“I know.”
“We’ll have other opportunities.”
“You think so?”
“I really believe”—Eddie peered past Andrew to the confrontation between Pam and Reese in the kitchen—“that your dad is ready to make some changes. He was into the idea of an online store. He said he’d like to try selling some things on eBay. I think if we continue to paint pictures of positive change, he’ll come around little by little.”
“Maybe.”
After a particularly loud exchange, Pam opened the slider and slipped out. “Your father is feeling agitated.”
“No kidding.” Andrew laughed at her understatement. “What should we do?”
“Reese is tired, and to be honest, I am too. How about we let things percolate here. I told him I’d be back at nine a.m. tomorrow to continue work on the yard, and he agreed to that. He’s adamant that he doesn’t want anyone in the house anymore, but maybe if he sleeps on it, he’ll change his mind.”
“Maybe,” said Eddie.
“In the meantime, we did a lot of good here.” Pam turned her attention to Andrew. “A lot of good. We made great progress, and we’ve bought Reese some time.”
“Did we?”
“‘True progress quietly and persistently moves along without notice.’” Pam smiled.
“Who said that?” Andrew asked.
“I did, just now. Didn’t you hear me?” She batted his arm playfully. “Oh, all right, I may have gotten it from St. Francis of Assisi.”
“Right. Until tomorrow then?”
Ben and Joe came back into the yard. Ben saluted smartly. “What news, Admiral?”
Andrew made a face at him. “The ship sank.”
“What does that mean exactly?” asked Joe.
“That’s all the progress we’re going to make for today,” Eddie told them. “Reese is taking some time to think.”
“That’s a nice way of saying he’s having a meltdown,” Andrew added.
“This is hard for him,” Pam reminded them. “I didn’t like how he looked anyway. He seemed truly exhausted. Is he diabetic or anything? Does he have any medical conditions?”
“Not that I know of.” Andrew probably should know things like that. It was time he paid more attention. Reese wasn’t getting any younger. “I don’t think so.”
“Well…” She glanced back toward the kitchen. “I told him to get as much sleep as he can, and that we’d start again tomorrow.”
“Thank you,” offered Andrew. “For everything.”
Eddie laid a comforting hand on Andrew’s shoulder while he turned to his brother. “Joe, how about you tell the others I’ll barbecue burgers at my place if they want to stop by. We can kick back there. Relax a little.”
“Sure, I’ll let them know. I think Skippy’s going home after he makes the donations run, but the others were planning on coming back. I’ll let them know it’s a no-go.”
“See you at my place then. We’re coming back tomorrow, but I don’t suppose you’ll appreciate getting pressed into service a second time.”
“Knock that shit off,” Joe ordered. “I’ll be here. I’ve got nothing going tomorrow.”
“Thanks, man.” Eddie gave his brother a bone-crushing hug.
“See you at your place.” Joe left them to go tell the others.
Andrew had a sudden, awful thought. “We should get my dad some dinner. There’s only water and snacks to eat here anymore, and no refrigeration.”
Eddie nodded. “We can pick up a meal and bring it back before we head home.”
“Tomorrow, I’ll arrange to have a new refrigerator and microwave delivered. That will mean appliance shopping.”
“That would be good,” said Pam. “Make sure you get a good night’s sleep too. Tomorrow could be another long day.”
“Thank you, Pam. You’ve been amazing.” Andrew held out his hand, but she pulled him into a hug.
“It’s going to be okay, Andrew. Reese is right on target.”
“Even though he threw us out?” Andrew hugged her tightly, accepting comfort in return. “I’m so sorry about that. It’s like he saw those glasses and just snapped.”
“Oh, honey.” Pam patted his back. “I’ve been thrown out of far worse places than this. I’m a bad penny. I just keep coming back.”
Chapter 22
Eddie took a beer from Joe, and they clinked their bottles together.
Leave it to guys like Ben and Joey to turn a hard day into a party. Joey had cracked open the beer coolers. Hip-hop music thudded from Eddie’s outdoor speakers. Jack and Ryan occupied the porch swing on Eddie’s deck while Ben grilled hot dogs and burgers. Gabe had gone to make a call to Dave, who might or might not show up later.
Eddie sat at the patio table, rearranging Sunday’s Grime schedule so he could keep Skippy and Gabe with him at Reese’s. He’d made calls to Kim and Janice, and they’d worked it out.
Joe tugged on Eddie’s earbuds. “Busy, busy.”
Eddie looked up from what he was doing. “I’m in charge of schedules, so I’m just double-checking we’re good for tomorrow if Reese allows us back in.”
Joe pulled a chair next to his. “One thing I can say for you, little brother. It’s never boring when you call me for a favor.”
“Yeah, it is.” Eddie had called his brothers for backup more than once. “At least there’s no blood this time.”
“So.” Joe had the air of a man about to change the subject. “How long have you been dating Professor Hot Stuff?”
Eddie laughed at that. “Not long.”
“’Cause you know, Cece’s going to blow a gasket when she finds out.”
“Why’s that?”
“If you didn’t tell her, I mean.” Joe’s eyes sparkled. “She’s going to make you pay for that.”
“Do I normally announce my dates to the family?”
“We all knew you were into him. We just thought we’d die waiting for you to sac up and do anything about it.”
“Nice.” Eddie took a long pull from his beer. The bitter bubbles sizzled down his throat. “Your faith in me is almost touching.”
“I’m just saying. Looks like his dad’s got some baggage though.”
“Ya think?”
Joe gave him a shove. “I’m happy for you. Andrew’s a good guy.”
“It’s early days.”
“Gotcha.” Joe bobbed his head. “Just don’t wait too long to tell Cece and Lu, because you know that shit’s going to be big news, and they will kill you if they’re not among the first to hear it.”
“All right.”
“This reminds me of when we were kids.” Joe nudged his shoulder.
“Yeah.” All four siblings’ birthdays were in the summer, and they’d always had one big family bash—bounce houses for the kids, and beer and barbecue for the grown-ups. Eddie remembered those big summer parties with fondness. “We should do that again sometime. What if we throw Lucy a party after school lets out? We could do it here. Cece could invite Lucy’s whole class, parents and kids.”
“Yeah, and Professor Hot Stuff can make a celebrity guest appearance.”
“Maybe, yeah. The kids would love to see him outside of school.”
“Are you sure that’s such a good idea?” asked Joe.
“What do you mean?”
“Is it okay for a teacher to get that involved with his students?” Joe frowned. “I mean, you don’t shit where you eat, you know?”
Eddie stiffened. “That’s crude, Joey.”
“Right but I mean, what if some parent can’t taste the rainbow, you know what I’m saying? What if him being with you gets him in trouble? It’s one thing if they see you on the street or at the grocery store, but if you invite them…”
“I never thought of that.” He was going to think about it now, goddammit.
“Maybe you want to keep your relationship separate from his career.”
“He’s out and proud. He told me—”
“There�
��s out and proud, and then there’s PDAs where the kids he teaches can see him.”
Eddie gaped at him. “I would never—”
“I’m not talking about grinding on the dance floor. Even just holding hands could get him in hot water with some of those Bible-thumper types. Even a peck on the cheek. I’m not saying you shouldn’t do it, and I’ll be right there beside you if anyone gives you shit. I’m saying it’s something you need to discuss with him because it’s his career we’re talking about. People go bat-shit crazy when there are kids involved.”
Eddie nodded. God, Joe was right. How out Andrew wanted to be was something to think about. Something to talk about, just to make sure he and Andrew were on the same page. Eddie looked his brother over. His talk about people being overprotective about kids seemed kind of… “When are you and Olivia going to give parenthood a try?”
Joey glanced down, and his cheeks darkened suspiciously. “We might be trying. Hell…we’ve been pretty diligent.” He grinned sheepishly
“Seriously?”
“We might even have gotten the job done. We’ve got a few more days to wait before she can pee on a stick and—”
“Yes!” Eddie heartily clapped his brother on the back. “It’s about fucking time. I need more nieces and nephews. Andale pues.”
“You’d better clean up your language pronto, Uncle Cha-Cha. I do not plan to tolerate your use of fucking profanity around my precious goddamned offspring.”
“Well, when you find out, we’ll get us some cigars and a bottle of reposado. We can play some cards. Make a night of it.”
“Right. Like Olivia’s going to let me celebrate my impending fatherhood by getting drunk and gambling.”
“Nah, we tell her it’s a rite of passage. She’ll go along. That’ll make it official. You’ll be one of the old guys. Now you can go home and talk the dad talk with the patriarchs. Another one bites the dust.”
“Speaking of which? When are you going to start coming around again? We’ve missed you.”
Eddie picked at the label of his beer. Lately, he’d been avoiding those man sessions. First his sister had married and added an extra brother into the mix, and then his brothers had tied the knot one after another. He’d gone from basking in the warmth of his family’s male bonding rituals when he was young to being the ultimate outsider, listening to talk of wives and children and, sometimes, conservative social politics.
“That’s the road I didn’t take, man.”
Joey gripped his shoulder. “You think you can’t be one of the old guys because you’re gay?”
Eddie jerked away from him. “Maybe I don’t want to be one of the old guys anymore.”
“I call bullshit. If we’ve done anything…said anything…to make you feel unwelcome—”
“It’s not that.”
“What is it? Even Olivia said something about it. You’ve been to the house for food, but you don’t stick around anymore.”
“I’m not like you guys. I can’t—” Eddie had to swallow past the deep, burning ache in his throat. “I watch you out there when you’re having a smoke with Dad. When Olivia passes by the window—when she catches your eye and she smiles at you—you get this expression like the sun’s coming out after a solid year of storms.”
“Aw, man. You’re going to find someone, Cha-Cha,” Joe said. “You will. You’ve got something real sweet with the professor there. I saw it with my own eyes; you can’t tell me—”
“You don’t get it. Remember how Mami fawned all over Cece when she was pregnant? Remember how cute Lucy was, running around with sparklers last Fourth of July? Now you’re on the verge of starting a family, and I just…I want what you have, and I’m not going to get that. I’m never—”
“You don’t know that, Eddie,” Joe said gently. “You don’t know what’s in your future.”
“I know that if I do have a family—a husband and children—it won’t be the same. No one will let it be.”
“Then fuck ’em.” Joe leaned toward Eddie, his elbows on his knees, his shoulders hunched, his expression taut and earnest. “Maybe you think you got a crap hand, but it’s the one you were dealt. I asked you if you were sure you wanted to do this shit in middle school, if you recall—”
“You were an ignorant asshat back then,” Eddie snapped. “’Cause you thought I had a choice.”
“Whatever I thought back then”—Joe waved that away—“I’ve learned different now. I know you’re who you were meant to be, and furthermore I am on your side. I know when you bring your man home, he’ll be welcomed like my Olivia or Cece’s George or Ben’s Felicity. I will welcome him that way, and I will kick the ass of anyone who doesn’t.”
Eddie laughed at that. “Thanks, but I can’t actually see you kicking Uncle Octavio’s ass. What is he, a hundred now?”
“You know Mami and Papi want you to be happy, right? The old guys? Maybe they don’t get it. Maybe they aren’t ready to learn something different from what the priests teach, like I did. But let me ask you this: don’t you always play a hand to win, no matter what you got dealt?”
Eddie glanced away. Cleared his throat. “Yeah. I do.”
“Okay then. Fuck ’em.” Joe finished his beer and sank it neatly into one of the open garbage bins. “That’s the name of that tune. Our kids will make some legendary trouble someday, man. Legendary.”
ANDREW GLANCED OUT the patio window and saw Joe and Eddie get up from their seats at the table. He’d opened a container of potato salad and was trying to make it look more interesting by topping the sticky yellow mass with a sprinkle of paprika.
This was the least he could do after everyone had spent hours at his dad’s place. He would have liked to cook something, but Eddie assured him there was no need for a production. They’d stopped at the grocery store, and dinner was practically cooking itself.
Andrew figured Eddie must’ve entertained in his home a lot, since the Grime men and Eddie’s family seemed so comfortable and at ease in his yard. He had a lot of nice seating, a stainless steel gas grill, and another kettle-style charcoal barbecue. Speakers played music from the system inside.
For a minute Andrew indulged himself with the fantasy of playing cohost and not just temporary kitchen worker. He glanced out the window again.
God. The Vasquez brothers were big men. It was some kind of sweet dream watching them interact from the window. Muscles rippled, wide white smiles shone bright under the strings of lights Eddie had hung between the trees.
Eddie shoved Ben playfully. They were like bear cubs, jostling one another in the moonlight while Gabe, Jack, and Ryan looked on indulgently. Usher’s “Yeah” started playing, and as one, Eddie and his brothers glanced at the speakers and then at each other.
What. The. Hell?
All three Vasquez men stopped what they were doing to dance. Unable to help himself, Andrew slipped out the patio door to watch. When the Vasquez boys danced, their fluid grace seemed impossible. They were jumbo jets or bumblebees. They had to be breaking all the laws of physics, moving like that—big and agile, but so light on their feet they took Andrew’s breath away.
All three men were awesome dancers, and they competed for attention like kids. Joe and Ben were good; they did a pop-and-lock routine that—on them—looked effortless. They moved like they were on tracks one second, smooth and silky as sin, and then the next, they jerked around like sexy windup toys.
But Eddie… Oh, Christ. Somehow Eddie got his hips into the groove and—unlike his brothers’—Eddie’s hips were a fucking call to action.
Eddie was liquid sex. Smooth and confident, he flexed charm and elegance while he danced as easily as he used those ripped muscles to walk.
Where the hell did you learn to dance like that?
Eddie’s brothers were good, but Eddie dominated. When they eventually left the floor to him, Eddie continued on as if he were alone on the stage. He owned the moves.
He owns the world.
Andrew’s breath left
him in a shuddery rush. His dick throbbed.
His no-name id said, Gimme.
All Andrew’s vaguely understood quirks of personality, every predatory and reckless impulse inside him went off like an alarm clock, GZZZZZZT!
Wake-up call.
Andrew’s heart thundered. His desire felt so vibrant and his entire body hummed so ferociously, he must have been flashing his need like a beacon.
Goddamn, Eddie.
Goddamn.
Eddie’s gaze locked on Andrew’s. For the briefest fraction of a second he faltered. His foot fell a nanosecond off the beat.
Oh, yeah. Come to Daddy.
Eddie stopped what he was doing and stepped off the dance floor with an embarrassed laugh. He rubbed his hands through his hair and grinned like a guilty kid.
“Why’d you stop?” Gabe asked Eddie, acknowledging Andrew with a smirk. “Things were just getting interesting.”
“Burgers are almost ready.” Eddie went into the kitchen and picked up a platter of hamburger garnishes. On his way out, he turned to Andrew. “Thanks…for this.”
“You’re entirely welcome.” After Eddie passed by him, Andrew closed his eyes.
Dinner was going to be torture.
Chapter 23
Eddie spoke from the door to the kitchen. “That’s the last of the food.”
At the living room window, Andrew watched Gabe’s car take off. He dialed his dad’s number again but got no answer.
Where are you, for God’s sake? He left a third voice mail message. “Dad, it’s me again. I know you were unhappy when I left, but I really need to hear from you. Could you text my cell, just to tell me you’re all right? Okay?”
“He’s still not picking up?” Eddie asked, his arms coming around Andrew from behind, wrapping him tight.
“No.” Andrew tilted his head to give Eddie access to his neck. “I’m worried.”
“Is there any reason to believe he’s not just ignoring your calls?”
“Not really.” Andrew shrugged away from Eddie and pocketed his phone. “He’s ignored my calls before.”
Eddie: Grime Doesn't Pay (The Brothers Grime Book 2) Page 18
