Page 49 of Love in Unexpected Places

I sigh, sitting back on the couch. “I don’t mean to embarrass you, son, but we’re both grown. He’s a good man. And we love each other.”

“Dad, you haven’t even been here a month. How can you two be in love?”

“Love has no timeline. We’ve been spending a lot of time together and it just happened.” I haven’t even told Derek I loved him yet. He left before I could. Knowing he feels the same way I do makes me want to fight for him. I want to fight for our relationship and what we have.

This is the happiest I’ve been in years. It’s amazinghow much he’s come to mean to me in such a short period of time, just by being him. We have an amazing time just sitting around, talking about nothing or me telling him about my past. He loved hearing about the stories of my youth and telling me some of his own. Even though we have a vast age difference, we have a lot in common. More than me and my ex-wife, honestly.

“Did you know he goes toComiConevery year?”

Evan gapes at me for the change of topic. “Yeah, I knew that.”

“And you never wanted to go with me when you were younger, remember?” With wide eyes, Evan nods. “We have that in common, for starters. Did you know he wants to go backpacking across Europe after graduation?”

“What does that?—”

“That’s what I did when I graduated,” I talk over him. “Did you know he’s a fan of vintage cars? A personal hobby of mine. Did you also know?—”

“Okay, Dad, I get it,” Evan tells me with exasperation. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“We have a lot in common. More than you know. And his age has nothing to do with what we talk about or our relationship. I know how young he is, just as he knows how old I am. We don’t take that lightly. And I’m sorry if people will talk shit behind your back about my dating life, but is that really what’s bothering you?”

Blowing out a deep breath, he says, “No. It’s how I found out. His stupid ex sent me those pictures.”

“The blond fuck you introduced me to in the panini restaurant?”

Evan barks a laugh. “Blond fuck, Dad?” I raise an eyebrow as I fight back a smirk. “Yes, him. He wants Derek and knew that I would try to break you two up.”

“So you’re giving him what he wants?”

“What? No! I—” Evan clamps his mouth shut. “Fuck. Yeah. I fell right into that trap. I just didn’t expect it to be the two of you.”

Exhaling, I shake my head and squeeze his shoulder. “We didn’t do any of this to hurt you. We really liked each other. There was chemistry since the first time we met. It was almost inevitable that we’d end up together. What’s stopping you from being happy for us?”

“The age difference. I knew Derek liked older men, but I didn’t expect it to be my dad. And of course, you’re my dad. I don’t want to think about you dating…anyone.”

I grin at him before I chuckle. “Yeah, well, your old man still has it.”

Evan groans and I laugh. He joins in right after and I know I haven’t lost my son. Just my boyfriend.

After we’re silent for a moment, Evan glances over at me. “I owe Derek an apology, huh?”

“That would be nice. He’s still your best friend. You’ve been close for four years. Don’t let this come between you two.”

“I don’t think I would have had an issue if Atlas didn’t send me those photos. He’s been a pain in my ass since he fucked Derek over. Now he’ll hold this over my head.”

“Don’t let him get to you. Besides, aren’t you finished with school? Who will he tell and how will it impact your life?”

Evan smiles. “You’re right. I’m sorry for barging in here like that. I’ll go see Derek now and talk to him.”

“How about I call him over and we can all talk? It’ll be good for us.”

Evan agrees and I call Derek to come back so we can talk. I’m sure it’ll be a little awkward, but it’s important that we settle everything so we can move on.

The talk is a lot more amicable than I thought. Evantells Derek he’s a little hurt that he kept it from him, which Derek apologizes profusely for. He also tells Evan we tried to just get to know each other as friends as he was helping me move in, but our attraction was magnetic. It’s certainly true, we did try. It worked out for the best, though.

After we talk and Evan apologizes for his temper, Derek gets a gleam in his eyes. “Bryson told me that Atlas has a boyfriend that goes to school a few towns over. They’ve been dating since right after we broke up. I just happened to text him the screenshots of him asking me if he could fuck me just a week ago.”

Both Evan and I laugh heartily, and I pull Derek to me and kiss his forehead. He told me about Atlas and his unending messages throughFacebook, the only place Derek hadn’t blocked him. I knew that kid would get his karma one way or another.

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