Page 85 of Mr. Frosty Pants
Glancing over his shoulder, Joel’s heart raced. Casey looked delicious in his boxers and nothing else. There was even a red mark on Casey’s shoulder that Joel had put there himself, and there was a strange puff of pride inside whenever he looked at it.
Joel had put on his jeans and T-shirt after showering while Casey slept in. He felt stronger somehow in his clothes while Casey lounged in his underwear. He raised his brow pointedly as Casey took a doughnut out of the box and chomped a giant bite from it. Powdered sugar floated around his mouth, coating his beautiful lips.
“What? Doughnuts are totally a healthy breakfast,” Casey said with a smile.
Joel went back to frying up more strips of bacon and ignoring Bruno’s drops of drool as they landed on his bare feet. The mobile home was toasty warm, which was good, since the weather had dropped well below freezing overnight.
“So, what are you going to do?” Joel asked. “Are you going to call them?”
“I’ll call them,” Casey said, but the joviality was stripped from his voice, and his shoulders sagged a little. “I guess I’d better do it now.”
Joel’s breath came in a little faster. “What are you going to tell them?”
“You’ll see.”
As Joel plated the eggs and bacon, Casey found his phone and frowned at the touchscreen. “There sure are plenty of texts from Mom and Aunt Courtney.”
Joel didn’t know if he was supposed to ask what they said or not, so he didn’t.
“Okay. Here goes,” Casey murmured, placing the call. “Hey, Mom. I’m okay. I’m with Joel.”
He almost wished he could hear Mrs. Stevens’s side of the conversation, but most of him knew that would be a terrible idea. He couldn’t quite let go of the things he’d heard Jonathan Stevens say the night before, so he didn’t need to add to them. He shook some pepper over the eggs on both plates and then carried them to the table.
“I understand that,” Casey said archly. “Dad says a lot of things he doesn’t mean when he’s upset, but I think he meant a lot of what he said too.” He paused while his mother spoke. “I don’t think so, Mom. I don’t want to be there today. I’m sorry, but no.”
Joel put the plate in front of Casey and took a seat across from him. Part of him wanted to tell Casey to forget everything, to go home. But part of him wanted to keep Casey close, to have this holiday together and seize everything he could for a few more days. Maybe then he’d have the strength to send Casey back home to his parents, who would surely accept his apology and pay for his return to NYU.
What was a fling with a guy from the wrong side of the lake in the scheme of life? They’d forgive Casey for that, wouldn’t they? And he’d have a beautiful memory of the time he and Casey had had together. His stomach knotted up, and he could barely swallow the bite of bacon he’d taken.
“That’s just it, Mom. This isn’t about you and what you want. It’s not about what Dad wants either. This is my life. And after a long time of trying to do things the way dad wants me to do them and not being happy? I’m done. I’ll do the rest of my life my way.”
Casey pushed his uneaten plate of food back and stood, pacing by the table. Joel couldn’t eat either. He wished Casey hadn’t taken his new package of cigarettes and hidden them at some point, because he sure could use one right now.
“Crying won’t change this, Mom. If you’re upset, I’m not the one to talk to. Talk to Dad. So long as the man I love isn’t welcome in your house, then I don’t consider myself welcome either.”
Joel shook his head, wanting to stop Casey from making these declarations, but it was done, and he couldn’t shove the words back into Casey’s mouth now.
“Find a way to enjoy your day,” Casey said more gently. “Hang out with Aunt Courtney. Have a merry Christmas. It’s going to be okay, Mom.” He rubbed his face and shook his head. “I don’t know what to say about the presents. I guess if Dad’s not going to continue to pay for my school or my apartment, then he probably won’t want me to have whatever’s under the tree either.” He laughed bitterly. “No, I’m not being a brat, Mom. I’m being myself. It’s a new thing, and I know you’ll probably find it surprising, but I’m done minimizing who I am to make things easier. And I won’t minimize who I love. Ever.”
Joel pushed the eggs around with his fork. They looked rubbery already. It was a shame to waste good food since he so rarely had the money for things like eggs and bacon, but he couldn’t possibly chew it up now. Not with the tension rolling off Casey like steam from a train. He scraped most of it off for Bruno who ate it with delight.
“Fine. Tell Aunt Courtney I’m sorry. And I’ll stop over tomorrow to get my things and then, sometime before I’m supposed to drive back to New York, we can schedule a time to talk as a family about whether or not that’s even going to happen now.”
His lower lip trembled a little at whatever his mother had to say. “I know, Mom. I love you too. And it really will be okay. One way or another. I promise.”
Then he disconnected the phone and wiped a hand over his face again. The light that’d been in his eyes when they woke had died.
“So?”
“I’m spending Christmas with you. Hope that’s okay.”
Joel cleared his throat, trying to come up with the right response.
“Please tell me you aren’t thinking I should apologize to them, throw you under the bus, and grovel at their feet,” Casey said, frowning into his coffee cup before grabbing another doughnut and ignoring the now-cold bacon and eggs completely.
“Aren’t you thinking that?”
“No. Not even a little.” He glanced up at Joel sharply. “I’m thinking that we’ll have a great Christmas here. You, me, and Bruno.”
