The Manny

by A. T Brennan

“What?” Cameron asked as Nathan turned off the car and turned to him.

  “We should do this every week. Go out, have dinner, and do something.”

  “Like a standing date night?” Cameron asked with a smile.

  “Yeah. You work hard all week, I work.” He grinned. “We deserve to enjoy ourselves and have a night that’s just about us and our relationship and not about the kids or the house or anything that has to do with your job.”

  “I’d like that. I had an amazing night.”

  “So did I.” Nathan grinned as he looked Cameron up and down. “But the night isn’t over yet.”

  “No?” Cameron gave him a coy smile. “And what did you have in mind?”

  “Well, I think we could use a shower for two. Then maybe end the evening in bed.”

  “I like the sound of that.”

  “I might even let you get some sleep before you have to wake up.”

  “Really? And what do you think you’ll be doing to keep me up for the next six hours?”

  “I’m pretty sure I can think of a few things.” He grinned wickedly as he threw open the car door. “Another reason to have date night on Thursday is so you can sleep on Friday while the kids are at school.”

  “I still have to get up and get them ready in the morning,” Cameron pointed out.

  “True, but I don’t,” Nathan teased as he climbed out of the car. “And the best part of my morning is when you climb back into bed with me.”

  “Mine too.”

  “HELLO?” CAMERON ANSWERED his phone on the third ring. He was in the library reading, and he’d brought his phone in with him on the off chance that Nick might call. He’d called a few days ago just to vent, and Cameron didn’t want to miss his call in case he needed him again.

  The number was from his agency. He had no idea why someone at the agency would be calling him at eight-thirty at night, but something told him it wasn’t good news.

  “Cameron Adams?”

  “Speaking.”

  “This is Michaela Halloway. I’m the HR rep in charge of your file.”

  “Yes, hi.” His stomach suddenly dropped. There was only one reason human resources would be calling him at eight-thirty at night.

  “We’ve received a complaint about you from a concerned parent.”

  “What kind of complaint?” He closed his eyes and tried not to sigh. This was the phone call he’d been dreading for a week ever since Susan had seen them out on their date.

  “We’ve had a complaint that you’ve engaged in an inappropriate relationship with your employer.”

  “Who complained?” he asked. Considering how much of a gossip Susan was, it could have been any of the parents around.

  “We keep our complainants’ identities confidential.”

  “I see.”

  “I’m calling to inform you of your termination.”

  “That’s all it takes, a complaint?” he asked bitterly. “You don’t even ask if I did it?”

  “We take complaints very seriously. We run a legitimate business, and we will not tolerate our employees engaging in inappropriate sexual relations with our clients.”

  Cameron didn’t bother saying anything. She wasn’t wrong.

  “Effective immediately you are no longer an employee of Domestic Support Services. As per our contract, any owed wages will be issued to you in a check and sent to your address on file. You are not permitted to use any previous clients or the agency for references, and this will go on your file should anyone contact us regarding you.”

  “I understand.” He opened his eyes and sat up straight. “Thank you for the opportunity to work for your company.”

  Cameron had a lot of other things that he’d rather say, but he’d learned to take the high road and to always walk away from a conflict, letting the other person feel as if they’d won. It was one thing to stand up for himself, but it was another to burn bridges.

  The woman on the phone didn’t even say goodbye. She just hung up, and Cameron was left holding a dead phone in his hands.

  He’d been fired.

  He would have to leave Nathan and the kids, and the thought was crushing. He didn’t care so much about the job, and he didn’t really care about losing his references. He cared about leaving the family.

  The thought of having to leave Nathan or the kids made tears prickle in his eyes, but he pulled himself together and blinked them back. This should have happened weeks ago. Just because he’d gotten a pass for a little while didn’t mean he hadn’t broken the rules. Now he had to live with the consequences.

  With a heavy sigh, he stood and headed toward the door. He might as well find Nathan. If he hadn’t gotten a phone call yet, he would be getting one soon.

  When Cameron found Nathan in the media room, he was holding his phone in his hand, and Cameron could tell by the look on his face that he’d gotten the same phone call.

  “We’ve been outed, and I’ve been fired,” Cameron said with a sigh as he sat down on the couch near Nathan but not directly next to him.

  “Cameron—”

  “It was only a matter of time.” He shrugged, blinking back a new batch of tears. “We were breaking the rules; I was breaking the rules. Just because I didn’t get caught until now doesn’t mean it wasn’t wrong.”

  “I’m sorry.” Nathan shook his head. “It’s stupid, but a part of me actually thought Susan would keep quiet.”

  “All of the moms know. It could have been anyone.” Cameron sighed. “I guess I’ll call one of my sisters.”

  “Why?”

  “I kind of need a place to live until I can get an apartment again. I gave up my place when I took this job.”

  “Cameron.” Nathan smiled and reached out for his hand. “You don’t have to leave.”

  “But I got fired.”

  “By your agency. They fired you; I didn’t.”

  “You want me to stay?”

  “Of course. Now your checks will come directly from me, and there will be no processing fee so you’ll see more of your salary.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. And now we don’t have to hide anything. I think it’s a good idea to keep it from the kids until we can figure out how to tell them, but screw what anyone else has to say.”

  “So we’d be boyfriends?”

  “Boyfriends.” Nathan nodded, smiling tenderly as he looked into Cameron’s eyes. “What do you think?”

  “I think this is the best thing ever. I got fired but didn’t lose my job, and I have an official boyfriend” He grinned. “Not a bad night.”

  “How about we make it a great night?” Nathan asked as he trailed his hand up and down Cameron’s arm.

  “How great of a night?” Cameron asked teasingly as he shifted a little closer.

  “A really great night.” Nathan took his hand and started to stand. “I hope you don’t mind being tired tomorrow.”

  “I’m getting used to it.”

  “Just think of it as splitting your sleep. A few hours before school and then a few hours after they’re off.”

  “That’s one way of looking at it.” Cameron nodded as he followed Nathan out of the room. “Although you don’t really let me sleep after they’re off.”

  “And I don’t plan on letting you sleep much before.”

  “Thank God for coffee.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Over the next few weeks, they fell into a comfortable routine. The transition was seamless, and they were managing to keep everything hidden from the kids.

  Nathan had been worried the kids’ friends wouldn’t come by the house on the weekends now that he and Cameron were the talk of the neighborhood, but he’d worried for nothing. Even though the other parents and nannies didn’t agree with their relationship, they weren’t keeping their kids away, so the yard was always full, and Nathan stayed as far away from everyone as he could.

  He didn’t think it was possible, but he was falling a little more in love with Cameron every day. He lo
ved to see Cameron smile and tried to do simple things like ordering dinner so Cameron wouldn’t have to cook, or giving him a night off and taking over kid duty to let Cameron know he was thinking of him.

  Nathan knew Cameron didn’t care about money or material things and preferred gestures over gifts, so he tried to be creative and do things that didn’t cost a lot because he knew Cameron would appreciate them more.

  He also loved how Cameron completed his family. For three years there had been a gaping hole in his life and in their family, but in the short time Cameron had been with them, he’d become a part of them.

  They once again had family routines, and fun and laughter had come back to their home. Cameron had connected him with his children, and he felt complete again. And he was happy. It was the first time in years, but he was truly happy with his life.

  He and Cameron kept their standing date night, and Nathan made sure to seek out new experiences he thought Cameron would enjoy. He loved being able to introduce him to different things and create memories together. And he was proud to be out with Cameron on his arm.

  Nathan took Cameron to his favorite restaurants and sought out different festivals and activities. Cameron had mentioned how he loved to dance, so Nathan had set up dance lessons for them. He was past the club phase and thought this was a much more intimate alternative. They did a paint and wine night, where they both discovered they were much better at drinking wine than painting, and went to an open-air theater showcase featuring LGBT+-themed plays.

  Probably the most fun night they had together was the tamest and most laid back. Nathan had driven them to an outlook about an hour before sunset. They’d had a simple picnic of sandwiches with fruit and wine, and then shared a piece of cheesecake before going for a long walk along the bluffs below the outlook. They’d hadn’t talked much, but they hadn’t needed to. When they’d gotten home that night, Nathan had drawn them a bath, and they’d sat in the water together, not fooling around outside of a few kisses and holding each other. After their bath, Cameron had stayed in his room all night, and they’d talked until almost three in the morning as they’d laid together. It was the perfect night, like something out of a movie or a romance novel. It was also the night Nathan knew for sure that Cameron was the man he was going to marry.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Hello?” Cameron picked up his phone on the second ring. He was in the library and had been flipping through a book on medieval artists. He’d put the kids down about half an hour ago and was taking some time for himself.

  “Hey, Cameron.”

  “Nick.” He sat up a little straighter. “Hey. How are you doing?”

  “We had the ultrasound today.”

  “How was it?”

  At ten weeks, Nick and Ashleigh had gone to a dating ultrasound. The doctor had given them a gestational age, and the dates matched when the party was. It had been hard for everyone, but Nick had seen the heartbeat, and that moment had changed how he felt about the situation.

  Ashleigh had had some cramping and light bleeding after, so they’d scheduled a twelve-week scan to see how things were progressing now that she was almost out of the first trimester.

  “They said everything is good. She just might have placenta previa.”

  “What’s that? Cassie had it with Lexi, but I still have no idea what it means.”

  “It’s when the placenta is low. In her case, it’s near the cervix and not over it.”

  “So she’ll have a C-section?”

  “If it gets worse. They said that it’s early enough that it could shift upwards. They want to check again at around twenty weeks, and then they’ll do another at around thirty-four. “

  “That’s good news,” he said as he leaned back. “How are you doing with all this?”

  “I’m a little screwed up. I want it to be mine, and I don’t want it to be mine. I want it to be perfect and healthy, and I want to be there for everything, but there’s still a part of me that doesn’t want to get attached.”

  “Is she still talking about adoption?”

  “Yeah.” He sighed. “She’s eighteen, I’m nineteen, we’re in school...neither one of us is ready for this.”

  “It might be best for everyone, including the baby,” he said gently.

  “I know.” Nick sighed again. “She wants to do an open adoption. She even asked if anyone in my family would adopt it.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. Apparently, she doesn’t really have much of a family, and she knows I have three sets of aunts and uncles, so she asked if anyone in our family would adopt it.”

  “Have you talked to anyone about this?”

  “Just you.”

  “What do you think about that? Could you watch someone in the family raise your baby?”

  “I don’t know,” he said after a pause. “It kind of bends my mind when I think about it.”

  “I imagine,” Cameron agreed. “But it’s something you have to think about. If it wouldn’t work for you, then that’s your choice. You have to be able to live with whatever happens.”

  “I know. That’s why I called you. You always know what to say.”

  “You flatter me,” he said with a small laugh. “How about we go out and do something tomorrow night? Just get out and hang out, like we used to.”

  “Yeah, that would be great,” he said, perking up.

  “I’ll talk to Nathan, but I could probably swing by the house after supper.”

  “Cool. Text me the time, and I’ll see you then.”

  “Nick...? Can you hang on for a second, my phone is doing something,” Cameron said as he pulled the phone away from his ear and watched as it lit up with message after message and just kept beeping at him.

  “Cameron? Cameron?”

  “Nick?” He put the phone back to his ear.

  “What’s going on with your phone?”

  “I got a bunch of video messages. They lit up my phone.”

  “Text me tomorrow. Have fun with your videos,” Nick chuckled.

  “I will. Goodnight, Nick.”

  Cameron ended the call when Nick said goodnight and went into his message folder to check out the new messages. There were four of them, and they were all from Nathan.

  “Okay, this is new.” He grinned and opened the first one.

  It wasn’t a very long video, but it spoke volumes. It was of Nathan’s bathroom. There were candles lit, and a bubble bath had been drawn. There was an ice bucket next to the tub with two wine glasses on the rim. There were even what looked like rose petals floating on top of the bubbles in the tub.

  Cameron grinned and eagerly opened the next message. It was a short clip of a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries, his guilty pleasure. They were on the counter in the bathroom, and they looked delicious.

  The third message was a short video of Nathan’s bed. There was a sheet over the comforter, and it wasn’t until the video zoomed in on a bottle of massage oil that Cameron realized what Nathan had planned for after their bath.

  He was already on his feet and heading out the door of the library as he played the final video. It was of Nathan stripping down in front of the tub. When he was naked, he picked up the phone and gave the camera a sexy wink before the screen went black.

  Cameron broke into a run and almost burst through the doors of Nathan’s bedroom. He tossed his phone on the sheet-covered bed and stripped off his clothes as he hurried into the bathroom, leaving them in a trail behind him.

  Nathan was sitting in the tub with a glass of champagne in each hand, and the smile that lit up his face when he saw Cameron melted his heart just a little bit more.

  “Join me?”

  Cameron didn’t need to be asked twice. He climbed into the tub and sank down into the water so he was sitting between Nathan’s legs and leaning back against him. The temperature was perfect, and the scent of the bubbles was soft and slightly floral, like roses.

  Nathan pressed one of the glasses in his hand, and
Cameron couldn’t stop himself from sighing.

  “This is amazing.” He turned his head to give Nathan a kiss. “Thank you for doing this.”

  “You never have to thank me for being romantic, love.”

  “I know, I’m just not used to this kind of thing.” He took a sip of his champagne and smiled as the bubbles danced on his tongue.

  “Think you could get used to it? Because this is as much for me as it is for you.” Nathan reached over the side of the tub, and Cameron saw that the plate of chocolate strawberries was now on a stool next to them.

  “I could definitely get used to this. You’re amazing.”

  “You’re the amazing one, love.” Nathan kissed his cheek and held one of the berries in front of Cameron’s mouth.

  It was a bit awkward being fed at this angle, but it was so damn sweet it was perfect.

  They stayed in the tub long after the water had gone cool and the bubbles had disappeared. Nathan was like a human furnace, so Cameron was nice and warm as he stayed nestled in his arms.

  They ate the strawberries, sipped on their champagne and enjoyed the time together. They didn’t talk much, but then again, they didn’t need to.

  When they finally climbed out of the bath, Nathan wrapped Cameron up in a fluffy towel and led him into the bedroom. Cameron was about to suggest that he should massage Nathan as a thank you for the bath when Nathan pulled him close for a deep kiss.

  All thoughts of repayment were driven out of Cameron’s head, and he lost himself in the kiss. The next thing he knew he was lying face down on the sheet with Nathan straddling his naked ass. The first touch of Nathan’s slippery hands on his skin sent a shiver of both pleasure and relaxation through him, and Cameron closed his eyes as he enjoyed the sensations Nathan created in his body.

  Nathan didn’t cut corners. He rubbed and teased every inch of the back of Cameron’s body. When he finally pulled away, Cameron was positive his bones had been replaced by elastic bands. He thought it was over, but Nathan simply turned him over and started in on his front.

  Cameron had gone soft a few minutes into the massage. Nathan’s erection had come and gone, depending on which part of Cameron’s body he was touching at any given moment.