Chapter 2
Nicholas Fenton
Late again. I took the stairs two at a time. Stupid Metro had one job. One job. Run the trains. On time. And they couldn’t do it. I’d planned to get a run in before dinner, but now that probably wouldn’t happen.
Stupid Metro.
I reached our apartment when I heard talking inside.
“Now?” Trevor asked. Silence answered the question. “No. I don’t like this. He’ll screw up everything.”
Phone call. And not a good one. I slid the key home and made more noise than needed opening the door. “Trev, I’m home.”
My roommate popped out of the kitchen and pointed to the phone. “Yes. I understand.”
I toed off my work shoes and waved. Whoever he was talking to, it didn’t involve me and Trev wasn’t enjoying it.
Trevor scowled at the phone and ducked back into the kitchen. “You know what I think, so why does it matter?”
That was my cue to leave. The apartment wasn’t that big, and angry Trevor needed his space.
I tugged off my tie as I entered my room. According to the clock on my nightstand, I didn’t have time for as long a run as I wanted, but it would be decent.
Hanging my clothes, I shucked my boxers and was stepping into a jock when Trevor marched in and flopped on my bed.
“Sorry. I was about to start dinner when my boss called.”
I should have guessed it was work. Pulling on my tee shirt, I put on my shorts and sat on the bed. “It didn’t sound good.”
“It wasn’t. She wants to assign someone to a project I’ve been working on forever, and they’re not qualified. This will mess up the whole thing.”
Trevor hated getting work calls at home. Me too. This was our Zen place, or as Zen as mid-market apartments in Silver Spring, Maryland got. “This couldn’t wait until tomorrow?”
“She wants him to start right away.” He laced his fingers under his head and stared at the ceiling. “This way he can hit the ground running when I get in tomorrow.”
I grabbed a pair of no-show socks from my dresser. “Don’t let it bug you. It won’t change tomorrow.”
“It’s what it is. That’s why they call it work, right?”
I gave him a sympathetic look and stretched. “Hopefully it’ll go better than expected.”
“Doubtful.” He flipped over to face me. “In better news, my cousin Henry just moved to Silver Spring.”
I never heard anyone in the family mention a Cousin Henry. “Who’s that?”
“He’s my third cousin like sixteen times removed.”
I laughed because that was Trev’s way of saying they weren’t really related, but the family liked to pretend for appearance sake. “That’s not how it works, but I get it. Is this good news or bad?”
“Good, I think. Henry’s four years older than us. When I was a kid, I used to tag along behind him, because he was this cool older kid. I probably had a crush on him, but since we’re cousins, it wasn’t like that, but it was, if that makes sense.”
Totally did, because they weren’t really cousins. “You thought he was hot. Got it.”
“Dork.” He grabbed me around the neck like he was going to give me a noogie.”
Wiggling free, I pushed him away so I could keep stretching. “Says that guy who just admitted he was crushing on his cousin, but not, but was because this wasn’t really a cousin.”
“Stop. It wasn’t in the creepy, icky way. It was more idolization than wanting to bone him.”
Which really meant they’d hooked up or Trev had really wanted to when he was a kid. “Charming image.”
“Hey, I’m trying to explain and you’re making me feel weird.”
I didn’t get the ‘feeling weird’ vibe. He just wanted to change topics. Which was fine. We all had crushes as a kid. “Sorry.”
“Lamest sorry ever.”
I flipped him off and he returned the favor.
“Anyway,” Trevor said, really meaning to change topics now. “He just moved into his condo and he’s coming over for dinner. I think he’s lonely.”
I stood, bent my left knee back, and stretched my quad. “Must be nice.”
“Yeah, well, Henry’s family is loaded. He just got promoted to this high paying gig in the city with the family company.”
If Henry’s family wasn’t the same as Trevor’s, they really weren’t cousins. “Why’d he buy here? People with money go to Bethesda or Chevy Chase.”
“Those condos near Colesville are swanky. And it’s close to Metro.”
I switched legs. They were nice, but not super rich person nice. If I had the option, I’d go to the toni side of the county. “Yes, the Metro that runs so well is a huge selling point.”
“As you are fond of reminding me, driving into town sucks worse.”
Hard to argue with my own logic. “True.” I got my running shoes and pointed out the door. “Let me go so I can get back before dinner’s ready.”
Trevor jumped off the bed. “Sounds good. Enjoy.”
Holy shit!
Despite the six-mile run, I vaulted up the stairs on pure adrenaline. I used the shirt I’d taken off during the run to wipe my face. My inner geek was out in full force, but I had to tell Trevor.
Bursting into the room, I tossed my keys into the dish on the hall table. “Trev, you won’t believe this! There’s a Maserati Quattroporte GTS parked—”
I slammed to a full stop in front of a bemused god.
Standing in my living room. Staring at me.
He was tall and buff, with biceps that stretched the cuffs of his light blue polo in a way that went right to my groin.
He swept a hand through his perfectly styled blonde hair and raked his eyes up and down my nearly naked body.
Reality slammed me hard, and I snapped my mouth shut. I struggled to yank on my shirt, but got the arms tangled. Fuck! Could it get any more embarrassing?
“Here, let me give you a hand.” the guy said as he freed the twisted cloth.
And there was embarrassment 2.0. My cheeks flushed volcanic hot. Why did I have to be such a dork now? “Thanks.”
“You bet.” Still smiling, he stepped back.
This god could only be one person. I owed Trevor such an apology. “Cousin Henry?” I mentally facepalmed myself. “I mean, you’re Trevor’s cousin Henry, right?”
“Henry Angelini.” He extended his hand.
I wiped my sweaty hand on my even sweatier shirt, which probably made it worse, before shaking. “Nick Fenton. Nice to meet you.”
Trevor finally poked his head from the kitchen. “Hey Nicko. I see you met Henry. Good run?”
I’d kill him after dinner for leaving me hanging so long, because I was really hungry. I’d do it after he finished cooking. “Not bad.”
“Sorry for interrupting your night.” Henry said. He kept his eyes on me, which added a few thousand degrees to the fire under my cheeks. “I was trying to learn the area and Trevor invited me to dinner. I think he took the hint I was lonely.”
I tried not to make eye contact with Henry, but Christ this guy was gorgeous. “It’s fine. You’re Trevor’s cousin. Family’s always welcome.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that.”
Trevor slinked back into the kitchen, but Henry either had the best poker face or my hunch was wrong, and they weren’t related. I hitched a thumb over my shoulder. “I don’t normally bust into the apartment screaming like a kid, but—”
“He was salivating over your car and wanted me to come look.” Trevor said from the kitchen. “Nick’s a total autophile.”
Normally, I’d have fired back, but the lights all turned on in the belfry. Of course, the Maserati was Henry’s. Who else would bring that ride to our complex. “Nice car.”
“I just got it.” Henry glanced at the kitchen. “If you want to go for a ride, Trevor asked me to get bread and wine. You could help me find the Whole Foods.”
My knees shook and it was totally from my run and not the chance to ride in Henry’s car. “Seriously?”
“It would be a big help if you came with me,” Henry said.
It sounded sincere, but GPS was a thing. He didn’t need my help. “Sure, I’d—”
“Better put a towel down to soak up the drool,” Trevor shouted from the kitchen.
I flipped him off even though he couldn’t see it through the wall. “Can I take a quick shower? Contrary to what my former best friend said, I don’t drool, but I am sweaty.”
“Okay, but you really don’t need to just to go for a ride.” He smiled and fuck me, it did bad things to me.
Thank God I’d worn a jock. “Maybe not, but I need one before we eat anyway. I won’t take long.”
I didn’t wait for him to answer and practically ran to the bathroom. He might say it wasn’t necessary, but there was no way I was going to sit inches from Henry without a shower.
Henry didn’t need me to navigate; the directions were already programed into the car’s GPS when we got in.
I tapped on the screen when he asked me for directions and the way his ears turned pink was adorable.
Yes, he’d been busted, but the fact he made up a reason to let me ride in the car was super nice.
On the way home, he dropped the pretense he needed directions.
Free from my ‘obligation,’ I got to soak in the amazing interior.
The leather was soft and perfect, nicer than any furniture Trevor and I owned.
My fingers brushed over the real wood inlay on the dashboard and admired how perfectly it fit with the rest of the interior.
The car was more a work of art than a mode of transportation.
“You’re really a car buff, aren’t you?” Henry asked.
I wasn’t sure I qualified as a “buff” since I’d never owned a car, but I loved to look at them. “That might be a bit extreme, but I’ve always liked nice cars. As a kid I collected diecast model cars.”
“Nice.”
They were until my asshole brother stuffed M80’s in them and blew them up for shits and giggles. “The closest I get is when I go to auto shows. Alex and I went to the D.C. show last month and they had a Quattroporte. They wouldn’t let anyone sit in it though.”
“Is Alex your boyfriend?”
In the fantasy land where I lived, Henry sounded unhappy I might have a boyfriend. Of course, he couldn’t be more wrong. “Hardly. He’s a friend of my grandparents who’s taken on the role of surrogate father when my own decided he didn’t want a faggot son.”
Which came out way too angry.
“Sorry about your dad, but good on Alex for being a friend.”
Wasn’t that the truth. “He’s a good guy. He moved to D.C. a couple of years before me and Trevor and helped us figure out where to live.”
“It’s nice you had someone here to show you around.” He squinted at the GPS which looked like it had malfunctioned. “Do I stay straight?”
“Are you?” Holy shit! I hadn’t meant to ask that out loud. “Ignore me I’m an idiot with no filter. Yes, we stay on this road for about a mile.”
The stupid navigation system had to fizzle out the same time as my brain. Now I needed a good reason to stay in my room.
“Gotcha.” He shifted gears. “And no, I’m not straight.”
His answer sent a jolt through me, but I squashed it as much as I could. His orientation didn’t matter. He was Trev’s cousin. Play cousin? He was something to Trevor and that made him off limits. “You didn’t need to answer me. As Trevor will tell you, I say inappropriate things when I’m nervous.”
Henry glanced over, smiled, and then returned his attention to the road. “It’s totally fine. I’d have mentioned an ex-boyfriend at some point.”
I’d learned to ignore the burst of hope I felt every time a hot guy was nice to me. Just because he’d made a point of letting me know he was gay and single, didn’t mean he was interested in me. “Thanks for giving me a ride. This is way more amazing than I expected.”
“You should feel the ride on the highway.”
The double entendre was impossible to miss.
This could go two ways. I could flirt back, or I could stick to the clinical.
I knew what I wanted to say, but he was still related to my roommate and best friend, however remotely, so I took the other path.
“I read it’s the best luxury car when it comes to handling and agility. ”
“Exactly right. Maybe one weekend we can go for a drive, and you can see for yourself.”
Henry was making it difficult to ignore his not so innocent flirting. Maybe he was just being nice, but that sounded like he was asking me out. And I wasn’t going to go there with Trev’s cousin. No matter how hot the guy was. “That’d be awesome, but don’t go to any trouble.”
“Definitely no trouble. I love to poke around new places.” He paused and glanced over. “If you’re free this weekend, I was thinking of going up to Frederick. They have a lot of antique shops and other interesting places to explore.”
Nothing ambiguous there, he’d asked me on a date. And I totally wanted to accept, but I still had a tiny, little, enormous problem. “Let me see if Trevor’s free and I’ll let you know if we can go.”
Henry stiffened. Probably because he remembered I lived with his cousin and things could get awkward fast. “Sure. Let me know if you two are free.”
I hated disappointing him, but this gave us time to consider the situation. If I sensed the slightest hesitation from Trevor, I’d find a reason to bail on the date. He’d been the one constant in my life since I came out. Better to give up a date, than risk our friendship.