Chapter Six
“How are things between you and Orsen?”
“Tense but easing.” Santino glanced at Cody’s wrists, and noticed him pulling the sleeves of his shirt down.
“You want to know.”
“It’s not my place to know.” Santino picked up his cup of tea and watched pedestrians walk past the window of the tea shop. “That’s for you to decide.”
“You know some of my past.”
“I know of your relationship to Cass and Emily Paarman. A name you no longer share.”
“I came out, and they didn’t handle it well, but did a great job of appearing to accept it. When a specific type of camp was found, they reserved a place for me.” Cody sipped his tea and hummed. “I like this one.”
“Which one did you go for?”
“Green tea and lime. I blame Toni for getting me hooked on them. I made a pass at TJ when I was fifteen and then ran away. Spent a year messing up my life in every way I could think of, then one day it bit me in the ass, and I almost died. In those moments, I knew I wanted to live, and I knew I still loved TJ.”
Now Santino understood. “Your back.”
Cody nodded. “Yeah, and I wasn’t willing. I managed to get away, learned to accept who I am, and I found a family I could call my own.”
“What about Carter? He’s your uncle.”
Cody frowned and stared at the cup in his hand. “He is, but I don’t have that type of relationship with him. My family lives in Carrington on a beautiful ranch.”
“They saved you.”
“A horse named Freya saved me. We’re going to visit next week. Apparently, she misses me.” Cody smiled. “I miss her too, but my place is here with TJ.”
“You made a pass at him when you were younger, and he turned down your advances.”
“That’s a nice way of saying he told me no.”
Santino smiled, nodded. “I guess it is, but if he turned you down, why come back?”
Cody watched him, then murmured, “because he is the only man I have ever loved. No matter what I went through, he was my reason to keep going. I came back for him.” Cody chuckled softly. “You should have seen his face when I told him.”
“I imagine he was shocked.”
“He was, but I won him over.” Cody sighed, then sipped his tea.
“Now you know what I’m willing to tell. Did you get Orsen’s records that I left for you?
You have no idea how much wheedling I had to do to get them.
Mr. Darcy didn’t want me to have them till I gave him the reason why, and even then he wasn’t sure. ”
“His last test scores are here. Considering his lack of attendance up to that stage, his scores are excellent. I don’t believe he’ll have much trouble catching up. We’ll tackle the core subjects first, like English and math, then add others in.”
“He’s smarter than he knows, but with his past, he thinks he’s thick as shit.
I know I did, and I came from a relatively stable family.
” Cody arched his eyebrows when he said ‘relatively.’ “Give him a few months and praise him a lot. He won’t have had much, if any, of that.
You’ll see him blossom. In some ways he’s like a child with his lack of social interactions, but in other areas of life he’s more mature than he should be. ”
“I’ve noticed. I told him we should meet up in town to talk, and he asked if it was a date.”
“Could he be attracted to you?”
“I’m older than him so—”
Cody burst out laughing. “Oh, I’ve heard that line, and look where it got him.”
Santino chuckled. Yes, Cody would have heard that line from TJ, but they had a history, so their relationship would have been different. “We hardly know each other, and I’m showing him the attention he’s missed out on growing up. I don’t want him to confuse appreciation with attraction.”
Cody stared at him, his eyes moving over Santino’s face, and Santino remained still, letting him look. “You’re not a bad-looking man. I can see why Orsen would be attracted to you.”
“Thank you. I think. However, he needs to experience life, go out and have fun—”
Cody laughed again. “This is like me and TJ.” Cody put his cup down and leaned on the table.
“Not everyone wants to go out and live life the way others think they should. Orsen has lived a life. One filled with fear and terror and pain. He suffered when he should have been cherished and nurtured. Do you see him coping in a city environment?” Santino shook his head.
Orsen would drown in a place like that. “He has a place here. He needs to find it and himself. I speak from painful experience that sometimes you have to be at your lowest point before you understand who you are and what your life can be like if you make a change. He’s making those changes, but in his time.
Education being the first step, and I know he wants to tear down that shithole he grew up in.
That will be therapeutic for him, but also painful.
It holds memories, and even though they are painful ones, it will still hurt to see the place he called home destroyed. Emotions are a bastard sometimes.”
“He appears to be doing well with Mr. Crompton.”
Cody laughed again. “Do not say the Mr. part in front of him. He’ll tear you a new asshole. Crompton doesn’t sugarcoat anything. He tells it like it is, and for someone who has been lied to their whole life, that will be refreshing.”
“We discussed honesty. It’s something he values.” Santino sipped his fruit tea. “I want to help him. There’s something about him that makes me want to help.”
“Hmm. Wouldn’t be those eyes of his or the way he looks? I’m not blind. Some decent food, some time in a gym, and a good haircut and don’t be surprised if he turns a few heads. Orsen is very attractive, but he doesn’t see himself that way.”
“His eyes are…” Santino moved his fingers as he tried to find the word he wanted. “Captivating.”
“Electric blue. I looked it up.” Cody grinned. “Imagine staring down at them as you get up close and personal.”
“You mean sex.” Santino had suspicions and voiced them. “Are you trying to set us up?”
Cody pointed to his chest. “Me? Why, yes, I am. I saw the way he looked at you when you were both at our place. I also noticed more than one glance from you, but I understand. The age, the past, the blah blah blah.” Cody rolled his eyes.
“When you next visit him, really look at him. Ignore the past and the age and all the other things and look at him, then tell me he isn’t good looking.
Not my man good looking because he’s mine and no one else is having him. ”
“Possessive,” Santino murmured.
“Yes, and proud of it, too.”
Santino checked his phone when it beeped. “Orsen. Wants to know if I’m free.”
“Get him to ask Crompton to bring him here. It’s quiet at this time of day, and you can treat him to some cake.”
“Are you always like this?” Santino had family members who liked to organize his life. Cody behaved like them.
“No, I’m not, but Orsen needs someone, and I think you could be that someone.”
“And why is that?” Orsen and he had vastly different life histories. They were worlds apart when it came to experience.
“He needs someone who will be there for him. Someone who will never lie to him and will always be honest. You give me the impression that trust is important to you, and after what Orsen went through, trust will be very important to him. Would you be with him and lie and cheat? No, I don’t think you would.
You’re calm, thoughtful. You look at a situation from multiple angles.
You’re stable and he needs that.” Cody leaned back in his chair.
“I think you’d enjoy showing him a life that’s vastly different from the one he’s had.
His happiness would be important to you. ”
Santino raised his eyebrows but said nothing. Cody had only known him a few short months but had him pegged. The things that would become important to Orsen were already important to Santino. Trust, honesty, commitment. “I’m impressed.”
“Don’t be. We’re similar in what we want in life, only I’m a possessive bastard now that I have mine.”
“I’ll consider what you’ve said. One issue, though. He’s only seventeen.”
“For another twenty-five days.”
“Still…”
“I was fifteen. You?”
Santino coughed and stared at Cody, who wore a huge grin. “Do you like to shock?”
“No, but you’re talking to me about. Someone who had done far more than you before the age of seventeen.”
“You don’t know me that well to say that.” Santino furrowed his brow. “You’re making assumptions.” He didn’t like people who thought they knew all about him. Cody had no idea what kind of life he’d led.
“Nope. The scars on my back? Got them hanging off ropes after shooting up. Whipped so hard the blood ran down my back to join the blood coming from other places.” Cody gave Santino a hard stare and Santino didn’t want to know, but he did.
He knew exactly what Cody meant. “The scars on my wrists are from the cuffs attached to those ropes. I was a junkie who fucked around — literally fucked around — and drank like a hardcore motherfucker. I didn’t want to put a bullet in my brain, so I did the next best thing, and it almost got me killed. ”
“I stand corrected.” Santino swallowed hard and tried not to think about the pain Cody must have gone through. “I’m sorry.”
“I am who I am because of that, and I have the only man I have ever loved sleeping next to me every night.” Cody glanced out of the window and waved. “Orsen is here. You should take him shopping. He can afford to buy new clothes now.”
“You surprise me.” Santino hadn’t met many people like Cody, who had gone through what he had and come out the other side so confident and strong. “I now understand why you’re so protective of Orsen.”
“He deserves a good life.”
“Yes, he does.” Santino smiled when Orsen approached. “Hello, Orsen.”
Cody smiled at Orsen and stood. “I’m on my way out, so you can have my seat. You look good today.”
Santino watched Orsen blush from the praise and noticed the small smile he gave. “He’s right. You look much better than when I first met you.”
Orsen’s blush deepened, and he ducked his head. “Thank you.”
“Sit down and I’ll get you a drink. Would you like some cake?”
Orsen lifted his head, his eyes wide. “Oh, I can’t afford—”
“I offered. And yes, you can afford it. I’d suggest a chocolate brownie. Handmade here and delicious.”
“Oh, yes, please, and a coffee. They won’t be mad that it isn’t tea, will they?”
Cody laughed and hugged Orsen. “They won’t care. I’m meeting TJ for some alone time before we have all the kids.” Cody nodded behind him and Santino joined him, both stepping away from Orsen.
In a low voice, Santino murmured, “You’re right. I’ll make sure to praise him often.”
“Learning this stuff helps. Therapy will too, which he needs, even if he hasn’t committed to it yet.
All in good time.” Cody waved and left. Santino watched him go, then glanced over at Orsen, who sat staring out the window.
His light blond hair caught the sun that shone through the window, and when he turned to look at Santino, he saw what Cody had.
Those eyes sparkled, the light making Orsen’s hair look like a halo, and Santino’s breath caught.
Orsen was beautiful.