Chapter 13 #4
Logan looked like he was going to cry, but he still didn’t say anything. He took a few bites of the sugary treat, but it was obvious he had no appetite.
“Okay, so, I think I’m calm enough to talk to you about what happened now,” Porter said. “If I’m understanding everything right, there was a girl on the playground who was being touched by this Gary kid, and she didn’t like it. So you hit Gary to get him to stop and he tattled on you. Right?”
Logan nodded. “Lacie’s shy. She’s also fat.
I’m not saying that to be mean, she just is,” he said.
“She’s bigger than the other girls in my class.
Gary makes fun of her all the time. Oinks at her and stuff when the teacher can’t hear him.
It makes her really sad. She’s been nice to me, not like Gary or a lot of the other kids.
He took her around the corner of the playground at recess where the teachers couldn’t see him, then he pushed her against the wall and squeezed her…
you know. Lacie was scared, I could tell, and she told him to stop but he wouldn’t.
She started crying. So I went over there and told Gary to stop too.
He said no. Then told me to make him. So I did. ”
Logan’s words were rushed, as if he wanted to get everything out before his uncle started yelling at him.
Porter reached out and put his hand on the back of Logan’s neck, leaning forward so they were only a few inches apart. “I’m proud of you, Slugger.”
Logan looked shocked. “Huh?”
“I’m proud of you,” Porter repeated. “You didn’t have to intervene.
You could’ve ignored what was happening.
But you didn’t. You stepped in to help Lacie when she needed it.
You know that your mom and I weren’t on good terms, but she managed to raise a very good kid.
I know she made mistakes, but I couldn’t be happier with what you did. ”
“But I hit Gary.”
“You did,” Porter agreed. “And the jerk deserved it. No one should touch anyone in their private places without their consent. You know what consent is?”
“Yeah. It means without them saying it’s okay,” Logan said.
“Right. I don’t care if someone is five years old, or ninety-five. It’s never okay. And that goes for men and women, girls and boys. It’s never all right. Ever. You did the right thing, and I will always have your back when it comes to you protecting others from something like that.”
“But…I’m suspended,” Logan said, lip quivering.
“Yup. Which just gives us time to figure out what other school to enroll you in.”
Logan looked hopeful. “Really?”
“You aren’t happy with the school you’re in, and there are other schools in this area.
Not a lot, but some. We can go visit them and see if we can find one you’ll like.
I’d already told you I was open to you switching, but I wouldn’t let you go back to that asshole’s school now even if you wanted to. ”
Riley saw Logan’s eyes fill with tears. She reached over and put her hand on Porter’s arm, wanting to feel connected with both of them.
She was proud of what Logan had done too, and she was so relieved that Porter was praising him instead of yelling at him.
Not that she thought he’d be mad at his nephew, but suspension was a serious thing.
“I know nothing about the last few months has been easy on you, Slugger. I want to do everything in my power to help you feel at ease. I don’t expect you to be perfect, but will insist on you being respectful and a good person.
And so far, I’ve been overwhelmed at the kind of young man you’re becoming.
You could be bitter and mean, like that Gary jerk, but you aren’t.
You have compassion and empathy for others, like Lacie.
That will take you far in life, and while I hate that I didn’t know you before, I’m so very pleased to have you with me now. ”
Logan didn’t respond, but the tears overflowed from his eyes. He shut them tightly, as if he was ashamed.
“Don’t be embarrassed by crying, Slugger,” Porter told him, wiping away his tears with his free hand. “I’d much rather you show emotion than go through life like a robot.”
“Do you cry?” Logan asked.
Porter nodded. “Yeah. I’ve seen a lot in my lifetime, so it takes a lot to move me to tears, but when it happens, I don’t try to stop them.”
“Like when?” Logan asked.
Riley was seeing a side of Porter she hadn’t expected, and she was just as interested in his answer as Logan.
“I was on a mission. We were in a very poor country, and while I know we have privileged lives here in the United States, it still didn’t prepare me for what I saw.
We were patrolling, and we went around a corner and there was an alley.
I looked down it, to make sure there weren’t any bad guys lurking there, and I saw a little boy, probably about your age, although he weighed about thirty pounds less than you; he was extremely skinny.
He was standing over a pile of about ten dead dogs. He was trying to sell them as meat.
“It was the saddest thing I’d seen in a very long time.
I was sad for the boy for having to do that, and for those dogs.
I cried for at least an hour after seeing him.
I had to keep patrolling, so I couldn’t stop and let my grief out.
But those tears wouldn’t stop. The other guys didn’t make fun of me.
They didn’t tell me to ‘man up’ or some other ridiculous macho thing.
They silently supported me and let me feel what I felt.
I want you to always do the same. If you’re happy, or sad, or frustrated…
you can cry. It doesn’t make you less of a man, got it? ”
Logan nodded.
Riley felt tears on her own face. She couldn’t imagine the kinds of things Porter had seen while on his missions. She’d just assumed they were all dangerous and he spent his time shooting things, but it was obvious she’d done him a disservice.
“Riley’s crying now,” Logan said.
Porter turned and, without taking his hand from Logan’s neck, reached for her face. His thumb brushed a tear off her cheek.
“Oz?” Logan asked quietly.
Porter turned his attention back to his nephew. “Yeah?”
“I thought you were really mad.”
“I was. I still am. But not at you, Slugger. I’m mad at Gary’s dad for not teaching him to respect others. I’m mad at your principal for not having Lacie’s back. I’m mad that you got suspended. But I’m not mad at you.”
“Riley was mad too,” Logan said.
“She was, huh?” Porter asked.
“Uh-huh. Her face got really red, and I wasn’t sure what she was gonna do. It was probably good you got there when you did.”
The look Porter shot her way made Riley squirm uncomfortably in her seat. Logan was right. It was a good thing Porter had arrived when he had, because she was about to go off on Doctor McClain.
“It’s good she has your back,” Porter told his nephew. Then he studied Logan’s face for a long moment before asking, “You good?”
“Yeah.”
“Great. Our ice cream’s mush now, but I’m not gonna let it go to waste, are you?”
“No way!” Logan said with a smile.
Riley was relieved to hear the lightness in his tone.
He’d obviously been scared to death about what Porter was going to say or do to him.
And now that it was clear he wasn’t in trouble, that his uncle was proud of him for what he’d done, it was as if ten pounds had been lifted from Logan’s shoulders.
Then Porter turned to her. “You good?” he asked.
“Yeah. Are you?” she returned.
“I’m getting there,” he told her. “Just need to spend some more time with my two favorite people and I’ll be better.”
It took everything in Riley not to pounce on Porter right then and there. Today had made it crystal clear that she’d fallen for him. He was trying so hard to be a good parent to Logan, and from where she was sitting, he was doing an amazing job.
They finished eating their melted ice cream and headed back home. Riley wasn’t sure where things were going next with her and Porter, but she knew where she wanted them to go. Though she also didn’t want to overstay her welcome.
She shouldn’t have worried. As they were walking down the hallway toward their apartments, Logan asked, “You’re staying for dinner, right?”
“Yeah, you’re staying, right?” Porter echoed.
“I was going to let you have some guy time,” she told them. “You need to talk about schools and figure out what happens next.”
“We’ve got time to talk about that, right, Slugger?” Porter asked.
“Right. And you said I could help you make tacos. I want to stir the meat!” Logan said.
“All right, all right. You’ve convinced me,” Riley said with a chuckle.
“Here’s the key, go ahead and open the door,” Porter told his nephew. Logan took the key and ran ahead of them.
Porter leaned in, so his lips were against her ear, and said, “You want to stir my meat?”
Riley choked on a laugh. “Porter!” she exclaimed.
He was grinning from ear to ear, and Riley couldn’t help but be relieved. The day had been pretty emotional, and she loved that he could tease her after everything that happened.
Then he got serious. “Stay. I need you. I was so pissed off today it took everything I had not to lay into that asshole. I feel bad for Lacie, but I can’t let Logan stay there. Not with people like McClain running that place.”
“I know, I was ready to rip him a new asshole myself,” Riley said.
“So you’ll stay?”
“For dinner?” she asked.
“Yes. And the night.”
Riley bit her lip uncertainly, then blurted, “I want you. I’m not sure I can sleep with you again and keep things PG.”
“PG,” Porter said with a chuckle. “You’re cute. And I’m up, literally, for anything you want to do. You can call the shots tonight. I won’t go further than you’re ready for.”
“And if I’m ready to go all the way?” Riley forced herself to ask.
“Then I’m gonna ruin you for all other men,” Porter said with confidence.
“I think you already have,” Riley admitted.
Porter opened his mouth to say something, but Logan interrupted. “Got it!” he called out. “Come on! I’m hungry!”
“That kid’s always hungry,” Porter mock grumbled. “We just had ice cream, for God’s sake.”
“You know you don’t care. He needs to put on a few more pounds anyway,” Riley said.
“You’re right. Ri?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m not taking you staying lightly. I know things have been fast-forwarded, with you staying here with Logan and being with us every night. I wouldn’t ask you to stay if I didn’t want a long-term relationship with you. If I didn’t see us working out in the long run.”
His words soothed something within Riley she hadn’t even known needed soothing. “Same. I love Logan, but I wouldn’t be with you just to have him in my life.”
“Good. I’ll walk you back to your place later so you can grab some overnight stuff.”
Riley wanted to blush at that, but she wasn’t embarrassed in the least. She wanted to be with him. Wanted to be intimate with him. She’d never been as happy as she’d been with Porter. He was everything she’d always wanted in a partner.
“Okay,” she told him with a huge grin.
“Fuck, it’s going to be a long evening,” Porter complained.
“I’ve heard that anticipation makes pleasure more intense,” Riley told him.
“Oh, it’s gonna be intense all right,” Porter told her with a wicked look in his eyes.
“Behave,” Riley said with a swat to his arm. “Your impressionable nephew is watching.”
Porter didn’t reply verbally, just smiled at her instead.
He put his hand on the small of her back and gently herded her to his door.
But his fingers slipped under the hem of her shirt and rested on her warm skin, making her shiver.
He wasn’t playing fair, but then again, the reward for them both at the end of the evening would be well worth the foreplay. She hoped.