Mr. September

by Bailey Bradford

  Nat cradled her cup in her hands. “I’m not giving her any sympathy. I know there are genetic components to addiction and all that, but I don’t care. These people hurt us and they weren’t here when I had cancer and you’ve had to give up being a kid, have to work three jobs and no! I don’t care if it’s genetics. I want to kick them both in the face. If Dad hadn’t adopted you before they become such losers, who knows where we’d be?”

  Enzo had to look away from her, away from the anger so clear in her eyes. He understood how he felt. Despite his own knowledge, he battled against that same anger, although less often now than before Nat had gotten sick. After that horrible moment, and the hellish treatment period after, he’d simply been grateful he’d been able to keep Nat instead of the state taking custody.

  Knowing how hurt she was reignited his anger, though he didn’t mention it. “We’ve got each other. Anderson did adopt me, so we might not share any blood relatives, but you’re my sister. You’ll always be my sister.” And he was going to make her an appointment with Dr. Santiago next week just to be safe. He knew the recurrence statistics on leukemia, and while it was unusual for the kind she had to reoccur after two years, he’d never stop worrying. Any chance at all was too great a risk to ignore.

  “Aw, you’re the best. Now, we got sidetracked. Tell me all about Tony.” Nat leaned forward, eyes bright with excitement.

  Enzo loved her and couldn’t deny her, not in this. “Well, so he’s taller than me, and he has the most gorgeous eyes, they’re green…”

  Chapter Nine

  After over three weeks of texting each other, and one phone call, Tony felt both closer to Enzo, and also like they were starting over entirely.

  Maybe they were. They’d hooked up, had that night interrupted—though they were lucky that Nat had only been ill with a passing bug—then spent weeks texting when they could. Tony hadn’t understood just how much Enzo worked until they’d started texting. The man held down three jobs, sometimes working in excess of sixteen hours, while still spending time with his sister.

  Tony admired him and he wanted to make Enzo’s life easier but knew better than to say as much. They weren’t in a relationship and, even if they had been, Tony wouldn’t have had the right to interfere in the way Enzo lived his life.

  “You look very handsome, son.”

  Tony smiled at his mother. “Mom. I didn’t hear you come in.”

  “Because you were busy staring at the mirror, thinking of this man you’ve been mooning over for a month,” she said, patting his arm. “He’s a lucky man.”

  “Not quite a month, but yes, I think about him often. He’s amazing and, well, I really like him.” That was a lame finish.

  “When you’re ready for it, I want to meet him. Bring him to Sunday dinner.” His mother tipped her head toward his bedroom door. “Now come say goodnight to Ina and your dad. I think he wants to take a picture with his new phone Marjorie got him.”

  Tony groaned. “Mom, I’m thirty-four, not sixteen, and Marjorie got him that just to try to get an edge on being his favorite.”

  “But you never date,” his mom countered, “And Marjorie failed. Your dad has cussed that phone nine ways to Sunday. She moved herself to the bottom.”

  Laughing, Tony followed his mother out of the bedroom. “Hm. I’ll make sure she knows that at Sunday dinner.”

  “You wouldn’t—”

  “He wouldn’t what, Selma?” Tony’s dad asked.

  Tony winked at Ina, who was watching him. “Tell Marjorie she’s not the favorite.”

  Ina frowned. “She’s my favorite Marjorie.”

  “As she should be, doll, as she should be.” Tony opened his arms. “Come give me a kiss before I go meet Enzo.”

  “How come I can’t go?” Ina asked, running over to him. “Doesn’t he like me?”

  Tony scooped her up into his arms. “Of course he does, but this is a grownup date. We have to have some of those before he gets to hang out with you and the rest of the family, to make sure he likes me.” He already knew he liked Enzo.

  Ina tightened her arms around him. “If he doesn’t like you, he’s not smart.”

  “Ina Janine Rossi! You do not talk about people like that,” Selma said before Tony could scold his daughter. “Father Orton would not approve of you saying such a thing.”

  Father Orton, the pastor of the church Tony and his family attended, would probably have more tolerance and patience for Ina or any child calling names than most adults would. He was a good man and everyone in the congregation loved him.

  “I won’t tell him I said it,” Ina decided. “You don’t tell, either.”

  That got a round of laughter from Tony and his parents. He kissed Ina’s cheek and turned to his mom. “You go with your grandma now. I’ll tell Enzo you said hi and want to see him, okay?”

  “Maybe we can go to Georgie’s?” Ina asked, giving him her big-eyed, pretty-please look.

  “We’ll go when he’s not working, unless he says we’re welcome when he’s there.” Tony kissed her cheek again. “Now, I’ve got to go. Be good.”

  “I always am,” Ina replied.

  Tony pointed at his mom. “I was talking to her.”

  He rushed out the door, chuckling at his mom’s indignant expression. “Have fun!”

  “That’s our line,” his dad called back.

  Tony shut the door and crossed over to his car. He unlocked the door then got in, his mind on Enzo and their date. There weren’t a lot of options on a Thursday night, but he’d found a fun play at a local theater that served dinner and drinks to the audience. He’d read the reviews and hoped the play was as good as people said it was.

  Enzo had seemed excited about it, sending Tony pictures of possible outfits to wear. He was confident they were building a friendship as well as the potential for something more.

  On my way, he texted Enzo.

  The reply came almost instantly. Be careful. See you soon.

  Tony was careful. He didn’t want to end up in a wreck and since it had started to drizzle—something his weather apps had not indicated even a chance of—there would be accidents. One of the bad things about living somewhere that was often in drought status was people seemed to forget how to drive when it rained. And if it was drizzling, they were even more careless, as if the roads couldn’t possibly be slick unless there was a downpour.

  And God forbid it should snow. That was a rare occurrence and it almost always resulted in the entire city being shut down. Although, the last time it had snowed, Tony had been in his early twenties.

  He concentrated on driving, which was a mental battle because he wanted to think about Enzo, talking to Enzo, seeing him, laughing with him…maybe even kissing him. Sex was out. Tony had told his parents he’d be back before it got too late and they were watching Ina at his home. Enzo had Nat at their place, and he didn’t want to leave her alone for too long.

  The rain had stopped by the time Tony pulled up outside Enzo’s. He didn’t even have time to shut the car off before Enzo came barreling out of the door.

  He looked gorgeous in dark jeans and a lavender silk T-shirt, but he was mouthing “Let’s go!” as he ran toward the car.

  For a second, Tony was worried then saw Nat run out of the door, laughing and chasing after Enzo.

  It would appear that he was about to meet Enzo’s sister.

  Tony made sure the passenger door was unlocked after he put the car in Park. Enzo opened the door and flung himself in. “Go, before she hits you with twenty questions!”

  Tony laughed and unbuckled his seatbelt. “I won’t deny her a chance to check out her brother’s date. That’d be mean. At least Ina knows who you are.”

  “Ugh.” Enzo leaned his head back in the seat. “Okay, but I don’t want to be late. I’ve looked forward to this all week.”

  “So have I.” Tony got out just as Nat skidded to a stop on the other side of the car. “Hi. I’m Tony Rossi. Nice to meet you.” He walked around to o
ffer her his hand.

  “I’m Natalie Mueller, the less spectacular of the Mueller kids.” She grinned and shook his hand. “No one’s better than Enzo.”

  “I think your brother would argue with you over that spectacular bit, but he is…” Tony glanced at Enzo, who was watching them and frowning. “Incredible. Believe me, I know how lucky I am.”

  “It’s too soon for the ‘don’t hurt’ him talk, but if y’all get that far, expect to hear it from me.” Natalie waved at Enzo. “And, you know. You can come in for a while when y’all get back. I’m a sound sleeper.” She turned and ran back to the house.

  Tony was mortified and flattered at the same time. But more mortified than anything else. He got back into the car and shook his head. “Your sister is something else, and I mean that in a good way. She also, I think, gave me permission to come back to your place so you and I can have sex. Said she’s a sound sleeper.”

  “Oh my God!” Enzo buried his face in his hands. “I’m going to swap her toothpaste for mine.”

  “Ah, the infamous peppermint sensitivity.” Tony put the car in reverse and backed out of the driveway. Enzo had told him a lot about himself and Nat, although Tony knew there was more left unsaid.

  “Yeah. Except we only have one bathroom, and if I do that, she’ll leave her sneeze-goop on the mirror over the sink.” Enzo lowered his hands. “Gotta love your siblings. Do you and your sisters pick on each other?”

  “We do. In fact, I was just convincing my parents that Marjorie is now the least favorite child. She bought Dad the latest phone, you know, that one with the keyboard that projects into thin air?”

  “Ohhhh, yeah! How did that not cement her place as the all-time favorite kid? She’s the oldest, right?” Enzo asked.

  “Yes, it’s her, then Alice, me and Deena, and the phone put her at the bottom because Dad, although he is great at many things, is, er, technically challenged.” Tony slid the gear into drive. “I can’t decide if he just doesn’t want to learn how to work new things or if he can’t. I’m leaning toward believing he’s scared he can’t, so he doesn’t try.”

  “So, if you take the time to show him how it works, you’ll be the numero uno kid,” Enzo surmised. “Seems like an easy enough plan. Be patient, spend time with your dad and you get to play with the latest trendy phone, too.”

  “You’re a very wise man and I’d better beat my siblings to it. They’re all pretty smart, darn it.” Tony winked at Enzo. “Someday, I’d like you to meet them. If, you know. If you want to.”

  Enzo reached over and placed his hand on Tony’s thigh. “That’d be nice and possibly scary, but you did meet my sister, so it’d be fair.”

  Tony thought about the next Sunday dinner. It was two days away and too soon to invite Enzo to. Plus, he’d bet Enzo had to work. Still, won’t hurt to put in a request. “My family has this big Sunday dinner. You and Natalie are welcome to come sometime.” Tony hoped he wasn’t pushing Enzo in a direction he didn’t want to go. “No pressure, though.”

  Enzo laughed and squeezed his thigh. “Okay. I don’t get many Sundays off, but—what time do y’all get together?”

  “Five. It’s an early dinner, but my folks put out a good spread and everyone leaves with leftovers. They’d have it later in the evening if we didn’t have kids and jobs and, you know, lives outside of the family dinner,” Tony said.

  “I wish I had that with Nat. I wanted one night off a week on a regular basis and for a little while, that happened, but…” Enzo sighed. “Life, you know? My hours got cut back at the full-time job I had back then. I had to get a second job. Nat got sick. We do what we can together now, but I never feel like it’s enough. What kills me is when I miss one of her events. She does debate and speech and, man, she can argue the sky is green and convince you of it. She’s really good. Maybe even scholarship-good.”

  “Does she have plans for what college she wants to attend?” Tony asked.

  “Yeah, the university here in SA. I think she’s picking that one because she doesn’t want to leave me alone. We argue about it. I want her to get out and see other places, go wherever she can get the best education.” Enzo shook his head. “She’s stubborn. She’ll go where she wants to. I just hate to think I’m holding her back.”

  Tony could sympathize with Enzo and Nat. “You’ve said more than once she’s very smart. Trust her to make the right choice for herself. Maybe she needs to be with you and not away somewhere without family in sight.”

  “I…didn’t think of that. Thanks.” Enzo moved his hand up an inch. “And since she said you could come inside—”

  “Uh, no. I’d feel like she knew everything we were doing.” Tony shuddered. “I want you. Don’t get me wrong. I can’t do…that, there.”

  “I’m not sure if I could, either. I’ve tried to talk to Nat about having a healthy relationship with her own body and sex, and that having sex doesn’t make a person dirty or bad.” He moved his hand another inch closer to Tony’s crotch. “I have mixed feelings about having sex while she’s home, though. Does that make me a hypocrite?”

  “No, and I, well, I remember sneaking boys into my room when I was living at home, before I went to college. That was different, though. You and I are adults now and maybe there’s nothing wrong with us being cautious with what we do when we have family around, especially since we’re just starting out.” Tony debated stopping there then decided to forge on. “If we do end up in a relationship, then I think that changes things. In a committed relationship and, believe me, I’m not saying that’s what we should have right now. I’m just…talking about, if.” Should have shut up sooner.

  But Enzo didn’t jerk his hand back. Instead, he moved it up again and brushed the side of his hand over Tony’s balls. “Like not introducing the kids to the new guy until you know that guy will hang around for a while. I get it. My mom never brought her men around until Anderson—Nat’s dad. She waited until she was serious about him.”

  “Were they happy?” Tony hoped so. He wanted Enzo to have some good memories from his childhood.

  “They were for several years. Mom married him when I was eleven and Nat was two. I remember seeing her the first time—” Enzo snapped his mouth shut hard enough that Tony heard his teeth clack.

  “You mean Natalie? She’s still your sister.” Tony cleared that up immediately.

  Enzo twisted in his seat, facing Tony. “Not everyone would agree, since we don’t share any blood. Nat’s not a shifter, either. Anderson adopted me right after he married Mom, so by law, Nat’s my sister, and thank God for that. When our parents split, I had to go to court to get custody of Nat. If I hadn’t been adopted, I don’t think the judge would have granted me custody. Even so, my lawyer had to argue for her to stay with me. I was eighteen and working at a call center then, had been working here or there ever since I’d turned fifteen. Anyway, the judge could have ruled against me. Fortunately, he listened to Nat and said my continual work history showed I was responsible. And that’s the story of how I ended up with Nat.”

  “You are amazing. I’ve said it before, but you really are, Enzo. Nat’s lucky to have you.” Tony placed his hand over Enzo’s briefly then returned it to the steering wheel. “Ina asked about you. She wants to come eat at Georgie’s and, for once, I think it’s because of something other than the singing and dancing.”

  “She likes me?” Enzo asked. “It can’t be the food. The food is bland at best.”

  “Agreed, and yes, she does. I told her we’d have to see how you felt about that. I don’t want us to be pests.” Tony saw the sign for the theater. “Almost there.”

  “I wouldn’t mind at all. If she would want to, I could pull her up to do the Bunny Hop with us. Hey, that was a short drive. I didn’t know this theater was so close.” Enzo brushed his hand over Tony’s balls, then his cock. “How did I not know this?”

  “I only found it because I was looking online for things to do tonight,” Tony admitted. “You know what I’d like to
do on our next date?” Please, let there be a next date.

  The light reflecting off the sign accentuated Enzo’s profile. “What’s that?”

  “Go to Cascade Caverns. I’ve never been. Well, I’ve been, but didn’t get to go down into the caverns,” Tony said. “Mom and Dad took us, but Deena freaked out and started crying before we even got to the caverns. I volunteered to stay with her. I’ve told her she owes me a trip there, but she told me I’m out of luck.”

  Enzo bounced in his seat, looking so young and excited it made Tony want to give him anything just to keep him that happy.

  “That’d be cool! Nat went on a field trip once. She told me all about it, but I’ve never been.” Enzo tipped his head down but kept his gaze on Tony. “Second date, then? I have Wednesday off next week from noon on. That won’t work. I don’t know when I’ll be free to go on a weekend. I can ask for it off from the gas station or Georgie’s. The hospital’s been having me work the early morning shifts.”

  “I could take a half-day off,” Tony offered as he parked the car. “It’d be worth it. I’d love to go with you.”

  “Are you sure?” Enzo asked. “I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

  “I won’t. I can take it off without problem.” Tony had used family leave time for Ina’s treatments and still had some vacation days available to use. His employer was great at taking care of the employees. Just one benefit of working for a smaller business rather than a huge corporation.

  “Cool.” Enzo leaned over and kissed his cheek. Then he framed Tony’s face in his hands and slid his lips over Tony’s.

  Tony parted for him, caressing Enzo’s sides, wishing he could feel Enzo pressed up against him, skin to skin.