Unfortunate Son (14 page)

Sure enough, the bearded emcee in the pink dress—cupid’s bow lips painted to match—smiled and spoke louder. “And now, ladies and gentlemen, without further ado—”

“Ado, ado, to you and you and you-ooo!” the other emcee singsonged, earning a laugh from the crowd and a backhanded slap to the stomach from her cohort.

“…without further interruption from the peanut gallery, the Stilettos are proud to present, in her debut headlining performance—the fabulous Miss Coco Lamé!”

The music started back up, lights flashed, and then out came Coco in all her flashy glory. She wore a gold-sequined vest with matching fringe over a white, midriff-baring top, though as she moved, Evan could see that the midriff was actually covered with flesh-colored spandex. Her cowgirl-style hat, tight skirt, and boots shimmered with black glitter, and on one hip, she carried what appeared to be a holster trimmed in even more shiny gold.

Evan was too busy trying not to laugh at the overkill to notice the music, but when Riley lifted a carefully groomed eyebrow and leaned closer, Evan leaned in to catch his comment.

“I wouldn’t have figured Cory—excuse me, Coco—for a Pointer Sisters fan.”

Sure enough, Coco launched into an energetic rendition of “I’m So Excited.” She shimmied, she twisted, she pointed and flirted, and the crowd went crazy for it all. Hands waved money at her in all directions, and Coco collected it with hands, cleavage, and that holster, its presence clearly meant for more than just show.

Coco came closer to their end of the bar, and Evan shared a smile with her as she took the fiver he held out and leaned in to give him a kiss on his cheek. She took Riley’s tip the same way, and then turned to Mikey, who stood as if in shock, staring.

Riley’s eyebrow rose again. “Mikey, honey, you’re supposed to tip the nice lady now,” he admonished.

Mikey snapped back to attention, a blush rising high on his cheeks as he held out his offering. Coco slithered closer, taking Mikey’s wrist and giving an assist for him to deposit the cash directly into her cleavage. Maintaining her grip on Mikey, she pulled him in close for a gentle kiss on the mouth, leaving behind a swipe of bright red lipstick to go with the now deep red of his cheeks. She gave him a final lingering glance and a wink and went back to working the rest of the crowd.

Evan couldn’t help smirking at Mikey, who just stared after Coco, dumbstruck. He leaned closer to Riley. “I think your boy might have a little bit of a crush.”

Riley laughed softly. “I can’t imagine where you could have gotten
that
idea.”

T
HEY
HUNG
around after the show ended until Cory emerged from the back room, bling shed in favor of jeans and a T-shirt, though some shimmering bits clung around the edges. He grinned when he saw Evan and practically bounced across the room, duffel bag held in one hand.

“Oh my God!” He threw his free arm around Evan in a hug. “Thank you
so
much for coming. That was so fucking much fun!” He backed away to smile at Riley before transferring his attention to Mikey. “Seriously, you guys were awesome. Thanks for being here!”

Riley smiled. “Cory… I’m afraid I don’t recall your last name?”

“Lassiter,” Cory supplied, gaze never leaving Mikey’s.

“Cory Lassiter, this is my very best friend, Mikey O’Malley.”

Cory moved closer to Mikey and held out his free hand. “I’m very pleased to meet you, Mikey.”

Mikey swallowed visibly. Evan imagined it would’ve been audible, too, had the music not been so loud. “The pleasure is all mine,” he replied as their hands met.

Evan could almost see the bubble form around the two men. He turned his attention back to Riley. “Were you headed home after this?”

Riley finished his drink and set it on the bar. “Actually, yes, I should really be going.” He slid off the barstool and shot a look toward Mikey, who only had eyes for Cory. “I think Mikey already has his ride home handled, but he has cash for a cab if that falls through.”

Evan chuckled. “Well, if you wanted some company….”

Riley gave him a smile as fake as the eyelashes Cory had worn during his act. “Thanks for the offer, honey, but it’s not a good night.” He leaned up to brush a kiss over Evan’s cheek. “You have a great night, all right?”

He turned and was gone before Evan could blink, much less muster any kind of protest.

“A
NOTHER
ROUND
?”

Evan’s vision blurred as he blinked at the bartender. “How many’s that? Three?”

The man—Bill? Tony? Damned if Evan could remember—laughed. “Yeah, I think you’re done.” He reached for the two empty shot glasses still sitting on the bar. “I’ve served you twice that many. If you’re that far off? I think you’re eighty-sixed.”

Evan frowned. “M’not drunk enough.”

A hand landed on his shoulder. “Yeah, you are.”

Evan swiveled his head and tried to focus on whoever had walked up next to him. “C’mon, man.” The voice sounded familiar, but his brain couldn’t force the name through the alcohol.

“’Nother drink!”

“No.” The man had him by the arm now. “We’re going home, Evan. I’m taking Mikey home, and then I’m taking you home. Say good night to the nice bartender.”

Evan rotated his head back toward the bar. “G’night.”

The bartender shook his head. “Good night, man. Hope you’re not hurting too much in the morning.”

Arm still held in a death grip, Evan stumbled his way up the steps to the entrance and out into the night. It wasn’t any cooler outside, but the air was fresher, without the cloud of cigarette smoke and sweat that had pervaded the bar.

“All right, keep moving, now.” Evan’s mind had cleared a little just from being up and moving around, and he recognized Cory now, though he didn’t know who the guy with him was.

“After hours?” Somewhere deep under the alcohol and nicotine haze, Evan knew the answer, but he said it anyway.

“The only place you’re going now is to bed. Well, first into my car, and then we’ll drop off Mikey, but then? Bed.”

Mikey. Oh yeah. The guy with Riley. Riley.

“Wanna see Riley.” Evan walked into something. It was the side of a car.

Cory grunted, pushing Evan aside so he could get the door unlocked and open. “Inside,” he ordered, and Evan flopped down into the passenger seat, mainly because his legs didn’t want to hold him up anymore. He struggled to get them inside, too, but they didn’t want to work right. Another set of hands grabbed them and swung them into the car, and Evan sighed, exhausted from the effort.

The door closed, and Evan’s head dropped against the window. The cool of the glass felt nice on his temple, so he shifted to press the whole side of his face against it. He heard some noises, some people talking, but he didn’t pay any attention.

“All right. Evan, hon, if you think you’re gonna barf, try to warn me so I can pull over or at least get the window down, okay?”

The car lurched into motion, and Evan’s stomach let him know that barfing might be a distinct possibility. Evan closed his eyes, streetlights and headlights strobing through his eyelids, and drifted.

“Evan, hon? Can you come in with us?”

Evan blinked awake. He turned his head to find Cory looking at him, his brow furrowed in concern. Evan was still drunk off his ass, but he’d sobered up enough to be aware of it, which was an improvement. Of sorts.

“Yeah.” He reached for the door handle and got it open on the first try. “Go me,” he muttered, pulling himself out and then steadying himself with one hand on the doorframe and the other on the car roof, just to be sure his legs would hold him. They seemed steady enough, so he stepped away from the car, pushing the door shut behind him.

Cory and Mikey met him at the front end of the car. Mikey looked like he’d had a few drinks himself, but Cory’s eyes were bright and clear. “Let’s get Mikey delivered safely, and then we’ll get you back to yours.”

He wrapped an arm around Mikey’s shoulders and headed up the stairs. Evan followed in their wake, concentrating on
not
tripping and
not
throwing up. Mikey had a code for the secured entrance, so they didn’t have to wait for Riley to buzz them in, at least. The elevator ride gave Evan’s stomach another adventure, but within a few minutes, Mikey was unlocking the door to Riley’s place and Evan was following him and Cory inside.

“Let me get you guys some water.” Mikey kept his voice low, and with all the lights in the unit off except the one over the stove, Evan figured Riley must be asleep. He wandered into the living room and fell onto the sofa sideways, legs hanging off at an angle that would probably be uncomfortable soon. But he didn’t have the energy to move.

He floated again, hearing soft noises off in the distance and his own breathing inside his head.

“Hey, man. Let’s get you up.”

Hands were on him, and he whined as Cory pulled him into a semisitting position. “Drink,” Cory said, pushing a bottle of water in front of him. Evan took it and sipped, then tipped the bottle up to drink deeply, suddenly dry as a desert.

“Whoa, man.” Cory manhandled the bottle away from him. “Let that settle first. Last thing we need is for you to—”

Too late. Evan lurched to his feet and ran for the bathroom. As he crouched over the toilet, retching up everything he’d drunk that night and a couple of spare body parts, he had a fleeting thought of thanks that he’d been there before. At least he’d known where to go when his stomach rebelled.

Someone laid a cool cloth across the back of his neck, and once again a bottle of water appeared in front of him. “Thanks,” he rasped.

“Thanks for making it to the bathroom.”

Evan jerked his head up toward Riley and immediately regretted it when the tile spun. He lunged for the toilet again, dry heaving and spitting. He broke into an all-over sweat and immediately began shivering in the cool air.

The cloth slid away from his neck, and a moment later, a towel was wrapped around his shoulders. “Rinse your mouth,” Riley instructed, holding out the water again, and Evan did as instructed, rinsing and spitting into the toilet. He reached with a shaky hand to flush and then sat back on the thick bath mat that had cushioned his knees.

“Thanks.” He swallowed and took a tiny sip of water to soothe his ravaged throat. “Sorry.”

“Not necessary.” Riley leaned against the vanity, arms crossed. “Any particular reason you felt the need to drink yourself into oblivion tonight?”

Evan shrugged one shoulder. Even if he’d wanted to get into everything—which he didn’t—he still had too much alcohol coursing through his system to make any amount of sense.

Riley sighed. “Right. Well, I’m not going to leave you on the bathroom floor, but I don’t relish the idea of having a mess like this in my bed. Mikey decided to go home with Cory—against my protests, but he’s a grown man—so the guest room’s open. I’ll get it ready while you stay here and make sure you’re done being sick. Okay?”

Evan nodded once, not about to risk more movement than that. All he really grasped was that there was a bed he could sleep in, even one without Riley in it. The thought of dragging himself home in this condition was more than he could stand.

He stayed there, face against the cool of the tile wall, and waited for his stomach to settle, or not, as the case might be. It didn’t improve, but it didn’t get worse, either. By the time Riley returned, Evan actually felt like he might be able to walk far enough to climb into bed.

“All right, let’s get you up.” Riley held out a hand, but Evan ignored it, pushing himself carefully to his feet. Riley raised an eyebrow before turning and heading back into the hall, and Evan followed, keeping one hand on the wall to steady himself. He made it safely to the bed and lowered himself to the mattress, curling up on his side.

“Shoes.” Evan managed to toe them off, the sound of them hitting the floor probably not as loud in reality as it sounded in his head.

“You’d probably be more comfortable if you could get your jeans off.”

Evan smiled at that, or tried, at least. “You gonna help?”

Riley snorted. “You’re on your own there, honey.”

Evan blew out a breath and started fumbling with the button. Thankful he hadn’t worn button fly, he got the zipper down and shoved at the denim, eventually managing to work the jeans down and off. He might as well have run a marathon for how wrung out the process left him feeling.

“All right. Water on the table here, and a bottle of ibuprofen for when you wake up needing it. And I put a wastebasket right here in case you get sick again.”

Evan made a noise he hoped sounded like acknowledgment. A moment later, he felt something soft and warm cover him.

“Sleep it off, honey.” Soft lips brushed his temple. “See you in the morning.”

Evan slept.

“O
W
.”

The word spilled from Evan’s mouth before he even knew he was awake. Sunlight streamed through the sheer curtains at the window of the unfamiliar room. Shielding his eyes with one hand, he squinted and looked around, trying to remember where the hell he was. His gaze landed on the bottles of ibuprofen and water on the nightstand.