Declan stomped over to the fridge. “Fuck,” he said, then stuck his head in and rummaged around, his curses muffled by the machine. When he emerged, he had a bottle of beer in his hand, and he flipped the cap off. “Of course you’re acting like a damn fool, then.” He raised the bottle in the air, then grinned to Jameson. “Glad to meet you, Jameson. He treating you right?”
Jameson smiled back, then dropped his backpack onto the chair. “He is,” Jameson said. “Thanks. And I’m sorry to hear about all the trouble we’ve caused you.”
Declan took a swig from the beer, then glared at Gray. “That’s not yours to worry about. Although Gray here isn’t getting off so easy.”
“You can yell at me as much as you want after Jameson goes to bed,” Gray said. “But can I have a beer first?”
Declan grunted, then rummaged in the fridge for another beer. “Anything for you, Jameson?”
“Just a water,” he answered. A funny half-smile turned up the corner of Jameson’s mouth. Declan definitely was all bark at first, but it was pretty clear to Jameson that there was nothing but love behind it. And watching the guys express their emotions to each other so easily was satisfying to Jameson in a way he didn’t expect.
“All right, nephew,” Declan said. He jumped forward, took Gray under his arm, and mussed up his hair for a minute before tossing him aside. “I want to hear what happened, and I know you two have some stories for me. But first, Justin—”
“Jameson,” Gray corrected immediately, saving Jameson the trouble.
“Right,” Declan grunted. “Jameson. I’m sorry, but I need to ask for your help with some Kaiser Security business. I’ve got the number of the police officer assigned to your case here. She doesn’t suspect that there’s been an actual kidnapping, despite what the tabloids say, but if you give her a call and confirm that, they’ll be able to correct the media on one story, at least.”
Jameson nodded. “Right. Okay, that makes sense.”
Declan nodded, then slid his phone to Jameson. “She might ask you to come in, but you don’t have to answer anything now. Just say you’re fine, and Kaiser Security will be back in touch on your behalf soon.”
“Thanks, Uncle Declan,” Gray said. “I appreciate your help.”
Declan grunted. “Don’t think he’s the only one with some phone calls. Your mother is worried sick. On with it, though. Once you’re done, you need to give Jameson a tour of the place and a proper welcome, and someone needs to go interrupt my boyfriend’s work to let him know that we have guests.”
“Got it,” Jameson nodded. He picked up the phone, glanced at the number, and then nodded again.
“First step,” Gray said, kissing him on the cheek. “You can do this.”
Jameson gathered his nerves, then made the phone call, pacing around the open loft space the whole time. The woman was nice enough, even if she seemed a little frustrated by the media circus that had arrived at her doorstep, and she didn’t push on anything that Jameson obviously didn’t want to talk about. When he hung up the phone, relief flooded his body, knowing that at least some of the heat was off Gray.
A reflection in the window he stood before caught Jameson’s eye, and a second later, Gray appeared behind him. His face was scrunched up with concern, and even though Jameson wanted to pull him into a kiss, he stopped himself for some reason.
“You like my uncle’s place? Want a tour?”
“Sure,” Jameson answered. “It’s really nice. Some of the stuff reminds me of you.”
“Oh yeah? Like what?”
“You had an armchair like that,” Jameson said, nodding to it. “Didn’t you?”
Gray spun around, then finally smiled. “You remembered my grandma’s armchairs.” He laughed and gave Jameson a quick kiss on the cheek. “That’s cool.”
They did a slow tour of the downstairs of the house, with Gray showing all of his favorite things while Declan sat at the floating kitchen counter, grunting and sometimes shouting out a comment. Jameson did his best to take it all in, hungry like he always was to understand Gray a little bit better, but dazed and disoriented from the afternoon.
When they got the second floor, Gray knocked lightly on a big wooden door, and a minute later, a young guy about Jameson’s age answered with a small black dog at his feet. He was cute in a perfectly geeky way, and it made Jameson like him immediately. His hair was a little messy, and he looked tired as he stared back and forth between them, but then he did a little hop, and his eyes lit up. “Oh my god, Gray!”
He welcomed them into the room, and everyone did introductions. Jameson forgot about all of his other worries as he watched Seb, smiling and chatting as he tidied the papers that were sprawled out on his big wooden desk. Something about him being boyfriends with Declan started to make Jameson over-identify with him, and he found himself bouncing a little on the balls of his feet as he listened.
“Are you here for long?” Seb asked, pushing the last papers aside.
“At least a minute,” Gray answered. He had his arm over Jameson’s shoulder, but his eyes were still cast aside, and his voice sounded a little flat. “I thought my uncle was probably the right guy to help me out, considering the situation I got us into.”
Jameson bumped his hip against Gray’s, then squeezed their bodies closer. “It’s okay, Gray,” he said under his breath. “It will be okay.”
Gray nodded, then finally turned to hold Jameson’s eye. When Jameson smiled softly, Gray smiled back, and Jameson felt a rush of relief that his guy was still there.
“Anyway,” Gray said, “it seems like Declan will save the day, thank god.”
