Chapter 8
He barely made it through the first day without losing his mind, and when he started listening to Nsync’s old albums just so he could hear Lance’s voice, JC knew he was in serious trouble.
Lance had called the previous night as promised, and again in the morning, early enough that they’d both still been in bed and their voices had been sleepy and rough. For over an hour they’d talked about nothing before Lance had to go and get ready for a meeting. JC had lingered in bed after they’d said goodbye, thinking about the day before when Lance had been there and how they’d made love in the soft morning light. He didn’t know how he was going to last another two full days, or even what it meant that he was missing Lance so much and he’d barely been gone for a day. Okay, so maybe he had a pretty good idea what it meant, but JC, being JC, needed to think on that a little more, and then once he did, he’d be able to admit it to himself, and then to Lance.
Still, as much as he wanted more time to toss the idea of being in love with Lance around in his head, he wasn’t worried by it, not a bit, just as he wasn’t worried about the length of time it’d taken for him to recognize the emotion. You either fell in love or you didn’t, and whether it happened in a week, a month, or a year didn’t matter. What mattered was what you did once you recognized it. He would figure all of that out later, but now he needed to get his butt in gear as Erin’s sitter had bailed on her and he was now going to be taking care of Riley in less than forty-five minutes.
JC had barely gotten out of the shower and taken his first sip of coffee before Riley came barreling through the back door, his mother close behind him.
“Mom said that maybe we could go in the pool, and ride our bikes, and fly my kite because it’s supposed to be really warm today, and then she said if I was good that maybe…”
“Whoa…whoa…dude, slow down. We can do all of those things, but not until after I’ve had my coffee.”
Riley grinned happily at JC then hurried over to give his mom a quick kiss before disappearing into the family room where he knew JC had the PlayStation set up.
“What did you feed him this morning?” JC dryly inquired. “A bowl full of sugar?”
Erin thought about the two bowls of Coco Puffs her son had consumed and then shot JC a grin that was nearly identical to Riley’s. “Well…”
“I need to give the two of you a talk on proper breakfast food.”
Completely at home, Erin nabbed his coffee cup from the counter behind him, sipped, and sighed in contentment. JC, hands down, made the best coffee. “I think you and I both know you’d be better off saving your breath for other, shall we say more fun activities.” She took another sip before handing the cup back to JC and asking, “Speaking of other fun activities to do with our mouths, have you talked to Lance yet this morning?”
“About an hour ago.”
“And…”
“And what?”
“And was he walking around his house as pathetically last night as you were walking around yours?”
“I wasn’t pathetic.”
Erin thought that over for a minute before conceding, “Okay, you weren’t. But…” she leaned in until they were nose to nose, “you were close.”
JC cagily shifted just out of reach before she could go for his coffee again. “Go to work, Erin.”
“Yes, sir.” Erin saluted him, then leaned in to give him a kiss. “Love you.”
“Don’t try to butter me up, I know what you’re after.”
Pouting prettily, Erin batted her lashes at him, “Please.”
JC threw his hand up in surrender. “Fine, take the coffee,” he grouched, thrusting the cup at her. “And then get woman. Riley and I have guy stuff to do and we don’t want any prissy girl hanging around while we do it.”
“I feel so unloved,” Erin sniffed, but she was smiling as she yelled goodbye to her son, and then went out the way she came in, raising the coffee mug in salute as she did.
“Brat,” JC mumbled under his breath, before turning and making his way into the family room. “Riley, my man, what do you say we turn off the tube and have ourselves some fun?”
How could he have known that spending a morning with an eight year old would be this exhausting? Sure, he’d been around Riley enough to know that the boy was a bundle of energy, and Erin had warned him that he was bouncing in anticipation of spending the day with him, but still, nothing could have prepared him for being solely in charge of a tiny whirlwind named Riley.
In the four hours since Erin had dropped the child off, they’d gone in the pool – four times – ridden their bikes to the entrance of JC’s estate and back more times than he cared to think about; played tug of war with Sadie; flew Riley’s kite, got it tangled in a tree, and then climbed up said tree to untangle the kite; made a bet who could run fastest, which JC had lost, but only because Sadie had gotten involved in the game and he’d tripped over her, skinning his knee; tossed a Frisbee back and forth for so long that JC had worried his arm was going to fall off; gone for a walk; built a sandcastle in Riley’s sandbox, and then knocked it down and did it all over again. It was at that point that he’d called a halt to the play and declared it time for lunch. Riley had happily agreed, but on the condition that they make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
JC had gone along with that, figuring it would be easy…with God as his witness, he’d had no idea that making two little sandwiches could create such a mess. It made his stomach clench to think about the state of his kitchen, or maybe it was the lemonade Riley had made him drink with his sandwich, followed closely by a bowl of chocolate ice cream?
After their lunch, if that’s what you could call it, Riley had headed straight for the family room and the bag of toys he’d brought along with him. A long and fierce battle with the array of soldiers he’d dumped all over the floor had ended with JC’s army being soundly defeated, and Riley declaring that as the victor he got to choose what they did next, and he wanted to go for yet another swim. It had taken everything JC had in him to smile and say sure, just let me use the bathroom first. He’d come back into the room; a wide, if not entirely bright smile on his face, to find his charge sprawled out on the floor amongst the casualties, out like a light.
It was the most wonderful thing JC had ever seen in his life.
With a heartfelt sigh, he dropped into the closest chair, and then fidgeted around until he found a comfortable position. It was next to impossible, what with the sand he had in places he didn’t even want to think about, but eventually he found a spot that was, if not comfy, then at least tolerable. Exhausted, he laced his fingers together over his stomach and prepared to join Riley in dreamland but the ringing of the telephone stopped him. He made a grab for it before it could ring a second time and wake Riley, keeping an eagle eye for any sign of movement on the floor as he did.
“Hello,” he answered, his voice low.
“Chaz!”
JC almost whimpered, he really did, because as much as he loved Chris, the last thing he wanted to deal with right now was another hyperactive short person.
“Chris…hey.” JC tried to drum up a little enthusiasm as he asked, “What’s up, man,” but his attempt was weak at best.
If Chris noticed his lack of excitement, he didn’t let on as he filled JC in on what he’d been up to over the last week or so. JC made the appropriate noises at the appropriate times, but his heart just wasn’t in the conversation and Chris eventually caught on to that.
“So, what’s going on with you, Chaz, you sound half dead.”
“Riley’s here, and dude, let tell you, doing a world tour in three weeks would be less tiring than spending a morning with that child.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“He’s a great kid, he really is, he just never stops.”
“That’s because he’s a kid, they’re supposed to be like that.” Chris could vividly remember being a kid and how it had always seemed like there was another adventure waiting just around the corner and if he didn’t hurry he might miss it. “What’s he doing now?” Chris asked, because for a kid who was supposed to be so active, he sure was being quiet.
“Taking a nap, thank God. He zonked out waiting for me to use the bathroom. It was like one minute he was going full speed, and then in the next he was out.”
“Josh, sweetie, don’t take this the wrong way okay, but were you ever a kid?”
“Yes, smartass, I was a kid, and I liked doing all that stuff to, but that was like twenty two years ago, Chris.”
“Oh, that’s right. I forgot. You’re old now.”
“Shut the hell up, Chris,” JC barked into the phone, and then whispered, “Shit,” when Riley rolled onto his back. “I think he’s waking up.”
“It’s okay, Chaz, don’t be afraid, I won’t let him hurt you.”
JC ignored Chris and his teasing as he kept an eagle eye on Riley, waiting to see if he was going to settle back down or not.
“What’s he doing?” Chris wanted to know when the silence dragged out.
“Shhh,” JC scolded him, though he did relax slightly when it looked like Riley was going to stay down for the count, at least for now.
“Honey, he can’t hear me, remember?”
‘Chris, I love you, honestly, I do, but…”
“Yeah, yeah, I know, you want me to shut the hell up and get off the phone.”
“No…yes…no. I mean, I just…I’m so tired,” JC whined.
Chris had an almost unbearable urge to reach through
the phone and pat JC on the head. “Well, where’s Lance? Make him take a turn
watching the kid.”
The sound of his lover’s name brought a sharp stab of longing to JC’s midsection and he sighed, “He had to go back to L.A. yesterday.”
Damn! Chris had been hoping to talk to him and find out what, if anything, was going on between the two of them. “Oh.”
“Yeah,” JC replied, sounding forlorn enough to have Chris’ ears perking up.
“Is everything, okay? You don’t sound too happy there, Chaz.”
At first, JC thought he’d just blow Chris off with the excuse that he was just tired from watching Riley, but when he opened his mouth to say that what came out was, “I miss him,” instead.
It was all Chris could do not to let out a rebel yell at JC’s words. He restrained himself, barely, though he did get up and do a victory dance in the aisle of the bus. “Uhm…okay.”
“No, it’s not okay. You see we…” and it all came pouring out. The confusion he’d felt at Lance’s behavior, and JC’s growing attraction to him. The kiss, and his realization that he wanted to do it again. The talk he and Lance had, and the wonderful two weeks that followed it. His slow, but sure recognition that the feelings growing inside him for Lance was so much more than basic attraction, and his desire to say, screw waiting three days, he was going to L.A. today.
“If that’s what you want, then why don’t you?”
“Because we agreed to wait, and…”
“And what? You want to be with him and he wants to be with you…what else is there?”
“Well nothing, but…”
“Nah, no buts, Josh. Get on the phone, arrange for a plane, and when Erin comes to pick Riley up, get on it.”
“Yeah?”
“Hell yeah.”
JC felt a surge of energy at the thought. “Why the hell not?”
“Now you’re catching on, Chaz. Why the hell not?”
“Listen, Chris, thanks, but…”
“Yeah, I know, you need to go. You’ve got a flight to arrange.”
“You didn’t really climb up a tree to get the kite.” Erin glanced up from the floor where she was packing Riley’s stuff.
“Yup, I sure did.” JC checked to make sure he had his wallet, keys, and cell phone, before he wandered out of the room and into the kitchen. His voice echoed faintly as he asked, “Would you like to see my scratches as proof?”
“That depends,” she drawled from the door. “Do you have to take your pants off?”
JC shot her a look over his shoulder as he attached a note with the numbers where he could be reached to the refrigerator. “You wish.”
“Listen, babe, I’ve seen those chicken legs of yours on more than one occasion, I wasn’t asking cause I wanted to ogle them, I was asking cause I was scared the answer would be yes.”
“And to think I thought I liked you.” JC took one last look around his kitchen, which thanks to Mrs. Hoffman was now clean, before walking into the other room to retrieve his luggage and Sadie’s leash.
Erin stuck her tongue out at his retreating back. “You love me, and you know it.”
“Maybe,” JC stipulated, pulling a suitcase behind him. “And then again, maybe not.”
“You’re going to miss me, you’ll see,” Erin warned, “and when you call and want to talk to me, I just might have to be busy.”
“Promises, promises.”
“Fine, be that way then. See if I ever let you watch Riley again if that’s how you’re going to be.”
“Really?” JC grabbed both her hands in his. “Do you mean it?”
Erin let out a long-suffering sigh. “I get no love, I’m telling you, it’s awful. And wait until I tell Riley what you said, he’s not going to share his toys with you anymore after that.”
JC kissed the tip of her nose. “Yes he will, cause he thinks I’m cooool.”
“He’s young yet, give him time.”
“Okay, okay,” JC threw his hands up in surrender. “Truce.”
“Yes!” Erin pumped her fists and did a victory dance around the center island. “I am the man…or woman as the case may be.”
“Fine, you won…now are you going to take me to the airport so I can see my boy or what?”