Flux - 28. Chapter 28

July 12, 2002

Escorial

Brad

JP, Stef, Frank and I ate breakfast, pondering the unpleasant situation Zach, Wally, and Clara were in. I should have had sympathy for Wally and Clara, because I’d been in this spot with Will when he filed for emancipation, but I was having a hard time with it. My general feeling toward them was that they were nice people, but pretty unsophisticated. I thought about how far Gathan had moved out of their orbit. He was so much more cultured now that he’d spent some time abroad, and some time at Stanford. It made sense that JP would want to give Zach the same opportunities to broaden his horizons, but that probably just made Wally and Clara even more upset. They were seeing their own son move away from them, moving into a world they didn’t understand, and didn’t appreciate. Gathan was their nephew, and while they’d adopted him, I didn’t think their feelings were quite as intense toward him and his other cousins as compared to their feelings toward Zach and Zeke, their own kids.

“What do Gathan and Brent have to say about this?” I asked Frank. Brent was the next oldest after Gathan, so presumably he would have some input.

“They won’t say anything,” Frank said.

“Why not?” Stef asked.

“That’s not how our family works,” Frank said. “I think that’s something passed down from my father.”

“I don’t understand,” I told him.

“Brothers don’t get involved in issues with other brothers,” he said, as if that made sense. “It’s not a team like it is with you guys.”

“A team?” Stef asked.

Frank sighed, irritated that we didn’t understand him. “When Will had his problems with the Bastille Day party last year, JJ and Darius jumped in to back him up.” I watched JP cringe at the memory of that time, and how upset everyone had been. “In our family, that wouldn’t happen.”

“So it’s like everyone’s relationship is individual, not collective,” I said, and found that intriguing. That was pretty obvious with Robbie’s relationship with his siblings. They hadn’t bound together at all, as compared to how tight I was with Ace and Claire, or Will was with Darius and JJ.

“I recall that fight that Jeff and your father were engaged in,” JP said. “Your actions there are even more commendable when I factor in how you defied family tradition to intervene on behalf of your brother.”

“Thanks,” Frank said gruffly.

“And Nathan cut off all ties to you after that,” I remembered.

“That’s how it works,” Frank said. “So Gathan and Brent won’t say anything about this. Neither will any of the other kids. They’ll see this as a problem between Zach and their parents that doesn’t involve them.”

“Will mentioned to me that when Zach jogged over to see him when he was in Claremont, much against Wally and Clara’s wishes, Brent called him and picked him up in time to make it home for dinner,” JP said, trying to figure out how that fit into Frank’s description.

“It’s not like we don’t help each other out,” Frank said, as if we were idiots for not getting that. “We just didn’t defy our parents to do it.”

“Divide and conquer,” Stef said, an interesting observation. “And now Zach will find himself very alone and isolated, much as you must have.”

“He might feel that way, if he didn’t have us,” Frank said.

“Wally and Clara must be really irritated with you for jumping into their relationship with Zach,” I said. That defied the rules as he had just laid them out.

“I’m from the older generation. Wally is my nephew. That gives me the right to butt in.”

“So what will you do?” JP asked him.

“I’ll back Zach up,” Frank said. It was really cool that he said that without even thinking about it; it was instinctive.

“That will not damage your relationship with the others?” Stef asked.

“Just like Gathan and Brent won’t jump into Zach’s battle with his parents, they’re not going to jump into the battle you may have to fight with Wally and Clara,” I interpreted, trying to make sure I had it right. “But since Wally’s your nephew, they won’t shun you for taking Zach’s side.”

“You’ve got it figured out,” Frank said.

“Do they need additional legal assistance?” JP asked, referring to Zach, and Will by implication. I got the feeling he just wanted to make sure they’d hired a decent attorney.

“Will hooked Zach up with Wade’s lawyer,” Frank said, and then grinned at me. “The same one that steals your dates.” That was pretty funny, and made us all laugh.

“I’ll have to have a talk with Sean about that,” I said, pretending to be grumpy.

“He has agreed to attend the party, so you will have your chance then,” JP said.

We were interrupted when Ben came walking into the kitchen, looking as handsome as he always did. He smiled at me briefly, which was nice. Ever since I’d worked my way out of my grieving process, my libido had soared, and that made him pretty tempting. “I’m sorry to interrupt you, Professor Crampton,” he said, “but we’ve gotten everything accomplished that we can before the party.”

“That is excellent news,” JP said affably. “Since you have indeed interrupted me, you must atone for that by joining us.” He was about to argue, but JP’s steely look shut him up. “Then when we are done, you can show us the results of your labor.”

“Sounds good,” he said, then sat down and began to eat.

“Are Will and Matt coming back today?” Stef asked, evidently assuming that Wade and Zach were traveling with them.

“My understanding is that they were having such a good time, they were delaying their arrival until tomorrow,” I told him. “When are you leaving for Europe?” I asked JP.

“I think we will leave on the 15^th,” he said. “That will hopefully let us make good our escape before any obstructions can be thrown in our way.” I chuckled at him and his sleuthiness.

“And who is going with you?” Stef asked.

“As far as I know, Will, Zach, and Matt are to be my traveling companions,” he said.

“Perhaps I will meet you in Paris when you get there,” Stef said.

“Not London?” he asked Stef.

“I do not like the food in London,” Stef said. Sometimes he was still such a Frenchman, typically rebelling at being compared to Germans, and stereotypically dissing all British food.

“Perhaps the company will make up for it,” I suggested, to bug him.

“Perhaps,” he said, and gave me an irritated look. We had continued our conversation until Ben appeared to be done eating. JP waited a few minutes after that before prodding us into action.

“And now, let us go see the results of your labors,” he said to Ben.

Ben stood up. “If you will follow me,” he said formally, as he led us out of the kitchen. He was so cute. If only he weren’t such a shitty kisser…

The Great Hall had been shrouded with a fancy curtain during the last month, to block the work from the rest of the house. I hadn’t gone in there since they had closed the room off, so it was pretty exciting to see it now. That excitement proved to be justified when we walked into the room. The wood was still dark, but it had been lightened up considerably, and all the work Ben had done on it had brought out its luster. It wasn’t dull and old anymore. What was just as impressive was how, now that the wood was restored, the decorative details were much more visible. I let my eyes scan these old monastery walls that had been brought over from Europe and used to line the walls of this room instead, and marveled that this must be similar to what they looked like when they were new. “This is fantastic!” I said, as I walked over to one of the walls and ran my hand over it.

“I actually like being in this room, and that is something I thought I would never say,” Stef said.

“I have to agree with both of these gentlemen,” JP said. “You did a wonderful job.”

“The floors look great too,” I said. They were parquet, and I’d never really liked them, but now they looked really good. “I guess my knocking over that solvent worked out to be a good idea.”

“I think we could have done it without ruining your suit,” Ben said, “but thanks.” I watched as Stef wandered around the room, and I could almost see his mind planning out what else he could do to this room.

“I love how it is restored. It still feels very traditional, but much brighter,” JP said, directing that comment at Stef to forestall any of his zanier decorating ideas.

“We didn’t start on the dining room,” Ben said apologetically. “I didn’t think we’d be able to get it done in time for the party, and I think, based on how things went, that was a good call.”

“That is quite alright,” JP said soothingly. “There is plenty of time for that after the party.”

“We’ll work to get it done as fast as we can,” Ben promised. “Those wooden panels aren’t as old as these, so the job should be easier.”

“Since they are not antiques, then there should be no problem staining them a different color?” Stef asked. JP’s eyes narrowed, so Stef looked at him to address that issue. “You have demanded that I leave this room and your study alone. The dining room does not fall within that category.”

JP didn’t even answer his question, which was a good choice, since it was a battle he probably wouldn’t win. “After the party, we’ll move the dining room furniture in here and use this room for that purpose while you are working to redo the floors and the panels.”

“I’ll have that stuff moved in here on July 15, when we get back to work,” Ben said. I thought it was interesting the way he threw that out as a formal commitment to get started on the dining room on Monday.

“Excellent,” JP said.

July 14, 2002

Escorial

I felt like I was a debutante going to the big ball, as I stood in front of the mirror, getting my appearance as perfect as I could. The dress code for this party was what Stef termed Garden Party semi-casual. That meant a lightweight jacket and slacks, and a short-sleeved dress shirt with no tie. I double-checked my hair, searching for the dreaded bald spots, but I’d managed to escape that scourge so far. My hair had started to gray a few years ago, but I hadn’t been ready for that, so I had it colored to cover it up. I pondered what I’d look like with the gray. In a few more years, maybe I’d give it a try.

I walked down the hallway to the foyer and the Great Hall, where people would be congregating. This party was considerably toned down from last year, when it had been an extravaganza. This year it was much like it used to be; only the guest list had been broadened. I smiled and shook my head at my headstrong son. Will had sat there at dinner before the last party and called my mother and Claire snobs for only inviting the toniest people. That had sparked a pronounced change in how invitations had been doled out, and that had in turn transformed demographics of the attendees. Just like last year, there were lots of people who weren’t rich or famous. I stood outside the room, looking in at the people there to get my bearings. I liked to enter a room at parties and have a clear path to go on. Once I was there, I was fine, but having that initial plan helped me break the ice.

I saw Cody and Alex Danvers off to the side, talking to each other in an intimate way. I found that I wasn’t jealous at all. I’d been with both of them, although my time with Alex had been fraught with emotional issues because he’d been with Robbie at the same time. I thought about all of that, and felt the entire thing washing over me as a non-event. I was done with all of that. In the back of the room, Will and Zach stood talking to JP. They were a much more attractive target. I strode confidently through the crowd toward them, stopping to talk to people who greeted me, but keeping my end goal in sight. I finally got to them, feeling like they were my safe harbor.

“You look good,” Zach said to me, and smiled.

“Now I know why you’re here,” I said, to thank him for that compliment. “Are you guys planning your big escape tomorrow?”

“It is hardly that dramatic,” JP said.

“My parents have forbidden me from going,” Zach said. “But I don’t think they’re going to put out an APB on me.”

“Maybe by the time you get back, things will have calmed down,” I said.

“Maybe,” Zach said dubiously.

“Personally, I’ve found traveling to other countries to be one of life’s greatest pleasures,” JP said. “I think it is worth a little conflict back at home.”

“I’m really excited to go,” Zach said. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned around in time to see Matt as he gave me a sideways hug.

“I think we should take your dad to the Manhole,” he said to Will.

“Can’t do that,” Will said. “He’d so cock block you.”

“What do you mean?” Matt asked, pretending to be offended. “I’m hot.”

“But you’re not on the Forbes 400 list,” Will pointed out. I rolled my eyes at him.

“Yet,” Matt said. “I’m not on the list yet.”

“I’m so rich I’m almost Oprah,” I joked.

“Only hotter,” Matt said, winking at me. He was so much fun when he was in his playful mood.

“Stef is convinced that Google stock we got in 1998 is a gold mine,” I told him. “So you may indeed end up there.”

“That may push you into the top 100,” Matt teased.

“Nope,” I said. “I gave my shares away.”

“To who?” Will asked.

“You, Darius, and JJ,” I explained. “Gifted them so you got them at my tax basis, and so I could transfer them before they achieved their full potential.”

“I don’t understand,” he said.

“I’ll explain it to you later, so we don’t bore everyone else.” That got me a brief dirty look.

“Well thanks for the stock,” he said, smiling at me again.

“You’re welcome.” I was wondering where Tony was, and I was curious enough to risk causing a problem. “Has Tony gotten here yet?”

“He was flying in this morning,” Will said, looking at his watch. “He should get here soon.”

“Is he staying here?” Matt asked.

“I managed to find room for him,” Will said. JP smiled at that, glad to see that Will was putting his animosity at Tony behind him.

“There’s your lawyer,” Will said to Zach, gesturing toward the door. “The date stealer.”

“Do not say that in front of him,” I snapped, making Matt chuckle. We watched as Sean walked through the crowd toward us. He was really handsome; I’d always had a thing for redheads, but Sean was a different variety of that breed. He had hair that was dark red, a blending of red and brown. It framed his handsome face that looked a little rugged, with a five o’clock shadow that he seemed to have no matter what time of day it was. And separated by his slightly large nose, with its strong bridge, were two very bright, pale blue eyes.

“Hey there!” Matt said enthusiastically, and gave Sean a big hug. “I’ll tell Wade you’re here.” He raised his eyebrows suggestively, reminding Sean of their legendary threesomes.

“You do that,” Sean said, then greeted the rest of us.

“Zach, this is Sean Massey,” Will said. “This is Zach Hayes, your newest client.”

“How do you know he’s my newest?” Sean teased. “I work fast.”

“Not too fast,” Matt said, making him blush, which was really cute.

“Nice to meet you,” Sean said, shaking Zach’s hand. Only Zach had caught Matt’s playful attitude, and held Sean’s hand for a long time, until Sean finally jerked it away, blushing even harder.

“The pleasure is all mine,” Zach said in a really sultry tone, and while that should have been funny, he was so sexy when he did it he momentarily stunned all of us but Will, who was evidently used to it.

“Did you think about when you wanted to start this process?” Sean asked, referring to Zach replacing his parents as guardians.

“I think I’ll wait until I get back from Europe, so around the first of August,” he said.

“We can talk about venues then,” he said, referring to which court in which they’d file.

“I am glad to see you here,” JP said, “but I must attend to my other guests, lest I be accused of being a bad host.”

“You’re usually polite,” Will said.

“Usually?” JP challenged.

Will turned to Zach. “He got really annoyed when I bought you the Durango, and took it out on a friend of mine. They all ganged up on the poor guy and made him feel like crap.” I could have been irked that he raised that issue, since I’d been part of the lynch mob that went after Will over the Durango, but I was too busy trying not to laugh at JP’s frustrated expression.

“I’m sorry that upset you,” Zach said to JP, only that just embarrassed JP even more.

“It was not you who upset me,” JP said, looking at Will icily. His attitude finally made me laugh, and Will and Matt joined me.

“If he’s rude to you, just talk to Grandmaman,” Will said with a smirk. She’d given us a scorching lecture after that incident with Austin.

“Are you all trying to ruin my party?” JP asked. He must have remembered that lecture too.

“I believe you had other guests that were more interesting than us?” I asked, giving him an escape line.

“Quite so,” he said, and moved off, while the rest of us laughed again.

“I’m going to go see if Nana got here,” Matt said. “She likes me.”

“Maybe she really is senile,” Will joked. “We have to go see if Austin’s here so I can make Grand feel even guiltier.”

“Behave,” I chided him; wasted words on my part. They all vanished, leaving Sean and me alone. “I was going to see how the outdoor set up turned out.” He looked kind of sad, as if I was blowing him off. “Want to join me?”

“Sure,” he said, and sparked up a bit. We walked outside, but avoided other people. “That new trust you asked us to set up is pretty much done. All you have to do is review it.”

“You can e-mail it to me, and then I can look at it,” I said dismissively.

He seemed to get nervous. “I was wondering if you’d be interested in coming up to the City and going through it with me.”

I stared at him for a second, wondering if he was hitting on me. That was incredibly flattering, especially since I was ten years older than him. “When would be a good time?”

“Just let me know what works with your schedule.”

“I’ll pick the day, but you pick the time of day,” I said, tossing it back to him. “I’d prefer to avoid the early morning, but late morning, the afternoon, or early evening all work for me.” A meeting before 10am would require fighting Bay Area traffic up to the City, something anyone who lived here would avoid at all costs.

He swallowed, a sure sign of his nervousness. “Maybe you could come up later in the day, and we could do dinner afterward.”

“That almost sounds like a date,” I said, but acted serious, and watched him shit a brick.

“I didn’t mean to be unprofessional,” he stammered.

“Man, if asking me out on a date makes a guy unprofessional, I see a lot of lonely nights in my future.” He smiled, getting that I was messing with him.

“I’ll bet you find out you don’t have that problem at all,” he said, smiling at me more broadly. Then he got more serious. “I really would like a chance to show you a good time on the town. It would help me make up for the last time.”

“When you stole my date?” I teased.

“That was pretty weird,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m sorry about that.”

“It was fine,” I said hastily, to make sure he knew I wasn’t upset about it.

“Yeah, but I feel bad that you went through all that effort to have such a great time in the City, then we ended up benefitting from it.”

I shrugged. “As long as you guys had a good time, it was worth it.”

“It was nice,” he said, but it was impossible to miss the disappointment in his voice.

“When I saw the two of you together, and saw how you connected instantly, it reminded me of how I felt when I met Robbie,” I said. It amazed me that I could think about that, and about Robbie, and smile now. That almost made me giddy.

“That must have been hard for you,” he said.

“It brought back some rough memories,” I said. “But I’ve worked really hard to get beyond it. I think I’m at a good place now.”

“I’m glad,” he said, and gave me a caring smile.

“So what happened with you two?” I figured that since I’d bankrolled their date, it gave me the right to ask about it. It was strange, because there were a lot of people here, but I felt like the two of us were in a bubble. I led him out to the gazebo, with its beautiful views, which fortunately was unoccupied at the moment.

“The attraction, the connection, was really intense, just like you noticed,” he said.

“Then what happened?” I asked, more to prompt him than anything.

“It just fell flat.”

“Bummer,” I said. He shrugged. “Has that happened to you before?”

“Not very often, fortunately,” he said, chuckling. “It’s never happened like that before. I think it was just the extremes, from being really attracted, to discovering that there was really nothing there, that really made it suck.”

“It’s a shame you’re not more versatile,” I teased. “If you weren’t a total bottom, it might have worked.”

“I’m not a total bottom,” he said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

“Good, since I’m not a total top,” I said, flirting back with him, only I’d managed to make him blush again. It was fun to do this, to banter with a guy and actually be the one who could make him blush instead of the other way around. That’s what usually happened when I was with Chris Mendoza; he snickered at me, while I turned various shades of red.

“But that’s what you like best?” he asked hopefully.

“Oh yeah,” I said suggestively, getting a grin from him.

“Is that what Ben told you? That it didn’t work out because I wouldn’t fuck him?”

“He didn’t put it like that,” I said. “He just said you weren’t compatible because you both preferred to bottom.”

“And he talked you into fucking him?” he asked, pretending to joke, but it seemed to bother him for some reason.

“No,” I said. “I wasn’t ready for that. I was still pretty wounded.”

“You seem to be so much better now,” he said hopefully.

“It’s been a rough month, but I feel like a new man, like I went through hell and came out of it.”

We sat down on one of the benches, next to each other, close enough that I could feel the warmth from his body. “That really wasn’t the reason things didn’t work out. I mean, I have my preferences, but I’m actually pretty flexible.”

“So what was it?”

“He kisses really weirdly,” Sean said, and frowned as if he was disgusted. I looked at him, then started laughing, and the situation was so funny that I couldn’t stop, at least until he got irritated with me. “What?” he asked, in an annoyed way.

“I’m sorry,” I said, getting my laughter under control. “He made me a nice sculpture to thank me for taking him to the City, and then he hit on me, and we ended up kissing. I had the same reaction you did.”

He started laughing with me. “Really?”

“Yeah. Pretty funny.”

“It was strange. He kept his mouth open the whole time.” That made me laugh again.

“I told Will it felt like I was in an Eastern European porn movie, where they kiss open-mouthed and flick their tongues out at each other.”

“That is exactly it,” he said. We laughed a little longer, and then abruptly stopped. We looked at each other intently. “Maybe it was just us. Maybe that’s the way you’re supposed to kiss.”

And then I felt myself being drawn into him, like he was a tractor beam pulling me to him. Without even thinking about it, I leaned in to kiss him. His lips met mine willingly, and unlike my kiss with Ben, this one was really wonderful. Our mouths seemed to just dance together in a perfectly choreographed routine. It was really incredible how in-sync we were. I finally ended the kiss, and smiled at him. “Much better.”

“That’s how it’s supposed to be,” he said wistfully.

“I tend to agree with you,” I said, then kissed him again. I ended it again, because my hormones were starting to whirl out of control, and I had a party to help host. “I need to get back to the party.”

“I’m sorry I dragged you away and monopolized your time.”

“I’m not.” I stood up, and had to adjust my erection. He smirked at me, even as he had to adjust his as well. “Make sure you come see me before you leave.”

“I can do that,” he said as he grinned at me; another guy with a devastatingly cute grin. He was probably wondering why I’d asked him to do that. I was wondering that too.

I led him back to the party, and then wandered off to talk to other people, but I kept glancing around to look at him, and usually when I did, he was looking at me too.

July 14, 2002

Escorial

Will

“I’m going to go find Gathan,” Zach said. I think he was just saying that to avoid meeting any more people. I’d been introducing him non-stop, and I could see where that would get a little old.

“Sounds good,” I said. I paused to watch him walk off, admiring his form. He looked terrific from any angle, but the slacks he was wearing made his ass look so cute. I ran into my father again, who looked positively giddy. “You’re having a good time?”

“I am,” he said, but was really grinning.

“Alright, what are they serving at the bar to make you so happy?”

“Sean,” he said, and made to walk away, but I grabbed his arm, forcing him to stay.

“Sean?”

“I have a date with him,” he said, raising his eyebrows, and that made me really smile with him. “He asked me out.”

“Dude, look at you,” I said. “You’re hitting the ground running.”

“I even kissed him,” he said, in this conspiratorial tone. “It was awesome.”

“Better than Ben?”

“Way better. He told me that was what really turned him off about Ben, the way he kissed.”

“The same thing you said,” I joked. “So the two of you must do really well together,” I said referring to their kiss.

“We do,” he said. I was so happy for him. He’d been through hell, probably worse than any of us, so to see him having some joy in his life was awesome. I sensed there was something or someone there, and looked toward the door to see Tony walk in. His eyes followed mine. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Sounds good,” I said. Tony hadn’t seen me, he was still getting his bearings, and scanning the crowd. It was impossible to be around him and not appreciate how handsome he was, but the thought of being with him again really didn’t excite me at all. I strode confidently toward him. He saw me and smiled nervously.

“Hey,” he said, trying to be pleasant.

“Hey there,” I said, smiling. He made to shake my hand, but that would just seem weird. We’d been too close, too intimate, for a handshake to be a normal greeting. I brushed past that, pushing his hand aside, and gave him a hug. I felt him initially freak out at the contact because it surprised him, then he relaxed, and really hugged me back. I could feel how relieved he was, and understood then what Matt was saying. I’d been like Tony’s conscience, and as long as I’d been mad at him, he probably hadn’t been able to forgive himself. Matt had said this was an open wound, and until this moment, I hadn’t believed him. “It’s good to see you.”

“Thanks for inviting me.”

“Thanks for coming. I didn’t know if you’d drop everything and fly halfway across the country to just go to a party,” I joked.

“I didn’t come here to go to the party, I came here to see you,” he said, only his tone was intense.

“Here I am,” I joked, trying to keep the mood light, but he wasn’t ready for that yet.

“I really am sorry,” he said. I could see how sincere he was, so sincere that I would have seen it even if I didn’t know him so well.

“We’re good. I told you that,” I told him. I put my hand on his shoulder, in what was an intimate yet friendly gesture. “Let’s just move on, OK?”

“OK,” he said, smiling at me.