Page 47 of Jack Frosting

Silently, I crept down the darkened hall.

“Morning, Jack.”

“Uh.”

Shit. I turned to see Henry, illuminated by the nightlight, brushing his teeth at the bathroom sink.

“How’s my dad?”

“He’s…”–naked and satisfied–“...good.”

I stood, frozen by the door, not sure what else to say or do. Henry spit into the sink, rinsed his mouth, and put his toothbrush back in the holder.

“Don’t worry. You don’t have to tell him I know. I’m going to hold onto this until the right moment.”

“I’m…not sure that’s the best idea.”

Henry walked over to me. “Look, if you tell him, he’s probably going to be a little annoyed at you because he’s going to ask how I found out. If I tell him, I’ll just say I figured it out.”

Ugh, he had a point. ‘Don’t shoot the messenger’ was a saying for a reason. I certainly wasn’t about to turn around and go back to Clayton. Maybe the gym would give me some time to think about the situation. Part of Clayton must’ve known this was bound to happen. Henry’s bedroom was just down the hall.

“Just don’t be too hard on him,” I said. “He wanted to say something, but-”

“You don’t have to explain. He’s thinking of how a kid would process it.”

I wanted to point out he was a kid, but now didn’t seem like the best time. Henry was also going through some stuff, so it made a little more sense to let him do what he wanted. After all, I had yet to tell Clayton my suspicions about Henry. Things were just getting more and more complicated.

“See you later, Henry.”

I kept up what was now a charade and crept down the stairs quietly.

Initially, the drive to Dunkin’s for my morning iced mocha was fraught with worries and shivers. The latter went away once my seat heater kicked in, but the doubts stayed until I got to the gym.

Thankfully, Sundays were a busy day for me and today was no exception. I had a client every hour until four and only a ten minute break between each one. I didn’t have time to think. And luckily, the older non-gentleman perving on me in the locker room was nowhere to be seen today. Before I knew it, my appointments were over and-

I forgot my outfit for the party.

Shit.

Glancing up at the clock told me Clayton was likely already on his way here. The party started at six and we didn’t want to be late since it was a surprise. It made more sense timewise for Clayton to pick me up at work than for me to go home and head back this way.

“Thanks again for a great workout.”

At my locker, I turned to see my last client, Nick, and his big smile.

“I’m really happy with my progress.”

“Glad to hear it.”

He had made a lot of progress. And in just under a year.

I pulled my phone out of the bag and called Clayton.

“Hey, Jack,” he answered. “I bet I can guess why you’re calling.”

“Hey to you, too, and I hope that means what I think it means.”

“If it means I brought your clothes for the party that you left in the bedroom, then you are correct.”