“My dad…?”
“Yeah, he’s a concern. Did you know he’s dating a friend of Maryia’s?” Coach Atkins dropped that little bomb so solidly it took him a minute to replay the words in his mind.
“What?”
“They were hot and heavy last night. I wondered if you knew,” Coach Atkins said on a chuckle.
“Goddamn. There’s gotta be a fifty fuckin’ year age difference between them.” Colt sat in the front seat of his car, staring at the grocery store, seeing nothing. He couldn’t have been more shocked.
“Forty-seven years, per her. They’re in love. I think you’ll be calling her Mom soon.” His coach gave a full-fledged laugh on that one.
“Damn, which one is she?” Colt asked, praying he hadn’t had sex with her.
“Super skinny blonde, big boobs… Elena, or Helen. Who the fuck knows? While we were sitting in that church for two hours last night, Knox and I decided we were double teaming you on this. You’ve been good to that old man, and I’m not sure he can say the same when it comes to the way he’s treated you. Look, I’ll have PR call you. The way things stand right now, we’re behind you. Call Knox, he’s worried.”
“I spoke to him a minute ago,” Colt said. Nothing would have changed, but knowing these two stood behind him gave him courage like nothing he had ever experienced before.
“Good. Stay low. Call if you need us,” Coach Atkins said.
“Thank you.”
“And fuckin’ call me before I put the damn tie on next time.” The phone disconnected. Colt sat in front of the grocery store, completely relieved. At least his paycheck wasn’t angry over this decision. Thank God! The relief was pretty staggering until he remembered he needed to call his dad. And what the hell was up with him dating Maryia’s friend? Which friend? Skinny blonde described just about every one of them he had met. Images of his father stroking off in his bedroom came back to mind, and he dropped his head to the steering wheel. Surely not! That made his decision; he’d wait to call his father.
On a deep sigh, Colt pulled the internet up on his phone and Googled what vegans ate for breakfast. Colt had a lot to learn, really quickly.
***
Colt grabbed a cart and followed the ingredients list on his phone. He grabbed every possible fresh fruit he could find. A corner aisle shelf held coconut water so he grabbed a case. Peanut butter, oatmeal, grained breads, muffins, soy crumbles. Colt looked down at the foods, studying them all closely, and somehow, none appealed to him. He walked to the other end of the store and found the eggs, butter, and bacon. Bacon! Colt loved bacon.
He warred with the bacon. Did vegans hate all things animal food related? Colt put the bacon back. Then he realized the eggs came from a chicken. Did that mean no eggs? Certainly not! Colt put the eggs back, but then a sound came from across the aisle. He looked quickly over his shoulder. The bacon was actually calling his name. Colt palmed his phone and again Googled information on being a vegan.
Did vegans have a card carrying membership to PETA?
Colt stood there several minutes reading everything he could find on a strictly vegan diet. Did Jace eat cheese? The more Colt thought about it, the more confused he got. He decided he’d get the bacon and the eggs. If Jace didn’t like them in the house, he’d remove them immediately and swear to never bring them in his presence again.
On the way out, Colt grabbed a box of Hawaiian coconut cakes and a boxed coffee cake. Surely there weren’t any meat products in either of those delicacies. As he strolled to the front of the store, he saw an aisle of health food. He didn’t pay any attention to what he was getting, because to him it all looked terrible. Colt loaded the cart down, put a couple of extra cases of protein drinks on the bottom. He worried how Jace got his protein. He pushed the buggy to the only checkout line open and waited his turn.
The woman checking the groceries would probably know where he could take Jace for a night on the town. When he got to the front of the line, he began asking her questions about this particular part of the island.
“Where’s the best place to take my partner dancing?” Colt asked, hoping he’d said enough about Jace and what he was looking for. The woman looked up, but never stopped the movement of her hand over the scanner, letting the beeps sound off every few seconds.
“The Reef,” she said, and Colt immediately started typing in his phone.
“What about a nice dinner?”
“Seafood or steak?”
“Both?” Did vegans eat seafood? Probably not. Colt looked down at the tofu and gave a small groan. Did this mean he signed on to be a vegan?
“There’s a bar in the restaurant. Very good. It’s at the end of town. Right down this street. No reservations. Tell them Tilly sent you. You’ll have a good time.” She winked at him, and he hoped that wink meant what he thought it might.
“Cool, thanks.” Colt quickly entered the information into his phone. She worked fast, and he was bagged up and out the door in less than thirty minutes of arriving. Could he be lucky enough that Jace might not have woken yet? Maybe! Things definitely seemed to be going his way right now.
Colt backed out of the parking space with every intention of calling his father when he got on the road. What the hell was wrong with his old man? Maryia’s slutty friends had to be less than twenty-five years old, and every bit the money grubbing whore Maryia turned out to be. No way whoever his dad dated would get her hands on his money. He was done wasting what he had. He’d put limits to his father’s spending a long time ago. What did she think she was getting?
Completely disgusted, Colt dropped the phone in the cup holder, deciding he’d make that call later. He’d call Maryia too. His gut churned at the thought, but he ignored the feeling; it didn’t matter. Jace had accepted him back and hadn’t made him grovel. Everyone in Colt’s life manipulated and used him. Jace had done neither. However, he had doubted Colt’s presence at first and that made Colt smile. Then Jace kissed him and made love to him, without ever questioning his integrity. That just fucking rocked.