“Hello. Bryant and Waites, boyfriend hire service. This is Rowan speaking; how can I help?”
Nate quickly hung up. “Boyfriend hire,” he uttered. He eyed the card. What kind of hire? Escorts? Was it that kind of thing? Not that it mattered, he was more concerned with how Luka had gotten hold of their business card. His first instinct was to head straight to the cinema, wrap Luka in a hug and insist they talk—what in god’s name had Luka gotten hold of? Panic gripped him along with the idea of calling the cops and sickening thoughts of who had been around his son, but then he counted down from ten and pulled himself together. No point in panicking yet.
I need to talk to Luka.
He glanced at Luka’s journal. He had promised himself, and Luka, to never pry, to give Luka his own space for his thoughts and feelings, but finding the card wasn’t sitting right with Nate. The journal’s lock was just for show and with a squeeze of the clasp it opened.
I’ll just skim through for any mention of this Bryant-Waites place. Nate felt bad but he wanted to be sure. As far as he knew Luka hadn’t been acting any differently, and if he had, he was nearly a teenager so acting differently and teen years went hand-in-hand. Apart from taking off by himself the other week, everything had been the same as normal.
He started at the end of the journal, flicked back through the pages. He didn’t read every word as he scanned for any mention of the company. Jared’s name appeared in some of the newer entries, but Nate didn’t read further. When or if he and Jared looked to become a real, lasting relationship, then he would talk to Luka.
“Oh,” he said out loud then read from the page he’d stopped at, “Dear Mr. or Mrs. Bryant and Waites, my Auntie Lee said that you let people borrow boyfriends…” Nate raised an eyebrow. “Lee, what on earth have you been telling him?” He continued, “… and I want one for my dad. It’s his birthday… a nice present…”
It’s your birthday soon. I wanted to get you something.
“Luka. Don’t tell me…”
Your son was near my work.
Nate closed the journal, slipped it back inside Luka’s bag and closed the zipper.
He hesitated for a moment, then redialed the number.
“Hello. Bryant and Waites. This is Rowan speaking; how can I help you?”
“Hi, sorry to bother you but I was wondering if Jared was in today?”
“He isn’t I’m afraid. Is there something I can help you with? Do you have a reference number from a booking or—”
“No, no reference number.”
“Oh, okay. So, is this for a new hire? If so, you’ll need to send us through your requirements, location, dates etcetera. Is it Jared in particular you’re after? Did he work with you on a previous occasion?”
“Actually,” Nate massaged his brow, “I’m sorry, something’s just come up, but thank you for your help.”
“Oh, sure. Not a problem. We look forward to hearing from you.”
“Yeah.” He ended the call, then stared at the phone for the longest time. Had Jared been hired? And with what money? And what was Jared out there doing? And how could that affect Luka? He pulled up his contacts to make another call.
“Hey, you,” Jared answered after a couple of rings.
“Am I disturbing you?” Nate asked.
Jared made a strained sound, as if he was stretching. “Nope. I was just reading the same page in a textbook for the tenth time.”
Nate picked up the business card, tapped it on his chin. “Can I see you tonight? I think we need to talk.”
“Is everything okay?”
Was it? Nate didn’t know what to say or think, but he let his rational side do the talking. “Yeah, just some stuff came up. Come to the bar when you can.”
“I’m nearly done here, meet you soon?”
“I’ll be there.”
When Nate hung up he stared at the phone some more, as if it could give him all the answers. He didn’t want this to be an issue, he liked Jared a lot—more than a lot maybe—and he didn’t want this to be fake. What have I gotten myself into? He groaned and scrubbed at his eyes. “Luka, what did you do?”
“Your beer,” Nate said with a smile, and handed Jared his drink.
“Thanks.” Jared brushed the back of Nate’s hand as he took the bottle.
Nate caught Gregg’s eye. “I’m just going to take a quick break. I’ll be in the office if you need me.” He indicated to Jared to follow him through to the back.
“So, we’re back where the magic happens,” Jared said as he stepped inside.
“Something like that,” Nate said with a laugh and closed the door behind them. He stood for a moment and observed Jared who seemed relaxed in the small space.
“I was happy when you said you wanted to see me. Not that your texts hadn’t made me happy, but seeing you again…” He sipped his beer. “I really enjoyed dinner last week.”
“Me, too,” Nate said.
Jared placed his drink on the desk, then came to stand in front of Nate. “Can I kiss you?”
Even though he wanted to talk, it was suddenly imperative that he got one last innocent kiss. Just to remind him if he was on his own again.
Nate nodded. He closed his eyes as Jared cupped his face with one hand as he kissed him. Jared ran his other hand over Nate’s hip, teasing his fingers beneath the bottom of his shirt and brushing the skin of Nate’s stomach.
A shiver ran up Nate’s spine and the chill made way for a heat that immediately headed south. “Wait,” he said and pulled back.
Jared gently stroked his thumb over Nate’s cheek. “What’s wrong?”
“You’re serious about this, us, right?” Nate reached into the back pocket of his pants.
“Yes.”
“You remember how I said I was falling for you. I want to be able to fall, but I need to be
