Chapter Thirty
Mars
Two weeks later
Somehow, even though Rip and I hadn’t asked him to be our boyfriend yet, Clark ended up sleeping at our place most nights.
Except for the nights we slept at his place, that was.
What can I say? Once he started getting what he wanted, the kid was absolutely fucking insatiable, and it wasn’t like Rip or I were inclined to turn him down. Not with the way his laugh filled our apartment or how his satisfied smile and puffy lips made us both grin like teenagers.
The routine we fell into was so easy, I almost didn’t notice it happened. On the days when I had a lot of piercing appointments and Rip came home tired from work, Clark would pop in another sci-fi movie, and we’d all chill together, with our legs tangled up and arms stretched across the back of the couch. Sometimes, we’d pull out an old box of photos when I needed a blast form the past for my social media, and Clark would ask us stories about people Rip and I had almost forgotten.
Other days, I’d swing by the comic book shop while I was driving around town and geek out with the employees I was getting to know there. They loved that a guy like me, all pierced and tatted up and with a foul mouth, got excited about something likeStar Trek. Before I knew it, I’d realize I was late to my next appointment and have to rush out the door.
Rip even started getting more into sci-fi with me. He’d always loved to indulge myStar Trekobsession, thinking it was cute or some shit, but once Clark told him about science fiction horror movies, he was hooked. Turns out alien monsters and abandoned space stations did something special for him, and I don’t know how many nights I woke up on the couch with Clark snoozing in my arms and Rip, wide-eyed and still staring at the TV.
My favorite, though, didn’t have to do with those little fun moments. I loved shooting pool and seeing Clark improve, and I loved waking up to find Rip and Clark in the kitchen, cooking a big meal. But the thing that really got me every time, tugging at my heart and tickling my gut, was watching Clark learn about rock music from Grace.
Hell, we’d even dragged my old guitar down for a couple of singalongs and taught Clark a few classics. He was as bad a singer as I was, but Grace could carry the tune for all of us. All we had to was pound our hands on the table and holler the lyrics.
Rip told me he hadn’t seen Grace so happy in years, and I didn’t doubt it. I could say the same about him—and the same about me, too.
It was just two weeks of sleepovers, but somehow, that was enough to seal the deal. There were enough mind-blowing orgasms, steamy three-person showers, and long, slow dinners for everything to click into place.
Which was how Rip and I ended up clearing our schedules one weekend and driving my truck down to Portland.
Winter winds were whipping through the air, and the trees were bare and gray when we pulled up to the park, on the edge of the neighborhood where Clark’s mom lived. He hadn’t mentioned much about her after that night at the bar, always saying he didn’t want to talk about it, but I kept catching him staring into the distance with a troubled look on his face or sighing sadly when there was a lull in our conversation and laughter.
“You sure he’s going to call when he’s done talking to her?” I asked Rip.
He nodded, staring out the window and over the park. “He promised. Clark is reliable like that, you know?”
I did know. I hadn’t been able to count on someone the way I counted on Clark since I first met Rip, in fact.
I pushed back my seat, then fiddled with the heater distractedly, knowing I should only run it for a while before the old battery would start to strain. “I just don’t want him to lose his relationship with her. I don’t want him to lose his family because he’s falling for us.”
Rip rubbed his hand over his face, then turned to me. “Are we worth it, Mars? Do you think we’re worth it?”
My breath caught in my throat. “Are we worth losing his mother over? I can’t fucking answer a question like that, Rip. Only Clark can.”
Rip shook his head quickly. “It’s not like this is new to either of us. We’ve both lost family because of who we are, and we both kept fighting anyway.”
“But I don’t want Clark to live through that,” I said, gripping the wheel with white knuckles. “He shouldn’t have to.”
“But are we worth it?” Rip asked again. “Can we really ask him to do that?”
A surge of emotion shot through my body, anger and determination and passion all mixing together like hot flames. “Of course we’re fucking worth it,” I said. “You’re my family, Rip. You and Grace are my family, and you’re a better family than I ever could have dreamed of. I was alone for so damn long, but now that I have you both, it’s like all the rest of it disappeared. The pain is still there, sure, and I don’t think I’ll ever get over losing my birth family. Not really. But being part of your family?” I released the wheel and let out a puff of air. “Fuck yeah. I’d say that’s worth everything.”
Rip grabbed my chin and turned my face. His jaw was tight, but his eyes had softened. “I love you, Mars,” he said.
“You, too.”
“Does Clark feel like family, too?”
I kept his gaze, then nodded. “He does.”
“Yeah,” Rip said. “He does.”
