Chapter 8
“Why are you nervous?” Chase asks me as we walk up to his dad’s front door.
“I want him to like me,” I answer honestly.
“Don’t be silly, daddy. He already loves you,” he says, then waves the brown paper bag that has a cheap cake in it. “And he’s going to be so happy that we brought him his favourite dessert.” I can’t believe his dad’s favourite dessert is a marble deep’n delicious cake that cost seven dollars.
He leads us into the house, then yells, “dad, we’re here! Where are you?” There’s no answer as he pulls me further into the house, which looks like a show home that’s been staged for a magazine. “Dad!” He yells, stomping his foot.
“In the kitchen,” I hear a man faintly call out.
We move quickly through the living room, then a hallway full of photos of Chase and what must be his dad before arriving in the kitchen.
It’s large, like everything I assume in this house and looks just as staged as the living room and front entrance.
Chase’s dad is dressed down in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, but you can easily tell they’re high quality pieces.
He looks exactly like Chase, just 25 years older and with a trimmed beard.
“Welcome to my home, Luke. You can’t imagine how much I’ve heard about you,” he says with a large smile. “I feel like I know you inside and out.”
“Shut up,” Chase snaps.
“Don’t be sensitive, buddy. It’s not like I told him about your phot-” he’s cut off by Chase stomping his foot.
Then Chase yells, “shut up.”
“Oh, relax,” he says with his hands up. “Luke, you don’t have any dietary restrictions, right?”
“No,” I shake my head, then offer, “do you need help with anything?”
Before he can answer, Chase chimes in, “daddy bought you the cake you love. How long until supper, or can we have a piece now?” He asks, already opening the cake’s lid, then grabbing a spoon.
Frowning, “Chase, it’s your favourite cake, isn’t it?” He looks guilty with a spoonful already in his mouth as his dad laughs.
“He likes it too,” he argues.
His dad grabs a spoon, then takes a large bite. “I do, but we should save it for after dinner.” He frowns, then takes five more big bites after his dad takes two more himself before putting it in the freezer.
After he comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist, putting his hands on my stomach so he can rub up and down it. I ask, “Mr. Graves, can we help you with anything?”
“No, and call me Paul. Why don’t you boys get settled at the table, and I’ll bring everything out,” Paul says, motioning for us to go on.
Chase doesn’t need to be told twice because he grabs my hand, leading me through a swinging door into the dining room.
The room has a large table set up with three place settings, a glass jug of water, and already seems to have a few dishes on it.
I sit on the right, expecting Chase to sit across from me, so his dad can sit at the head of the table.
But the boy obviously doesn’t care for the effort that went into setting up the table nicely because he moves everything set up at the head table spot so he can sit beside me without putting it back nicely.
After he sits down, he grabs my hand before Paul walks in with a wooden block that looks to have sliced chicken, steak, and corn on the cob.
Paul sets it down carefully on the table before looking at Chase with a knowing smile, then sits across from us.
He nods at the food, then Chase starts dishing not just his plate, but mine.
That’s not something I expected the boy to do.
Once Chase is satisfied that both our plates are well stuffed, he sits back with a large smile.
Paul jokes while dishing his own plate, “I feel like all the normal questions I should ask you I already know. But I suspect if I ask you how Chase is doing at the firm, I’ll get a different answer than he gave me.”
Flicking my eyes briefly to Chase, I look back at Paul, but before I answer, Chase decides to. “I already told daddy the truth about how I was pretending to be bad at work to get his attention, so he can’t answer that until next week’s family dinner when he’s seen how good I can actually be.”
Suddenly, I realize Chase called me daddy just now, then called me it in the kitchen earlier.
I watch his dad laugh before he waves his fork at Chase, “you should have been good from the beginning and all the way through. You’re lucky Luke here is so forgiving because I’m sure Rodriguez and Khan would’ve booted you out the door if you acted that way with them. ”
“They’re both boring, so I would’ve quit before they could fire me,” Chase says with his nose held up high. “Besides, I’m only there for my daddy, and I got him, so I’m happy with everything I did.”
Without thinking, I reprimand, “Chase, you shouldn’t be openly proud of being manipulative.”
Chase mumbles, “I’m sorry, daddy,” while Paul laughs before standing.
“How rude of me, I completely forgot wine for our meal,” Paul says. “Just give me a second.”
After he leaves the room, I face Chase and whisper, “you keep calling me daddy.”
He looks confused as he responds, “you’re my daddy?”
“Yes,” I answer with a smile I tried to keep at bay, “but we’re with your dad.”
“He knows you’re my daddy,” he says, “he knew before you did.” I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, since Chase has been obvious about him being a completely open book to everyone, including his dad, but still.
Paul walks back in with a bottle of wine, corks it, then pours us some before sitting. “What were you boys talking about, and why does Luke look unsure?”
Chase answers, “daddy’s worried about me calling him daddy in front of you.”
Paul waves his hand dismissively, “Luke, don’t be worried. I’m well aware of the kink community, and there’s no shame in this house. Besides, Chase is physically unable to keep anything private, so you’ll have to get us-”
“I can so,” Chase interjects.
“Buddy, you can’t,” Paul argues. “I know every little detail about Luke down to the fact he wears briefs instead of boxers, he only wears black socks, and that’s the tamer stuff you’ve told me.
You called me last week when you stumbled on two of the paralegals at work kissing and told me everything, including the part when they asked you to keep it a secret. ”
“Chase, are you the one who told the entire office about Catherine and Molly?” I ask, twisting to look at him completely. He shrugs, I can’t believe this boy.
“Told you so,” Paul laughs.
Chase draws a pattern onto his thigh, then mumbles, “you guys are mean. I wasn’t the only one that saw them, but everyone assumed the rumour came from me, so they kept bugging me about it.
” Then he looks up at Paul, then points his finger at him.
“Melanie broke up with you because you’re a blabbermouth and you called to tell me before she even closed the door. I heard her yell that.”
Paul shrugs, “I never said I wasn’t, just that you were.”
I shake my head at the two men, but Paul’s right.
I’m going to have to get used to it, since I already knew the boy couldn’t keep his mouth shut to save his life.
They bicker for a few more minutes before I put my hand on Chase’s thigh, then give it a squeeze.
It makes him sit back, since he was leaning forward just like his dad was.
They definitely act more like brothers at times, opposed to father and son.
“Paul,” I ask, “Chase told me you’re semi-retired. How are you liking it?”
“It’s boring at times,” Paul answers, “but it gives me more time to hang out with Chase and you going forward. Also, I’m planning on dating again.”
“JJ hit on daddy at Midnight,” Chase adds randomly, then continues, “so, you should text him.”
“You only want me to text him so he stays away from Luke here instead of us actually being compatible,” Paul teases.
“No,” Chase argues, “daddy’s mine and JJ knows that. No one can steal him away from me. I just think you would like JJ because he’s your type, and he only dates men over 50 years old.”
“Barely 50,” Paul comments.
“You’re 54,” Chase says, “and it would be nice for me because people at work bugged me about my daddy never dating someone younger than him. So, they’ll bug me about our age gap now, but if you’re with JJ, I can say that my dad’s dating someone 30 years younger than him.”
I snort, “darling.”
“They also have things in common,” Chase continues, “like they both care about business and reading the newspaper. Dad just reads it on paper while JJ reads it on his phone. They also both like swimming and are allergic to dogs.”
“The makings of a solid relationship,” I tease.
“I know,” Chase says with a big smile and a nod before kissing my cheek, then facing Paul. “See, both daddy and me agree, so text JJ.”
“I didn’t ask for you to weigh in on my love life,” Paul shakes his head with a smile, “and I have no business dating one of your friends from school. Most kids would hate even the idea of that.”
“Don’t be silly,” Chase says, then pushes his almost finished plate away. “I’m ready for dessert.” He stands, grabbing his plate, then mine, which I wasn’t finished with, but he’s in the kitchen before I can say anything.
“I’m really happy you gave Chase a chance,” Paul says seriously.
“I know he’s full on, but he’s a good kid, and he really does love you.
I know you’ve only been seeing each other since Friday, so it feels incredibly new for those kinds of feelings.
But from the second he met you at that Christmas party, he’s been all about Luke Moore this and Luke Moore that.
He’ll love you completely and for the rest of his life if you let him. ”