Page 60 of Spring Fling
One more look at McKenzie showed she was still cluelessly shoveling away at her breakfast. It still didn’t sit right to talk about it in front of her. The girl was innocent. Teresa had a right to make sure I was serious about anyone I brought around, so it didn’t confuse her.
Like any kid who was oblivious to what was actually going on, she started to ramble. “Aiden takes pictures and gives them to mommy. He stays with Uncle Joe a lot. I think he’s his boyfriend, but he hasn’t said anything. Mom said I’m not supposed to assume anything. I’ve gotten into trouble for that once. Uncle Joe had another friend who stayed with us for a bit, but he wasn’t his boyfriend—just a regular friend. He still stayed in his room, though.”
Aiden’s face turned red as McKenzie kept talking. It didn’t get any better because she never specified what type of pictures he was giving to her mother and it started to come across like I was sharing a weird relationship with my sister.
“Okay, sweet bug, let’s get you into the living room to watch some TV and let the grown-ups talk,” Teresa said, ushering her daughter from the table. At least the awkward ramble saved me from having to shoo her from the room myself.
I waited until Teresa was back, because she deserved to know what was going down in her house.
“Joseph, that’s quite enough stalling. I need an answer. Do you have a job or not?” Dad asked.
I nodded. “I do, and McKenzie was correct. Aiden is my boyfriend. Anything I’m about to say isn’t because I don’t want to leave him. Fuck, I can’t imagine having to move clear across the damn world at this point.”
Aiden’s eyes widened at the statement. It was probably a huge fuckup to keep that from him, but I was fixing it. Dad wasn’t about to ship me off to London. I wasn’t having it. There wasn’t a world, solar system, or universe where I didn’t end up with Aiden.
“Joseph, you better have a really good game plan. I have people who are waiting to hear from me and if you fuck them over, so help me, God.”
I held up my hand to stop my dad before he could rant. “I’m making money. Good money. It’s not what you wanted, but damn. For the first time in my life, I feel like I’m in control. I know you and Mom won’t approve, but I don’t really care. If that makes me a bad son, then fuck it.” I pushed back from the table. Part of me wantedto stand and pace the room. Make a huge fucking production of this, but it wasn’t worth it. “I’ve been making videos.”
“Videos?” Both Dad and Teresa sounded off at the same time.
“Videos. On the internet. Turns out that when you look good, people want to see you. Is it shallow, maybe? But damn, the money is good.”
Teresa stared at me for a moment. “Is that what you’ve been doing in my basement this entire time?”
I shrugged and then gave her a sheepish smile. “The point is I’ve been doing great. I have money in savings. For the first time, I don’t feel like I’m drowning with no direction.”
That wasn’t the answer. I knew that. Dad crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. Those ice-blue eyes I’d inherited stared down into my soul.
“Joseph. Are you really telling me you’ve been making pornography and think that this is a sustainable income? That it’s something that will make life easy for you? Sex work is filthy, son. People will look down on you anywhere you go, and the fact it’s already out there? You’ve already damaged your reputation.”
It didn’t surprise me in the slightest that he was talking down to me. I’d expected it.
“It’s not dirty. Shit, Dad. It’s honest money, and I work hard for it. I spend time putting thought into what I produce and putting out a quality product. It’s not like I can just throw a quick videotogether and toss it online and expect something to come of it. It doesn’t work that way.”
Dad pinched his brow as I kept talking. It wasn’t a deterrent. I was done. There was no more making me feel small or minuscule. If anything, I was actually using my degree. There was a business here. I had to manage myself, my money, and my product.
“You’ve made a huge mistake, Joseph. What am I supposed to do? The people I have waiting to hear about if you’ll take the job or not, they won’t accept this.”
I laughed. “I don’t want it. Dad, don’t you get it? I love what I do. I’m proud of what I accomplished. There’s someone in my life who accepts me the way I am and there’s nothing you can say or do to change that. So tell your buddies overseas that they can take their position and shove it.”
Dad looked between me and Aiden. “So this is serious, not another fling?”
“Fuck, Dad. Didn’t I just say that?” Most kids probably didn’t talk to their parents that way, but I was losing my shit.
Chapter 39
Aiden
The scene unfolding before me was a little more than I thought I would have to deal with first thing in the morning. Meeting Mr. Bishop was scary enough. Add in the obvious tension, and all I wanted to do was disappear back into the basement.
When things like London and jobs started getting tossed around, my heart did this odd skipping thing in my chest before it squeezed. The thought of losing Joe right after I’d finally gotten him... yeah... I wouldn’t be able to handle that.
“Mr. Bishop?”
Joe and his dad kept arguing, so I hadn’t been loud enough, and damn, I couldn’t blame them. I was shaking like a fucking leaf. Confronting someone’s parents was intimidating as fuck.
I tried again, a little more force behind my words.
