Page 36 of Not That Guy

Brenner

Once his father began raving at Weston, I’d texted Christine, who’d started messaging me that morning as soon as she’d heard where we were going.

I’d ducked her calls all week, unwilling to get into a discussion on the phone of my relationship with Weston.

Even so, she was right there when I needed her, and I was never more grateful to have people like her in my corner.

I knew the worst thing would be for Weston to be alone afterward, where he’d work himself up to a fever pitch of anger.

Several reporters waited outside Weston’s building, shouting questions as we passed, but Weston ignored them.

We walked into Weston’s apartment, and Madden took my arm.

“Hold up a second. I need to talk to you.”

“About?”

We paused in the entranceway while the rest of the group headed toward the living room. “It’ll only be a minute. For now.”

“What is it?” I asked once we were alone.

“I did some more digging into your mother.” I winced, and he shook his head.

“Don’t make any judgments until I finish.

My people made inquiries into her death, and it seems the investigation was swept under the rug.

The detectives took at face value what the arresting officer said—a drug deal gone wrong—and closed the case.

They knew she had no family, no one who cared, so they didn’t even bother to do much of an investigation. Sloppy, shitty work.”

“And? Why do you sound like you think it’s something else?”

“The tox screens were clean. Your mother wasn’t doing drugs. And she wasn’t a prostitute. She worked at a big-box store in Brooklyn, right off the BQE, near where her body was found.”

Stunned didn’t begin to describe my state of mind. “Wh-what? What’re you saying?”

“The cop who found her body was later convicted—he took drug money and let the gangs rule the streets. There’s a possibility, because of her background, the cops used her as a confidential informant.

Maybe she was going to report on someone.

” He paused. “I think your mother was murdered by that dirty cop. The gangs are brutal, and that cop was afraid of being exposed.”

My head spun. “I-I don’t know what to say.”

“Nothing yet.” Madden was grim-faced. “I’ll have my people dig further.

Listen. I know what it’s like to grow up without a mother.

But yours was young and didn’t have people she could count on.

Yes, she screwed up big-time, but afterward she tried her best to turn her life around.

There’s nothing you can do to help her now, except think more kindly of her. ”

Weston appeared in the hallway entrance. “Hey. Everything all right?”

“We’re coming,” Madden said, and as he passed by me, he squeezed my arm. “I’ll be in touch.”

I joined Weston, who put a hand on my shoulder. “Something’s going on. What is it?”

“Nope. This time is for you. We’ll talk later.”

Archer and Madden sat on one end of the couch, in conversation with Christine. They all quieted down when Weston and I approached.

“Thank you, everyone, for being here.” Weston might not be a politician himself, but he’d grown up in that world. “Obviously, you’ve heard the news, so there’s no need to get into it.”

“On the contrary, Weston,” Christine called out. “I thought you two were only friends. That’s what you told us.”

Weston grinned. “I lied. Sue me.”

Archer snickered. “He’s got you there. And for the record, we knew.”

My brow furrowed. “How? You don’t believe two men can be friends without anything sexual going on between them?”

“Of course they can. But friends don’t kiss each other like you did that night we met for dinner. You thought we couldn’t see you after our car picked us up, but they don’t call me Eagle-Eyes Archer for nothing.”

“Who calls you that?” Madden joked and whispered loudly, “I have other names for you.”

“Darling, not in mixed company,” Christine teased, then grew serious. “I’m thrilled for Brenner to have met someone, but all this politics and ugliness makes me angry and upset. Family should never come in second.”

More somber than I’d ever seen him, Weston met my eyes for a moment, and my heart lurched at the devastation he tried so hard to hide from everyone.

But I saw it. We hadn’t been lovers that long, but he’d weaved his way into my life so seamlessly, now I couldn’t imagine being without him.

I wished I could take away all the pain of his father’s cruel words.

I wanted to protect him. If we were alone, I’d hold him and tell him I’d never hurt him. That I loved him.

“I agree, but my father—” His voice caught, and he took a sip of water.

“My father does not.” A slight smile softened the taut lines of his face.

“Do you know Emily is four years old, and today was the first time I’ve seen her in person?

We were having fun, playing with her dolls when he came in, and as soon as he saw me, he flipped out.

” He huffed a sigh. “The biggest shock is that Paige went behind his back to arrange it. I wonder why.”

“Maybe she’s finally seen how wrong your father’s been,” I murmured. “I wonder if their marriage is as perfect as they’d like everyone to believe.”

“Why would you say that?” Weston asked.

“Because of how he spoke to her. Telling her he’d deal with her later when she told him she was the one who invited you, sounded ominous.”

“If I ever said that to Christine, she’d have my balls,” Tony remarked.

She pressed a kiss to his lips. “So right, my love. But let’s discuss what’s happened today.” She directed her question to me. “How are you feeling, now that everyone knows about your relationship?”

West sat, eyes fixed on mine, waiting for my answer.

“I’m fine with it. It was never a matter of hiding what we were doing because we thought it was wrong. It just sort of happened between us, and we wanted the alone time to be able to figure things out.”

West laced his fingers with mine. “If anyone thinks I’m going to pull away now, you’re wrong. What happened between Brenner and me has been brewing for over a year. Maybe even longer. There’s a lot we need to talk about, but we have time.”

We shared a knowing look. Weston’s phone buzzed, and I swore everyone in the room tensed, but he shrugged. “It’s Grady. Excuse me a minute. I should take this.” He left the room.

“You’re in love with him, aren’t you?” Christine posed the question to me.

“What?” I laughed her off. “Don’t be ridiculous. We’ve barely been together.”

“You know that’s bullshit. I fell for Tony the first night I met him, and I knew he was going to be mine forever.” She pointed to Madden and Archer. “These two were instantaneous as well.”

Madden’s cheeks grew red. “Our situation was a little different.”

She gave an unladylike snort. “Do tell, darling. That’s why you couldn’t keep away from him at your niece’s sweet sixteen and my fund raiser.”

Archer patted Madden’s cheek. “She’s got eyes everywhere. Don’t you know by now? But Christine is right. We had a spark I’d never felt with anyone else, and it made just one night with him impossible.”

Since there wasn’t a chance in hell I’d discuss my feelings with them before Weston, I kept my mouth shut and changed the subject.

“I wonder how this will all play out in the senator’s presidential campaign. He is the leading candidate so far in the primaries.”

“I don’t see why it should make any difference what a president’s child’s sexuality is.”

Weston returned and sat next to me with a sigh.

“It does if your party’s platform is against it and you’ve spent your career talking shit about it.

I’d rather not dwell on this anymore. My main and only concern was Emily, and that hasn’t changed.

I need to find a way to connect with Paige to see if she’ll allow me to continue to have contact with my sister. ”

“I’m sure we can find her cell phone number. Nothing is truly private on the Internet.” I squeezed his hand. “Meanwhile, I think we should have some lunch and ignore the hate.”

“I agree,” Christine declared. “But this is where we leave you. Weston deserves peace and quiet with you. The fund raiser is only a few weeks away, and I have tons to do.”

She kissed Weston and then me. “Talk to you later.”

Madden gripped my hand. “We’ll be in touch. I hope to have more information for you soon.”

“Thank you. It’s a lot to take in.”

Weston waited until I closed the door. “Are you going to tell me now what the hell you two were talking about?”

“My mother.” It still seemed surreal to be discussing her and what Madden had told me. “When it was obvious the press was going to dig and find out about us, and use my past against you, I asked Madden to help find out information. I figured he’s got the resources.”

“Come into the kitchen. I need a drink. And it looks like you might too.” Weston handed me a beer, and we sat at the island.

With his usual intensity, Weston listened to my story. My throat was dry and scratchy by the time I finished, and I took a long drink. “So now I’ll wait to see what else Madden’s people can dig up.”

“It’s terrible what happened to her, and to you as a result of her actions, but can you forgive her now?”

“It took me a while, if I’m being totally honest. When I was a kid, no.

I was very unforgiving, very hurt, and I blamed her for all my problems. Now I can see how addiction is an illness and without a support system—pregnant and all alone at sixteen— what chance did she have?

If I hadn’t lucked out in the foster-parent lottery and ended up with Bill and Pearl, who knows where I might be now?

Being a mother is a hard enough job when you’ve got it all.

When you’ve got nothing?” I shrugged. “So yeah, I forgive her. But not the system that turned its back on her.”

West’s chair scraped the floor, and a moment later he was holding me. “Yes. And fathers need to take responsibility too. Sometimes they fuck up because they don’t know any better. And sometimes they just don’t care.”

I rested my head on his shoulder. “Both of us got the short end of the stick in the parental department.” My phone rang, and seeing Bill’s name pop up, my heart sank. “Shit. It’s my father. I-I never told him about us.”

“Do you want me to leave?” West asked.

“It’s your apartment.” I hit the screen. “Hey, Bill. Sorry I didn’t call you.”

“Yeah? I gotta say I’m a little PO’d with ya.”

I hunched my shoulders.” I know. And you have a right to be. There’s just been a lot going on.”

“So. Talk to me now. Tell me about this guy.” I heard the swishing of the ice in his cup and the television on in the background. “Is this something new? I’ve only heard about you dating women.”

Weston had left me alone, and I heard him in the bedroom, opening and closing drawers. He reappeared in the living room in a T-shirt and sweats and lay on the couch to watch television.

“Yeah. It’s…uh…new. I’ve never dated a man before or even thought about it.

But Weston and I have known each other a long time.

Superficially. It’s only recently we’ve gotten…

close.” God, this was embarrassing. Talking about my personal life wasn’t high on my list of things I liked to do with anyone, and with my father? Yeah…not a fan.

“And his father is running for president?” Bill whistled. “That’s a whole other kinda stress. You ready for this?”

In the living room, Weston pumped his fist. “Yeah. Go Mets!” Maybe he felt my stare, because he looked my way, and brightness beamed from his face. Foolish me, thinking I had a choice in the matter. My heart turned over.

“Yeah, I am. I’m in it for the long haul.”

“If you’re happy, kiddo, that’s all I care about.”

“I think I finally am.”

We ended the call, and I left my phone on the island and joined Weston on the couch. He put his legs in my lap, and amused, I pretend-glared. “Am I an ottoman now?”

He rolled up to sitting and grasped me at the nape. “You are so much more. My safety net. The one I know will be there for me, like I’m there for you. I don’t care anymore either how or why this happened. It did, and I hope you know I’m all in with you.”

I ran my nose down his cheek. “I liked being all in you.”

“Oh God, that was so bad.” Groaning, he fell back, taking me with him so I lay prone. Weston took my face between his hands. “You are everything. I don’t think I could’ve made it through today without you there. I wouldn’t have been able to face him.”

Knowing Weston, that admission and his vulnerability only made me love him more.

“You’re strong. You can do whatever you want.” I kissed him.

“I want to do you. How about that?”

I laced our fingers together. “Stop talking and start doing.”

**

We spent the rest of the weekend lazing in Weston’s apartment, making love and watching television.

We shut out the rest of the world, ordering in breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and turned off our phones, concentrating only on our desire for each other.

Sunday night came way too soon, but we remained in our cocoon, greedy bastards for each other.

When Weston reached for me again, sometime in the predawn hours of Monday, I mumbled, “I surrender. I’m done. Just a couple more hours of sleep.”

“Bren?”

“ Hmm? ” I murmured, my eyes closed, ready to drift off.

“Is it too early to say I love you?”

My lids flew open, and all thoughts of sleep fled. “What?” I whispered as he lay on his side, facing me with eyes soft as twilight. Silence weighed heavily between us.

“You know I always have to be first.” He kissed me. “So? Is it?”

I nudged his cheek. “Not for me it isn’t. And since you didn’t exactly say it to me but asked the question, I love you.” I kissed the tip of his nose. “Now I said it first.”

“I’ve got you, so this time I don’t care if I come in second.” Weston claimed my mouth in a breath-stealing kiss. “I’m not that kind of guy to argue a point, especially when I’m on the winning side.”

“I think for the first time, we both came out on top.”