Chapter Four

 

Hugo tossed his shirt on his old twin mattress and started to pace the room he’d been raised in, unable to wrap his head around what he’d walked in on in the kitchen. Solomon Finn was sitting with his family. They were laughing with him, sharing stories with him and…

He was here.

He’d ask himself what Bronte was thinking inviting him, but he knew her too well. She’d set him up for his birthday. She knew there’d been something between them and she wanted to reignite it, because Younger in a cast and heavily medicated seemed harmless and looked like a Viking.

If you’d told her how you felt about him she wouldn’t have done it.

If she’d minded her own business, he wouldn’t be hiding in his bedroom as if he were nine. As to how he felt, how could he tell her when he hardly knew from one minute to the next? He didn’t trust his emotions when Solomon was around. They were too complicated.

A few years ago, he would have given anything to have him here and officially introduce him to his family. Back then he’d wanted to wait for the right moment, when everything was perfect, but it never came.

He was here.

He had to admit, Solomon looked damn good in his mother’s kitchen. More male model than retired cop. He’d even dressed for the occasion.

That was new. His uniform was about as buttoned up and pressed as he usually got. Hugo would be willing to bet he’d borrowed his outfit from a Finn with more expensive taste.

Still, there had obviously been some changes in his life, and Hugo hadn’t been around him for a while. Maybe along with everything else—his hair, his tattoo, his availability for intimate family dinners—he’d also taken some fashion tips from GQ and filled his closet with designer ties.

Why the hell are you obsessing over his clothes?

Because he couldn’t get over the fact that he was on his turf, with his family for a change. It was usually the other way around. But now there wasn’t another Finn to be seen. It was like sighting a wolf that had been separated from his pack.

He’s here for you.

He wanted to believe it was that easy.

He’d waited for a gesture like that for years. A genuine, out in the open move that would prove he was ready for more. Ready to go public with his feelings.

After their first kiss and Solomon’s reaction to it, Hugo thought that being into men was new for him. That he was a late-blooming gay and, like his cousin Owen, he’d only discovered his preference after spending time with someone he was genuinely attracted to.

Younger was so repressed with everyone but him, that for a while Hugo let himself believe he was special. Let it go to his head. He’d been so sure that if he were patient, the man who reacted to his touch as if he’d seen God for the first time would come around. Open up. Give him more.

But the truth was that Solomon Finn hadn’t been a late bloomer at all.

For Hugo, it was the discovery that he’d been leading a separate life since he’d turned eighteen that made him finally give up on his fantasy.

The truth had slipped out. They were collapsed in the back of his SUV, Solomon’s head in Hugo’s lap while he talked about whatever came to mind, not wanting their time to be over.

He never wanted their time to be over.

When Hugo asked about his first love, Solomon had told him there hadn’t been one. And then he’d told him why.

“There are too many people relying on me. It was always easier not to get emotionally attached. To take care of the physical urge and move on.” 

He’d been too shocked to react. It was a hard kick to the ego, but even harder on his heart.

If a man could spend over twenty-years slipping out of town now and then without having a single qualm about lying to his family—even the gay members of his family—he would never be the kind of man that could give Hugo a real relationship. Why would he want to? He already had the best of both worlds, and with him he didn’t even have to leave town.

He’d realized then that if he let him, Solomon would lead Hugo on for the rest of their lives, giving just enough to keep him coming back without offering his heart.

He couldn’t live like that. No matter how much he wanted Younger.

Still wanted him.

He’d woken up this morning with his hand on his dick and Younger’s name on his lips. When Robert brought his friend over, intent on setting Hugo up for his birthday with an attractive, self-confident black man, all he could think about was blue eyes filled with need and a mouth he ached to be inside again.

He looked down at his bulging jeans and swore. He couldn’t go back out there like this. Not when he knew everyone would be watching him like a hawk after his initial reaction to Solomon’s arrival.

Reaching into the bedside drawer for the lube that he’d stocked there since he hit puberty, he swiftly undid his pants. Quick and dirty. That’s what he needed to get through dinner with the man he craved right across the table, smiling innocently at his mother with the same lips that used to beg for his cock.

He almost wished Younger would knock on the door to check on him. Hugo would drag him inside and take out his frustrations on him instead, tangling his hands in all that thick blond hair before guiding him to his knees.

Hugo wrapped a tight fist around his shaft and started to jerk it, imagining Younger in his blue shirt and perfect tie, his mouth wide and eager around him.

“Is this why you’re here? Did you miss my cock that much?”

Arousal rolled up his spine in waves and had him biting back a loud moan. He loved Younger’s oral fixation. Loved that once he’d gotten a taste, he’d wanted it every time they got together.

They’d never gone as far as Hugo wanted to, with Solomon on all fours, cheeks spread as he took Hugo’s cock. He’d wanted to claim him in more ways than Chief Finn could have ever imagined. Wanted to see how much he could take, then give him more.

The moment he’d realized Solomon was a natural bottom, that the tough, uptight officer of the law wanted to be ridden and controlled, his desires had become harder to ignore.

He set his hand on the bed for balance, looking down to watch his cock pumping wetly through his fist while he thought about Younger begging. Younger tied up and begging for release as Hugo paid him back for these long months without him with every pounding, jarring thrust.

Want to fuck you so hard you can’t live without it. Make you need it.

“Need to fuck you,” he muttered out loud, grunting as his knees pressed into the bed, his hand a blur as he reached for his climax. “Let me fuck—ungh. Jesus.”

He grabbed his shirt just in time and almost whimpered as what felt like every drop of come in his body escaped through his dick in hot, satisfying spurts. “Fuck.”

Hugo couldn’t stop shaking, couldn’t remember the last time he’d come like that.

It was all for the man on the other side of the door. The man who had no idea about all of the depraved things Hugo wanted to do to him.

He knew he’d be an idiot to think another round between them wouldn’t leave him broken on the floor. Knew their time had passed, and telling him would only make things worse.

He grabbed a new shirt, slipping down the hall and into the bathroom to rinse himself off. He was deprived and depraved. That was his only excuse. There was a houseful of people here for his birthday, and he’d had to take five so he could rub one out while they waited.

Another reason why keeping his distance from Solomon was best for everyone.

Want to rethink that? Avoidance doesn’t seem to be working.

Nothing did.  After all this time, he was still wound up about the way things ended between them. His hurt hadn’t faded. His need hadn’t faded. He’d been the one to back away, but it didn’t feel finished.

He’d had breakups before. When Hugo dated he was all in, but the instant he realized things weren’t going where he wanted them to, moving on was surprisingly easy. He’d always told himself it meant he’d made the right decision.

Had he made the wrong one with Solomon?

Or are you still sulking about the months of talking, flirting and hardcore foreplay without any payoff?

Was that what this was? Did it boil down to sex in the end? He couldn’t let go because they hadn’t gone all the way?

If that was the case, he might be in trouble, because he’d never been able to keep sex separate from his emotions. When his body was involved, his heart was always part of the equation. It was who he was, and why he was so particular about his partners.

Younger did it for years. Sex without strings. With strangers.

He didn’t want to think about this now. Tonight he was celebrating thirty-eight years in the world and looking forward to thirty-eight more. His family was waiting for him to make an appearance.

Only they weren’t. They barely noticed him at all.

This time when he walked into the kitchen, the conversation didn’t stop. He got a few head nods but no acknowledgment of his outburst or catering to his feelings. Apparently his family had decided to ignore him in favor of their dinner guest.

Deal with yourself, birthday boy.

“So Robert was named for…?” Solomon asked after a moment’s hesitation when he noticed Hugo’s arrival.

Foster Wayne looked over his bifocals and grinned. “Depends on who you ask, son. I say Robert Frost, of course. But that gorgeous, stubborn woman over there claims its Nora Roberts.”

Robert groaned and covered his laughing friend’s ears. “Can you not tell that story to people I work with? My desk will be drowning in romance novels by Monday.”

“She’s a wonderful and prolific author,” Cassandra insisted as she added seasoning to the pot Austen was hovering over. “And a famous one. She got me through his pregnancy when my ankles were swollen and I felt so sick I was sure I’d die giving birth to a demon child.”

“Love you too, Mama,” Robert said, chuckling.

Hugo’s father pushed up his glasses and sniffed. “Some say the world will end in fire.”

“Some say in ice,” Hugo finished, joining the conversation with a laugh. “You know that argument doesn’t work on her, Dad.”

His mother didn’t disappoint. “Are we quoting now, dear? Fire is easily lit. Easily extinguished.”

“Ooh, that was a good trilogy, wasn’t it?” Austen said, poking Shelley until she nodded. “Am I right? It’s from that witchy island series with the hot sheriff?”

“That’s the one,” Bronte agreed. “Solomon kind of reminds me of that sheriff.”

Hugo’s sisters turned as one to study him, nodding thoughtfully.

“I thought he reminded you of your Viking show,” Hugo said, a little sharper than he’d intended.

“I can tell you what you remind me of.”

Cassandra clapped her hands together. “Don’t embarrass our guest. Robert, help Emerson set the table. Dinner’s ready.”

Hugo was sharing a look of commiseration with his brothers when he saw Solomon’s expression. It cracked something open inside him.

At first he wondered if he was seeing something that wasn’t there. The Finns were a big, nosy, noisy family, just like the Waynes. He knew about the Finn Again dinners and the dedication Solomon had always shown to his family. So why did that look remind him of an orphan peering through the glass at someone else’s Thanksgiving?

Their eyes met and in that moment his expression changed. Heated.

There it was.

There was no way to deny what was still there between them. What had always been there. It never went away, never faded, no matter how much either one of them wished it would.

After the general chaos of setting the table subsided and a dinner of potatoes, roast beef, garlic rolls and every other delicious comfort food Hugo had asked for was laid out banquet style before them, the conversation started up again as if it had never stopped.

Solomon was given a seat across from Hugo and Robert’s friend was placed to his right. What was his name again? Right. Boone.

Hugo had already decided he wasn’t a fan of Boone when they were down in the basement. He’d followed them to help grab a few boxes, but when the fermentation bucket took a header, he’d clung to the wall by the steps so he wouldn’t get dirty. He didn’t offer to help.

Any man who could come over for dinner and watch his slender, elderly host move box after box to higher ground and not lend a hand? A handsome face didn’t make up for that.

“Let’s stop talking about my name, okay?” Robert finally begged his parents. “This is Hugo’s birthday, not mine. We should be telling embarrassing stories about his childhood or dragging out the naked baby pictures.”

“Make that decision carefully, brother.” Hugo smiled at him before he bit into a buttery potato and groaned. “Dinner is delicious, Mama.”

“Thank you, dear.”

Robert was still considering it, he could see it in his eyes, but he was smart enough to give in. They both knew Robert’s pictures would come out next, and he had his coworker to think about.

“Fine, no pictures. We can give our two guests a chance to talk instead. Actually Boone has some great stories from our trip to Greece. Tell Hugo about the parasailing incident.”

Oh, please, tell me about the parasailing incident in Greece.

He could feel the wave of internal eye rolling going around the dinner table. Greece again. Robert was a good salesman, so good his company had sent him on a trip last year with a few of his fellow all stars. Hugo had been proud of him, they all had, but he hadn’t stopped talking about it since.

“It wasn’t that big a deal,” Boone said, sending Hugo a nearly perfect attempt at a humble smile. “I saw something in the water. It could have happened to anybody.”

“A shark?” His nephew asked with interest. “A sunken pirate ship?”

Emerson leaned toward his son with a patient smile. “Let him tell the story and we’ll find out, son.”

“It was a big deal,” Robert said, adamant. “He saved a woman’s life. She was going under and he just swooped in like Batman. At first it looked like something was wrong. His body was twisting around so much that the boat had to slow down so he could come back in. Then suddenly, he was gone. Crashed right into the water. We didn’t know what was going on until the boat came back in and we saw a woman hugging him and crying on his shoulder.”

“So all that twisting and falling. That was to save her?” Hugo sought out Bronte’s gaze after she spoke, seeing the same skepticism he was feeling. What Robert was describing sounded more like panic on Boone’s part. “Did she tell you how she got out that far?”

Robert waved off the question. “She went back to her hotel so we didn’t get a chance to talk to her. But apparently she works on the boat. She fell off when he was taking his turn.”

So she worked on the boat and no one noticed or heard her shout for help? That fish tale stunk to high heaven.

“That is quite a story,” he offered politely, tackling his plate again.

“Just another exciting day on the islands,” Robert said with a sigh. “And then Boone bought us enough rounds of ouzo to sink the Titanic.”

Hugo caught his mother and father sharing a subtle glance and instinctively looked over at Solomon. His brows were lowered, lips tight. Yeah. He wasn’t buying it either.

Why was Robert?

Boone nudged him with his shoulder and he looked over in surprise. “I guess that’s why your brother kept wanting me to meet you. He thought we’d get along. We do both have the same natural instinct to help people.”

Hugo could feel a shift in the air the instant Solomon realized why Boone had been invited to dinner.

The same reason you were, Hugo thought a little grumpily. Nosy family members deciding to play matchmaker instead of buying gift cards like normal people.

“Hugo is a registered nurse who worked for years as a police officer. He’s been helping people, literally saving people in one way or another, every day for most of his adult life.”

Boone tensed beside him but his easy smile was still firmly in place. “I’m aware. Robert has told me a lot about him since I took over the sales department last year.”

Took over? Was that why his brother was kissing Boone’s ass?

“What a nice thing to say, Younger,” Cassandra reached over to pat his hand. “Especially coming from the former police chief. I can’t even remember how many commendations you got over the years.”

Her praise was sincere but it made Solomon uncomfortable. He’d never been good at accepting compliments. “I don’t know, Mama,” Hugo deflected, sounding thoughtful. “His cousin Stephen is a senator and he’s pushed through some groundbreaking legislation recently, so if we’re comparing accomplishments, I’ll go out on a limb and say he wins.”

Solomon thanked him silently.

“I’ll add my vote.” Emerson rubbed his hands together. “His wife is…” He made certain gestures around his chest that had his sons giggling before he realized what he was doing. “What I mean to say is, she’s a fine, upstanding pillar of the community.”

Solomon smothered his laugh with a napkin. “I’ll make sure to tell Tasha you said that.”

“She is definitely fine and upstanding,” Thoreau agreed, waggling his eyebrows at his brother. “Even Fiona thinks so.”

“Fiona too? Interesting.” Robert sounded intrigued.

“Oh you’re that Finn.” Their laughter faded at Boone’s challenging tone.

“The son that got the nepotism pass. I heard you were fired.”

Hugo’s father set down his water glass, making a sound like a judge’s gavel. “I think you heard wrong. When Younger resigned, the mayor went on record to say he prayed he’d reconsider. And with all the upheaval the new chief is creating, my students tell me an online petition was started to get him reinstated.”

“I signed it,” Shelly announced without looking up from her phone.

“Petition? There’s a petition?” Solomon turned to Foster in surprise.

No one had told him? Had he been living under a rock since he quit?

“People make petitions about everything these days. What do you care, anyway?” Boone leaned back in his chair, his belligerence showing from lack of attention. “You’ve never had to worry about the justice system. Your family’s been running that table for years.”

“Boone,” Robert warned, shaking his head subtly.

“What? Everyone knows the Finns have the system rigged. And they keep marrying into money to keep it that way. It makes sense when you know his grandfather ran a crime—”

“Party foul,” Bronte interrupted, placing her hand on Robert’s arm to get his attention. “I call a party foul.”

She beat Hugo to it by seconds.

Robert nodded grimly, pushing back from the table to get to his feet. “Come on, Boone. I’ll walk you to your car.”

“What do you mean? Dinner just started.” Hugo didn’t think Boone was used to getting kicked out of places for being an asshole.

Too bad.

“It is for us,” Robert assured him. “I’ll explain outside.”

Hugo didn’t wait to hear another argument. “Goodbye, Boone. Thanks for coming.”

Don’t let the door hit you on your way out.

Boone still wanted to argue, but after a few seconds of studying Hugo’s unwavering expression, he got up to follow Robert to the door.

After it closed behind them, Shelley set her phone down and leaned forward, glancing around the table. “I say Robert gets the Nora treatment for a month, since it bugs him so much. Any takers?”

The entire family erupted with a chorus of, “Aye.”

“And,” Thoreau added, sounding as irritated as Hugo felt. “He’s banned from talking about his trip to Greece while under this roof. Indefinitely.”

Another round of “Ayes” echoed through the dining room as Robert walked back in.

“Damn, I missed the vote. I’m sorry, okay? He’s been nagging me to meet Hugo since he saw the family snapshot in my office, and when he found out it was your birthday he wouldn’t drop it until I caved. What do I have to do?”

“First order of business, son, is apologizing to our guest. He came to honor your brother and got insulted instead.”

Robert winced at their father’s words and looked over at Solomon. “I’m sorry, Younger. Seriously, man. That was out of line.”

Solomon nodded graciously, his lips curving in amusement. “I don’t hold you responsible, but I think your family may have voted you off the island.”

Robert’s jaw dropped. “Again? For a single party foul?”

Hugo couldn’t contain his laughter. “He thinks he just made that up. Don’t worry you still have house privileges for now. But no more parasailing stories, Nora.”

Emerson lifted his glass in agreement. “And no more ouzo is no joke stories, Nora.”

Hugo watched his mother lift her glass and clink it with her son’s. “And I could do without the topless beaches on every corner stories, because the walls have young ears and I’m not deaf either. Um… Nora.”

She was never up for the Nora treatment, which told Hugo she’d been upset by Boone’s attack on Solomon too.

I’ll be damned. They liked him. Solomon had won his entire family over in less than one evening.

He had no reason to care about that anymore. No right to feel proud that they approved of the man he’d been crazy about for years, but he did. The fact that they could see what he always had meant more than he wanted to admit.

He couldn’t let it mean everything, but it definitely made his decision easier.

 

He made it through cake and conversation, as well as a few glasses of the wine Solomon had brought for dinner before he started to wonder if the night would ever end.

Now that he wanted a chance to talk to Solomon alone, there never seemed to be an opportunity. 

Did his family always linger so long over coffee? Did Bronte have to keep bringing up Solomon’s cousin, William? He must have pissed her off more than Hugo realized, because she still wanted to sock him in the jaw.

By the time Thoreau had left for the night and Emerson had gone to tuck the boys into his old room, he’d decided he’d had enough.

He got to his feet. “I need some fresh air. Younger?”

He was being obvious, but he wasn’t willing to wait until tomorrow to say what he needed to say. They had to get a few things straight, now, before he talked himself out of it.

“I’ll join you. Excuse me Cassandra, Foster.” Solomon followed him without a word, both of them slipping into their jackets in silence.

On the porch, he grabbed Solomon’s uninjured hand without a word, fast-walking through the cold toward the garage apartment, tugging Solomon under the staircase between buildings.

“What are you—”

“I need you to listen,” he interrupted, pressing him against the wall and burrowing into his heat. “This is important.”

“I’m listening,” Solomon said immediately, surprised and breathless at the contact.

“I wasn’t expecting you to show up. Especially not after yesterday. I know you. You’d hate thinking you talked too much. Shared too much.”

“You’re right. I did hate it.”

“But you still came. You’re still here. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do about that. How I’m supposed to feel.”

Solomon looked away, his shoulders stiff as if he were waiting for a blow to the head. Or a rejection. “I can leave.”

Hugo turned his head toward him again, looking him in the eyes. “I’m the law around here, Younger. Not you. I make the rules and I’m not ready for you to leave right now.”

He slid his other hand down the front of Solomon’s jeans and swore, cupping the erection he knew he’d find. “If this is going to happen, if you want this to happen as much as I do, you have to do what I say. Follow my lead.”

A shudder rippled through the tall body pressed against him. “I can do that. As long as you don’t stop what you’re doing.”

Hugo squeezed Solomon’s cock in warning, unable to stop himself. “You don’t know what I want yet.”

“You’re touching me,” Solomon growled. “Fuck if I’m going to argue. Fuck anything else.”

Hugo couldn’t wait another minute to kiss him. It was better than he remembered. The stubble scraping his palm, the long hair he instantly sunk his fingers into.

How could it be better?

He’d missed the things this man could do with his tongue. It made him wild. So wild he was outside in the cold, undoing both their pants so he could finally get some relief.

When Solomon choked out a groan at the contact he lifted his lips. “No fucking anything else. Anyone else. No extra people or trips out of town. You and I are the only ones at this party.”

“Only you, I swear.” Solomon gripped both their erections in his hand and Hugo moaned, rocking instinctively against him. “Fuck, I’ve missed this. Let me taste you. Let me suck your cock.”

“Not this time, Younger. This time you need to know exactly what I want from you.”

Hugo met his gaze and stuck two fingers in his mouth, getting them wet. He could actually see Solomon’s eyes dilate with apprehension and lust.

“That’s right.” He slid his hand around and down into Solomon’s loosened pants, burrowing beneath his underwear. “That’s right, Younger. I’m not waiting for an engraved invitation anymore. Not waiting for you to make the first move.”

He slipped between the firm cheeks he wanted to bite and circled the opening, stroking until he slid one finger inside his ass.

“Fuck. Hugo. Fuck.” Solomon was breathless. His hand stilled on their hard shafts.

“Don’t stop. Just breathe out and relax. You can take it. Fuck, you’re tight but I know you can take it. I’ll work you for hours with my mouth and fingers to get you ready to take everything.”

Solomon’s moan was a little too loud and Hugo cut it off with his mouth, adding another finger. God he felt good.

“I get this,” he finally whispered against his lips “That’s rule one. I’ve wanted inside for years and there’s no work to hide behind now. Nothing holding us back. If you want me, tell me this is mine.”

“Hugo,” he panted, blue eyes dark with hunger. “It feels… Yes. Yours. It’s yours.”

Victory rushed through him like a shot of strong whiskey, heating his blood. “I’ll make it so good, Younger. I’ll take my time.”

“Yes.” Solomon ate at his mouth and stroked their cocks faster, his grip firm enough to make Hugo gasp.

The snug heat surrounding his fingers was going to burn him alive. He brushed against Solomon’s prostate, smiling when he rocked greedily against his hand in response.

He wanted him now, but he had to wait. He needed privacy before he finally took what he wanted. “Come with me,” he said urgently, rubbing himself against Solomon’s slick erection. “I want to feel you come with my fingers in your ass. Want to know how tightly you’ll be squeezing my dick tomorrow.”

They came together, moaning into each other’s mouths, both of them too primed by their separation and Hugo’s filthy promises to make it last.

Their combined release covered his stomach and cock, the cold air making him shudder as much as his orgasm.

He’d told himself he’d come outside to talk but as soon as he’d gotten Solomon alone he’d practically fucked him against the wall. Right outside his parent’s house for anyone to see. Hell, Emerson lived in the garage apartment at the moment. If he’d come out…

He was thirty-eight going on sixteen when it came to Solomon Finn. He was the only man to bring out this kind of sexual aggression, to make him feel so vulnerable.

He’d have to be careful not to let his guard down any more than he already had.

He released him, stepping back to button up his jeans while his body was still shivering with aftershocks. “Tell me what time you’ll be ready tomorrow.”

Solomon adjusted his clothing, his expression still vaguely stunned. “Are you asking for a date?”

Be strong. “Not a date. That’s a rule too. We’re going to keep it casual. Great sex, but that’s it. No pretense that this is anything else.”

Solomon was so still he wasn’t sure he was breathing. Was he saying this wrong?

“I’m not…” Hugo sighed and started again. “Last time things were difficult because they were unclear. I’ve already told you I can’t do that again. This is what I can do. What I want to do with you. But you have to be okay with it.”

“Yeah.” His voice had a rawness to it that hadn’t been there before. He cleared his throat. “It’s not as if I—It’s fine. We’ll stick with your rules.”

“I have the next few days off. If you have something scheduled—”

“I’m free whenever you are,” he interrupted, making a face at the eagerness he’d revealed. “It can’t be my place for a few days though. Plumbers.”

Shit, he’d completely forgot about his accident. His cast. “Did you drive here?”

“Called a car just to be safe.” He smiled wryly. “Seamus offered to drive me but there’s only so much humiliation a man can take in one sitting.”

“That’s where you got the shirt, isn’t it?”

Solomon tugged at his tie. “That obvious?”

“Only to me.” He moved in for a soft kiss. “It looks good. And your hair…”

“What about it?”

“Don’t cut it.”

Solomon chuckled. “Another rule?”

“Hell yes.” He looked around. “I’ve had a few too many birthday toasts, but Emerson can drive you back. To Seamus and Bellamy’s house?”

“Yeah. It’s a big place, so he won’t be able to miss it. We marry into money you know.”

Hugo snorted, glad he hadn’t taken what Boone said to heart. “That leaves me out then. You know I live in the Wayne-plex for budget purposes, right?”

“I knew you lived in a duplex.”

“Bronte, Austen, Thoreau and I all went in on it years ago. We lived there together. We’re a close family, in case you missed it at dinner. But Noah and Wyatt have been roommates since the cradle, so you know how it is.”

“Not anymore,” Solomon said. “But they were for years. I always wondered why you never invited me over.”

“We didn’t have that kind of relationship.”

“That’s right. You’re right.”

It was true, so why did he feel like he’d hurt him?

“Let’s get you that ride and I’ll call you tomorrow before I pick you up.”

 

Austen joined him on the porch as he watched the taillights disappear around the corner, taking Solomon away.

“Hey little brother. You missed one.” He felt her place a box in his hand and he looked down at the carefully wrapped package. “There’s no tag, but Mama said it was in the bag with the wine.”

Solomon. He held it so tight his knuckles ached. “I’ll open it later.”

“What were you doing out here for so long? You didn’t scare him away, did you?”

“I didn’t scare him away.” He scared himself, but not enough to cancel tomorrow. He wasn’t sure anything, even common sense, could stop him from going through with that.

“Then open it.”

He knew she wouldn’t let it go so he obeyed, frowning in confusion when he saw a small spiral notebook decorated with a sloppy H done in glitter on the front.

“There’s a post-it on the back,” Austen said.

From the kids at the youth center. You left this behind. Younger.

He thumbed through the penciled in hearts and misspelled poetry and his vision blurred. He remembered how proud he was to see his fellow officers interacting with the kids at the center, knowing he’d been a part of making that happen. He’d helped some of the smaller children write out their Thank You cards, but he didn’t know they’d done anything for him.

“Oh that’s good.” Austen sounded impressed. “This guy is either the real deal or he’s a professional player, and he does awkward and uncomfortable too well for it to be an act. Either way, he knows how to push your buttons.”

Yes, he did. All his buttons were pushed and the alarm sirens around his heart were blaring out a warning.

Danger Ahead!