Before And After the Divorce - 16. Getting Serious, and More New Problems

I took a deep breath to steady myself. I felt so bad for unintentionally forcing Jackson to console me.

"I'm sorry I broke down like that. I got to thinking about, well, everything, and it all just came out."

"It's quite alright. You obviously needed it and I was perfectly happy to just hold you. But, I've got to charge you something for doing that."

My eyebrows shot up. "Charge me? How?"

Jackson grinned. "The price is one kiss."

I hummed. "Oh? That's a pretty steep price."

I leaned in and fused our lips. Hormones took over and one kiss turned into a full-blown symphony. Jackson broke the kiss first, his breathing coming in short pants.

"I think I owe you some change. You overpaid for the consoling."

"It was worth it, but if you insist, I could manage a partial refund."

Something flickered in Jackson's eyes. "I was thinking of something else, but more kissing will be enough."

I'm sure he was thinking something more sexual. Even though it was still early in the relationship, I'm getting closer to being ready for that with Jackson. After another round of kissing, I decided it was time to head home before I found myself doing something I might regret later. It was getting late and I had a fairly long drive to Pittsburgh and back lined up for tomorrow.

Saturday

Dad offered to let me drive his Honda Accord. It would get better gas mileage than my truck, a Chevy Silverado. The hockey game started at three o'clock, so we figured we'd leave around twelve-thirty. If the hour drive took longer than we expected, we'll still get there on time. Otherwise, if we were early, we could walk around the arena. It's a new experience for Dominic, so if we're there longer, he'll get to see more.

Everyone had a good time. Dominic wanted a jersey, so I bought one a size too large so he could wear it a couple of years. It was an odd coincidence that he picked a Sidney Crosby jersey, and Sid scored a hat trick in the game. After the third goal, Dominic jumped around, waving the jersey. We saw him on the Jumbotron, smiling, holding up his Crosby jersey for the camera. I quickly snapped a photo with my phone.

Dominic's excitement was infectious and lasted well past the end of the game. It put everyone into a great mood. I grabbed Dominic's hand as we left our seats and when we got to the concourse, Jackson slipped his hand into my other one. He led the way through the exiting crowd.

"Who wants Italian for dinner?" Dad asked.

Dominic bounced up and down. "Me! Me!"

I chuckled and glanced at Jackson, who gave a nod. "Sounds good, where Dad?"

"How about Buca's? They're just across the river."

Dominic did a happy dance which made us laugh. "Buca's it is." I hoped it wasn't too crowded. Luckily, when we got there the wait was only ten minutes, not too bad for dinnertime on a post-game night.

When we were seated, Dad reached for a menu, saying, "They serve everything family style here. We can pick two or three small entrees, so everyone can have some of each."

I let the three others each pick a meal. Dad ordered chicken Limone, and Jackson chose fettuccini alfredo. Not surprisingly, Dominic picked spaghetti and meatballs. I decided we'd have green beans for a side dish. Dad and Jackson split a bottle of Chablis. I had a single Peroni since I was driving. Needless to say, we were stuffed when we left.

The amount of alcohol consumed by Dad and Jackson presented a problem when we got to the apartment. Jackson was in no condition to drive. Dad had already claimed the guest room. Dominic had bunk beds, but he always slept on the bottom, which left the top for Jackson. A definite challenge for an inebriated adult.

Needless to say, Jackson slept with me. What started as a chaste goodnight kiss quickly developed into something more. Making out helped Jackson sober up. We took things a step further and masturbated each other. Perhaps because it was so long since I was with anyone, it didn't take me long to cum. Jackson, being a little drunk still, took a little longer. I didn't complain. Having him in my hand was worth the extra time.

Monday

We're starting a new job today. It's a pretty big one so Mr. Jensen, the owner of the construction company, decided to bring two of his teams to this job. Just my luck, with four other teams to choose from, it's the team that Zach is on who shows up.

He tries to be friendly on the morning break. I don't really feel like it, but I have to be civil if we're going to be working together again.

"Hey, Dylan. How's it going?"

"Pretty good, you?"

"OK. Between boyfriends again."

Gee, maybe if you didn't beat on them.

"Too bad. Not another one who steals?"

Zach looked away. "No, this one liked to hit me a lot, so I broke it off."

Somehow, I don't believe that.

I held my tongue. "That sucks, you think you know someone, then they go and do that."

"Yeah, I should have stuck with you when I had the chance."

"I guess."

Zach shot me a hopeful look. "So, then, are you seeing anyone?"

"Yeah, he's pretty cool. Oddly enough, I met him through Dominic. He's a teacher. Smart. I hope I can keep him satisfied intellectually."

"Teacher, huh? You better hope he doesn't like the little boys."

My jaw ticked. "Pretty sure he doesn't. At least not how you're thinking. Looks like the break is ending. Talk to you later."

I'm going to have to tell Jackson about this. I'm sure he wouldn't appreciate Zach saying those things about him. Unfortunately, I can't get away from Zach. He decides to park it next to me while we're eating lunch. Well, maybe it was fortunate.

"So, you want to go get a beer after work tonight?"

Time to drop the J-bomb.

"No. I need to be there for Dominic, plus Jackson is supposed to stop by."

"Jackson? That's a fairly uncommon name."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Maybe it's just a coincidence, but the guy I just broke up with was a Jackson."

I looked directly at him. "Yeah. I know. I already talked with him about that. So, your comments from before really weren't appreciated. I know it was you doing the hitting."

Zach's jaw dropped and he shook his head. "No, man. Really, it was hime who hit me."

"Just like it was that first guy that stole from you. I'm betting you turned that one around too."

I leaned back when Zach reached out to touch me. "It was, Dylan. I'm serious. Jackson was hitting me. He didn't believe I went to a wake when I came by that night. He thought I was dressed up to meet some other guy. I even lost a tooth and got a black eye because of it. AndIt wasn't that wasn't the first time, either. I just couldn't take it anymore after that one-two punch."

My shoulders sagged. "You really are serious?"

"Yes. I'll bring the oral surgeon's bill tomorrow if you want.

"Fuck. He lied to me?"

"If he said I hit him, yeah. You really going to see him tonight?"

"No. That was just an excuse. You may not have hit me, but what you did hurt just the same. I thought we were getting along good. Then to find out you started seeing someone else. You may as well have hit me."

"I'm sorry, Dylan." This time I didn't pull away when his hand landed on my arm. "I didn't think you wanted something long-term and I do."

"We never considered each other boyfriends. You didn't say anything."

"Well, you were married to a woman. That's not something easily broken."

With a frown on my face, and a dejected tone of voice, I said,

"I sure found a way."

"We can talk about that later. What are you going to do about Jackson?"

I shrugged. "I have no fucking clue. He's tutoring Dominic. He thinks he'll be able to skip a grade. Do I take that away from Dominic with a nasty breakup?"

Instead of answering, Zach asked, "How about we have that beer later?"

"Yeah. Let's get back, everybody else is on their way back in."

I sent dad a text on the afternoon break, saying I'd be stopping to talk with one of the guys on the way home, so feel free to have dinner without me, although I didn't expect to be too long, maybe an hour or so. Zach and I stopped at a little bar not far from the job site.

We sat in a booth across from each other. Neither of us had eaten since lunch, so we ordered a couple burgers as well. "So, what are you thinking?" Zach asked.

"Well, I don't want to confront Jackson right away, but I know I have to soon. Maybe talk it over with my dad first?. Whatever I do is going to affect Dominic. Plus, I'll need some proof, otherwise he'll just say you're lying."

"I'll definitely bring a copy of the bill in tomorrow, so you'll have that. Wait!" He pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I took a selfie with the black eye."

He showed me the picture on his phone. The missing tooth was noticeable too.

"Still have the same number?"

"Yes."

He forwarded me the photo.

"So, between that and a copy of the bill, it will be hard for him to deny it."

I bit my bottom lip. "Yeah, but that still doesn't take Dom out of the picture. I don't want Jackson to take it out on my son."

"Which is more important, Dom skipping a grade, or getting a bad influence out of your life? And his?"

He had me there. "Yeah, that's a no brainer. He's a little small for his age, and more mature, but is skipping a grade really the best thing for him? I can't see that."

"At least not now. If he's really that smart, the opportunity may still arise. How did Jackson find out about Dom?"

"His regular teacher recommended him."

"So, his regular teacher may still suggest he skip?"

"True. All I'll need to do is make sure Dom has a different teacher for sixth grade."

"Jackson's?"

"Yeah."

"Just my opinion, but I say confront him as soon as possible, tell Dom that you heard something bad about Jackson and don't think it's a good idea for him to keep teaching him if you're not dating anymore."

"If he asks what the bad thing is?"

"You say he's smart and mature for his age. Tell him the truth. Anything less might cause a rift between you and him."

For the first time all afternoon, I smiled. "When did you get so smart?"

"I hang out with smart people, like you and Jackson. Granted, in his case, not always the best people."

We finished our burgers and beers and went our separate ways. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got at Jackson. I was quite aggravated when I got home. I didn't hide it well at all.

Dad took one look at me and asked, "What's the matter? You should be in a good mood after a couple beers with the guys."

"One guy. Zach Washington."

"Isn't he the one…"

"Yeah."

"Why would you have a drink with him?"

I looked around scanning the rooms I could see. "Where's Dominic?"

"In his room."

I lowered my voice. "Zach told me something very disturbing about Jackson."

"He knows him?"

"Yeah, they dated for a while. Jackson beat him."

"What?! He seems like such a nice guy."

I showed dad the picture on my phone.

"Zach said he knocked out that tooth too."

"Holy shit. What are you going to do?"

"Zach's bringing a copy of the oral surgeon's bill to work for me tomorrow. I have to tell Dominic that I'm pulling him out of Jackson's tutelage because I won't be dating him anymore, then confront Jackson."

"Poor kid. He seems to like Jackson and being taught extra."

"Yeah, that's the downside. But do I have a choice? What if he starts hitting me?"

"No, you're right."

I called Dominic out of his room.

"Hi Dad. How was your talk? Grandpa said you had a talk with someone from work. Did you have to fire him?"

"No, I didn't fire anyone. But the talk was a little disturbing."

"Why?"

"It was about Mr. Trevon. My friend Zach used to date him."

"Oh. You didn't like that he dated him?"

"No. Mr. Trevon hit Zach. A lot."

Dominic's eyebrows drew together. "Why?"

"I don't know about all the times, just the last. He thought Zach was seeing someone else at the same time."

"Oh. So what now?"

"I don't think Mr. Trevon should teach you anymore. We don't need someone like that in our lives."

"Did he hit you too?"

"No. But I don't want to wait until he does."

"OK."

His answer took me by surprise. "OK, no argument?"

"No. I kind of like him, but he scares me sometimes."

"Because of his face?"

"No. He yells at me if I don't understand him right away about something."

My eyes widened. "Why didn't you say something?"

"I knew you liked him."

"Well, I did, but I'll be talking to him. I won't be seeing him anymore."

"I hope you find somebody nice next time."

"Me too."

Next up - "The Confrontation"