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“Of course you did,” I replied, still staring at them like they were traitors. “But since the dinner is here, I don’t think it matters if I attend.”
“It matters to me, son,” Dad said.
“And why is that?” I asked, sure to maintain a respectful tone. “I’m not planning on going back to work for him, Dad. I love you, but not after what he said to me. You cannot ask me to do that.”
“I wouldn’t. However, I want him to see how special you truly are,” he said.
That shut me up. Mom and Dad were my biggest cheerleaders. They never questioned any feelings I had about mysterious impressions that I would sometimes receive from the universe, and I’d definitely received some whoppers in my short life.
Mom joined us and gave me a peck on the cheek, laying her hands on my shoulders. “And wear that cute lavender-colored polo, honey. It flatters your skin so nicely,” she advised.
“The polo is pink, Mom.”
“Like I said,” she said, turning and waving a hand over her head as she went back to the kitchen island. “And that nice cologne too,” she added. “You know, the Clinique that smells so shower-fresh on you?”
I looked at Dad, and he shrugged his shoulders. “Uh-oh,” he whispered. “Mom’s up to something,” he warned.
“Not happening, Pops,” I declared. “I don’t do negative energy.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Cole
“Shit,” I whispered, leaning closer to the bathroom mirror. I used two fingers to spread the delicate skin at the corner of my eye. The result was terrific if I could keep my fingers there permanently, but of course, when I removed them, the crow’s feet returned.
“You look distinguished, Cole,” Marla had told me when I pointed out the offending wrinkles over Memorial Day weekend on Fire Island. We went for the holiday weekend to see if I could be cheered up. What I’d felt like, was old, not cheerful. Exactly like I felt now. “You’re a successful man in his late thirties. That is considered a catch in my world,” she’d said.
“Your world isn’t gay,” I’d reminded her.
“Stop with the negative attitude, darling,” she trilled. “You are fucking hot, and I should not have to keep reminding you of that.”
“You’re currently the only one saying that.”
I was currently reminded of how negative I’d been on that trip. The further away from my broken relationship that I got, the worse I became. Time was not healing all wounds, and I no longer believed the assholes that said it would.
I dabbed more eye cream around my eyes, adding some to the smile lines I also discovered on my wrinkle tour. “You’re just old,” I muttered, backing up and taking in my naked body.
My body, in my humble opinion, was how I defied age. The face revealed a man in his late thirties. The toned and muscular body said a decade younger than that. I ran a hand along my pronounced pecs and down my ripped stomach. Three hundred sit-ups a day kept the abdominals demarcated into a six-pack.
My obliques stood out near my waist and directed one’s eye to a sizable endowment. Alan had loved my penis. He hadn’t liked it in the beginning, but couldn’t get enough once he got used to its considerable girth. I wondered if his boss’s was as big.
Just the visual thought of him with his boss caused butterflies to take flight in my gut. I couldn’t let go of the fact that I didn’t think his boss was very attractive. I’d compared myself to him nonstop ever since Alan dumped me for him. The man must have had something. That, or I hadn’t taken good care of my relationship. I’d begun to believe it was more to do with that.
“Stop being so hard on yourself,” I said, doing my best to pump myself up before going to the neighbors’ for dinner. I wanted to look good and to appear casual and light, maybe even fun. Was that even possible?
My idea of seeing Chad again almost worked to perfection. I’d called his father Alex and asked about him and his wife coming for dinner at my house, and of course added that it would be nice if their son could attend as well. Alex, unsure of Chad’s work schedule, suggested I come there instead so that maybe Chad would be home early enough to spend time with us. I liked the idea immediately and agreed to the change of venue.
Now all I had to do was look presentable and do my best to come across as less of an asshole to Chad. Even if he didn’t want to work for me, perhaps we could be neighborly friends and see where that got me.
Having any sort of attraction to a guy was a pleasant surprise. Quite a length of time had lapsed since I’d felt even an inkling of excitement at the prospect of romance. According to his father, Chad was only twenty-two. I figured that he wouldn’t like older men, but I was motivated to see where he stood with that.
I’d had the advantage of knowing he was gay because his father outed him on our initial phone call when mentioning his son as a candidate for caretaking at my house. Alex had mentioned Chad was home for the summer after a breakup with his boyfriend. That revelation was one of the minor reasons I’d agreed to hire him. Chad’s experience running his folks’ oceanfront home was the main reason.
The day I’d shown up at my new home was the first time I’d laid eyes on him. It was immediately impossible not to notice how striking of a young man he was. He had a natural and attractive physical appearance. Lucky to have been a winner in God’s DNA gene pool lottery, he stood out above most young men his age. The best part? I don’t think he saw himself that way.
Whereas Chad was personable and had a great ability to hold your gaze while speaking, a natural shyness or modesty came through when he spoke. He seemed to choose his words carefully, as if each one had a purpose to him. I admired the subtle way he came across as inviting without being phony. I noted that approach to be a terrific skill on a boy so striking to look at.
Our initial encounter had been brief indeed. I’d pulled into the driveway to a half-naked boy washing my vehicles, so naturally I was caught off guard. I actually sat in the SUV longer than seemed appropriate because I needed to get a grip from the surprise. Seeing the sun reflecting off his moist skin, combined with the mist from the hose enhancing every muscle as it clung to him, damn near made me faint.
I’d led the way along the sidewalk as he carried my luggage, trying to be decent about the thoughts careening through my filthy mind after glimpsing his bubble butt in his board shorts when I’d pulled in. His narrow waist barely held the shorts up and they were hanging so low that the top of his ass crack was in view. Paler smooth skin was exposed below his tan line as it disappeared into the material I wished I was inside of. Perhaps I’d done more than glimpsed.
