“What do you think is taking so long?” I whispered, plucking at my collar uncomfortably.
“Deep breaths, Jus. It’s only been five minutes. Do you think Xena’s with them in the conference room?” Tegan asked.
“No idea. It doesn’t really matter as long we get what we’re here for.”
“Hmm. Check out some of these photos. Isn’t this your boyfriend?” He pointed at a series of photos of Gray with a tall, handsome man I knew from my early Google research was Seb. In a few pics, they stood with their arms around each other with a small blond-haired boy. “Ha. I think that’s Charlie. He was a cute kid.”
I cocked my head curiously and studied the photos a little closer. Yeah. That was Gray. But a much younger version. Not that he looked old now, but he’d filled out, matured, and was more muscular now. This Gray was thinner and didn’t have any ink. However, the photos spanned over a number of years beginning when Charlie was a toddler to recent pics that included another towheaded kid I assumed was Seb’s younger son, Oliver. There were quite a few of Oliver on his own or with Charlie, but I was more interested in the fact that almost all of the rest featured Gray. That was weird. Best friends definitely deserved a place of honor on a photo collage wall, but every picture?
“Dad’s finishing up a call in the conference room. He’ll join us in a minute,” Charlie announced. “Does anyone have any questions?”
“Yeah. Is this you?” I asked, gesturing at a picture of the two men and a little boy at Disneyland.
Charlie rolled his eyes. “Ugh. Yes. We should have waited in the reception area. There’s nothing like a few embarrassing childhood photos to keep it real. I think I was five there, and I actually remember that day. I insisted I was ready for the Haunted Mansion. I said it was a baby ride and they didn’t have to worry about me getting scared. Famous last words. I climbed into Gray’s lap and held on to him in a chokehold throughout the whole thing. Poor guy.”
“You spent a lot of time with him when you were a kid, huh?”
Charlie typed something into his phone before looking up at me distractedly. “Yeah. He was like a second dad to me.”
“Right. He’s your godfather.”
“Mmhm. Dad and Gray were together for most of my childhood years, so in a way he’s more than a godfather.”
My stomach dropped, though I couldn’t say what exactly bothered me. So Seb and Gray had been in a relationship. Okay. It had to be over years ago. They’d both been married to women and…I scanned the wall again. There were group pics that included women, some who looked vaguely familiar, like celebrities I should have recognized. But no single woman stood out. The only obvious couple was Seb and Gray. Fuck, I was jealous and for the life of me, I couldn’t figure my way around this emotion.
They weren’t together. Gray was with me. I’d slept in his bed, woken up next to him, drank coffee with him, and even showered and sucked his dick before this meeting. So why did this bother me?
“I don’t get it. Were they married?”
Charlie shot a curious look at me and shook his head. “No. But gay marriage wasn’t legal then. If it had been, they would’ve gotten married for sure.”
“For sure?” I repeated.
“Yeah. We were a family. Two dads and a kid. My mom was a Hollywood hopeful who was a little too fond of disco snow. She dropped me off on Dad’s doorstep when I was two months old. Literally. Not the drop part, but the story is, she left me in a basket with a note that said, ‘This little guy is yours. Good luck!’ like modern-day Moses. Dad had a paternity test done and sure enough, we were a match. Anyhoo, he met Gray when I was two and they were together until I was eight or nine. Let’s just say, Dad has commitment issues. He hasn’t been with anyone seriously in a while, but I think that’s because he’s still in love with Gray.”
“Love.” I pursed my lips and stepped aside to get away from Charlie and give myself some breathing room. I was feeling more nauseous by the second.
“Yeah. I don’t think they’ll ever get back together again, but I’m not above using a twinge of jealousy to get Dad to cooperate.”
“What do you mean?”
“Dad knows about you and Gray. He’s a firm believer in keeping his enemies close.” Charlie snickered. “Silly, I know. But you’re hot and talented and he must feel a little threatened, because I doubt he’d give Zero the time of day otherwise. In fact, having me as your manager is a negative for him. He’s still hoping I go into advertising when I finish my master’s.”