Rick tried not to sneer. “My father’s never valued education. He didn’t have any. He was all prepared to send Alice to the junior college and then let her see if she could swing a scholarship or take out loans if she wanted to go on. Alice is really, really smart. No way I was going to let her muck around in some junior college when she needed to be going to Stanford.”
“You put your sister through Stanford? Holy cow, doesn’t that cost $75,000 a year?”
He nodded. “With everything, yes. But she got scholarships that helped a lot. Sadly, my father made too much money for her to get much need-based aid.” He shrugged. “It wasn’t that bad, but when she started, I didn’t make a lot. I guess I got used to living on next to nothing.”
“And the wedding? Your father doesn’t believe in marriage?” Jimothy raised an eyebrow.
“Naw. That was something I wanted to do for Alice.” He smiled. “The groom’s family is paying for a lot of it anyway. They’re really well off.”
“So you’ve done what you wanted to do. Your sister’s educated, married, and happy. What happens next?”
Rick felt the crease pop between his brows and tried to smooth it out. “Not sure. I’m so used to my life, I never really think about much beyond the day-to-day.”
“Do you like working for your father?”
Rick sat back in his chair. “It’s okay. If I’d chosen a profession, I might not have picked construction, but the fact is, I’m good at it, and there’s some comfort in doing something well. My old man doesn’t give up control, but he’s not really up to running the business day-to-day, so if I don’t do it, who will?”
Jimothy leaned an elbow on the table and propped his chin on his hand. “Funny, it’s kind of the same for me. I picked a profession that let me be self-sustaining even if it wasn’t my dream job.” He shrugged. “I guess it grew into my dream job over the years.”
Rick raised his brows. “I never thought of it like that.” He always considered his father someone who’d forced him into a future he didn’t choose or want, but he’d given Rick a way to take care of Alice. That was something.
“How do you feel about being in the closet?”
“I hate it.” The words came out so fast and harsh, he actually gave a small gasp. “Whoa, I didn’t know I felt that strongly.” He chewed his lip as Jimothy stared at him with a little smile. “I guess that’s part of my mixed feelings about my work. I think I’ve always believed if I could have gone to college and my friends and associates were white-collar versus blue-collar, that I might have been able to come out without jeopardizing everything.”
“Lots of blue-collar guys are gay, Rick.”
“None that I know.”
“Wanna bet?” He grinned. “If you come out, someone you know will too. It always happens. Let’s face it. We’re everywhere.” Jimothy sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Plus, maybe your father wouldn’t like it, but what’s he going to do? You’re the boss.”
Holy fuck. He couldn’t take his eyes off that pretty, girly face that hid a nature of solid steel. Then Rick took a breath and shook his head. “No, you don’t know what it’s like.”
“Maybe not.” He raised his brows and smiled, but Rick sure as fuck felt like he’d been tested and found wanting. Jimothy waved a hand. “They have great desserts.”
Rick patted his stomach, half his mind still on the conversation. “I ate more than three guys. Maybe another time. But you go ahead.”
“No. I’ll have some herb tea when I get home.” He reached for his wallet, and Rick put a hand on his arm. “No chance. There’s no way I can pay you enough to thank you for everything you’ve done today. And I invited you.”
Jimothy grinned and nodded.
It took a few more minutes to pay for Jimothy to hug half the staff goodbye and to make the short walk to Jimothy’s car. Finally, enclosed in the luxurious leather interior with the lights of Laguna shining through the windows as they drove, the atmosphere got a little tense. Or maybe it was just Rick. Truthfully, Jimothy looked relaxed, but Rick’s brain whirled on how to end the evening when one member of the duo had sucked the other member of the duo’s cock.
Jimothy was so cool, though, that he just took the decision away from Rick. As he approached his house, he spied Rick’s truck and pulled up beside it. “Thank you for dinner. See you tomorrow.”
“Oh, uh, okay. Great. Thank you, for, uh, everything.”
Jimothy smiled, and Rick exited the passenger seat, crossed behind to the truck, and climbed in. Only when he’d turned on his lights and started his engine did Jimothy continue up the street to his house. Rick made a U-turn and drove down the hill to PCH, but he felt weird, kind of empty.
It took twenty-five minutes to get home since the traffic at Crystal Cove was heavy. By the time he got to his place, feeling generally pissed at the world and everyone in it, he pushed open the door, took one step inside, ran straight into the quarter-ton tower of IKEA boxes they’d left by his front door, and wound up on his ass on the floor. “Shit!”
Of course, his position reminded him of the last time he’d tripped and fallen flat when the outcome had been one whole hell of a lot more fantastic than this time. He sighed and rested his head on his knees, the front door still open to the chilly night air. Jimothy had said, “See you tomorrow.” That had to mean he still planned to help with trying to rescue Rick’s apartment. That also meant that Rick had another chance to—what? Make Jimothy his friend? Or did Rick want more than that? The blow job had been a revelation. He honestly hadn’t known he could feel like that. Maybe one of the reasons he’d never come out was because he hadn’t had anything to come out for. Was Jimothy a reason? Shit, maybe Jimothy wouldn’t want to be Rick’s reason. In fact, that was more likely than not. And if he couldn’t have Jimothy, what were the chances he’d find somebody else like him? Zero meet none.
He leaned back on his arms and stared at the ceiling. What exactly would he do? Sit Jimothy down and say, “Are you at all interested in being my reason to come out?” Sure. He could picture himself doing that right after he played ice hockey in hell.
So, friends it was.
He shivered in the cold, stood, turned on a light, and closed the damned front door. After downing a glass of water in the kitchen, he stared back at the pile of boxes and bags full of fancy crap Jimothy’d said he just had to have to make the place look decent.
Rick smiled. I might not know for what, but at least I’ve got another chance.
Jimothy lay in his cozy bed surrounded by cats. What if instead he was surrounded by Rick Ronconi? What a funny question. Until that night, he’d honestly not believed that Rick could be gay. Yes, once or twice, Jimothy had caught Rick looking at him like food, but sometimes straight guys weren’t quite so ramrod as they liked to believe and got Jimothy confused with a girl. Like his neighbor, Eric, when Jimothy was in middle school. Eric had been a junior in high school, captain of the baseball team, and Jimothy had been so in love with him. Eric would get Jimothy alone and ask him to put on red lipstick and suck his cock. Then he’d show the guys on his team the lipstick and claim it was some girl. Jimothy hadn’t cared since he’d loved giving the head, and no matter what Eric claimed, he’d really preferred Jimothy to any girl in school. That was enough for him.