the listening he did, all the secrets shared with him that he would take to his coffin, and how much taking care of you he was willing to do. When he gazed at Dwyer with all that love and adoration, it was easy to discern the depth of his heart.
They welcomed me into their cocoon, and I was happy to go there. It was a refuge, one Ivy found as soothing as I did. Not that she didn’t love and adore everyone else, but now and then, she needed to decompress, and there was no one better to do that with than Takeo. The first time she was sick and he arrived with homemade shoyu ramen instead of chicken noodle soup, she was in love. Between me liking Takeo and Dwyer, and my daughter liking them as well, I finally had that best friend I’d always heard so much about.
So the fact that he was lecturing me at the moment could not simply be ignored.
“Are you listening to me?”
“Actually, yes,” I assured him. “And I ask again, how do you know that Roark Hammond is pining away for me?”
“I’m sorry, when did I say pining? I said that he fucks around because he can’t start something with you.”
“And why is that?”
His glare made me feel stupid.
“What?”
“You told Hutch Crowley your life story.”
“Correction: my daughter told him.”
“Same difference,” he snorted out.
“Hutch is a good guy. He didn’t tell everyone my business.”
“No, he told Kelly, and Kelly told everyone your business.”
“What?”
“Which doesn’t make Kelly a bad guy, ’cause he’s not, he’s just really young and—”
“Lazlo Lassiter is younger than him.”
“Yeah, but Laz was never really young, right?”
We had all heard the story by that point, because when his husband-to-be Britton’s parents showed up to meet him and Lazlo’s daughter’s mother’s parents had visited, the truth had all come tumbling out of Coz’s sister, Mia. I, of course, had known Lazlo used to be a rent boy—Kelly had told me—but I hadn’t known the extent of his life before he was an adult, when he hadn’t been the one making all the decisions. So even though Kelly’s childhood had not been all milk and cookie happy either, so far Lazlo won for crappiest.
“Yeah, okay.”
“So basically, when Kelly told everyone what a saint you are and—”
“What’re you—”
“Stop,” he placated me. “You are, don’t be stupid. You’re the kind of person we all hope to be when push comes to shove.”
“That’s a really simplistic interpretation of—”
“Just let it go,” he directed. “And take the fuckin’ compliment.”
My groan made him smile.
“But the problem is, now you’re this paragon of virtue no one wants to sully.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
He coughed. “You’re like a virgin.”
I almost fell because my feet got tangled up midstride. Dwyer was quick to steady me and then yank me to a stop so I wouldn’t hurt myself.
“What the hell did you just say?”
“Calm down.”
“What the hell , Dwyer?”
He tried not to laugh but failed miserably. “Listen, the whole town knows you’re a goddamn prince of a guy,” he said, chuckling, throwing up his arms. “All the women wish their husbands were you, all the husbands fuckin’ hate you and are thanking God you’re gay, and all the gay men… well… no one wants to be the guy who did anything to fuck up Essien Dodd’s life or his daughter’s.”
I stared at him.
He lifted his eyebrows.
“You’re serious?”
He nodded quickly.
“Holy shit, you are serious.”
“I mean, what’s his name, the little twink counselor Ivy brought home from school for you to snack on, who clearly did nothing for you, was—”
“You know about that?”
“Aww man, everybody knows about that.”
I had to sit down and started looking around for a bench, which wasn’t difficult. The whole town was salted with little whitewashed benches placed on grassy knolls and under tiny arbors draped in wisteria, and all around the mangrove tree in the
They welcomed me into their cocoon, and I was happy to go there. It was a refuge, one Ivy found as soothing as I did. Not that she didn’t love and adore everyone else, but now and then, she needed to decompress, and there was no one better to do that with than Takeo. The first time she was sick and he arrived with homemade shoyu ramen instead of chicken noodle soup, she was in love. Between me liking Takeo and Dwyer, and my daughter liking them as well, I finally had that best friend I’d always heard so much about.
So the fact that he was lecturing me at the moment could not simply be ignored.
“Are you listening to me?”
“Actually, yes,” I assured him. “And I ask again, how do you know that Roark Hammond is pining away for me?”
“I’m sorry, when did I say pining? I said that he fucks around because he can’t start something with you.”
“And why is that?”
His glare made me feel stupid.
“What?”
“You told Hutch Crowley your life story.”
“Correction: my daughter told him.”
“Same difference,” he snorted out.
“Hutch is a good guy. He didn’t tell everyone my business.”
“No, he told Kelly, and Kelly told everyone your business.”
“What?”
“Which doesn’t make Kelly a bad guy, ’cause he’s not, he’s just really young and—”
“Lazlo Lassiter is younger than him.”
“Yeah, but Laz was never really young, right?”
We had all heard the story by that point, because when his husband-to-be Britton’s parents showed up to meet him and Lazlo’s daughter’s mother’s parents had visited, the truth had all come tumbling out of Coz’s sister, Mia. I, of course, had known Lazlo used to be a rent boy—Kelly had told me—but I hadn’t known the extent of his life before he was an adult, when he hadn’t been the one making all the decisions. So even though Kelly’s childhood had not been all milk and cookie happy either, so far Lazlo won for crappiest.
“Yeah, okay.”
“So basically, when Kelly told everyone what a saint you are and—”
“What’re you—”
“Stop,” he placated me. “You are, don’t be stupid. You’re the kind of person we all hope to be when push comes to shove.”
“That’s a really simplistic interpretation of—”
“Just let it go,” he directed. “And take the fuckin’ compliment.”
My groan made him smile.
“But the problem is, now you’re this paragon of virtue no one wants to sully.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
He coughed. “You’re like a virgin.”
I almost fell because my feet got tangled up midstride. Dwyer was quick to steady me and then yank me to a stop so I wouldn’t hurt myself.
“What the hell did you just say?”
“Calm down.”
“What the hell , Dwyer?”
He tried not to laugh but failed miserably. “Listen, the whole town knows you’re a goddamn prince of a guy,” he said, chuckling, throwing up his arms. “All the women wish their husbands were you, all the husbands fuckin’ hate you and are thanking God you’re gay, and all the gay men… well… no one wants to be the guy who did anything to fuck up Essien Dodd’s life or his daughter’s.”
I stared at him.
He lifted his eyebrows.
“You’re serious?”
He nodded quickly.
“Holy shit, you are serious.”
“I mean, what’s his name, the little twink counselor Ivy brought home from school for you to snack on, who clearly did nothing for you, was—”
“You know about that?”
“Aww man, everybody knows about that.”
I had to sit down and started looking around for a bench, which wasn’t difficult. The whole town was salted with little whitewashed benches placed on grassy knolls and under tiny arbors draped in wisteria, and all around the mangrove tree in the