Page 3 of In the Name of the Father

“Hi, Seth. I’m Malcolm. As I was saying, I think it would be better if you hung out here for a bit before you leave.”

Seth tilted his head, and he drew his eyebrows together. “Why is that?”

Malcolm considered Seth and realized he’d already taken one step too far merely by asking for his name.You’re about to give him some advice, aren’t you?Malcolm almost groaned in aggravation.God, I’m a fucking idiot.

“Have a seat.” Malcolm indicated to one of the chairs and Seth promptly obeyed.This situation isnotimproving.Malcolm followed suit then forced himself to quit staring at Seth’s bright green eyes and perfectly kissable mouth. “You’ve never been inside a gay bar before, have you?”

Seth’s eyes widened and he swallowed hard. Malcolm wondered if he might faint.

“I’ve never been in any bar at all.”

Jesus. “And you made a mistake, didn’t realize this was that kind of place?”

Seth shook his head. “I realized. A guy at work told me about it.”

“I see.” Malcolm scratched his head.None of this is your problem. Don’t need to know.“And how old are you?”

Clearly, his inner voice needed some fine-tuning.

“I’m twenty-three.”

Malcolm almost let out a chuckle then coughed instead.Twenty-three and he’s never been in a bar before?He tried to keep his tone light. “I guess you didn’t know where to get a good fake ID when you were in high school, huh?”

Seth shook his head vehemently. “Oh goodness, no. I would never.”

Hmm. Something is up with this one. “I see. If it’s not too personal of me to ask, what made you decide that tonight was the night to hit up a gay bar for the first time?”

“Uh, I…” Seth averted his gaze, still fiddling with his bottle of beer that he gripped as if it were a lifeline. He gave a one-shouldered shrug. “I suppose since I can’t stop being gay, I figured I’d might as well…” Seth frowned as he chewed on his bottom lip. He finally glanced up, his features twisted in a grimace. “Join in?”

Malcolm bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing, even as his heart broke over Seth’s confession. Clearly, the young man had led a sheltered, repressive upbringing. Coming out was stressful enough on a good day, let alone if you were stuck with a family of bigots.

“Can I ask you something else, Seth?” Malcolm made sure to keep his tone gentle.

“Sure.” He seemed to brighten at Malcolm’s request. “I could use some advice it it’s not too much of a bother.” Seth offered Malcolm a shy smile. “The only gay guy I know is the one from work, and he’s not much for talking.” Seth’s face turned a bright shade of red. “I didn’t mean… That’s not…” He ran his fingers through the short strands of his brown hair. “I feel like such an idiot.”

“You’re not an idiot. Please don’t talk about yourself like that.” Malcolm had kept his voice soft but hadn’t been able to prevent himself from using a firm tone. He was itching to get his hands on Seth. Not as a lover—despite how beautiful he found him to be—but because Seth could use a fuckton of guidance and care.

Maybe I could be a…mentor. Or something.

An emotional entanglement was out of the question for many reasons. Not only was he a good fifteen years older than Seth, but his daddy/boy days were over. The life he’d shared with Everett had been damn near perfect, and there was no way lightning would strike twice. Especially since the dynamic had been so different. In their relationship, Everett had been the older one by ten years.

Seth had kept his gaze down after Malcolm had admonished him. Right as Malcolm was about to say something, Seth spoke up.

“I’m sorry. I guess I’m just used to saying that.” He sighed. “Don’t get mad, please. It’s how I feel.”

“I’m not mad. However, it hurts my heart to hear a bright and kind-hearted man talk badly about himself that way.”

Seth tilted his head again. “I don’t understand.” He swallowed hard, his fingers never still as he played with the bottle. “You don’t know anything about me.”

And you know nothing of me. Malcolm relaxed in the chair, crossing one leg over his knee and leaning back. Seth was bottled up so tightly, it wouldn’t take much to make him pop his cork.

“Every word from your mouth has been one of concern over other’s feelings, or worry that you might be causing trouble. Even when you were being harassed by those dickheads, you remained polite.” Malcolm noted how Seth had flinched when he’d said ‘dickheads’. “My impression of you is that you’re a compassionate man—smart, but notstreetsmart. You’re a kind person, Seth. Please don’t be unkind to yourself.”

Seth stared at him with wide eyes. “I…I don’t know what to say. No one’s ever said anything so nice to me before.”

Before Malcolm had the chance to consider how his reaction might be interpreted, he frowned. “You can’t be serious.”

At Seth’s stricken expression, he wanted to kick himself. But he hadn’t anticipated meeting such a wounded man in his nightly hangout, and he sure as hell hadn’t been anyone’s daddy in ages. He frowned again.

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