Page 8 of Conflict Conclusion

“As soon as we get back, I can take you on a tour,” his mom said, patting his arm for probably the twentieth time that evening.

At the end of dinner, she had scooted her chair right up next to James, and they’d shared a small slice of chocolate cake, even though Howard insisted there was more than enough cake at the buffet for them to have their own.

James couldn’t help but wonder just how many more desserts they’d get to share before she moved out.

He knew he was being ridiculous. Parents moved all the time. Hell, his dad had moved out and on without him years ago. His mom wasn’t abandoning him. In fact, the continuing care community was closer to Leon’s apartment than James’ current house was. The problem was, that wouldn’t matter if Leon wasn’t ready to house James.

God, that made him sound like he was a stray animal that had wandered in off the street.

“I’d love to see the place, Mom. I’m sure I’ll be visiting⁠—”

“Oh yes, honey, all the time!” his mom said, squeezing his arm before finally releasing him.

“Many of the events are open to family and friends. You could come on your own or bring Leon,” Linda said, depositing her purse on the counter and pulling out her phone.

“I’m looking forward to spending more time with you boys,” Howard said, toeing off his loafers and stepping into a pair of flip-flops he’d laid out by the door.

James’ mom looked between her two lovers and James. “We wanted to give you some time to sit with the news and call Leon if you’d like. We’re going to the pool deck—unless there was more you wanted to talk about right now?”

Honestly, James just wanted to go back to bed. He was pretty “talked” out at this point, but she was right. He should probably call Leon, at the very least to see how his day had been with Aspen. There was a two-hour time difference, which meant he should be home by now.

“I’ll call Leon, and then I might try to get some more sleep. You guys have fun and let me know how the pool is.”

Linda and Howard’s smiles were easy, but his mom’s held a hint of tension. James tried to ease it with a hug and another wish for her to have a good night.

Meanwhile, that ball in James’ stomach seemed dead set on keeping him from having a good night. It bounced around his still mostly empty stomach, knocking against his breastbone and causing his chest to ache as he brushed his teeth and changed into pajamas.

He propped a few pillows behind his back, hoping maybe he could scare away the ball the same way he sometimes got rid of heartburn, but all that did was make his lower back cramp up. On top of that, his neck still ached from falling asleep on the plane, and his left knee had been twinging since he turned too quickly in the office the previous Monday. Leon had tossed a stress ball at him and, as always, he hadn’t been quick enough to catch it.

God, he was getting old. It really was past time for him to move out of his mom’s house. If it hadn’t been for her cancer, he would have moved out right after college, but nothing in his life had ever gone to plan. That was probably why he’d all but given up on planning for the future, but maybe, somewhere in the back of his mind, he had thought it would be him and his mom forever. The dynamic duo, just them against the world.

He should have assumed things would change when she met Howard and Linda, and likewise when he met Leon…but he hadn’t. Or at least, he hadn’t come to terms with it, and he assumed Leon hadn’t given it any thought either, given that he’d never even so much as hinted at James moving in with him.

The past several months, it had felt like Leon was purposefully avoiding talking about the future. He was still grappling with almost having lost Hailey, and now she was getting ready to leave for school.

Oh, no.

It was pretty poor timing on the universe’s part that the same month Hailey would be moving out, James might be trying to move in. He knew firsthand how hard change could be. Would it be too much change for Leon?

James’ stomach gave an angry jolt, and he curled his knees to his chest and buried his face in his arms.

Once again proving that the universe had no sense of timing, his phone vibrated with Leon’s text pattern.

Not even stopping to read the message, James snatched up his phone and hit dial.

Leon answered on the second ring, his voice a little breathless. “Hi, darlin’. You didn’t have to call. I was just seeing what you were up to.”

James stared up at the beige ceiling. “Not much. Just…feeling old.”

Leon’s laugh had almost the same cadence as the waves crashing against the side of the boat. It washed over James and eased the tension in his neck and back, and even his knee seemed to calm down. The ball began to glow, low and warm in his belly, and he rolled onto his side, grabbing a pillow and pulling it against his chest.

“Isn’t the stereotype that old folks love cruises? Are you finding that your mensch-like tendencies fit in a little too well with the older crowd?”

“No,” James said indignantly, even as he failed to keep a smile off his face. “I’m just sore and stiff.”

Leon hummed. “Did we go too hard last night?”

James could feel his cheeks heat from where one of them was pressed into the sheets. “We went just the right amount of…hard.” This time Leon’s laugh was sharper, and James harumphed. “I meant my neck and back hurt from the plane ride.”