Page 2 of Joey's Trick

“Don’t you ‘Hey, Mom’ me, young man! Seven years! Seven years!” There’d been multiple times where she’d threatened to drive up there with his father over the years when he hadn’t come home, but he’d talked her out of it. He’d used school and then work obligations to convince her, usually throwing in a casual offer of attempting to come home at a later date. Only he never did.

Flinching, Joey tried to turn on the grin he knew killed in the contract negotiations, but his mother seemed immune to it as she stalked toward him. Her hand flew out, and she smacked him on his right bicep. He winced. “Moooom!” he whined and then kissed her cheek and hugged her tightly.

“You may be taller and outweigh me, Joseph Waters, but I can still put you over my knee. I brought you into this world and I can take you out!” She returned his hug and then stepped back and narrowed her eyes at him as she studied him, looking for evidence he wasn’t taking care of himself. Her mouth flattened into a thin line when she saw the tattoo sticking out of the edge of his T-shirt. “And you got a tattoo!”

“Aw crap,” Anthony muttered nearby.

Joey glared at his brother and then tried to give his mom a sheepish grin. “I was drunk?” he said, lying through his teeth. He hadn’t really been drinking, but he knew how his mother feltabout tattoos and didn’t want to tell the truth about why he’d gotten it or the others that weren’t visible.

“As if that makes it better! What those people up there must think about how you were raised!” she squawked as she shoved the sleeve of the shirt up to get a better look at the tattoo.

Thick lines of black ink swirled around his bicep up along his shoulder and higher still. She didn’t have to be an expert at tattoos to know it took more than a couple of hours to complete. Her mouth flattened into a thin line as she glared at him and she let his sleeve drop over the tattoo. Joey didn’t plan on letting her know about the others he had on his chest, calves, and on the back of his shoulders, the most important one. He’d gotten it the day he’d realized he had to let go of his past or it would swallow him whole.

“I’m sorry, Mom. Things are different in Orlando. Besides, it’s pretty cool, isn’t it?”

His mother reached up and cuffed him on the back of the head. “No, it’s not pretty cool. I didn’t raise a hoodlum.”

“Tattoos don’t make you a hoodlum, Mom!” Joey protested while he heard Anthony choking back laughter nearby. He tossed a glare at Anthony, whose face was bright red from suppressed chuckles while hanging onto the blonde woman, who looked amused at the exchange. Joey fought the urge to duck his head and hide like he would have as a teenager and held his head higher. He had nothing to be ashamed of, and he didn’t intend to let his family destroy the confidence he’d built over the last seven years. No fucking way.

“I can’t wait to hear what your father has to say about them.”

Joey sighed. His father wouldn’t care, he felt sure. The man hadn’t so much as batted an eye when Joey announced he was gay or when he didn’t want to try out for the football team in high school like Anthony had. “Speaking of, where is Pop?”

“Don’t think you’re getting out of it that easily,” she snapped. “But your father is out back with Bob setting up the grill.”

“Trick’s out helping them,” Anthony added.

Joey stiffened. So Trick was there. He’d been hoping Trick wasn’t around. Too much to ask, he supposed. Taking a deep breath, he prayed didn’t appear visible to the others, Joey pasted one of his infamous fake smiles on and winked at Anthony. “Why don’t you introduce me to your friend here and then I’ll head out back to say hi to Pop?”

“Shit, of course. Sorry, baby. This is my little brother, Joey. Joey, this is my girlfriend, Veronica.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Veronica held out her hand and Joey accepted it. She was Anthony’s usual type; petite, slender, with large breasts, long blonde hair, and big green eyes. Although he noticed one thing, there was intelligence in this one. He could see it in her eyes. She smiled at him and Joey’s grin widened, becoming sincere.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Veronica. How long have you two been together?”

“Six months,” she replied. “He’s told me a lot about you.”

“I deny every bit,” Joey deadpanned.

She laughed. “Somehow, I don’t doubt some of it’s true. I don’t want to keep you as I’m sure you’re eager to say hi to your dad, but I hope we have time to talk again while you’re here.”

“I’m sure we will. Make sure you keep this one on his toes, yeah?” Joey slapped Anthony on the stomach lightly with the back of his hand.

Anthony grunted. “She already does.”

Veronica smirked. “He has no idea what he got himself into.”

“I bet,” Joey said. “All right, going to head outside to say hi to the rest of the family and Pop. Is my old room open or did you convert it into a storage room or something, Mom?”

His mother turned away from where she’d resumed watching over whatever she was cooking to answer. “It’s still your old room. I didn’t change anything, except for the bed. Trick was staying here for a while and your old twin was too small.”

Startled, Joey’s brows went up in shock. What the hell? “What?”

Anthony shuffled in discomfort while their mom shook her head. “Long story for another time, sweetie. Go say hi to your father. I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you.”

Why the hell had Trick been staying in his room? Joey tried to think of a reason as he stepped out onto the deck overlooking the large backyard, barbecue smoke immediately assaulting his nose and making his stomach growl. He’d been too nervous to eat before leaving Orlando and he suddenly found himself ravenous at the smell of cooking hamburgers. Several tables had been set up and lined with chairs currently occupied by even more family members who waved at him from where they were seated. Joey returned the waves, smiling at several of the kids running around. He felt almost out of sync with his family now, since he’d been away for so long.

“Is that Joey?” a voice boomed near the grill and Joey winced, but hid it quickly.

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