Resilience Read online

  Colin pressed his forehead against Andrew’s, gasping with every stroke of Andrew’s hand on his cock. He planted his hands on either side of Andrew and thrust, harder, a sweet, soft whine threading through his delicious noises.

  “Come for me,” Andrew whispered. “Let me feel you, love.”

  That was all it took—asking him for it. Colin’s eyes squeezed closed as a loud cry escaped him and the feel of his cum slicked Andrew’s hand. Andrew was already close and managed to thrust up and finish, pleasure warring with relief that at least in this one way his body was still somewhat reliable on occasion.

  Colin’s eyes remained closed, his breathing heavy, and Andrew didn’t want to disturb whatever thoughts were racing through his mind. He watched him, hoping this had been the tipping point.

  When Colin’s tears fell on Andrew’s face, Andrew wrapped his arms around him and held him as the man silently sobbed.

  “Thank you,” Colin finally whispered, his voice hoarse. “Thank you so much.”

  Andrew nuzzled his cheek. “For what, pet?”

  He laughed. “For asking me to sit with you.”

  “Are you all right?”

  Colin nodded and lifted his head so he could look Andrew in the eyes. Beautiful, sweet green eyes. “I’m better than I’ve ever been in my whole damn life.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Nevvie got a few chores done early Saturday morning, curbing her urge to go over and check on Andrew and Colin. She didn’t want to interrupt them if they were…busy. They didn’t need her nosy self getting involved.

  They were grown men. Hopefully, whatever this was would work out for them and make them both happy.

  Plus, Andrew had specifically asked for no interruptions.

  Besides, as nervous as Colin had acted the evening before, she didn’t want to spook him if he and Dad had a serious chance of getting something going between them. She’d wait and text Dad later and get guidance from him.

  Mikey had volunteered to mow again that morning, but Nevvie had paid him anyway—and passed on the word to him not to interrupt Grandpa if it looked like he had company. Mikey had already completed that chore, and Adam was outside taking care of cleaning the pool and hot tub for Nevvie before he started on a couple of other heavy-duty outside chores for her.

  Meanwhile, by lunch time, while her sons were busting their asses, Nevvie was still bugging Zoey and Willow to get their chores completed. The girls had used the excuse of working on homework that morning, but now they were in their own rooms and Nevvie heard a TV on in one and music playing in the other.

  She walked upstairs and stopped in Zoey’s doorway. The TV. Zoey lay sprawled facedown on her bed and was texting someone on her phone.

  Her overflowing laundry hamper sat in its usual corner.

  “Laundry better be done before time to leave for the party, or you aren’t going.”

  Zoey looked up, shocked. “What?”

  “I told you yesterday to do your laundry today.”

  “I will.” The eyeroll was more than implied.

  Nevvie dropped into full-on Mom voice. “You will, what?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Zoey sat up and put her phone down—miracle of miracles—and grabbed the hamper. Nevvie headed for Willow’s room next. While she had music on, she was sitting at her desk and had a textbook open.

  Her laundry hamper was empty.

  “Laundry?”

  “They’re in the dryer.”

  At least one fight she could check off her list. “Good. Bathroom?”

  “I wiped out the tub and sink and cleaned the mirror, but it’s Zoey’s turn to clean the toilet and floor.”

  “Then I suggest you make sure she gets it done, and her laundry, or neither of you will go to the party tonight.”

  As if levitating, Willow immediately stood and headed out. “Zoey!” she screamed as she headed downstairs after her twin.

  Nevvie crossed her arms and fought the urge to evilly giggle. They’d raised the kids to understand they weren’t their maid service. Even Mikey and Adam had chores, although Adam not so much now that he didn’t live there full time.

  He’d actually volunteered to help out in Tom and Tyler’s absence, and Nevvie felt a little guilty that his weekend “off” was going to include doing stuff that wasn’t his job in the first place. For everyone else, there were daily chores and weekend chores. Nothing that took them more than a few minutes to complete at any given time, plus the kids were all expected to help chip in and clean up the kitchen after meals.

  And she wasn’t above using negative reinforcement on the twins to ensure shit got done.

  Karen once told Nevvie about how Emily’s failure to sweep the porch had gotten all the girls grounded for the weekend when their father had gotten sick and tired of having to remind Emily to do the easy chore.

  From that point on, the sisters had ganged up on her and made sure she did her chores. Tommy, ironically, had nearly always done his without any nagging from their parents. As the baby of the family, he’d seen first-hand what could happen, and he’d preferred not to draw that kind of negative attention.

  Mikey had grabbed his shower after finishing the mowing and made his way downstairs to the kitchen for lunch. Nevvie was eating a sandwich at the table and going through Tyler’s morning accumulation of e-mail.

  He leaned in and dropped his voice. “I don’t suppose they’ve gotten themselves grounded for tonight yet, huh?”

  Nevvie sighed. “Not yet, sweetie. I did my best. You can tell them you’ve changed your mind about them going with you.”

  “They’ll make my life hell.”

  “Probably. But I don’t have a better answer for you.”

  He sat down at the table and kept his voice low. “You know I love them, but Zoey’s already asked me three dang times this morning about Cole.”

  “Sweetie, like I said, I don’t have an answer for you. If you want me to step in, I will, but all three of you will stay home if I do.”

  “I don’t know why she likes him anyway. He’s a jerk. His parents are bigger jerks than he is. His dad thinks he’s some big hotshot, but no one likes him. He runs a car dealership and is really big into Rotary and stuff like that. His mom is a pushy…witch. Apparently most of the parents in the PTO hate her.”

  Nevvie had missed that particular level of hell by being too busy managing Tyler’s business side of things, and running their household, to participate.

  He wasn’t finished. “Cole runs around bragging about the stuff he has and what his parents do and buy for him. I know you guys are way richer than they are, but you don’t act like that. You guys act like normal people.”

  “Sounds like a charming family,” she drawled, while proud that her son was smart enough to see the difference in lifestyles and attitude. “Does Zoey know this?”

  “She apparently doesn’t care. And he’s got a different girlfriend every couple of weeks. That’s just weird.”

  Nevvie sat back and focused on him. “Be a good big brother and keep an eye out on them tonight. It’s one night. You’ll be going off to college, and they might have great memories of how cool their big brother was to invite them to come with.”

  “Yeah.” He stared down at his hands, where he was picking at his cuticles. “I guess.”

  “If I ground all of you from the party, they’re going to ask why, and I’m not going to lie to them. If Dad and Poppa were home, we could use that excuse and it’d be a legitimate one. But…” She shrugged. “Adam and I are going to enjoy not having to listen to them whine that we’re watching sci-fi movies.” She smiled.

  “That’s starting to look like a good option,” he said.

  Nevvie did feel sorry for her son and threw him a bone. “The other option…” She waited until she knew she had his attention. “You said there were some things you wanted to do to your truck. If you went too long and didn’t get them done and had to miss the party because you wanted to get your truck put back togethe
r, I’d back you up on that one and not let you borrow one of the other cars.” She arched an eyebrow at him. “Especially if you waited too late to start the project in the first place. Poor time management.”

  That would be believable, because it was already a standing rule in their house. A perceived emergency one of the kids was having did not constitute a crisis for their parents—unless it was a legit emergency, such as illness or injury or unavoidable and unpreventable circumstances. Peggy had been adamant about training that into their kids, and Nevvie had listened well.

  If anything, Ty was the soft touch amongst the three of them. Tom, having lived it, and Nevvie, having been on her own at such an early age, were unbendable in that rule.

  Holding their children accountable for their actions—or failure to act—would help them be stronger, better, more reliable adults.

  This meant Nevvie wouldn’t loan him a vehicle for a preventable reason, unless Mikey had to go get parts for his truck. If it broke down and wasn’t his fault, totally different situation.

  He sat back and considered it for several minutes.

  Nevvie waited him out.

  When his shoulders slumped, she knew he’d decided to knuckle under. “It’s just one party,” he muttered. “If Zoey’s too much of a dweeb, I can get them out of there early.”

  “There is that. If you’d told me this earlier, I would have set your curfew for eleven instead of midnight.”

  “Not your fault, Mom.” He pushed himself out of his chair and started to make a sandwich. “Now I know what they mean by no good deed goes unpunished.”

  She grinned. “You’re learning, buddy. You’re learning.”

  * * * *

  When it came time for the kids to head to the party, Nevvie was pleased to see Willow dressed in jeans and a cute T-shirt. Zoey had opted for a sundress that was not objectionable, but Nevvie wished she’d worn a little…more.

  Still, since it was something they let her wear out to family dinners, it wasn’t like Nevvie could arbitrarily order her to change without it turning into a major ordeal. Some battles were best left unfought.

  She’s growing up. I need to let go.

  It was also obvious Zoey had put effort into her hair and makeup. Again, not objectionably so, but that Zoey had ulterior motives was blatantly obvious.

  Nevvie opted for a little parental teasing. “So what’s his name?”

  Zoey’s face went red. “Whose name?”

  “The boy you’re trying to get to notice you.”

  “Nobody,” she muttered.

  “Cole,” Willow said with a frown. “And he’s a jerk.”

  “He is not,” Zoey shot back. “He’s cute.”

  “Cute doesn’t mean he can’t also be a jerk,” Nevvie said, hugging her. “Be careful.”

  “I will.” She headed for the front door.

  “Love you,” Nevvie called out.

  “Yeah, love you, too, Mom.”

  Willow rolled her eyes at her sister hard enough to score a strike. She hugged Nevvie. “Love you, Mom.”

  Mikey followed suit, and once they were out the door, Adam headed for the pantry closet. “Popcorn?”

  “You read my mind, son. You sure you don’t want to be out with friends?”

  “Not really. I need some downtime. I’m around people all the time at school.” He seemed to realize how that sounded. “Eh, sorry, that’s not how I meant it. Not that you’re not people, Mom, but—”

  She laughed it off. “Just like your Poppa.” Tommy could be adorably dense and stumbly when it came to talking sometimes. Ironic, considering Adam was the spitting image of Tyler.

  “Yeah.” He pulled a package of microwave popcorn from its box and returned the box to the pantry. “I need a break. If I’m there, people will be asking me to go out. If I say no, I just want to stay home, they get pissy. I’d rather be here. They can’t harass me for not going out if I’m not there at all.”

  “Blood Drive marathon?” Nevvie asked.

  He grinned. “God, I love that show.”

  * * * *

  Tyler sat at the desk in the office, the only light in the room coming from the laptop before him. He’d pulled open the curtains and stared out at the Brussels night, trying to absorb its unfamiliar shape and feel.

  Tom had taken a pain pill and gone to bed after they returned from their walk. Now it was nearly midnight, and Tyler was essentially alone except for the man whose mind he was exploring on the laptop.

  Marcus.

  Tyler hadn’t been sure where to start. He finally decided to take the logical approach and work from the first file, sorted by creation date, not sure if the dates were even accurate or if they were when they were added to the laptop.

  He supposed it didn’t matter.

  Next to him, one glass of wine, filled to the top but he’d make it last.

  This bottle had been in a cabinet, with some dust on its surface, perhaps being saved for something special, based on the vintage. Tyler had put it in the fridge when he’d first found it and decided to open it tonight.

  Something Marcus had purchased, no doubt. There were pictures on the walls of him and Jean-Claude during meals that included this brand of wine. A few empty bottles sat on a high shelf, along with other empty bottles. Obviously they’d held special meaning to Marcus.

  A hint of the man.

  Drink of this my blood…

  He’d certainly sucked down the man’s more intimate bodily fluids.

  Tyler picked up the glass and toasted the laptop. “I suppose if you were so filled with guilt and regret to offer it all to me, it’d be rude of me to not at the very least peruse, wouldn’t it?”

  He took a sip of the wine, a red, and on the drier side than he liked. Wouldn’t have been his first preference, but he would drink it.

  Every bitter drop.

  Chapter Twenty

  “I hope they like me.”

  Andrew was reasonably certain from the way Colin had muttered it that he hadn’t meant to say that aloud. Right now, the man stood at the kitchen sink and stared out the window at the growing dusk.

  Karen and Bill were due home any time now. Andrew had prepped a tasty meatloaf that Chloe loved, trying to stack things in their favor. It wasn’t Karen and Bill Andrew was worried about. Andrew’s confidence about their acceptance was resolute.

  While Andrew felt reasonably certain Chloe would like Colin, it never hurt to make sure he did everything he could to ensure her best mood.

  Sometimes, she could be fickle when it came to liking people. While it was nothing personal, Andrew knew poor Colin would likely take it to heart and assign far too much weight to a child’s opinion than he should, in this case.

  Andrew walked up behind Colin and wrapped his arms around him, resting his chin on Colin’s shoulder. “They shall adore you, love. Never fear.”

  “You can’t guarantee that.”

  “No, but based on my past experience, I have no reason to doubt them or their love for me, or for my son. Why wouldn’t they want my happiness?”

  Colin turned, his green eyes full of worry. “But what if they don’t?”

  Andrew kissed him, long and tenderly and hoping to drive all the worry from Colin’s mind, for at least a few sweet moments. When he finally ended their kiss, Andrew touched his forehead to Colin’s. “Do you trust me, love?”

  The sound of Colin’s breath roared through Andrew’s ears. He finally nodded.

  “Then trust me now. Please, understand that I would not be letting this meeting happen if I thought they wouldn’t be kind. I will never willingly put you in a situation I think would be less than hospitable. You mean far too much to me.”

  “This soon?”

  “This soon.” He cradled Colin’s face in his palms. “This soon, and so deeply. I mean it. I shall do whatever it takes to convince you this is right, and the only ulterior motive I have is I want you to be able to freely love me as much as I want to freely love you.”

&
nbsp; When headlights swept into the yard and across the kitchen window, Andrew took a deep breath and gave Colin one last kiss. He knew Colin would already be nervous enough without any public displays of affection to make him feel even more self-conscious.

  Karen was the first through the door. “Dad? We’re home.”

  Andrew offered Colin another smile and walked out to greet her. She was alone, and had set her purse and overnight bag down in the hallway.

  “Where’s Bill and Chloe?” Andrew asked.

  “They’re coming. She wanted to help Daddy unload the car.” Andrew could see Karen’s gaze fixed on Colin, and that she could barely contain her playful smile. “Hi, there.”

  “Hello.”

  “Love, this is Colin Dawson. He’s spending the weekend with me.”

  “Nice to meet you, Colin.” Karen bypassed the handshake and went straight for a hug. Behind her back, Andrew sent Colin a wink. “Has Dad fed you Mom’s cinnamon roll recipe yet? It’s really killer.”

  Colin managed a nervous smile. “Yes, they were tasty.”

  “Fair warning—if you eat enough of his delicious cooking, you won’t want to leave.”

  That drew a soft laugh from Colin. “I think I’m already heading down that path.”

  “Great! We’re happy to have you.”

  Then Bill and Chloe entered, the little girl wearing her Hello Kitty backpack and carrying her favorite stuffed puppy in her arms. As soon as she saw Andrew, she made a beeline for him, talking a mile a minute about her adventure. Andrew did his best to give her his full attention while still trying to keep an eye on Colin.

  He sensed if Colin grew overwhelmed with just Karen, Bill, and Chloe, the man might change his mind about Wednesday night. And if Colin did that, Andrew wasn’t sure he’d be able to make him change it back.

  Andrew had a lifetime of experience to tell him the potential they had together if Colin would only trust him.

  Damn his family.

  Then again, had Colin’s family been more supportive, perhaps they wouldn’t have met in the first place.