Unfortunate Son (9 page)

T
HE
SMELL
of charcoal burning filled the air when Evan climbed out of his car in Cory’s driveway. He reached back in to grab the beer and bag of limes from the passenger seat before slamming the door and heading up the path to the gate beside the house that led to the backyard. His flip-flops smacked softly against the concrete, but he could tell by the music and voices drifting around the house that no one would likely hear him coming.

As soon as he rounded the corner of the house, though, he saw Jimmy, and Jimmy saw him at almost the same instant. “Oh my God!” Jimmy yelled, bounding over toward Evan. Evan hardly had time to set down the beer before Jimmy launched himself into Evan’s arms, nearly toppling them both back onto the grass. Evan got one foot behind him and a double handful of Jimmy’s ass and managed to keep them upright.

Jimmy’s mouth landed on the curve between Evan’s neck and shoulder and sucked so hard Evan figured he’d have a hickey. When Jimmy finally pulled his mouth free with a loud
pop!
he lifted his head to grace Evan with a shit-eating grin. “How you doin’, loverboy?”

“Much better after
that
greeting.”

Jimmy laughed in reply and planted a wet, smacking kiss on Evan’s mouth before unwrapping himself and sliding back to stand on his own two feet. And it was quite a bit down—Jimmy was only five-foot-five, but built like a brick shithouse, all muscle and covered with tattoos and salt-and-pepper hair. Nearly fifteen years older than Evan, he had more energy in his little finger than Evan managed in total most days.

“Grab that beer and come join the party, babe.” Jimmy didn’t wait for Evan, bouncing his way back over to Cory, who grabbed him for a hot, wet kiss, complete with plenty of moaning and groping. The contrast between the men was sharp—Jimmy short but built, and Cory, at six-foot-two, muscular but lacking Jimmy’s level of gym dedication and as a result going a bit soft around the middle as he headed toward his midthirties.

Evan shook his head fondly at the pair and smiled as he retrieved his beer and headed over toward the pool. He saw a few familiar faces, but he expected many of the partygoers to be strangers or people he’d met only once before. Jimmy and Cory had an impossibly wide range of friends from all walks of life, and both of them loved a good party. And “good” for them meant filled with people who’d join right in with whatever craziness they came up with. Considering the all-male makeup of the attendees, Evan was betting on some nakedness to happen later in the evening.

Cory greeted him with a hug and kiss, not as physical as Jimmy’s hello but no less enthusiastic. “Cooler’s by the pool, hon, and you know where the knives and cutting boards are in the kitchen. Make yourself at home.”

Evan did, nodding to the familiar folks and giving small smiles to the others on his way inside. He sliced up a lime and put the slices in a plastic bowl before carrying everything out to the pool, where he added his bottles to the already full cooler, saving one for himself. He popped off the top, took a big swig, and then pushed a lime slice down into the bottle.

Several of the poolside chairs were open, probably because a good half-dozen guys were already splashing around in the pool. Evan pulled his phone and keys out of his pockets, kicked off his flip-flops, and put his things under the back end of a cushioned chaise, well away from the water, before settling into the seat, beer in hand. He closed his eyes to soak up the late-afternoon sun, its warmth seeping through his skin and down to muscle and bone. His tension melted away, and he relaxed for the first time in days.

“Evan, right?”

Evan tried not to be annoyed at the interruption. He was, after all, at a party. He opened his eyes and turned his head to his left, where one of the familiar faces smiled back at him.

“Hey.” Evan sat up a little straighter and took a sip of his beer to give himself a second to remember the guy’s name.

The guy just smiled wider. “Taylor,” he said. “We only met once, about a year ago. Probably the same ‘opening of the pool’ type party, actually. Anyway, I’m freakishly good at remembering names. Throws people off a lot.”

Evan smiled, and it actually felt genuine. “Kind of a weird superpower.”

Taylor laughed and lifted his beer in salute. “That it is.” He looked around. “Hard to remember names for people I haven’t met, though. I don’t think I know more than four or five people here.”

He gave Evan a hopeful look, and Evan shook his head. “Sorry, can’t help you there. Other than the hosts, I know about as many as you, and I could maybe tell you two other names, if I thought about it hard.”

Taylor’s smile never dimmed. “Oh well. I guess I’ll just introduce myself. If nothing else, can’t beat a night of burgers and beer.”

“And swimming.”

Taylor’s face did fall then. “I, um… never learned to swim. Can’t bring myself to do more than sit on the side and stick my feet in.”

Evan had grown up with a backyard pool and couldn’t even remember not knowing how to swim, but he just shrugged. “Well, if you feel brave and want a lesson later, let me know.”

Taylor grinned again.
Did he ever quit smiling?
Evan thought. “Might just do that,” Taylor said. “Assuming we’re not all shitfaced later.”

Evan lifted his beer. “Guess we should work on that.”

Taylor laughed and brought his own beer up to take a long draught. Evan watched his throat work as he swallowed, let his gaze roam down Taylor’s bare chest, lightly tanned and dusted with brown hair. He waited for his body to react, but nothing happened. Not even a spark.

He gave a mental shrug. He was here to have dinner, not get laid. And if he
did
decide he wanted to get laid, he already had Riley in mind for that job.

Taylor had turned away by then to chat up one of the guys
hanging on the edge of the pool. Most of that guy’s body was
beneath the surface, but his face, shoulders, and arms told a tale of regular visits to the gym, not to mention a tattoo parlor or two. Evan had two tattoos of his own. The small USMC in block letters on his upper right arm that he’d gotten after his first deployment drew a lot of attention when he went sleeveless—especially among gay men—but the design on his back carried more personal meaning: the image of folded hands sat above a simple caption: “Father, forgive me.”

Evan flexed his back, almost as if he could feel the words etched into his skin. He’d gotten the ink not long after he’d started his porn career, but he no longer felt he needed forgiveness. After raising him in church and telling him God loved everyone, his family had abandoned him because of his sexuality, something he couldn’t change and didn’t want to. He still wanted to believe that God loved him, but he sure had a hard time feeling it.

“Hey, boys, it’s time to suck down some buns and dongs—I mean dogs!”

Jimmy’s playful call got everyone laughing and moving toward the grill. Evan waited, though, letting the others gather up and wait their turn in line. He leaned back in his seat and sipped his beer, enjoying the smell of grilled meat and the lingering rays of the sun.

A shadow fell over his body. “C’mon, boy, get your fine ass over here and get some grub before it’s all gone.”

Evan squinted up at Cory. “Just waiting for the crowd to clear out a little first.”

Cory laughed and held out a hand. “Well, come join the party, then. You need more socialization.”

“I get plenty of socialization on set.”

“Getting fucked does not equal getting socialized.” Cory made a “c’mere” gesture, and Evan gave in. He knew Cory wouldn’t leave him be, so he might as well go along. It was easier than fighting him. That was how their entire friendship had been, and Evan doubted it would change anytime soon.

Evan set his beer down and grabbed Cory’s hand, and then he let out an extremely unmanly shriek as Cory yanked hard. Evan went flying toward the edge of the pool, and before he could even make an attempt at stopping his momentum, he plunged into the water.

Laughter filled the air when Evan surfaced, spitting out water. “You asshole!”

Cory just laughed harder. “Just thought you needed a little bath before dinner,” he managed between giggles. “Y’know, clean and fresh!”

Evan shook his head and ran a hand over his face. Water filled his sinuses and ears. “A little warning next time would be nice.” He swam the few feet to the ladder and pulled himself up, water sluicing off his body. As soon as he reached the pool deck, he paused to strip off his tank top and shorts. He’d make Cory throw those in the dryer so he’d be able to wear them home. Good thing he’d emptied his pockets and worn his swim trunks under his shorts.

Evan held his wet clothes in one hand and grabbed a towel from the stack sitting nearby with the other. He ran the towel over his body as he walked toward the grill, where he stopped next to Cory and thrust his dripping clothes against the other man’s chest.

“You got ’em wet,” he said. “You get ’em dry.”

Cory just laughed again. “That’s what he said!”

Evan rolled his eyes. “That doesn’t even make sense.” But Cory was off already, headed toward the house, where Evan hoped his clothes would make it into the dryer. The line for food had dwindled by then, so he grabbed a plastic plate and started filling it. Besides the burgers and hot dogs and a huge selection of trimmings, the food table held coleslaw, three kinds of potato chips, and even a bowl of fruit salad. Evan took a little of everything, though he stuck to the barbecue-flavored chips, and carried his loaded plate back over to where he’d left his beer.

“Hey, Ev, honey?” Evan turned to where Jimmy was settling into a chair at the patio table halfway between the house and the pool. “Would you let me have one of your Coronas?” He grinned, ever irrepressible. “I feel like drinking some piss, and you know Cory doesn’t like watersports.”

Evan shook his head even as he smiled and turned toward the cooler. “You want a lime?”

“No, thanks, babe. If I want it fruity, I’ll just stick my finger in it!”

Cory’s voice came from over by the food. “That’s what he said!”

“No.” Evan pointed the neck of the unopened bottle at Cory, trying to fight back a smile. “You only get one ‘that’s what he said’ a day, and you already burned it earlier. Try again.”

Cory huffed and planted his hands on his hips. “My house, my rules!”

“That’s what he said!” Jimmy crowed, before collapsing against the back of his chair in a giggle fit. The laugh Evan had been fighting burst out, and he walked over to put the beer on the table in front of Jimmy.

“Behave yourself and eat,” he told the other man, who by then was wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. “And no snappy comebacks to that one or I’m taking my beer back!”

“Yes, dear.” Jimmy reached for the beer as Evan headed back to his chair. His own bottle still sat where he’d left it, and as he picked up his plate and lowered himself into his seat, Taylor appeared and retook his previous spot in the next chair.

“Oh my God, I am so hungry!” Taylor popped a chip into his mouth and crunched noisily while he picked up his burger. “I had a bowl of cereal when I got up and haven’t had a single bite since then. I need some
meat
!”

That’s what he said!
went through Evan’s mind, followed by,
Great, now I’ll have
that
in my head for the next few days
. He rolled his eyes as he bit into his own burger. As much as he loved Cory and Jimmy, they could drive him absolutely batshit crazy sometimes.

And you wouldn’t have it any other way
, he told himself. As if he needed the reminder. Cory and Jimmy weren’t just his best friends; they were his only friends. His only
real
friends, anyway. Evan didn’t spend much time hanging out with other porn models. He rarely went to industry events, and when he had shoots or appearances, he preferred keeping to himself during downtime. Of
course, like a lot of porn models, Evan had pseudofriends
everywhere, people who followed him on Twitter and Facebook, sent him fan mail, came to his live events and had their pictures made with him, and then felt like they knew him.

The truth was, while there were a handful of other models and fans he’d talked to enough that he’d probably consider them to be friends of a sort, none of them had anything close to the kind of insight into his life that Cory and Jimmy had. None of them had spent time with him, talked him through the bad days, supported him no matter what. Hell, since Cory and Jimmy were the reason he’d gotten into porn in the first place, without them, none of the others would know him anyway.

That was why he was here, surrounded by a dozen strangers and near-strangers, drinking beer and eating burgers in a suburban backyard. He would do almost anything for these two. Coming to a cookout barely even registered on the scale.

The group stayed mostly silent while everyone ate, just a few compliments thrown in the direction of the hosts and the requisite smartass replies. Low music came from just inside the screened-off patio door, upbeat but neutral, nothing like the hard, driving dance music that tended to be so popular in most groups of gay men. Probably Cory’s playlist, Evan thought. He liked throwbacks, especially from the ’70s and ’80s, while Jimmy was the one who kept up with the latest hits, even though Jimmy was older by six-plus years.

Evan felt himself relax as he ate and drank, knots he hadn’t even realized he was carrying loosening and falling away. To say he’d had a shit week would be the understatement of the century, and he still had dinner with his parents to deal with. But sitting in Cory’s backyard, full of good food and surrounded by good people, he could let go of it all.