Page 3 of Joey’s Trick

3

K eeping to the speed limit on the drive home, Joey hoped Trick had left. He couldn’t deal with him right now. When he pulled onto his street, he saw several cars had already left and only a handful remained. Maybe he’d get lucky again tonight. He parked behind his parents’ SUV and got out. The front porch was empty this time around. Entering the house, Joey glanced around casually, but didn’t see Trick. He entered the dining room to find his father sitting at the table with Anthony, Veronica, his mother, and two of his uncles playing some kind of card game.

His mother gave him a hard look. “Where did you run off to? Here for less than an hour and already disappearing. Do you hate your home that much?”

“Mom,” Joey groaned. “It’s not that. I just needed some fresh air.”

“And out back wasn’t enough fresh air?” she demanded.

Joey didn’t respond as he walked past them to the kitchen to grab a beer from the fridge. When he turned around, Trick stood in the doorway. Joey immediately scowled, but said nothing. He popped the top off the bottle and tossed it into the trash can before stalking toward Trick. “Please move,” he growled.

Trick looked uncertain, as if he wanted to argue, but with a sigh, stepped back to let Joey out of the room. “For what it’s worth, Joey, I’m sorry,” he murmured as Joey swept past him.

It took all of Joey’s willpower to ignore Trick. He yanked one chair out from the dining table and dropped into it. He was aware of Trick hovering in the doorway, watching him.

“Where’d you go?” his mother asked.

“Just drove,” Joey lied.

He thought he heard Anthony snort, but let it go. “Babe, would you grab me another beer?” Anthony asked his girlfriend.

“Sure, baby. No looking at my cards, ya cheater.”

“I don’t cheat!”

Veronica rolled her eyes. “Uh huh.”

“I resent being called a cheater.” Anthony sniffed at her.

Joey grinned. “He used to do that all the time when we were kids. Always came up with some excuse to get me to leave the room when he was losing so he could peek at my cards.”

“I did not!” Anthony shouted.

“Inside voices, please,” their mother admonished as Veronica went to get Anthony’s drink.

Anthony huffed and slumped in his chair, clearly pouting. Joey chuckled. “She’s got your number, Ant.”

Veronica came back with his beer and set it on the table near his elbow. She’d grabbed another for herself. “She knows it, too,” she said with a wink at Joey.

A delighted laugh escaped Joey. “I like her, bro. She’s definitely going to keep you on your toes.”

Anthony smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, hugging her close and kissing her temple. “Never met anyone like her.”

Envy fluttered in Joey’s chest for a split second, but he brushed it away. His brother deserved to be happy. Being jealous of Anthony’s relationship was dumb. “So what do you do for a living, Veronica?” Joey asked.

“I’m a nurse at Holy Cross Hospital on Federal.”

“Nice. Do you like it?”

“I love it. I work in Pediatrics. It’s hard sometimes, but there are a lot of happy and rewarding times to outweigh the bad ones.”

Trick hadn’t left. He leaned up against the wall nearby and just seemed to listen to their conversation. Joey did his utter best to ignore the bastard. “Are you trying to hold up the wall, dear?” Joey’s mother asked. “Have a seat, Trick.”

Joey stiffened as Trick took the one to his left. He deliberately turned further toward Veronica. “Did you always want to be a nurse?”

Veronica shook her head. “When I was in high school, I wanted to be a teacher, but in my first year of college a friend of mine was in a pretty nasty car accident. I took care of her after they released her from the hospital, helped change her dressings, and made her meals. I found I enjoyed doing it. So, I switched my major and went into nursing.”

“Why pediatrics? Isn’t it hard seeing sick kids?” Joey asked.

“It is hard, but seeing the relief on the parents’ faces when the doctor tells them their child is going to be okay or giving the children something to smile about when I visit their rooms and just knowing I can brighten their day even a little is more than worth it.”

“What about you, bro? How’s things at the dealership?”

Anthony glanced past Joey at Trick and then shrugged. “I’m actually not working there anymore.”

“Oh? What are you doing now?”

“Trick and I opened our own landscaping business.”

Joey couldn’t have been more shocked, but he struggled to hide it. “That’s… interesting.”

“I didn’t really enjoy selling cars,” Anthony said.

“He’s great with flowers actually,” Trick said.

Joey ignored Trick. “Not exactly what I see you doing, Ant, but if you’re happy that’s all that matters.”

Anthony gave Joey a questioning look at the slight to Trick. “I am. It’s satisfying work and it keeps me in shape. Plus, I get to work outdoors in the fresh air rather than stuck inside a stuffy dealership all day.”

“Why don’t you tell us about working with such big superstars?” his mother asked.

“There’s nothing to tell. They’re people like all of us. Just making a shit ton more money than we do.”

“Joey! Language!” his mother exclaimed in horror.

Joey grinned. “Sorry, Mom.”

“Heard you’ve already got some clients on your roster,” his dad said. “Prince, right?”

“Yep,” Joey replied, pride in his voice. “No one else at the agency could get him to sign with us.”

“What’s he like?” Veronica asked. “Is he as hot in person as he is on TV?”

“Hotter.” Joey laughed and winked at Veronica.

Veronica leaned forward. “When you go back home, do you think you could get me his autograph?”

“Sure.”

“Thanks!” Veronica replied.

Joey shrugged. “We meet regularly so it’s not a big deal.”

“Who else do you have as a client?” Anthony asked.

He rattled off a couple more A-list sports clients and a few of the lesser-known individuals. Tension settled into his shoulders further when Trick shifted around beside him.

“Sounds like you’re really busy,” Trick said.

Joey clenched his jaw and shrugged again. He found being so close to the one man who’d almost destroyed him nearly unbearable. Abruptly, he stood. “I’m tired after the long drive, Mom. Think I’m going to get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Be up and ready to leave by eight, sweetie. We’re all going to the beach.”

“Okay, Mom. Goodnight, everyone.”

Without sparing a single glance in Trick’s direction, Joey left the dining room and jogged up the stairs. He knew this would be a mistake. He never should have come. The same insecurities and self-doubt were beating at the solid steel door he’d locked them behind inside his mind. They wanted out. They were screaming to be set free, to eat at the facade he’d crafted painstakingly over the last five years. One of the last conversations with his therapist replayed in his mind.

“ I ’m going back in a couple of weeks.” Joey didn’t have to tell Dr. Garrett where.

“How does that make you feel?”

Joey ran a hand through his hair. “I fucking hate it. I loathe the idea of ever being near that prick again.”

“Have you reconsidered talking to him about your feelings?”

Snorting, Joey gave Dr. Garrett a sarcastic sneer. “The only thing I want to consider is beating the shit out of him. Talking to him about my feelings? The fucker would probably laugh in my face and call me a fag again.”

“It’s been seven years. Don’t you think maybe he may have changed? Matured as an adult?”

Joey shook his head. “No, I don’t.”

“But you’ve changed. Why is it impossible for him to have grown up in those years?”

Instead of answering her right away, Joey looked around her office for several seconds. There were a handful of framed photos of her with a smiling, attractive blonde woman, including a wedding photo. Dr. Garrett was the only person who knew the truth of his life after leaving Fort Lauderdale, the things he’d done, the self-destructive behavior, and the entire reason he’d started seeing her almost six years ago. Sighing, he slouched in his chair. “I’ve known him for most of my life, doc. I doubt he’s changed. He…”

She waited quietly for him to continue. Lips twisting wryly, Joey finished his thought. “He was always the person I thought I knew the best in my life, aside from my brother, but he proved how wrong I was.”

“I think this visit will be good for you, Joey. It’s a chance to find the closure you need on that part of your life and move forward.”

“That’ll only work if I talk to him, Dr. Garrett, but I’m not even sure I can manage that.” Joey started picking at one of his fingernails. “He’s the reason… no, he’s part of the reason I tried to kill myself.” He knew Trick had only exacerbated the anxiety and depression he already carried with him. Trick wasn’t the only reason he’d done what he’d done.

She gave a small nod and wrote something on her notepad. “It took you a long time to admit that out loud the first time, Joey. You’re making progress with understanding yours and Trick’s role in your decision to hurt yourself.”

Joey snorted. “I hate myself for letting him and his bigoted opinion of me push me that far.”

“Why do you hate yourself for allowing yourself to feel so deeply?”

He scowled and stood, pacing. Restless energy ate at him and he picked up one of the picture frames of the doctor and her wife. “You’ve never felt stupid for being hurt by someone who so obviously hates who you are?”

She hummed. “It’s never stupid to let yourself care, Joey. Why do you think it’s stupid to have cared about someone?”

Joey set the frame down and shrugged. “Because I thought I knew him.”

Before she could respond to him further, the little alert signaling the end of their time together rang out. “I’d like to see you again before you leave for home.”

“It’s not my home,” Joey snapped. “Not anymore.”

Standing, Dr. Garrett came around to his side of the desk. “No matter what has happened in your life, Joey, it is still your home. It’s where your family is and from what you’ve told me, they love you.”

Guilt swiped at Joey, but he shook his head. “I don’t belong there anymore.”

“We’ll explore that further next week, Joey. Stop by and speak with Amy to schedule a time.”

He gave a jerky nod. “I’ll see you then, doc.”

T he next morning, Joey got up before everyone else to go for a run. He set the playlist on his phone to his favorite running tunes and placed it in the armband before starting off. It wasn’t long before the usual Florida mugginess caused his shirt to stick to his chest and back. His mind trickled back over the events of the day before and he grit his teeth. Sleep had been elusive. Dreams of Trick plagued him throughout the night. The memory of Trick shattering his heart playing in his mind when he was awake.

His feet pounded the sidewalk as he wove up and down the blocks around his childhood home. Disturbed blasted in his ears, chasing away the insecurities still riding Joey hard, burying them beneath the shield of confidence he’d built up to protect himself. He wouldn’t let Trick get to him again. It would be too much to hope Trick would stay away the rest of his time at his parents’.

By the time he looped back around to his parents’ house, sweat soaked his white shirt completely, becoming translucent. The sun was just above the houses when he came to a stop in front of the house. He did some stretches, cooling down from his run. The back of his neck itched and Joey glanced at the porch to see Trick standing there, watching him with a pained expression.

Joey scowled at him before giving the bastard his back and finishing his cool down. When he turned back around, Trick was gone. Most likely in the house. Joey entered the front door and went upstairs to grab a quick shower and get dressed. The rest of the family was in the living room by the time he came back down.

Disgust at himself rolled through him when he realized how quickly he pinpointed where Trick sat. Once again, he felt the prick of Trick’s gaze, but he ignored it, smiling at his family. “Morning, Mom, Pop.”

“Hey, sweetie. We’re just about ready to go. I’ve got towels for everyone, packed a cooler with sandwiches and drinks, and your dad threw a football and a volleyball in the car.”

Joey eyed his brother. “You ready to get your ass handed to you?”

Anthony snorted. “Big words, little brother.”

“I’ve gained some skills since we last played,” Joey said. “Don’t underestimate me.”

“Guess we’ll see, won’t we?” Anthony said.

Joey smirked and shrugged. “I’ll take my car.”

“Nonsense!” Joey’s mother interjected. “No sense paying for two parking spaces. There’s enough room in the car for all of us.”

He really didn’t want to be in that close a vicinity of Trick, but he knew he couldn’t argue with his mom and he grunted in reply. His dad had already put everything in the back of the SUV, so they filed out of the house and Joey sat in the far back behind the driver’s side. To his utter dismay, Trick climbed in next to him. It was a bench seat instead of two individuals, like the ones in the center row. Joey crowded as close to the side of the car as possible and pulled out his phone. Thankfully, the beach wasn’t far from his parents’ home, about twenty minutes. He could last that long in close quarters with Trick. Couldn’t he?

As soon as the car was in motion and everyone in the front began talking, Trick interrupted his perusal of his emails. “Are you going to ignore me all day, Joey?”

Joey clenched his jaw, but didn’t respond. Trick sighed. “That was a long time ago and I was a stupid kid in high school.”

If they’d been alone, Joey just may have exploded on him like he had the previous evening. A long time ago? A stupid kid? Those were Trick’s excuses for shattering his world and sending him on a dark fucking spiral? He raised his head to glare at Trick and kept his voice low as he responded. “It doesn’t change the fact that you hate me for existing just because I have men in my bed.”

“I don’t feel that way anymore, Joey! I didn’t even feel that way back then!”

“Bullshit. People don’t say shit like that if they don’t mean it.” Joey tightened his hold on his phone.

Trick placed his hand on Joey’s arm. “I am truly sorry you overheard what I said. There’s a lot of things from back then I wish I could take back, but I can’t. Will you please forgive me?”

Joey glanced down at Trick’s dark, tanned fingers on his arm. “We only have to be around each other for the next few days. I don’t see the point in even having this conversation. I’ll be heading back to Orlando at the end of the week. Why does it matter if we talk or not?”

Sighing, Trick took his hand off Joey and set it on his own thigh. “Because I really miss talking to you. We were friends once.”

“Were we? Because friends definitely don’t say what you did,” Joey replied.

“Things… things are different now, Joey. There are some things you don’t know. If you give me a chance, I’d like to explain them to you.”

Joey side-eyed Trick. He’d hear him out, just to see what had changed. “Fine. Why can’t you explain it now?”

Trick cleared his throat and gave a slight toss of his head toward Joey’s brother. Joey grunted and tipped his head in acknowledgement. If Trick didn’t want to talk about it in front of Anthony, either his brother didn’t know or there was something else going on. “Fine. When?”

“When we get back from the beach. We can go grab some coffee.”

Joey ignored the flutter in his stomach at the idea of a coffee date with Trick. It wasn’t a date. Hell, he shouldn’t even be considering giving Trick the chance to explain anything. But the teenage boy who’d lusted after the bastard wouldn’t let him say no. He went back to checking his emails, responded to one, before they pulled into one of the parking lots near Fort Lauderdale Beach. The scent of salt and sea slapped Joey in the face as he followed Trick out of the backseat. He grabbed a couple of things from his dad to help carry down toward the shore.

Despite it being the middle of the day on a workday, there were still quite a few people in the water and lining the beach. They found a place to spread out the blanket and Joey kicked off his flip-flops. Anthony took off his own shoes and his t-shirt, then grabbed the football. “Let’s see how you’ve gotten so cocky, baby brother.”

They decided on touch football so Veronica could play as well. Trick and Joey against Anthony and Veronica. Years ago, Joey would have practically squealed over being teamed up with Trick, but despite their uneasy truce in the car, Joey still couldn’t stop his resentment and anger that easily. They set the “end zones” as a couple of palm trees on either side of their area. He said nothing as they separated and Trick made a simple pass to him.

“Come on, little bro,” Anthony taunted. “Let’s see these new skills.”

Joey smirked and darted around Anthony, breezing past his brother with more than a couple of arm lengths between them. He tagged the tree and grinned at his brother, casually tossing the ball in the air before lobbing it over Anthony’s head to Trick. His brother was extremely competitive and after he saw how easily Joey bypassed him, it became an all-out war to get the ball from him.

Anthony was panting and sweating like crazy by the time the score was tied. “Damn, Joey. Must be working with all those football star quarterbacks!”

Laughing, Joey winked at his brother. “More than just working.”

“Aww, gross!” Anthony shouted. “I don’t wanna hear about my baby brother and the dude he’s banging.”

Joey couldn’t stop the full belly laughter he fell into from Anthony’s reaction. “Just remember that the next time you try to share details about you and your girlfriends.”

“Hey, there better not be any other girlfriends,” Veronica said, her brows drawn.

Anthony grabbed Veronica, tugging her close. “Just you, baby.”

“Let’s finish this,” Joey said. “Next point wins.”

He glanced at Trick, giving him a nod, and tossed the ball at him. Joey’s shirt stuck to his skin from the sweat. Without thinking, he yanked it over his head, tossing it aside, and he crouched slightly, watching Trick intently.

“Holy shit, Joey!”

Anthony caught Joey off guard and Joey straightened, frowning. “What?”

Then the realization of what he’d done sank in. Fuck. He hadn’t wanted his family to see how many tattoos he had. Especially his mom. They knew about the ones on his bicep and they’d obviously seen the other one on his calf this morning. Surprisingly, his mom had said nothing about it. Groaning, he rolled his eyes as Anthony moved around him to look at the various tattoos he had.

There was a tattoo of a snarling wolf on his left pectoral and another of a dragon on his right. His calf sported another with thick lines much like his bicep. But the one on his back, he’d wanted to hide that one from both his family and Trick. The one spread across his shoulders was the words “Never Again” and beneath was a warrior angel, wings spread, spear raised, standing on the impression of a man beneath him. Radiating lines to show the light he’d stepped into as he defeated his demons. He’d gotten it as a promise to himself to never let another push him to the brink again.

An intake of breath caught Joey’s attention, and he looked at Trick. He did a double take. He could almost swear he saw lust in Trick’s gaze. Trick came closer and reached up to touch the one on his back. A shudder raced down Joey’s spine. The calloused fingers tracing over the lines of the angel. “Did you design this?” Trick asked, his voice husky.

He had. In the hospital where he’d awakened to find himself still alive after he’d sliced his wrist. The pain had been so great, he’d passed out with the first wrist, never getting to the second one. His college roommate had found him, called the ambulance and stemmed the flow until they arrived. The only reason his family hadn’t found out was because Joey was over eighteen and he’d insisted he didn’t want them to be contacted.

Shrugging, Joey nodded. “I’ve got tattoos, no big deal. Let’s finish the game.” He felt uncomfortable with everyone’s eyes on him, not to mention Trick’s touch.

They continued the game, but he felt Anthony’s attention on him more than once. There was no way in hell Anthony hadn’t realized the words on his shoulders meant something. Joey scored the last point, tossed the ball at Anthony, and without a word, strode into the ocean. Emotions he hadn’t allowed himself to feel in a long time swamped him. He went out several yards, then turned parallel to the shore to begin a breaststroke. Less than forty-eight hours and he’d already revealed more than he ever intended when he’d come home. Losing himself in the mindless exercise, Joey swam close to the pier before swimming back to where he’d entered.