Happy (14 page)

Peter took the peace offering, and Louie sat back down beside him.

“You know, Adam dated women before he settled down with Joe,”

Peter said.

“So?”

“So, doesn’t that kind of blow your theory apart? Sounds to me like

this Aaron was just a jerk, bi or not. You might find someone better.”

Louie grunted. Like Peter would know about any of this.

“What about that guy from the other night? He seemed… nice.”

It took him a minute to realize Peter was referring to Kelly. Louie

tilted his head back and regarded him. The man was actually serious. “Nice?

You got all that from a two-minute meeting?”

“I don’t know. What else am I supposed to say?”

“Kelly’s not really boyfriend material. I was just lonely.”

“You could have called me.”

The hint of petulance in Peter’s voice made Louie laugh out loud and

lightened his mood. He gave Peter’s arm a squeeze, let his hand linger there.

“Thanks for the offer, man. But I really don’t think you could have helped

me out in that department.”

“Oh. Right.” Silence fell again. Then, “So… you’re not, like, dating?

Anyone?”

A part of him wondered why Peter was so interested. But venturing

down that path was dangerous. “Not really,” he replied. “I don’t know that

I’m interested in starting another relationship right now. I’m still getting

settled here.”

“Oh.”

Jesus, why did Peter have to sound so disappointed? It made Louie’s

imagination run wild.

The air around them changed, became thicker somehow. There was a

pregnant hum in the air, like an electrical storm waiting to break. Gooseflesh

broke out on his skin. Was it all in his head? He didn’t have the courage to

look up and see if Peter felt it too.

He found himself holding his breath as he slowly stroked Peter’s arm,

ruffling the silky hairs beneath his palm, smiling a little when they tickled.

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Peter’s hand was back on his knee, fingers moving ever so slightly, then

no longer on his knee, but higher, just skirting under the hem of his shorts.

Louie’s cock swelled against the lightweight fabric. His first inclination was

to shift position and hide it so Peter wouldn’t notice.

Screw it, he decided. So he got hard. What else did Peter expect,

touching him like that? He seemed determined to bait him, so he could

damned well be uncomfortable and—

Hang on. Was that a bulge at Peter’s crotch?

Louie’s breath caught. He needed light, dammit, before he started

imagining Peter was as turned on as him.

The movie was forgotten. All of his attention was focused on the heat

of Peter’s palm against his thigh, on controlling his breathing, on trying

to will his erection down. This was more than a friendly touch. More than

simply comfort. He knew he should pull away, but at the same time, he

couldn’t bear to end this strange, fragile moment. So he didn’t move. And

Peter didn’t move.

Louie let his hand drift down to lightly cover Peter’s, and he felt the

tremor that ran through Peter’s arm at the slight touch.

The room was dark; the flickering television cast strange shadows in

the corners. Peter’s sigh ruffled his hair, and then Louie felt Peter’s chin

nudge the top of his head.

Don’t look at him
, his mind argued.
Whatever you do, don’t look at

him. That way you won’t have to deal with this. You can still pretend.

The unmistakable groan of the front door startled Louie out of his

daze. He flew to the other end of the couch just as Demetra wobbled into the

living room in a cloud of weed and alcohol.

“Why is it dark in here?” She fumbled with the floor lamp and Louie

blinked at the sudden brightness when it illuminated the room.

“Peter,” she exclaimed delightedly, throwing herself onto the couch

and across his lap, kicking Louie’s shin in the process. “What are you doing

here? Did you come to see me?” She pursed her lips and kissed him. Once

again Louie couldn’t bear to watch. Especially when it seemed as though

Peter certainly didn’t mind.

He felt sick.
What had he nearly done?

“Are you stoned?” Peter demanded when Demetra finally released

him. He sniffed the air around her.

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81

“Mmm, just a little.” She rubbed her nose against his. “I always get

horny when I’m high.”

Louie leapt to his feet, eager to escape this nightmare before it got

even worse. “Thanks for the… entertainment, Peter. I’ll, ah, leave you two

alone.”“Louie, wait—”

“Where’s he going?” She giggled. “Oops, did I interrupt something?”

“Dammit, Demetra,” he heard Peter grumble. “Don’t be such a bitch.”

Louie ran up the stairs to the safety of his bedroom. The sound of

Demetra’s throaty laughter followed him the entire way.

NINE

“What are you doing here, Pop?”

Kosta’s unruly eyebrows knitted together. “My name is on that sign of

yours. Where else would I be?”

“You worked yesterday. And the day before that. Why don’t you go

home and relax? Work in the garden for a bit. Sit on the front porch.”

“You hear that?” Kosta said with a conspiratorial wink to Annie. “He

wants to be rid of me.”

Peter grimaced. “No, Pop, I—”

“He thinks I am old man.”

“You’re sixty-three, Pop. Maybe you deserve a rest.”

“I’ll be resting soon enough.” Kosta crossed himself. “I don’t need

you to hurry it along. I will be in the back.”

Peter sighed and gave up. “I feel like all we do is fight these days,” he

muttered.

Annie joined him behind the counter. “I think he’s lonely.”

“No, he’s a pain in the ass. He doesn’t trust me to run this place. He

thinks I can’t handle it. Nothing I do is ever good enough.” He swiped a

hand across his face. “I don’t know how much more I can take.”

“Who pissed in your yogurt this morning? Oh, I know. Was it Demetra?

Did you finally get smart and dump that ho?”

“Shut up,” he grumbled and turned away.

This was all Louie’s fault. He’d shown up and rearranged all the pieces

on the chess board of Peter’s life. Now he didn’t know which way to move.

And since he hadn’t heard from Louie in days, all he could think was that

he’d messed things up beyond repair.

Where was that rewind button when he needed it?

He didn’t know what had happened. No, that wasn’t true. He knew

exactly what happened. He was attracted to Louie. What he didn’t know is

how it had gotten out of control so quickly.

Maybe it wasn’t such a big deal. Maybe Louie hadn’t felt it.

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Yeah right
, his inner voice chided.
Like he didn’t feel your hand on

his leg?

Why had he done that? Because the need to touch Louie had been

too strong to resist. Now at night, just before he fell asleep, Peter thought

he could feel the soft tickle of Louie’s hair on his palm, the skin warm, the

muscle taut. And he would have gone further too, if Demetra hadn’t shown

up and saved him from even more humiliation.

If he knew what was good for him, he would stay away. Keep his

distance for a while, until he figured out how to deal with this. Louie’d

already had one jerk in his life. Peter didn’t want to lead him on and hurt

him if this turned out to be nothing. He didn’t deserve that. So he’d wait

it out, and in a few more weeks, Louie would get his own place and new

friends, and Peter would never see him again except for family holidays.

His stomach hollowed unexpectedly at the thought.

Enough.

He threw himself into getting the place ready to open. A few minutes

later when the phone in his back pocket rang, his heart jumped when he saw

who it was.

He tried to sound calm and casual as he answered, but even he heard

the excited tremor in his voice. “Hey,” he practically shouted.

“Um, hi,” Louie responded cautiously, clearly caught off guard by

such an enthusiastic greeting, because he didn’t say anything else. Or was

he as weirded out by the other night as Peter?

Peter waited for some sign of how Louie wanted to play this, but

when the silence lengthened, he decided to muscle through and act as

though nothing had happened. “Anyone ever tell you you’re a great

conversationalist? Or is this one of those heavy breathing calls?”

“Shut up.” Louie chuckled, and some of the awkwardness lifted. “I…

ah… how’s it going?”

Way better now
, Peter thought. “Same as always. Is that why you

called?”

“No, not really.” More silence.

“Are you going to tell me, then? Or do I need to guess?”

Louie sucked in a breath. “So… um… listen, I know it’s short notice,

but one of the guys at work has a pair of theater tickets for tonight that he

can’t use. Are you interested?”

A sudden warmth flooded Peter’s body. “Are you asking me out?”

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“No!” The denial came quick and loud. “I mean, you’re my sister’s

boyfriend. We’re practically related.”

“Is that the only thing stopping you?” Peter winced and squeezed his

eyes shut the moment the words slipped out.
Where had that come from?

Louie made no sound, so Peter forced a laugh. “I was teasing.”

“I knew that. Yeah.” Paper crinkled in the background. “Actually,

you’re the only other person I know in town. I could go alone….”

“Ouch, now I’m insulted.” But he wasn’t. Because Louie had invited

him
, not the guy he’d been with last week. Or maybe he had, and been

turned down. The thought sobered him. “What’s the show?”

“
Wicked
.”

“Ah, a musical.”

“Don’t even go there. Yes, I know it’s a cliché.”

“Do you
like
musicals?”

“I like
Wicked
,” Louie admitted. Peter laughed, for real this time. It

drew Annie’s attention. She gave him a knowing smirk, so he went outside

where she couldn’t eavesdrop.

“So… are you in?” Louie asked.

“I’m in.” So much for distance.

“What about work? It’s not going to cause problems, is it?”

“I’ll take care of it,” Peter asserted.

“I’ll go to the theater straight from work, so I’ll text you the details

and meet you out front, okay?”

“Cool. I’ll see you later, then.”

Peter caught sight of his reflection in the front window. He was

grinning, smiling so hard, his face hurt, and yet he couldn’t make himself

stop. Didn’t want to
make
himself stop. Shit, he was in trouble.

When Peter returned inside, he heard his pop’s booming voice coming

from the back of the restaurant. He went to investigate and found Kosta

overseeing a delivery of supplies and barking out orders to the delivery men

who lingered in the back laneway. Peter watched, unobserved, noting the

lines of strain on his pop’s face, the way he had to stop and catch a breath

now and then. But his pop would sooner jump in the grave himself than

show signs of weakness by taking a break.

Kosta slung a twenty-pound bag of rice over his shoulder and staggered

under the weight. Peter rushed forward. “Jesus, Pop. What are you trying to do?

Kill yourself?” He took the load from his father and carried it to the storeroom.

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85

“Better I should die than be useless.”

It was a familiar refrain. “You’re not useless, Pop.”

He stacked the bag on the shelf in the pantry and cursed in exasperation

when he noticed the label. “Is this from Gus? I thought we discussed using

that new supplier.”

“Gus is a friend. I cannot just refuse him.”

How many times had they been over this? Peter took a deep breath

and counted to ten. Well, he only made it to five before he burst out, “Your

friend is gouging you. We can’t afford to keep paying these prices.”

“I will talk to him.”

“Why don’t you let me deal with it?” His dad still tended to do

business the old way—with a coffee or a drink at the social club. He didn’t

trust Kosta not to get screwed over by his old drinking buddy again.

“I’m not a child,” Kosta groused. “I still know how to run a restaurant.

I will take care of it.”

Then why am I even here
, Peter wanted to scream. Instead, he took a

deep breath and followed his dad into the empty dining room. They were

due to open for lunch in another half an hour.

“I need to leave early tonight, Pop. Can you close?” He hated having

to beg for time off like a teenager instead of a grown man. He suddenly saw

himself at forty, at fifty, still asking his parents’ permission for every little

thing, and he winced.

“It’s hot today, yes?” Kosta doffed his black fisherman’s cap and

wiped the sweat from his balding head with the handkerchief his mother

laid out fresh every morning. “I’m taking your mother to church tonight.”

“Then maybe Annie can lock up.”

“She is too young.”

“I was younger than her when you left me in charge.”

“She is not family.”

“She’s been working here for two years. And she’s the best employee