Chapter Twenty-Four
Brent
“Rise and shine,” I said as I opened the door to Renny’s room after three short knocks. I had a tray of breakfast treats, which I set on the end table next to his bed. “Did you sleep well?”
“Like a baby.” Renny stretched his toned arms and yawned before sitting up against the headboard. “This bed is so comfortable. I could stay here all day, but I know we’ve got a full day ahead.”
“We do,” I said, and gave him one long-stemmed red rose I’d placed on the tray. As I sat at the foot of the bed, I handed him a small brown bag. “Good morning, Renny.”
“Thank you,” he said, smelling the rose. He eyed my tank top and workout shorts. “Looks like someone’s had a productive morning already.”
“I have. Put away the grocery delivery order. FaceTimed my kids and checked in on Macy. Got a workout and pickup game in. Messaged the on-call team with campus facilities—your place won’t be ready till after the long weekend—and got some breakfast ready for you. That’s all.”
“We like a busy man who’s not sitting on his ass all day,” Renny said, eyeing the tray on the end table. “Thank you. Now what’s with all this California bird food?”
Renny looked over the breakfast charcuterie board I’d put together for him—a cup of granola, cut-up bananas, dairy-free yogurt, a couple strips of turkey bacon, and strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries scattered about.
I’d added a small pot of hot water, tea bags, and a mug of black coffee with all the accoutrements.
“I’m just joking with you. We don’t call it breakfast in Detroit if there’s no eggs, sausage, salmon croquettes, grits with butter and salt, and some kinda hot biscuits or cinnamon rolls.”
“Memories of those Midwest mornings,” I said. “Stay here long enough, and you’ll see what else I can throw down in the kitchen for you. And we’ll get some extra workouts in so you can keep that figure tight in all the right places, like Destiny’s Child sang in ‘Cater 2 U.’ ”
“Mm-hmm.” Renny smiled. “Thank you for breakfast. I do appreciate it and your hospitality.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Hey. I noticed something last night before I went to sleep.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Last year, when we ran into each other on campus in Missouri—”
“We did more than run into each other. It was a full contact sport. But anyway.”
“Anyway, you made it seem like you hadn’t really thought about me since college.
And then I look at your books over there, and I see all these romance novels by people whose work I admire, and then voilà, first editions of my whole catalogue in order of publication on the lower shelf. What’s that all about?”
“Not gonna lie,” I said. “Buying and keeping your books was an easy way of keeping up with you over the years without disrupting my marriage and family life.”
“Where’d you keep them before the divorce and moving into your own place?”
“I kept them in a box in my office on campus. Then, when you went digital and audio, it was easier to download them without any questions about why I was buying and reading gay romance books. And when podcasts became a thing, I could hear your voice whenever I wanted and whenever you were being interviewed. It was like you were updating me about your life. Is that all right? I’m talking too much. ”
“It’s more than all right. It’s flattering. It means I’ve been on your mind over the years.”
“You have been. I never forgot you.”
“Anything else you hid from your wife and family?”
I was confused at first, then realized what Renny was hinting at.
“Oh no, no, no, no, no,” I said. “No men. No relationships. No apps. No arcades or sex clubs or anonymous activities at parks. Maybe some porn, here and there, because I’m human and have needs.
But otherwise, I stayed loyal to Macy and to my family.
Until I couldn’t anymore. Until I couldn’t stop sacrificing my mental health because I couldn’t be radically honest about what I’d been denying. ”
“I hate that we lost so much time, Brent.”
“We can make up for it now. If you want.”
His lips quivered into a smile. Renny and I stared at each other for a few seconds, him sitting up at the headboard, me sitting at the foot of the bed.
It was like we were taking in each other’s faces for the first time.
If only he knew how much I adored him, longed for him, wanted to hold him, wanted to be with him.
Not just at the moment, but from the moment I first met him.
Renny broke the gaze. He reached over, picked up a strawberry by its leaf and stem, and bit into it. He moaned and looked at me.
“These are so good. Want some?”
The tone in Renny’s voice and that satisfied look on his face as he finished off that berry got me hard instantly.
I wondered if he was aware how naturally and unknowingly sexy he was that morning.
Whether he knew it or not, I knew I wouldn’t be standing up from the bed anytime soon as I didn’t want him to see my erection rising in my workout shorts.
We would have to keep the conversation going until my dick went down naturally or we did something to alleviate the hardness.
Based on where Renny said he was in his life, I knew that wouldn’t be in the cards this morning.
“I had breakfast after my workout this morning. All this is for you and you alone.”
“You’re too kind, Brent. All I needed was a place to stay for the night. And now you’ve made breakfast, brought me a rose and a gift bag. What have I done to deserve this?”
“You just being you. I told you I’ma spend as much time as I can making amends for letting you go. Wanna open it?”
I was excited as I watched Renny remove the tissue paper, look inside, and pull out three books.
“This is the Beverly Jenkins Destiny trilogy. I love this series.”
“They all have scenes set in Northern California or near San Francisco, so I thought they would be a good welcome gift to your new home,” I said. “Look inside. On the pages with the sticky tabs.”
Renny opened the books as I asked and gasped, “Oh my God. They’re autographed. For me?”
“At first I got them for my collection,” I said.
“She did a bookstore event near campus while I was getting L.B. set at Michigan State, so I bought them and got them signed. But then I thought, Juneteenth is this week, you’re new in California, and I wanted you to have them.
If I’d known I was going to run into you at the airport, and you’d end up staying here in my place, I would have had them personalized for you. ”
“I love Beverly Jenkins. How cool is this? Thanks, Brent.”
The moment reminded me of a similar occasion in college, a few months after Larenz and I had been hanging out when winter’s gloom started to thaw for the prospect of new beginnings in spring.