Текст книги "Triple Play"

Автор книги: Sloan Johnson

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Текущая страница: 12 (всего у книги 17 страниц)

The truth was, I’d done exactly what Bryce warned me not to do when I started volunteering at Pot of Gold. He’d told me that it was going to be difficult to keep from becoming attached to the kids I met there, but I’d blown him off, telling him that wouldn’t happen. It had, in a big way.

“I can’t fucking stand the fact that Cody is going to be stuck at the center tomorrow,” I admitted to him. “I hate the fact that none of those kids have anywhere else to go, because it’s a fucking holiday and holidays are supposed to be family time.”

Bryce took a few deep breaths and I steeled myself for the lecture I felt coming. He’d told me it was best to not get attached because a lot of the kids were there for a very short time. They’d wind up either running away when they started to get too comfortable or they’d reconcile with their parents and go home until the next time. But Cody was different. He’d been at the center since the beginning of summer, when one of the street advocates found him curled up under the bleachers at a local park. His parents had made no effort to welcome him back home and he seemed to be as stable and happy as could be expected for someone living in a homeless shelter.

“I was beginning to wonder when you’d admit how much you care about him,” Bryce said. He actually sounded relieved I’d said the words out loud. “Anyone who sees you working with him knows you two have formed a bond. Honestly, I think some of the other kids wish they could find someone they could talk to the way Cody can to you.”

“So you’re not pissed?” I asked.

“Haven’t you learned yet? That’s not my style, especially when I half expected it.”

“You did?” If he saw this coming, then why did he warn me against it? Why did he even ask me to mentor Cody if he knew I’d get attached?

“Yeah, I did. I gave you the same speech we give all the mentors, but I had a feeling it’d be impossible for you to not get close to Cody.” Bryce released me while I struggled to get comfortable. I was still trying to get used to not having the cast on my arm and it hurt when I laid on the still healing bones. “You both need one another. He needs you to show him a glimpse of that unconditional love I was talking about, and you need him to serve as a constant reminder that even though something shitty happened to you, it doesn’t define you.”

Fucking Bryce and his life lessons. It made sense. I’d been sitting here moping around the house, terrified to walk out the door until a couple of weeks ago. On the flip side, Cody had gotten the shit knocked out of him by his father and still got out of bed every day with a smile on his face. That may not have been the case in the early days, but now, he was grateful for everything he had, even if that wasn’t much. He was busting his ass to catch up in school because he was determined to prove everyone wrong about him. He wanted to show the world that he could be who he was without having to sacrifice a damn thing.

Cody was still a kid, but I had the feeling there were a lot of grown men who could learn a lot from him. He didn’t let anyone give him a hard time when he walked into his new school wearing clothes which didn’t fit his tall, athletic frame properly. He didn’t listen when other kids his age gave him shit for not being interested in girls or going to parties. The only thing he worried about was that someone would eventually realize that he was homeless, but even that didn’t stop him from living his life.

“We seem to have gotten off track a bit,” Bryce said. “You were talking about the holidays.”

Oh yeah, that. I wondered if Bryce would think my idea was stupid. I also had to make sure it’d be okay with Eric, because even though I’d been here over a year and a half as his roommate, it was still his house.

“Well, there are two things, really,” I began. I sat up and reached over Bryce’s body to turn on the lamp sitting on the nightstand. While it was easier to talk about difficult topics in the dark, I needed to see his reaction. “First, I don’t want Cody at the shelter tomorrow. I fucking hate the idea that we’re all going to be sitting here gorging and having fun while he’s sitting there eating processed crap and staring at the walls.”

Bryce smiled. No, he fucking beamed as I grew more upset about the idea of Cody sitting there alone. “I’d have to make a call to make sure it’s okay, but would you like me to run downtown tomorrow and bring him back here?”

“Would you do that?” That’s exactly what I wanted, but I wasn’t sure it’d be possible. These kids were all stuck in some sort of limbo and I wasn’t sure it was legal for an employee to bring them home, even if it was a holiday. “I mean, we need to make sure it’s okay with Eric, but yeah, I’d like that.”

“Consider it done.” Bryce picked up his phone off the nightstand and checked the time. “It’s only ten on the west coast, so Mr. Borgwardt might still be awake.”

I watched as Bryce tapped out a quick message to his boss and then set his phone on the nightstand. He scooted up so he was sitting against the padded headboard and held out his arm so I could curl up next to him. “Now, what else?”

I was beginning to feel more confident. Bryce hadn’t told me I was being unrealistic when I’d told him about my wish for tomorrow. Maybe he’d love this idea. “I want to get some of the guys together to sponsor Christmas for the kids. Instead of everyone doing their own thing for the holidays, I want whoever we can get to agree to it to go down to the center and make sure it’s a day they’ll never forget. We could ask Cam if he’d be willing to take care of making a huge Christmas dinner, each of us could pick out a few kids to buy gifts for, and then maybe we could load up in the cars and take them all to a movie in the afternoon.”

“You’ve been thinking about this for a while now, haven’t you?” Bryce asked. I nodded in response. It was something I’d considered in passing back when Bryce and I had first met, but that had only been in an abstract sense. This week, I’d started to obsess over it more because everyone in my personal life was getting ready to spend time with their families and then I’d walk into the center and see kids who’d give anything to have one person to love them, much less an entire support system. “I think that’d be wonderful. Again, I’ll have to check on the logistics, but I’ll try to get an answer on that by the end of the weekend so we can start planning everything.”

“Thanks.” I felt lighter as I laid back down in the bed and allowed Bryce to curl himself around my body. With all the worries gone, I began to realize just how tired I was. I was still worried about Eric, but I had to believe that everyone was right when they said he was fine. As I drifted off to sleep, I wondered how soon was too soon to admit I felt like part of me was missing when either of them were gone.

Chapter 19

“You got home late last night,” Drew accused over his morning coffee. He’d been stiff and kept his back turned to me all night, a sure sign he was upset by my disappearance. By the time I’d pulled into the driveway, the house had been dark and Cam had the kitchen looking as though no one had been in there. I hadn’t thought that’d be possible. And now, Cam was already hard at work while Drew sat on the other side of the island chatting with him.

“Yeah, sorry about that,” I apologized. In my haste to get away from my boyfriend who was still young enough to only see the sparkle of the major leagues as well as the consummately realistic one, I’d left my phone sitting on the couch where I’d thrown it after hanging up with Sam. There was one missed call from Drew and it was sitting on the edge of the counter when I’d walked in. “I went for a drive and stopped by to see Mason.”

“Yeah?” Drew seemed confused about the fact that I’d said Mason, not Sean. “How’d that go?”

I poured myself a cup of coffee and quickly got my ass out of the kitchen, which I’d been informed long ago was actually Cam’s kitchen whenever he was in it. As long as he kept whipping up food like he did, I’d gladly let him claim what was once mine.

“Not bad, actually.” I took a seat next to Drew and placed one hand high on his thigh. “It might seem strange, but I really hadn’t planned on going to see him. When I got to their house, though, it seemed right that I should talk to him.”

“Why’s that?” Cam questioned, injecting himself into our conversation.

I wished we didn’t have company and that we weren’t about to have even more. This wasn’t a public conversation, but it seemed there were no boundaries. As if they knew something important was about to be said, Jason came down the stairs just as Bryce stumbled out of the bedroom. He looked about as rough as I felt. I hadn’t slept much because it’d been impossible to turn off my mind.

“I’ve made a decision,” I said once everyone had coffee in hand and Bryce had inserted himself between Drew and me. I wrapped my arm around his waist, moving my other hand to Drew’s leg. I needed to be touching both of them, to have the reminder that even if I didn’t have the game, I had them. And Bryce was the one who planted the seeds of this evolving from three guys fucking to three guys in a committed relationship. That meant they had a right to know what was going on. I wasn’t about to fuck up the way Mason had and keep this to myself.

Bryce kissed the top of my head and leaned toward me. He was our rock. He’d become the one both of us turned to when we were upset, the one who pointed us the direction we needed to go when we felt lost. I needed that now.

“Unless someone offers me a deal I can’t refuse, I think it’s time for me to retire,” I told them. Jason nearly choked on his coffee as Drew argued that I was too young for that. “I’m almost ten years older than the average player. It’s not like I didn’t know this would happen eventually.”

“But you’re not that old,” Drew protested. I gave his thigh a squeeze, loving him for trying to make me feel better.

“Yeah, I am. And Mason made me realize that it’s okay to grow up.” Everyone had a good laugh at that. Mason was the last one any of us would accuse of being the mature adult of the group. Somehow, being a stay-at-home dad seemed to have turned back the hands of time and he was even more juvenile than he’d been when he was playing. Of course, he was the epitome of a responsible parent, but his pressure valve tended to be his awful jokes and tendency to come up with elaborate pranks.

“So what are you going to do?” Jason asked. Cam pulled a breakfast casserole out of the oven and the rest of us were digging into it before it had a chance to cool. He’d warned us ahead of time that this was the only breakfast we were getting because he didn’t want us in his space today and no one had argued. Again, we weren’t stupid enough to turn down gourmet food on a daily basis.

I looked over to Bryce and decided I needed to sit down and talk with him before announcing my thoughts to the rest of the room. For all I knew, he might laugh in my face when I suggested helping him. Or, he could tell me that finding someone else to run the Milwaukee facility would mean he had to head back to Portland, which kind of blew apart the entire idea of the three of us figuring out if there was something between us that could last long-term.

“I’ll figure it out,” I promised them. “I’m not sure anyone will want to hire me based on my degree since it’s been fourteen years since I did anything other than play ball, but there’s something out there for me.”

“You know it,” Bryce agreed with another kiss. “I’m proud of you. I half expected you to be hungover and puking this morning. You seem to be taking the news fairly well.”

“Yeah, I guess I am.”

Bryce checked the time and then reached for his keys. “I’ll be back shortly.”

“Where are you racing off to this early?” I asked. Okay, so it was already almost ten in the morning, but still, it was a holiday. There couldn’t possibly be anything he needed to do at the office, and I couldn’t think of anyplace else he’d need to go today.

“He’s going to pick up Cody, so he’s not stuck at the center today,” Drew informed me.

“Oh, he is, huh?” It wasn’t the least bit shocking to hear that Drew had somehow managed to con Bryce into springing his new best buddy out of Pot of Gold for the day. That was fine with me since I knew Drew would be miserable if he had to sit here and stew about Cody being alone on a holiday. Where I’d begrudgingly gotten used to the solitude, he still wanted the house to be filled with love and laughter and thought everyone should have the same.

“Yeah, is that okay with you?” Drew asked. His cheeks flushed a light pink. I hated that he still thought of this as my place and considered himself little more than a boarder. I’d told him repeatedly that he was free to do whatever he wished as long as none of my shit went missing.

“Yeah, that’s fine,” I assured both of them. Bryce quickly kissed each of us goodbye and headed out to the driveway, bitching about how cold it was. If he didn’t get back before the snow started coming down harder, the cold would be the least of his concerns.

“You’re really okay with it?” Drew asked a while later.

I placed my hands on either side of his face and forced him to look at me while I spoke. Maybe that was what he needed for it to finally get through his head that I really didn’t care. “This is your house as well. You’re paying your share of the bills which means you have an equal say in who’s invited over.”

“But I don’t pay an equal share,” he protested.

“No, but I still consider you my equal,” I told him. “I don’t care about your money, Drew. I just want you to feel like this is your home because it is.”

“Okay.” He flipped off Cam as he walked down the hall mumbling something about needing a shower. I was tempted to follow, but I knew it’d be impossible to resist dropping to my knees to blow him as soon as I saw his naked body.

Everything went smoothly, even after Drew’s parents arrived. His mother kept trying to help Cam in the kitchen, and for the first time ever, Cam didn’t push someone out of his space. Instead, he seemed to blossom even more, soaking in every compliment Susan gave him.

We all sat down to the formal dining table, which Cam had set as though it were a showcase for a holiday TV special, and made one hell of an effort to polish off all the food he’d made. We failed, but it’d be no hardship to enjoy the leftovers for a few days. Drew and I tried to take care of the cleanup, but his mom refused any and all help. She told us in no uncertain terms that we were to relax and she’d pack up all the food and start the dishwasher. That was when everything started to fall apart.

I ran down to the basement to get soda and beer to put in the refrigerator upstairs and Drew’s dad followed me. He motioned for me to set down the six-packs I was carrying. “So, is it true that you’re not going to be with Seattle come spring?”

I bristled at the accusatory tone in his voice. I didn’t know this guy, didn’t have to explain a damn thing to him. I wanted to tell him it was none of his business, but I didn’t.  Pa would roll over in his grave if I was disrespectful, and he’d likely be standing here asking me the same thing if he were still alive.

“Yes, sir,” I responded. As long as I kept my answers short and sweet, I couldn’t piss him off. Drew loved his dad, so it would be dumb of me to do anything that’d make him dislike me. There’d be plenty of that when we dropped the bomb on them about all three of us sharing one bed.

“That’s too bad.” He looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows on the side of the basement where you could walk directly out into the backyard. Heavy snow had begun to fall while we were eating. I didn’t want to think about Drew’s parents driving home. Even if they left now, it’d be slick and dangerous. He grunted and snarled at the sight through the windows before looking back to me. “You know where you’re going?”

“No, sir.” I didn’t tell him I wasn’t going anywhere because there were other people who needed to be informed first. And even if Drew trusted his parents, I didn’t know them well. There was nothing to keep his father from accidentally mentioning something to the wrong person.

“Well, I’ll tell you the same thing I told my boy,” he offered, taking a seat next to me. “If you ever need an ear to bend, I’m here. I know I don’t know squat about how you guys operate, but I’d like to think I’m all right at knowing a shit deal when I hear one.”

I choked up a bit as he spoke. I don’t know why, but I’d expected something else from him. Maybe for him to tell me I needed to take whatever offer came in front of me. Having someone sitting next to me, offering to listen if I needed to talk brought on a fresh wave of longing. This was my second holiday season without Pa, and I still missed the hell out of him. I wanted him to be here. I wanted him to be the one helping me figure out whether I was wrong for considering walking away.

Joe grabbed two of the six-packs and followed me up the stairs. He placed his on the counter and then took the ones I’d been holding. I followed his line of sight and noticed him watching Drew and Cody, who were off in the corner working on homework. Bryce had tried to tell Cody to leave his backpack at the center, but he’d refused, saying he’d never get where he needed to be if he slacked off.

“What’s the story with the kid?” Joe asked, nodding in their direction.

“He’s one of the teens from the shelter,” I responded. “From what Drew and Bryce have told me, his parents kicked him out when they found out he’s gay. He’d been living on the streets for months and had dropped out of school because he was afraid the administrators would force him to go home. Knowing how his dad reacted the first time, he was worried he’d just keep getting his ass kicked, so he stayed away. Now, he’s living at the center and trying to get caught up.”

“Good for him,” Drew’s dad praised, loud enough that he caught their attention. Cody’s face flushed pink when he realized we were talking about him and Drew beamed with pride. “Looks like they’re good for one another.”

“They are,” I agreed. “Drew likes to tell the guys that Bryce and I forced him to start living again, but I think it was Cody who did that. We were just the ones who forced him out of the house.”

That got me a curious look from Joe. He then glanced at Bryce before staring me down. I felt myself shrink back at his suddenly harsh assessment. “You and Bryce, huh?”

Fuck. That explained a lot. After promising Drew that it’d be okay and no one would be any wiser as long as we weren’t pawing at one another, it seemed I’d managed to accidentally out our group.

“Well…um…yes, sir. Bryce has understandably been spending a lot of time here, and the two of us got sick of watching Drew mope around the house,” I said, hoping it was a plausible excuse.

“Kid, I might be from the country, but I’m not as dumb as you might think,” he warned me. “I’m not sure what you boys are doing here, but I s’pose that’s not my place, now is it?”

“Sir?” I questioned, still playing dumb. I half expected Drew’s dad to reach around and cuff the back of my head.

“Whatever you need to do to make my boy as happy as he seems today, keep doing it. Like I said, I don’t get it, but I don’t really need to,” he assured me. I let out the breath I’d been holding as I waited for the top of his head to explode. Bryce had been the one pushing Drew to be honest with his parents, saying that they’d understand and support him but even I hadn’t believed that. “I don’t see you three having an easy go of whatever you have, but I know you boys well enough after just a couple meetings that I’m confident you’ll do right by one another.”

Drew looked over to where his dad and I were talking. He quirked an eyebrow, and I nodded to assure him everything was fine. No thanks to me.

“Now, tell me more about the kid,” he said, quickly changing the topic. I couldn’t say that I blamed him. I wasn’t terribly thrilled with the idea of having to explain my sex life to anyone, much less Joe.

“Drew, can you tell him I’m not a kid,” Cody whined, sounding very much like a child. “I turned eighteen almost a month ago.”

“Oooh, you’re a big man now,” Jason teased as he walked past where Cody still had his schoolwork strewn across the table. “Don’t worry, we still call Drew ‘kid’ sometimes, just to fuck with him.”

“Jason, language please,” Cam scolded, turning quickly to apologize to Susan.

“It’s okay,” she told him. “I’m used to the way the farmhands talk when they walk in for lunch and don’t realize I’m standing there.”

I watched as everyone else went back to their conversations. Bryce and Cam were talking about some plan that Drew had mentioned to Bryce last night while I was out. I felt out of the loop, but wasn’t upset about it since it was my own doing. Once Cody finished his homework, Drew quickly joined Bryce on the couch, curling into his side the way he always did. I considered joining them, but didn’t since he didn’t know that at least one of his parents had seen through our little charade.

The rest of the evening went smoothly. I said goodnight to Drew’s parents as they excused themselves to the loft. Everyone took that as a sign that the day was coming to an end since we needed it to be quiet. Jason and Cam packed up Jason’s truck and they headed out, quickly followed by Bryce and Drew, who needed to take Cody back to the center.

“Thanks for inviting me today,” Cody said. He shook my hand and looked me in the eye as he continued. “You might not think it was a big deal to invite one extra person to dinner, but I’ll never forget it.”

I swear, there wasn’t a trace of emotion as he sincerely and repeatedly thanked me. I didn’t have to swallow hard to keep from tearing up just a little.

“You’re welcome to come out anytime,” I assured him, which earned me a wide smile from both Bryce and Drew. “Make sure you give Drew your basketball schedule and we’ll see if we can’t make a couple of the games.”

“Really?” I waited for Cody to jump around like a kid in a candy store, but he was good at keeping his enthusiasm in check. “That’d be fucking awesome! Wait till I tell the guys at school that two of the Mavericks players want to come and watch me play ball.”

I cringed, knowing how poorly that could turn out. Either his classmates would call him a liar, or they’d believe him and it’d turn into a circus. “Maybe it’d be best if you don’t tell everyone. We’ll see how the schedule works out and go from there, okay?”

Cody’s shoulders slumped forward. I hoped Bryce would be able to explain why I didn’t want our presence to be common knowledge because I hated seeing the kid let down. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I’ll see ya ‘round, Eric.”

“You know it.” I gave him a quick hug and walked them to the door, telling Bryce to drive safely since the snow was still falling hard.