“I love you too, kid. And remember, you owe me.”
“I owe you,” she said. He could hear the smile on her face as she spoke. “I have to get back to work, but I’ll text you the details later. Love you, bye!” A moment later, the call was over. He slipped his phone into his pocket and shook his head. Sometimes he wished he could go back to not caring about anything but himself. There were a lot fewer uncomfortable social events to attend that way.
When he turned to head back to the living room, Jordan stood a few feet away, watching. Realizing he’d been caught snooping, Jordan diverted his eyes and scratched at the back of his head.
“Hey, nosy,” Rex said.
“You okay? You looked upset earlier. Just wanted to check on you.”
Rex could only smile at the fact that he had taken notice of his absence, or even watched long enough to read his body language. “I’m fine. Just family stuff.”
“Wanna talk about it?”
The only person to ask him something like that in the past few months was Amy. Rex would’ve been touched by the offer if he wasn’t so annoyed with the outcome of his conversation.
“Typical shit,” he said with a shrug. “My dad. I’d rather not be around him. My sister roped me into it. So, the worst family dinner possible will be happening soon.”
All of Rex’s demeanor seemed to show that he didn’t care, from his shrugging to the lack of interest in his voice, but Jordan had spent long enough around him to pick up on his tells. He buried his hands in his pockets when he wanted to look above it all, his gaze shifted somewhere else rather than looking Jordan head on, and his sentences grew shorter and more direct.
“You could always say you got food poisoning and skip it,” Jordan offered.
“My sister would kill me. I’m only going because of her. ‘Emotional support’ or whatever it is that she called it.”
Jordan stepped closer to him, reaching out to brush his fingers with Rex’s. “I could always go with you, if you wanted? Y’know, for emotional support.” Jordan said it as a joke, but there was an undercurrent of seriousness in his words. He didn’t mind being there if Rex needed him.
“You’d hate it. I don’t want you meeting my old man anyway. He’s a dick.”
“I love dick,” Jordan grinned, and to his pleasure, the vulgar joke put a smile on Rex’s face too. “I’m serious. I can go with you if it makes the whole thing easier on you.”
“Why?”
Jordan made a face. “Why not? You’ve done so much to help me. I want to return the favor. Plus, I wanna see you take off your motorcycle jacket and put on one for something fancier.” He stepped closer again, nearly chest-to-chest with the man. “It’ll be more fun with me there, I bet.”
“Maybe,” Rex said, looking away.
“You know I’m right. Just say yes.”
Rex took a moment to think before he looked down into Jordan’s rich brown eyes. “Fine. But only if you wear something nice, too.”
“Like a suit?”
“The only suit I want to see you in is your birthday suit.”
“Twice in one day?” Jordan asked, pecking Rex on the lips. “Help me finish the meeting first and maybe you’ll get to see me in it again.”
Rex rested his hands on Jordan’s hips and kissed him softly. “Deal.”
Eleven
What was the perfect outfit to wear when meeting someone you were sure you weren’t going to like? Jordan knew that he wanted to dress up, considering they’d be heading to a fancy French restaurant a few miles from his house, but he couldn’t decide what image he wanted to present when he finally met Alan Bailey.
“You’re stressing over nothing, boy,” Sherleen said, her voice sounding tinny over the speaker of Jordan’s phone. “Just toss something on and get your ass out there.”
“It’s not nothing, Grandma,” he whined. “It’s a big deal. At least…I think it is.” This wasn’t the conventional Meet the Parents moment he’d anticipated. Hell, if Rex had it his way, Jordan was pretty certain he wouldn’t meet Alan at all.
Part of him wanted to know more about the mess, but a larger, more supportive part told him that it didn’t matter. No matter how Alan was tonight, he was there to support Rex and make this whole thing just a bit more tolerable.
“Wear a button-up and some slacks, since you wanna dress all uppity for this man,” Sherleen mumbled. “Something white. You look good in white.”
Jordan blushed and reached for his favorite white dress shirt, pulling it from the hanger. He slipped into it and buttoned it all the way to the top. With a dark gray tie and his well-tailored slacks that made his butt look nice, he felt pretty damn presentable with minimal effort. This was his style, anyway. Casually dressy.
“Hey, when are you coming to see me again? I just got another recipe from Powell that I want to try out.”
Jordan rolled his eyes and flopped on his bed. “I’m not sure. Besides, you can’t keep letting this man give you his whole cookbook.”
“And why the hell not, boy?”
“You’re gonna fatten me up if you keep forcing all these treats on me!”
“Yeah, well, you could do to put a little more weight on. You’re too skinny.”
“Rex likes it,” Jordan muttered without thinking. His eyes went wide a second before Sherleen got onto his case.
“Jordan, don’t make me come over there and whoop your ass. Don’t be getting all nasty on my phone.”
Stifling his laughter, he said, “I’m sorry, Grandma, I’m sorry!” His phone vibrated on the nightstand, and when he grabbed it, he found a text letting him know that Rex was outside. “Hey, I gotta go, he’s here.”
“Alright, baby, you have fun. Call me back later. And bring your black ass over here to see me!”
“I will, I will! Love you!”
The moment the call was over, he hopped up from the bed, paused to check himself out in the mirror, and grabbed his keys from the desk in the corner of the room. He looked fine. This would be fine. It would all be fine.
“Let’s take your car,” Rex said when Jordan locked his front door behind him. “Don’t wanna get any dirt on you.” Rex reached for Jordan’s hand, raised it, and spun him around. “You clean up nice, JJ.”
The warmth of his compliment spread through Jordan like a ripple. “Whatever,” he grumbled, though he was certain that both of them knew how affected he’d been by the kind words. “You look good too, I guess.”
In the car, Rex turned to Jordan and said, “You ready for the worst dinner of your life? I think Robb and Catelyn Stark probably would’ve preferred their dinner to this one.”
“I didn’t watch your dragon show, Rex. And don’t worry. I’ve sat through plenty of awkward family dinners, and you don’t have a horse in this race. You’re here for Amy, I’m here for you. Two hours, that’s it.” He let go of the steering wheel to give the other man’s hand a firm squeeze. “Don’t sweat it.”
Rex appreciated the gesture, but only he knew the truth. He’d borne witness to just how unconscionable his father could be when he wanted to. He’d seen the trail of flames and destruction left behind while the man walked away unburned. All he could do was cross his fingers and hope that this would all be as easily digestible as his Coq au Vin.