Page 85 of The Holy Grail

Whiskey dick

All thoughts of chocolate dessert vanished the second Jules walked into the kitchen, and saw Malcom seated at the island with a glass of scotch in front of him and a bag of frozen peas pressed to the left side of his face.

“Oh, my God,” she said, immediately going to him and pulling the peas away. Seeing the swelling around his eye and on his cheekbone, as well as the beginnings of a large bruise, she asked, “What happened?”

With a sigh, he answered, “Evan hit me.”

Her eyes widened in shock. “He hit you?”

“Yes. After I hit him.”

“You hit him first ?”

“Yes.”

Jules took note of the fact that Evan appeared to be absent. “Where is Evan?”

“I’m guessing he went to his apartment, but I’m not sure. He didn’t say where he was going when he left me on my ass in the parking lot at La Dolce Vita.”

Struggling with what seemed like a preposterous set of events, Jules sat down heavily on the stool next to Malcom. “You probably need to start at the beginning.”

In between sips of scotch, he did as requested, starting with getting her text about not joining him and Evan for dinner and ending with him going down like Joe Frazier in the parking lot .

When he was done, she sat there for a few moments before speaking. “You should have told your father to go fuck himself, right there,” she said, the words gentle, yet firm.

Ultimately, he knew she was right, but being told that again, put him on the defensive.

“You know, it’s so easy for both you and Evan to tell me what I should have done, but you’ve never been in that situation, and I was just …

stunned … all right? I mean, haven’t you ever been stunned into silence? ”

“Yes, I have,” she replied, then said, “But I’m surprised you were, because you said weeks ago how worried you were about his response, and you didn’t know if he’d be able to process, or understand, his son being bisexual.

You told Evan and me your father would probably see you as a deviant, like Evan’s father saw him, and your father would probably sever what little relationship he had with you.

” She paused for a moment before adding in a softer tone, “You also said you were ‘completely sure’ about going forward as a triad, despite the risks of fallout with him.”

“I know, but being worried about what might happen, and having it play out in a restaurant in real life, are two totally different things,” Malcom pointed out.

“He was so goddamn cold and unemotional, he was like a cyborg without any feelings. And despite thinking I was , I obviously wasn’t prepared to be told in no uncertain terms that my being in his life was dependent on being heterosexual.

I’m still in shock, to be honest, even though I know I shouldn’t be. ”

She placed her hands on his knees in a comforting gesture. “Mal, I understand how awful that was for you, and I think your father is an unbelievably atrocious person for having put you through it. He truly is an abomination. God, I wish I’d been there—”

“Jesus, I’m glad you weren’t.”

He was so vehement, it brought a frown to her face. “Why?”

“Because it was bad enough having Evan see how weak I was. I didn’t need you seeing that, too.” He gave her a lopsided smile, one full of self-deprecation. “And I didn’t need you standing up and telling my father to fuck off, when I couldn’t.”

He looked so ashamed, that it broke her heart. “Mal—”

“It’s true. I was a coward.”

She moved her hands up to his face, being careful of his bruised cheek. “We’re going to get to the other side of this—all three of us, together.”

“How can you be so sure? Evan is really upset with me. ”

“I’m sure he is, but we will get to the other side, because I won’t stop until we do. Your asshole father is going to be the loser in this, not us—and you can take that to the motherfucking bank.”

It was decided that Jules would go to Evan’s place and check on him, once it became clear he wasn’t going to answer their phone calls, which worried them both.

After determining he wasn’t home, she managed to gain access to his apartment with the help of his elderly landlady, who was entirely too trusting for her own good.

Once inside, Jules ignored all the disarray and boxes everywhere, and made herself comfortable on his couch, then proceeded to call and text Evan repeatedly.

JULES: How are you? JULES: I’m worried about you. JULES: I talked to Mal, so I know what happened. JULES: I need to know you’re okay. And if you don’t tell me, I will be legitimately pissed at you, and you don’t want that.

Finally, she got a response.

EVAN: I’m wonderful. EVAN: No need to worry.

I’m a big boy. JULES: Where are you? JULES: Because you’re not in your apartment.

EVAN: How do you know that? JULES: Because I’m currently in your apartment and you’re not here.

EVAN: How did you get in? JULES: Your landlady let me in after I told her I was your sister.

EVAN: Jesus Christ, she’s met my sister.

JULES: Well, she either doesn’t remember what your sister looks like, or she thinks you have two sisters, because she let me into your apartment.

JULES: Please don’t tell me you’re in a bar.

This time, the response took longer to come.

EVAN: Fine, I won’t tell you that. JULES: So, you are in a bar.

JULES: Which one? EVAN: That’s for me to know, and you NOT to know.

JULES: Wrong answer. JULES: Not to mention beyond childish.

JULES: So, here’s what’s going to happen.

You’re going to get your ass into an Uber and come back to your apartment.

If you don’t, I will start calling every bar in a ten mile radius, give them your description, and ask if you’re there.

JULES: When I find you, I’ll come to that bar and drag you out of there like the child you’re being.

EVAN: You can be really fucking annoying, you know that?

JULES: I’m aware. And don’t you dare count that as a red flag.

JULES: So, what’s it going to be? Are you coming home, or do I have to start googling local bars? EVAN: Fine. EVAN: I’ll be home soon.

Jules then texted Malcom.

JULES: I finally made contact with Evan. JULES: He’s in a bar. MALCOM: Is he okay? JULES: Aside from probably drinking too much, I assume he’s okay, but I’ll keep you posted. JULES: He’s on his way here now .

When he arrived home fifteen minutes later, she heard him coming up the stairs like they were giving him trouble, and met him at the door. After letting him in, she took in his split lip and bruising chin, before pulling him in for a full body hug. “I’ve been worried about you.”

“I’m sorry, Squirt,” he apologized, swaying against her.

“Mal’s been worried about you, too.”

Evan didn’t respond to that, and as she continued to just hold him, she became aware of an unknown smell lingering on him. “Why do you smell like cheap cologne?” she asked, putting a little distance between them.

His expression became pained. “It’s not what you’re thinking.”

“I’m trying to not think anything,” she told him evenly. “But you’ve been out for three hours, getting drunk in a bar, and you smell like a man who isn’t Mal. So, an explanation is definitely necessary.”

He was silent for a few seconds. “Okay, well there was a man at the bar—” he broke off at her raised eyebrows. “John or Sean, I’m not sure, and he—”

“Sprayed you with his cheap cologne?”

“No, he—”

“Rubbed himself all over you?”

“Jesus, let me finish,” he said, his words a little thick. “He was sitting next to me at the bar and started talking to me. It was loud, so he moved in closer so we could hear each other—”

“He must have moved in real close.”

“—and after a while he wanted to buy me a drink. I was feeling shitty enough to let him, because it was nice to have an attractive man—despite his bad choice of cologne—appreciate me and not be afraid to touch me in public, or give a shit what other people think.”

“Oh, Evan,” she murmured.

“I know it was wrong, but goddammit, I was still feeling so humiliated by the way Mal treated me tonight. I’ve never felt so insignificant in my life.”

Clearing her throat, she said, “So, you spent a few hours with John or Sean hanging on you?”

“I’m not proud of it, but yes. It took my mind off Mal for a little while.

” Evan tilted his head back and closed his eyes briefly before opening them again.

“But nothing else happened. He wanted to fuck, but I said no, and when he offered to just blow me, instead, I said no again. Not that I could have done anything even if I’d wanted to—and I didn’t—because I’d drank more than enough to give myself a serious case of whiskey dick. ”

“Whiskey dick?”

He grabbed her hand and brought it to his cock, which normally would have started coming to life at her touch—pants or no pants—but remained soft.

“That’s whiskey dick,” he said.

Releasing him, she nodded with understanding.

“I didn’t go to that bar to pick anyone up or get laid,” he insisted softly. “I swear it.”

“I believe you,” she said, then gave him a gentle kiss, mindful of his lip, which looked very painful; hopefully he’d cleaned it before it began scabbing over. “Now, why don’t you go take a shower and wash the smell of John or Sean off you?”

With a nod, he headed down the hall to his bathroom. After he disappeared inside, she took her phone and texted Malcom an update.

JULES: He’s home. JULES: We talked for a bit. JULES: I’m going to stay with him tonight. MALCOM: Okay. MALCOM: Is he all right? JULES: Yes and no, but we’ll talk about it in the morning when we get to your house.

Because Evan took relatively short showers, Jules was a little surprised when the water was still running after almost fifteen minutes.

Starting to get a little concerned, she went to the bathroom door and opened it.

As she was peeking around to make sure he was still upright in the shower, the water was abruptly shut off, and Evan pushed the shower curtain aside with a loud jangling of metal hooks on the rod, and caught her looking.

While he did seem a little surprised to see her, he didn’t appear to be thinking she was invading his privacy, but she felt the need to apologize anyway. “Sorry. I was just checking on you. You normally take like a five minute shower, so …”

“I wanted to make sure I got every bit of John or Sean’s cologne off me.”

After a very minimal wipe-down, Evan hung up the towel, then went naked to the sink to brush his teeth, making a face when he got toothpaste in the cut on his lip.

He then opened the medicine cabinet, and after rooting around, grabbed some Motrin, swallowing several without water.

When he was done, he put his hands on the counter and just stared at his reflection in the mirror, looking tormented.

She stepped forward and hugged him from behind.

As his eyes met hers in the mirror, she gave him a gentle smile and said, “I know tonight was all sorts of fucked up, but I’m going to tell you what I told Mal.

We’re going to get to the other side of this, all three of us, together …

with his asshole father in the rearview mirror. ”

“How can you be so sure? Mal was really fucking spooked tonight—”

“I know he was, and that’s unfortunate, but we are going to get through this, because I don’t like any of the other options.”

He looked down at his hands, as if not wanting her to see that he didn’t fully believe her.

“I know we’re supposed to be moving in together in a few weeks, but what if this shit with his dad isn’t resolved—and by resolved, I mean Mal telling his dad to fuck off?

” He took a deep breath and released it in a rush.

“What if Mal really isn’t able to do it?

I mean, I never had to cut off a parent, so I don’t know how hard it is, but what if it’s too hard for him?

When he talked about his dad probably severing ties, it was still hypothetical, right?

Well, that changed tonight and the reality is much uglier than Mal thought it would be, so if he isn’t able to go through with it, then I’ll have to reconsider moving in with you two … which means I’m fucked.”

“You’re not going to be fucked, because if you are, then I am, too.”

“You?”

“Of course. If he isn’t able to choose you, then I can’t choose him.”

“You’d … walk away?” His eyes were wide in surprise.

“It’s one of those options I don’t like. So, we’re going to do whatever it takes to make sure it doesn’t become an option we have to choose. We’ll go to the fucking mattresses if we have to, won’t we?”

Evan nodded, somewhat slowly, but seemingly with a modicum of conviction.

Seeing how exhausted he was, she led him to his bedroom, where he immediately crawled into bed, still naked. As she was undressing down to her panties, she noticed he had a movie poster of The Godfather hanging on his wall, this one with Marlon Brando holding a cat.

“I can’t believe we all have posters of The Godfather . All different, but still …”

“You have one, too?” Evan asked .

“Mine is the one with Marlon Brando sitting in his office on Connie’s wedding day,” she said as she got under the covers with him and curled up against his back, uncaring that the bathroom light had been left on. “So, you see … we really are all meant to be together.”