Chapter 27
“Shower?” I asked. It was almost eight-thirty, and we had to be at Moonlight by eleven. Zach was covered in my cum, and I was still sticky from the night before.
Zach’s eyes lit up. “Together?”
I had to laugh, mostly at myself. I’d made all sorts of assumptions about how Zach would react to having sex with a man for the first time, and none of them had come to pass. “It’ll be a tight fit, but we can make it work,” I said. I got off the bed and held out my hand.
Zach took my hand and pulled me down on top of him. I squealed and then groaned when he took my lips in a heated kiss. “I don’t mind a tight fit,” he said, palming my ass, his voice husky.
I pushed up on my hands and just stared at him in bemusement.
“What’s that look for?” he asked.
“You seem to be taking this awfully well for someone who just figured out they’re not straight.”
His lips twitched up in a smile. “Probably bisexual.” He shrugged. “I don’t one hundred percent know why I’m not freaked out, but I have an idea.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
His mouth turned down in a frown. “Remember I told you about what happened to Robbie?” I nodded. “Well, I’m pretty sure I had feelings for him back then. But when my dad found out I stopped the beating, he told me I should have let them finish the job.”
My stomach roiled. “Jesus,” I breathed.
He nodded. “Yeah. I’m guessing I shoved down any feelings I might have had for guys after that.”
“But why now? Why me?” I asked. “After all these years, you just decided on me?”
Zach’s smile was so sweet when he answered. “I like you. You’re funny and smart. And you’re just always yourself. You don’t pretend to be someone you’re not.”
My chest felt tight, and I had to blink back tears. “That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.” I lowered myself so I was lying on top of him again. I loved the feeling of his big body against mine. I ran my fingers through the dark hair on his chest. “We’ll never get to work on time if we keep this up.”
He wrapped his arms around me and sighed. “I know. Just a few more minutes, and then we can shower.”
A few minutes turned into half an hour, and we almost didn’t make it on time because the shower turned into mutual hand jobs. We took one car because Zach decided to invite Robbie to meet him at Moonlight at the end of his shift, and then I would join them once my shift was over.
When we got out of the car and headed toward the hotel, Zach held out his hand and asked, “Is it okay if I hold your hand?”
I slid my hand into his. “I’m fine with it. Are you sure you’re okay with outing yourself?”
Zach shrugged. “I’m not going to make some big announcement.” He brought my hand up to his lips. “This is enough. People will see and know we’re together.”
And just like that, Zach declared himself mine. No fanfare. No grand gesture. Just his hand held out for me to take. My throat constricted and I blinked back tears. I squeezed the big, warm hand that held mine. “Okay,” I said hoarsely. “Then let’s go show them.”
When Carrie saw us walk in, she squealed and clapped her hands. “Oh my god! I was right!” She hugged us both enthusiastically. “You two make such a cute couple.”
Zach blushed to the roots of his hair. “Thanks, Carrie.”
Chef Joanna, who had just walked into the dining room, pumped her fist and said, “Yes!” Then she high-fived Carrie. “It’s about time you two got your heads out of your asses.”
“Hey!” I objected. I pointed at Zach. “He was straight.”
Chef Joanna raised an eyebrow. “Clearly not.”
Considering what we’d gotten up to the night before and this morning, I had to agree wholeheartedly. I tried to suppress my smile and redirect her attention. “What are you doing here on a Saturday morning?”
“We have a couple coming in for a tasting to see if they want to book their wedding here.”
“What’s all the commotion?” I heard Sean ask from behind us.
I turned to face him, but before I could say anything, Joanna said, “Miguel and Zach finally got their act together.”
He frowned, and for a split second, I thought we’d be in trouble for dating a work colleague. Then he rolled his eyes and said, “Great. Now I owe Liam twenty bucks, and he’s going to hold it over my head.”
I blinked in surprise. “Wait. You bet on us getting together?”
I turned to look at Zach, who was staring at Sean. Zach shook his head and said, “I feel like I’ve fallen into an alternate universe.”
Sean clapped him on the back. “Nah. You just joined the Alphabet Mafia.” He turned to Joanna. “The couple is here with their parents. I set them up in the small meeting room.”
“On it,” Joanna said as she walked toward the kitchen.
Zach gestured to the bar. “I have to prep for brunch.” He cupped my cheek and gave me a sweet kiss. “I’ll see you later.”
Carrie sighed and fanned herself. “Goodness. You’re so lucky. Zach is a sweetheart.”
“Yes, I am, and yes, he is.”
Sean put his hand on my shoulder. “I got the mockups for the flyer for Albert’s show. I’d like you to take a look at them. If you think he’ll like them, I want to get him on a video call to finalize the opening act and the pianist so I can add their names to the advertisement. I want to get this up within the next few days.”
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll text him to let him know we’ll be calling. He’ll want to pretty himself up.”
Me
I’m with Sean O’Neil. We’re about to look at the mockups for the ads for your show. He wants to do a video call with you.
Albert
I just got up. I’ll need half an hour.
Me
Ok. And afterward, I’ll be calling you. I have some news.
Albert
Oooh, I hope it’s juicy and full of sexy details.
Me
*devil emoji* *eggplant emoji* *water-splash emoji*
I snickered and put my phone back in my pocket. Sean was looking at me with a smirk on his face. “What?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Nothing. You look happy.”
I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my lips. “I am.”
“I’m glad. Zach’s a good man.”
“That he is.”
I looked at the flyer mockups with a picture of Darlene in all her queenly glory and knew Albert would love them. We got him on a video call with Sean and me sitting next to each other behind his desk. Sean shared the digital pictures with him, and as I’d predicted, he was delighted.
“Oh, darling, who is the fairest in all the land?”
“You are, my Queen,” I intoned.
“Damn straight,” he said.
“Do you have the name of the warm-up act and the pianist?” Sean asked.
“The warm-up act is Miss Crystal Vision,” Albert replied. “But I’m still working on the pianist. The one I was going to use isn’t available anymore.”
“I might know a pianist,” Sean said.
Albert rolled his eyes. “I’m pretty sure your man’s salary is not in my budget.”
He huffed a laugh. “True. But I do know another pianist who might be available. If he is, can I give him your number?”
“Is he cute?” Albert asked.
I rolled my eyes, and Sean snorted. “He’s objectively good-looking,” Sean said. “Just not my type.”
“I know,” Albert said. “Your type is quiet, shy, and insanely talented. Oh, and rich.”
Sean’s smile said everything. “True story.”
We wrapped up the meeting and Sean went to call the pianist while I headed back to my office to get started with the rest of my day. And to call Albert. My office door was barely closed before I hit his number. He answered with a single demand. “Spill.”
“Zach is definitely not straight,” I said, unable to keep the delight from my voice.
“Yes! I was right!” Albert crowed. “Now tell me all about it.”
“It was okay,” I replied, knowing I was just riling him up.
“Miguel Ramirez, I will come over there and shake you until you tell me everything.”
I laughed. “Calm down. I’m just teasing you.” I sat down behind my desk. “It was great. Zach is amazing.”
I told him all about the night I spent with Zach. When I was finished, he was silent for a few moments. “So, he didn’t freak out, he didn’t run away, and he didn’t ghost you. He showered with you, drove into work with you, and held your hand in front of everybody?”
“And kissed me in front of everyone at work, including my boss.”
“Hot damn. You hit the gay lottery.”
“I know, right?” I was smiling so much my cheeks were starting to hurt.
“I’m so happy for you, Miguel,” Albert said softly.
Tears pricked at the backs of my eyes. “Thank you.”
“Do you think he’s in it for the long run?”
“It seems that way,” I replied. “He wants me to meet his long-lost best friend tonight.”
“That sounds like a story,” he said.
“It is. Why don’t you join us? We’re meeting here after my shift is over.”
Before he could reply, someone knocked on my door. “Hold on, Al, someone’s at my office door.” I covered the mic and called out, “Come in.”
Fiona, the front desk receptionist, poked her head in. “Hey, Miguel, there’s a woman here asking to see you. She says she’s your sister.”
“Isabella?” I asked in shock.
“That’s the name she gave,” Fiona replied.
I nodded and said, “Send her in.” To Albert, I said, “I have to go. Isabella’s here to see me.”
“Really?” He sounded as shocked as I was. “I hope she’s not there to lay into you again. I would have to have words with her.”
“I have no idea. I’ll let you know. Can you make it tonight?”
“I’m not sure yet. I’ll text you.”
“Sounds good.”
A knock sounded on my door right after I hung up with Albert. I got up to answer it, hoping my sister was there to talk, not to yell at me. The Isabella who walked into my office was a shadow of the woman I’d seen only a month before. There were dark circles under her eyes, and she looked like she’d lost weight.
“Bella?”
Me using her old nickname seemed to break something in her. She threw her arms around my neck and broke down sobbing. I held her and rocked her like she was one of her children while I made soothing sounds and rubbed her back. When she finally slowed down to sniffles, I guided her to one of the two chairs in front of my desk and got her to sit. I handed her the box of tissues from my desk and a bottle of water from the small fridge behind it.
I took the seat next to hers and turned it to face her. After she wiped her face and blew her nose, I asked, “What’s going on?”
“You know what happened at Easter dinner?” When I nodded, she went on. “After Carlos left, I thought he’d come back, and we could talk things out. But he never came back. I didn’t hear from him for a whole week. He wouldn’t answer his phone. I don’t even know where he was or if he went to work at all.”
“Okay. But obviously something happened,” I reasoned.
She nodded and tears came to her eyes again. “Last Saturday, he came to Mama and Papa’s place demanding to see me and the children. Then he told me he’d allow me to come home if I agreed not to see my parents or other family members unless he was there to supervise it.”
“What. The. Fuck?” I breathed.
A tear tracked down her cheek. “I got so angry. I told him I wanted a divorce.”
Inside, I was cheering and fist-pumping. On the outside, I just said, “Oh shit.”
“He lost it. He called me all kinds of names right in front of the children.” She twisted her fingers together. “Then he grabbed Diego’s arm and tried to leave with him. Diego was screaming and calling for me, and Carlos hit him and told him to shut the fuck up.”
“He hit his four-year-old son?” I was so angry I could barely speak. A burning rage settled in the pit of my stomach. But getting all ragey wouldn’t help Isabella. I took a deep breath to calm myself. “What happened next?”
“I went to pull Diego away from Carlos, and he slapped me. I’ve never seen Papa so angry before in my life. He grabbed the fireplace poker and told Carlos he’d beat him to death if he didn’t leave his house. I managed to get Diego away from him, and he left.”
“Just like that?”
She shook her head. “The police came to the house saying that Carlos called them and told them I had kidnapped our children and was keeping them from him. We showed them the bruises on Diego’s wrist and the marks on his and my faces. They said I could file a temporary restraining order. So, I went to the police station, and I did.” She started to cry again. “You were right about him. I should have seen it before this. I think I just wanted to have that happy family Mama talks about all the time. I thought I’d found it with Carlos. But I was wrong.”
I didn’t have much to say about that. My mother was so focused on us getting married and having babies that she’d lost sight of us as individuals. I figured that was why she had such a hard time with me being gay. In her mind, I’d never be able to fulfill my role of passing on the Ramirez name.
“Is Raphael going to help you find a lawyer?” I asked.
Isabella nodded. “He already has. I talked to her yesterday.”
“Do you like her?”
“Yes. She’s really nice but also very smart.”
“Are you going to stay with Mama and Papa for now?”
She nodded. “I don’t have anywhere else to go. I don’t have an income since I haven’t worked since Diego was born.”
“Are you thinking about going back to work?” I asked.
“Maybe. Probably. But not until this is all over. I can’t concentrate on architectural plans when my head is a mess.”
I took her hand in mine. “I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
She sniffled. “I know. I’m so sorry about the way I acted before. I had Mama in my ear telling me to stand my ground with you.”
I shrugged. My mother and I had a long way to go before we came to some sort of peace between us. “You’re here now. I love you and will always be here for you.”
“I love you too, little brother.”