Sums of the Heart (Luv by Numbers #1)

3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Cade

On Tuesday morning, there was a soft knock on the door as Cade was dressing, having just showered. The cable guy had come the previous afternoon, and Jax had convinced the man to move the hookup and box to the center of the room so Cade could put his television on a turning stand to be able to watch it from his bed or from the futon in the living room.

After the cable man left, the two of them had gone downstairs, and Cade had listened as Jax had spoken with Darren, the rude concierge. Cade hadn’t caught the exact moment it had happened, but he was pretty sure money had changed hands on his behalf. While he had hated the idea of it, Cade thought it was sweet of Jax to try to grease the wheels with Darren.

Cade opened the door, expecting to see the hot redhead, but he was met with the sophisticated blond with the haunting blue eyes. “Hi, Kincade. Am I disturbing you?” The dulcet tone of Ford’s voice had Cade pulling his T-shirt down over his shorts. The man had him immediately sprung.

“Oh, no. Come in, please.” Cade’s voice sounded high and squeaky with nerves.

When he’d met Ford Thomas, Cade hadn’t failed to notice the man had a polished look about him with his hair slicked back with product and a clean-shaven face. He was strikingly handsome in a Ralph Lauren model kind of way.

The man standing in front of him with the damp, disheveled hair, torn jeans, and tight Rolling Stones T-shirt nearly had him on his knees weeping with joy. It was seriously unfair for God to put two such beautiful creatures as Jackson Delacroix and Ford Thomas together and move Cade into the apartment across the hall. It was no wonder the two handsome men were stalked by the paps in Cabo.

Ford glided in gracefully, scanning the studio apartment. “This is shaping up nicely. You need some pictures, which I’m sure you’ll get over time, but this isn’t half bad as starter places go. You should have seen the pit Jax and I lived in when we were at Tulane. I mean, we were horrible at keeping up with our mess, though Jax is still a slob which is why we hired a housekeeper, but back in the day—it still grosses me out when I think about it.”

The handsome man got a faraway look in his eyes as if he was seeing the place again. The slow smile he wore was beautiful.

“Anyway, I wondered if you’d allow me to take you out for lunch in thanks for keeping Jax occupied yesterday? I never know what he’ll get up to when I’m gone, and with the shit from Cabo, he’s just looking for a fight, really. I’d like to take you to my club and show you around if you don’t mind enduring my flagrant bragging. I’m incredibly proud of it.” Ford’s grin matched the sentiment.

The offer was too good to refuse. “Oh, um… That sounds like fun. Let me go change.” Cade glanced down at his old jersey shorts and the stretched-out T-shirt he was wearing.

“Sure. Nothing fancy, okay? I’m just going to change my shirt and put on some shoes. I’m taking you to a little café not far from the club. The food’s great, and a lot of the people who work for me eat there. It’s homestyle.”

“Sounds great. I’ll be over in a few if that’s okay?” Cade had enjoyed spending time with Jax, though he felt confused a lot of the time the two were together.

Cade was, however, looking forward to spending time with Ford. The two men seemed to want to get to know him separately, and he was happy about it. He liked friends.

Fifteen minutes later, Cade knocked on 2D’s door. When Ford answered, he greeted the younger man with a sexy grin. “Well, now, don’t you look gorgeous. I’ll have to watch out if we run into any of my dancers because they’ll love you.” Cade doubted it was the truth, but he appreciated the compliment.

The two of them went to the garage, and instead of hopping into the Hummer, they approached a sleek, white BMW. It was pristine, and Cade’s breath caught a little. It was the kind of car his father drove and the sort he wanted to dream about owning someday but didn’t dare.

The stupid thing had to cost nearly a hundred grand, which was a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a vehicle, though if he had to guess, Jax’s Hummer had to be at least that or more. It seemed his neighbors liked expensive cars. Cade told himself he wasn’t envious… much.

“This car is fantastic.” The locks released with a beep.

Ford grinned at him. “Jax gave it to me for my birthday. It’s a little more than I’d have bought, but I learned that I have to be careful what I say around him. If I say it’s something I want, he’ll bend over backward to see I have it. It’s like he’s trying to make up for the fact that we can’t have a normal life due to his job. He’s always been that way.” Cade noticed a dip of disappointment in Ford’s tone.

“Oh, that’s right. You guys met in college?” They headed out of the garage and onto the street leading to Andersonville. It was within walking distance of where they lived, but Cade didn’t know exactly where the club was located, so he didn’t say anything.

“We did. Two little lost freshmen. I’m sure Jax has already bored you with that crap. I’ll tell you something he doesn’t like to talk about. What happened in Cabo. See, we’d been wanting to go away for a vacation for a few years, and a few times we’d snuck off on our own and been fine.” Cade nodded, so Ford continued.

“Unfortunately, Jax got a stalker, and he thinks it was at the behest of that woman, Brenda Sloan, who works for your father. She’s dogged him for years trying to get him to leave his money guy and let her invest for him, or at least date her. When he told her to buzz off on both counts…though not so politely… some asshole started showing up around our other apartment with a camera. We couldn’t go anywhere together, you see.”

“That’s terrible. I hate that for you guys.” Cade meant what he said.

Ford shrugged. “We flew separately to Cabo, but the jerk followed one or the other of us and got those awful pictures of us. They didn’t show much but the tabloid media took it viral and made it so much worse than it actually needed to be. The bastard tried to blackmail Jax, but the big man wouldn’t have it, as you could imagine. So, instead of letting them break the story to cause a major scandal that could be detrimental to his career, Jax showed up at minicamp and held a press conference, outing himself in hopes of getting ahead of the story.”

Cade’s eyes grew large. “No way?”

Ford chuckled. “You’ve met the man. Of course, the Chicago club didn’t know what to do with him after he came out, so they remained silent when pushed by the press. Jax won’t own up to it, but I think he struck a deal along the lines of as long as he doesn’t have any more pictures surface of the two of us together, they won’t find a reason to cut him. He wants to go into free agency, and he’s worked hard for it. He deserves it.” Ford’s explanation answered a lot of Cade’s questions regarding why Ford agreed to let Jax keep him hidden.

Cade blushed as he thought about what he wanted to say, but he didn’t hold his tongue. “I don’t know how anyone could deny either of you as a boyfriend, but I guess I understand Jax’s position on the matter. I know nothing about football, though I’ve been told by Raney to watch a lot more ESPN and a lot less Lifetime or E! I play tennis, a little golf, and have been a member of my father’s company softball team in the past, but I'm not going to play this year. I hope I’ll learn about the game from you guys.”

Ford laughed as he pulled into a parking lot. There was a dark purple building with lavender trim in front of them. A neon sign sat atop the building, which was lit up, but in the bright sunshine, it was difficult to make out the club’s name. The image below it was easier to see—a pig dressed in a fairy costume with a rainbow striped wig, pink wings, and what appeared to be a gold, sparkling wand. It was surprising, and Cade couldn’t hold the laugh. “Oh, I can’t wait to see the inside of this place.” He released his seat belt.

“I hope this is just the first visit of many, Cade. I’d like to see a lot more of you if we can work it out. I know you have a new job and all, but with training camp coming up, Jax will be gone or crazy busy, and I’d love to have someone to hang out with. I don’t have a lot of friends, just employees. It would be nice to have someone to spend time with who I don’t have to pay.”

Of course, Cade was stunned, but he could understand the need to have a friend. When he and Raney had been apart, he’d missed his bestie. Cade had other friends in college, but they hadn’t been the sticking kind. Everyone needed a friend, and as he looked at Ford Thomas, he could see the man needed companionship when Jax was busy with football.

The two men made their way to the building, and as they walked inside, Ford put his arm around Cade’s shoulders, guiding him into the establishment. Cade could see men on the stage at the back of the room working out some sort of choreography. There were people cleaning and restocking behind the bar, and a man wandering around the empty space spraying something against the baseboards.

“What’s he doing?” Cade pointed toward the man dressed in green chinos and a white shirt.

“Oh, we have an infiltration of ants. He’s the exterminator. I need to talk to him. Let me introduce you to Cleveland, my bar manager. You can get something to drink while I deal with this other bull.” Ford led him to the bar, prompting him to sit on a nice leather stool at the end.

“This will be your stool if you come in again. My office is just up there,” Ford pointed to a door on the second floor. There were mirrors lining the wall which confused Cade.

“What’s with the mirrors?” Cade plopped onto the seat.

Ford laughed. “Two-way glass. I can see out, but nobody can see in. I’ll be back.” He kissed Cade on the forehead and took off toward the exterminator.

A huge man with a bald head and gorgeous light blue eyes walked up to him and smiled. “What can I get ya, sir?”

Cade contemplated the question, but when he looked at the clock over the bar, he saw it was barely past eleven in the morning. “Do you have tea? I wouldn’t mind a glass of tea.”

The man chuckled and stuck out his hand. “I’m Cleveland Oakes. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ll get your tea.” Cade shook his hand in return.

It was nice to meet more people. Cade had promised himself after he graduated college and left behind his few friends that he’d try to be more social on his new path in life. His plan was shaping up nicely… with Jax and Ford’s help.

Thirty minutes later, Cade was sipping his tea through a purple straw and totally engrossed in the activity on the stage. He was pretty sure what they were trying to accomplish, but there was a miscommunication somewhere.

The choreographer was a short-tempered man, tall in stature and small in patience. “ No! No! Fuck, you don’t know right from left.”

The man was yelling at the top of his voice as he motioned to stop the music for the third time. The dancers paused to catch their breath, each looking more miserable than the next.

Cade watched as the lithe choreographer slowly walked the group through the steps again. It was a Madonna song, and it was one Cade loved to dance to, back during his club-kid days. He had taken a jazz dance class as an elective during his senior year of college, so he’d learned a few technical terms, which helped him understand what the crabby choreographer was trying to accomplish. The man wasn’t going about it very respectfully.

Cade watched the man on the stage as he did some dips, high-kicks, and hand gestures, but it was so lame he couldn’t keep himself on the stool. “Um, hi? I’m Cade. I used to…” Cade introduced himself to the man, but the guy appeared ready to punch him.

Cade signaled to the guy running the sound system to start the song over again. Cade went through a little routine he’d perfected a long time ago. When the song went into the French lyrics, he glammed it up and closed his eyes, forgetting all the troubles he had resting on his shoulders. It was his time to shine.

As the strains of “Express Yourself” faded, Cade found himself on his knees. He opened his eyes to see Ford clapping along with Cleveland. Cade turned to the offended-looking choreographer and smiled shyly. “I’m sorry, but I love that song. It reminds me of my time spent as a club kid.” Cade quietly hopped up from the floor.

The choreographer flipped his manicured hand through his long hair and huffed. “That’s so yesterday.” He turned to walk over to the dancers.

“It’s Madonna, for crap’s sake. Bless the fairy godmother to a lot of us twinks. A whole generation of gay boys used her music to define us and hone our stud-hunting skills. We didn’t pick up butch guys with that shit you were doing.” Cade jutted his chin and stomped back to his stool.

Laughter rang through the club, and Cade knew he’d overstepped a line. He turned to Ford and smiled. “Sorry. I mean, I used to be a club boy before I got serious about my studies, and I did take a jazz dancing class in college. Madonna and Gaga were my influences… hell, still are, but I don’t do the club scene any longer.”

Some twink chuckled. “Sugar, in that ensemble, it’s a wonder you could get a cab to pick you up.” Cade laughed because the guy reminded him of himself a few years prior.

He stepped forward and smiled at the shorter—than him—guy. “I’m Kincade Hayes. I’m Ford’s neighbor.”

The young man appeared to be about twenty, which wasn’t that much younger than Cade. His sassy confidence gave the impression the young guy was new to the city and unsure of himself as a dancer, though he’d been enthusiastic with the shitty routine the other guy was trying to get the dancers to perform. Starting as a go-go boy in Chicago wasn’t the worst he could do.

The guy bowed deeply before extending his hand. “I’m Griffon Summers. Sorry for the snarky comment. You were right about the choreography. I could do so much more with this.”

“Like what?” Cade totally forgot Ford was sitting at a table next to the stage. Cade remembered dancing at Cosmos, his favorite haunt, to fill in from time to time, especially around the holidays for some extra money. He’d loved it, and if Marcus hadn’t found out about it after they’d started dating… That was old news. Time to move on.

Griffon suddenly became animated. “Oh, I have so many ideas. Like, we could do three-song sets. Get a drag queen to be the singer for Ariana, Olivia, Madonna, Gaga, JLo, Adele… well, her songs aren’t exactly happy, but I love her voice. Anyway, we work sets and routines around the queens. I mean, Madonna’s catalog alone lends itself to all different types of dances and costumes.”

Cade turned to Ford, who smiled. “I have drag queens on standby. You tell me what you want, and I’ll get on the phone, Kincade.”

For the next three hours, Cade worked with Griffon Summers, if that was his real name, and the other dancers. They went through music, dance moves, and playlists with the DJ, Cyrus.

They put together a whole show in a matter of hours and presented it to Ford. “So, you said you have drag queens. These are the ones you’ll need. I’d say they need a few days to practice with the club dancers, but if they’re not prima donnas and are willing to share the stage, you should have quality shows. Oh, and you’ll need an emcee.” Cade took a sip from the bottle of water Ford offered, along with a towel.

“I’m curious. Do you always go headlong into things you enjoy?” Ford had an inquisitive smirk as if he already knew the answer.

Cade laughed. “Why would one go about their life any other way except full throttle?”

Ford led him down the stairs to the club floor and over to a table where a pitcher of tea and two fresh glasses awaited them. They sat at the table and watched as Griffon put the dancers through their paces, improvising from the original routine, but not before he glanced at Cade for an approving smile.

“So, you were a dancer?” Ford sat on the same side of the bench as Cade, watching the rehearsal on the stage.

Cade laughed. “Oh, in my twink days, I thought myself quite the dancer, but no, I’m just a guy who loves to dance in my bedroom when I get bored or, during college, frustrated. I had a boyfriend… Well, that doesn’t matter.” Cade turned back to the activity on the stage.

He felt a warm hand on his shoulder, and he turned to look at the gentle smile on Ford’s face. “No, it does matter, Kincade. Tell me about this boyfriend.”

Cade closed his eyes, and there behind his lids, it was happening all over again.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Marcus hissed at him as he jerked his arm, causing Cade to flinch at the sharp pain shooting up through his shoulder. Cade was at a club off campus with his friends for a birthday party. He’d sent Marcus a text to meet him there for dancing, and he was excited with the response came that he’d be there in fifteen. Cade had no idea it meant he’d be pissed.

“I’m having fun with my friends from school. We’re having fun before the new term starts. Come and dance with me.” Cade moved closer to his boyfriend, trying to gently release Marcus’ iron grip on his bicep.

“What’s with the fuckin’ makeup?”

The anger on Marcus’ face was the first indication that his boyfriend wouldn’t like the twink side of him. He hadn’t been in full flutter when they’d met at the coffee house Cade used to complete his homework. Marcus worked there, and they got along well.

Cade was just happy the larger man had given him the time of day. Unfortunately, he'd come to learn the man was a self-hating homosexual who would make Cade rue the day they’d ever met.

When he opened his eyes, Cade smiled at the handsome man next to him. “It’s all water under the bridge. Nothing to worry about. He didn’t like my friends, and eventually, we broke up.”

“Where’s he now?”

Cade wasn’t about to tell the awful tale, so he smiled in return. “Oh, who knows? Anyway, you mentioned food, and I’m starving.”

Cade hoped to change the subject. Ford seemed to have a possessive nature, not unlike Jax. It was definitely premature as far as their friendship was concerned, so Cade attempted to move the conversation along. Whether it worked or not, he wasn’t exactly sure, but it was worth a try.

On Sunday night, Cade climbed into the bed that had resided in 2D’s spare room a few days prior, exhausted over the busy week he’d had since moving into his apartment. He was determined to get a better night’s sleep than he’d had since he’d moved in, but his brain refused to shut down and was driving him crazy.

He’d spent time with Jax and Ford the previous week, which had been fun. Both men left him perplexed, but he needed to get his rest because he had a new boss to meet the next morning who was definitely a type-A personality.

Based on what he’d learned at the boot-camp-style training Cade had endured at the hands of the office manager, Ms. Hill, and the senior administrative assistant, Fiona Porter, he knew he’d be working hard.

Cade took an immediate liking to Fiona because, while she was a beautiful, glamorous woman with a strong personality, she had an air of fairness and reasonability that gave him the impression he could learn the business from her.

From reading about his new boss in online trade publications, he’d learned Clarence Radcliffe was forty-eight. He’d been married twice. His first wife was the same age as Cade’s mother., and they had two kids in high school. His second wife was thirty, and the two had a baby on the way.

They lived somewhere in Deerfield, an affluent suburb, while the first Mrs. Radcliffe had moved to New York. Cade had suffered the aggressive training sessions Ms. Hill and Fiona had put him through to prepare him for the brief breakfast meeting he was to have with Mr. Radcliffe , but he was still nervous.

Once awake, he hurried through his morning routine and donned the new suit his mother had bought him a few weeks earlier. He needed to call her and touch base, but at present, he wasn’t exactly sure of her whereabouts because she was going on a trip after his graduation—which his father had skipped. When his mother showed up, she had news for him, but she’d wait to discuss things until she returned from her trip. Cade wondered what the hell she was going to tell him.

At the front door to his apartment, Cade found a bag hanging from the doorknob. He grabbed it and took off for the CTA station down the block. Once he settled into a seat on the train, he opened the gift bag and found a plaid thermos bottle like the one his maternal grandfather, Herman, used to take to work with him on the lake. He’d been a tugboat captain, and sometimes, Cade got to work with him while staying with his grandparents over the summer when his parents traveled. Cade missed his grandparents because they passed within six months of each other when he was about thirteen.

The bag contained a sheet of heavy eggshell-white paper. There was a handwritten note inside, and as he read it, Cade couldn’t hide the smile.

Cade giggled, thinking it sounded exactly like Jax to make such a statement. He spent the rest of the train ride—all ten minutes until his transfer—thinking about his incredible neighbors.

They’d been very nice to him. Hell, that was an understatement. They’d made him feel at home in his new apartment, and they’d taken him under their wings, so to speak, without seeming to want anything in return. It was unlike his usual transactional relationship with his father.

While Hudson Hayes would never win any awards for Father of the Year, he’d taught Cade a few lessons by example, not through any overt action designed to teach him to be a better man. One lesson, in particular, stuck out as being rather huge.

When Cade was sixteen, his father had been spending more time away from home for reasons no one bothered to explain to him. His mother, Katrina, had been busy in her own right, which wasn’t unusual.

One time, his father phoned to tell Cade he wanted to spend the upcoming holiday weekend together. Hudson took Kincade to meet his friend, Cheryl, and her two kids, and immediately the hairs stood on the back of Cade’s neck, signaling something was fishy.

He hadn’t seen nor spoken with his father since Christmas, being told by the family cook and housekeeper his father was working on a large deal in Chicago and staying in corporate housing. The fact his father remembered he had a son at all surprised Cade.

Hudson had driven out to Naperville to pick him up and bring him to Chicago for the Fourth of July weekend. When they arrived at the nice home in a pleasant neighborhood with children running around playing with sparklers, Cade was excited to spend time with his father.

That was until Hudson had let them into the house with his own key and a little boy with brown hair and a little girl with blonde hair ran up to his father and hugged him around the legs, calling him Daddy.

“This is Ashton, and this is Amy. I need you to babysit them this weekend because I need to take their mother with me on a business trip. This stays between us, Kincade. I’ll leave you money and contact information,” his father had told him as a beautiful, young blonde woman breezed into the room and kissed Hudson on the lips.

The lesson Hudson taught Kincade that weekend was nobody did kind things for anyone without wanting something in return. The other lesson was people hurt other people without trying… or caring too much.

What Jax and Ford wanted from him, Cade couldn’t fathom, so he guessed he’d just have to wait and see the price he’d have to pay.

Cade ran down the stairs from the “L” to the street below, hurrying toward the high rise where his new job awaited. As he turned the corner, a sea of flashing lights from unmarked government vehicles and police cars caught his attention. A crowd of people stood around the entrance of his office building behind yellow police tape.

He needled his way through the crowd to the no-trespassing line in front, where he could see federal officers milling around outside the building, along with Chicago’s finest in blue. As the noise level of the crowd rose, Cade turned to see Ms. Hill coming out with a female officer holding onto her arm to guide her because her hands were handcuffed in front of her.

Next out was Mr. Radcliffe, but he was handcuffed behind his back with federal agents flanking him on either side. What was happening, Cade didn’t know, but he needed to find out. All signs were pointing to the fact it wasn’t going to be a good day at work.