Unfortunate Son (13 page)

Riley lifted an eyebrow but didn’t look away from where he was cutting another piece of crepe. “Actually, I’m flying to Orlando tonight. A friend is moving up here this week, and I’m going to help him finish packing and ride back here with him.” He lifted his head and smiled. “And knowing Mikey, it’ll take every moment of the week to get him up here. It’s taken me two years to convince him to move in the first place.”

Jimmy snorted out a laugh. “Sounds like me trying to convince this one into a relationship.” He elbowed Cory. “I swear, it was like renegotiating the Treaty of Versailles.”

Evan couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Cory blush, but there he went. “It wasn’t that bad,” Cory insisted. “You wanted room to play as much as I did.”

“Oh.” Riley put so much meaning into the word that it might as
well have been a soliloquy. “I didn’t realize you had an open
relationship.”

“They like sharing twinks,” Evan murmured, leaning toward Riley as if sharing a secret. “I had to fend Cory off you before you got here or you’d be in their sights right now.”

Riley copied Evan’s stance. “Did you tell them how far out of the range of ‘twink’ I actually am?”

“Absolutely not,” Evan said. He turned to grin at Riley, their faces only inches apart. “I never give away ages.”

Cory’s soft laugh drew their attention. “Trust me, boys, just a couple of minutes and we would’ve known to keep our hands off anyway.”

Riley drew back, as if he’d just realized how close he was to Evan. He forked up another piece of crepes. “I’ll admit I’ve never been all that sure about open relationships,” he said. “I’ve known a few people who’ve tried it, and it never seems to last. If you don’t mind me asking….”

“You have to trust each other implicitly,” Jimmy replied. “Cory and I were together for over a year before we even considered being exclusive. And the more we considered it, the more we realized that agreeing to be monogamous would be a one-way ticket to infidelity. So, we talked.” He looked at Cory, who shook his head with a wry smile.

“And talked, and talked, and talked. Not to mention a hell of a lot of fucking.” Cory laughed.

“That too,” Jimmy agreed. “But eventually we found a compromise, and it’s worked for… hell, almost six years now?”

Cory gave a put-upon sigh. “Six years. That’s like a silver anniversary in gay time.”

Riley smiled, and for the first time that morning, it seemed to be real. “What did you decide on?”

Jimmy elbowed Cory, who rolled his eyes but recited, “Play on the outside, not on the inside.”

Riley tilted his head. “So, touching, hand jobs, frottage, but no blowjobs, no kissing—”

Jimmy cut him off. “Kissing is fine. People always say ‘oh, kissing is more intimate than sex.’ That’s a load of hogwash,” Jimmy scoffed. “Sticking your tongue in someone’s mouth is not more intimate than sticking your dick in their ass. Kissing is fun. Fucking is serious business.”

Evan’s face warmed, and he gave Jimmy a warning look. Jimmy
had never outed Evan about his job, but while Evan wasn’t
embarrassed, exactly, he didn’t think he was ready for Riley to know. Jimmy didn’t look at Evan as he gave Riley a smile.

“Anyway, that’s what works for us. I don’t presume to tell other people what works for them.” He leaned his head on Cory’s shoulder, which wasn’t much of a lean for him, considering how much taller Cory was. “The only part we haven’t successfully negotiated yet is living together.”

“Oh God,” Cory moaned. He fixed his gaze on Riley. “Jimmy is a fucking neat freak. Everything has to be in the right place and sparkling clean all the damn time. I swear someday I’m gonna have him committed for extreme OCD.”

“Oh, get over it, honeychild.” Jimmy shoved Cory’s arm with his shoulder. “How much work does it take to throw your clothes in the hamper instead of on the floor next to it? Or put your dirty dishes in the sink?”

“This from the guy who spent three hours Thursday morning scrubbing down the entire kitchen and two bathrooms before our cookout.” Cory huffed and rolled his eyes at Evan. “And I have a cleaning lady! But apparently her standards are not up to Mr. Clean’s here.”

“Her standards appear to include not doing floors, toilets, or stoves,” Jimmy shot back. He shook his head. “
Any
way. If we ever do manage to find a boy to take care of us in our old age, he’ll have to be better at housework than
this
one.”

Riley had a small smile on his face as he watched their interplay. “I’m sure you’ll work it out eventually,” he finally said. “It’s clear that the two of you belong together.”

“No one else would put up with them,” Evan murmured, and Cory crowed with laughter.

“That’s right, honey! The secret to a happy relationship is driving each other mutually crazy.”

“And separate bathrooms,” Jimmy added, before the two of them dissolved into giggles.

Riley turned to Evan, an eyebrow lifted. “Are they always like this?”

“No,” Evan said, reaching for his water glass. “Usually, they’re much worse.”

M
ORE
THAN
an hour later, the four of them finally emerged from the restaurant into the gorgeous late spring warmth outside. Cory and Jimmy were all smiles and hugs as they parted ways outside.

“Come to my show,” Cory urged Riley. “It’ll be a blast. Bring your friend! He’ll love it.”

“He probably would,” Riley admitted. “But either way, break a leg.”

Jimmy groaned. “Careful, he might take you literally. You haven’t seen him walk in high heels.”

“Shut up.” Cory smacked the back of one hand into Jimmy’s stomach, then reached out to wrap Evan in a quick hug. “You will definitely be there, right?”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Evan promised. Cory pulled back and gave Evan a serious look for a long moment, and Evan tried to look unruffled. He probably didn’t succeed, but after all the years they’d been friends, Cory knew when not to push.

“Okay, boys, see you soon! Bye-bye!” Cory grabbed Jimmy’s hand, and the two of them headed for the parking lot behind the restaurant. Evan turned to Riley.

“What time is your flight?” he asked. “Do you need a ride to the airport or anything?”

“It’s at eight fifteen, and no, thank you. It’s covered.” He smiled. “I really do need to run, though. I’m not as OCD about cleaning as Jimmy is, but I do like to have the place neat when I get home from a trip. Plus Mikey’s staying with me, so I need to make sure I have what he’ll need.”

Evan took a step closer. “I’d like to see you when you get back.” And just like that, Riley closed off. Evan could almost see the door slamming shut, behind the bright façade Riley pasted on.

“Well, we’ll try to come to Cory’s show, so maybe we’ll see you there.” He leaned forward and dropped a brief peck on Evan’s cheek. “Thanks for the brunch invitation. Have a great week!”

Riley turned and headed toward his building, and Evan could only stand and watch him go.

A
WALL
of sound hit Evan in the face when he stepped into Bernhardt’s the following Saturday night. The show hadn’t started yet, so he wasn’t all that late, but clearly the place was already ramped up. For once, he welcomed the raw energy surrounding him. He’d had a slow week, just one short shoot with a local company and several more ignored calls from his mother. He’d spent most of his time at home, giving the place a good deep cleaning, goaded into it by the conversation at brunch the previous Sunday.

In short, he’d been bored as hell, and he was ready to cut loose a
little.

He walked across the small bar area just inside the door, which only had a few small groups hanging around, to check out the next room over, where the performers would be doing their thing. That room was stuffed. It never had been quite big enough to accommodate the most popular shows, though it helped that the open second floor formed a sort of balcony so more people could watch from above.

Evan caught a glimpse of blond curls at the near end of the bar, so he worked his way over. Sure enough, Riley was ensconced on one of the barstools, one hand wrapped around a glass that Evan was sure held club soda with lemon and lime. He turned his head as Evan approached, and he gave a small smile.

“Glad you could make it,” Evan said as he stopped next to him.

“Seemed like a good cause.” Riley lifted his free hand. “Evan, this is my friend Mikey O’Malley. Mikey, this is—”

“Trevor. Fucking. Hardball.” Mikey’s voice held a note of awe, and Evan’s heart sank.

Oh shit.

“Riley!” Mikey slapped Riley on the shoulder. “You didn’t tell me you were dating a porn star!”

Riley eyed Evan with interest, but no apparent scorn or anger. “That would be because I didn’t know, honey. You know I rarely indulge.” He gave Mikey a sidelong glance. “Unlike your own interest.”

Evan girded himself and stepped into the fray. “Evan,” he said, holding out his hand. “Evan Day. I’d appreciate it if you’d keep that between us, though. It’s not a huge deal, but—”

“I’m very glad to meet you,” Mikey said, his voice serious though his eyes still smiled. “And trust me, I’m not going to spread anything around.” He grinned. “Well, I might tell people that I met you, but I’ll keep the real-name part of things under wraps.”

As they shook hands, Riley caught Evan’s gaze. “Mikey and I lived near each other growing up, but his family moved to Orlando years ago,” he said. “He’s moved back here to go to art school.”

Evan nodded and looked back to Mikey. “What type of art?”

“Animation.” Mikey practically glowed with excitement. “I know it’s kind of weird, but I’m a huge Disney fan, and I’d love to be an animator someday. I’ve been trying to teach myself, but I wasn’t getting very far, and then Riley said if I wanted to study it—”

“Mikey.” Riley’s reproving tone stopped Mikey short, but somehow, Evan just
knew
what he’d been about to say.

He lifted an eyebrow. “You got a Yeats scholarship, hmmm?”

Riley relaxed at that, and Mikey laughed. “Yes!” Mikey said. “I mean, I took some graphic art at tech school, and I’ve been working at Disney as a cast member since high school, but ugh, I
really
want to do animation. I got into SCAD”—he referenced the Savannah College of Art and Design, which had a large campus in Atlanta—“but there was no way I could pay for it without a huge amount of debt. Riley to the rescue!”

Evan watched a blush appear on Riley’s cheeks. “That’s a good thing.” Evan let it go at that, but if he hadn’t already been…
smitten
, to use Cory’s word, with Riley, this gesture would’ve gone a long way.

The music cut off just then, and the screen on the far wall went dark before it started playing a new video. The well-known intro music for the Stilettos began playing, and the crowd cheered as each of the troupe’s members appeared on the screen in all her campy glory. Evan took advantage of the distraction to lean in and request a SweetWater 420 from the bartender, who delivered it with a quick smile and made change in ones for the ten Evan handed him. Evan left a single as a tip and kept the others for the show.

The performers and crowd were off-the-scale hyped up for the show. Evan hadn’t been to a drag show in a while, and it had been a year or so since he’d seen the Stilettos’ campy, funny take on the genre. The glitz, glitter, and high heels of any drag show were bracketed by emcees displaying crazy makeup designs—several had beards on full display—who spun out corny jokes and more double entendres than Evan could count.

Evan stuck close to Riley and Mikey during the show, watching their reactions with interest. The performers came out in their shining finest and worked the crowd hard, racking up piles of tips for the charities the group supported. Evan added his own money, passing a few dollars to each performer as she passed by his spot at the bar. Riley smiled and applauded, tipped each performer, and let his foot tap along with the bouncing pop songs they lip-synched. Mikey, by contrast, seemed about to vibrate out of his skin, so excited by the spectacle that Evan wondered if he’d ever been to a show like this at all. He supposed he might not have, if he’d still been living with his parents.

Part of Evan envied that innocence. He hardly remembered how it felt to be stepping out into the gay world on his own for the first time. Back then, he’d still been in shock from the way his life had been ripped apart. He’d gone along blindly with whatever anyone around him suggested, and while he rarely let himself think about those days too hard, at moments like this, he remembered how thankful he was to have had support from Cory and Jimmy. Things could’ve been so much worse.

Another performer finished her Lady Gaga lip-synch with a flourish, and the crowd erupted into cheers as she collected the last of her tips and waved her way offstage. The emcees reemerged and
launched back into their trademark banter, laced with suggestive
comments and pop culture references. Evan pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the time. With only fifteen minutes left in the advertised performance window, Cory should be up next.