by Shea Balik
Gabriel collapsed onto the mattress. Lakyn had just enough presence of mind to roll to his side so he wouldn’t land on him. He needed to clean them up, but first, Lakyn had to catch his breath.
“Damn,” Gabriel mumbled on a sigh. “I’m lying in the wet spot.”
Lakyn chuckled. “I’ll go get another set of sheets as soon as I can move.”
Gabriel turned his head to face Lakyn. “I was that good, huh?”
Lakyn laughed even harder. “Yes, you were.” Then he rolled a bit closer and kissed those lips he was becoming addicted to. “You most definitely were that good.”
So good in fact that it took Lakyn nearly thirty minutes to find the energy to get up and change their sheets. That was okay, because Gabriel was just as worn out and damn if Lakyn didn’t want to crow about that little fact.
Chapter Sixteen
“Look, lady,” Jesse’s voice filtered down the stairs Gabriel had been climbing to his apartment, “I don’t know who you think you are, but you can’t just come in here and start rummaging through Gabriel’s stuff.”
Gabriel groaned. His feet suddenly became too heavy to lift as he stood there, frozen in dread.
Please don’t let it…
“And I told you that I have a right to be here.” The authoritative voice carried down to Gabriel. “I’m his mother.”
“That doesn’t give you a right to pack his stuff in boxes,” Jesse insisted. “Now unless you want me to call the cops and have you arrested for stealing, I suggest you leave.”
“I’m not stealing. I’m helping him pack, so we can go back home,” his mother told Jesse, her voice rising slightly in agitation.
Gabriel considered turning around and heading back down the stairs. He’d wasn’t even a quarter of the way up the back steps of High and Tight to the apartment Kit and Angelo lent him until Gabriel could find a place of his own.
“He can’t leave.” Jesse’s voice also went higher. “He has to run my campaign for mayor.”
Gabriel placed his right foot on the step below. There was no way this was going to end well and Gabriel really didn’t want to be there to see the battle of wills between his mother and Jesse. Well, he wouldn’t mind seeing it so long as he could be invisible, but he wasn’t about to stick around and get in between the two.
Just as he placed his left foot next to his right, his mother said, “There is no way a son of mine is going to run a campaign for some small, backward, southern town.”
Gabriel shook his head. As much as he wanted to run, he couldn’t. Not if he didn’t want his mother dictating his life, which he most definitely did not. He may not want to confront his mother, but it was time Gabriel stood up to her once and for all.
“Hey,” Jesse said. “We aren’t backward. Sideways, maybe, but not backward.”
Gabriel smiled. Jesse was just one of the reasons Gabriel wasn’t about to leave. Reversing direction, Gabriel climbed the steps, mentally preparing himself to face his mother.
When he stepped through the doorway, it was to find his mother looking at Jesse like he was some sort of alien. Jesse, on the other hand, was smiling like a loon.
Jesse saw him and scowled. “You know, friends warn friends when they have family members who are…” Jesse glanced back at Gabriel’s mother. “Touched in the head.”
Gabriel had to bite back the laugh that tried to burst free. Until arriving in Cedar Falls, Gabriel had never felt like laughing, much less had to stop himself from doing so. “Sorry, but I didn’t know she was coming.”
Jesse waved him off. “No worries, but she burned up that caffeine buzz I had going and now I have to try and get Brenda to give me another macchiato.”
This time Gabriel did chuckle. “If she won’t I’ll get you another when I’m done talking with my mother.”
Jesse’s eyes narrowed on Gabriel’s mother. “Just don’t let her kidnap you,” he warned as he headed to the door. “Or I’ll have to get the posse together and hunt your asses down.”
He almost pulled the threat off with his usual dramatic flair, but as Jesse crossed the threshold, the bottom of his platform flip-flops caught and he went stumbling out onto the little landing. “Damn air, always getting in the way,” Jesse mumbled as he slammed the door shut behind him and stomped down the steps.
Gabriel was still chuckling when he turned back to his mother, who was wearing her usual face of disapproval. “That man is a menace. It is a good thing I have most of your things packed and ready to go. If we work together, we should be able to be out of this ridiculous town in less than thirty minutes.” His mother didn’t wait for his response. She just kept putting his few meager things in a box.
When Gabriel had gotten the job with Jesse, he had gone back to D.C. and packed up his apartment. With no place of his own, he’d put most of his things in storage, only bringing what he absolutely needed to this small apartment.
He’d only meant to stay above Kit’s salon a week or two, but Gabriel kept putting off looking for a place because he wasn’t sure how long he might stay in Cedar Falls.
“I’m not leaving Cedar Falls, Mother.” It was as he said the words that Gabriel realized he meant them, and not just for the election. He wanted to see where things would go with Lakyn, but it was more than that. Gabriel liked the people of Cedar Falls. It was the first time in his life that he could honestly say he was happy.
“Of course you’re leaving,” his mother insisted as he tossed several shirts in the box.
Gabriel placed a hand over the box to stop her. “No,” Gabriel said looking her straight in the eyes. “I’m not. I’m happy here, Mom. For the first time in my life, I’m happy.” It wasn’t something Gabriel had ever thought he’d ever feel.
“You can’t honestly tell me living in this small town, running some ridiculous mayoral race can possibly be what you want.” His mother’s voice was filled with scorn, which usually had Gabriel caving in order to please her, but not this time.
This time Gabriel refused to give up his chance at happiness for the slim possibility that his mother might be proud of him. “That’s exactly what I’m telling you. I’m staying in Cedar Falls.”
His mother’s face turned hard and unyielding. “I did not raise you to be mediocre. You are to become president one day and I won’t let you ruin that by throwing your life away on some stupid small time election.”
“When are you going to understand that I have no wish to be president?” Gabriel asked. “Better yet, when are you ever going to ask me what I want out of life instead of pushing me to do what you want?”
His mother opened her mouth, clearly ready to argue. No sound came out as she stared at him as if she were seeing him for the first time. “What do you mean you don’t want to be president? We’ve been working toward that goal since you were a baby.”
“No, Mom, you’ve been working toward that goal. I’ve just been forced to do what you ordered me to do.” That wasn’t exactly fair. Since he was eighteen, Gabriel could have, should have, stood up to her, but since he didn’t have anything better he wanted to do, he just kept going along with her plan. The only time he ever went against her was when he went to work for Campaign Inc. and that was only because he refused to go home and run for public office. Otherwise, he probably would have just kept doing what she wanted.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I should have had this talk with you long ago.” Not that he hadn’t tried, but she’d never made it easy. Then again, he’d never had anything to fight for before either.
“But,” she said. Then she backed up a couple of steps and sat heavily on the couch. “You’ve always wanted to be president.” This time her voice was more stunned than insistent. “When did you change your mind?”
Gabriel sat next to his mother and took her hand in his. “I’ve never wanted to be president, Mom. That was your dream, not mine. I just wanted you to be proud of me. I’m really sorry I never managed to do that.”
She blinked at him. “What are yo
u talking about? I’ve always been proud of you.”
That was news to him. “But I didn’t get valedictorian and I wasn’t put on a campaign at my old job.”
She waved those concerns away. “I was pissed at your school and your boss, but I was always proud of you.” Then she put the hand he wasn’t holding over his and said, “You are my greatest joy, Gabriel. The reason I was put on this Earth.”
Tears stung Gabriel’s eyes as absorbed his mother’s words. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you, too, son.” She hugged him fiercely. “Are you sure you don’t want to be president?” she asked again.
Gabriel laughed. “Positive. I hate being the center of attention. I much prefer being in the background helping others.” He stood up and pulled her up with him. “Come on. I want you to officially meet Jesse. Once you get past his quirks, you will see why I need to help him become mayor.”
She looked at him dubiously. “I don’t know, he didn’t exactly seem stable. He had on makeup, high heels, and did you see his shirt?”
Gabriel had. For Jesse it was relatively benign, yet, once more, completely accurate.
“Someone has to set a bad example,” his mother muttered. “Who wears something like that? Especially if they are running for mayor.” She shook her head. “If you insist on running a small campaign, at least pick the other opponent. Jesse has no chance of winning with an attitude like his.”
Normally he would agree with his mother, but this was Cedar Falls. “You’ll understand after you’ve spent some time here. Speaking of which, do you have a place to stay?” He would let her stay with him, but the apartment was too small for the two of them.
“No. I had thought to be gone before having to spend the night,” she admitted as they made their way down the back steps.
He led her around the building and across Main Street to Sweet Buns, where he knew Jesse would still be. “I’ll see if the B&B I stayed at has an opening. Otherwise, I’ll get you a room at the casino.”
“Casino?” his mother asked. “This small town has a casino?”
But before he answered her, he opened the door to Sweet Buns to Brenda scowling at Jesse as she reluctantly handed him a cup of coffee. Jesse grinned at the cup like it was his savior. “Come here you big, beautiful cup of coffee and lie to me about how much we’re going to get done today,” Jesse said before inhaling deeply and taking a sip.
“Are you sure you can’t run the opponent’s campaign instead?” his mother whispered.
Chapter Seventeen
“Of course I understand, Mrs. McKinney. Let me know if I can help you in the future.” Lakyn hung up the phone and erased Mrs. McKinney’s name from his appointment book. He’d walked in after an amazing night with Gabriel to find he’d had three cancellations so far for the week. Mrs. McKinney made four and it wasn’t even ten yet.
At least none of his appointments for the day had canceled—yet. Then again, it was still early. The phone rang again. His stomach churned uncomfortably. “Thank you for calling Happy Endings. This is Lakyn. How may I help you?”
He sighed when another one of his clients canceled without rescheduling. If things continued this way, he was going to be in trouble. The bell above the door rang as he was still on the phone.
Lakyn looked up, relieved to see Griffith enter. At least he knew some of his clients would stay with him despite the mayor spreading lies about him.
“Problems?” Griffith asked when Lakyn hung up the phone.
There was no point in denying what was happening when Griffith had heard most of the conversation. “I’ve had six of my clients cancel without rescheduling this morning. If this keeps up, I may have to go find another job.”
Just as he got the words out, the phone rang again. Glaring at it, Lakyn refused to answer it. “Come on. Let’s get you settled.”
“Aren’t you going to answer the phone?” Griffith asked.
Lakyn shrugged. “The answering machine will get it and to be honest, I would rather not have to talk to someone else’s lame excuse as to why they no longer need my services.”
It would only put him in a worse mood and Lakyn didn’t need the aggravation. He should be in a great mood after the night he’d had, yet the moment he started to listen to his messages that morning, anxiety had taken over.
As he stood outside the massage room waiting for Griffith to get settled, Lakyn heard the phone ring again. He sighed. Maybe he could augment his income by working nights at one of the restaurants in town. It wouldn’t be ideal, but at least Lakyn wouldn’t have to give up being a massage therapist.
Shaking the depressing thoughts out of his head, Lakyn knocked and waited for Griffith to tell him it was okay to enter. “So how have you been feeling?” he asked, as he did with all his clients.
By the end of the day, he’d lost ten clients. That wasn’t horrible, as many of them were only once a month clients, but it would still make a sizable dent in his finances. What was worse was that he’d gotten a message from Gabriel that he wouldn’t be available that night, because his mother had shown up in Cedar Falls.
There was no “Come join us for dinner.” No indication that Gabriel wanted Lakyn to meet the woman. Just that he wouldn’t be available. What the hell did that even mean?
In a piss-poor mood, Lakyn cleaned his massage room and tidied up the front area before heading out. As he walked across the back parking lot to his car, Lakyn made a last minute decision and veered to the back of the shops that faced Main Street. At the far end was the tavern, Pour Judgement, he often frequented when he needed a drink. Tonight he needed a drink, or two, or ten.
“Lakyn, what brings you in on this fine night?” The owner Noah called out when he walked through the door.
“A shot of tequila and Bass on tap,” Lakyn replied.
While Noah poured him his drinks, Lakyn took a seat at the far end of the bar. The reason he tended to frequent Pour Judgement instead of going to The Collared Pup was Lakyn knew in the mood he was in, the patrons at the tavern would leave him alone. The pub was generally frequented by Ethan, as his husband owned The Collared Pup, and his friends. They would pester him until he spilled exactly how many people had dropped him that day.
By now the whole town knew the mayor was spreading tales about Lakyn. One of Lakyn’s clients said they heard the mayor claiming Lakyn drugged and molested him while he was on the table.
With the rumors going around, Lakyn was lucky he’d only lost ten clients. Then again, it was only the first day. There was always tomorrow to look forward to. But even with all his financial troubles, the reason he was there ready to get shit-faced was Gabriel. As much as he wished it were otherwise, Lakyn had already lost his heart to the man, yet Gabriel didn’t even want him to meet his mother.
The moment the shot glass was put in front of him, Lakyn downed it. The burn felt great. “Another,” he said, putting the glass back on the bar. “And keep them coming.”
Noah poured and Lakyn downed the second shot.
“Do you have a way home?” Noah asked.
Lakyn shook his head. “No. I’ll sleep at Happy Endings.” There was no way he was going to go home after the night he’d spent with Gabriel. The memories would be too much to bear with the mood he was in.
Noah just poured him another shot. The burn from the last two shots had Lakyn leaving the third where it was while he took a few sips of beer. Slowly, he started to feel a bit disjointed, like things weren’t quite as crisp and clear as they had been a few moments before. He picked up the third shot and downed it.
Two hours later, Lakyn didn’t know his own name. Nor did he have the coordination to get off the stool he’d been on. Too bad he only found that out after he ended up face down on the floor.
“Come on Lakyn. Let’s get you to bed,” Noah said as he practically picked Lakyn up off the floor.
Noah’s face swam in front of Lakyn as his eyes just couldn’t focus on anything. “Why are people such assholes?” he aske
d as Noah led him out the back door. Or, at least, he thought that’s what he asked, but since his words sounded nothing like what he tried to say, Lakyn couldn’t be sure.
Noah chuckled. “Because we’re no longer able to punch people who deserve it.”
Lakyn snorted loudly. “Ain’t that the struth,” he slurred.
The world spun and Lakyn would have fallen if Noah hadn’t been holding him up.
“Whoa,” Noah said. “We’re almost there. Just a few more steps.”
Lakyn looked around to see what Noah meant but everything was too damn blurry to make out anything. Then Noah was helping him onto something soft and comfortable. Lakyn sighed and closed his eyes, willing the spinning to stop.
“Get some sleep buddy. I’ll come check on you when I close,” he heard Noah say. Lakyn was already sleeping when Noah closed the door.
* * * *
“Aidan, I’m glad I ran into you. You and I need to talk,” Jesse said as Aidan opened the door.
“What do you mean you ‘ran into’? You’re at my house.” Aidan was forced to back up as Jesse plowed his way inside.
“Semantics,” Jesse said as he went straight to the kitchen, grabbed a plate, and sat down at the table opposite Zane, Aidan’s husband and Jesse’s best friend.
Zane rolled his eyes. “Why don’t you join us for dinner, Jesse?” he asked.
“I think I will,” Jesse answered even as he stuck a fork into a piece of chicken and put in on his own plate.
“Don’t you have your own family to eat with?” Aidan asked as he returned to his own seat. “Dinner at your house, maybe?”
Jesse shook his head as he chewed. “I was going to surprise Parker with dinner, but then the smoke filled the house and the sirens of the fire trucks kind of ruined it, so we went out to the pub instead.”
