Chapter 3
Three
“H
ey, Dad? Where are you?”
Evan’s hands froze where they’d been straightening his bowtie. He stood in front of the mirror in his bedroom, putting on the final touches to his black tuxedo, and the last thing he expected was for Brian to stop by his apartment. When Susan and Evan decided to divorce, he found a two-bedroom place only ten minutes away from the house they’d shared so he could still be nearby for his sons. While he had the boys over for dinner every Tuesday and Thursday, and they stayed with him every other weekend, he told them they could come over any time they wanted to visit. He was still very active in their lives, going to their baseball and lacrosse games, taking them to the movies or fishing, and giving them rides any time they needed, among other things. He and Susan even went together with Brian to look at different colleges. Susan also invited him over for dinner almost every Sunday. Evan knew, as far as divorces went, he’d gotten damn lucky. His ex-wife was one hell of a woman, and he’d be forever grateful for her understanding and compassion over the end of their marriage.
The lanky seventeen-year-old strolled into the bedroom and looked his father up and down. “Where are you going all dressed up? Another awards show?”
“Uh, no. I’m going to ... um, an art show.”
Brian sat on the edge of the queen-sized bed. “Art show? In a tux?”
“Yup. It’s a black-tie party at a gallery downtown.” He double-checked the cufflinks he put on earlier, then turned around and held out his hands. “How do I look?”
His son shrugged. “Good, I guess.”
“Thanks—I think. What’re you doing here anyway? Not that I mind you stopping by.”
Brian hesitated a moment, and then his gaze fell to the floor. “Mom let me borrow the car. She’s got a date tonight.”
Ah. Evan had encouraged Susan to start dating again, but she kept saying she hadn’t found anyone she was interested in yet. As far as Evan knew, this would be her first date since their divorce.
He took a seat next to Brian. “Do you know who it is?”
“Nope. She said she’d introduce him to us if he was still around after a few dates.”
Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly. “This is a good thing, Bri. I know it’s hard for you and Mark to think about your mom with someone other than me. But she deserves to be happy with someone who can care for her when you and your brother go off to college and the great beyond.”
“I know. It’s just weird.” He glanced at Evan’s tux again. “Are you going on a date too?”
When he finally sat his boys down and told them he was gay and it was the reason why he and Susan were divorcing, Evan swore he would never lie to them again. He’d lied to everyone and himself for years, which hurt them all. After they overcame the initial shock, he was surprised by how accepting they were. Times were changing, he guessed. While there were still plenty of people out there who hated the LGBTQ+ community, being gay didn’t have the same stigma it had many years ago, especially in the Bay Area.
“Yeah, I am. First date. Well, second—we had coffee the other night.”
“What’s his name?”
“Rico Demara. He owns a bar and restaurant downtown. It’s his friend’s art show we’re going to.”
When Brian just nodded, Evan clasped his shoulder and pulled him close for a sideways hug. “You can hang out here tonight if you want. There’s leftover pizza in the fridge.”
He shrugged again. “Maybe.”
“Where’s your brother?”
“At some girl’s birthday party.”
Evan stood and grabbed his wallet, keys, and phone from his dresser. “None of your friends are doing anything tonight?”
“Nothing I feel like doing. I thought maybe you’d want to go to a movie or something, but it’s no big deal.” He got to his feet and headed for the door.
Evan followed him. Brian’s sullen attitude bothered him, but he knew better than to push too hard to find out why. Teenagers’ mood swings for inane reasons were common. “Tell you what—let’s give your mom a break from cooking tomorrow and go to Chili’s for dinner, and then we’ll see the new James Bond movie. Sound good?”
Brian’s face lit up with a hopeful expression. “It would sound better if we saw that new horror movie, Evil Lies Within .”
“Mom hates horror movies—so does your brother.”
“But you love them as much as I do. We can split up.”
He considered that for a moment. “All right. If your mom’s cool with it, they can go see whatever they want, and we’ll see Evil Lies Within .” A glance at his watch told him he was going to be late. “Shoot, I’ve gotta run.” He put his hand on the back of Brian’s head and kissed his forehead. “Love you, kiddo. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Lock up when you leave.”
“’Kay. Have a good time.”
“Thanks.”
“Holy crap. Is that Magnus Keller talking to Scout and Alex?” Evan whispered to Rico, who chuckled as they strolled into the gallery after showing their invitation to the bouncers at the door. Yup, big, burly men blocked the door from anyone wanting to get in without the proverbial golden ticket. The large gallery buzzed with men in tuxes and women in gowns, talking and checking out the art on the walls that probably cost more than Evan made in a year. Champagne flutes and hors d'oeuvres were passed around by a smartly dressed waitstaff.
“Yeah. Want to meet him?”
He shook his head almost violently. “No ... not yet. I think I need a drink before that happens. I’d probably trip over my own tongue.”
Rico leaned over, gave him a swift kiss on the mouth, and then laughed at Evan’s blush. “I’d rather be the one tripping over your tongue.” He took Evan’s hand and gave it a gentle tug, gesturing toward a bar tucked into one corner of the main room. “C’mon. A drink first, and then we’ll rub elbows with the movie stars.”
“There are more celebrities here?” He glanced around, trying to see if he recognized anyone else famous. He spotted the mayor of San Francisco and the placekicker for the 49ers, both with their spouses. A female CBS news correspondent chatted with a man who looked familiar, but Evan couldn’t place him.
Rico subtly pointed to Evan’s right. “There’s Raven Fairbanks and Tyler Brooks.”
Evan’s steps slowed, and his eyes widened at the sight of one of the most prominent Hollywood couples of the decade. “Holy shit,’ he muttered. “Do you know them?”
“Nah. In fact, aside from Rex, Magnus, Scout, Alex, and a few others, I’ve never met most of these people.”
Evan was surprised by that since Rico looked like he fit right in with the Hollywood crowd. Dressed in a fitted tuxedo with a dark-blue jacket with black lapels over black pants, he could’ve walked off a movie set or right out of a commercial for Armani or Christian Dior. The longer strands of hair that usually hung down the center of the back of his head were pulled up into a small ponytail. He hadn’t bothered shaving his five o’clock shadow, and it was sexy as hell.
“What would you like to drink, babe?”
A warm feeling spread throughout Evan’s body at the endearment falling from Rico’s kissable lips. Damn, if he had any questions about whether he was gay or not, they would’ve fled his mind as Evan imagined Rico’s mouth around his cock. Evan didn’t care what movie stars were in the room. The man he wanted more than anything in the world stood right in front of him. He mentally shook his head, realizing that Rico and the bartender were waiting for his answer.
“Um, a gin and tonic with a twist of lime would be great,” he told the pretty woman behind the bar.
“Certainly. And for you, sir?” she asked Rico.
“Make it two.”
A few minutes later, with drinks in hand, they walked around the room, skirting partitions that created more walls to hold the displayed artworks. Rico stopped next to a man standing in front of a huge painting and talking to two women. The man was about two inches taller than Rico, and his shoulders were broader. His chestnut brown hair was cut short, as were his mustache and goatee. When the man’s gaze shifted, he saw Rico, and a grin spread across his face before his attention returned to his companions. “Ladies, it’s been a pleasure talking to you. If you’ll excuse me, I must greet my other guests.”
The women looked disappointed but still nodded, said goodbye, and walked away. The man turned, and instead of shaking Rico’s hand, he pulled him into a bear hug and slapped him on the back. “Dude, I thought you were going to blow me off.”
Rico scoffed as he stepped back. “When have I ever blown you off?”
The man tapped a finger over his closed lips and looked deep in thought for a moment before he laughed loudly. “Um, you’ve never blown me. Let’s keep it that way, shall we? Who’s this?”
Rico set a hand on his date’s shoulder. “This is Evan Calhoun. Evan, this is my friend and the man of the hour, Rex Adams.”
Rex held his hand out, and Evan shook it. “It’s nice to meet you, Rex. Rico’s told me a lot about you.” He gestured to the large painting they stood next to. “You’re a very talented artist.”
“Thank you, Evan. Tell me—what do you think about this piece? Be honest.”
Evan gulped. Talk about being put on the spot. He tried to remember what Rico told him to say if anyone asked him about a painting. “Um. I like it a lot. Your ... um, your sense of composition is great.”
When Rico and Rex burst out laughing, embarrassment flooded Evan until he realized he was set up. Rico squeezed his hand in apology. “It’s ‘sense of balance.’”
Still chuckling, Rex shook his head. “I’m just busting your chops, Evan. Trust me, Rico doesn’t know what ‘sense of balance’ means any more than most of the people here do.”
“Don’t tell me you’re embarrassing the poor guy.” Scout sidled up to them with Alex by his side. “Give him a break.”
Alex grinned at Evan. “Don’t worry—they did that to me the first time I met Rex too. I don’t know a thing about art either. My go-to phrases now are ‘It’s a beautiful composition’ and ‘The contrast is remarkable.’ Anything beyond that, I defer to Scout.”
“He doesn’t know much more than that either, but he can fake it like the best of them,” Rex said as he shook hands with the two newcomers.
“From the sounds I hear coming from their apartment, I don’t think Scout is faking it.” Magnus Keller slapped Rex’s shoulder as he joined the little group.
Laughter bubbled up again, and Alex’s cheeks burned red while Scout rolled his eyes. “He can’t hear shit, baby. I made sure the insulation between our place and his was triple what was required for that reason alone. I don’t need to hear him with his flavor of the week.”
Magnus’s famous smile spread across his face before he noticed Evan. He held out his hand, and Evan hoped his palm wasn’t sweaty when he took it. “Hi, I’m Magnus Kell?—”
“I know!” Everyone chuckled while Evan dropped his chin in mortification. Taking a deep breath, he tried to fix his blunder. “Sorry about that. What I meant to say was, hi, I’m Evan Calhoun. It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Keller.”
“Good to meet you too, Evan, and it’s Mag, please.” He gestured to Rico and leaned toward Evan conspiratorially. “For the record, he’s a keeper.”
Beside Evan, Rico groaned. “Shut it, Mag.”
“What? It’s been ages since I’ve seen you out on a date. I’m happy for you.” He turned back to Evan. “What do you do for a living?”
“I’m a broadcast engineer for KCXN Sports Radio.”
“Really? I listen to them all the time when I’m in town. Don’t tell me you work with that asshole, Savage.”
“Yup, he does,” replied Rico. His gaze met Evan’s. “See, I’m not the only one who thinks he’s an ass.”
Mag put a hand on Evan’s shoulder and leaned down to look him in the eye. “Let me tell you what that dickhead did when I ran into him at ...” He filled Evan in on an incident in a luxury suite at Levi’s Stadium before a 49ers’ football game. Once again, someone proved what a jerk Dave Savage was. Evan never liked the guy, who was a homophobe, but he usually kept that to himself since Savage was the “talent.” If anyone lost their job over a skirmish between them, it would probably be Evan.
The rest of the night out was more comfortable than Evan had expected. Mag was a really nice guy and made Evan feel welcome in their group, as did the others. Rico never strayed more than a few steps away from Evan, except for a trip to the restroom. As the evening wore on, Evan felt as if he’d known Rico’s friends forever. They were a great bunch, joking and regaling Evan with funny stories of their times together. He learned a bit more about art from Rex until the man had to mingle with the other guests looking to purchase one of his pieces. A few times, Evan found himself deep in a conversation with Alex, finding the man was easy to talk to—he was someone Evan could see becoming a good friend.
Unfortunately, several friends and family members turned their backs on him after he came out of the closet—people he thought would stick by him through thick or thin. It hurt to realize how wrong he’d been about them. But now that he started rebuilding his life, he discovered how much he didn’t miss those people. This was who he was now—who he always should’ve been. The only reason he didn’t regret exploring his sexual attraction to men at an earlier age was his two sons. Even though he lived a lie for years, one look at Brian and Mark told him it was a mistake he would’ve done over again in a heartbeat.
As they talked and wandered around the gallery, Rico introduced Evan to a few other people he knew and constantly reminded Evan he was there on a date with him by touching him in subtle ways. Sometimes, it was a brush of his fingers against Evan’s or placing his splayed hand on Evan’s back. Then, there were a few PG-13 kisses when they occasionally found themselves alone. So far, it was everything Evan had hoped a date with Rico would be, but as they said their goodbyes to everyone, he was nervous about how the night would end. Would Rico invite him in for a nightcap? Or would he tell Evan he had a good time, but he’d see him around?
After they left the gallery, he got his answer when they reached his truck, and in a flash, Rico had him pinned to the side of it, smashing his mouth down on Evan’s. Rico’s hands held Evan’s head in place, and he positioned one of his legs between Evan’s. There was no mistaking Rico’s hard-on rubbing against Evan’s hip, just shy of his own erection.
Evan moaned as his arms encircled Rico’s waist, pulling him closer as if that was even possible. They were chest to chest, pelvis to pelvis, in the middle of a municipal parking lot around the corner from the gallery. Rico inhaled him as his tongue plunged into Evan’s mouth.
“Get a room,” someone said with a chuckle from nearby as they walked past.
Rico eased his mouth from Evan’s before barking, “Fuck you, Scout.”
“Not in this lifetime, my friend. Have a good night.” The amusement in the man’s voice was hard to miss.
Evan tried to catch his breath as his heart pounded in his chest. He stared into Rico’s passion-heavy eyes. Rico gently rubbed a thumb over Evan’s swollen mouth and whispered, “Come home with me.”
There was no question about his response.