Borrowing Trouble(50)

Jay nodded sagely. “I remember you’d said that. Guess after all the drama, I expected something more climactic.”

“I think we’ve had enough of those climaxes.” Landon fluttered his eyes at Jay. “I can think of other climaxes to focus on now.”

Jay let out a put-upon sigh. “That’s not keeping it out of the office.”

“Gotta get it where I can,” Landon teased. Jay shook his head, resigned but smiling.

“What do you need, Petty?”

“Just came to see how you were.”

Jay leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m good. Things at home are still tense with the girls.”

Landon’s eyes widened. “Beth’s still here?”

“Oh, naw. She went back the other night after I left your house. But Millie has been spending a lot of time on the phone with her.” Jay frowned. “She’s probably gonna go live with her mama when she moves back here after Christmas.”

“Oh, Jay,” Landon said sadly, moving to sit on Jay’s desk, putting a hand out. He felt relief wash through him when Jay’s frown morphed into a half-smile and he took Landon’s hand, giving it a quick squeeze before letting it go. “It’ll be okay. Probably would have turned out that way either way, once Bethany moved back down. This is just sooner than I’d thought.”

“You think it’ll be okay?”

Jay looked at Landon fondly. “I know it will.”

“If you need anything…”

“I do,” Jay responded.

“Oh?”

“The kids are going to their school’s fall something-or-other tomorrow night. Curfew isn’t ‘til eight, so I need you to invite me over to yours. Maybe we’ll have some dinner. Just the two of us.”

Landon’s cheeks hurt from smiling so much. “I’d like that.” Landon looked toward the half-open office door, then shot a smirk Jay’s way. “Think you’re too sore for us to give that a go again?”

Jay choked on the coffee he’d been drinking. “Damn you, Landon.”

“That a no?”

Jay’s cheeks turned that shade of pink Landon loved, more because it reminded him of how Jay flushed when his dick was in Landon’s mouth than anything else.

“We’ll see,” Jay said with dignity. “Now, go. I’ve got work to do.”

Landon hopped off the desk and started to head out. Jay called to Landon, pulling him up short. He turned and the smile on Jay’s face brilliantly lit up the room. Life wasn’t perfect, there was so much to figure out, but hey, that smile was worth everything so far, and anything to come.





Epilogue


2 Years Later


Grumbling as he signed and filed his final grades, Landon missed simpler days of filling out mileage log sheets. Not that he’d go back to that, but Lord, he was glad the school year was over and he had no more averages to figure or papers to grade.

He shut down his computer and left his classroom for the last time—well, for two months anyway. Checking his watch, he whistled happily when he noticed he still had an hour to make it home. Clint’s graduation party was that night, then he and Jay were off to the beach for two weeks.

They’d damn well earned the vacation.

Jay had hemmed and hawed about the trip, feeling bad for leaving his new job managing the office at a feed and seed co-op in a small town about fifteen miles from where they lived. The adjustment after people started catching on to their relationship a year earlier had led to Jay’s not being able to function as supervisor at the saw mill. It’d never gotten too hostile, thankfully, but it’d been bad enough that Landon’s daddy had been more than willing to give a good reference when Jay’d found a new job.

He was closeted to his employees there, mostly, but the owner was a lesbian, so she was at least on his side. Landon hated how rough it’d been, but the pay was decent. Jay, though, felt so much loyalty to the woman who’d hired him that he’d not wanted to leave her in a lurch for two weeks.

But it was going to happen, dammit. They’d not gone further than a weekend Christmas shopping in Birmingham the previous holiday. They’d lived in their separate houses up until last week when Clint had graduated.

Granted, Clint had been easily won over in the end and had adjusted fairly well. Landon had figured it wouldn’t be so bad, and he was right. Even Millie had come around in her own time. They were young enough, and had enough gay friends now, it didn’t register as an issue.

But out of respect and Jay being cautious about anything to do with his kids so far as a step-parents went, they’d not forced the issue until they’d been together a little over a year. Landon didn’t have much experience with dating, especially guys with kids, but he figured it had been par for the course. Even Bethany hadn’t introduced her new boyfriend until they’d hit the six month mark a few months back.

Landon made it the few miles to their new house. The one they’d picked together after they’d sold off their old houses. It was in Starkville. Not the most liberal town, but it was a college town, and since it had more than twenty-thousand people, it felt like a safer bet than staying together in the country. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and Montgomery County wouldn’t be ready for gays in a hundred more years.