Chapter 6 #2
The next couple of days were quiet, something Chet wasn’t used to.
He did spend part of each day working, so he wasn’t too far out of touch with what was going on.
The addition of the new distributor was going well, and they were already exceeding sales projections in the first week.
Not that Chet was going to read too much into it.
Still, it was encouraging, especially since this new company had gotten a few airlines on board who were serving their cookies to passengers.
That could mean not just sales to the airlines, but new passenger orders if they liked them.
Even his father was happy about the potential, which was almost a miracle.
His father was many things, but heavy on praise was not one of them.
Every evening, he texted Darren, and they talked back and forth for a little while.
It was exciting because he knew Darren was in bed, and he also knew what it meant to be in bed with him.
Excitement and anticipation built by the hour, but he had to keep himself under control.
He didn’t want Darren to think he was only interested in sex, but the man drove him crazy.
Darren had no idea how sexy he was, and maybe that was part of the appeal.
Many of the people in his life were confident—they knew who they were and what they wanted.
They also had everything in life handed to them.
Darren was different… He was real and down-to-earth.
He also didn’t think the world revolved around him, and that alone was refreshing.
But it also seemed like a waste. Yes, he knew that Darren had to work, but that took most of their possible time together, so on Saturday, he took a lunch that he made himself to Darren at the store, and they ate together.
It was just half an hour, but Chet was getting a lesson in making the most of what he had.
Saturday night, he had a late dinner at The Pub and stayed until Darren was done with his shift.
Then he drove him home, made sure Darren had something to eat, and guided him to bed.
They climbed under the covers together, and Chet pulled Darren close, excitement building inside him…
until he realized Darren had fallen asleep already.
Chet shook his head and turned out the light.
Darren started awake next to him, and Chet heard a soft groan.
“I’m sorry,” Darren whispered.
“You can make it up to me in the morning,” Chet whispered back, and tugged Darren closer. They only had a few days and then Chet’s life was going to call him back to New York, and there was plenty waiting for him when he got there. But he wasn’t looking forward to any of it.
A tap on his chest pulled Chet out of an amazing dream.
He’d been in bed with Darren and he was getting a…
. The fog of sleep drifted away, and hell…
that wasn’t a dream. Darren’s lips slid down his length, taking him deep, and Chet groaned and thanked the Lord for the best morning wake-up ever.
“Jesus, Darren….” Chet moaned softly, but Darren didn’t reply.
He was otherwise occupied, and the last thing Chet wanted was for him to stop.
He was most definitely talented, and Chet reveled in those talents until Darren drove him wild, and the last of Chet’s control snapped, and he rode a wave of pleasure.
Chet lay still, breathing deeply as Darren settled next to him, a damned satisfied expression on his lips. Chet kissed him and held him closer. “Give me a few minutes, okay?”
“It’s okay. I owed you that for falling asleep last night. Now, I believe that you promised to feed me,” Darren quipped, and Chet snorted.
“That I did. I brought some things and put them in the refrigerator. Let me make you breakfast.” The sun shone thought the windows, which said it was going to be a lovely day.
Chet climbed out of bed and borrowed one of Darren’s robes, slipping it on.
“Let me get what I have.” He padded out into the small kitchen and pulled things out of the fridge.
He had eggs, toast, and fruit, and got them ready.
Darren was still in the bedroom when he finished, so he found an old tray and carried the food in.
Opening the door, he smiled. Darren sat up, his eyes closed and the covers pooled around his waist. He was beautiful, and Chet stood in place for a few seconds just looking at him.
“I brought you some breakfast,” he said softly, not wanting to startle him.
“Oh, sorry.” He shifted, and Chet placed the tray on his lap and gently climbed into bed.
He took his glass and set it on the bedside table.
Darren did the same, and they slowly and carefully began to eat.
“No one has ever done this for me before.” He took a bite of toast and chuckled.
“Okay. I get it. Breakfast in bed sounds really romantic until the toast crumbs get everywhere.”
“My mother had a maid for a few years who used to serve her in bed, like in one of those Victorian novels. I guess she got good at it. Mom always ate so daintily, and a few times I climbed in bed with her, and we had breakfast together.” Those were precious memories now.
Darren lightly bumped his shoulder, and they ate slowly until the eggs and toast were gone.
Chet had gotten fresh strawberries and handed one to Darren.
He wasn’t going to do the “feed each other” thing, but he watched Darren as he bit into the berry, a little juice escaping his lips.
It was luscious, and he kissed away any possible spillage and ate a berry himself.
“I have an idea. We could just eat, put the tray aside, and go at it like rabbits,” Darren offered. “I mean, this is really nice, but we’re so afraid of making a mess.”
Chet ate the last of the berries and lifted the tray off the bed.
He set it aside and slipped out of the robe before bounding back on the bed.
Darren’s laughs continued for a few seconds until Chet kissed them away.
Then his arms wound around Chet’s neck, and they settled under the covers. It was definitely time for dessert.
“You know, we could just go back to bed,” Darren said a few hours later as he pulled out a shoebox of old bills and receipts.
He hoped the bank statements were in this one.
They had been though three other boxes with no luck so far.
Darren set the box on the coffee table, and Chet opened it and began sorting.
“Yeah, but we also need to do this so we can tell your aunt to take a long walk off a short pier. That woman needs to take a hike.” He opened an envelope and handed it to Darren. “I think we might have found what we’re looking for.”
“Yup. That’s the first one.” He set it on the table, and they went through the rest of the contents, pulling out envelope after envelope. “I’ll keep looking if you want to try to put them in order.”
Chet set to work, laying them out on the floor by year to start with.
“I think we should check the time frames your aunt indicated to see if we can find anything at all. What months and years did she say?” Darren handed him the document.
“Okay. Let’s check 2021. We have all the statements for that year, and Regina said she loaned her mother over twenty thousand dollars twice.
So, there should be deposits.” He finished putting them in order, and they went through all of them.
What emerged as a picture of a person who was very careful with their money.
A Social Security deposit came in every month, as did a pension payment.
Her expenses were minimal, and Chet could see where she put aside money every month, her savings building and then diminishing with the tax and insurance payments before starting over again.
There were a few outside deposits, a couple hundred dollars here and there, but definitely no huge amounts, into either checking or savings. “I don’t see anything here at all.”
“No. Gramma never got a lot of money. She didn’t have much.
She had her car and the house, and that was about it.
She loved her garden and spent a lot of time there.
I know she had Social Security and her pension from working for the state.
But that was it. At least they covered a lot of her health insurance, but for everything else, she made it work somehow.
” Darren clutched the statements he was holding.
“It pisses me off that my aunt claims she loaned her a bunch of money when Gramma made things work and did it on her own. I got a job when I moved here.” He began sorting through the statements.
“Here, you’ll see the deposit each month.
I paid Gramma some of what I made to help out. ”
Chet looked though the statements for that year. “There they are. Right there. And there certainly aren’t large amounts coming in. There weren’t any other accounts?”
“No. This is all Gramma had.” He sat back and sighed. “Well, at least we know that Regina is full of shit. But what do we do about it?” Darren asked.
“I’m not sure,” Chet said as he sat back.
“But I want to talk to Skip. I think we have more than enough to put this entire issue to bed. Your aunt doesn’t have a leg to stand on…
in so many ways. But I think the biggest thing you have is the fact that you now have leverage over your aunt.
If she pursues this, then you can counter that there were no such payments, judging by your grandmother’s bank statements, and then you can allege fraud on your aunt’s part.
That will put her in hot water and you in the driver’s seat. ” He sighed.
“Is that how things work in your family?” Darren asked.
He shrugged. “It’s how things work in business. And like it or not, this is business, because family should not act the way she is. And my family can be a pain in the ass, but I’d like to think they would behave better than that.”