Page 52 of Disciplinary Action
Cal spun around, staring at the stalls. All were open but the one at the very end, but Cal didn’t see any feet. He relaxed, snagging his backpack from the floor. “No, we haven’t crashed and burned. We’re good. At least, I think we are. I mean, I’m living there, but I don’t know what’s going to happen after…”
“After…” Bastian prompted.
Cal shrugged. “After I leave for school.”
Bastian stared at him. “You’re living with him? Wait, for real? Holy shit, bro. Did you like…fall for your john? That’s, like, Sex Worker 101. You suck at this. Good thing you got that full-ride. You literally have, like, no survival skills.”
Cal shook his head. “It’s not like that. He loves me too.”
“Love? You guys are throwing around the word love?” Bastian stage whispered. “He’s old enough to be your dad. Like, literally.”
Cal shrugged. “I don’t care. He’s hot and sweet and amazing, and we just understand each other.”
Bastian shook his head. “Yeah, that’s great now while he’s all sexy and George Clooney hot, but what about when you’re forty and he’s collecting retirement?”
Cal thought about it, waiting for some kind of revulsion to set in, but he just smiled. “I don’t care. He’ll still be sexy to me. Even if he’s drooling on himself and I have to push him around in a wheelchair. I don’t care. I love him.”
Bastian cringed in horror but then shrugged. “That’s fucking insane, man. But whatever. If you’re good, I’m happy for you, I guess.”
Cal shook his head. “You just don’t understand.”
Bastian gave a dramatic sigh. “Look, I’m not trying to ruin your vibe or whatever, but I just think maybe this has more to do with your dad going to jail than you actually being in love with an old guy you call Daddy. Like, everybody who’s been with him has talked about how intense he is and, like, how it kind of fucks with your head. I just don’t want him tricking you into thinking you have to be with him to survive. You got your scholarship. You’re free.”
“Am I? My classes start in August. What should I do for the summer? I got kicked out of my last place, remember? I was homeless and living on the streets. I almost died. Or did you forget that?” Cal asked, anger and hurt bubbling up from deep within.
Bastian’s head went back, shock evident. “I-I’m really sorry. I felt so fucking awful about that. My mom cried for days after she found out you were in the hospital. You know we didn’t want to do that. This school is fucking awful. I can’t wait until we’re both far from here.”
Cal deflated, his bitterness dissolving as quickly as it appeared. “Yeah, I know. Sorry. You just really don’t get it. He promised to pay for me even if I never saw him again. He loves me, and I love him. It’s not a fling. He’s it for me.”
Bastian shook his head, hands flailing. “You’re nineteen. That’s crazy.”
Cal didn’t understand why it was so crazy. “People marry their high school boyfriends and live happily ever after.”
“When he was in high school, you weren’t even a sperm in your dad’s balls yet.”
They both stared at each other for a long minute before erupting in laughter.
“Can you never talk about my dad's balls again, please?” Cal begged.
Bastian shoved him. “I make no promises.”
Gideon couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt nervous about anything in the last several years, but he had no clue how to deal with coming face to face with people he hadn’t seen in over two decades, people he’d walked away from all on the say so of one man. People who’d had his back since middle school when he’d come out as gay in a town full of rednecks and blue collar guys who thrived in a toxically masculine culture.
He’d stood in front of his closet trying to figure out how to dress like ‘he didn’t have a stick up his ass’ as Des had requested. Callum had laid on the bed in his jeans and hoodie, making suggestions from the bed. Gideon finally settled on jeans and a black v-neck t-shirt with an open gray cardigan and his brown boots. He’d skipped his contacts and worn his glasses and had even contemplated Ubering to the venue so he could leave the car at home. He didn’t want to seem like he was bragging about his status or wealth.
“Doesn’t Des drive a Mercedes?” Cal asked from where he now sat perched on the bathroom sink, pushing his fingers through Gideon’s hair to shape it into some semblance of a style.
“Yeah,” Gideon conceded, hating how awkward and out of his element he felt.
Cal wrapped his legs around Gideon’s hips, pulling him closer. “You’re nervous over nothing. These guys are your friends, right?”
“Were,” Gideon said. “Theyweremy friends before I ditched them for a rich guy who told me they were no good for me and that they distracted me from my studies.”
“They aren’t going to be thinking about that. They’ll just be happy to see you. Now, can we go? This is the first time we’ve ever gotten to go out in public together.”
Gideon dropped a kiss on Cal’s forehead. “Okay, let’s go.”
They snapped Alexa’s leash on her collar and took her with them as far as the front desk. She didn’t do well with being left alone at night, so Frederick, the night desk clerk, kept her with him at his desk. Gideon paid him for his trouble, but Frederick said he would have done it for free. He said it was too quiet at night.
