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“Do you promise?” I asked, needing him to swear it. Needing to know that no one had satisfied him, becauseno oneelse had satisfied me. Not since him.
“I swear it.”
I inclined my chin, absorbing the love in his stare. “Did you get down on your knees for them? Is that the real reason they’re shot?” I asked, the corner of my mouth curving upward.
Franky laughed, tossing his head back and letting his amusement pour out of him in relief. My heart shifted. It felt like waking up to a nice stretch after a good night’s sleep. It felt like something had been repaired. “I kneel for no one but you, Leland. No one.”
The resulting silence said too much, so I changed the subject. “Won’t Lucas be here soon?” I asked. Lucas was his neighbor with the crush who Cole spoke about. He actually lived around the block. His backyard faced Franky’s, though. He’d popped his head over the planked fence separating their yards yesterday to double check that they were still on for their meeting about the furniture line today. Franky had introduced me as his eldest son’s friend who he was helping out after an unfortunate accident. Lucas had seemed relieved that I was nothing more than a temporary inconvenience for Franky. I’d bristled at Franky’s description, though, not appreciating being drilled down to an inconsequential friend of the damn family.
“If you want me to claim you, Leland, just say the word,”Franky had said.
I’d wanted to say the word. I’d wanted to say the word in every damn language and dialect known to man, even the ones that had long gone extinct. But I’d chosen the language of silence instead.
“Yeah,” Franky said, putting a pin in my thoughts of yesterday. “I should get cleaned up.”
“He wants to have sex with you, you know.”
“I know,” Franky said, rubbing the back of his neck. “But he’s professional. He’d never say or do anything to hurt this deal.”
“Just making sure you can see what’s right in front of you. That you haven’t gone senile in your old age.”
“Believe me,” he said, “I seeexactlywhat’s in front of me. Everything else, including Lucas, is merely background noise.” With that he was gone, dashing into the house and up the steps to shower and change.
I let Lucas in like a good boy, even managing a nod of hello before escorting him to the backyard to wait for Franky. He busied himself on his laptop while I returned to my patch of sunshine and contemplated him.
“How much can you see from your place?” I asked, staring up at his windows. From the top level he’d easily be able to see into Franky’s backyard, and he’d most definitely have a perfect view into his curtainless bedroom. The bedroom Franky helped to dress and undress me in daily.
Lucas stopped punching the keys to gaze over at me. He was closer to Franky’s age than I was. A decade younger than Franky at most. The gap wasn’t substantial enough to be considered scandalous, though. He had that going for him.
“I can see enough,” he said. The pity in his tone prickled. He probably viewed me as the poor disabled guy who needed his best friend’s daddy to take care of him. Probably thought of me as a burden to Franky. Yet I was the one getting naked for Franky every night. The one being stripped nakedbyFranky every night. The one being waited on hand and foot by him, bathed by him. Adored by him.You hold the power, Leland.
“You want him,” I said.
Lucas shifted uncomfortably, staring into the house, checking if the coast was clear. “It doesn’t matter,” he said, not wasting either of our time with denial. “We’re going into business together.”
“That’s a stretch. You’re working on one line together. What are you hoping for after?”
They weren’t compatible. They had the same disposition, gave off the same pheromones of aggression. Franky liked an imbalance of power in the bedroom. He wanted to conquer. Wolves didn’t want to eat other wolves, they wanted to feast on lambs.
“Should we be having this conversation?” he asked.
“Why not?”
He cocked his head as if trying to figure me out. Likely wondering if I played a bigger role in Franky’s life than the half-truth he’d been fed. He was curious, that much was clear in the way he’d watched me a moment ago when he thought I wasn’t paying attention. He may have been professional enough to not mix business with pleasure, but business would be over soon, and I knew a hungry vulture when I saw one.
“What’s the deal with you two?” he asked.
“Like he said, I’m his son’s friend.” I had to be careful not to let my ego get in the way of good sense. At the moment I was just Cole’s best friend, and I knew he’d already come into contact with Cole and Jasper and likely would again. I couldn’t afford to screw everything up because I wanted to prove to Lucas, and to myself, that he could never get Franky. Didn’t mean I couldn’t bluff my fucking ass off, though.
“So,” I nudged. “What are you hoping for in the future?”
“A date might be nice, for starters.”
“Yeah, a date is a nice appetizer, for sure. But what about the entrée?”
Lucas cleared his throat. “He should be down any minute now, and I’ve gotta get this presentation set up,” he said, going back to his laptop.
“You strike me as a top,” I said, not giving a fuck about his excuse for being here. “And two tops don’t make a bottom.”
