Page 38

Joe

W hen my parents showed up... it was never a good thing. Mom and Dad had made a point of staying away from Teresa’s place. They’d been displeased with her for having a baby outside of marriage and not staying with McKenzie’s father. Fuck that. The dude was a tool. My sister was a badass mom who didn’t need a man to define her. It didn’t help when she’d taken me in after they’d tried to make a statement.

“Your dad?” Aiden pushed back from me, and I instantly missed his warmth. His eyes were wide with panic as he climbed from the bed and searched the room for his clothes. I’d tossed them in my hamper the night before because I’d planned for an easy and chill day. Guess that was out the fucking window.

I crawled out from under the warm blankets and walked over to my dresser, pulling out a change of clothes for myself and for Aiden. I handed him a pair of sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt. His eyes welled up a little as he held the clothes to his chest, but then he moved to put them on. Shit, watching him wear my things made something funny settle in my chest. There was a rightness to all of it. Aiden Grant was fucking mine. Was meant to be mine .

The problem now was dealing with my fucking parents. It wasn’t something that I’d intended to deal with in front of Aiden, but maybe his being here would help things. He made me stronger. Braver. With him by my side, I could face anything.

“I don’t know what he wants.” I knew what he wanted. “He doesn’t normally show up out of the blue.” At least that much was true.

Was it a little fucked up that I was grabbing my boyfriend’s hand and climbing the stairs to deal with a conflict with my parents while I could still taste him? Maybe just a little. But it also made me feel like I was in control of things. That I ran my life. As much as Mom and Dad had tried to give me ultimatums and make me do what they’d wanted me to do over the years, I’d found my ways to rebel.

McKenzie was sitting at the kitchen table with a bowl of Froot Loops. She took large bites with milk sloshing across her chin and pajamas. Dad had a look of distaste on his face, but my niece didn’t seem to have a care in the world. I loved that even though my sister and I had our drama with our parents, most of it didn’t seem to affect such a small child. Sure, she didn’t have the relationship most kids did with their grandparents, and probably never would, but Mom and Dad had never been cruel to her.

Dad was always an imposing figure and today was no different. I took after him with his dark hair and blue eyes. He was attractive and always dressed professionally. He was one reason I’d pursued business as a degree, but the idea of working in an office for the rest of my life bored me to death. Today’s attire consisted of pressed khakis and a button-down shirt with a tie. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t heading into work.

“Joseph...” Dad started, but then stopped when he saw I wasn’t alone. “And who is this?”

Aiden ducked back behind me, but gripped my hand a little tighter.

“Morning, Dad.” I wasn’t in the mood to answer his questions or deal with his bullshit until I had a cup of coffee. I led Aiden around the kitchen, pulling two mugs from the cabinet and setting them in front of the pot that Teresa had brewing every morning. The bitter brown liquid sloshed into the mugs as I poured, but didn’t hit the counter. It wasn’t easy with only one hand, but I wasn’t about to let Aiden go, either. I could feel the nerves rolling off him in waves as he kept looking back at my dad, who was watching us like a hawk.

I handed Aiden one cup, and he finally released his hold on me. We sat at the table, and my father raised a dark eyebrow at us. I refused to acknowledge him further.

When half of my cup was gone, Dad had enough. “Joseph, you can’t just keep ignoring me. You know why I’m here, don’t you?”

I cleared my throat, looking at Aiden and then back to my father.

“I have a feeling it’s about our last phone call. ”

Dad nodded. “So, have you considered it? Found something else?”

Shit, this was ridiculous, and I hated how McKenzie was sitting at the table to witness any of it. “I have a job.”

Teresa walked back into the kitchen and propped her hip against the counter. “You do?” she asked. “I’ve been wondering where this income has been coming from.”

One more look at McKenzie showed she was still cluelessly shoveling away at her breakfast. It still didn’t sit right to talk about it in front of her. The girl was innocent. Teresa had a right to make sure I was serious about anyone I brought around, so it didn’t confuse her.

Like any kid who was oblivious to what was actually going on, she started to ramble. “Aiden takes pictures and gives them to mommy. He stays with Uncle Joe a lot. I think he’s his boyfriend, but he hasn’t said anything. Mom said I’m not supposed to assume anything. I’ve gotten into trouble for that once. Uncle Joe had another friend who stayed with us for a bit, but he wasn’t his boyfriend—just a regular friend. He still stayed in his room, though.”

Aiden’s face turned red as McKenzie kept talking. It didn’t get any better because she never specified what type of pictures he was giving to her mother and it started to come across like I was sharing a weird relationship with my sister .

“Okay, sweet bug, let’s get you into the living room to watch some TV and let the grown-ups talk,” Teresa said, ushering her daughter from the table. At least the awkward ramble saved me from having to shoo her from the room myself.

I waited until Teresa was back, because she deserved to know what was going down in her house.

“Joseph, that’s quite enough stalling. I need an answer. Do you have a job or not?” Dad asked.

I nodded. “I do, and McKenzie was correct. Aiden is my boyfriend. Anything I’m about to say isn’t because I don’t want to leave him. Fuck, I can’t imagine having to move clear across the damn world at this point.”

Aiden’s eyes widened at the statement. It was probably a huge fuckup to keep that from him, but I was fixing it. Dad wasn’t about to ship me off to London. I wasn’t having it. There wasn’t a world, solar system, or universe where I didn’t end up with Aiden.

“Joseph, you better have a really good game plan. I have people who are waiting to hear from me and if you fuck them over, so help me, God.”

I held up my hand to stop my dad before he could rant. “I’m making money. Good money. It’s not what you wanted, but damn. For the first time in my life, I feel like I’m in control. I know you and Mom won’t approve, but I don’t really care. If that makes me a bad son, then fuck it.” I pushed back from the table. Part of me wanted to stand and pace the room. Make a huge fucking production of this, but it wasn’t worth it. “I’ve been making videos.”

“Videos?” Both Dad and Teresa sounded off at the same time.

“Videos. On the internet. Turns out that when you look good, people want to see you. Is it shallow, maybe? But damn, the money is good.”

Teresa stared at me for a moment. “Is that what you’ve been doing in my basement this entire time?”

I shrugged and then gave her a sheepish smile. “The point is I’ve been doing great. I have money in savings. For the first time, I don’t feel like I’m drowning with no direction.”

That wasn’t the answer. I knew that. Dad crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. Those ice-blue eyes I’d inherited stared down into my soul.

“Joseph. Are you really telling me you’ve been making pornography and think that this is a sustainable income? That it’s something that will make life easy for you? Sex work is filthy, son. People will look down on you anywhere you go, and the fact it’s already out there? You’ve already damaged your reputation.”

It didn’t surprise me in the slightest that he was talking down to me. I’d expected it.

“It’s not dirty. Shit, Dad. It’s honest money, and I work hard for it. I spend time putting thought into what I produce and putting out a quality product. It’s not like I can just throw a quick video together and toss it online and expect something to come of it. It doesn’t work that way.”

Dad pinched his brow as I kept talking. It wasn’t a deterrent. I was done. There was no more making me feel small or minuscule. If anything, I was actually using my degree. There was a business here. I had to manage myself, my money, and my product.

“You’ve made a huge mistake, Joseph. What am I supposed to do? The people I have waiting to hear about if you’ll take the job or not, they won’t accept this.”

I laughed. “I don’t want it. Dad, don’t you get it? I love what I do. I’m proud of what I accomplished. There’s someone in my life who accepts me the way I am and there’s nothing you can say or do to change that. So tell your buddies overseas that they can take their position and shove it.”

Dad looked between me and Aiden. “So this is serious, not another fling?”

“Fuck, Dad. Didn’t I just say that?” Most kids probably didn’t talk to their parents that way, but I was losing my shit.