Chapter Six
I took a shuttle to the rental car company. I didn’t have a car in LA. Hell, I was pretty sure I was practically the only one in Southern California who didn’t even own one since I didn’t need a car while I worked and on my off-hours I either used Zac’s or took an Uber.
Welcome to being single again, I thought as I waited impatiently at the counter. This wasn’t going any better than anything else had the last two days. The clerk had tried to put me in a Ford Focus—really, couldn’t she see on her own that wouldn’t work as I was six feet four and just shy of two hundred and twenty pounds?
She adamantly declared that they hadn’t another vehicle available for me to rent, right up to the point when she saw my military ID in my wallet, then quickly gushed a thank you for your service before rushing off to see what she could do.
Fuck, why was everything more difficult in the civilian world than it needed to be? I started tapping the pen against the counter, capturing the attention of a rental agent four stations down. I smiled at her, and her face turned a cute shade of pink as she caught quick looks at me from beneath lowered lashes.
Yep, I flirted with women. Why not? I liked women and they loved me—nope, not arrogance again—I just didn’t want to fuck them. “Once you go cocks you never go box” was my motto. The guy standing next to the pretty Avis girl was more my type.
I smiled at my blond surfer dude and felt a moment’s disappointment when I received no signal back. What a fucking waste, though it was hard to be certain from a distance how a guy’s dick liked to swing. He should have been gay. Maybe he was in denial…
“I found you a car, Captain,” my clerk announced, breathless, before she set down a set of keys between us. “It’s small, but it will work. We get lots of tall built men like you renting them, and they wouldn’t rent them if they didn’t fit, right?”
I knew she would come through for me. I hadn’t given her the full dimpled grin for nothing. “Thank you,” I said with just enough husky to up her level of flustered by ten.
That earned me a full white teeth Crest smile and the riveted gaze of the guy three counters down. Hello, beautiful, maybe he was gay. OK, things were finally starting to look up and maybe my life wasn’t the disaster it was starting to feel.
“It’s a convertible Porsche, but I got the manager to authorize lowering the rate to full-size car instead of special rate luxury. It’s better than the military discount.”
She beamed and I nodded, keeping the guy watching me locked in my peripheral vision as I grabbed a pen to sign the contract where the girl pointed. I paused for a moment at the rental terms. Two hundred dollars a day with a one hundred miles per day cap with a—fuck, was I reading that right?—surcharge for going over miles.
Fucking unbelievable, even with the discount. I finished the authorization anyway. It wasn’t like I couldn’t afford it. Hell, I hardly even spent the money I made and there were worse ways to R & R during my downtime than cruising the coast in a convertible.
I tossed the pen and waited while she double-checked the contract before putting it into a document holder to hand to me with my license and credit card.
“How long are you in LA, Captain?”
I smiled. “I live here. I’m home for a while.”
Her face brightened. “That must be nice. If you have any problems I’ve put my card in the envelope. Call me directly, it’s no bother. I want to personally make sure you get anything you need.”
Her eyes roamed what she could see of me beyond the counter, then fixed on me in universally understood silent invitation. Yep, it was a gift to be gay and lusted after by both sexes. Today it got me a better car than a fucking Focus.
I grabbed the keys and the paperwork, and tapped them on the counter. “I’ll remember that”—just for an added touch, I leaned in to read her name badge—“Brittany. Thank you so much for going above and beyond for me.”
“You have a nice rest of your day, Captain.”
At the exit I turned back and said, “It’s definitely starting to look like I’m going to.” Before leaving I made straight eye contact with my hot blond—I got a nice little pulse in my cock from what he answered with—and, oh yeah, he was gay.
Maybe Brittany could get the number to his cell. I was laughing to myself as I left the building.
I opted for the route through the Sepulveda tunnel that would take me to the Pacific Coast Highway. It was a slower drive to Newport Beach, but the frequent four-way signal stops would give me a chance to admire the scenery—there were some fucking gorgeous gay men in Southern California, a veritable full buffet of variety—and I definitely needed to decompress a little before reaching home.
Fuck, living with Mom—I needed to fix that situation pronto. Either back on the road or into my own place within a week. I liked Patricia, but no man in his prime wanted to live with his mother, and bringing a guy to my place just wasn’t in the cards even if it was my house. Mom was so old-fashioned I doubted it would be in the cards if I were hetero, and even if it was I wouldn’t do it since that fell into the disrespecting your mother category.
I was a good son—I didn’t even fuck Zac during her short, infrequent visits to Sacramento, though in honesty that had more to do with her sleeping in the same house being an erection killer.
Once I was on Highway 1, I grabbed my cell and hit Jared’s number.
“Yo, man, you back in California?” Jared said enthusiastically.
I rolled my eyes as he knew exactly where I was since he managed the schedule. “Yep, I hit So Cal two hours ago. Just driving to Newport Beach. That will be my permanent address until further notice. I’m presently single and homeless.”
Heavy laughter came through my bluetooth.
“Oh man, don’t do it. I like your mom, I really do, but turn around now. Find anyplace but home. Bree and I did two months with my mom while we waited for our house to close escrow and it fucking near ruined our marriage. Come here, dude. Stay with us. Go anywhere. Don’t go home. It’ll ruin you.”
Shaking my head, I downshifted for the red light ahead. “Very funny. Got no choice, Jared.”
“Well, you’re not broke so you have other options. Exercise them quickly.”
I laughed. He sounded only half joking and he was a good friend. I paused for a moment to admire a very nice pedestrian at the crosswalk. That was an option I’d like to exercise quickly.
I reached for my coffee, lifting it to my lips.
“Hey, man, what the fuck did you do to my cousin?”
I spewed a mouthful across my slacks and the car interior then Jared burst out laughing again.
“That good, huh?” he inquired between chuckles. “Dude, you have seriously gotten Skyler out of his mind for you. He’s been texting me all day. Wanting your full details. Name, rank, serial number and address. I wouldn’t be surprised if you found him at your mom’s waiting gift-wrapped on your porch.”
“You better not have told him where I live,” I snapped as I anxiously started to dab up my mess, and, fuck, a good amount of my java had landed on my crotch. “Fuck, Jared, you didn’t tell him, did you?”
“No. I wouldn’t do that. But that’s only going to slow him down, it won’t stop him. Law school and all—he does know how to do deep research.” He chuckled over his own stupid joke and I grimaced. “Really, what the hell did you do to him?”
A honk. Shit, the light changed. I put the soaked napkins into a bag and started to drive again.
It was time to change the subject. “What kind of jobs do you have available? I’ll take pretty much anything—well, any contract you don’t put your cousin on as well. Which reminds me. Fuck you, Jared. You should have never hired Skyler and it was a shitty thing to send him out on the road to me without a heads-up that the guy didn’t know squat.”
“I just figured nature would take its course. Like molecules coming together. You’re gay and always on the hunt when you’re not home. He’s young, hot, and gay. Exactly your type, I might add. And I needed to get him employed, off my couch, and not living with me anymore. Solution.”
I rolled to a stop again. “Seriously, don’t send him out on any more jobs until you’ve gotten him some training.”
“I’ll take that under advisement.”
“I’m serious, Jared. Don’t send him out again. What have you got for me? I’m ready to go back out onto the road as soon as you need me.” Dead silence through the phone that made my gut tighten. “Oh, please, tell me you have something?”
“Not now, Graham. Every job I have I already filled. You should have called me sooner. I’ve got nothing. Nada. Nil.”
“You owe me, Jared,” I reminded him forcefully. “There wouldn’t be a Black Star Security without me. I found the guys. I trained them. And lest you forget, I was the star. Don’t try to jerk me around. I want a job. I want it now. Fix it.”
“First thing that comes in, it’s yours if you want it.”
“Make it soon, Jared,” I ordered and hung up the phone for effect. He needed reminding who was in charge here.
I was about twenty minutes from home when my phone started filling up with notifications again. I took a quick glance at the screen. It was Skyler and while I didn’t read a single message, the sudden robo-texting was a clear indication his plane had landed in LA and he was on his own hunt.
Well, sorry, beautiful— I shut off my cell.
As fun as he had been—the hours before he’d turned stalker on me—I wouldn’t have been up for a repeat even if I wasn’t starting to believe the guy needed therapy. My short list for no-future-ever with a guy contained three things and Skyler was the epitome of them all.
Too clingy.
Too needy
Too much.
I’d just finished that thought when my gaze riveted on a woman and, exhaling loudly, I stopped the car before turning into my driveway. Standing in the middle of the front yard watering plants with a hose was Patricia.
Oh Christ, how did I end up here? Maybe Jared was right. I should stay anywhere but here. I hadn’t spent more than two back-to-back nights with Mom in over twenty years. Our relationship worked better that way. It kept the baggage between locked and I was pretty sure neither of us wanted to hash out the ancient history.
I mean, how do two people make better twenty years not talking about things? A few weeks home wasn’t going to fix that. It was just going to be pointless if we ever tried.
Yep, Jared had been right.
The second I saw her I knew it was a mistake. I could feel it in all the formerly contained junk roiling inside me, and the smarter move would have been to keep on driving. But, fuck, she saw me and started waving.
No choice—
I pulled into the driveway and parked.
I sat in the car for a moment watching Mom. The way she bounced around the lawn, shut off the hose, and tossed it in the shrubs before she rushed into the driveway made me feel like a shit for that momentary impulse to keep driving. She was happy I was here and the least I could do for her was to be cordial during my stay.
“I can’t believe you’re finally home,” she gushed, leaning down to drop a kiss on my cheek and give me a hard squeeze. “You look good, Graham.” She frowned, but her eyes were all sparkly like a young girl’s. “Why are you still in the car? Get out of it and give your mother a hug. Now. Please.”
I was momentarily flustered by the welcome and wondered if she’d taken a happy pill. Everyone in Newport Beach seemed to be on something—Jesus Christ, I hope she hasn’t discovered the script. Patricia stoned would be a nightmare.
I climbed from the driver’s seat, and was immediately surrounded by a clutch that was unexpectedly strong.
“It’s good to see you, Mom,” I said, giving her a fast squeeze in return before working myself free to step back from her. “You look good. Really good, in fact.”
Her eyes widened. “It’s better than that. I feel good.”
Oh fuck, it was pot.
She lifted her chin. “I work out every day. An hour at the gym. Now I know why you are so committed to fitness. It makes you feel fan-fucking-tastic. I haven’t felt this young in fifteen years.”
“Gym? Since when?” I asked, grinning now because she was positively glowing with how proud she was of herself.
“I go with Sean, our new neighbor next door. Every morning. Love it.”
I gaped. “Are you dating? Is he your boyfriend? Mom, are there things you haven’t told me?”
I was just giving her shit—it was about the only time we ever communicated comfortably together—but damn if she didn’t blush and give me a disapproving nudge.
“No. He’s too young and I’m not his type. But a very good neighbor and friend. He checks on me and helps me around the house. And he helps me train at the gym. Feel my guns.”
She did an arm curl, flexing her biceps, and to be polite I checked them. Wow, she did have nice muscles going on.
“Pretty good, huh?” she asked.
“Definitely impressive.”
Her smile could only be termed beaming and I paused for a moment to study her since this wasn’t at all what I’d been expecting.
Slowly, my eyes widened, picking up things I hadn’t focused on when I first got here. It had been a year since I’d seen Mom, and Patricia had definitely gone through a metamorphosis.
It had always been startling how alike we looked—black hair, gray eyes, light olive skin—almost like I hadn’t gotten a single gene from my dad, but it was even more startling how much more like Olivia she looked each year when I’d never really seen any similarity before this other than their coloring.
Holy shit, she’d looked good the last time I was home, but this time my mom was a stunner. It was like Dad dying had started a backward rolling clock on her and here was the result. She got younger and more beautiful the longer he was dead and somehow I’d never noticed until this trip.
She was lovelier now than when I’d been young. But that was probably because she hadn’t smiled much when I was little, she certainly never laughed, and I didn’t remember her being so quirky and bubbly. That was probably because Dad had been like a giant tarp blocking out the light in her. Hell, he’d blocked out the light in all of us.
My smile this time felt good. “Are we going to stand out here in the driveway all day so the neighbors can gawk at my young, hot mom, or do you want to show me inside the house so I can put my bags away?”
She playfully swatted my chest. “Graham, you’re obnoxious. No one looks at me anymore.”
I jutted my chin toward the guy on the porch next door, not subtly watching us. “Is that your admirer? Is that Sean? And oh, Mom, he’s definitely watching you.”
She turned, looked, and sparkled more. “That’s Sean. Come on. I want to introduce you.”
Before I could utter an opinion on that either way, she had my hand and was dragging me from our yard to his front steps. I wasn’t in the mood to meet anyone, I was tired after working and traveling all day, but then I remembered what she’d said about how much he was hanging around and decided maybe it wasn’t a bad idea to check out her new friend.
I did a rapid assessment from behind my sunglasses. And Patricia was right. Mid-thirties, definitely too young for her. Very attractive; no wonder the mention of him made her blush. Not his type—oh fuck—what I thought was about to happen I prayed not to happen.
Patricia had her arm looped through mine and was motioning with her other hand. “Sean, come here. This is my son, Graham Carson. The one I told you about. He works as a bodyguard for a rock band. He tells the most amazing stories about his travels on the road. You’ll have to let him tell you some. I can’t do them justice and they’re so funny.”
Sean extended his hand and I took it in a firm grip. “It’s nice to meet you, Graham. In case you don’t know it, Patty talks about you nonstop.”
Patty? Since when? “I hope not,” I countered charmingly and he laughed.
His fingers lingered on mine a bit longer than they should have and, yep, I saw the subtle change in his eyes. Oh crud, this was what I feared it was. I was being purposely introduced to the gay neighbor in hope of making a love connection, and somehow Patricia knew without my telling her I was single again.
Definitive confirmation came when Patricia added not so subtly, “Sean owns the gym down the road. I’ve already set everything up for you to work out there. And I’ve invited him to dinner tomorrow night so we can all get to know each other better.”
As if that wasn’t obvious enough, she smiled, very pleased as she alertly watched both of us.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Sean said with a grin.
“If you don’t mind, we should be going. It was a pleasure meeting you,” I replied smoothly and escorted my mother back home.
This was a new wrinkle in our dysfunctional relationship, one I never anticipated and needed to nix ASAP. Yes, there were things worse than your mother being awkward about your sexuality. Your mother waylaying you out of nowhere and making a clumsy endeavor to fix you up—that was definitely worse.
Patricia didn’t release my arm even as I reached into the car for my bags. She gave me another squeeze as we made our way to the door.
She leaned in to me. “He’s gay and single. Isn’t he gorgeous?”
Inwardly, I groaned. “I know he’s gay, Mom. And he’s all right, not gorgeous. How did you know Zac and I had split up?”
When we stepped into the foyer, she pointed. “Those arrived this morning. I knew there was a reason you were coming to stay with me for a while. You should have just told me you’d broken up with Zac. It would have been better than finding it out from the UPS man. Really, Graham, sometimes you confound me.”
Great, fucking great. Zac must have shipped out my things before I’d talked to him last night. There was no other explanation for them already being here.
I glanced over to find her studying me.
“I’m sorry it didn’t work out,” she said with a pout. “I really like Zac. But I think you’ll like Sean. And it’s true what they say. When you fall off the horse, the best thing is to get right back on it. You’ve just got to suck it up and move on, dear.”
Oh fuck, she didn’t.