Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Gio stood up from the recliner, put his iPad down, and stretched as Rafe walked into the office. He’d been sketching out some ideas for the upstairs bedroom renovations set to begin next week.
“Keeley’s in the kitchen, whipping up some hoagies,” Rafe said as he walked across the room to glance at a piece of paper on the desk. “You about finished with the designs? Everybody will be getting here soon.”
Gio nodded. “Yeah. Just put the finishing touches on. I’ll show you my ideas tomorrow. I’m ready to just kick back and relax for the rest of the night.”
Rafe nodded. “We’ve been going full-steam ahead for weeks, what with the renovations, the date-crashing—”
“The marathon sex every night,” Gio added to the list, grinning.
It had been a week since Rafe stopped being a stubborn ass and came to his senses.
The best week of Gio’s life. Every single night, the three of them had come together in a rush of almost desperate lovemaking.
Gio wondered how long it would take before they all felt secure enough in the knowledge that this was for real, that it would last. Considering none of them had ever managed a long-term relationship in their lives, he figured their concerns were valid.
Rafe winked. “Tonight was a good idea.”
They were throwing an old-school hockey night party. Keeley had confessed a few days earlier that she missed the way they all used to get together to watch Elio play back when she was in high school.
Gio decided it was a good time to bring the weekly get-together back. He also figured this was the perfect way to come out to their friends about their change in status. Keeley had already told Liza, but tonight…they wanted to tell everyone else.
Starting with her brother.
“Nervous about talking to Kayden?” Gio asked.
Rafe started to shake his head, then changed his response to a shrug. “Yes and no. I mean, Kayden’s a reasonable guy about pretty much everything. Except—”
“Keeley,” the two of them said in unison.
“If it was just one of us,” Rafe continued, “I think he’d be cool with it. But the truth is…”
“Two of his closest friends are banging his sister,” Gio finished for him, grinning.
“Fuck. Think we should frisk him when he gets here? Make sure he’s not carrying his gun?”
Crossing his arms, Gio leaned against Rafe’s desk. “I don’t know. Maybe we should—”
Before he could finish his statement, the desk slid a good six inches across the floor.
“Jesus!” he cried out, wobbling.
Rafe reached out, grabbing Gio’s upper arm to steady his friend. “You okay?”
“What the fuck?” Gio scowled. “That desk weighs at least two hundred pounds.” They’d learned that fact the hard way when they’d had to move it out of the room so they could refinish the floors.
“Yeah. Apparently, the floor in here is made of ice on occasion. That, or Grandpa wants the desk somewhere else. It’s not the first time it’s slid that easily.
Keeley nearly fell once, as well, when she leaned on it.
” Rafe was still gripping Gio’s arm, their proximity close. Neither of them bothering to separate.
“We gonna talk about the touching thing?” Gio asked, before he could think better of it.
Rafe had become less restrained in the bedroom, in terms of he and Gio. After introducing Keeley to Gio’s taint, the “instruction” had continued as Rafe revealed every secret of the male anatomy, giving her hands-on demonstrations…using her hands and his.
Rafe should write a goddamn book because Gio had always considered himself to have some decent staying power, but this week, with Rafe tutoring Keeley, he’d been popping off like an untried schoolboy.
“Do you want me to stop?” Rafe asked.
“Fuck no. It’s just…” Now that he’d started the conversation, Gio realized he didn’t have a clue what he wanted to say.
“We’re both adventurous in the bedroom,” Rafe said, taking over for Gio.
“Both open to trying new things. I’m not proposing we jump straight to fucking each other, but…
forever is a long time. We’ve got time to do a little investigating.
Why not explore a few things, see how we feel about it, figure out where our lines are? ”
Gio smiled, relieved and pleased by Rafe’s suggestion.
He hadn’t been able to make sense of his jumbled-up feelings regarding this new facet of their sexual relationship.
He’d witnessed the closeness between Layla’s guys, Finn and Miguel, both of whom were bisexual.
Gio had never felt that tug, never felt like that word applied to him. But lately…with Rafe…
Thankfully, Rafe’s suggestion resonated with him, managed to break it all down in a way that suited Gio just fine and made him comfortable. This was why it was smart to have a best friend who was a thinker.
“That sounds pretty damn good. Can’t wait to see what we discover.” Gio turned to look at the desk. “And I don’t give a shit if Albert wants the desk here. It doesn’t work this close to the wall.”
He and Rafe started to push it back into place, but something peeking from the bottom corner of the heavy piece of furniture caught Gio’s eye.
“What’s this?” He reached down and pulled a thin piece of paper from beneath the desk. His eyes widened. “Holy shit, man. It’s the combination to the safe!”
“How the hell did that get there? We’ve moved this desk at least half a dozen times while we were renovating the room.” Rafe took the paper from him.
“Maybe it was stuck to the bottom,” Gio suggested. “Or maybe Albert was finally ready for you to find it. Either way, open the damn safe! I’m dying to see what’s inside.”
Rafe took the combination over to where the safe was hidden behind a portrait of Marta. Pulling the frame, which was on hinges, away from the wall, Rafe spun the dial to the appropriate numbers, then turned the latch.
“Well…” Rafe said, blocking Gio’s view. “That’s anticlimactic.”
Gio pushed Rafe over so he could get a glimpse inside. The safe, in direct opposition to the boxes, which had been stuffed to the gills, was pretty much empty, containing nothing more than an envelope and a small box.
Rafe reached for the box at the same time Gio grabbed the envelope.
“It has your name on it,” Gio said, handing it to his friend.
“That’s Grandpa’s handwriting.” Rafe took the envelope and box to his desk. Setting the box down, he opened the letter.
Gio shifted so he could read it over Rafe’s shoulder. Rafe glanced back and chuckled at his nosy crowding. “Here.” He put the letter down on the desk between them so that they could both read it easily.
Rafe,
The cancer came too soon, stealing away so much of the time I thought I would have with you. As I sit here, writing this, I am overwhelmed by all the things I wish I’d told you. But upon consideration, I can see that only one of those missed conversations truly matters.
You told me a few weeks ago at dinner that you didn’t plan to marry, that you couldn’t see yourself ever falling in love. To close yourself off to that emotion, my dear grandson, would be the biggest mistake of your life.
If there is only one last thing I can teach you, let it be this.
Don’t be afraid to give your heart to someone else.
Find a girl like my Marta. Fall in love. Give her a ring. Buy her a home. Make babies. And never—never—let work and money mean more than the people you care about.
Do those things, and you will be the richest man on the planet.
Enclosed in this safe is the best thing I ever bought. The thing that made my life worth living. It’s yours now. Use it!
Grandpa
“Your grandpa was a wise man,” Gio said.
Rafe grinned. “Yeah. He was.”
“What’s in the box?”
Rafe opened the small box, revealing a beautiful engagement ring. Gio glanced at the portrait of Marta. The same ring sparkled on her finger. “Your grandma’s ring.”
Rafe followed his gaze. “Think Keeley will like it?”
Gio gripped his shoulder. “I guess we’ll find out one day when we give it to her. How long should we wait? A year? A month? Tomorrow?”
Rafe laughed and closed the box, putting the letter and the ring back in the safe. “What do you say we leap the first hurdle before we start renting the reception hall and booking the band.”
“The first hurdle?” Gio asked.
“Kayden.”
Gio sighed. “Shit. Yeah. Kayden.”
“Rafe? Gio? Can you guys give me a hand in the kitchen?” Keeley called out.
“You move the desk, I’ll help our girl,” Rafe said, leaving the room.
Gio shifted the desk back into position, then looked around the office and smiled. “Thanks, Albert,” he whispered to the silence.
Walking toward the kitchen, he detoured when he saw headlights. Glancing out the front window, he spotted Kayden’s car.
“He’s here,” Gio yelled out.
Rafe and Keeley walked out of the kitchen, each with a platter in their hands. Keeley carried a tray of hoagies, while Rafe’s was laden with wings.
“He just pulled in.” Gio took the platter from Keeley, carrying it to the living room and putting it on the coffee table. Rafe placed his next to it.
Keeley went to open the door when they heard the knock. He and Rafe exchanged a glance, Rafe giving him an encouraging grin.
Kayden strolled in with a twelve-pack of beer. “Am I early? You guys said six, right?”
They’d given Kayden an earlier time than the rest of their buddies so they could break the news to him alone.
“Yeah, everyone else will be along in a half hour or so. We invited you early because we wanted to talk to you about something,” Rafe began.
“Oh?” Kayden was clearly curious. “Okay.”
“Here.” Keeley took the beer from her brother. She opened it, handing each of them a bottle. “You guys sit down, and I’ll put the rest of these in the fridge. Be right back.”
Kayden grabbed one of the recliners, while Gio and Rafe dropped down on opposite ends of the couch, leaving room for Keeley in the middle. She returned with her own beer as well as four koozies. She tossed each of them one, then sat down.