Sergio stared at his phone, hoping Tobin returned his text before he left. He knew he should leave, but he also kind of hoped Tobin would come home while he waited. Sergio didn’t know what kind of car Tobin drove. The only cars in the private lot behind the bar were the same ones that had been there the other night. An old work van, a Harley, and now Sergio’s Porsche. Sergio stared so hard at his phone that his vision blurred. A knock on his window startled Sergio’s heart into his throat.
He tried to play off the way he had jumped as he rolled down his window. The guy from the bar, Damon, stood patiently waiting for Sergio’s attention. Sergio felt the need to explain why he was still sitting there like a stalker in the guy’s parking lot.
“Sorry, man. I’ll be gone in a second, but I don’t text and drive.”
Even though Damon smiled, Sergio got the impression that Damon had his number and knew exactly why he hadn’t budged. “Don’t apologize. I’m glad you’re still here. I have a question.”
Sergio was confused, but he was sitting in the dude’s parking lot like a creeper, so he rolled with it. “All right.”
Damon hesitated, as if having second thoughts. Then he jumped right in. “What are your intentions with Tobin?”
As much as Sergio wanted to point out that Damon wasn’t Tobin’s dad... at least, he didn’t think Damon was Tobin’s dad, Sergio was kind of glad someone was looking out for Tobin. “I intend to be part of his life.” Sergio didn’t have to think about it. He had always been the type to know what he wanted, and he always went hard at pursuing his dreams. Tobin seemed like a good guy and Sergio needed to see what was there with them.
Damon gave him a sharp nod. “Then you should know, he has cancer.”
It was like getting punched in the chest. All Sergio could do was stare at Damon as Damon went down on one knee beside his car so he wouldn’t have to stay bent at the waist. He held Sergio’s stare and let him have it.
“This is the second time and it’s hitting him much harder than last time. He’s tired and doesn’t want anyone suffering along with him. If not for Reid shoving his way into his life, and me being right here all the time, he wouldn’t let anyone do anything for him. You need to really think about if this is what you want, because this is no joke. Tobin doesn’t need a player in his life right now. He needs steady people who aren’t afraid to fight for him because he’s exhausted. I don’t know if he’ll make it.”
Sergio had nothing. He hadn’t expected this. There was a small part of him that screamed for him to drive away now. Cancer was some heavy shit. After all, he had watched his mom die from it. Then again, he had watched his mom fight and he had fought with her, so he wasn’t blindly falling into a mess he didn’t understand. He knew his opponent and he wasn’t the type to back down. If nothing else, Tobin felt like a friend. He had stood still and listened to Sergio complain about his problems, even though they barely knew each other. Tobin wasn’t like everyone else in Sergio’s life, and Sergio wasn’t a bitch. He didn’t ditch his friends when times were tough.
“What kind of cancer?”
Damon’s light blue gaze never wavered from Sergio. “Leukemia. He’s just started treatment this week, so it’s really kicking his ass.”
Sergio nodded. He thought about how tired Tobin had looked when Sergio left him the other day. “What can I do to help?”
A hint of a smile touched Damon’s lips. “Don’t toy with his feelings. Either be here or don’t come back. Like I said, you should take some time to think about it.”
This dude didn’t know Sergio. “Okay. I’ve thought about it. What can I do to help?”
Damon’s smile turned blinding. His eyes crinkled in the corners. He shook his head. “Come on. I’ll let you in. He’s probably asleep by now.”
“You mean he’s here?” Sergio didn’t mean to sound so offended, but Tobin hadn’t answered the door and Damon had told him Tobin wasn’t home.
Damon nodded. “Word of warning, though, he won’t make it easy for you to invade his life. He’s pretty determined to go this alone.”
Sergio rolled up his window and stepped from the car. “Yeah, well, I’m pretty much a pain in everyone’s ass. He’ll get used to me refusing to budge.” He dipped back inside when he realized he forgot Tobin’s flowers. When he straightened, Sergio found Damon eyeing him strangely with his hardened stare—like the man had seen too many bad things. Sergio felt exposed. “What?”
Damon shook his head. “Just surprised, I guess. You seem to have a lot of substance for a professional athlete. Other than Reid, most of the famous people who find their way here are shallow assholes.”
“I wasn’t aware you knew me.” Another thought hit before he got too offended. “Do you have a lot of famous people finding their way here?”
Damon shrugged. “You’d be surprised.”
Before he could stop it, a snort escaped Sergio. “It’s weird when people call me famous. I don’t really think of myself that way, and Tobin one hundred percent has no idea who I am.”
Damon laughed. “Oh, yeah. He wouldn’t. Tobin hates watching sports. If I have it on in the bar, he’ll go upstairs—like that’s his cue to find something else to do.” Damon led Sergio inside through the bar and behind the counter through a door that hid a different stairway. He motioned toward the door at the top. “It’s unlocked. Like I said, he’s probably asleep.”
Sergio gave Damon a sharp nod and tried to make sure his hair wasn’t standing on end—like it had a tendency to do. “Thanks, man. I’ll find a way to repay you.”
Damon shook his head. “Nope. Just treat my boy good so I don’t have to break your legs and end your career and we’ll be even.”
Even though Damon smiled through the entire threat, he didn’t doubt Damon meant every word. Sergio dipped his chin and accepted the warning before heading up the stairs. He got threatened all the time. That came with getting paid to compete. People took their sports pretty damn seriously. In this case, though, Damon’s words were no threat. Sergio wasn’t weak.
The apartment was completely silent as Sergio came through the door. Sergio headed straight for the bedroom. There was a lump in Tobin’s bed. Sergio moved to that side of the bed and set Tobin’s roses on the nightstand. He toed off his shoes and peeled off his overshirt. After tossing the button down aside, Sergio climbed into bed next to Tobin. Tobin immediately rolled into his arms and snuggled his face against the crook of Sergio’s neck.
“Thank you for the flowers. Is it wrong that I find it sexy that you’ve taken up breaking and entering for me?” He sounded so weak and tired that Sergio’s heart twisted in his chest.
Sergio chuckled as he pressed his lips to Tobin’s temple. “What can I say? I’ll go pretty far when I want something.”
Tobin took an audible breath. “You always smell good.”
“Go back to sleep, mi alma. I just came to hold you.”
Judging by Tobin’s steady breathing, he didn’t need to be told. Sergio wasn’t the least bit tired, but he settled in for the long haul. While he understood Damon’s need to threaten him, no one really knew him. Sergio knew what it was like to suffer alone. He was a survivor. The things he had done to stay alive would shock people if they knew. Good people deserved good things, but life seemed to only give the best people nothing but shit. Sergio was only one person and he couldn’t make a huge difference in the world, but he could do this. He had met a nice guy and he wasn’t walking away. Lots of people had given up on him over the years, but he owed it to the ones who hadn’t to be a good man. He would be here when Tobin woke up. He would help however he could, and maybe—just maybe—Sergio would hate his life a little less afterward. Sergio believed. After all, he already felt a million times better while just holding Tobin. They had been meant to meet. For once, Sergio had no doubts.