Page 37 of Dark Obsession

CHAPTER SEVEN

It was hot and humid, again, but at least they’d caught a break and a flat gray layer of clouds kept the sun at bay. For now. Demetrius stood on the patio in the back of Amelia and Otis’s condo, a half-finished bottle of beer in one hand and his other tucked into the pocket of his shorts. One Sunday a month through spring, summer, and fall, the block where Amelia and Otis lived in Parson's Pines came together for a potluck. Demetrius and Cody were always invited, as were Oliver and Dave. Oliver and Dave, however, were off on a weekend trip to the Allegheny Reservoir where Oliver knew people who owned a pontoon boat. A pre-honeymoon, Oliver had called it.

For their contribution to the potluck, Demetrius had brought a plate of celery sticks, some with peanut butter spread in the curve, others with bar cheese, and the rest with a cream cheese and marshmallow fluff mix. Those were Cody’s favorite, and Demetrius was glad he’d managed to keep a dozen out of his reach before they’d arrived.

Cody was a short distance away, talking with Eileen, Oliver’s grandmother, and a group of senior ladies, all of whom he had laughing. From his time spent in the neighborhood, Demetrius knew the names of all the women clustered around Cody, who was soaking up every drop of attention. His smile was turned up to spotlight brilliance, and charm radiated out from him like Chernobyl. Gladys Miller stood close to Cody, of course, resting her hand on his arm now and then, her laughter cutting above all others. Patricia Wynne, who Amelia called a pinochle card shark, was more restrained, but she still threw back her head and brayed at pretty much anything Cody said. And Vanda Gayle, the fashion diva of the block, looked resplendent in a tailored pink track suit as she held a martini glass in one hand and waved Cody’s comments off with the other.

Cody could charm fish from a river without breaking a sweat.

Stilted conversation and long, unfamiliar silences during their dinner at Margie’s the night before had followed them into bed. They’d lain beside each other, hips touching, but still with so much distance left until they found their ways back to common ground.

The morning had been much the same. Demetrius had stayed in the kitchen, making the celery logs and preparing a bowl of veggies and fruit for Trevor. Cody had washed both trucks, and, Demetrius thought, pointedly organized and refreshed their monster tackle boxes. When he’d come inside to grab an iced tea, Cody had been shirtless, his skin warm and glowing, his smell filling the kitchen and grabbing Demetrius by the balls. With a wink and a smirk that told Demetrius Cody knew exactly the effect he was having on him, he left the kitchen. His scent lingered long after he’d gone, and Demetrius had been half hard for at least an hour.

They’d driven separately because Cody wanted to vacuum out his truck before he went to the party. Demetrius hadn’t even protested, just nodded as he tore off another piece of aluminum foil to cover the logs.

Someone touched his arm, startling him back to the party. Amelia stood close, large, black plastic-framed sunglasses a contrast to her smooth, tanned face and the silver of her perfectly bobbed hair.

“Oh, apple trees, I didn’t mean to scare you,” she said.

“No, you didn’t. I was just lost in my thoughts, I guess.”

“I can see that. Everything all right?”

Cody’s laugh floated to them on a humid breeze. Demetrius stiffened slightly.

“Can you help me in the kitchen?” Amelia slipped her arm through his, which meant he had no choice in the matter.

She towed him through the slider and into the kitchen amidst the brown cabinets and cream Formica countertops Amelia always clucked her tongue over, vowing to someday spring for a kitchen remodel. Two banks of fluorescents tucked within the drop ceiling provided the only light.

“Is everything all right between you two?” Amelia peeled the foil off some kind of multi-layered dip.

“Yeah, of course. Why do you ask?”

“You arrived separately for one. And you’ve barely talked to each other while you’ve been here. He’s spent the entire time cavorting with those women.”

“I don’t really think he’s cavorting.”

“Well no, of course not. I mean, he’s married to the most amazing man I know, so there’s no way he’d be cavorting. But I have picked up on a bit of tension, you can’t tell me otherwise.” She gave him a pointed look, her light blue eyes, so much like his own mother’s.

Demetrius sighed. “We had a disagreement last night.”

She frowned. “Disagreement? You’ve had those before. This feels more serious.”

“You’re psychic now?”

Amelia narrowed her eyes. “Demetrius Barnaby Singleton-Bower, I’m not to be made fun of when discussing matters of the heart. Is that clear?”

He felt the heat of his blush to the top of his head. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Now, as someone who knows you as well as, if not better than, your mother, my sister, as someone who has watched you and Cody both grow up, I can tell something has gone sideways between you two. What is it?”

“Yes, fine, you’re right. We had a pretty heated argument yesterday.”

“Well, I’m sorry, I know that can be hard. Was it over something trivial that just ballooned into more?”

Demetrius’s first reaction was to defiantly say, “Yes!” But he restrained himself. Instead, he told her what he’d done, and then about the aftermath between him and Cody.

“Oh, palm trees, Demetrius. Why on Earth would you go and do something like that?”