“What happened?” Because obviously he had.
Tenner pulled up one shoulder. “On the way to the airport, I watched as the house got smaller and smaller and realized I’d never felt so alone in the world.” He closed his eyes and leaned back against the pillows. “I… I went back and ghosted Blaine. Broke his heart, I think.” He let out a sigh. “Not my best moment.”
“Mm.” Ross teased his lips with a bite of gelato, pleased when Tenner opened up and sucked it off the spoon. “Well, obviously you’re going to have to suffer for all eternity for being a mixed-up college kid.”
Tenner rolled his eyes. “I think the memory is sort of a torture as it is, don’t you think?”
Ross nodded thoughtfully. “That if we want to be good people, the bad stuff we did—even if it’s unintentional—really does come back to haunt us? Yeah. I think we punish ourselves a lot.”
“Well, wherever Blaine ended up, I hope he found someone he deserves. He was a truly awesome guy. I… I mean, I was in the middle of breaking up with him, and he didn’t call me a coward or blame me or any of the things he should have done. He just kept saying, ‘Don’t let them do this to us. Don’t let them do this to you.’” He opened his eyes and searched Ross’s face. “But I did.”
“Was that when you met Nina?”
Tenner’s smile turned bitter. “She was a baseball groupie. Stalked the team. So when she got a crush on me, I… let it happen. Told my parents I was dating a girl. They sent me a Christmas present the next week.”
Ross sucked air in through his teeth. “What’d you get?”
“A mint set of baseball cards. I sold them for baby furniture after I got Nina pregnant.” He grimaced. “She, uh, she lied about birth control. I haven’t told many people that. It makes her sound awful, but she was just… like me. Young and stupid. She confessed before we got married, and I promised I’d never hold it against her.” He let out a sigh. “It’s easier not to do that now. But yeah. I had to drop out of baseball when we got married.”
“You hadn’t graduated yet?” Ross didn’t know this part.
“No. Piper was born about six months before I got my degree and my job at CompuCo with Pat. By the time Pat met me, Nina and I were a nice young couple, starting out.”
Ross finished off the gelato and set the container on the end table. Then he settled in with his head on Tenner’s chest, soothed when Tenner started to stroke his temple.
“None of this means you should die old and alone, Ten.”
“You know? I’m starting to figure that out.”
Ross swallowed. “I’m… I’m sorry tonight sucked.”
“Well, it had some good points.”
Ross had to smile before kissing Tenner’s nipple, which was really too close to resist. “The sex was rocking.”
“Besides that,” Tenner said seriously, and Ross pushed up on the bed so he could see Tenner’s face.
“What?”
“Nina and I talked at dinner. You and I, sir, are officially dating out of most of the closet.”
Ross’s heart started thumping in his throat. “Most?”
Tenner looked away. “I still haven’t figured out how to tell my daughter. I’m sorry. I’ll figure it out. And until you and Nina are ready to meet, you’re in the guest room when Piper’s here. But that’s—”
“That’s fair,” Ross said, voice rough. “You negotiated that tonight?”
“Nina… she had sort of an epiphany, you know? Not… not completely, I think. But enough. Enough to say what you said, that neither of us deserves to be alone. She hadn’t realized that’s what she’d essentially done to me. She wanted to make it better.”
Complicated. Wasn’t that what Ross had said to Patrick? The whole thing was complicated. But Tenner had been working to untangle it.
“There’s so much I want to do,” Ross said, surprising himself. “I want to take you out to dinner this week. I want to take you and Piper to a Giants game one weekend. Or the River Cats. I’m not picky. Does Piper like amusement parks? I could do roller coasters. Did you know the Republic plays all summer? That’s soccer, you know, in case the other kind of ball confuses you—”
“Bite me!” Tenner laughed, and Ross was so happy, he did. A sensuous little love bite, right at the join of Tenner’s shoulder, another down his throat, another on his left pec, and one on the soft skin of his abdomen.
Tenner’s noises went from tickled to tantalized, and Ross’s body was ramping up for round two. He took a small mouthful of skin right above Tenner’s cockhead and sucked, teasing with his tongue.
“Have I bitten enough?” he asked huskily. “Because you just practically promised me a Disneyland summer.”
Tenner’s eyes went from passionate to sober. “Remember, not out to—”
“Piper.” Ross sobered too. “Baby, I can come play at your house anytime I want. You and your daughter will find your way—that is completely your decision. But you and me are a you and me, and I’m going to celebrate by sucking your cock. Do you mind?”
Tenner laughed and knotted one of his hands in Ross’s hair.
Which was the sweetest request Ross had ever heard. Ah! So much goodness—Tenner’s hand in his hair, his happy sex noises, his taste. When he let out a gasp and flooded Ross’s senses with come, it was like he was flying.
He had all the hope in the world.
ABOUT AN hour after they’d fallen asleep, Tenner’s phone rang.
“Mo—Edith?” Tenner mumbled. “What in the hell?”
Ross squinted at him. “Edith?” he mouthed.
“My mother,” Tenner mouthed back. “What do you need?” He sat up. “No. No. I told you no. I don’t care if you bring an exorcist, you can’t see her. Nina and I agreed. And no, you can’t call Nina.” He set the phone down and started to text. “She’s blocking you, Edith. I’ll file a restraining order against you guys tomorrow. I’m not kidding around. Goddam—hey!”
Ross held his hand out for the phone, and Tenner gave it to him, eyebrows raised skeptically.
“Hi, Edith? Tenner’s mom?”
“Yes,” said a sharp female voice. “Who’s this?”
“Yeah. I’m Tenner’s boyfriend. Yes, I’m in bed with him right now. We’re naked. Do you want pictures?”
He had to hold the phone from his ear when she squawked. “How dare you—”
“Look, what you’re doing right now? It’s considered harassment. When he says restraining order, he’s not kidding. But more importantly, why are you doing this?”
And that seemed to shake her. “What?”
“Why? This thing you’re doing—trying to take a little girl away from people who obviously adore her—it makes no sense. I need you to explain why to me.” God, if nothing else, he was curious.
“You don’t have any right to—”
“You’re hurting someone I care about. Isn’t that what this is about? Doing right by the people you care about? You obviously care about Piper—you want what’s best for her, right?”