little work.
“I gotcha, Ee. Now try to focus here. The cab will be here in a minute. There’s frozen food in the freezer, milk, bread, and lunchmeat in the fridge, fruit on top of the microwave, and peanut butter and jelly in the cabinet. For Christ’s sake, eat! Right?”
Ian nodded soberly. “I won’t make that mistake more than once, I promise.”
Joel couldn’t even think about it; it made his stomach hurt. “I’ll hold you to that. Now Manky Bastard has been barfing more than usual. I made her a vet appointment on Monday. You’ve got to take her, E. I’ll give you a call to remind you, but you need to be able to find the phone and get your ass in gear, you hear me?”
Ian nodded earnestly. “I hear you, mate. She’s been a good cat. I hate to see her feeling so sickly, right?”
Joel’s smile softened. “Right.”
And that right there was the thing that kept Joel from leaving, in spite of the chaos of living with Ian Cooper.
Ian’s heart was as big as the goddamned sky. It was as simple as that. How could you desert a guy who would take in a mangy cat, give all his cash to the homeless people who abounded in the city of Sacramento proper, and who would, no matter how angry Joel got at his goofiness, simply smile that open-hearted, guileless, spring-blue smile and say, “You’re right, mate. I’m a disaster. I’m lucky you’re here.”
There was a knock on the door, and Joel had his answer.
He could leave Ian because his mother called him and asked him to visit before the holidays.
Ian blinked at the door and the open, cheery expression he usually wore changed drastically. “Oh right,” he murmured. “You’re going.”
“I’ll be back Wednesday evening,” Joel said, reaching up from his stocky five foot nine inches to embrace Ian’s rangy six four. It was a quick, “manly” hug, the type with the double-thump with the fist. “Don’t worry, I’ve got a Thanksgiving dinner ready to cook in the freezer, and I can catch a cab home—”
“No!” Ian was neither dreamy nor sleepy now. In fact, his arms tightened for a moment around Joel’s shoulders. “I’ll come get you.”
Joel didn’t want to contradict him—it would hurt his feelings—but he didn’t want to be waiting at the airport for hours either. “I’ll call you when I land,” he temporized, thinking that if he could get Ian’s attention when he landed, the wait wouldn’t be that long.
Ian was a genius. “And I’ll answer that call at the gate!” he said with dignity, and Joel grinned, rolled his eyes, and grabbed his luggage. “Have a nice visit, mate!”
“Take care of yourself, Ee!”
“If I must,” Ian replied mildly, and then, as Joel disappeared out the door, he hollered “Take care!” at full volume.
Joel tried to wince while Ian could still see him. It was six-thirty in the morning, and Ian probably just woke every last tenant in their three-story refurbished Victorian. Oh well, he would be out of the city before old Mr. Pomerantz could move his ass from bed to his doorway to complain.
Chapter Two
“I like the goatee, pappi, but you look skinny.You not eating enough!”
Joel rolled his eyes at his sister—all big boobs, long stomach, and inviting hips. “You should talk, mammi, what? You stuff your bra with apples to keep that tummy so small?”
Melody Martinez laughed and ruffled her little brother’s hair. It was late Sunday night, their mother was in bed, and they had lingered so long over dessert to catch up that they had done the dessert dishes and then just broken out the pie and sat, each of them with a fork, and finished it off.
“No, I been working out, mammi,” Joel said now through a forkful of pie. “That’s where I met Ian.”
“Your psycho roommate?” Melody took her own. Pecan, it was their favorite. Since neither of them planned to stay for actual Thanksgiving, their mother had chosen to go all out for the four days before they both boarded planes and
“I gotcha, Ee. Now try to focus here. The cab will be here in a minute. There’s frozen food in the freezer, milk, bread, and lunchmeat in the fridge, fruit on top of the microwave, and peanut butter and jelly in the cabinet. For Christ’s sake, eat! Right?”
Ian nodded soberly. “I won’t make that mistake more than once, I promise.”
Joel couldn’t even think about it; it made his stomach hurt. “I’ll hold you to that. Now Manky Bastard has been barfing more than usual. I made her a vet appointment on Monday. You’ve got to take her, E. I’ll give you a call to remind you, but you need to be able to find the phone and get your ass in gear, you hear me?”
Ian nodded earnestly. “I hear you, mate. She’s been a good cat. I hate to see her feeling so sickly, right?”
Joel’s smile softened. “Right.”
And that right there was the thing that kept Joel from leaving, in spite of the chaos of living with Ian Cooper.
Ian’s heart was as big as the goddamned sky. It was as simple as that. How could you desert a guy who would take in a mangy cat, give all his cash to the homeless people who abounded in the city of Sacramento proper, and who would, no matter how angry Joel got at his goofiness, simply smile that open-hearted, guileless, spring-blue smile and say, “You’re right, mate. I’m a disaster. I’m lucky you’re here.”
There was a knock on the door, and Joel had his answer.
He could leave Ian because his mother called him and asked him to visit before the holidays.
Ian blinked at the door and the open, cheery expression he usually wore changed drastically. “Oh right,” he murmured. “You’re going.”
“I’ll be back Wednesday evening,” Joel said, reaching up from his stocky five foot nine inches to embrace Ian’s rangy six four. It was a quick, “manly” hug, the type with the double-thump with the fist. “Don’t worry, I’ve got a Thanksgiving dinner ready to cook in the freezer, and I can catch a cab home—”
“No!” Ian was neither dreamy nor sleepy now. In fact, his arms tightened for a moment around Joel’s shoulders. “I’ll come get you.”
Joel didn’t want to contradict him—it would hurt his feelings—but he didn’t want to be waiting at the airport for hours either. “I’ll call you when I land,” he temporized, thinking that if he could get Ian’s attention when he landed, the wait wouldn’t be that long.
Ian was a genius. “And I’ll answer that call at the gate!” he said with dignity, and Joel grinned, rolled his eyes, and grabbed his luggage. “Have a nice visit, mate!”
“Take care of yourself, Ee!”
“If I must,” Ian replied mildly, and then, as Joel disappeared out the door, he hollered “Take care!” at full volume.
Joel tried to wince while Ian could still see him. It was six-thirty in the morning, and Ian probably just woke every last tenant in their three-story refurbished Victorian. Oh well, he would be out of the city before old Mr. Pomerantz could move his ass from bed to his doorway to complain.
Chapter Two
“I like the goatee, pappi, but you look skinny.You not eating enough!”
Joel rolled his eyes at his sister—all big boobs, long stomach, and inviting hips. “You should talk, mammi, what? You stuff your bra with apples to keep that tummy so small?”
Melody Martinez laughed and ruffled her little brother’s hair. It was late Sunday night, their mother was in bed, and they had lingered so long over dessert to catch up that they had done the dessert dishes and then just broken out the pie and sat, each of them with a fork, and finished it off.
“No, I been working out, mammi,” Joel said now through a forkful of pie. “That’s where I met Ian.”
“Your psycho roommate?” Melody took her own. Pecan, it was their favorite. Since neither of them planned to stay for actual Thanksgiving, their mother had chosen to go all out for the four days before they both boarded planes and
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