I smiled at myself.
Let this be the start of a new Jordy. Recommit to the brotherhood, recommit to the house, patch things up with Roger, and start fresh with Chad, too. Let go of the negativity and focus only on the positive.
I heard someone coming down the stairs at a gallop and turned to see who it was. “Hi, Brandon!” I grinned. “How's it going?”
“Jordy!” He enveloped me in a hug. “Dude, about yesterdayâ”
“It's okay, bud.” I smiled at him. “Really, I appreciated it.”
He sighed in relief and flashed his gap-toothed grin at me. “I'm so glad. Rees and I were both worriedâespecially after last night at Fusionsâwe thought you might be madâ”
“No, it wasn't that.” We started walking down the hall. “I was just caught up in some Chad drama.”
Brandon rolled his eyes. “There's
always
Chad drama, isn't there?” He grinned again. “Well, let's do something soon.” His face darkened. “After I finish this damned Modern European History paper, anyway.” He sighed. “Man, this is a
bitch.
”
“What are you writing about?”
“He assigned me the Thirty Years' War. I'm on my way to the library now to get some books.” He sighed. “If I don't get started now, there's no way I'll ever finish.”
“Tell you whatâwhy don't you come over to my place tomorrow night and I'll help you with it?” I smiled at him. “I did a paper on it in high schoolâI may even still have it on my computer. I mean, I won't let you plagiarize it, but you can look it over and maybe it'll give you some ideas on how to do yours.”
“Seriously?” He stared at me. “You'd do that?”
“Of course I would.”
He grabbed me in a bear hug, lifted me, and spun me around. “Dude, you're the best!” He kissed me on the cheek and set me down. “Okay, I'll come by tomorrow night around six, is that cool?”
I nodded, and grinned as he ran down the hallway and out into the parking lot.
I felt better already.
I walked down the hallway and paused in front of Roger's door.
Why the hell not?
I said to myself.
Might as well get started making amendsâthere's no time like the present.
I started knocking.
There was no answer. I tried again, and then shrugged.
I can catch up to him later.
I walked out the back door. Some of the brothers were playing basketball at the far end of the parking lot. I walked over to my car, and was about to unlock it when one of them yelled, “Hey, Jordy!”
I stopped and saw Chad walking toward me. He was drenched in sweat and wasn't wearing a shirt. The sunlight gleamed on his wet torso. He was wearing a pair of long gray fleece shorts that almost reached his knees. In spite of myself, I felt a stirring in my groin.
Down, boy,
I said to myself.
Out with the negative, in with the positive. A fresh start with everyone, right?
“Hi, Chad.” I grinned at him. “What's up?”
“I'm so glad to see you,” he said, slightly out of breath. “I wanted to call you later. I owe you an apology.”
“Really? For what?” I replied, thinking,
See? When you start thinking positive and get rid of the negative energy, everything starts getting better.
“I was kind of bitchy to you last night,” he said, running a hand through his hair. Drops of sweat flew as he shook his head from side to side. “About Dante, I mean.”
I waved my hand. “You don't need to apologize.”
“No, I do,” he went on. “I mean, obviously Dante was using you to try to make me jealous, and I took it all out on you. I mean, it wasn't your fault he was acting so junior high.”
“It's okay, really, Chadâ”
He laughed. “I can't believe I let him get to me that way.” He rolled his eyes. “I don't know what I ever saw in him. I mean, really.” He tossed his head. “And it was so obviousâI mean, like he would ever be interested in someone like you.”
It was like being slapped across the face. I froze but somehow managed to keep my face neutral. I didn't say a word.
He looked at me. “You know what I meant,” he said, nonchalantly dismissing his hateful words.
“Yes.” I smiled. “I know exactly what you meant. Thanks for the apology.” I turned and clicked my key fob to unlock the car. “I've got to run. I'm going to be late for my trainer.”
“I'll call you later!”
I started the car, then backed out of the spot. I shifted the car into drive. He was still standing where I'd left him. He shrugged and started walking back to the basketball game. I sat there, my car idling, and watched him walking. But rather than admiring the muscles in his back, or fantasizing about his ass, I thought,
I could run him down right now.
It would be so enormously satisfying.
I imagined pushing my right foot down on the gas pedal.
I heard the thump as the front of the car hit him.
I could hear his startled cry as he rolled up onto the hood, the shocked look on his face as it hit my windshield.
I put my foot on the gas pedal.
I shook my head and drove out of the parking lot.
But as I turned out of the lot, I reached for my cell phone. I clicked through the address book until I reached DANTE, and hit the send button.
It rang twice. “Dante Bertucci.”
“Hey, Dante, this is Jordy Valentine.”
“Hi, Jordy.”
“I just wanted to call and apologize for last night,” I said smoothly. “I was wondering if I could make it up to you somehow?”
“There's no need to make up anything.” He laughed into the phone. “I was a little surprised that you disappeared, but I figured Chad had something to do with it.”
“Yeah, well.” I laughed. “I still feel kind of bad about it.”
“Tell you whatâwhy don't you come over to my place tonight around seven? I'll make you dinner,” he purred into the phone.
“If you're just trying to get back at Chadâ”
“Chad has nothing to do with this,” Dante replied. “That's over. Come on over tonight and I'll show you what I mean.” He gave me the address.
“See you tonight,” I replied.
I closed my phone and smiled.
Dante would never be interested in someone like me, right, Chad? Obviously he would only use me to try to make you jealousâas if someone as beautiful and perfect as you could ever be jealous of a loser like me, right?
So much for getting rid of the negativity and starting over.
Â
Dante's house was in Avignon, a separate township just over the city line. I plugged his address into my car's GPS and headed out at a quarter till seven. I chewed on my lip as I drove. My workout with Jay that afternoon had been strangeâhe'd acted weird through the whole two hoursâdistant and unfriendly. This was a change. This was our first workout since our steam room adventure, and several times I'd wanted to ask him if something was wrong. When the session was over, I'd grabbed my bag and left the gym, not showering there like I usually did.
I shouldn't have done anything with him. That was a mistake. Obviously, it changed things, even though he said it wouldn't.
I shook my head as I turned into Dante's subdivision.
Maybe I should just find a new trainer. I'm not paying him to be rude to me.
The GPS directed me into the driveway of a beautiful, two-story brick house. I turned the car off and sat for a moment. I was a few minutes early. I looked at the lawn, which was perfectly manicured. Rows of rose bushes lined the front porch. A fountain bubbled in the center of the lawn. Behind the house, palm trees towered over the roof. I got out of the car and started up the walk, thinking,
This is crazy, I shouldn't be doing this. Remember positivity, no more negativity. Look at how fucked up things are with Jay now. Do I really want to go down this path?
I climbed the steps to the porch.
I'm not really interested in Dante, I'm only interested in getting even with Chad, and that's really unfair to Dante.
I started to turn to go, but then I heard Chad's voice in my head.
“He wouldn't be interested in someone like you.”
“We'll just see about that, Chad,” I muttered, and knocked on the door.
The door opened, and Dante stood there in a yellow Speedo, wiping water from his chest. “Sorry.” He smiled. “I was taking a swim and lost track of time. Come on in.”
I walked into the house and gasped. The entryway went all the way to the roof, and there was a skylight. The entryway opened into a huge sunken living room, and as I walked down the steps I couldn't get over how beautifully decorated it was. The floor was covered in a deep plush carpet my feet sank into. The walls were painted a soft coral, and the entire back wall was glass, with a stunning view of a swimming pool landscaped to look like a grotto. I walked over to the wall of glass. “Wow.” The entire backyard was lush with vegetation. “It looks like a jungle out there.”
“That was the idea,” Dante said from behind me. “Why don't you go on out and have a seat? I'll put some clothes on and meet you out there.”
I started to say not to bother but bit my tongue. “Okay.”
“There's an open bottle of red wine on the table out there,” he said, turning to walk down the hallway. “Help yourself.”
The yellow bikini barely covered his backside, and I watched him go.
Get a grip, Jordyâdon't even go there.
I opened the sliding glass door and stepped into the backyard, then closed the door behind me. There was a picnic table just outside the door, and the patio was covered. I poured myself a glass of wine and sat at the table.
A cool evening breeze stirred the wind chimes, and the waterfall at the near end of the pool splashed soothingly. It was very quiet back there, and all the stars were out in a dark purple sky overhead.
If I didn't know better, I'd think I was out in the country somewhere,
I thought, taking a sip of the wine. It was a Chilean pinot noir, and was quite good.
Excellent taste in wine, a gorgeous homeâChad was crazy to walk away from this.
I turned to the sound of the glass door sliding open again. Dante smiled at me. He'd put on a white cotton guayabera shirt and loose-fitting surgical scrub pants. He gestured at his clothes. “I hope you don't mind, but when I'm home I like to be comfortable.”
I refilled my glass. “I don't mind at all. This is really good wine.”
“Glad you like it.” He filled a glass for himself and we clinked glasses. “And I'm glad you're here.”
“Why am I here, anyway?” I asked, setting my glass down on the picnic table.
Dante flashed me his perfect white teeth. “I like you. I want to get to know you better.” He shrugged his powerful shoulders. “Is there something wrong with that?”
“Chad thinks you're trying to make him jealous.”
“Chad thinks everything's about Chad,” he countered evenly. “Do we need to talk about him? It's a beautiful night, don't you think, and I would rather talk about you.”
“Me?” I was flattered, in spite of myself. “What do you want to know, Dante?”
“Do you really speak three languages?” He got up and walked over to the house, and flipped a switch. Pachelbel's Canon began playing softly through concealed speakers. He sat back down, raising his eyebrows.
“Four, actually.” I took another sip of the wine. “If you count English.”
He laughed. He had a nice laugh, and I smiled back at him. I turned and looked back at the jungle. “It's very peaceful back here.”
“That was the idea,” he replied. “I work really hard, and my job can be pretty stressful, so I wanted a tranquil space where I could come relax when I got home.” He shrugged. “The whole house is designed to be relaxing, so every place you go is comfortable. Every room, every chair, every couch, everything is in harmony and balance. Would you like a tour?”
“Maybe later.” I laughed. “I'm just so relaxed back here I don't want it to ever end.”
“Life getting you down?” he asked, an eyebrow arching as he reached for the bottle to refill his glass.
“A little.” I wrapped my arms around myself. “But sitting back here, I feel like I can take care of everything. Nothing seems important back here.” I smiled at him. “Thanks for inviting me over.”
“My pleasure.” He glanced at his watch. “Dinner won't be ready for about another hour. You want to get in the hot tub?”