Page 9 of Returning Your Love
I nodded, fighting the need to glance over at Chaz again.
“Sutton said you spent a couple of months in Boston before coming home,” Dexter said.
“Yeah, but the few friends I have down there are still into clubs and partying.” I shrugged. “Not really my thing, so I was bored.”
Dexter turned dark eyes on Dad then back to me. “Ever run into the troublemaker Jimmy Riley? Remember him? A little older than you, on the smaller side. Blond. Didn’t know how to shut up?”
I choked on my own spit and coughed before finding my voice. “Nope,” I croaked.
While my answer wasn’t exactly a lie, I wasn’t going to out Jimmy and his way of making a living since leaving home. Last thing I needed was someone asking how I knew he was employed by the gay branch of Elite Escorts. Didn’t mind so much if people eventually found out I was into men, but having hired an escort for myself?
Yeah, no. Couldn’t take the chance of soiling Dad’s name or reputation in any way. Mom had done enough of that on her own.
Dad growled a few words beneath his breath, and I glanced between the two men.
“Am I missing something?” I asked.
Dexter snickered and slapped Dad’s back. “I think Sutton here has been a little bored since that boy left town.”
“I’ve been enjoying the peace and quiet,” Dad corrected his friend, his tone snippy.
“Sure. Sure.” Dexter’s eyes twinkled, and I wondered what the fuck was going on. “Want a beer?”
“Yeah,” Dad agreed, and Dexter left us alone.
“How are you holding up against all this attention?” Dad asked before I could question what the fuck that exchange with his best friend was about.
I shrugged, my focus once more flitting toward the bar as I considered what Dad had asked.
Chaz sipped a beer while Shelly talked animatedly to the woman she’d hip-bumped. Those feelings of being a third wheel and looking in longingly from the outside I’d always experienced as a teenager slid through me just as strongly as they had before I’d left town. “I’m alright.” I outright lied.
“Chaz appears exhausted.”
I tore my gaze off him before Dad questioned why I stared at my old best friend the way I did. Full of lust and heartache. “You said he bought the mechanic shop, right?”
“Yeah. His dad loaned him the money last year, and he’s been working his ass off to prove himself.”
Jesus.
Chaz and his dad’s relationship had been rocky enough, and Chaz’s supposed shortcomings had been pointed out harshly and often ever since as far back as I could remember. At least his mom had treated him decent enough. She wasn’t exactly the nurturing type but better than not having a mom at all.
“Why the fuck did he get the money from his dad? You know as well as I do the man is an asshole.”
Dad shrugged. “Bank wouldn’t give him a loan. No credit or assets for collateral.”
“Fuck. He and Shelly okay at least?” I asked, remembering the not-so-positive response Chaz had given when I’d asked how he was doing. Call me an asshole, but I wanted to hear a negative answer from my dad. If their marriage crumbled, I could help Chaz pick up the pieces.
And maybe eventually more if he would ever be open to being loved by a man.
Shame slithered in like a snake, but I shoved that shit to the back of my mind. Couldn’t help desiring my best friend as much as I used to want the NFL. Football had been forced into the backfield, leaving Chaz with a wide open path toward the end zone of my full focus.
“Things seem fine on the outside, but I’ve heard some stuff,” Dad said, scanning the room with his ever-watchful gaze.
“Gossip or…?”
He lifted and dropped a shoulder. “Their neighbors say they fight a lot, but I’ve never gotten an official complaint that has warranted I check in on them.”
Shit.
