Jack's gaze grew stern. "You afraid your son
will outshine his dad?"
Mark stopped eating and glared at him. "How
dare you."
"You know how close you are coming to
sabotaging Alex's chance at a film career?"
"Jack, let it go. Mark will meet with Randy
tomorrow." Adam massaged Mark's shoulders.
"I love my son." Mark glared at Jack. "I want
the world for him."
Steve returned, putting Mark's phone on the
table and sitting beside him.
"Then butt the fuck out of his life." Jack
snarled.
Steve sat up in surprise. "What'd I
miss?"
Mark glared at Jack. "You're not a father.
You will never be one. And although Alex is like a son to Adam, to
you?" Mark leaned over the table towards Jack. "To you, Jack, he
has always been a sexual interest."
"Guys," Adam said, "Stop saying things you'll
regret."
Mark had no intention. He met Jack's steely
glare with his own. "You hate Billy because you want Alex. You
despise me because I didn't let you touch me at his age."
Jack's teeth showed under his lip. "Watch it,
Richfield."
"I agree with Adam," Steve said, holding up
his hand. "It's late and we've all had a bad day."
Mark ate another mouthful of the toast, and
then sipped the tea, his stare never leaving Jack's.
Jack didn't break his gaze on Mark, but Mark
could see his expression softened from the anger Jack was enduring
from him.
After blowing on the tea to cool it, Mark
swallowed the two pills down, and kept eating.
"I don't hate Billy."
Mark knew it was a lie. He finished the toast
and brushed the crumbs off his hand, then picked up his phone.
"I don't." Jack obviously felt defensive and
was trying to convince Steve and Adam.
Mark dialed his son and put the phone to his
ear. Billy answered.
"Hi, Mark."
"Hi, lovely. I take it things are all
right."
"Yes. Alex is asleep. We're fine. Did you
straighten things out with Randy?"
"I am going to try. I have a…" Mark glared at
Steve when he said, "…date…with him tomorrow."
"A date," Billy said flatly.
"Yes. He's having his driver pick me up at
noon for coffee. I shall see what it takes to make this go
away."
"Mark…"
"Don't worry, Billy." Mark met Jack's eyes.
"I will do whatever it takes to help Alexander."
"No…Mark, you don't mean—"
"Tell my baby he has nothing to worry about.
Okay?"
"Mark…look…"
"Goodnight, Billy." Mark disconnected the
phone and shut it off, setting it aside. He glared at Jack. "You
think I won't do anything in my power to make sure Alex gets this
part?"
Steve shifted in the chair. "I am not hearing
what I think I am hearing, Mark."
Mark shot him a warning glare. He met Jack's
gaze again. "I am not jealous of my son." Mark's anger sparked and
he was about to fly across the table and throttle Jack. "Do you
understand me?"
Jack didn't answer, but they were locked in a
powerful staring match.
Adam caressed Mark's hair from behind, as if
trying to calm him. Mark nudged him away. "None of you will ever
know how strong a bond is from father to son. None of you. I will
never be Milt Richfield! So don't you dare tell me how to feel." He
stood and shoved the chair back.
Mark felt shaky and tired. Using the wall and
railing, he walked up the stairs to the second floor, but instead
of entering his own room, he kept walking down the hall and opened
the door of the bedroom Alex had stayed in before he moved out with
Billy. Mark hadn't changed it. The posters of porn stars were still
up on the walls with tacks, and the shelf filled with gay romance
and x-rated novels and DVDs. He lay down on Alex's bed and curled
into the pillow, staring at the poster of 'Clyde', a rough god with
a shaved head and goatee, sporting a huge erection. After gazing at
it for a moment, Mark closed his eyes.
~
"Fuck," Steve said softly. "I have never seen
Mark so angry."
Adam sat in Mark's empty chair. "He has a
right to be."
Steve caught Jack's accusing glare. Steve
pointed at Jack, saying, "Mark told me to check him out. Don't pin
this on me."
"What did you do to him?" Jack asked. "What
did you and that fucking LAPD moron do to Randy?"
Steve glanced at Adam nervously. "We
talked."
"Talked." Jack leaned his elbows on the
table. "Tell me what you said."
"You know. Just that we wanted to make sure
Alex was taken care of." Steve didn't have the nerve to tell them
he actually pinned the man to the wall and threatened him.
Adam rubbed his face tiredly. "Look. Let's
see what happens tomorrow. Let Mark smooth it out."
"Smooth it out?" Jack stifled a scream that
sounded to Steve as a man about to go ballistic. "Mark's going to
have to do something to that fuck!"
Steve's body went into an adrenalin
battle-rush at the idea. "No."
"No?" Jack looked at Steve as if he was an
idiot. "The guy is picking Mark up in a limo to take him to his
house!"
"He's straight!" Adam said, trying not to
speak too loudly. "Okay? All roads point to a straight actor! I
wish you fucking idiots would just let Alex and I take care of it!
It was done…okay? We had a great audition, a fabulous read with
Randy at the studio, an amazing contract. The script is top notch.
Why did any of you fuckheads think you had to do a damn thing?"
Steve balled his fist and felt like shit.
"Damn it. Adam. Fuck. I'm so sorry. You're right. Mark telling me
to check him out…seeing Billy cruising by Randy's place…it got out
of hand."
"Out of hand?" Jack made a gesture to reach
for Steve's shirt but stopped himself. "How…out of hand?"
Steve ran his fingers through his hair and
swallowed a lump in his throat.
"What the fuck did you do?" Adam appeared
panic-stricken.
"He…" Steve felt his eyes burn. "He sort of
threatened to kick Alex off the film."
"Oh my God!" Adam threw up his hands.
"Well?" Steve glanced at him. "Billy and I
freaked. So…so I pinned him to the wall."
"Pinned who to the wall?" Adam asked,
gaping.
"You pinned Randy Dawson to the fucking
wall?" Jack's veins popped in his neck.
"Alex is so screwed," Adam moaned, slouching
in the chair. "I won't even have the heart to tell him. I won't."
Adam folded his arms over his chest.
Steve stood abruptly and stared out at the
night sky through the back sliding door.
A noise behind him made Steve look over his
shoulder. Jack stood up, signaling to Adam. "I'm going."
Adam nodded.
Steve knew they normally stayed over for the
weekends, but…
Jack left the room.
Steve opened his arms to Adam in a gesture of
weakness and pain. Adam approached him and held him. "Mark may work
his magic. Don't go over the deep end yet."
Hugging Adam, Steve said in his ear, "You
know damn well what Randy wants from him."
Adam hid his face in Steve's shirt, and then
seemed to find the strength to say, "I do."
Steve held Adam so they could see into each
other's eyes. "So, your 'straight' actor will fuck my man."
Biting his lower lip, Adam didn't reply at
first, and then whispered, "He'll do what he has to do."
Steve died inside. Looking away, he released
Adam and heard him and Jack leave, closing the front door. Steve
picked up the cup and dish from the table, placing them into the
dishwasher and starting it. Shutting lights as he went, he scuffed
up the staircase and looked into his bedroom. Mark was not there.
Steve checked the bathroom. Then he walked down the hall looking
into the spare rooms. At the end of the hall he found Mark lying on
Alex's bed, facing the wall, away from the door.
Obviously hearing him, Mark said, "Leave me
be."
Steve didn't argue this time. He lowered his
head and walked to their bedroom, going through the motions of
washing up for the night. He sat on their bed and rubbed his face
and hair, wondering why he had fucked up so badly. He wasn't a
stupid man. Had never been a heavy-handed cop, was open to all
kinds of people, had a 'live and let live' mentality…when did he
change into a monster who is so pigheaded he couldn't think
straight?
Alex.
Neither he nor Mark could pretend it did not
affect their behavior from the moment that eighteen-year-old boy
entered their lives. Not only did they have to deal with the fact
that Mark had a biological son, but they had so many ups and downs
with Alex's sexual come-ons, his wild flings with bikers and porn
stars, his cheating on Oliver, and his sneaking behind their backs
to screw a man who was not only twenty years his senior, but a
close friend.
Was it jealousy?
Was it?
Were both Steve and Jack still reeling from
Alex choosing Billy over them?
Steve looked at Mark's empty side of the bed.
He shut the light on the nightstand and picked up a stuffed bear.
The bear had gotten Mark through a lot of heartbreak as a child and
Mark had salvaged it from the estate before it sold.
Steve held the sweet brown bear, Praline…and
felt his eyes burn with his tears. His life washed over him in that
moment; from being sworn into the LAPD while his father was a proud
papa, Sergeant Dick Miller watched his son walk in his footsteps.
First the military, then the police…dating women his family
approved of…until he met Sonja Knight.
Loving a woman of color, having her break his
heart, and being targeted by his father and other LAPD cops for
that interracial love…
Meeting Mark, fucking him on a business
retreat in the dessert in Santa Fe…
Steve never cried. Rarely. Only over Mark;
Mark trying to kill himself, Mark torturing himself.
Would he be happier with Alex?
Steve squeezed the bear to his chest and wept
into Mark's pillow, catching a scent of Mark and his cologne before
he fell asleep.
Late Sunday morning, Mark used the bathroom
in the hall to shower and shave. He blew his hair dry, made sure he
looked perfect, and moisturized his skin. Once he had finished in
the bathroom, he headed down the hall, naked, to his bedroom.
Opening the door, he found Steve lying in bed, staring into space.
Mark didn't speak to him, and walked to his closet to pick out
clothing to wear.
Inside his walk-in closet, Mark selected a
pair of tight black slacks, sliding the silky material up his
thighs, and tucking his cock under the zipper. He sorted through
tops, picking out a V-neck sweater, dark purple, and put it on,
shaking his hair out to fluff it up after. He passed Steve on his
way to the master bathroom, opened the medicine chest and dabbed on
his cologne.
Mark shut the mirrored door and inspected his
reflection critically. He was ready…inside and out…for
whatever.
He left the bathroom and before he walked out
into the hall, he heard Steve say, "Mark."
Halting, Mark glanced over his shoulder.
Steve appeared rough, his beard growth dark after two days of not
shaving. They had both slept late and it was after eleven. Mark was
surprised Steve was in bed, since Steve usually ran a long run on
the weekends. They both did. Not today.
Steve reached out his hand, beckoning
Mark.
Mark stepped closer, standing beside the bed.
He noticed Praline was next to Steve on the pillows. Steve touched
Mark's fingers, toying with them. "First night we've slept
apart."
Mark didn't answer, avoiding Steve's
gaze.
"I left you alone. I know how angry you
were…are."
"That's life. Deal with the hand we are
dealt." Mark made a move to leave but Steve gripped his arm.
Mark paused and looked down at him, finally
meeting those baby blue eyes.
Steve's lip trembled and he said hoarsely,
"Don't tell me what he does to you. Never tell me."
Mark stiffened and felt a chill of revulsion.
He looked away.
"Mark…" Steve sounded so upset Mark was
beginning to choke up with emotion.
"Do you still love me?"
A lump came to Mark's throat. "How could I
ever stop loving you?"
"I'm sorry."
"I brought this on myself. I bring all my
misery onto myself." Mark shook out of Steve's grasp and left the
room, not looking back.
~
Alex moaned and rubbed his head. His mouth
felt dry and his head ached. Squinting at the light coming through
the windows, Alex noticed the bed was empty. He checked the time.
It was nearly noon. The door to his bedroom opened wider, and Billy
carried a tray with him.
Alex tried to sit up on the pillows and
managed to get his long hair out of his face and behind him. Billy
sat on the bed and placed the tray over Alex's lap, on its stand.
"Coffee, toast, a soft boiled egg, and a soy-sausage." Billy
smiled. "Oh. And orange juice. Fresh squeezed."
"Thanks." Alex sipped the coffee and blew on
it when he felt how hot it was. "I'm hung over."
"I figured." Billy pointed to two pills.
"Aspirin."
Alex picked them up and swallowed them with
the juice, drinking all of the liquid down from his thirst. "Have
you heard from Adam?"
"No. But I spoke to your dad last night after
you went to sleep." Billy tucked Alex's hair behind his ear as Alex
dunked the toast into the soft egg.
Chewing, Alex asked, "What did Dad say?"
"He's meeting with Randy today. He said
things will be fine."
"Okay." Alex ate the food, sipping the
coffee. He peeked at Billy. "Did you eat?"
"I did. I went for a morning run, ate and
came back to find you still sleeping."
Nodding, Alex continued to eat and tried to
think. "I…I didn't do anything with anyone last night."
"I know."
"Good." Alex continued to eat as Billy sat
with him.