Page 8 of The Birthday Manny

My mind immediately flashed back to my night with Kevin. I wished he’d been able to stay longer than our brief encounter on the stairs, but he’d definitely left a mark on me. The rest of the time I’d spent housesitting in the huge Victorian farmhouse, I’d felt like his ghost had been there haunting me. Thank God for lube and my right hand. “It wasn’t scary at all.”

Mom smirked at me. “What was that grin about? Did you finally meet someone?”

Bending down, I grabbed my duffle. “You wish, lady. Let me put this up in my room, and I’ll be back down.”

“Okay, I’ll pour us a cup of coffee and slice up some lemon cake, and then we can have a nice chat. It feels like I haven’t seen you in forever.”

I rolled my eyes at her exaggeration. It had been six days since I’d been here for Christmas, and we’d talked at least once every day since. “Okay.” There was no point in arguing with her about it. I might have been twenty-six years old, but I’d always be her little boy. I was pretty sure that wouldn’t even change if I found a serious partner or got married. Maybe if I had a child, which would be nice, but I wasn’t having much luck on the dating front, so I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Thoughts of men sent me back to the adorable guy from the other night. I threw my bag on the floor of my room and sat down on my bed. I’d done a quick check of his hand before taking him back to the farmhouse and hadn’t seen a ring, so I was pretty sure he’d been honest that he wasn’t with someone.

Hell, he’d been so earnest, I couldn’t imagine him lying about something like that. It was too bad that whatever he had going on in his life made him a one-and-done kinda guy. I’d have loved to get to know him better. He hadn’t been much older than me, and his lean build, curly black hair, and vivid green eyes had drawn my attention the minute he’d stepped into Rafters.

When he’d started chatting with the first guy he’d met that night, I’d been so disappointed. Not upset that he was obviously out looking to meet a man. No. That part had made me ridiculously happy. It was the fact that I couldn’t just abandon my friend Eddie after being the one to ask him to dinner. Since he was fresh out of a relationship, that would have been a dick move. Ugh.

I wasn’t ashamed to admit to myself that when the first gentleman walked away from Kevin, I’d gotten a thrill since Eddie and me were almost done with our meal. I thought maybe I’d have a shot as long as the cutie stayed around for a minute. Then he’d bought someone else a drink. When I’d seen that dude run off, too, I’d been so confused.

What could such a fine specimen with such a sweet smile be doing that turned these guys off? Me, personally, I was half-ready to drag him into the bathroom, and I hadn’t even spoken to him yet. Then he turned just slightly enough for me to see the red streak running down his shirt.

He’d looked discouraged enough to leave, and Eddie…well, Eddie was the best. He’d nodded toward Kevin and told me I better book it over there before I missed my chance. I should’ve known he’d notice me keeping half an eye on the guy across the bar. Hell, I’d barely acknowledged to myself how closely I’d been watching him. Eddie was always looking, hoping, praying, to meet Mr. or Mrs. Right, though, and he wanted that for me, too. Either they were just looking for a good time, or they didn’t take our job seriously. Whatever.

So far, it seemed like his little hook-up with Joan was showing promise, and she knew exactly what Eddie did for a living. And Kevin, I had a feeling he wouldn’t have cared that I was a manny, either. He’d been embarrassed about going on the prowl with a stained shirt, but other than that, there’d been a lightness about him. The only thing that would’ve made him hotter to me was if he’d said he was a single father. I adored kids, and there wasn’t a better reference for a guy than to be a good parent.

Obviously he took his life seriously since he stayed true to his word and left, even after the hottest fuck I’d ever had. From the look of awe after it was over and the lust still burning in his eyes as I dressed him to leave, I was pretty confident that he’d regretted how brief our interlude was, too. Just my luck that the one person who’d ticked all my boxes wouldn’t be available.

“CJ, where are you?” Mom called up the stairs. “Your coffee’s getting cold.”

“Coming, Ma.” As I stood, I shrugged my shoulders and popped my neck. I needed to leave the black-haired cutie in my rearview mirror. If he’d wanted more, he’d have given me his phone number or asked for mine. There was no point in fixating on what was obviously not meant to be.

Mom sat at the table by the time I got downstairs. I slid into the seat next to hers where she’d placed my coffee. “So, what are you up to today?”

“A little of this, a little of that. If you’re available, maybe we can do something.” She arched a brow inquisitively.

I grinned. “Sounds like a plan to me. Until the agency calls, I don’t have anything on my plate. I really am sorry I need to use my old room again.”

“I don’t know why you always apologize. Sometimes things happen. There’s no reason for you not to come home.”

I wouldn’t argue with her since there was no point. As a grown-ass man, I shouldn’t have to stay with my parents, but with my career choice, I didn’t need to rent an apartment or anything, so when I was between jobs, it left me adrift. Eddie and Chuck were awesome about letting me stay at their apartment, and if they had more than two-bedrooms, I’m pretty sure it would be mine if I wanted it, but I didn’t like to intrude when they were both dating someone.

In the past, I’d had another gig lined up before the one I was on finished, but the husband of the family I’d been working for had been transferred, and everything had moved really quickly. I’d been with them for almost two years, and they’d asked me to go with them, but they were heading across the country, and I liked being close to my family. Hopefully, the agency I used for referrals and placement would have something for me sooner rather than later.

* * *

Kevin

My mom would be heading back to Florida tomorrow, so I took advantage of her being at my house to run into the office. I’d expected everyone to be gone by one PM on New Year’s Eve, but I should’ve known better. My best friend, George’s car sat alone in the parking lot beside the administration building. Upon entering, I sought him out first.

“You’re going to be in so much trouble.”

He startled, whipping the readers he’d tried so hard to hide off of his face and shoving them down below the top of his desk. “Kev! You scared the shit out of me. What’re you doing here, man?”

“The question is…what are you doing here? I know Margie had stuff for you to do to prepare for tonight.” Unzipping my coat, I dropped into the guest chair in front of his desk.

He groaned. “Don’t remind me. Why she insists on hosting parties that stress her out, I’ll never understand. Why can’t we have a nice night at home with the kids?”

I chuckled. He was so full of shit. He loved having large gatherings in their home as much as his wife. “How late were you up last night?”

Leaning back in the chair, he scowled at me. “Shut up.”

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