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CHAPTER THREE
NICO
Babbo
I know it’s only been three days, but how about an illicit tryst at our favorite hotel?
Nico
Love that we have a favorite hotel, and yes. Maybe the same clerk will be there? I hope so.
Babbo
So he can be scandalized?
Nico
Pretty sure he’s been involved in a scandal or three himself.
Babbo
Ha! Probably so. Seven p.m. work?
Nico
See you then, Babbo
* * *
Nico
I had fun last night.
Babbo
I always have fun with you. We should do it again. And again after that.
Nico
Name the time and place, I’ll be there.
Babbo
Unfortunately, it’ll have to wait a couple of days because work is a nightmare.
Nico
No worries. Just let me know.
* * *
Nico
You wanna meet at the club tomorrow?
Babbo
Sure, I have a late meeting, but I can get there at eight. I could go tonight instead.
Nico
Uhh, funny story, my boss and his significant other are going tonight. It’s kinda weird because they don’t know I’m a member.
Babbo
How is that possible?
Nico
I was there. They arrived. I left through the back door.
Do you think having an existential crisis at twenty-seven is possible?
Babbo
I think it’s possible to have an existential crisis at any age, but I also think maybe you’re just hangry.
Nico
I don’t think being hangry would make me question my existence.
Babbo
Being hangry makes me question my entire worldview, so existence isn’t that far away.
Nico
Now I could use a burger.
Babbo
Want dinner first tomorrow?
Nico
Yeah, okay. The Diner?
Babbo
Whose table should I tell Margaret I need to join?
Nico
Nice try. I admire your persistence.
* * *
Nico
Sorry I had to cancel last night. I had a family thing come up
Babbo
I can’t have all your evenings. Is everything OK?
Nico
Yeah, it’s okay. Ma decided she hadn’t seen her boys, so we had a mandatory family dinner—no excuses allowed.
Babbo
That’s a good reason to skip. Do you have a lot of family?
Nico
My parents and two brothers—twins. What about you?
Babbo
I’m an only child and close to my parents. Well, at least my mom. I was close to my dad, but he died several years ago.
Nico
Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. My parents drive me insane, but I can’t imagine losing them.
Babbo
It’s okay. It was a long time ago. Are you close to your family?
Nico
Yes and no. We’re close, but my brothers are inseparable and insufferable.
Babbo
Ha! Why do you say that?
Nico
They’ve had their lives planned out since they came out of the womb together. I don’t know what it’s like to have that kind of direction.
My parents want me to be on a settled career path to the point that they are obsessed.
Babbo
What do you do?
Nico
Personal assistant.
Babbo
That seems like a reasonable job. What do they want you to do?
Nico
One where the odds of a layoff are low.
FYI, I can skip out after dinner.
Babbo
Sweet Boy, did you know I have a home where I can host?
Nico
So it’s a no?
Babbo
Silly boy. It’s a yes, but I was pointing it out in case you didn’t know. What name should I leave on the key?
Nico
Sweet Boy is good.
Babbo
Grrr
Nico
Ooh, Babbo is gonna be grumpy tonight.
Babbo
I’ll show you grumpy, boy. And the hosting part?
Nico
I’m ignoring it.
Babbo
Message received. See you tonight.
* * *
Nico
Babbo, did you feel it today?
Babbo
Feel what? Did something happen?
Nico
Yes, the sun was out, and it was NICE.
Babbo
LOL. Silly. Did you go out and enjoy it?
Nico
I skipped out of the office and ate lunch near the boardwalk. There’s a really good seafood shack down there.
Babbo
The one that looks like it’s about to fall down?
Nico
That’s the one!
Babbo
It’s been a while, but it’s been good every time I’ve gone. I’m out of town for a few days. Gonna let me see you when I get back?
Nico
Always.
Babbo
At some point, are you going to give me your name?
Nico
No thanks.
* * *
The sun was nowhere near up when I let myself in through the kitchen door. I took the precaution of taking my shoes off on the porch, just in case they were noisy on the hardwood floor, but it didn’t matter anyway because my brother was standing at the coffee maker fixing himself a cup. Goddammit . Luca wore scrubs and had blond hair that fell in annoyingly perfect waves and a tall, muscled body that he spent too much time in the gym staring at. We didn’t resemble each other in a single feature. Our parents swore no one was adopted, but they were probably lying.
“Late night or early morning?” My brother’s blurry eyes were filled with curiosity and a smidgen of judgment.
“What difference does it make?”
“None to me,” he answered with a shrug. “Ma was looking for you last night, so I’m sure she’ll be up early.”
“If I’m lucky, I’ll be long gone before she gets—” The sharp rap on the back of my head interrupted that thought.
I schooled my features before turning around and facing the tiny dynamo who ruled our house with a fist in a velvet glove. I was absurdly proud of myself for remembering the Thatcher nickname from history class, but I wasn’t dumb enough to share it with either of them. My brother would roll his eyes, and Ma would tell me I was wasting my time when I could be in college studying something like history.
“Sorry you didn’t get lucky this morning.” She paused to take in my outfit before continuing, “Or maybe you did?”
“Ew, gross, Ma. I’m not going to talk about my sex life with you or him.”
“Your brother always shares information about his relationships with me.” That gross pronouncement came with a pat on the cheek to one of the golden twins. My brother’s twin, Leo, would be around here somewhere because they were always together. BFFs and joined at the hip in pursuit of perfection. Copy and Paste.
“What relationship? Last I checked, being on a first-name basis with the cafeteria cashier didn’t usually lead to wedding bells.” I smirked.
“I’m not going to fight with a toddler.” Luca sniffed in his incredibly annoying, haughty tone that made me want to punch him. I’d need a damn chair to do it, but I was willing to put in the effort. Or, go lower for less work and more pain. Option two sounded better.
“Boys, that’s enough. Luca, get your coffee and go to work. You can fight with your brother later. Where’s Leo?”
“In the shower,” Luca answered with a mouthful of bagel. He saw my look of revulsion and opened his mouth to show me behind Ma’s back. Disgusting. I gave him a double-handed, single-finger response. He returned the gesture.
“Boys, please stop. Luca, I mean it. Go find somewhere else to be so I can talk to your brother.” Ma arranged herself at the kitchen table and pointed to a chair. “Sit down.”
There had never been a time when important conversations hadn’t happened at this table with its checkered plastic tablecloth. It’s where Ma told us she was starting chemo back when I was still in elementary school. When Dad lost his job, it was where he sat us down to say things would have to change. My parents found out I was gay here when I accidentally used the wrong pronouns for a date. And it’s where I told them I wasn’t going to college.
My brothers had known what they wanted to do since they came out of the womb. They’d taken all the biology classes they could in high school, then went to nursing school together, and now they’d started looking at becoming nurse practitioners. Always in lockstep with each other, there’d never been room for their short and pudgy younger brother who hated science but loved to organize people’s bookshelves.
“Ma, I need to change and get to work myself. I’ve got meetings on the calendar today, including one happening in less than two hours,” I said, stopping to check my phone. Nothing bothered me more than being unprepared for my job, and I needed to shower, change, and get to the office in time to review the file. Maybe the rest of my family didn’t take my job seriously, but I did.
And despite what they thought, I hadn’t gotten lucky. Babbo was ruining me for a good time. I’d gone to the club—dance, not kink—looking for a good time. There wasn’t one found, so I worked on upcoming projects at the office all night. At some point, I fell asleep on the office couch. Sad from every angle.
“I’m not going to make you late, but your dad and I haven’t heard anything about you signing up for classes,” she said in that stern voice, which every kid knew meant her patience was about gone. As frustrated as she was with me, I was just as frustrated with them. I internally counted to ten and tried to hide my annoyance.
“Come on, Ma, I’m gonna be late for work this morning.” I know my whining sounded like a kid, but I didn’t care. I needed to get my shit to work. Gabe might be the world’s best boss, but that didn’t mean he wanted me walking in the door two minutes before his meeting started.
“You’re not gonna be late. This is only going to take a minute. Have you looked at that program that I sent you?”
“I don’t wanna go to nursing school. I don’t wanna be a doctor. I don’t wanna be a physical therapist. I don’t wanna do anything at the hospital.”
“You don’t have to do something at the hospital. You could be a lawyer. Or an accountant.”
“That’s worse than working at the hospital.”
“What are you doing now? I understand you like Gabe, but is that a job that’ll sustain you? Where do you go from there?” Ma paused before bringing out the big guns I knew were coming. “How will I know you’ll be okay when we’re gone?” It was the opening I needed to get out of there.
“Where I go is to my job where I get paid to be.” I shoved back from the table and left the room before saying something I would regret.
* * *
“Owen, thank you so much for coming today. I’m glad we can iron out these details.”
“Me too. The more I work on this lodge, the more excited I am about it. I can’t wait to get it open, and fingers crossed, we may be able to make it happen for the upcoming season. I don’t want to speak for Barrett, but I’m going to. It’s a little out of his comfort zone regarding the space type, so he wants to ensure everything is perfectly set up.”
“Yeah, I reviewed the inspection, and everything is fine for the renovations you’ve set up. We should be good with the renovation plans. I noted a couple of minor tweaks in the schematics. None of them should affect the aesthetics of your design. We’ve already got the preliminary permit approval from the county, but your contractor will submit the next round of paperwork. Once we get those approved, your contractor can bring in their subs.” The file I’d presented to Owen was color-coded and perfectly laid out. Honestly, it was a thing of beauty.
“Gabe has told us over and over again how amazing you are at setting things up, and I didn’t believe anybody was as efficient as he said you were, but you have converted me. I thought I could run a spreadsheet, but I bow to your greatness.”
“Ha! I love them, and I’m happy to take all compliments sent my way.”
Owen’s phone buzzed before we could finalize our last few points, and he excused himself to step into the hallway.
“Sorry about that,” he said when he stepped back into the room. “I gave my final notice to my landlord. I told him I’d ask around if anybody was looking for a new place, but no luck. You don’t happen to know anyone who wants to rent the best little bungalow in the city, do you? It’s super cute, and the landlord is fantastic.”
“Landlord? I thought you and Barrett lived together?” I thought back to previous conversations we’d had. “Isn’t there a cat?”
“There’s two. Elizabeth and Hexe are the cats. We live together, but I wasn’t ready to give up my security blanket. I haven’t slept there in months.” A small smile played across Owen’s face as he spoke about Barrett. Just as saying his name sent him melting. “So yeah, it’s time to move on and officially move in with Barrett. The place is empty except for the furniture. I don’t know what to do with it because we don’t need it at Barrett’s place.”
“You’ve been together for years, right?”
“We’ve been best friends for years, but only officially together together since last fall,” Owen answered absentmindedly while he flipped through Gabe’s schemas. Barrett was always particular about Owen signing off on the designs before he moved forward to approve a reno plan. I wasn’t sure if it was the most practical, but it worked for them.
My parents were adamant that they didn’t want us to move out of the house at some arbitrary age. The twins had stayed put to pay for school. I’d stayed because it was easy. But as much as I loved my family, and I did even though they drove me nutty, the idea percolated in my brain that I could move out and gain some independence.
I wouldn’t have to deal with Copy and Paste’s judgment, and there would be fewer early morning career counseling sessions with Ma. Living independently would be precisely what reminded them I was a fully formed, functioning adult. Their opinion might change if they knew about me being a middle, but what they didn’t know needed to stay that way. It’s not like it affected me as a grown-ass adult.
“Funny story, I was looking for a new place. Depending on what the rent is, I might be interested. Could I go see it?”
“Yes! Do you want to go right now?” Owen paused to check his phone. “What time do you get off work? If you’re interested, you could see it today.” Owen’s enthusiasm was infectious.
“Gabe won’t care if I knock off early since it’s for a good cause.”
He wasn’t even here to care about it. He and Rory were meeting with the landscape architect to revitalize their backyard. They wanted a backyard wedding, but after a few years of neglect, it looked bedraggled.
“That’s awesome. Want to go now?”
“Don’t you want to finish looking at these?”
Owen’s long-suffering sigh made me laugh. He sounded disgusted, but his twinkly eyes said otherwise. I liked him. I understood why Barrett was borderline obsessed with him. He was one of those genuinely nice people who were overlooked because they weren’t loud or flashy. That was rarely a factor for me in my light-pink suit and floral shirt. Meh, I liked what I liked.
“Fine, let’s finish, and then we can go.”
* * *
“You weren’t lying. This place is amazing.”
“You should’ve seen it before. It was plastic paneling and green shag carpet.” Owen’s revulsion was too cute.
The backyard bungalow had a cute porch big enough for a chair and maybe a table for my coffee. Inside was a one-bedroom, one bath, plus the living area. There was some separation between the living room area and the eat-in kitchen. Owen’s furniture was still in there and fit the space perfectly. Since he’d said he was getting rid of it, maybe he’d let me buy it off him? It was set up like you’d expect someone who designed pretty things for a living. I peeked into the bedroom and found an old-fashioned iron bed with dark-teal walls.
“And you’re just getting rid of all this?”
“Yeah, when I designed Barrett’s house, I put together everything for how I’d want to live there with him. So everything that I’d need in his house is already there. I hoped a donation place could pick it up and solve the problem of what to do with it.”
“How much did you say the rent was?” I did my best to keep my enthusiasm tamped down. It wouldn’t matter how cute this place was, how perfect it was, or how great the location was if I couldn’t afford the rent. Prices in the city were outrageously expensive and seemed to go up exponentially every year.
“Levi said that since you’re my friend, you would get the friends and family discount.”
“Levi?”
“Yeah, the landlord. He doesn’t need the rent. At least, I don’t think he does. He works late hours and goes out of town to visit his mom fairly often. He likes to have someone around,” Owen said with a shrug.
When Owen found the message confirming the rent, I was floored. There was nowhere in the city where I could find a comparable price. I’d be shocked if I found an apartment for that amount, and I’d never find a small house for that much. I was taking it.
“When will Levi be back in town so I can sign the rental agreement?”
“Uhh, I’m not sure. Give me a second, and I’ll text him.” While Owen texted his—hopefully my—landlord, I took another tour around the house. If Owen left the furniture, I could move in tomorrow. The only things I would need to bring were my clothes and maybe some cheap dishes.
“He said if you want to go ahead and move in, you can sign the rental contract when he gets back. As long as I vouch for you, he’s good with it.”
“Are you serious?”
“I know, right? You’d think for a lawyer, he’d be more concerned about contracts.” Owen’s phone pinged again. “Oh shoot, that’s Da wondering where I am.” The texts left Owen with an excited smile and bright eyes lighting up his face.
“Good news?”
“Yes, my friend Jakob finished setting a date for us to plan our Spring Fling party.”
“The Wilde Dandies parties have gotten much better since he took over their planning.” The words tumbled out of my mouth before my brain realized what I’d said.
Owen froze. I froze.
Oh shit.
“ Are you a little ?”
“No,” I sighed. Dammit. I’d worked so hard to make myself scarce when I knew Rory and Gabe were at the club. I knew neither of them would care—they were there too—that I frequented the club, but it seemed like such a boundary. But I liked Owen, and I wouldn’t lie to his face. “ I’m a middle.”
“What? Does Rory know? Does Gabe? I guess Barrett knew, but I promise he never said anything.” Owen paused to consider how often Barrett and I had interacted, and he’d never even given a clue that he knew me from anywhere but Gabe’s office. “I’ve known Barrett a long, long time, and I’ve underestimated his acting skills. I wonder if I should be worried,” Owen said with an exaggerated sigh.
“No, and you know it. Nice to know he takes the club’s confidentiality clause seriously.”
“Oh. My. Gosh. You have to let me add you to the group chat.”
“Uh, wouldn’t that be awkward for Rory? His fiancé is my boss.”
Owen looked crestfallen. He’d been so excited, and I felt like I’d kicked a puppy. Did it make a difference? Gabe wasn’t in the group chat. If I never talked about work, maybe it would be okay? “Why don’t you ask Rory first? You should probably ask everyone in the group chat since they’d be outed to me.”
“Done.” Once again, Owen was back to texting at a breakneck pace. The responses came back quickly. “I’m gonna call it early: welcome to the group chat.”