his friend. “Haven’t you seen this episode already?”
“Yeah, but it still gets me going, you know?” Geoff said. “It’s just that good.”
“We need to talk.”
“Sounds serious.”
Christophe watched his friend. Geoff didn’t mute the television nor did he look at Christophe.
“What about?”
“I know me being here hasn’t been easy for you,” Christophe began. “I mean, I was only supposed to be here for a little while after Mom’s place was sold. But here I am, still.”
“Yes. And?”
Christophe made a face. “And… I got my first commission check today.”
“Oh, nice!”
“I’m looking into getting my own place again,” Christophe explained. “Get my things out of storage too…”
“You don’t have to go. I love having you here.”
“I know you really believe that.” Christophe rubbed the back of his neck. “But yes. I do. The truth is, sometimes I finish working at two, but I stay out to give you time by yourself. It is, after all, your apartment. Then when I finally have nothing else to do out there and come home, I spend half my time trying to not hear you and Jason going at it in the next room. It’s not Fort Knox—I can hear everything, even with my headphones on. If I don’t hear you two making sounds, I can hear the bed banging into the wall. And to make things worse, Jason doesn’t exactly like me and I can’t say the feelings aren’t mutual.”
“You’re my best friend, Chris.” Geoff eyed him then. “You’ll always be welcome here whether or not I have a man.”
Christophe smiled. “I know. But the truth is, I want my own space too. Since I sold Mom’s house, I’ve been staying here. I love you, but it’s time. I want to be able to walk around and say ‘that’s my table’ or ‘that’s my bed’. I want to be able to bring a man home and know he can bend me over my table or my counter and not have to worry someone is going to walk in on us. Besides, I haven’t slept in my own bed for months.”
“Bend you over the table, huh?” Geoff asked with a smirk on his lips. “Damn, I’ve been doing this sex thing way wrong.”
Christophe laughed softly. “No. It’s just that I’d like to be freaky for my man and I can’t do that if I’m at someone else’s place.”
“Your man? Koi and…”
“No. Anyway, I don’t mean to seem ungrateful. I need my own little cave, so to speak.”
Geoff nodded. “I get it. I really do. Did you find somewhere?”
“I think so—you should come and see it with me tomorrow. Wait—what time are you finished with classes?”
“I have one class in the morning, then I’m free.” Geoff muted the television. “What time do you want to meet and go see this place?”
“Okay, why don’t I drop you off in the morning for class, then I can pick you up when you’re finished and we can go to the new place?” Christophe stretched his legs out. “That way we won’t have two cars out there when we don’t need to, and since I only get one parking spot when we get to the place, it works out.”
“Sounds like a plan. It will save me from driving.”
Christophe nodded. “It’s a date. Oh, Kofi invited me to dinner tomorrow night. Did you want to come?”
“He invited you—he’s your friend.”
“You know you’re always welcome when he asks me anywhere,” Christophe pointed out while walking from the living room to the kitchen. He grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge and joined Geoff again. He handed one over. “Besides, I don’t want to be there all by myself. He has his man. His brother is married and everyone else knows each other…”
“Then why do you go to these things? They obviously make you uncomfortable.”
“Yeah. But this man has given me everything. Besides, they don’t make me feel left out on purpose. It’s just me.”
“That’s a bullshit answer and you know it.”
Christophe sighed and lifted his beer to his lips. The crisp, cool liquid made its way down his throat, leaving him comforted and refreshed. “I go because they can be fun and I’m hoping to see Koi again.”
“You know, you really should say something to him. You’re at the age now where you can’t just let a good thing pass you by.”
“No.” Christophe chuckled. “Saying anything about my lust to Koi is so out of the question. I can’t even put words to it. He’s a wet dream—that’s all. I can’t very well walk up to a man like that and say anything.”
“Why not?” Geoff asked. “You’ve dated before. You’ve told a man you want to bend him over something and fuck him from behind before—right?”
“No. I don’t say things like that. Besides, I’m more of a bottom.”
Geoff shrugged. “Your loss. You can’t get real pleasure unless you can speak up and tell your lover what you want.”
“When was the last time you saw me date anyone?”
“A while,” Geoff said. “Just so I know I’m about to yell at you for the right reason—why can’t you say anything to Koi?”
“First of all, all he would have to do was turn those ice-blue eyes on me and my mouth would go all dry and my tongue would stick to the roof of my mouth—not a pretty sight.” He paused to drink from his b
eer. Just the thought of those eyes made him nervous and hard. “Secondly, he’s Kofi’s brother-in-law.”
“Really? He doesn’t look Japanese.”
“No, he’s Greek. He’s Ciro’s brother.”
“Dang.”
“Yeah. I’m happy living with the fantasy, you know? When the crush is over, I’ll move on.”
“But it’s been months.” Geoff turned the television off and set the remote on the center table. “Months since you met him and you still get this schoolboy with a crush look in your eyes whenever someone mentions him. Admit it, you want Koi Pyktis in the worst ways and if you don’t do or say anything about it, you will regret it later.”
Christophe thought about it then finally nodded and lifted his bottle. “Sometimes, regrets are unavoidable. This is one of those times.”
Geoff clinked his bottle with Christophe. “To unavoidable regrets.”
“Yeah.”
Chapter Three
Koi Pyktis ducked, grabbed Liosh’s leg and tugged. The demi-Shiver yelped and hit the ground, sending up a swirl of dust around them. Koi lifted a hand and a gust of wind wiped the particles away. He looked down into the green eyes of his new nephew. “You have to be prepared for everything,” Koi said.
“But that’s impossible!” Liosh frowned. “There are a million possibilities of what could have happened. How can you prepare for every eventuality?”
“You are a Shiver!” Koi thundered, stepping in close. “Use all the abilities you were given. Feel the shift in the air. Listen to the change in my breathing…”
“You forget.” Liosh shoved from the ground then hovered over it slightly, arms folded tightly across his chest. “I can’t be like you and Ciro. My mother kept me away from any fighting—she didn’t even send me to karate when I was little. I’m only part Shiver. I can’t bend air like the rest of you or make clouds or flood a city with a mere glance.”
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