Page 86 of His Stepdad Wears Leather

“Brody didnothingwrong,” Noah defended. “Neither of us did.”

“Yes, technically… he didn’t do anything wrong. I appreciate your arguments. You’re both consenting adults… you’re not related… yet, in a way, you are. There’s a moral gray area there that you seem to refuse to see.”

“Perhaps I don’t want to see it… because I feltsafewith Brody.”

“Did you ever stop to think that’s all it was? He made you feel safe—and that was the allure? If your father and Abbie Lee were no longer a threat—would you still want to be with him?”

Noah considered her question a moment. “Yeah. I would.”

“You’re young. You have no idea what you want to do with your life. You’ve said as much.” She rose to her feet. “Why don’t you come down and help us get ready for this dinner tonight? We’ve got to go to the grocery store… straighten up the house… make sure Geena doesn’t do any of the cooking…” She grinned. “I need help keeping her out of the kitchen. You up to the task?”

Noah rose. It was better than doing nothing.

“Who’s coming to this party?”

“A few friends from work,” she answered. “You’ll like these guys… and I’m quite sure they’ll adore you. Come on.”

His mother led him down to the kitchen where they wrote a list of what to buy. Then, he went to the store with Geena—followed distantly by that dark SUV. Once home, they prepared dinner and straightened up. For once, Noah was actually looking forward to something. After days of house arrest, a dinner party and guests might occupy his thoughts for a while.

Apparently, their dinner parties were a regular thing. His mother seemed to relish the idea of entertaining friends. A couple of the guests—Eric and James—arrived early, bringing wine and hanging out to chat and help here and there. Noah liked his mother’s friends. They were a couple and really seemed to care for one another. As Noah knew so few gay men, he was intrigued by them and their stories.

Later, another couple arrived—Anson and Jereme. From the moment Noah met Jereme, with full make-up and dress, he recognized the two of them might share something in common. The second he heard the guy call Anson, “daddy,” he was sure of it.

Almost all of the men worked for the local university in the next town over. His mother worked at the university’s main library, but her friends were from all over campus—professors in various subjects and older grad students. Most of them were closer to his mother’s age, but at twenty-eight, Jereme was the nearest to his own. He taught at the school while working on his doctorate. His much older husband, Anson, was an attorney.

He and Jereme had a lively conversation. Eventually, they found themselves in a corner, chatting alone before dinner.

“If you don’t mind me asking—was it hard getting your family to accept the age difference between you and Anson?”

Jereme scoffed, a gentle smile coming to his shining, red lips. He cast a glance at Anson, and the smile grew some. “I nearly lost everything to have Anson in my life.”

“Your family?”

“One parent to this day refuses to accept our relationship. The other—well, it was touch and go for a while, but he finally came around. Luckily, my parents are divorced, so having one in my life doesn’t cause him much grief.”

“What happened that finally brought him around?”

“Time. You can’t force someone to accept what they aren’t ready to.”

“How long did it take?”

Jereme turned his focus on Noah. “These questions seem a bit pointed. Something tells me you might have an older man in your life?”

Noah blushed. “I did. My mom and Geena—they don’t approve. They pushed me to end it.”

“My mother didn’t approve of Anson and I, either. She used blackmail to keep us apart.”

“Seriously? That’s terrible.”

“She didn’t succeed, so it’s all good,” Jereme said before turning to regard Anson again. Anson lifted his handsome stare, meeting Jereme’s.

It was obvious they were very much in love.

Not that Noah necessarily believed in love.

“He’s handsome,” Noah said, speaking of Anson.

Jereme turned to smile at him. “Heis, isn’t he? What about your guy? Do you have a sexy silver fox like me?”

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