Page 24 of Sean's Sunshine
“We have news,” Jackson told them, smiling tiredly. “Cotton is home.”
Curtis, Randy, and Vinnie all went “Hooray!” but Billy caught Sean’s eyes.
Sean appeared tired—but then, itwashis nap time—and his smile was sincere but also a little sad.
“What’s wrong?” Billy asked. “Why are all the roommates here instead of in the flophouse hugging Cotton?”
“Lance is with Cotton,” Henry said, surprising him. “Cotton’s fine, but, well, as some of you may have guessed”—he gave Randy a dry look—“he and Colonel Constant got pretty attached over the last few weeks. The colonel had to go straight back to work, and even though Cotton knew it was coming and is going to get through this—”
“He’s a puddle on the floor, isn’t he,” Billy said grimly. “That asshole. I knew it—yeah. He seemed all helpless and shit when he was wounded and sick, but give him four weeks with our boy and—”
“And he’s just as heartbroken,” Jackson said dryly. “This wasn’t a case of anybody doing anybody wrong, Billy. This was a case of two guys whose timing and plans weren’t in the right place.” He gave Henry a shuttered look. “I… I suspect Jason Constance isn’t the kind of guy to let that get in his way for long. He told Cotton to look for signs. I think you all should help him do that. He didn’t strike me as a man who would take what Cotton has to offer for granted.”
Randy gave a very adult grimace. “That’s nice of you to say, Jackson, but we all know what we are. We’re dick on a skewer. Easy to come by, easy to ditch.”
Jackson and Henry’s eyes both went wide, but it was Sean who spoke up—as much as he could. “That’s bullshit,” he wheezed, a sure sign that he’d spoken before he could take a deep breath. “You guys, all of you, have way more to offer than what you show on the screen for Johnnies.” His eyes searched out Billy’s over the crowd, and he said, almost as though they were alone in the room, “I’ve seen your porn. It’s very sexy. I can admit it. But I’ve spent at least a day with all of you in the last month, and even I can see that there’s more to you guys than what you can put out on screen.”
“Aww…,” Vinnie said. “He likes us!” Vinnie was slender and quick, and his muscles were wiry and tough under skin that was a warm sepia brown. Vinnie tended to be sincere and kind, but not damaged like Cotton. Just a sweet kid who liked sex and, well, had a disproportionately large cock and wasn’t doing much else with his life at the moment. He was sort of Billy’s acid test of “it takes all kinds.”
“I do,” Sean wheezed. He was probably going to say more, but judging by the way his chest was rising and falling, he’d been sitting on the couch too long, and he needed to stretch out and rest.
“Yeah, but more specifically, he’d like you all to excuse him while I take him to his room,” Billy said dryly. “Don’t worry. I’m pretty sure the pizza party will be here until Lance gives us the all-clear, amirite, Henry?”
“Yes, you are,” Henry said. He stood and offered Sean his hand, but Sean shook him off and gave Billy a beseeching look.
He reallymusthave been tired, because usually he avoided this.
Billy came to crouch in front of him, and when Sean had wrapped his arms around his neck, he stood slowly, allowing Sean to help pull himself up. Once he was there, Sean gave a sigh of relief. “Sorry,” he panted. “I was on the couch for too long.”
“I know you were. ’Cause you don’t fuckin’ listen. Now come on. I’m sure Jackson and Henry will tell their story for you when you wake up.”
“They already told their story for me,” Sean said, with a trace of asperity that made Billy proud. “You’ll be getting secondhand story with your pizza, so there.”
“You’ve seen the videos,” Billy said blandly as they made their way down the hall. “I like me some sloppy seconds.”
“Thank you. Now I’ve got that image burned in my brain, you bastard,” Sean muttered. They passed the point in the hall where anybody could see them, and Billy bent fluidly and caught him under the knees, hefting him up for the last few steps into his room.
“Yeah, you say things like that,” Billy panted—his boy had put on his weight again, and he was solidly built—“but I’m pretty sure you just pretend you’ve never seen those pictures.”
Sean was shaking his head even as Billy deposited him on top of his comforter.
“No, you’ve never seen those pictures?” he taunted.
“No, I wouldn’t pretend not to see them,” Sean returned, but he was sober. “I told you—you made beautiful pictures. I didn’t mind looking.”
Billy growled in exasperation, but before he could come up with a smartass retort, Sean threw him one of those honesty hardballs.
“You seemed really angry for a minute,” he said softly, his words and breath coming better. “What pissed you off?”
Billy shook his head. “Long story—”
“They’re occupied in the living room,” Sean said. “You know nobody’s going back to the apartment until Lance texts Henry and says it’s all okay, right?”
“I figured. Just… just I was supposed to go into the military, right? I was supposed to go. I was the oldest, and the old man was so fuckin’ proud. But in the fifth grade I started passing out, like randomly. A fuckton of tests and a hospital stay later, and it turns out I got a heart murmur. Nothin’ huge. Nothing that should keep me from playing any sports or nothin’. But I’m not joining the military, and like that, my life means less than shit to the old man. I was already worse than a woman to him ’cause I minded the little kids, but suddenly I’m even less than that. And there was worse to come—I knew there was. I tried to get as much college in as I could before I got outed to my parents. I knew what was coming. But I just… I get so mad at that idea. This fuckin’ colonel. His stupid job matters more than breaking Cotton’s heart….” Billy’s voice was cracking, and he had to stop that right now.Rightfucking now. He peered at Sean to see if he’d noticed, but Sean’s eyebrows were knitted over his eyes, and he wasangry.
Furiously angry.
“What’s wrong?” Billy asked, trying to figure out what he could have said. He’d vented plenty in the last month; it was one of the reasons he loved Sean’s company so much. Sometimes Sean would just let that shit roll off his back.