14
L awrence glanced at the clock on his computer screen. He was leaving early to pick up his dad from the airport and was supposed to go in fifteen minutes. He was still in a web conference that should have ended ten minutes ago. He hated it for them if it wasn’t over in the next fifteen minutes, but he would log out.
Five minutes later, the meeting ended, and Lawrence changed his outgoing email response since he’d taken Friday off. He ensured there weren’t any emails that needed a response from him before he left. He grabbed his wallet and phone from his top drawer, where he kept it while in a meeting, locked everything up, and decided to head out. The cleaning crew would come over the weekend, so he left his office door open.
Lawrence waved and said goodbye as he passed the different offices. He stepped onto the elevator and rode it two floors to the lobby.
Once in his car, he headed to Denver International Airport. He pulled into the waiting lane and checked the time. His father’s flight should have landed ten minutes ago. Taking out his phone, he sent him a text, telling him where he was parked and the make and model of his car since he’d gotten a new one since the last time he’d seen his father.
He didn’t have to wait too long before he saw him coming toward his car. Lawrence popped his trunk and got out, waving at his dad as he approached.
“Good to see you, son,” Dennis stated, pulling him into a hug .
“You too, Dad,” Lawrence responded. “Let’s put your bag in the trunk.”
Lawrence lifted the trunk, and his father put his suitcase in. They got into the car, and Lawrence asked him which hotel he was staying at. It wasn’t far from the airport, and Lawrence was familiar with it.
“How’s your job been going?” Dennis asked as they drove.
“It’s good. I hope to close a couple more of my contracts over the next few weeks. How are things going with work for you?”
“Same old, same old. I think I’m going to retire next year.”
Lawrence was a bit shocked to hear that. His father had worked at the same newspaper since he was young and loved what he did even when they'd lived in a different state. He’d even said once that he would probably die at his desk. So, the fact that he was thinking about retiring now was a complete one-eighty.
“Wow. I didn’t think that would ever happen.”
“Me either, but I’m getting older and want to see more of the world. I’ve spent most of my life in two places and want to see more. Maybe find someone to travel and spend my golden years with.”
Lawrence didn’t say anything to that. His father and mother’s separation was always a sore spot for his father. He didn’t think the older man had ever gotten over it. Lawrence wasn’t sure why they’d divorced but was told they had issues they couldn’t work through.
“Traveling the world sounds nice,” Lawrence chose to respond.
They listened to music for the rest of the short ride, and a few minutes later, they pulled into the hotel’s parking lot. Lawrence pulled up to the door and popped the trunk. He told his dad he would wait there while he checked in and dropped his bag in his room. Then they could go to lunch, and he could drive him around and show him things that had changed since his last visit.
L awrence was sitting on his couch with his father that evening as they watched Shaft . Samuel L Jackson was one of his father’s favorite actors, and Lawrence grew up watching anything he was in because of it .
There was a knock on his door, and he furrowed his brow as he checked his phone. He’d ordered dinner for them ten minutes ago, but he knew it usually took the place he ordered it from forty-five minutes. Seeing the time, he figured it was his neighbor to the right if you were coming out of his apartment. She’d come over a few times while cooking when she needed something opened.
Lawrence opened the door to find Remy standing on the other side. He leaned in to kiss him, and unconsciously, Lawrence leaned back. He glanced at his father, whose eyes were still on the television.
He placed his hand on Remy’s chest and pushed him backward, closing the door behind him. Remy raised a questioning brow at Lawrence.
“Hey,” Lawrence greeted.
“Hey, is this a bad time?” Remy asked. “I would have called, but you told me you didn’t mind my visits, and I brought dinner.”
“My…dad is here,” Lawrence told him. “And he doesn’t know that I’m dating someone. So...”
Lawrence watched as Remy studied him with those deep brown eyes. He shook his head, scoffed out a laugh, and then nodded.
“Yeah, okay,” Remy responded.
Lawrence cursed himself mentally because he realized how that sounded. “I just haven’t told him yet, but I will.” Remy remained quiet, and Lawrence shifted under his intense gaze. “Come inside; I can introduce you.”
“How?”
Lawrence furrowed his brow. “What do you mean how?”
“How do you plan on introducing me?”
Lawrence licked his lips because, for some reason, they felt dry all of a sudden. Remy was asking if he planned on introducing him as the person he was dating, his boyfriend, or his friend.
“I…well, since he doesn't know, it might be better to—”
Remy turned and began to leave, cutting his sentence short, and Lawrence followed him down the hall.
“Remy, wait.” Lawrence stepped in front of him. “Just come inside.”
“So, you can introduce me as your friend? I’ll pass.”
“Remy— ”
“I don’t fuck my friends,” Remy cut him off.
“But it’s okay when you planned on just fucking me for a night,” Lawrence found himself shooting back.
Remy’s jaw ticked, and he said something in Creole that Lawrence didn’t understand, and honestly, he wasn’t sure he wanted to. He wasn’t trying to make him mad. He needed to find the right time to tell his father they were dating. He hadn’t yet because he didn’t want to deal with his father asking him if he’d been going to church or reading his bible because if he had, he wouldn’t have the urges he did.
“I don’t want to argue,” Lawrence told him after releasing a sigh.
“Good, because I don’t plan to.”
With that, Remy stepped around him, and instead of waiting on the elevator, Lawrence watched him leave through the door leading to the stairs.
Lawrence went back into his apartment. He was glad his dad didn’t ask who was at the door because while he wanted to tell him about Remy, he didn’t want to deal with what he knew would come immediately after. He also wasn’t sure if there was anything to tell based on how their conversation had just ended.
Picking up his phone, he called Remy. It rang a few times before going to voicemail. Lawrence didn’t bother leaving one. Instead, he sent him a text. If he didn’t get a response, he would text Alijah to see if she could get him on Remy’s schedule tomorrow without telling him.
Placing his phone back down, he leaned back against the couch, his focus far from the movie.
R emy leaned back in his chair, staring at his computer screen, but he wasn’t seeing much of it. His mind had been occupied all day with what had happened with Lawrence the evening before. He wasn’t sure if he should have been as irritated as he was with him. However, Remy felt Lawrence wanted to keep him a secret because he knew the other man was out .
He hadn’t demanded that Lawrence introduce him to his father, and Remy would have allowed him to do that when he was ready. It was the fact that he knew Lawrence would introduce him as a friend.
Remy knew he could have tried to be a bit more understanding because he didn’t know the situation between Lawrence and his dad, but he wouldn’t have done that to him because Remy had no intention of hiding him, the way he felt he’d been hidden yesterday.
His computer chiming drew him out of his haze, and Remy opened the email he’d just gotten. They were expense reports from Carlos, and Remy decided he would look them over in his last hour of work. Since Kieran informed him he was trying to balance work and life, Remy took on particular expense reports to take them off Kieran’s plate.
“Mr. Price,” Chloe’s voice came over his phone. “You’re two-thirty is here.”
Remy furrowed his brow. When she went over his schedule with him that morning, he didn’t have a meeting scheduled at that time. She may have put it in after that, and while he usually consulted his schedule throughout the day, it was something he hadn’t done that day.
“Show them in, please, Chloe,” Remy responded.
He only had to wait a moment before the door opened, and Chloe led Lawrence in. Remy stared at the other man, and he thanked Chloe. Once she stepped out and closed the door, Lawrence went to one of the chairs at his desk and sat down. There was silence between them, and Remy wouldn’t break it.
“How’s work going?” Lawrence asked.
“It’s fine,” Remy replied. “Is that what you made an appointment to ask me?”
“No, I made the appointment because you didn’t text me back or answer my call.”
Remy remained quiet. He hadn’t wanted to hear whatever excuse Lawrence would give him, and admittedly, he was probably more upset than he should have been.
“I know I upset you by wanting to introduce you as a friend. I just needed time to tell my dad that we were dating. While he knows that I’m gay, it’s always a taboo subject with him when I bring up someone I’m dating.”
“That’s what you should have told me,” Remy said. “That, I can understand. Instead, you made me seem like your dirty little secret.”
“You’re right. That wasn’t my intention, and I apologize.” Lawrence paused for a moment. “Come to dinner tonight with my dad and me. I’ll tell him we’re dating.”
Remy pushed his chair back and stood, walking around the desk. He stood in front of Lawrence, leaning against it.
“I’ll go if you’re ready to tell him.”
“I am.”
“And we aren’t dating,” Remy told him. He watched as confusion entered Lawrence’s eyes. “We’re in a relationship.”
“Those mean the same things,” Lawrence stated.
“They don’t. If we’re dating, we aren’t exclusive and can date other people. I’m not having that shit.” Remy gripped Lawrence’s chin and leaned down, kissing his lips. “Next time, just tell me what’s going on.” Lawrence nodded, and he kissed him again. “Let me know where and what time tonight, and I’ll meet you there.”
“Okay,” Lawrence responded, standing. “I’ll see you tonight.”
Remy watched him walk to the door, returning to his chair when it closed. He could understand Lawrence’s situation with his father and wished he’d told him yesterday. He wouldn’t have spent the night upset, and Lawrence wouldn’t have needed to apologize. Either way, Remy would prepare himself for dinner because if Lawrence’s sexuality was an issue, he wanted to be ready for anything that could happen.
R emy sat at the table, waiting for Lawrence and his dad to arrive. He’d gotten to the restaurant a few minutes early, and the hostess sat him. The server stopped by, bringing water to the table, and he told her he was waiting on other people. At seven-thirty, Remy saw Lawrence walk in with a slightly shorter man.
He stood when they reached the table, and Remy tipped Lawrence’s chin up. He leaned in slowly to see if he would stop him, and when he didn’t, Remy kissed him softly .
“Dad, this is my boyfriend, Remy. Remy, this is my dad, Dennis.”
Remy held his hand out, and the other man took it. “Nice to meet you,” Remy greeted.
“Same here,” Dennis responded, and the three sat. However, his tone of voice and the weakness of his handshake told Remy differently. “So, how long have the two of you been friends?”
“We’ve been together for a couple of months,” Lawrence responded.
Remy nodded in agreement as their server returned to the table. They ordered drinks, and Remy watched Dennis pick up his menu.
“Remy,” Lawrence called, gaining his attention.
“Yeah, baby?”
“What dish did you bring me from here a few weeks ago?”
“The braised duck.”
“Yes, that was it. I think I’ll get that. Thank you, babe.”
Remy turned his attention to his menu, deciding what he wanted. When the server returned with their drinks, they were ready to order.
“Remy, I detect a slight accent. Where are you from?” Dennis questioned.
“Haiti,” Remy responded.
“And what do you do for a living?”
“I’m the vice president of operations at Cayman Industries.”
Dennis nodded. “And does your family know that you like…”
When Dennis trailed off, Remy raised a brow. Does my family know that I like to throw dick into your son’s stomach? Remy thought but was thankfully able to bite his tongue against saying.
“Yes, they know I’m gay,” he said instead.
“I see. Well, you should visit with Lawrence soon, and we can all go to church together.”
Remy refrained from rolling his eyes while Lawrence cleared his throat and changed the subject. It seemed that he’d been prepared for his father to bring that up, and Remy figured it often happened when Lawrence’s sexuality was the topic.
Nothing Dennis said was going to get to or offend him. Remy was secure in his sexuality, and he didn’t care who didn’t like it or whom it offended. Dennis was included in that group. He was content to get through the evening, ignoring whatever slick comments Dennis made, as long as they weren’t to or didn’t upset Lawrence. Then, Remy would have a problem with it.
They were almost through dinner, and Remy had lost count of how often Dennis brought up them going to church with him or different scriptures. He could tell that Lawrence was getting annoyed. So, Remy decided that if Dennis considered their being together a sin, he would give him even more reason to think so.
“After you drop your dad off, come by my place,” Remy stated.
“Okay, do you want me to pick up anything?”
Remy smirked at Lawrence before placing his lips to his ear and whispering in a way that he knew Dennis would still hear him. “We’re almost out of condoms. Grab two boxes because I plan on going through half of one tonight.”
He nipped Lawrence’s earlobe and turned his attention back across the table to Dennis, staring him in the eyes. Remy wondered if he would say something, but he didn’t. It didn’t matter; he wasn’t saying it to get a rise out of Dennis. He had every intention of keeping his word.