Cover Up (13 page)

“Nope, can’t do it. People to meet, business to take care of.”

The words might have been a passive-aggressive dig designed to provoke Parker’s guilt for not handing over the funds to start the nightclub, but he chose to take it as proof that Neil was going to make his dreams happen on his own. It would be better that way. He’d take more pride in accomplishing such a huge goal on his own, and Parker admired the passion Neil demonstrated.

“Where’s Ivan?” If Ivan had a good day, he should probably be home from work already.

“
Where’s Ivan
? How the hell should I know?” The sneer in Neil’s voice told Parker that Ivan had become a new topic on Neil’s taboo list.

Parker slung his knapsack in the corner and opened the closet, looking for more comfortable clothes. “Just thought he’d be home by now.”

“He was here when I got here. Which was weird because it was like… two.”

“Two?” Neil had been hanging out in his room since two? “What did you do?”

Neil gestured negligently at the docking station. “Listened to some new tunes for the club. Toked up. Had a nap. You know.”

That was kind of an epiphany. Neil had smoked up in his room, and he hadn’t even noticed. How often did Neil come over and do that? Often enough that Parker had become immune to the scent. Kind of pathetic. Ivan must think he was some sort of druggie.

“You sure you can’t hang tonight? Have you eaten?”

“I told you, I’ve got people to see.”

But he had time to hang out all by himself at Parker’s? He opened the curtains wide, letting in some bright sunlight, and searched the bed for signs of someone else. Even though Parker had made it clear last time that having sex in his bed was a hard line Neil wasn’t to cross again, Neil might have had a guy over.

Neil swung out of bed, but aside from the wrinkles from sleeping in his clothes, there was nothing to indicate there’d been sex of any kind in his bed. If Parker wasn’t getting any there, his best friend couldn’t either. Not when Neil had an apartment of his own to pork his one-night stands.

“Gotta get going. But you watch out. I don’t trust that Ivan guy.”

Oh jeez. What now? “Why not?”

Neil’s lip curled, just a bit. “He was home when I got here. You sure he’s got a job and can pay the rent?”

“I thought I didn’t need rent money.” How many times had Neil told him he didn’t need the money when he’d decided to advertise for a roommate? Loneliness was a stupid reason in Neil’s opinion. If they’d been dating, he would have believed Neil was jealous, but Neil had never been jealous of him. Neil was his best and oldest friend and had stuck with him through some of the worst times in Parker’s life. He owed him his loyalty, and if that meant working around Neil’s quirks, well, that was what friends did.

Neil huffed out a breath that stopped just short of a derisive scoff. “You don’t. But since the geezer is here, you might as well be getting rent money out of it.”

Geezer? Had Neil
seen
Ivan? Sure, he was older, but so fucking hot it almost hurt to look at him. Ivan was the kind of guy Parker drooled over in magazines and porn but would never have the nerve to approach for a date.

“He might have been off sick or something.” Ivan hadn’t been sleeping well. A couple of times, Parker had heard noises in Ivan’s room. He’d thought about going in to see if Ivan was okay, but that didn’t seem appropriate, and Ivan always quieted down before Parker made a decision.

“He said he was working from home, but I don’t know. I just don’t trust that guy. I think he’s here for your ass. Maybe he’s a stalker and you wanting a roommate allowed him to waltz right in.”

“A stalker? Neil, that’s ridiculous. And he’s not here for my ass.” Oh, if only. Parker would offer it up without a second thought if Ivan was interested. “I told you he’s straight. I’ve met his wife.”

“I don’t care if you met the man’s harem. That man is gay and wants to pork you. He probably spent the day sniffing your briefs.”

A flush of heat crept into Parker’s face and a flicker of hope lit inside him. Kinda sick that he found the idea flattering and hot. Could Ivan be gay? Was that maybe why he’d gotten divorced?

“You sure you won’t stay? I’ve got a horror movie we could watch.” He didn’t, but Neil hated horror. For some reason, having both Neil and Ivan in the house together was like navigating through a mine field. He didn’t want to spend the evening navigating Neil-bombs and deflecting catty, unsubtle comments.

“God, Parker, go buy some taste with the rent money the oldster is giving you.” He rolled his eyes and picked up his messenger bag. “See you later.”

“Bye, Neil.”

Parker stood by the window and, after a few seconds, saw Neil walk down the driveway. After Neil had gone, he continued to stand, unwilling to admit he was watching for the return of his roommate. He should probably study, but he was all caught up, and he didn’t feel like hanging out in his room. Seemed a little antisocial, should Ivan come home. He quickly changed into a more comfortable pair of jeans and a well-worn, holey shirt and went down to watch TV.

The front door swung open with a loud bang just as he set foot on the landing, and he jumped back. His first thought—that Neil had forgotten something—was instantly dispelled by the red-faced, sweat-slicked blond who stood in the doorway.

“Ivan.” Parker didn’t have breath for any other words. The white T-shirt clung to work-hardened muscles, almost transparent. Even that didn’t compare to the barely there cut-off sweatpants that had been through the wash so often they were almost as threadbare as the shirt Ivan wore. He didn’t know where Ivan had been, but he looked delicious. Moisture had darkened Ivan’s blond hair to amber honey, and it stuck up in random spikes. Dark circles under his eyes attested to his exhaustion.

“Oh. Parker. Hey. I was out for a run.”

A run. The day’s heat and humidity had taken its toll—unless the man had jogged clear across the city and back—because he hadn’t looked nearly this sweaty and exhausted when Parker had gone with him. Then again, Ivan might have been taking it easy on the newbie.

“I could have gone with you, if you’d waited.”

Ivan somehow managed to shrug with an eyebrow and skirted Parker to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. The brush-off may have been no more than an illustration of Ivan’s exhaustion, but it gave Parker a twinge in his gut. Ivan’s attitude made him reluctant to try and find out if Neil was right. He’d had his fair share of rejection in his life, and he wasn’t ready to experience it from his new roommate.

Nevertheless, Parker trailed him into the kitchen. “Did you want me to put something on for dinner?”

The dark scowl he got in return sent him back a step. Maybe he’d been too needy. Did roommates normally spend this much time together? He knew Chris and Thom were friends, but Chris spent all his time with Alicia.

Parker almost apologized, but he didn’t know what he’d done wrong, and Neil had given him shit in the past for being too apologetic. Besides, he wasn’t hungry anymore.

When Ivan tilted his head back to drain his water, Parker took the coward’s way out and sat in front of the television. He’d gotten spoiled, spending his evenings with Ivan. It had only been a few days, but perhaps this was why he didn’t have a boyfriend. He expected too much time and attention from them.

He flipped on the set but couldn’t make sense of the show he was watching.

“Where’s Neil?” Ivan leaned against the doorframe, a little less red than before, but every bit as damp and delicious as he’d been a few moments ago.

“Gone. Why?” Parker didn’t want to accentuate their age difference, because he wanted Ivan to look at him like a man… assuming he was, as Neil suspected, gay. The sullen bite to his tone probably didn’t help his case any.

The pinched look on Ivan’s face smoothed out, and as the rest of him relaxed, Parker became aware of how tense and rigid he’d held himself ever since he’d come home.

“No reason. Just thought I’d clear out, didn’t want to intrude on your time together.”

Intrude on their time together? Rather odd way to phrase that, but the sentiment was nice. Even if Parker wanted to spend time with Ivan far more than with Neil. Neil never seemed to care what Parker wanted to do.

“He had to work tonight. We could watch another movie.” Parker maybe watched too many movies, but he loved them, and he didn’t much like the places Neil took him, when he bothered to invite him at all. Probably he should take up Alicia on one of her many offers to go out. Actually, yes, he would. Next time she asked, he’d go, no matter what. His sudden conviction made him smile. For a moment, before Ivan smiled back, his expression was completely indecipherable.

“What about homework? I don’t want to keep you from your school work.”

“Nope. I’m all caught up.”

“How about something different?”

Different? Parker’s belly fluttered as he imagined the different things they could do, especially if they started with a massage like the other night. Touching Ivan gave him such pleasure, even if Ivan didn’t want to touch him back.

“Sure. What were you thinking?” Please let it be kissing or sex or….

“Do you play cards?”

Frowning, he stared at Ivan for a moment, trying to figure out where “cards” fit into “touch him,” before he processed the question.

“I used to play Cribbage with my mom, and Neil’s tried to teach me poker, but I can’t figure out the strategy behind it.”

“I think I remember how Cribbage works, so we can play that, but you don’t need to know strategy to have fun with poker.” Cotton muffled the last few words as Ivan pulled up the hem of his T-shirt to wipe off his face. The wide expanse of chiseled abs, bisected by a fuzzy golden trail leading to Ivan’s waistband, had Parker mesmerized.

The shirt dropped, returning Parker’s logic circuits to almost normal. “But Neil said—”

Ivan snorted and rolled his eyes. “Strategy’s only important when you’re playing the game for money, in a casino. Fucking up serious players’ strategy by making rookie moves can piss them off. I’m just talking regular guys’-night-out style poker. Mostly for fun, although sometimes you might have a twenty-buck buy in. Hell, I used to be in a regular game where one guy had to have a cheat sheet about which hand was better.”

That sounded a hell of a lot better than the drill sergeant teaching style Neil had, as though he was trying to get Parker ready for a poker death match. At least Parker could remember a full house beat a flush.

“Okay, sounds like fun.” Fun. The essential missing ingredient when playing cards with Neil.

“We can start with Cribbage, if you’d like.”

“What about dinner?”

This time, Ivan’s smile was full and lit up his whole face. “You don’t have proper dinner on poker night. There’s no time to make chili, and I’m too damned hot anyway, but we’ve got veggies and dip and cheese. That will be sufficient.”

The grin was infectious and sparked excitement in Parker’s belly, along with a tiny niggling disappointment that there wouldn’t be any excuses for incidental touching, as there would have been if he’d given Ivan another massage or convinced Ivan to sit on the couch beside him.

“Did you want to get started on the munchies while I shower?” Ivan turned on his heel and pounded up the stairs after Parker nodded.

He’d barely started preparations when water rattled the pipes in the old house, heralding the start of Ivan’s shower. Parker had to grip the edges of the counter to steady himself as a barrage of images hit him—Ivan, wet and soapy and slick, touching himself, rubbing himself. Steam curling up to the ceiling, condensation blurring the edges of the mirror and window.

Parker could slip inside and watch Ivan’s movements distorted through the clear shower curtain. He’d rinse off by closing his eyes and turning his face up to the showerhead, a blissful look on his face. Then he’d lean one arm against the tile while grabbing his hard cock with the other and….

The water shut off, cutting Parker’s fantasy off before the details made him hornier.

Desire lit an eager throb in his groin, and he gulped in air, hoping to cool the fire before Ivan came back downstairs. The last thing he needed was to greet Ivan while packing a full-on erection. It was unlikely Ivan would take it as a compliment.

By the time Ivan’s footsteps fell in the kitchen, Parker had almost finished preparing their snacks, but a half erection lingered. He surreptitiously adjusted himself before turning to Ivan, hoping his hard-on wasn’t too obvious.

“Did you want a beer?”

“Nope. Just water. I ran far enough that my legs feel like rubber, and I need to rehydrate. But you have one if you want.” Ivan waved a deck of cards at him and slapped it on the table before grabbing a couple of bowls from the counter.

“We’re using your cards, are we?” Parker recognized them from his mini snoop in Ivan’s room. He placed the last of their munchies on the table.

“Does it matter?”

Parker made sure his face was properly solemn. “Well, they could be marked. I wouldn’t know the difference.”

Ivan’s eyes widened before he laughed. “No, I told you, this is for fun. Marked cards are for business.” He winked, and Parker laughed too.

“Just because I’m a gentleman, and you can be sure I don’t cheat, I’ll let you deal first.”

Parker rolled his eyes before grabbing the deck and shuffling the cards. “I gotta warn you, I’m pretty good at Cribbage.”

“So what? I’ll whip you at poker.”

Smiling wide, Parker dealt out the cards.

Chapter 6