SWNOVELS Sworn Enemy: Chapter 14
I walk out of my trailer bright and early on Saturday morning, and the Rebel Sky crew is already there, setting up tables, laying out utensils, plating up the breakfast items, setting up a series of enormous coffee urns, and organizing all manner of personal protection equipment for the volunteers.
I check my watch. Justin should be here soon.
A fact that shouldn’t make my heart speed up like I just saw Ryan Reynolds jacking it in his Deadpool costume.
Uh, wow.
That was…oddly specific.
Moving on.
Trip is there, of course, looking tall and Brokeback next to his pretty husband. Sam fills a paper cup of coffee and puts a lid on it, handing it to Trip with a kiss. Trip then saunters over, bringing me the coffee.
As he gets nearer, it occurs to me that he and Justin are about the same height. Trip’s brawny physique is sexy and commanding, of course, but then again, Justin’s angular build and poet’s eyes aren’t anything to sniff at.
“Charlie?”
And that’s not to say that Justin isn’t ruggedly handsome when he’s all dirtied up and dressed in his work gear. But this last week, seeing him out and about in his civilian clothes…the guy’s got style.
Hm.
“Charlie?” Trip waves his hand in front of my face, and I startle like a goldfish.
“Hey, good morning, Trip. Sorry. Just…spaced out there for a second.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. I’m sure you’ve been crazy busy with the rebuilding. We’re about to expand the house,” he says, handing me a cup of coffee, “and I’m sure it’s going to be a massive distraction.”
I nod in general agreement and shared misery, taking a sip of…damn.
“Holy shit, who made this coffee?”
He tilts his head over to Wyatt and Desi. “Uncle Desi is the coffee whisper.”
“Stop calling me uncle,” Desi yells, hand on his hip. “I’ve only got two years on you. Don’t try to make me seem like I’m older.”
Wyatt, Trip’s dad, wraps a possessive arm around Desi’s waist. “Whaddya got against older guys?”
Desi practically melts under his man’s attention. “Nothing, baby. Nothing at all.”
Trip’s mom, Renée, who was the sweetest soul, passed a few years ago. While I’m happy that her brother and Wyatt fell in love, they can be a bit much at times.
Trip copies his dad and wraps an arm around Sam’s waist, giving him that simpering still-in-love smile. “Those two are disgusting.”
“Not as disgusting as we are,” Sam purrs, leaning up for a soft kiss before going back to setting up breakfast.
Huh. Must be a family trait.
Honestly, I might throw up.
You have been happily single your entire adult life, Charlie-man. There’s no reason for any of this jealous bullshit. Besides, you’re over the whole Trip thing.
That part’s actually true. Aside from the fact that I respect Trip and Sam’s relationship, I generally prefer to top, and there’s no way that big hunk of man meat likes taking it up the ass.
“You know, I hear Trip’s vers,” Erik whispers in my ear as he passes me to get a cup of coffee from Sam. “Not that it matters because we already know who’ll bottom for your fat cock given half a chance.”
I love this man like a brother. Really, I do. But I might smother him with a pillow before the day is over.
I conveniently ignore that the idea of Justin Jennings bottoming for me again is…God, that final tilt of his hips, the way he begged for it without words. The way he let me wreck him…fuck, the cum I rinsed off the tires the next day…
Yeah, my therapist is gonna love the fact that I’ve been pretending my soaped-up fist is Justin’s mouth or ass all week.
He’s more than a hole, Wills.
“Don’t worry though,” Erik continues, a grin hooking the side of his mouth. “I won’t tell anyone how much time you’ve spent in the shower.”
“I liked it better when you didn’t talk so much,” I hiss out of the side of my mouth.
Find the gratitude, Charlie. Find the Zen.
Or, if all else fails, get a fucking grip.
Erik turns around, his amused mouth pressed into a tight line as he silently toasts me with his steaming cup of coffee.
“I hope you spill that on yourself.”
He shakes his head, grabbing a lid. “Not a chance.”
“Scandinavian bastard,” I grumble.
Thankfully, Erik’s focus is rerouted when his twin cousins walk up, and I go to help with the line of cars coming in. We have to direct them over to a section of the property that’s fit for parking because there are so many people.
Taking a deep breath, I realize that gratitude isn’t something I’ll have to fight for today. Hell, if I get my head out of my ass, gratitude might just fill me so much that it comes leaking out of my eyes.
Refocusing, I recognize the man walking in my direction. Well, call me flabbergasted.
“Dickie? What the fuck are you doing here?” I ask, feeling oddly good-natured.
The man in question freezes and holds up his hands. “I know I was a real shithead to you in high school, but I wanted to help, and,”—he pauses, reaching back to drag forward a painfully awkward-looking young guy with overgrown hair and a few zits on his cheeks—“this is my nephew, Tanner. He’s gay, and I realized I’d probably pop the head off any stupid kid who tried to treat him as badly as we treated you.”
“Geez, uncle. You are such an embarrassment,” Tanner huffs out. Turning to me, he gives a sort of half-wave. “But yeah, I think you almost died, or whatever. So when my dad decided to be an asshole about me being gay, I went to live with this one. So thanks, I guess.”
Dickie grins proudly and throws his arms around his nephew, hugging him despite a fair amount of squirming and cussing.
“Was he always this fucking embarrassing?” Tanner asks, brushing his hair off his face.
“Kinda,” I say, closing the distance between us to shake Dickie’s hand. “But that’s what family’s for.”
“Exactly,” he says, hip-bumping Tanner out of the way. “Oh, and it’s Richard now.”
I tap my chin as though I’m considering it, then smile. “Of course, Richard. Thank you so much for being here. And if you like caffeine, you’re gonna love Desi’s coffee.”
“Desi’s here?” Tanner asks, perking up.
Richard’s jaw bunches. “He’s near twice your age and married. Don’t even think about it.”
Tanner smirks. “You can’t control my imagination. Also, I have a sudden and urgent need for coffee,” he says, stalking off toward the breakfast table.
“See you around, Charlie.” Richard waves as he takes off after Tanner.
“So. You can forgive. Interesting.”
Fucking Norwegian pain in my ass.
“I thought you were supposed to be the strong, silent type,” I say, aiming my elbow at Erik’s ribs.
He side-steps the move and traps my arm. “I’m not silent. I choose my words carefully. There’s a difference.” Winking at me, he releases me from the hold and continues, “It’s not my fault you continue to present me with so many opportunities to give you a hard time. Don’t hand me all this ammo and expect me not to pull the trigger.”
“Fuck off.” I push his shoulder good-naturedly. “Besides, I saw Justin the other day at the Broken Oak, and we had a nice conversation.”
His smile turns to a sort of grimace, and I gesture at him. “What gives?”
He tips his chin toward the front gate.
I turn to follow his gaze and…fuck my life. Justin and Nacho drive in with a flatbed loaded with donated materials, more than they’d promised. They pull up to the planning area, and a team of people flocks to them, unloading the trailer and setting the materials into clearly defined areas.
I mean, obviously I want him to be here. Hell, I specifically encouraged him to be here. I just don’t want to deal with all of this while I’m trying to remember if his lips are as soft as they look. I mean, I’d kissed him pretty violently that one time, so it’s a little hard to tell.
I sigh as I watch him hand off box after box. He looks especially handsome and windblown today. Must’ve driven over with the window down. And I hate myself for how badly I need an answer on that lip thing.
Erik clamps one of his huge paws on my shoulder, ripping me out of yet another goldfish moment.
“Wow. How…generous…of the Jennings brothers,” he says, his delivery dry and dripping with innuendo.
Oh, that’s the game he wants to play, is it? He forgets that he’s not the only one with opportunity and ammo.
“Yes, Erik. It was generous of them,” I respond smoothly. “But let’s not overlook Nacho. Rather sweet of him to volunteer his time today, isn’t it?”
Their fuck-buddy situation is fizzling out, and Erik is finding out the hard way that you can’t just ghost someone in a small town because you will see them again.
We scowl at each other—with love—and stalk off in opposite directions. I decide what we really need is more personal protective equipment.
You can never have too much PPE on a job site.
I wasn’t lying about the conversation at the Broken Oak. Against my wishes, I really do like the guy. It’s always a little jarring to see him, but talking to him—more like teasing and flirting with him—is the easiest thing in the world.
Easy and dangerous. The veins in his neck show how fast his heart beats around me and making that pulse speed up is addictive. I wonder what he’d think if he knew he wasn’t the only one with a racing pulse.
As I’m absentmindedly putting together a pushcart to distribute the materials, a familiar and comforting voice speaks up behind me. “That’s a lot of gloves, son.”
A broad grin takes over my face, and I turn toward Dad and Mom, who look tan, healthy, and so damn happy. We end up in a messy group hug, with smiles and exclamations about fantastic coffee. My dad grabs a carafe, and we work together to pass out PPE and coffee refills.
When we get to the planning area, my mom, who has been nothing short of exuberant as she runs into old friends every ten feet and has only ever been funny and unfailingly kind to everyone she meets, stops short when she sees Justin.
Oh shit. I wasn’t the only one in the hospital that day.
“What are you doing here?” she demands, frowning.
The chatty conversations around us die off, and everything stills. Justin looks at me in a panic, and something very close to hatred shadows my mother’s features.
“Uh, Mom,” I say, touching her shoulder. “Justin is out in the community now. He’s in recovery.”
Mom’s lip curls into a snarl, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this angry. “Convenient.”
“June,” my dad says softly, putting a hand on her other shoulder. “Justin’s here to help, dear. Remember, Charlie already told us that he sees the Jennings brothers for Sunday dinner. It’s a good thing that he’s here. Really.”
My mother clenches her fists as her jaw trembles and her eyes go red, but I know she would never dare let someone from the Jennings family see so much as a tear. She shakes her head. “Well, I’m glad you two can be the bigger persons about this. I guess I’m just being petty because I can’t forgive the man who almost took my child’s life.”
She turns on her heel and walks off, automatically putting on a big smile for the next person to stop and express how much they’ve missed her. My father trails after her, sending me a helpless look.
I hate seeing her like this. It reminds me of her abject fear and hopelessness when I woke up in the hospital.
The chatter picks back up, and Justin lowers his head. He looks utterly alone.
“Justin, I’m—”
“Charlie, I’m so sorry,” he says, cutting me off. “I’ll go. I’ll leave you with the truck, and you can let me know when you’re ready for me to come back for it.”
“No, Justin. You stay here. You are as much a part of this community as anyone else.”
“Thank you for saying that. Truly. But your mom is the last person I want to upset.”
“I know, I know. But I think you and I need to see the buildings go back up again, more than anybody else. We had to watch it all burn. We should get to see them go back up.”
He looks at my mother’s retreating back, then back to the building materials, uncertainty marking his features.
I nudge him a little. “Hell, I bet even our therapists would agree.”
Justin lets out an amused huff. “I wouldn’t dare think of disappointing my therapist.”
“Me either,” I say, holding up my fist.
He taps his fist to mine with a small smile.
“Thanks, Charlie.”
“No problem. Tell you what, I’m gonna go after my mom and make sure she’s okay. You good here?”
He nods and gets back to work. I jog over to catch up with my parents. Halfway there, I check over my shoulder, and Justin is watching me. I give him a smile, then go off to give my mom a hug.