Chapter Eight

“HERE, Kit,” Thane said when Kit hit the nail and it bent sideways for the third time. He refused to let Derek’s teasing about spending Valentine’s Day with his nephews on set get to him. This was far more important than his nonexistent love life. “Do it this way.” He’d reached for the board Kit was holding, intending to show him the right way to sink a nail, when Kit threw the wood on the ground and stalked off. “Christopher John Parkins, get your ass back here right now!”

Kit kept walking.

Thane dropped his hammer and started after him.

“Don’t,” Phillip said. “You’re too angry, and he’s just like you.”

“Don’t what?” Thane demanded.

“Don’t talk to him right now. Don’t try to explain or make it better or teach him anything or whatever you were trying to do. Just leave him alone.”

“All I wanted to do was show him the right way to sink a nail.”

“But that’s just it,” Phillip said. “He knows how to sink a nail. He doesn’t need you hovering over him, making him nervous. He needs you to let him do it, even if it takes ten nails before he gets one in straight. Even if he never gets one in straight. I bet half the flats on this set don’t have all the nails in straight. The point isn’t to have it perfect. The point is that we did it ourselves, mistakes and all.”

“It’s inefficient.”

“So what? Yeah, we’re on a timeline, but Mr. B. takes the fact that we’re students who don’t always know what we’re doing into account. We’re ahead of schedule, Kit’s bent nail and all.”

“Are you saying I shouldn’t try to teach you how to do things as well as they can be done?”

“Teach us things we don’t already know when we need help and then let us figure out the rest on our own. That’s what Mr. B. does.”

Thane looked across the stage to where Barnes stood talking with Kit. The scowl on Kit’s face had cleared, and he was looking at Barnes with a mix of adulation and indulgence. Thane wasn’t sure what brought on which parts, but Barnes seemed to take it all in stride.

“You really respect him.”

Phillip shrugged. “He didn’t throw the book at us when he could have, and since we’ve started working on the sets, we haven’t had any more problems with the bullies. That’s probably coincidence or good luck, but it’s also the truth, so maybe his plan is working. Yeah, I like him. He’s funny and smart and sometimes he tells stories about some of the plays he’s worked on. And he always seems to know when we actually need help, and then he’s there. The rest of the time, he works next to us and hangs out with us without constantly telling us what to do. It feels like he’s glad I’m here. Me, not just some random kid.”

“You and Kit aren’t random kids to me either,” Thane said. “You know that, right?”

“Yeah, but you took us in because that’s what Mom wanted. Mr. B. doesn’t have any reason to like us, but he does anyway.”

Thane grabbed Phillip’s shoulders and shook him lightly. “Look at me.” Phillip looked up hesitantly, but Thane caught his gaze and didn’t let him look away. “Yes, I took you in because you’re my nephews, and yes, I wish it hadn’t come to that because that would mean your mom was still alive and you were with her, but don’t ever think, not for a second, that I regret having you with me. You and Kit are mine now, and that’s as real as if you were my sons, not my nephews. Got it?”

“Got it,” Phillip said in a strangled voice. Thane pulled Phillip into a tight hug.

“Everything okay?”

Barnes’s voice startled Phillip, and he pulled away, his cheeks pink. Thane glared at Barnes. “Everything’s fine. Phillip just needed a little reminder that he’s family.”

“I’m sorry he needed the reminder—not surprised, really, but still sorry—but good for you for giving it to him. I work with a lot of troubled teens, and for many of them, that reminder, if it comes, comes too late.”

A student called Barnes’s name, drawing him away. Thane watched him go in silence. He’d been so sure he knew exactly who Barnes was and what to expect from him, but something didn’t add up.

BY the time Saturday night rolled around, Blake was ready for a break. They had the walls up on all the platforms for the street scene and the mission—far more progress than he’d expected to make in two weeks—and on Monday they’d start taping and painting so they could see what else needed to be done, but he hadn’t had a minute to himself since they started. He’d spent last weekend at the KASSP Winter Conference, and while it had been incredibly worthwhile, he hadn’t had a day off. He was more than ready.

He wasn’t a regular at the Bar Complex, but he went every few months, when the need to let go of the respectable principal persona got too strong to ignore. He loved his job, and he’d never felt like he was making sacrifices because of it, but at the same time, he had an image to maintain when he was at school or anywhere he was likely to meet students, or even their parents. He’d accepted that when he accepted the job, but every once in a while, the other side of his personality needed time to play.

He dug in his closet, behind the plain suits he wore to work every day, for his clubbing clothes. The fact that he had to search all the way to the back of the closet was a silent reminder of how long it had been since he’d done this. All the more reason to do it right now.

He ran his fingers appreciatively over the black leather of his clubbing pants. He could pair them with one of the loose silk shirts that would give his skin room to breathe, or he could pull on a too-tight T-shirt and show off a little. He might not have the body of the strippers who danced at the club on certain nights, but he was reasonably fit. Certainly fit enough to garner a bit of attention in the right attire. He pushed aside the thought of just whose attention he’d like to attract. Some things weren’t worth the time or effort, especially since he had no idea if Thane was gay. The outburst in the high school cafeteria all those years ago only proved he liked anal sex, not that he liked it with men.

He grabbed the pants and backed out of the closet. He’d wear them with his favorite red T-shirt, the one that Heidi said turned his hair to copper and made his green eyes pop. (A little eyeliner would help that along too.) He’d go to the club and dance and remind himself that he was attractive and was single by choice, not by necessity.

THANE showed his ID, paid the cover charge, and strode into the Bar Complex a little after eleven on Saturday night. He had almost changed his mind about going out, but he needed a break. He loved his nephews with all his heart, but he hadn’t had a minute to himself since they moved in with him. If he wasn’t at work, he was at home trying to help them get settled in, or he was at school trying to keep them out of trouble. He didn’t know how Lily had done it by herself all those years. Then again, maybe that’s why she never remarried. She couldn’t get away long enough to meet someone.

He caught the attention of one of the waiters and ordered a shot of tequila. He’d switch to beer after that, but he wanted the burn of the liquor to remind him he was here and alive. He leaned on one of the highball tables while he waited for his drink and scanned the room for interesting prospects. He’d find a dance partner or two for a bit of bump and grind, and then he’d see how the evening went. It didn’t have to be more than that. There was something liberating about moving to the music that way even if it never went beyond dancing, although if his dance partner was interested in more….

It had been too long since he’d had company other than his own hand.

From his vantage point, the dance floor provided him with plenty of backsides to choose from. Denim, leather, suede of every color, cradling asses of every size and shape. All he had to do was pick one and with a little luck, he’d be grinding against it for the next few hours. Pure heaven.

The server came back with the tequila, salt, and a lime. Thane paid him quickly and returned to surveying the room. When he caught the gaze of one of the dancers, he licked the web between his thumb and forefinger lasciviously. He held the other man’s gaze as he salted the patch and licked again before downing the shot. As he lifted the lime to take a bite, his watcher licked his lips.

Gotcha.

He set the empty glass and lime on the table and headed toward his prey. The other man’s eyes widened when Thane neared, but Thane pressed on. The other man’s nerves fired his own. “What’s your name?”

“Corey.”

“Want to dance?”

Corey’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. Thane leaned a little closer. “I don’t bite. Unless you ask very nicely.”

The song changed before Corey could answer, not that Thane cared what was playing. Corey seemed to, though. “I’ve got to find the people I came here with.”

Thane let him go. He’d enjoyed the flirting, but he had plenty of other options. He looked around again. Like the one in the leather pants and red T-shirt. He couldn’t see the man’s face, but the leather framed a perfect bubble butt, and the T-shirt was tight enough to show off a trim waist, decent shoulders, and toned arms. Definitely a body worth pursuing. He sidled up to the bar next to his new target and motioned for the bartender. When the man came over, Thane said, “A Bourbon Barrel Ale for me and a refill for my new friend.”

“Coming up.”

The man next to Thane turned. “A little presumptuous, aren’t you?”

Thane blinked as he stared into a far too familiar face. “Barnes?”

“We aren’t at school, and you just bought me a drink. I think you can call me Blake.”

Thane kept right on staring. Something was different, something more than just the change of clothes—although who knew that body had been hiding under those ridiculous suits and loose sweatshirts? Barnes… Blake looked good enough to eat. Thane raked his gaze over Blake, trying to pinpoint what had thrown him off. His hair was a little tousled instead of brushed neatly into place, curling at the edges where he’d sweated earlier, either from dancing or from the heat of the room. His eyes were huge. Thane peered a little closer.

Eyeliner. Blake was wearing eyeliner.

The bartender interrupted with their drinks, the ale for Thane and something in a martini glass for Blake. Thane raised the bottle in a silent toast. Blake clinked his glass against Thane’s beer and took a sip.

“I didn’t expect to run into you here.”

Blake shrugged. “I could say the same. If I’d thought about it at all, I might have guessed Crossings would be more your style, but it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been wrong.”

“What are you doing here?” Thane asked, still trying to wrap his head around Blake Barnes in leather pants, a tight T-shirt, and eyeliner.

Blake took another sip of his drink. “Same as everyone else, I would imagine. Unwinding, letting loose, being myself in one of the few places I can.” He tipped his glass to Thane again. “Thank you for the drink. If you’ll excuse me, I see a friend I want to catch up with.” He slid off the barstool and disappeared into the crowd, leaving Thane staring at his ass as he walked away.

Holy hell, who would have thought?