Page 82 of Cover Up

Felix went back out to the restaurant and found Jeremiah at the bar with one earbud in, his laptop in front of him. Felix approached and tapped him on the shoulder, leaning in to be heard over the slight, buzzing crowd.

“Hey, man.”

Jeremiah smiled. “Felix. Dei said you were coming in so you could meet Alexandra.”

Felix hopped up on one of the chairs and twisted his fingers in his lap. “Have you met her?”

Jeremiah’s face fell a bit, and he reached out, shutting his laptop. Even behind his thick glasses, his blindness prevented him from meeting Felix’s gaze, but his expression was piercing. “Yeah. Dei and I used to bring her lunch a few times a week last year, but her stomach stopped tolerating restaurant food.”

“I know it’s a ridiculous question,” Felix said, “but do you think she would have liked me?”

“Fuck yeah,” Jeremiah said quickly. He leaned his elbow on the bar top, and his eyes closed. “She was a badass. She had a hard life, and I think there’s some resentment Dei’s been keeping because he didn’t get a mom who was able to care for him the way he wanted. It’s shit he’s gonna have to deal with eventually, but he loves her. And she loves him.”

Felix appreciated the way Jeremiah wasn’t using past tense, even if Dei’s mom didn’t remember her son anymore. And he wanted to believe Jeremiah was right. He waited to see if he felt lingering jealousy that Jeremiah had gotten time with her where he never would, but instead, he was just grateful Dei hadn’t been alone for all that time.

“You okay?” Jeremiah asked. “You’re quiet.”

“Sorry. Bad seizure late last week, so I’m still a little funky.”

Jeremiah’s brow furrowed. “Dei told me. You feeling okay?”

“A lot better. And he’s been more than enough help,” Felix said. “Sometimes too much.”

Before he could feel guilty for complaining about Dei’s mother-henning, Jeremiah burst into laughter and reached for him, squeezing his wrist when he found it. “That fucker is gonna run himself ragged on purpose.”

Felix smiled and glanced toward the kitchen. It got annoying from time to time, but he wouldn’t trade it for the world. He saw movement a second later, and then Dei appeared in the doorway like some sort of avenging angel on god’s mission.

“Stop flirting with my boyfriend.”

Jeremiah removed his hand, but only to flip Dei off. “I can’t help it. He’s adorable.”

“I’d threaten to tell Max, but I think he loves Felix as much as he loves you,” Dei muttered, walking around the counter and throwing his arm around Felix. He leaned down and kissed his neck. “Hi, baby.”

Felix warmed all over. “Hi.”

“You ready?”

Felix nodded and felt more secure than ever. “Catch you later?” he said to Jeremiah.

The other man nodded, then went back to his computer as Felix slipped off the stool and took Dei’s hand, letting him lean against Felix since he wasn’t using his cane. They made their way down the narrow hallway and out the back door, and Dei stopped him just before they reached his truck.

“You sure you’re okay doing this?”

Felix frowned at him. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because I know it’s awkward as fuck, me havin’ you meet my momma while she’s…you know…”

In hospice. Dei wasn’t great at saying that word because he knew what it meant. In the end.

Felix tugged him close and cupped his cheek. “I’d want to meet her under any circumstances, okay? I’m not just doing this for you. I want to know her.”

Dei’s face went soft, and he leaned in for a kiss. “God, I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” Felix whispered and let Dei pull him to the truck.

* * *

“…and she caught me with my pants literally around my ankles, and when my granddad found a leech stuck to my ass, she laughed herself until she was blue in the face,” Dei said, chuckling along with his story.

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