Chapter 28
Trevor
I arrive at the hotel within a half hour of getting Isaac’s call. After passing off my keys to the valet, I smooth down my suit jacket and head inside.
Following the instructions Isaac gave me, I end up inside a fancy ballroom elaborately decorated and bursting with people. I spot my boyfriend quickly.
Isaac visibly sags when he sees me approaching, relief stark on his face before his eyes trail slowly down my form. He swallows heavily and stands from his chair. The woman next to him follows Isaac’s line of sight, her eyebrow popping up and a small smile on her face.
Isaac intercepts me several paces away from the table. “Oh God, you’re really here.”
“Doing all right?” I ask, reaching for him before thinking better of it. I’m not sure if he wants our relationship to be readily apparent to the people here.
But Isaac grabs my hand before it can fall back to my side, his fingers tangling tightly with mine. “Yeah,” he says, even as his voice shakes. “Just, uh, freaking out a little?”
I rub the back of his hand with my free one. “Whatever you need from me.”
He nods several times, his eyes shifting up and down my body again. “Jesus, you look hot.”
I huff a small laugh. My outfit is a simple black-and-white combo: black suit, white button-down, black tie. But based on the way Isaac’s gaze is raking over me, I must pass muster. “Green suits you.”
His mouth twists into the tiniest of smiles. It falls away after a second. “I should warn you. My dad won’t be happy once he finds out you’re here. But he’ll pretend to be unaffected just to save face.”
“I’ll follow your lead. If you want me to come out swinging, metaphorically or otherwise, just let me know.”
Isaac’s smile this time is bright. “I don’t think that’ll be necessary, Bruiser. But I feel strangely honored you’re willing to throw punches at my dad, of all people.”
I lift his hand to my mouth and press a quick kiss against his skin. “Boyfriend benefits.”
Isaac chuckles. “Come on. Let me introduce you to my intended future spouse and in-laws.”
At my raised eyebrow, he laughs, giving my hand a firm tug. The youngest of the occupants at the table quickly shifts over a seat as we approach. I notice a beer in front of her, whereas most everyone else is sipping champagne.
“I assume you’re Isaac’s boyfriend,” she says in greeting, a wide smile on her face. “He mentioned you were running late.”
“Unfortunately, I was,” I reply, holding my hand out her way. “Trevor.”
“Angela,” she responds, clasping my palm.
“And this is Selena and Reuben Howard,” Isaac says, finishing our introductions as he takes his seat.
I sit in the chair Angela vacated, nodding politely in the direction of the couple I assume are her parents. “Nice to meet you.”
They both nod, but neither seems inclined to engage in small talk. Angela, however, pipes up. “So what do you do, Trevor? Are you a student like Isaac?”
“For a short while longer,” I reply. “After that, I’ll be going into the business of…inspirational video storytelling.”
Isaac chokes on air.
Angela hums. “An inspirational speaker. That’s admirable. What subject matter?”
Isaac’s, “Oh dear God,” is barely audible.
I offer Angela a smile. “Being confident in one’s skin.”
Her head lifts in a nod, but neither of us has a chance to say anything more before a speaker crackles to life. The room quiets, those standing and sitting aiming their gazes toward the stage. Isaac sucks in a small breath, making me wonder if the man on stage is his father.
“Welcome, everyone, and thank you for being here,” the speaker begins, his smile dazzling as he stands in front of the microphone.
He looks like Isaac, I realize. Except his hair is a darker auburn, and he doesn’t have the same prevalent freckles.
“In ten minutes, we’ll share a short presentation on the new virtual assistant device you’ve all been integral in bringing to life.
In the meantime, please grab yourselves some refreshments and find a seat wherever you’d like. ”
With that, he walks off the stage. People in the room start gravitating toward empty chairs, chatter increasing again.
I find Isaac’s gaze.
Without a word, he nods, confirming my suspicions about the man being his father. He squeezes my arm. “I’m just going to use the bathroom real quick.”
“Want me to come?”
He huffs gently, his smile genuine, albeit small. “No. I really do have to pee. Be right back.”
Isaac stands, leaving me alone with the Howards and another few individuals who’ve joined our table.
Angela leans closer, her voice a loud whisper meant to be heard. “If you need a beer, they have them at the hotel bar.”
I chuckle. “I’m fine, but thanks for the tip.”
“Don’t tell my parents I said so, but these soirees are always so boring,” she laments, leaning back with a sigh, one hand twirling her glass. “I hope you don’t mind me admitting it, but I was glad when Isaac showed up. He’s quite pretty, even if he is taken.”
“Should I worry you have intentions of stealing him away?” I ask, matching her teasing tone.
Her grin is amiable. “No, no. I promise I’ll be good. Besides, after seeing you, I heavily doubt I’m his type.”
She’s right, but I don’t confirm it.
“I think my parents were hoping we’d fall madly in love and pop out a baby,” she goes on, voice wistful. “Ah, well.”
“Maybe next time,” I offer, catching sight of Isaac at the edge of the room. He’s standing beside his father, looking decidedly uncomfortable. “Excuse me.”
Angela nods, and I quickly vacate my seat, making my way toward the duo. Isaac’s eyes lock on to mine, wide but grateful as I approach. His dad stops talking the moment I’m near, seemingly taken aback as I slip a hand around to Isaac’s back.
“Thought you got lost,” I say, aiming for light.
Isaac gives me a relieved smile. “No, just talking to my dad. This is Trevor,” he says to his father. “My boyfriend.”
He barely stumbles over the word. I tuck him closer to me as his dad’s head rocks back ever so slightly.
“Your what?” the man asks.
“My boyfriend,” Isaac repeats more firmly.
Mr. Newport shifts his gaze to me, blue eyes hard in a way Isaac’s never are, not even when he’s in a bitchy mood, as he calls it. There’s calculation is his father’s gaze, there and gone again. “You didn’t tell me you were bringing someone.”
The statement is clearly directed at Isaac, even as his eyes never leave mine.
“Didn’t know I had to,” Isaac says.
His father’s mouth pinches into what might pass as a smile. “I wouldn’t have given the Howards false hope if I’d known you were bringing company.”
Isaac scoffs. “Maybe you shouldn’t have tried setting your gay son up with a girl to begin with.”
Mr. Newport’s eyes flash to Isaac, warning there. “There’s nothing wrong with being polite and welcoming to esteemed guests.”
“And your son?” Isaac retorts. “Do his feelings not warrant a passing thought?”
“Isaac,” his dad says coolly. “You agreed to come tonight. I expect you to remember your decorum.”
“My decorum,” Isaac repeats flatly, his voice small. “I’ve decorated myself enough for you. I’m not doing it any longer.”
Isaac snags my suit jacket in his grip, pulling me away from his father. He’s quiet on the walk back to our table, and I’m somewhat surprised when he retakes his seat instead of offering polite goodbyes to the others.
Finding the hand still twisted in my suit, I gently pluck it free and hold it between my own beneath the table. “Do you want to go?”
Isaac shakes his head, his stare on the stage. “No. I said I’d be here tonight. So I’m going to be here. Like I promised. With my boyfriend by my side. And then I’m not doing this again.”
I give his hand a squeeze. “Your stare could burn the world, Red.”
His eyes shift to mine, softening. “If that’s true, it’s because I have you giving me oxygen.”
The statement nearly winds me, his words a close mirror of those I gave him long ago. Isaac doesn’t look away from me. Not until his father’s voice blankets the room.
With a small sigh, Isaac returns his focus to the stage, where Mr. Newport gets into a demonstration on the company’s new pocket-size virtual assistant, funded primarily by those in attendance today.
True to his word, the presentation is brief, allowing the guests to return to their chatter and enjoy the desserts now being walked around the room.
There are gift bags waiting near the exit for all.
“Do we really need devices to replace human work?” I ask Isaac.
He snorts, finishing off his glass of champagne with a small wince. “Pretty soon we’ll all have mobile computers in the palm of our hands, able to do our bidding.” He leans closer to whisper, “And then people will be able to watch you anytime they want right from their phone’s internet browser.”
I raise an eyebrow. “You think if people have the internet at their fingertips, that’s what they’ll choose to do?”
Isaac laughs. “Have you met people?”
Fair point. “Will you and I still meet at the library? If phones take over the world?”
Isaac’s smile is soft, his eyes casing my face slowly. “There won’t ever be a time I won’t want to meet you at the library.”
“Even when you’re a professor? And I’m…” I mouth the final words, “A porn star.”
“Even then,” he answers. “No matter who you become, you’ll always be the person I met at the library, Trevor. The one who loves to read and has the heart of a poet. The guy who’s observant and calm and knows what he wants out of life. You’re vast and large and…”
My lips twitch as Isaac trails off. “You want to say ‘I contain multitudes,’ don’t you?”
“Well, Whitman is right,” he huffs. “Your mind and your heart are endless. You—Library Guy, soon to be porn star, Trevor Slade—are so many things. Don’t ever forget that.”
I bring Isaac’s hand to my chest, flattening his palm over my heart. “I have a feeling you won’t let me forget.”
“No,” Isaac says firmly. “I won’t.”