“I should probably clean the space out above the garage and see if there’s more stuff to sell.” He’d been putting it off, knowing most of it was decades old. It would be worse than the three rooms they’d already cleared. He literally couldn’t open the door without a box falling on him.
“I had an idea about that,” Ru piped up.
“Blowing up the garage Stark-style is not an option, hun,” Bas said.
He carefully put the cooling cupcakes on a wire rack for Dane to decorate. Instead of dyeing them green, they were using green wrappers. There were several different colors of frosting, each color a different flavor. Dane painstakingly squeezed a circle of each color onto the cake until it looked like a rainbow heap. Bas had to admit they were cute and tasty looking. The smell was making his stomach growl. Was it almost dinner time? Dane had put together a meatless chili that he’d found in Mrs. C’s recipes, and it was simmering on the stove. Bas wondered if anyone would notice if he went over for a taste.
“I was thinking we could make the room over your garage an apartment,” Ru said. “You could rent it out for a reasonable amount of money, which would help pay for the taxes on the house and food.”
“Are you planning on moving in with me, pretty singer boy? Paradise over with your hot runner, already?” Bas knew there was no way the two were separating, but maybe the Corbins didn’t want Ru staying over so much.
“Nope. I’m actually moving in with the Corbins. Going to be attending Northern CC for some generals in the fall. I’m thinking the garage apartment would work for a certain playboy who currently lives too far away from the rest of us. And sinceyouthink he is a gift from heaven, the two of you should get along great.”
“Wait. You mean Tommy? You want Tommy to move in with me?”
“Well he wouldn’t be moving in with you exactly,” Adam said. “We talked to him about it last week, how he’s so far away. The drive into the city with no traffic is forty-five minutes. And if there’s snow or a crash somewhere, forget it. It’s the biggest reason that Ru’s coming to live with us. After I graduate, we’ll get an apartment somewhere. But that’s more than a year away and I hate him being alone in the city. Mom and Dad are redecorating the spare bedroom for him.”
“Tommy is out a lot partying, even more now that Vocal Growth is over and I’m not on tour. We’re hoping by giving him a home close to all of us, he will settle a little bit.” Ru leaned against the counter and stared out the far window, then at Dane who was still focused on the cupcakes.
“I’m worried about him. I mean, do you think any of us could escape Vocal Growth completely unscathed? Celebrities lose it all the time. The money and fame just go to our heads or something. Maybe by creating a home and not just a place to crash, he’ll settle down more.”
“I’m not opposed. I just don’t have the funds to do major renovations. There was a toilet up there, but not much else. I don’t even know if the heat still works. It was all on a separate system than the house. So it would be a major remodel. And it’s been packed so long, it’s probably filled with mold and who knows what else.” Bas refilled one of Dane’s pastry bags.
He had to admit he liked the idea of having Tommy closer. “But you have to realize that he will only change if he wants to. There’s nothing wrong with partying.”
“Unless you’re drinking and doing drugs,” Dane said. Obviously he’d been paying attention to more than the cupcakes. “Never saw Tommy smoke more than weed, but he can drink like a fish. AJ was always into the heavier stuff. At least T has a driver. I’d hate to think of him sloshed behind the wheel on the winter streets here. And the constant stream of girls can’t be good. I bought him an industrial pack of condoms for his last birthday.”
“I’ve seen him do heavier stuff than marijuana. And that was during my American tour,” Ru said. “Laid into him bad about it too. He promised he wouldn’t do it again. Some of it’s prescriptions, but even that I think he indulges. I worry a lot, and he’s traveling so much on his own now. I never stay with him anymore. What does he do when I’m not there? I don’t want to show up one day to find him dead in the bathtub or something.”
Bas’s gut twisted with worry. Shit. And here he’d thought Tommy was the one who didn’t need fixing.
“You think he has a problem?”
Ru shrugged. “Can we try to stop it before it becomes a problem? Not be behind the ball on this one?” He walked around the counter and hugged Dane from behind. “I feel guilty enough for being blind to what you were going through,” he told Dane. “I’d like for us not to behind on the eight ball with Tommy too.”
Dane froze where he stood. Bas saw Adam frown. Did he know that Dane had a thing for Ru? A moment later Dane patted Ru’s hands.
“Don’t feel guilty for me, Ru. It wasn’t your fault. And I’m getting better. You should be angry at me for pushing you away when you needed friends the most.”
“Never happen,” Ru mumbled into Dane’s shirt.
Dane pulled Ru’s arms from around him and handed him a tube of frosting.
“Baking makes me feel good. Watching the people I care about eat them makes me feel even better. How about you make a few for Adam and let Bas think about the garage thing. We can do a few cupcakes for Tommy too. I can pay for the garage. If Tommy decides not to move in, we can figure out something else. It will still be a space worth renting to someone. And income is good, if it’s to help kids who don’t have anywhere else to go like Paige.”
Dane handed Bas a finished cupcake. “Will you try the first one? Tell me if it’s good?”
Bas took the confection and peeled off the wrapper. “You’re just giving me food because you know I can’t resist sweets.”
“You did say you were a whore for food,” Dane said.
“And clothes and pretty singer boys.” Bas glanced at Adam. “And runner types, even if I know I don’t have a chance.”
He bit into the cake and was rewarded with a sweet mash of flavors. The cupcake itself was soft and vanilla. The frosting had a hint of strawberry and lemon. He licked the other two layers of frosting—raspberry and lime. The mix of sweet and tart with the cake was perfect. Bas shoved another huge piece in his mouth, devouring the whole thing in three bites.
“Holy crap, that’s good,” he said, but it came out sounding like, “Howy cap tats god.”
Dane beamed. Adam got up from his spot on the couch and found an empty chair at the counter.
