Secrets in edgewood the.., p.46
Secrets in Edgewood: The Complete Series, page 46
“Ask him,” Danny said. “I think it’ll be a lot easier than you’re thinking.”
“Okay.” Toby nodded. “I’ll go ask him.”
“Alright.” Danny smirked.
“Is the moving in thing okay with you?” Toby asked. “You didn’t say.”
“It’s fine,” Danny agreed. “Besides, it’s not like he’ll be in my bed.”
Toby’s nostrils flared.
“No, he won’t.”
Danny watched Toby retreat across the apartment and down the short hallway into his own bedroom. The door closed with a quiet click. Danny closed his own door and returned to his bed, collapsing backward and shoving his face into a pillow that still smelled like Jordan. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.
He awoke the following morning and stretched, his joints sore from the ball he’d managed to contort himself into overnight. He was thankful he wasn’t due at work until the evening, because he was pretty sure he needed the entire day for his knee to stop popping when he straightened his leg.
His cock was hard, and he rolled onto his back, taking himself in hand. He squeezed until his erection waned. He missed Jordan. His awkward feelings from the day before still lingered in the back of his brain, but were now overshadowed by Jordan’s cologne in his nostrils.
He wondered what it would be like when he was done with school—if he’d live with Jordan, or at least see him more. Would Jordan let him come? Would Jordan make him come? Or worse… not? Danny’s cock twitched against his leg at the thought, and he got out of bed and padded into the kitchen, hoping a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee would distract him.
He tripped over his own feet when he recognized Tim on his knees with Toby’s cock stuffed down his throat. They were blocking the refrigerator.
“This isn’t gonna fly,” Danny grumbled.
Tim stumbled backward, and Toby turned, dick shiny with spit under the light. Danny held his hand up to shield it from his view.
“What’s not?” he asked.
“Put your dick away.” Danny shook his head. “No sex in the kitchen if he moves in.”
Toby tucked himself into his pants and stepped aside, helping Tim to his feet.
“We’ve done it before and you didn’t care,” Toby countered.
Danny opened the fridge and pulled out the milk.
“I didn’t know,” he corrected. “Now I do, and the answer is a definitive not in the kitchen.”
“What about the couch?” Toby asked.
“Stop!” Tim whisper-yelled, hitting Toby in the chest.
Danny popped a pod into the coffee pot and waited for it to brew.
“Maybe keep it to your bedroom,” he suggested.
“Bathroom?” Toby asked.
“Toby! Jesus.” Tim blushed and scampered down the hallway toward Toby’s bedroom.
“I take it the conversation went well?” Danny asked, pouring himself a bowl of cereal and returning the milk to the fridge.
“I have a boyfriend,” Toby answered proudly.
“A finance major boyfriend, at that.” Danny chewed a mouthful of colored rice rings.
“Don’t remind me about that part,” Toby groaned.
Danny chuckled.
“Is he moving in?”
“I think so, yeah. He was really excited when I told him he could.”
"That’s probably a yes, then.”
Toby grinned.
“I have a boyfriend,” he repeated.
“You do.” Danny shoved more cereal into his mouth, chewing quickly and swallowing. He drank the colored milk and dropped the bowl into the sink.
“I live with two men now.” Toby laughed and waggled his eyebrows.
“Don’t,” Danny warned, pulling his fresh coffee away from the Keurig. “Don’t get crazy now.”
Toby laughed and took his erection back to the bedroom. Danny heard laughter and a shriek far too high pitched to have ever come from Toby’s mouth, then a loud groan, and silence.
“I need to get headphones,” he mumbled, taking his coffee back to the bedroom.
He set it on his nightstand and pulled his phone off the charger, seeing he had a missed call from Jordan. He dialed him back immediately.
“Good morning,” Jordan greeted.
“Daddy.” Danny smiled. “I miss you already.”
“I miss you. How are you?”
“Traumatized after walking in on Toby choking Tim with his dick in the kitchen, but other than that…”
Jordan laughed.
“What about you?” Danny asked.
“Well,” Jordan exhaled. “I’m getting ready to head over to your parents’ house to talk with your mother.”
“So soon?”
“I think it’s best to get it out of the way. I don’t want your dad to lie to her about it, and at least once I do, it’ll finally be all the way in the open.”
“Yeah.”
Danny stopped himself from speaking further.
“What’s on your mind, little boy?”
“I just…” Danny searched for the words. “I think I liked how it was before.”
“When it was secret?” Jordan asked, a hint of understanding in his voice.
“Yeah, it’s like, they know now. Or dad knows at least, but it doesn’t change anything. I don’t feel like I can be with you openly at home or anything. It sucks.”
“It’s new,” Jordan consoled him. “I think your dad will come around.”
“What about Mom?”
“I’ll have a better idea after I see her this afternoon.”
“Do you think it’ll be worse than Dad?” Danny asked quietly, the replay of his dad punching Jordan in the face still vibrant in his mind.
“No,” Jordan assured him. “I don’t think your mom is going to hit me.”
Danny couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled out of his throat.
“It’ll be okay, Danny. I promise you. Either way.”
“I didn’t mean to make your life harder by being in it,” Danny whispered.
“Stop that right now,” Jordan said. “You’ve done no such thing.”
“Doesn’t seem that way.”
“Well,” Jordan started, “good thing you’re not the one in charge and this isn’t a decision you get to make.”
“It’s not a decision,” Danny protested. “It’s a fact.”
“The fact is that you don’t get to decide what has become of my life,” Jordan said. “I’m the Daddy, not you, and I know that’s hard to see on a daily basis because of the distance between us, but don’t you for one second forget your place.”
Danny grumbled.
“What Daddy says goes,” Jordan warned.
“I know.”
“You know what?”
“What Daddy says goes,” Danny agreed.
“Good. Now, do you work today?” Jordan asked.
“Not until two.”
“I’ll be done with your mom before then, so I’ll call you and let you know how it goes.”
“I wish you would have let me come,” Danny whined.
“You’re just asking for a spanking, aren’t you, little boy?”
“What? No!”
“Stop testing me.” Jordan’s voice slightly deeper in tone than normal. Danny recognized the change.
“Yes, Daddy.”
“Good boy,” Jordan praised. “Now go start your day. I’m off to your parents’ so we can get started with the rest of our life together.”
Thirty-One
Jordan
Jordan rapped his knuckles on Annette and Jim’s front door and took a step backward, waiting.
Jim opened the door and scanned Jordan’s face, his eyes settling on the purple bruise that was still taking shape on Jordan’s cheekbone. The top of Jim’s lip twitched and he stepped to the side, making room for Jordan to come inside.
“Good flight?” he asked.
Jordan nodded and smoothed his hand down the front of his shirt. It was a move born out of habit, and he looked down, finding he wasn’t in a suit and there was no tie to straighten.
“Who’s there, dear?” Annette called out, coming around the corner and into the living room. She looked up, and when she saw Jordan, her eyes widened. “Jesus. What happened to you? Are you alright?”
Annette ran to him and flitted around his face in that overbearing maternal way she had. Jordan swatted her hands away and gently patted the tips of his fingers against his cheek, wincing from the pain.
“I’m fine, Annette,” he assured her.
“What happened?” she asked again, her eyes worried.
Jordan sucked in a sharp breath and tipped his chin toward the couch.
“Can we sit?”
Annette grabbed his hand and pulled him to the couch, lowering them both until they were seated, their knees bumping. Jim eased his weight into an overstuffed armchair across the room and folded his hands in his lap, remaining silent.
“There’s something I need to tell you.” Jordan wiped his sweaty palms against the legs of his jeans. He could feel his heart beating against the bruised skin of his cheek.
Annette narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to the side, the lines of her face deep with worry and concern.
“I’m, uhm, I’m seeing someone.”
Annette looked confused, then smiled, patting Jordan’s thigh.
“That’s lovely. Who is she?”
“He,” Jordan corrected, the admission catching in his throat.
“Alright.” Annette shrugged. “Who is he?”
Jordan glanced toward Jim, who hadn’t moved from the position he’d assumed when he’d sat down in the first place, then turned his attention back to Annette.
He inhaled a deep breath and forced himself to hold Annette’s stare when he answered.
“Danny.”
“Danny?” Annette scrunched her nose, and looked briefly at her husband before back to Jordan. “My son?”
Jim shifted in his chair, crossing one leg over the other, resting an ankle on his knee. He drummed the fingers of one hand against his shin and stared at Jordan.
Jordan nodded jerkily. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and faced Annette head on.
“We’ve been involved for a while now, and I’m in love with him.”
The air whooshed out of Jordan’s lungs and Annette stared at him, the twitch in her left eye the only giveaway she wasn’t a statue. She licked her lips and opened her mouth, then turned her attention to Jim.
“Did you know about this?” she asked.
Jim shook his head.
“I found out two days ago.”
“Was this you?” Annette gestured to the bruising on Jordan’s face.
“It was,” he confirmed.
“Good.” She nodded and turned back to Jordan. “How long?”
“Over a year,” Jim answered for him, uncrossing his legs and leaning forward in his chair.
“So, while you were pretending to be with Monica?” Annette questioned.
“Yes.”
“Did she know?”
Jordan didn’t want to cause any tension between Annette and Monica, but he wasn’t keen to lie to them anymore than he already had. The deception of his relationship with Danny was enough of a strain on their friendship.
“Not at first.”
“She does now?”
Jordan nodded.
Annette exhaled a shaking breath and reached forward, slapping her hand against Jordan’s chest.
“You tell my son to come home and visit me. I want to see him.”
Annette stood up and disappeared into the kitchen.
Jordan shifted on the couch, rubbing at the spot where Annette had smacked him. It physically hurt less than the punches Jim had delivered to his face in Fern Grove, but Annette’s hand was heavy with the weight of a mother’s disappointment, and the residual sting was heavier than any impact he’d ever known before.
Jordan followed Annette into the kitchen, leaving Jim in the living room. He found her standing against the far wall, backside resting against the sink and her arms crossed over her chest. She watched him approach, her gaze hesitant.
“I’m sorry,” Jordan offered her with a shrug. “I didn’t mean for it to happen.”
“Do you love him?” she asked with a shaking voice.
“So much.” Jordan made sure to look her in the eyes when he answered, so she could see the truth of it.
“I knew you liked men, you know. Not just women,” Annette said after a moment.
“You did?” Jordan’s eyebrows raised.
“Of course.” She smiled sadly. “Lori told me years ago.”
Jordan huffed out a breath. “Of course she did.
Why didn’t you say anything? It’s been years.”
“It wasn’t her place to tell me about it in the first place. I figured when you wanted me to know—if you wanted me to know—you’d tell me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to be. Not for that, at least.” Annette pushed off the counter and walked to the refrigerator. She pulled out a bottle of white wine and poured herself a healthy glass. She returned her attention to Jordan and took a large swallow of wine before she spoke again.
“Do you make him happy?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Jordan affirmed. “And he makes me happy.”
“What about when you’re older, Jordan?” Annette took another drink of wine. “He’s so much younger than us.”
“Honestly, I sometimes expect him to tire of me before that even becomes an issue.” Jordan admitted the worry he’d held close to his chest. “But if he doesn’t, I have money set aside. He won’t need to worry about me, or anything else.”
“But he’d be alone.”
“I could get hit by a bus, Annette. Tonight, on my way home.” Jordan gave her the same suggestion he’d given Danny when they’d spoken about it weeks prior.
She rolled her eyes.
“You know what I mean.”
“I can’t control the future,” he reminded her.
“How did Jim take it?”
Jordan scoffed and gestured toward his face.
“After that, I mean.” She smiled.
“Danny got pretty aggressive with him. I think it caught him off guard.”
“My son defended you to his dad?” Annette smirked and took another drink.
“He defended us,” Jordan corrected.
Annette made a noise in her throat and set her wine down on the counter.
“He’ll come around.”
“I’d be surprised,” Jordan said. “I don’t think he’ll try to run me out of the business, but I don’t think he really wants me in your home.”
“Well, that’s too bad for him. I miss my son. I want him to start coming home again, and if you being here is what brings him home, then you’ll be here, Jordan Chambers.”
Jordan swallowed, emotions thick in his throat, and he nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets.
“He’s worried,” Jordan whispered.
“Who? Jim?”
Jordan shook his head.
“Danny.”
“Do you need to let him know I didn’t castrate you with a butcher knife?” She chuckled.
“Might be helpful.”
“Don’t let me stop you.” Annette gestured vaguely to the space between them. “Do you want some wine?”
She was already returning to the fridge and pouring him a glass before he’d gotten his phone out of his pocket. She filled a second glass to the brim, topped herself off, then carried both to the dining room table and set them down. She pointed at a chair, the one he’d sat in every time he’d joined Danny’s family for dinner over the past twenty years. He dialed Danny’s number and sat, as he’d been told.
“Daddy.” Danny greeted him in a rush of air on the first ring. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Jordan told him, flicking his eyes up to Annette. She was sitting across from him, her manicured nails framing the wine glass in front of her chest.
“Is Mom mad?”
“I don’t think that’s the word.”
“You tell him what I said,” Annette chided from across the table.
“Your mom wants you to come home,” Jordan told Danny dutifully. “She misses you.”
“I have work.” Danny sighed.
“You don’t need to. We’ve had this discussion.”
“I want to,” Danny emphasized.
Jordan took a drink of the chilled wine Annette had poured for him.
“That’s fair,” he agreed, “but your mother misses you and she’d like you to come for a visit. Can you arrange a few days off?”
“I can’t afford a plane ticket.”
“That’s a weak argument. You know I’ll buy it for you.”
Annette scoffed, but otherwise remained silent, her eyes studying Jordan from across the table.
“I don’t think my dad wants to see me,” Danny mumbled. Jordan could hear the hurt in his voice. He glanced over his shoulder toward the living room. Jim was still in the arm chair, and he was watching Jordan and Annette at the table.
“Your dad loves you very much,” Jordan said. “He may be unhappy with me, but not you.”
“He didn’t see me. Before he left.”
Jordan locked his eyes on Jim before he replied, “Your dad was busy with work while he was out there. He wanted to see you again, I’m sure.”
Jim’s cheeks turned red and he looked away.
Jordan turned in his seat, back toward Annette, who was glaring across the room at her husband. Jordan heard Jim stand up, the whoosh of the armchair as it rocked quicker with no occupant, then Jim’s footfalls as he approached the table. He came to stand beside Jordan and he held his hand out.
“Your dad wants to talk to you, hold on.”
“You’re still there?” Danny shrieked into the phone.
Jordan put his phone into Jim’s hand, the screen lighting up from the movement and illuminating with a picture he’d taken of the two of them on his first visit to Fern Grove, when they’d hiked to the lake. There wasn’t much sun, but Danny’s eyes were still bright and he stared adoringly up at Jordan as they sat together near the lake’s edge.
The moment was so vibrant in Jordan’s mind he didn’t even need the picture to remind himself of it, but he loved the reminder of how pure Danny’s affection for him had always been.
