Chapter 9
MARC
I stared at the phone, mouth twisting. “Charlene, it’s been a week.”
“It’s been nine, nearly ten days since he got there, and we both know you know that,” she said impatiently but not incorrectly.
It wasn’t even a bitchy comment; she knew me well enough to know I cared about Jude just as much as her, and I could be just as anal about keeping track of things…
including how long Jude had been at Arete.
“And you’re going to tell me he’s ‘fine’ and that’s all? ”
Which, while completely fair, had the unfortunate side effect of putting me in an awkward position. “Well, I don’t really have more to tell you.”
“You don’t have to be stubborn; he’s my son as well.”
“I am more than aware of that; I was there when he was conceived and when he was born.”
“If I didn’t already know that you spend a great deal of time around Reggie, that tasteless joke would have given it away.”
True, a little bitchy, but true all the same.
“I told you when we spoke before Jude started packing that I was going to be as hands off as possible while he was here, and I explained, in great detail…” God, so much detail.
There was no one as pedantic and dedicated to the devil in the details, like a corporate lawyer, “exactly why I was choosing to do that.”
“You did,” she admitted. “But you never said that hands off meant you were going to pretend as if he wasn’t there.”
“I am and I’m not,” I told her, hoping the truth got her off my back.
“I have to maintain some measure of pretending he’s not around, otherwise the temptation to hover will be too great.
I also wanted to make sure he was being watched, so the compromise was to put Reggie on the task.
If anything was going on that was necessary for either of us to know, Reggie would tell me in a flash. ”
“He can be flighty,” she said, and I scowled as I got up to pour myself a small drink. The room was softly lit because I had been planning to get some decent sleep tonight, right up until Charlene called, at two in the morning her time.
“When it comes to things that matter, he’s beyond dependable. Don’t tear him down because you’re worried,” I said, biting back a comment about how her overbearing nature shouldn’t be Reggie’s problem like it had become mine and Jude’s.
“I’m not tearing him down; I’m noting a point of concern.”
“You said you felt better knowing he was watching. Just because we’re not doing things the way you would prefer doesn’t mean we’re doing it wrong.”
“Again, this is my son we’re talking about.”
“Our son. And that means I’m worried. But we have to make sure our worry doesn’t interfere in his life.
Charlene, I know you care, and I know you’re worried, but he came here of his own volition, and we all agreed.
So, the best thing we can do is let him dive into his first ever adult decision and see how he does.
At least he’s doing it here, in a relatively controlled environment, a place where if something goes wrong, he has help. ”
“I suppose you have quite a few fail-safes in place,” she said, but I heard the faint irritation in her voice.
She had always been bitter that I’d never allowed her to come to Arete.
That, except for a member of Reggie’s personal team, a decision he had pushed for hard and taken steps to ensure was kept quiet, women weren’t permitted to come to the resort.
It had always been a place where men could come together, in a healthy, encouraging environment, and just…
well, be men. Bringing in women, even infrequently, would have ruined the validity of our intentions.
That had never sat well with her.
“Charlene,” I warned.
“Yes, yes,” she said, and when I heard the sigh, I knew she was easing back. “You’re right. I hate that you’re right, always have, but…I’m worried.”
“Look, if it makes you feel better, I’ll ask Reggie next time I see him and I’ll pass on the salient points,” I told her. “A nice little update I’m sure is full of good things because otherwise Reggie would have passed it along.”
“That…works,” she said begrudgingly.
I sat back in my chair and raised my brow as the door to my quarters slid open and Reggie walked in, his nose, as usual, shoved into the screen of his tablet.
He stopped short when he saw me sitting in my reading chair in the corner opposite my bed and looked around the room, as if surprised he was in the room he had intentionally walked into.
“Bad time?” he asked, and then he blinked, his eyes roaming over me. Which was a reminder that I was currently wearing sleep pants and nothing else. His stare was brief, but it made me feel naked, sprawled out on the bed, my knees up, exposing everything I had.
“No,” I said, shaking my head and gesturing for him to come in. “The timing is perfect. Charlene? I’m afraid I have to let you go. Reggie walked in and he has that look on his face that says he’s got something for me to hear.”
“I’m sure you’re sorry about that,” she said dryly. “Don’t forget to text me.”
“I won’t.” I said, ending the call and setting the phone onto the wireless charger with a heavy sigh. “Never forget that you are insanely lucky to have turned out gay.”
Reggie stared at me curiously. “Why is that?”
“Because you don’t have to be tied to your ex-spouse for the rest of your life,” I said with a chuckle, taking a sip from my drink and letting the mellow taste roll over my tongue.
“Right, well, first off, gay people have kids sometimes.”
“True.”
“And in my case, I could point out that my husband actually died, so that’s one way to get out of any messy, post breakup shenanigans.”
I grimaced, less so at the reminder, but at the sheer darkness of it. “There is that I suppose.”
He winked at me. “In any case, sorry to drop in, but I realized I’ve been running around so much I haven’t stopped by to just drop a problem in your lap and run.”
It was a very Reggie thing to be concerned about, and I smiled. “I’m not a needy husband who doesn’t realize what kind of work his husband does, Reggie. You don’t have to check in to make sure I feel I’m getting enough attention.”
“Well, someone needs to check on you,” he said, and his eyes flicked over me for a moment before clearing his throat. “In any case—”
Dull heat passed through me, and I knew it wouldn’t take much to feed it so it flared into something sharper and more demanding.
I was obviously watching him find a way not to be distracted by the fact that I was clad only in a pair of loose pants.
In all fairness, I rarely dressed this lightly around him, but it was the first time something like this had happened since we, well, shared a mutual blowjob.
He might not have been thinking about it before coming into my room, but his nervousness made me wonder if he was remembering it now.
I certainly was.
“I’m tired and worn down after that conversation,” I said, gesturing to the phone with a grimace. “But I am fine.”
“You always say that, or something close to it,” he said, and while it was a valid point, I really was fine. “You could also ask what I’m sure you’ve been wanting to ask for a week, and I’m sure your ex-wife called to ask you the same question.”
At that, I sighed. “Yes…how has he been doing?”
He grinned. “He’s been doing just fine, better than fine, I would say. I think he’s a little…intimidated by all the guys though.”
I fingered the edge of my glass. “For any reason or just nerves?”
“Just nerves,” he said with a shake of his head. “You don’t honestly think I’d let them get away with making him feel that way, right?”
“No,” I said easily. “But I had to ask.”
“Cade seems to have taken a liking to him.”
“Cade, not Clay?”
He gave me a knowing look. “Clay seems to like him too, not like him, but like him.”
I wanted to protest that I wasn’t worried about that, but…
well, I could lie to many people, but lying to Reggie was always risky.
He was too used to me to fall for my attempts to deflect, but I could never quite be sure if he missed that I was lying and downplaying what was going on in my head, or if he was uncharacteristically letting something go to accommodate me.
I didn’t like the idea that he would bend his personality to cater to me, but it was nice to know there was still room in our relationship for me to establish some peace and privacy.
“I’m still going to try not to think about that aspect of his stay too much,” I said with a shrug.
“We’ve never really discussed his personal life, not to that degree.
I know he’s had a couple of girlfriends, and he’s mentioned dates, but just that they were dates and were… well, he said they were fine.”
Reggie snorted, setting his tablet down and looking at me as he leaned against the small table I rarely used since I usually took my meals in my office. “How frustrating it must be to have someone say something was ‘fine’ and not elaborate.”
“It’s a good thing you’ve never made claims to subtlety,” I told him dryly. “My point is, I don’t know if he is completely straight or—”
“Bisexual like his old man,” Reggie finished bluntly.
“Correct. I also don’t know…much else.”
“Like if he had or was actively having sex before coming here?”
“Yes.”
He chuckled. “Parents are so funny when it comes to their children and sex.”
“I understand on a conscious level he is not only an adult now, but will have had sex on his mind for a few years. I also know nothing short of an act of God could stop a teenager from having sex…maybe not even then. However, there is still a part of me, unreasonable and stubborn as it is, that refuses to stop seeing him as this little kid,” I said with a frown.
“Charlene has never been sentimental, but I wonder if she looks at him now and still sees him as the eight-year-old boy with dirty fingers, or the six-year-old with missing front teeth.”