Chapter 31
Jesse
The Tavern has never felt more like home as Rico and I pull into the mostly vacant parking lot in the small hours of the morning.
The club might not be open, but the love hotel is, so the regular lights above the venue’s name and along the edge of the pathways are on, just not the colorful moving spotlights that entice people into the bar.
I’m so exhausted I could cry. And when Trixie comes bursting out of the front door dressed in a pink velour tracksuit with fluffy slippers and her blonde hair in rollers, the tears do spill. But they’re from relief and happiness rather than dismay.
“Aw, baby,” Rico says sympathetically as he parks the car. He kills the ignition and squeezes my knee. “It’s okay.”
“I know,” I say with a wet laugh, wiping my face. “I’m just so tired.”
“You can sleep soon, I promise.” He leans over and kisses my lips gently, then we exit the car, not wanting to keep Trixie waiting when it’s the middle of the night.
“Oh, sweetheart!” she cries as soon as I open my door.
Before I know it, her arms are around my waist and she’s all but hugging me in half.
“You poor, poor dears. I’m so glad you called me!
” She releases me and immediately embraces Rico, who’s come around the car to join us.
“You’re gonna stay here as long as you need, y’all hear me? ”
“We don’t want to impose—” Rico begins.
Trixie lets him go and pokes his chest. “Nope. Not another word. Mi casa es su casa, and I always try and keep a room spare in case one of my boys needs it. So you ain’t puttin’ me out one bit, all right?”
Rico glances at me but I shrug and open the back door of the car to let Klaus out. “Don’t look at me. I’m too smart to argue with her.”
“Darn tootin’,” Trixie says smugly. “Oh, hey there, fella! Long time no see.”
She greets Klaus with the same enthusiasm as she did us. My heart contracts. I still can’t believe we can keep him. After all the worrying I’ve been doing, it was decided just like that, no fuss at all.
The three of us really are a family now.
I reach back into the car for the bag of groceries we were able to pick up from the all-night mart.
So at least we have toothbrushes and deodorant as well as a few other bits and pieces for us and Klaus, and Rico had a phone charger at the fire station that we can both use.
Tomorrow, we’ll have to sort out clean clothes and other essentials. But for now, we’ll survive.
“Okie-dokie, you boys follow me,” Trixie says with a wave. We head back toward the Tavern in the quiet of the night. My ears are still ringing from the fire alarm and all the commotion that followed, so the calm now is much appreciated.
When we get inside the entrance door, someone is waiting for us. A small boy of about seven or eight jumps to his feet, clutching a piggy bank to his chest. He looks to be wearing a hoodie over some pajamas with smiling hotdogs all over the pants. His slippers look like bear claws.
“Is this them, Mama?” he asks eagerly.
She moves to his side so the two of them are facing us. “It sure is, pumpkin. Gentlemen, this here’s my boy, Max. Max, this is Mr. Jesse. He’s one of Mama’s dancin’ boys. And this is his husband, Mr. Rico. He’s a real-life firefighter!”
“Wow,” Max says, looking up at Rico in awe.
Yeah, kid. Same.
Trixie hugs her son to her side. “When I woke him up to tell him I was comin’ down here to get you fellas settled in, he absolutely insisted on hustlin’ out of bed to meet y’all himself.”
Max’s eyes go wide and his lip trembles. “Mama said your house burned down. I’m real sorry to hear that.” He holds out the piggy bank. “This is all I got. But you can have it so you can start savin’ for a new house.”
“Oh,” I say softly, tears welling in my eyes again. “That’s so incredibly kind of you, Max.”
“Yeah, buddy,” Rico says gruffly. “We really appreciate the thought. But your mom is already helping us out by giving us a place to stay for a while. So why don’t you keep that and save up for something really special?”
He looks thoughtfully at the piggy bank, then back at us. “Okay, Mr. Jesse and Mr. Rico. If you’re sure you don’t need it for your house…maybe I could buy something for your dog? Is he friendly?”
“He’s very friendly,” I tell the kid. “His name’s Klaus if you’d like to say hello.”
Max looks up at Trixie, who nods. “Make sure’n hold your hand out first like this.” She shows him with her own palm. “That way he can sniff you and know you wanna be friends.”
She takes the piggy bank from Max, and we all watch as he copies her, approaching our dog with his arm out. Once Klaus has inspected his fingers, he nuzzles against them and makes Max squeak in delight.
“Good boy,” he says enthusiastically, stroking between Klaus’s ears. “Do you think he’d like a sparkly collar?” he asks us. “Mama sells those to people!”
Rico laughs and raises an eyebrow at Trixie, who merely shrugs and smiles. “I’m sure Klaus would love a sparkly collar, Max” he says. “Thank you.”
“Okay, trouble,” Trixie announces, handing the piggy bank back to her son. “You head on back upstairs now. Mama’s gonna show the boys to their room.”
“But I’m not tired!” Max protests, practically swaying on the spot.
“Well, I’m tired,” I assure him, faking a yawn that turns real almost immediately. “So if I’m going to bed, you probably should, too, hmm?”
Max apparently can’t help but yawn as well and rubs his eyes. “Okay, Mr. Jesse. But will you have breakfast with us? We can make pancakes.”
“If it’s okay with your mom?” I say, raising my eyebrows at Trixie.
She gives my shoulder a light shove. “Of course it is, sugar. Now, I think it’s long past everyone’s bedtime! So shoo, little man!”
Max giggles as she herds him towards the stairs. “Bye,” he says to us sleepily with a wave.
“Bye, max,” I say as Rico and I wave back.
“Sleep tight, little man,” my husband adds.
“Alrighty,” Trixie says, herding us next. “You fellas are all good to go in room number four. I set it up after you called, Jesse. But if you need anything, just holler.”
“I’m sure we’ll be fine until the morning,” I tell her sincerely. “You’ve already done so much for us. Seriously, thank you.”
As we approach the door with a large sparkly silver 4 on it, she produces an old-fashioned key from the pocket of her sweatpants.
“Nonsense. It was the least I could do. Now you boys get a good night’s sleep.
You deserve it. Message me when you want feedin’.
” She winks and wiggles her fingers at us as she heads back down the corridor. “Night!”
“Night,” we call back together.
For a second, Rico and I share a tired look, but it’s also filled with such love. Then Klaus nudges the back of my knee, clearly telling me to get the hell on with opening the door, and I can’t help but laugh.
“Yeah, yeah, okay, bossy pants,” I mutter with a grin.
I saw a couple of the rooms when Trixie gave me the tour on my interview day. But this one was occupied and seeing as they’re all different, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
I should have known.
“Oh, wow,” Rico says with a laugh, eyes wide.
“Wow is right,” I agree, shaking my head as I close the door behind us. Klaus immediately starts running around, sniffing everything he can.
In keeping with the saloon feel of the rest of the place, there are cowboy hats and horseshoes hanging from the walls and a large wagon wheel propped up beside the window. These sort of things I would have expected.
But given that I also know Trixie, I should have also expected the color scheme to be hot pink with black and white cowhide.
A diamanté chandelier sparkles overhead and a pink neon sign on the wall reads ‘Howdy!’ There’s an acoustic guitar standing in the corner next to a pair of pink cowboy boots filled with three-foot-high white feathers.
The mural behind the bed depicts some black and white cacti in front of a pink, blue and purple sunset.
And on the white bedspread is a scattering of pink rose petals along with a basket filled with lube, condoms, chocolate body paint and pink fluffy handcuffs.
“Oh my god, Trixie,” I groan, grabbing the hamper with a blush, intending to hide it in the bathroom or under the bed until a more suitable time.
But Rico snags the bottle of lube from it, wiggling it in front of my face. “Now, hold up a second there, partner. Don’t you think we could find use for this?”
I blink at him, my brain only working at half speed. “You want to…?”
Rico carefully takes the basket out of my hands and places it on the dresser before tossing the lube bottle onto the bed.
Then he wraps his arms around my waist and nuzzles our noses together.
“Baby, I thought I lost you tonight. My whole world, gone in an instant. So we don’t have to do anything at all if you don’t want.
Hell, if you need space, I’ll go see if Trixie has another room I can move to. ”
“No!” I say quickly. My heart rate is picking up and suddenly, I’m not so tired anymore. “I definitely don’t want that. I want you. I’m just not feeling very capable of making decisions right now. What did you have in mind?”
“Okay, phew,” Rico says. “I’m glad you don’t want to kick me out. I don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep until I kiss every inch of you and prove to myself that you’re all right.”
My toes curl in my sneakers. “Every inch?”
He hums and ghosts his lips over mine. “Some more than others,” he says in a low rumble.
Holy shit. My heart swoops in my chest and my cock aches as I close the last few millimeters between us to kiss his mouth. “Can we shower first?”
A laugh rumbles up from his chest as he continues to press lingering kisses over my cheeks, my eyelids, and my nose. “You liked doing that, huh?”
I blush and nod. “Really nowhere to hide there.”