With a whimper, Abe raised his hands and rubbed them along Jason’s slick back.
“Abe,” Jason sighed softly. He rolled onto his side, tugged Abe against his chest, and held him close. “Damn, Abe, I….” He swallowed hard, squeezed Abe tightly, and with a shaky voice whispered, “Baby.”
Cuddling into Jason’s warm body, Abe closed his eyes, moved his hands over whatever skin was in reach—waist, hip, thigh, back—and sighed contentedly. They lay together in comfortable silence, Jason’s even breathing lulling Abe into a deeply relaxed state.
“Are you hungry?” Jason asked eventually. “We seem to have skipped dinner.”
“I was at the school pretty late today, so I didn’t have time to make anything, and I don’t feel like getting dressed and going out.” Abe wiggled closer.
“Pizza?” Jason asked.
“That’s what I was thinking.”
“I’ll order it in a minute, but first….”
Abe tipped his head back and looked at Jason. “First?”
“First tell me what got into you.” When Abe curled his lips up, Jason shook his head and said, “Other than me.” He lightly pinched Abe’s backside. “Tell me what got into you other than me, you goof.”
Drawing in a deep breath, Abe met Jason’s gaze and said, “Kris talked to me about some problems she’s having at home.”
“Kris?” Jason said. “As in my daughter?”
Abe nodded.
“What kind of problems?”
“She’s worried about her brother. She says he’s behaving erratically.”
“Donny’s a teenager and he’s her brother. Kristen is levelheaded most of the time, but she’s still a kid, which means the two of them bicker.”
“Sure. That’s normal. But—” Abe bit his lip. “She’s scared, Jase.”
“Scared? Why? Donny’s not easy to be around. I get that, but….” Jason furrowed his brow. “Scared?”
“Uh-huh.”
“I don’t know why she’d be scared. Maybe she was overreacting.”
“Maybe,” Abe conceded. “But she seemed genuinely upset, and she isn’t the type to overreact.”
Jason rolled onto his back but kept his arm around Abe’s shoulders. He moved his hand back and forth, gently petting. “It’s weird that you know my daughter enough to make that judgment.”
Weighing his options carefully, Abe considered what to push. The separation Jason had in place between Abe and the rest of his life wasn’t workable long-term, and now was a perfect opportunity to bring it up. Jason was relaxed, affectionate, and seemingly willing to listen. But there were more pressing issues—they needed to figure out how to help Jason’s kids.
“We can talk about me knowing Kris later,” Abe said. “Right now, I think we need to figure out what you’re going to do about your son.”
“We?” Jason said in surprise.
Despite choosing his battles, Abe ran up against Jason’s line. He sighed. “I’m not asking to raise your kids.” At least not yet. “But, yes, we. They’re your children, Jase. If they’re having a serious problem, that means you have a serious problem. And I hope we’re at a place in our relationship where any problem of yours is a problem of mine.” He searched Jason’s eyes. “Are we in this together?”
“This?” Jason repeated, his eyes pinched and his forehead furrowed.
Abe flung his leg over Jason’s thigh and planted his palm over Jason’s heart. “Life. Are we in it together?”
It took Jason several moments to respond, but eventually he lifted Abe’s hand to his mouth, kissed his wrist, and nodded. “Yes, we are.” He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “So.” He flicked his gaze to Abe’s. “What are we going to do about Donny?”
Chapter 11
“IT REALLY is you.”
At the sound of Angela’s voice, Jason glanced up from his laptop. “I asked you to meet me here.” He logged out of the patient charts he was reviewing, folded the screen down, and put the laptop in his bag. “Were you expecting someone else?”
She shrugged and sat across from him. “You inviting me to lunch seemed about as likely as someone getting a crack at your phone and texting me as a joke.”
“Hey!” Jason said, trying to decide if he should be offended.
“Oh, please.” She waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t get all dramatic.”
He opened his mouth to tell her off, but before he spoke, Angela said, “Do you know the last time you invited me to lunch?”
Unable to remember, he closed his mouth and reflected back.
“Don’t strain yourself.” Angela picked up the menu. “The answer is never.” She looked at him over the top of it. “Even when we were first seeing each other, you didn’t ask me out so much as we ended up places together.”
That was probably true, but they’d been in school, busy with classes and activities. His instinct was to point that out, but then he worried about walking into an argument, which made him second-guess himself. Maybe he’d be better served by apologizing irrespective of whether he had a reason to be sorry. It seemed ten years of marriage had taught him something.
“Have you already ordered?” Angela asked, her attention back on the menu.