Friends and Lovers (25 page)

“Of course not.” Josh pressed the heel of his hand into his stomach.

“Why, I ought to –” Teddy’s hands were clenched into fists.

“Teddy,
no
!” He gripped his wrist. If they caused a scene…

BT slowly got to his feet. “You sanctimonious little prig!”

“I beg your pardon?!” John appeared stunned by the unexpected attack.

“You should be begging your brother’s pardon. Josh is one of the best people I know, and I’ll be damned if I let you or anyone else treat him like this.”

Mr. Jack rose as well, and Cath, and Josh’s throat tightened. He had to blink furiously in order to prevent himself from making a fool of himself by crying. Kira looked from one person to the other, and then she stood up too.

“Look, I don’t want any trouble with your… your friends.” John looked even more uncomfortable. “This is Suellen’s day, Josh, and I want her to have pleasant memories of it. I...”

“I think it might be best if my friends and I left now.”

John looked relieved that he hadn’t had to ask. “I’m sure Mother and Father would have no objections.”

“Of course they wouldn’t.” Josh turned to the others. “Do you mind -”

“Let’s go.” BT glared at Josh’s parents, then turned on his heel and stalked out.

“Uh… Tommy?” Mr. Jack held up BT’s shoes. BT had mentioned earlier that they were killing him and had slipped them off.

“Thanks,” BT muttered as he took them from Mr. Jack, leaned against him, and put them back on. “What about the girls?”

“We’ve got ’em.” Cath held hers up by the delicate straps.

Kira did the same. She didn’t look overjoyed to have to leave while the party was still in full swing, but she wouldn’t side with anyone over them.

“May we go, please?” Josh felt as if he was at the end of his tether.

“Sure, babe.” They walked out of the room, and then Teddy slung an arm over his shoulders.

Josh leaned into him. “I’m sorry. I’m such a – ”

“Don’t say it!”

“You don’t even know what I’m going to say.”

“It doesn’t matter. You deserve better than – ”

“You’re not leaving yet, are you, Cat?” Wesley stood in front of them, grinning and blocking their exit. The only reason why he hadn’t made a bigger pest of himself all evening was because Kira had intercepted him, flirting for all she was worth and dragging him off, sometimes to the dance floor, but more often to one of the corridors outside the ballroom. Josh was sorry she seemed attracted to his brother. Even if Wesley wasn’t engaged, he wouldn’t have seen Kira as anything more than a temporary diversion who’d be dropped as soon as another girl caught his eye.

“Where the heck did he come from?” Teddy groused. He dropped his arm from Josh’s shoulders, and Josh felt a flash of resentment against his brother.

“The men’s room.” He knew the facilities were just down the hall.

Meanwhile, Wesley rocked back and forth on his heels, and ran the backs of his fingers over Cath’s cheek.

“Don’t hit him, Jack!” BT ordered sharply.

“Why not? So you can have the pleasure?”

“No, so I can!” Cath drove her fist into Wesley’s stomach, and he collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath. “I told you I despise that nickname. Don’t ever call me that again!”

“A… a girl with… with fire! I like that!” he called after her.

Kira sulked. “
I
have fire!”

Cath slid an arm around Kira’s waist. “Never mind. He isn’t worth it. Sorry, Josh.”

“No, you’re right, but
I’m
sor- ”

“Don’t you say it, Josh!” Teddy had an arm around his shoulder, and he gave him a shake. “Don’t you dare say you’re sorry! None of this was your fault!”

“Thank you. And thank you all for coming with me. I’m just sorry – Well, I am,” he responded to Teddy’s growl. “I wish you could have had a better time.”

“What makes you think we didn’t have a good time?” Mr. Jack handed the chit to the valet parking attendant, and they waited for the SUV to be brought around.

“It can’t have been much fun to be thrown out of the Brookside Country Club.”

“Are you kidding?” BT rubbed his shoulder. “That was the highlight of the evening! Well, except for Catherine punching that little –” Mr. Jack poked him in the ribs, and he cleared his throat. “Your brother. You didn’t hurt your hand, did you, Catherine?”

“No, DT.” She flexed her fingers and grinned. “I’m fine.”

The SUV pulled up, and the attendant got out. “Thank you, sir!” He grinned broadly at the size of the tip Mr. Jack handed him.

“Let’s go back to the hotel.”

“But it’s not even 11,” Kira protested. “It’s too early to go to bed!”

“Not to go to bed. Latitudes Bistro and Lounge –” in the South Tower – “should still be open. We can have a drink or two, and – ”

Teddy leaned close to him and whispered in his ear, “And later we’ll go dancing.”

“But there’s no dancing…” Teddy grinned at him, and he realized what kind of dancing his boyfriend had in mind. “Oh.” He blushed and smiled. “Okay.”

4. The Friend -

Three o’clock in the morning was never a good time for the phone to ring. Except for the time Jack had called to tell him he was getting divorced, it never heralded anything good.

Tom would never tell Jack how his heart had flipped in his chest when he’d learned the wicked witch of the south had finally overplayed her hand.

That had been before Tom had asked for a favor from his straight best friend, to be topped by him, and it turned out that his straight best friend wasn’t as straight as they’d both thought all those years.

And now Jack was his lover as well as his best friend, and he was happier than he’d ever been in his life. He even had children, of his heart if not of his body.

So when the phone rang, shattering the quiet stillness of the predawn hours and jerking Tom out of a sound sleep, he stared at it as if it was a living thing that might attack at any moment and did a fast tally. Jack, the man he loved more than he’d ever thought it was possible to love someone, was in bed beside him, snoring fit to wake the dead and sleeping the sleep of the worn out, even through the racket the phone was making.

They’d had a barbecue and pool party that day to celebrate the long 4
^th
of July weekend. Theodore and Catherine, Jack’s children, were safely in their beds, Theodore with Josh, who’d become his boyfriend almost a year and a half ago, and Catherine – Tom didn’t want to think who she might be sharing her bed with. She might be on the verge of adulthood, but to him and her daddy she’d always be the little blonde moptop who’d demanded to know why she couldn’t play with the boys. Now there were other games she was interested in playing, and no, he wasn’t going to let his mind go there.

As for Kira, she was supposed to have spent the night with her latest boy toy, but she’d come home early, a distinct flounce to her step, her color hectic, refusing to say anything.

He quickly ran through the roster of all the kids’ friends who were sleeping over because tomorrow they’d be spending the day at the beach. Everyone had been tucked in their beds when he and Jack had secured the ranch for the night.

His mom, fondly known as Miz Honey, was –

Oh, sweet baby jesus, could something have happened to her? She wasn’t alone, since after being widowed for so many years, she’d finally been persuaded by the man she’d thought of as a good friend to marry him, and was deliriously happy. Could it be Charlie calling to tell him…

All these thoughts flashed through his mind between the first ring that woke him and the second. He grabbed up the receiver and gritted out, “Hansom.”

“Hi, buddy.” The voice on the other end of the line was soft and deep and rumbling, one he hadn’t heard in some time.

“Josh?” His friend Joshua, who had fallen in love with a Marine and moved away from everything… everyone… to North Carolina?

“Yeah.”

Tom breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was okay. “Hi, buddy.”

“Tom, I’m so… so sorry to call… to call you so early…” There was an audible swallow. “I… I had no one else to call.”

“What’s wrong?” Shit. Everything was
no
t okay. “Where are you?”

“I’m here in Savannah.”

“Is Ken with you?”

“No. He and I… we had a… a spat. I had to get away…”

“Oh, buddy. Are you okay?”

“Not… not really, Tom. I… I need a place to stay for the night. What’s left of it. I wouldn’t ask, but I left my wallet behind. I was in such a rush… Stupid. I can’t believe how stupid… I’ve been on the road since… I don’t know. It feels like for- forever.”

This sounded like more than a ‘spat.’ “Where are you?” he asked again. He’d take Josh to task for calling himself stupid after his friend had a good night’s sleep under his belt.

“I’m at the gas station that’s about two minutes from your place.” The sorrow and weariness in his friend’s voice almost broke Tom’s heart. “I didn’t want to just come knocking on your door.”

“You know you’re always more than welcome, but what are you doing in that part of town? I called you about it. You weren’t home, but I told Ken.”

“Oh, yeah. That’s right,” he said hollowly. “I… I guess I forgot. You moved in with what’s-his-name?”

“His name is Jack Sweet, as you very well know.” His friend had a mind like a steel trap and forgot nothing, which was why he still was less than friendly toward Jack, remembering the times he’d had to pull Tom together after Jack had pushed him from his life once again.

“Right. Can you give me directions?”

“Sure, buddy.” After having Josh repeat them twice, he said, “It should take you about twenty minutes to get here. You’ve got your hog? Make sure you ride careful then, you hear me?”

“I hear you. Thanks, Tom. I…” Josh’s chuckle was watery. “Thanks.”

Oh, Josh, what did that son of a bitch do to you?
Tom felt his heart turn over, but he wouldn’t let Joshua hear the concern in his voice. Something was seriously wrong, much more serious than a lovers’ spat. “Bread on the water, Josh.”

“You’re a good friend, Tom.”

Mutual acquaintances had never been able to understand how he and Joshua could become friends.

Tom couldn’t understand it himself. Josh was a big, happy, easygoing kind of guy, and he was short, intense, and volatile, the proverbial leather daddy. It hadn’t seemed to matter to Joshua though. He’d seen Tom at his worst, fucking a twink over a pool table in a biker bar, and he’d still been willing to be his friend.

“I’ll see you soon. Bye, buddy.” He disconnected the call, then rang the guard house at the gates of the community he, his lover, and the two Sweet children had moved into a few years before. “This is Tom Hansom. Who’s this? Oh, Chad, listen, a friend of mine should be coming by in about twenty minutes. Joshua Andretti. He’ll be riding a big ol’ Harley. Let him through, okay? Thanks.”

“Are we gonna have company, babe?” Jack asked as he hung up the receiver.

“Shit. I’m sorry I woke you, Jack.”

“Like I wouldn’t wake up when the phone rings in the middle of the night? I did a quick head count and didn’t breathe easy until I knew they were all safe in their beds. Or at least under our roof.” He grinned wryly. It had taken some time for him to accept his son might find himself in another boy’s bed, but he really didn’t want to face the knowledge that his little girl might also be in a boy’s bed.

“Yeah, so did I. I even worried about my Mom.”

“I didn’t. I knew Charlie would take good care of her. You’d beat him to a pulp if he didn’t.”

“Think you know me so well?”

“Don’t I?” Jack pulled him against his body.

“Yeah, you do.” He was the only man Tom would allow to do something like that, allow to see him at a weak point. “I should have asked if it would be okay with you...”

“Ass. It’s not a problem, we have plenty of room.”

“Still, I should have…” Tom knew Jack had as little liking for Joshua as Joshua had for him. Seeing the other man reminded Jack too clearly of his poor treatment of Tom. How was Jack going to feel when he learned who’d be sleeping in one of their spare bedrooms?

Jack gave him a poke. “I’ll let you get by with that only because it’s so early and I know you’re not a morning person. So who was it?”

“It’s Josh Andretti, my friend from my Tallahassee days.” Tom half-expected Jack to pull away from him, and he was inordinately relieved when he didn’t.

“Didn’t you tell me he was living in North Carolina with a Marine?”

“Midway Park.” Tom nodded. “It’s right outside Camp Lejeune. He said he and his partner had a spat. It had to be more than a spat, though, Jack. Josh left home without his wallet.” Dumb jarhead, hurting a sweet guy like Josh.

“So that’s why he called you. He was looking for a place to lick his wounds.”

“Don’t make it sound like he’s using me.”

“Isn’t he?”

“No more than all the times I used him. I cried on his shoulder often enough when my grandfather was dying.” And when Jack had succeeded in breaking his heart once again, even though he’d sworn to himself that the last time would be the last time.