Cover Up (7 page)

“Oh, just lots of talking, the boss bitching about quotas. In this economy, it’s hard to convince people to spend money on something that doesn’t have an immediate, tangible result.” There. That sounded completely believable. Should he buy a briefcase? Or would Parker think it weird he didn’t already have one? If asked, he could surely say he’d left his stuff at the office. If only he’d had some time to think about what he needed to bring to this job. He should—

“Shouldn’t you stir that?”

Ivan blinked and stared down at the onion just beginning to smoke in the pan. “Oh, yeah, sure. Sorry, got a little distracted.” Which was dangerous, and not just because of the possibility of a kitchen fire. He needed to get a fucking grip on himself.

“How was your day?” Ivan glanced at Parker again, unable to keep his gaze off the gorgeous young man for long.

“Nothing special. Just learning and studying.”

Ivan quickly assembled the omelet with his nearly charred onions, and Parker followed him to the table.

“Any plans for the weekend?” Parker’s gaze locked on Ivan’s dinner.

“Nope. Nothing planned. Did you want some of this?” The kid didn’t eat enough. Maybe he was having some trouble getting capital, which might explain him wanting a roommate and getting in bed with Razhin. Banks wouldn’t approve home equity loans to pay for drug purchases, even if the resale value was higher than for most other commodities.

A brief flash of longing appeared on Parker’s face before he shook his head. “No, I’m good.”

“What about you? Any plans?”

Parker’s full lips opened on a reply, but the sound of the front door opening and closing interrupted, making Ivan jump. He tensed, preparing to tackle the intruder.

“Hello?”

“In here,” Parker called.

Ivan grimaced. Didn’t he just tell himself he had to get a fucking grip? He was jumpy, but he didn’t know why. He forced himself to relax, since Parker obviously knew this stranger well enough not to be concerned by him just walking into the house.

A short, muscular guy swaggered into the kitchen, and Ivan instantly recognized both the swagger and the muscles as compensation for his height. There had been times when Ivan was younger when he’d have given just about anything to grow one more inch, to hit that six foot mark. He could only imagine the frustration of being four inches away, but he’d met so many guys who’d let it affect their personality. This guy was yet another one. Despite his height, the newcomer was good-looking and probably got plenty of attention in clubs, but next to Parker, he merely appeared rough and unfinished. Like a celebrity caught unawares at the beach, while Parker was the celebrity poised for a publicity shot.

“Isn’t this cute? Who is this, Parker?” Arrogance weighted his tone, and Ivan resisted the urge to draw himself up to his full height. With his own comparable muscles, he would be as imposing to this guy as Parker was with his extra height.

He did, however, set his fork down.

“This is my roommate, Ivan.” The pride in Parker’s voice made Ivan flick a glance over. Parker smiled brightly at him, and Ivan couldn’t help but smile back. “Ivan, this is my… friend, Neil.”

So this was the boyfriend? Ivan looked closer as he extended a hand out to shake. As expected, Neil grasped his hand tighter than customary, trying to prove a point he probably spent far too much of his life trying to prove.

“Nice to meet you, Neil.”

Neil grunted in reply. Parker didn’t exactly roll his eyes, but somehow, Ivan knew it was a near thing. Obviously, this wasn’t unexpected or unusual behavior.

“So, Ivan, you’re a little old to be going back to school.”

Neil’s antagonistic words didn’t alter Parker’s relaxed state, so Ivan chose not to be concerned either.

“I’m not.” But it wasn’t a terrible idea. At some point, he’d have to tail Parker, and pretending to take a class or two would give him a plausible reason to be on campus.

Neil frowned in exaggerated and blatantly false puzzlement. “Then why do you need a roommate?”

“Because it’s cheap. The wife got everything in the divorce.”

Brows raised, Neil spoke again in that sarcastic tone. “Oh? And why was that? You cheat on her? Rough her up?”

Parker gasped and put a hand on Neil’s shoulder. “You shouldn’t ask those things.”

“Why not? I know you didn’t ask, and you should have before you let some stranger move in. I just want to know how, in this day and age, a man like Ivan got cleaned out by the little woman.”

Ivan took a moment to tamp down the sudden spike of anger that flared up at the venom in Neil’s tone and had to resist the urge to stand and flex, just to make Neil feel inferior. Pissing off the boyfriend would not win him any brownie points with Parker.

“My wife got everything because she had excellent lawyers.” Ivan wasn’t going to get in a pissing match with Neil over this.

“Ivan, I’m sorry. You don’t have to answer.”

“Don’t apologize for me, for fuck’s sake.” An angry flush bloomed on Neil’s cheeks. “Parker, let’s leave your new roommate to eat his dinner.”

“But—”

“I need to talk to you.”

Parker threw him an apologetic look before he left the room, and Ivan couldn’t help but stare at what had to be the world’s sexiest butt. God help him, but Parker and this op were going to drive him bug-fuck nuts.

As though Neil sensed Ivan’s cock revving up, he wrapped a protective arm around Parker’s waist. The now familiar squeak announced their progress upstairs, and as soon as the door to Parker’s bedroom slammed shut, Ivan stared back down at his dinner. His appetite had completely disappeared, but he forced himself to shovel in another couple of bites before he gave up and pitched it in the garbage.

N
EIL
flopped down on his bed, and Parker took one of the chairs he kept in his room.

“Was that necessary? You could have been nicer.”

“What for? I still don’t know why you bothered with a roommate. It’s not like you need one.”

Parker shrugged. He’d tried to tell Neil months ago how empty the house was, how much he hated coming home to the soullessness of a place he shared with no one. He’d been hoping for another body, a person he could get along with, but he hadn’t expected to get a roommate he liked this much, never mind one that was sexy enough to prompt a few—several—erotic thoughts.

“Just for some company, you know.”

Neil huffed. “Nice going. You got some stuffy old dude. He’s probably a perv.”

“He’s not a perv, for God’s sake. And he’s not old.” Older than they were, sure, but not old.

“How do you know he’s not a perv? He sure stared at your ass plenty.”

Shock kept him from getting any words out, even as his face heated. “He was married.”

“Doesn’t mean he’s not gay. And he’s got a thing for your fat ass. Probably the closest he’s gotten to chicken in a decade.”

Neil pulled out a joint and fussed with lighting it up, completely unconcerned by Parker’s reaction. Parker dug his fingers into the worn cloth arms of the chair, trying to catch his breath from the myriad of emotions Neil had ruthlessly slapped him with in a few short sentences.

The casual contempt with which Neil called him chicken was precisely the reason he didn’t like the whole gay scene. He wanted to talk, get to know someone before climbing into bed with them. He wanted a boyfriend, not a fuck, but whenever Neil took him somewhere it seemed as though the labels were the most important aspect of the sexual maneuvering.

The worst, though, was the hope. Hope that Ivan might actually be gay. Might actually be into him. He already loved coming home to Ivan and hoped he’d never leave. He swung his foot in a nervous habit he’d never been able to break, making the springs of the old chair creak almost as loud as the old stairs. Both were comfortable, familiar sounds.

After a few drags on the joint, Neil glanced up at him. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. You like him, don’t you?”

With the curtains closed and evening drawing in, the only light was the soft, yellowish bedside lamp. Surely Neil couldn’t see him flushing. “He’s my roommate. And so far, he’s been a good roommate. I think we could be friends.”

“Friends.” Neil twisted the word into something ugly and even more contemptuous than chicken. “Don’t be stupid. Even if he is as boring as he seems, and isn’t some weird serial killer, how could you ever be friends? You haven’t traveled or had a real job. You’re still in school. What could you possibly have in common?”

Parker’s leg swung a little faster, the squeaking an audible indication of his agitation. “But….”

Rolling his eyes while taking another drag took some skill, but Neil managed. He held the smoke in his lungs for a moment and let it out; all the while Parker searched for words to refute Neil’s arguments.

“But nothing.”

Too late.

“I bet he’s one of those closeted creeps who’s hoping you’ll shine his pole while he goes out and finds himself a new wife. Where did you even find that guy?”

Parker couldn’t stop his foot swinging. “The housing coordinator at the university. She interviewed him.”

“She interviewed him? And you just took her word? You’re an idiot, Parker.”

Humiliation churned his stomach. Had he made a mistake trusting Liz? She seemed competent and nice. Ivan had been so sweet, and he hadn’t once gotten too close or touched him inappropriately like half of Neil’s friends. Of course, he knew they were all doing it to fuck with him, making it easy to say no, but still.

“I like him.” Parker glared at Neil. How could the guy who’d protected him all through school, stuck with him through his mom’s illness and death, helped him with all the rules, regulations, and paperwork, manage to make him feel like an unattractive, incompetent idiot? Not that he’d ever tell Neil that. Neil’s favorite expression was “sac up” and Parker had heard it too many times over the years.

Neil shook his head. “You’re going to regret letting him live here.”

“Well, you didn’t want to move in.”

“No way, man. I need my own space. You know that.”

Parker shrugged. “I know. But I like to share my space.” He hadn’t realized until he was alone how empty the house really was.

“I couldn’t fucking wait to live on my own. And this place could be party central, but with the oldster moved in, you won’t be able to have any fun. Don’t come crying to me when it all goes to shit.”

It wasn’t going to go to shit. No matter what Neil thought, Ivan wasn’t gay. Or if he was, he wasn’t attracted to Parker. No one was, really. He and Neil had been each other’s firsts, many years ago when they both realized they were gay, but they made better friends than boyfriends. Since then, Neil had probably fucked ten guys for every one that liked Parker, and Parker couldn’t even bring himself to fuck every one of those. Sex was too intimate for him to indulge casually, even if that made him seem girly, as Neil often called him. Fat and girly. No way a hot, sexy guy like Ivan would be interested, even though he was apparently the nicest guy in the world.

“Fine, Neil, I won’t.” Parker’s leg hadn’t stopped its swinging, though.

“Only a couple puffs left. Come get ’em. You clearly need to relax.” Neil waved the glowing end of his smoke at Parker’s leg.

“No, I can’t.”

More eye rolling greeted his denial. The secondhand smoke would be enough to mellow him eventually, but with his condition, getting too fucked up could kill him. Neil seemed to think he was exaggerating, but he’d scared the shit out of his mom once or twice back in high school, and it hadn’t taken long to sink in that if he’d been alone in the house, he’d probably be dead.

Neil took his final drag and stubbed out the joint in the ashtray Parker left in his bedroom for him. “Change your mind about coming with me tonight?”

“You know I don’t like those clubs.” Everyone looking for hookups made Parker uncomfortable. Could never quite believe any of the guys who approached were serious. He wouldn’t put it past Neil to pay them off to “help” him out. And the stares. Everyone stared at him, and each of his flaws seemed magnified under those strobing colored lights.

“My God, you’re such a wuss.”

“Why don’t you stay home with me? We could watch a movie or something.” Before his mom died, and right after, they’d done that a lot. He’d been grateful for the company, but Neil had made a lot of new friends in the intervening months, and Parker didn’t fit in. Just like always.

“No way. I got business to take care of tonight. If I’m going to open my own club, I need to talk to people when the clubs are open.”

That logic always seemed weird to Parker. How could anyone have a proper business meeting with the decibel level of the music? Great for dancing, terrible for talking. But Neil would know better than Parker. As soon as they’d hit their first honest to God club, Neil had wanted to own one.

“But if you’re going to stay home, do something about these boxes.” Neil thumped the nearest box with his fist. “And don’t spend your time wishing your new roomie would get in your pants.” Neil lobbed a pillow at him, smacking him in the face.

He gasped, and Neil just laughed. “Oh, Parker… I want your cock….” Neil spoke in a weird, breathy falsetto that Parker interrupted by throwing the pillow right back before he launched out of the chair and tackled Neil on the bed.

Neil just laughed his funny, doped up laugh.

“I can’t believe you’ve got a thing for your roommate. Such a cliché.”

“Cliché. That’s a big word for you. Do you even know what it means?”

Neil giggled and rubbed his knuckles over the top of Parker’s head. They fell back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

“Turn on some music, would you? I’ve got some time before I’ve got to go.” Neil pulled out another joint as Parker grabbed the remote for his docking station, setting his MP3 player on shuffle and not too loud. He hadn’t had a chance to discuss ground rules with Ivan, like music level and having people over.

“You can come here after, if you want.” Parker hated himself for asking. Ivan had possibilities, but Neil was a fixture in his life. Neil represented stability at times when it seemed as though Parker had none.