Leverage - Part 3

“That doesn't sound like Boston. Not the Boston that I used to know anyway. You did good in calling me. Thanks a lot man.”

“You got it,” Laird said and waved goodbye.

Vince climbed into the car and instead of driving to his house went to the penthouse. Now that Penny lived with Dillon, the penthouse was empty. And thank God the penthouse had an elevator. There was no way in hell he was gonna be able to drag Boston's heavy ass all the way up the stairs. He heaved Boston onto the bed and then left him there, alternately snoring and mumbling. “Sleep it off, buddy,” he said, locking the door as he let himself out. He’d be back in the morning to see what the hell crawled up Boston’s ass.

The next morning Boston awoke to the mother of all hangovers, the need to vomit, and the realization that he didn’t remember anything past a certain point last night. Oh, and he had no fucking idea where he was. He rose, stiff from sleeping in his clothes, and stumbled from the bedroom to find his old buddy Vince Buchanan sitting in the living room, reading on his iPad while sipping coffee. It took him a few seconds to realize it was Vince who must’ve brought him here.

Vince looked up and grinned. “You look like shit.”

“Feel like it, too. Where am I?” Boston asked, wincing at the sunlight streaming in through the windows. “Is this your place?”

“One of them. You're at the penthouse. There was no way I was dragging your drunk ass home to my wife. She would've fileted you and me alive. So what’s going on?”

Boston closed his eyes. He didn’t want to remember. Vince sighed and put his iPad away. “All right, what's her name?" he asked, going straight to the point. “Don't bother denying it. I’ve been through this before in my own life and I recognize the misery. Only a woman can make a man look like you do.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he said, feeling like squashed dog shit.

Vince shook his head. “Naw, after dragging your ass out of my club, the least I can do is get a name out of you.”

He supposed he owed Vince that. “Julianna,” he shared, wincing at even saying her name. “Julianna Holly.”

“Nice name. What's the story?”

“C’mon man, cut me some slack. I don't want to talk about it."

“Too bad. You have to know that whatever you're running from isn’t going to get better if you don’t face it.”

Boston gave him a sour look. “And suddenly you're an expert on love? The man who owns a sex club? Give me a break.”

“That was the old Vince. The new Vince is a respectable monogamous guy. Who just happens to own part of a sex club.” He shrugged when Boston rolled his eyes. “It's an important distinction.”

“Whatever.” Boston walked on stiff legs to pour himself a cup of coffee. “Look, I appreciate you going to get me. I didn't mean to get so drunk but I just couldn't seem to stop. Honestly, the idea of going back to my place was more than I could handle so I just kept drinking.”

“Hey, I get it. So, tell me the story. Let it all out. That's the only way it's going to get better.”

He barked a short mirthless laugh. “There's no making this better. She's never coming back and I planned it that way.”

“Let me guess…you said or did something really terrible so that you couldn’t take it back.”

Boston scowled. “Yeah, and what if I did?”

“Then I would say you're not brilliant dude. And you sure as hell aren’t original. We've all done that shit. But if she's worth it and you love her, you will find a way to make it right. Let me tell you something — life without love isn’t worth living. I was living a half-life before I met Emma. And I wouldn't trade what I have with her for all the pussy in the world. And that's a fact.”

“You don’t understand. It's a mess. I've messed it up so bad. And by the time I realized what I really wanted I’d fucked it up so bad there was no way I could go back.”

“Trust me, there is nothing that can't be fixed. Unless you inadvertently killed her parents or you accidentally set her house on fire, I know there's nothing that can't be fixed.”

“I did something really disgusting.”

“I'm sure it's nothing I haven't done — twice,” Vince said, bored. “What could you have done that was so bad? For Christ sakes we used to call you Jiminy Cricket. Have you changed that much since we were kids?”

“Let's just say I could've used a little of that conscience when I met Julianna. I don't know what came over me. All I knew was I had to have her and I struck a deal that I'm ashamed to admit.”

“What kind of deal?” Vince asked, curious. “You’ve got my mind spinning. What did you do?”

“I bought her.”

Vince did a double take and then, if Boston wasn’t mistaken, tried to hold back a grin, which Boston found really inappropriate.

“What's so funny?” he demanded.

Vince held up his hands. “Nothing although it is a bit ironic.”

“I have a fucking hangover and zero sense of humor. What are you talking about? There's nothing ironic about my situation. It's just fucked up.”

“It is totally fucked up, I agree with you. The irony is that I've done the very thing that you've done. Makes me wonder if it was something that we've all done. Weird. I'm thinking people with money are just, I don’t know, warped. At least that's what Emma says. And I'm beginning to agree with her.”

“What are you talking about?”

Vince heaved a sigh. “Here's the thing, there was a woman, actually she's my sister-in-law now, long story, Nolan and I bought her for lack of a better word. We thought she could be our mistress of sorts. Sort of like a courtesan. Then Dillon came along and found out about our arrangement and it all went to hell because frankly, it was illegal anyway and you really can't help with who you fall in love with. So Penny and Dillon ran off and got married then had a baby and they're happy as clams and then Nolan inadvertently got a woman pregnant and they got married so they’re happy as clams and then I met Emma, and well, that's a really long story condensed in the most convoluted way. Any questions?”

Boston stared. “Now wait a minute, are you saying you slept with your sister-in-law?” he asked, confused. To that Vince nodded and Boston grimaced. “How awkward does that make Christmas dinner?”

“You know it's not awkward at all because we don't talk about it. It's in the past and we don’t live in the past because our futures are pretty damn awesome. And that's kinda the point I'm getting to right now. If you’ve done a lot of crappy stuff in the past, leave it there so you can provide for your future. I never thought I would say this but being monogamous with the right person is pretty damn awesome. And the sex… pretty damn awesome, too.”

“You?” Boston's tone was incredulous. “The biggest man whore I’ve ever known in my entire life…endorsing monogamy?”

“Hey, don't stereotype me. I was a manwhore until I found there were something better. And now I would rate breakfast in bed with my wife as just as awesome as a foursome with Playboy bunnies.”

Before he’d met Julianna Boston would’ve called bullshit on Vince's claim but he knew exactly what his friend was talking about because that's how he felt about Julianna. Just being with her was worth it, was worth losing out on every supposed freedom he’d ever had as a rich, single guy. And he wanted to be there for every step of the way of her pregnancy and he wanted to be there at the moment his child was born but he knew there was no way Julianna would forgive him. Not for the world.

“She's pregnant.”

“Your girl?”

He nodded. “And she hates me.”

“I thought you couldn't have kids,” Vince said slowly. “The doctors were wrong?”

“No, it was just a miracle. Likely this is the only child I’ll ever have. I doubt lightning will strike twice. But it's not just about the baby. Even if there wasn't a baby involved I'd still want her. She's unlike any woman I've ever met in my life and I don't know how I can possibly live without her.”

r /> “Then don't.”

He looked to Vince. “What do you mean?”

“I mean don't live without her. It's pretty damn clear to me that you’re useless without her. So quit whining like a bitch, quit drowning your sorrows like a pussy and go get your woman!”

Was it that simple? Should he have stood his ground? Should he have taken his licks as he deserved and done whatever it took to regain her good graces? All signs pointed to yes. “But what if she won't take me back?”

Vince looked disgusted. “Stop being a baby. That woman is having your kid but she already has your heart. You’re useless here. Go get her.”

Boston shook his head. It would never work. “I can't strong-arm her. Not this time.”