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“I’m not very hungry. Maybe just a grilled cheese sandwich done our way with a beer?”
“No problem. Let me just get your bags into your room first.”
Once lunch was over, Alvaro went out to the back porch and lay dozing on the old leather easy chair with Klinger at his feet. Noah took a picture of them to send to the quartet members who all knew and loved his dad and Klinger. He’d send it just before he called them to wish them luck. Then he got out the things he needed to make dinner and had everything ready to go, including the beef and the fish for the tacos, with enough time left over after he set up the large picnic table and chairs under the trees in the backyard for him to shower and fret over what to wear before it was time to go down and finish preppingthe food.
When the doorbell rang, his dad went to get it, and he heard excited children’s voices first, then the calmer adult tones. He shook out the tension gathering in his hands as he plated the ceviche and finished cooking the meat and fish.Calm down, No.He couldn’t allow himself to be nervous just because Jax was in his house. He was tough. He could do this.
“Need help withanything?”
Jax’s voice shook him out of the anxious haze that had been trying to settle over him. Managing not to jump at the sound of his voice, Noah turned and said, “Sure. Can you help me put these things on the table?” He pointed through the kitchen window. “We’re eatingoutside.”
Jax nodded, picked up two of the platters, and took them out, returning just as Jim walked in to help. Soon everyone was seated under the spreading oak and maple trees, the boys opting to sit on the big blanket he’d put down as an afterthought.
“This is good, Noah,” Jim said, holding up one of the fish tacos. “You can cook for meanytime.”
Noah laughed. “I’m glad you like it. Annie did say it was your favorite food.”
Once the meal was over, the boys wandered off to play with Klinger while their parents chatted with Alvaro, who was clearly enjoying the company. Jax was quiet for the most part, though he did chime in every now and again. But Noah could feel his watchful attention, even when he didn’t appear to be looking at him. They hadn’t had a moment alone together since the guests had arrived, and he didn’t see any opportunity presenting itself. That might not be a bad thing since he was so tied up in knots at the thought of being alone with his former lover.
“So my son tells me you are going to be working in our state, Professor Knox.” Alvaro spoke into a lull in the conversation.
“Please, sir, it’s just Jax. And yes, it’s an opportunity I didn’t want topass up.”
“I imagine it will be a big change from what you’re used to in the city.” Alvaro eyed Jax withcuriosity.
“It definitely will, sir, but I’m ready fora change.”
“A young man such as yourself will do well with positive changes, yes? Will those changes only be professional?”
Oh no! His dad hadn’t just gone on a fishing expedition into Jax’s business, had he?What the hell, Papi?Noah glanced over at Jax, whose face showed no signs of annoyance. Instead, he seemed to be faintly amused, as though an older almost-stranger asking him such a personal question was an everyday occurrence. Jim also seemed highly amused by the question, if the smirk he was trying to hide behind his beer was any indication. Thankfully, Annie was watching her sons, so she missed the byplay.
How would Jax answer such a nosy-as-hell question? Noah remembered Clara Haines’s comments to him in the supermarket the day before and wondered if this was an old people thing. Did they just feel free to say what they thought without any filter? Was it some kind of privilege of being older? Did they think they had paid their dues to propriety enough that they were allowed to be increasingly inappropriate and inquisitive asthey aged?
Dios mio!How would Jax answer this?
Chapter 10
Jax
Noah still had his heart, even if he
believed he had lost his chance.
Jax’s lips twitched with the effort not to laugh out loud at Mr. Santiago’s question. The guys all knew what the old man was asking … where was his good little woman? No one seeing him assumed he was anything but straight, and he was used to being asked about his love life by older folk who had even a passing acquaintance with him. And while he didn’t care what anyone would think if they discovered he was gay, he wasn’t sure what Noah’s father would think if he knew that Jax had been in a relationship with his son. Had Noahtold him?
Now wasn’t the time to go down that rabbit hole though, because the old man was clearly waiting for an answer. Parents must all be the same everywhere in the world. Jax could hear his mother’s soft but firm tones as she quizzed him about his lack of a partner.You’re not getting any younger, Jackson—she always called him by his full first name when he was in trouble, or she was being serious—and neither am I. Don’t make me die without a grandchild.As though he didn’t havesiblings!
“For the moment, yes, sir.”
He didn’t need to add anything else for the older man to get the message that he wasn’t going to say more and that no, there was no one. He didn’t mind inquisitive questions from people he knew and cared about, but that didn’t mean he was going to answer their questions in any more detail than he wished. And in this case, since what he was hoping for might not happen, the last thing he wanted to do was embarrass Noah.
“Well, you are still a young man,” the older man opined with a wise nod. “You have some time to settle down.”
This time Jax didn’t suppress the laughter and the others joined in, though Noah’s was barely audible. His expression was more of a grimace as he glared at his father, heightening Jax’s amusement even more. He caught Noah’s eyes, saw the apology in them, and winked. The pretty blush that immediately colored his cheeks made Jax’s dick stir, so he looked away to avoid trouble. Neither of them needed to become the center of anyone else’s attention for the rest of the time they were there.
Noah began clearing away the dinner things and Jax helped, seeing it as the perfect chance to steal a few moments alone.
“Dinner was great, Noah,” he began when they brought in the empty platters and took a fresh bag of ice out of the freezer to take back to the cooler. “Thanks again for the invitation.”
