Chapter Six

Bailey

"There’s an ensuite bathroom you can use in this room,” Arthur said, pushing the door open to reveal a large room painted in elegant shades of gray. The huge bed and matching bedside tables acted as the central focus of the room. Two identical chairs and an ottoman were strategically placed facing a bay window, which overlooked the lush grounds. As charming as the room looked, one thing bothered me. He had carted me off to a guestroom after we had sex instead of allowing me to use his personal bathroom. That in itself said everything there was to say.

“Thanks, I won’t be long,” I remarked without looking at him as I brushed by him. I kept my face averted, preferring not to dwell on the fact that I had just traipsed up his stairs bare-assed. I doubted I would have made the short trek if he hadn’t been gracious enough to walk ahead of me.

“You should find everything you need in the bathroom,” he stated. “If not, just call, and I’ll bring whatever you need. I’ll also bring up your clothes.”

I closed my eyes briefly. Why did he have to bring focus to the fact that I was naked? At least he had shrugged into his robe immediately after pulling his cock from my mouth.

Oh god, this was bad. So fucking bad. Why did I have to swallow? Caught up in the moment, it had just felt like the thing to do.

“Right. Well, thanks.”

I didn’t care if it seemed rude. I needed some space between us, so I made to shut the door. He got the message and eased back while I closed the door with a soft thud. Instead of having my meltdown by the door, I scanned the room, located the door which had to lead to the bathroom and headed for it. Once inside, I closed the door and leaned against it.

Now that the endorphins had worn off, I was feeling all kinds of stupid for what just happened. I’d had no intention of having sex with Arthur when I stopped by to clear up the matter with the check and the cruise tickets. How was I supposed to pretend this never happened?

“Of all the people in the world, Bailey,” I argued aloud, “why the hell did you have to let it be him?”

I could make all sorts of excuses why I had fallen so easily into Arthur’s arms. I had done it to keep my job. But that wasn’t true. I would never sleep with anyone for the sake of a job. Okay, maybe if it meant taking care of the kids, but that wasn’t what this was about at all. I had been thoroughly fucked by my boss, and I had enjoyed every minute of it.

I moaned a pathetic sound as I remembered just how vocal I had been about enjoying it. The instant he kissed me, I had been his. Did I chalk it down to not having had sex in almost a year? Or did I contemplate that this had to do with Arthur, the man, and not raging hormones making up for the past ten months?

The thought was scary that Arthur had gotten in my head so easily. I was usually able to show a little more restraint than that. I was probably the easiest lay he ever had, and that bothered me. I had been openly gay for the past seven years, and other than my stint on the streets, I’d never made it as easy for any other guy as I just did with Arthur.

Trying to concentrate my energy on cleaning up, I found the quickest way was to take a quick shower. The water might have worked to cool me down, but it didn’t wash the impression of Arthur’s kisses and caresses from my body. No matter how many times I gargled, I couldn’t get the tangy taste of his cum from my tongue. It was all in my mind and refused to depart.

I gave up and toweled off. I finger-combed my hair and ended up staring at my reflection in the gilded mirror above the vanity. My eyes, though panicky, were still laced with desire. I groaned at the awareness that I still craved more of Arthur. I was losing it. I had to get out of his home. Thank god I had no more work to do for him until after the holidays. I wouldn’t have been able to face him any time soon after this and pretend that nothing happened.

Once in the bedroom, I found my clothes folded neatly on the bed. I pulled on my jeans and crumpled T-shirt, swearing that from now on I would make more of an effort to wear underwear. I hadn’t grown up in the habit of wearing them as it only meant one more piece of clothing to be laundered. Even though Mother had a maid who did the household laundry, she insisted I had to do my own. If I didn’t wear the underwear, I didn’t have to do the laundry so I got into the habit of going sans underwear. I had no idea anyone noticed. But, Arthur had, and he seemed to have enjoyed it too.

I was pulling my shirt over my head when my phone rang. I plucked it from my pocket, grateful we hadn’t damaged it when my jeans had been around my ankles. My phone had been the last thing on my mind as Arthur fucked me. Emily's name flashed on the phone screen, and I groaned, feeling guilty. I had forgotten everything about the twins and Emily.

“Hi, Em, I’m so sorry I’m not home yet,” I answered, rattling on before she had a chance to speak. “I’ll be on my way now.”

“Bailey, where have you been? I’ve been calling you forever!”

I groaned. “I’ll tell you when I get there.” I frowned at her deep breathing over the phone, the paternal instincts I didn’t have a year ago surfacing. “Wait a minute, is something wrong? Are the kids okay?”

“It’s your mom!” she cried then started sobbing so hard I couldn’t make out anything beyond that point.

I headed for the bedroom door with long strides, concern for the kids weighing more than my embarrassment in seeing Arthur again.

“Em, calm down, please. I can’t understand you. What about Mother?”

“She-she took the ki-kids,” she cried. “I-I tried to stop her, b-b-but she wouldn’t listen!”

“She can’t just take the kids,” I announced. “We had an agreement. She would give me until January 31st to come up with the money to pay her, and if I couldn’t then they would go live with her.”

“B-but she took them anyway!”

Son of a bitch. My mother didn’t deserve the title any at all. Animals cared for their offspring more than my mother cared for her own children. She had dumped David on his dad when he was a child. Later he found her and she discovered he was bisexual, she never forgave him for it. Not even when he later married a woman and had a family. She had treated me the same when I told her I was gay. I no longer mattered to her. Not that she had ever been a great parent to start with.

That was not the kind of person I wanted the twins to grow up with. I would try everything in my power to keep them, but if I couldn’t, I would ensure she did right by them. I wouldn’t give her the time of day to fuck up the twins' lives as she had done David’s and mine. A matter of fact, if she did indeed take the kids January 31st, it would only be temporary until I found a job that would allow me to pay down on an apartment and get them back. David’s will trumped everything, and she couldn’t prove me to be an unfit parent. That was the reason she had yanked the house from under us. It was the only way she could get her hands on the twins. If not for the Christmas season, she would have taken the house already. The social worker dealing with the case had convinced her to give me until the end of January before she made her move. I had no idea what David had been thinking when he went to her for help with his mortgage. He should have known nothing good would have come of this.

As optimistic as I tried to be, there was simply no way I could come up with the money she was asking for. I didn’t have the means to provide a roof over the heads of the kids. Right there she had me backed into a corner.

“I’m on my way,” I told Emily.

“Do you want me to call the cops?”

I wished I could say yes, but I didn’t want to terrify the kids. If they brought Mom in for questioning, the kids would be separated from her. They didn’t need all that excitement in their lives.

“No, I will handle it.” I would even if it meant driving all the way to Pike Road from Gardendale where my mother lived. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

At the foot of the stairs, I almost mowed down Arthur. I was so caught up in my conversation that I didn’t see him standing there until I smacked into him. He grabbed me by the waist to steady me, and once again we were standing way too close. I almost got lost in his coffee-brown eyes before I remembered I couldn’t deal with him right now. I had other more important issues to take care of. Mother owed me at least this one last Christmas with the kids. I knew once she had them she would make it difficult for me to see them.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Arthur still kept his hold on my waist.

I would have told him everything except that he was my boss, and I had just slept with him. Additionally, I couldn’t decide if he asked because he was interested in knowing the response or if he was just being polite.

“I have to go,” I replied and pulled away from him.

He frowned and pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He had changed, and his hair was damp as though he had taken a quick shower as well. “Uh, alright then.”

I paused, wanting to ask him if that was all, but what else could there be? I shook my head and turned away from him. I willed myself not to look back as I let myself out of the house and ran to my car. I was about to sit when I heard the crinkling of paper. Reaching in the back pocket of my jeans, I pulled out the envelope with the check and tickets. I felt sick to my stomach that I might have just sold my ass to my boss. The worst thing was that I couldn’t even throw the envelope out. I needed that money more than my pride was hurt.

I shoved the envelope in the glove compartment of the car and drove away. On the drive home, I tried ringing Mom repeatedly, but she refused to answer. I was so furious that I even contemplated calling the police. What she had done was an abduction. I was the kids’ legal guardian. She had no right to take them without my permission.

When I drove up to our house, I deflated when I saw Mother’s car parked out front. Thank God, they were still here! I jumped out of the car and ran up the porch. I stalked into the house and blinked back the sudden rush of tears at the sight of the kids sitting in the living room. Jesus, if I’d just gotten a scare about her taking them and I reacted this way, I was going to be a mess when they left for good.

Emily paused her pacing when I entered the living room. Her face was red, and I could tell Mother had scared her good. I ignored Mom and plastered a smile on my face for the kids.

“Hey guys, are you okay?”

They both nodded, and Gina replied, “Grandma took us to get waffle cones!”

“That’s nice, sweetie. Will you go on up and wash your hands? The grownups need to talk for a bit.”

She rose to her feet along with Reggie. When they would have done what I instructed, Mother held out her hands to them. “Come and give Grandma a hug before you go, darlings.”

I didn’t have a problem with them and my mother having a relationship. What I minded was knowing if later Reggie or Gina came out as gay, she would shun them. Love wasn’t supposed to be given on a scale of straight or gay. If she really loved them, she wouldn’t care about their sexual identity later in life. She would respect it and move on. She would have loved both David and me just the same.

“Thanks for the ice cream, Grandma,” Gina stated.

“Yes, thanks,” Reggie echoed before they climbed the stairs.

I was proud of myself for the restraint I showed until the kids left. “What are you doing here?” I asked Mother, not having as much restraint yet to leave out the suspicion and disdain in my tone.

She rose to her feet, all five feet four inches of her. I couldn’t believe at my height, I still had a measure of fear of this woman. As a child, she never made me feel like I was good enough. After what seemed like a lifetime of waiting for her to come around and see I was no different gay or straight, I had given up. She ceased to matter to me until David and Suzette died, leaving me to care for the kids. Now she was back to making my life a living hell.

“It’s certainly nice to see you too, Bailey,” she responded.

I winced, remembering the way Arthur had just called me Bailey while he was working on my body.

“Don’t patronize me, Mother,” I said. “You know to call before you show up, but you disregarded all protocol. Do I have to remind you that the kids aren’t yours?”

“Well, no need to get your knickers in a bunch, honey. I just dropped in to take the kids for some ice cream. I have to ensure they have good strong, moral support so the transition is easier for them when they come to live with me.”

“They have strong moral support now.” I smiled at her sweetly. “I’ve been holding off on the gay gangbangs since David died and left me in charge of his kids. Not you.”

Her face turned into a scowl. “I’ll not have this unsavory discussion with you.” She grabbed her handbag from the couch and slung it over her shoulder before smoothing her hands down the thighs of her hot pink pantsuit. “Why don’t you hand over the kids to me, Bailey? You’re just prolonging the inevitable. You’re being selfish to keep them when they’ll have a better Christmas with me. I can give them so much more than you can.”

“David wanted me to take the kids, Mother, not you. Why can’t you just simply accept that? Wasn’t it enough that you’ve ruined the lives of your two sons? You want to ruin your grandchildren as well?”

“David was bitter about me giving him away so he wasn’t thinking straight,” she continued, unwilling to take the blame for her actions. “If he wasn’t being spiteful, he would have acknowledged I am the better guardian. Besides, I reckon him making you guardian was quite insensitive. You’re just twenty-three. Think about it, Bailey. You can finish college, get back to your parties and the endless stream of boyfriends.”

“And how do you suppose I’ll get the money to finish up college?” I snarled at her. She had taken everything away.

“I’m sure you’ll find a way.” She stuck her nose in the air in that uppity way of hers. “One thing I can say, you did get your good looks from me. You did put it to use before, didn’t you? It’s not like you’re saving it for anyone special after being passed around the block so often.”

I sucked in a deep breath at her bitchy retort. I shouldn’t have been surprised. All my life she had been this way, acting all righteous which had only gotten worse as I got older.

“That happened because of you!” I said through clenched teeth. “You threw me out of the house.”

She pointed a finger at me. “Now that ain’t the way I recall it, Bailey. You ran away from home.”

“After you threatened to kick me out if I didn’t straighten out.”

“And too bad for you that you didn’t listen.” She made to leave the living room, throwing a spiteful glance at me. “You clearly made the choice you find more palatable. I’ll be back on Christmas to give the kids their gifts.”

When she left, I started to shake. How the hell did I end up with a mother like her? She didn’t care. She didn’t give one damn. She only wanted Reggie and Gina to make a point. Did she think she could use them to make up for the abject failure she had been as a mother?

I dropped down to the couch and cupped my hand behind my head, my thoughts racing. I didn’t want to give the kids to her, but what was I supposed to do? She would take away the house, and without a roof over our heads, even if I refused to give her the kids, the social worker would take them away.

“My God, Bailey, I’m so sorry,” Emily remarked and sat beside me on the sofa. I had completely forgotten she was still there listening to the exchange between Mother and me. Now she knew secrets about me I didn’t share with anyone.

“Congrats, you just met my mother,” I said sarcastically.

“I don’t like her. I’m sorry, Bailey, but she’s got a classic case of a bitchy fit. I can’t believe how horrible she was to you.”

“That’s nothing compared to what I went through while living with her,” I replied.

“What are you going to do?”

I had no idea. The plan had been to throw the kids one last Christmas that their parents would have wanted before I lost them. But what I had planned for them seemed so pale now in comparison to what I knew my mother would do. She would try to use some over the top gifts to win them over. As small as they were, they wouldn’t be able to know the difference, and I couldn’t be the bad guy to tell them about their grandmother. They wouldn't even understand it.

The cruise. The idea hit me, and my mind reeled, thinking that this would be perfect. I hadn’t plan on using those tickets, but as long as I had them, why not? I could downgrade them so we all could go on the trip. With the bonus I had received, I could even pay for an extra person.

“Emily, how would you like to go on a Christmas cruise?”