Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

It was rough seeing Ford get into that car and leave. A piece of his heart went along with him, but they’d agreed to FaceTime and work out a schedule of visits.

The last thing Ford said to him was, “We’ll work it out.”

Nico tracked the cab, watching as it melted into the thousand other vehicles and disappeared from view. He shoved his hands into his pockets and headed toward the subway. After a weekend of running from tours to being with Ford to working at the restaurant, he needed to decompress. Sit in his apartment and think.

He reached home and fell onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. Now that Ford had left, their time together seemed dreamlike. Ford might say nothing was perfect, but Nico disagreed. He ran his tongue over his lips, tasting the last of Ford’s kisses, and touched the sore spots all over his body from their hours of making love.

Making love. That was a new one to him. He wasn’t a stranger to sex—he and Tommy DeLucca had traded blowjobs after baseball practice in high school. He’d lost his virginity to Tommy at sixteen and had been having sex ever since.

But making love? That hadn’t happened. Except with Ford. No one had treated his body like it was precious. He and his hookups would prefer to get to the main event as quickly as possible. Any kisses had been more like a battle of mouths and tongues.

With Ford, he’d learned that a kiss was a sensual extension of touch. The merest hint of Ford’s lips on his was enough to awaken and enhance his pleasure. One kiss wasn’t enough. He needed Ford’s mouth on his, his tongue.

“Fuck,” he groaned. “Get a grip.” Was this what being lovesick was like? He’d better find a cure because he couldn’t walk around aching for Ford until they saw each other again. For a split second he wondered if his mother would ever consider moving, but immediately dismissed it. Her family was here, the restaurant, and most importantly, her doctors. No way could he even think of suggesting it.

His bell rang, and when he peered out the window, his mother waved at him.

“Hiya. You’re finally home. Have a nice weekend?” She came inside, holding a pot. “I made meatballs. I thought you might be hungry.”

For the first time, his stomach cramped at the thought of eating. He and Ford had attempted lunch, but he was too depressed to take more than a few bites of his burger, and Ford wasn’t much better.

“I’m okay, but I’ll save them for later, before I leave for work.”

“Ford get off okay?”

Nico checked his phone and saw a text.

Taking off. I’ll call you when I get home.

He wasn’t used to this. Was that how a boyfriend acted? He could check with Anthony, but then he’d have to get into everything with him, and Nico wasn’t ready to share his feelings. Not yet.

“Yeah. His plane took off about ten minutes ago.” He sat on the couch, and after putting the pot on the stove, his mother took the chair opposite him. Sharp-eyed as ever, she peered at him.

“You miss him.”

He shrugged. “Yeah. We had a great weekend.”

“Don’t gimme that. This is me you’re talkin’ to. You’re crazy about him.” He opened his mouth, and she glared. “Don’t lie to me, Nico.”

He sighed. “Okay, so I’m crazy about him. What am I supposed to do about it?” His voice rose. “He lives there, and I’m here. Dammit.” Frustrated that he’d so easily lost control, he rubbed his face. “I’m sorry, Ma. I didn’t mean to go off on you.”

Her eyes soft, she got up and sat next to him. “It’s okay. I’m happy to see you finally connect with someone.” Her face grew fierce. “You don’t fall for just nobody. He better feel the same.”

Nico allowed a grin. “Yeah. He does. We’re together, although I don’t know how it’s gonna work. I almost didn’t believe it ’cause…you know.”

“No, I don’t know. He’s the lucky one, as far as I’m concerned. Yeah, he’s a doctor and rich, but you?” She rested her hand on his cheek. “You’re special. My son. Gioia mia.”

“Te voglio bene, Mamma.” He kissed her.

“When you gonna see him next?”

“Dunno. We’ll FaceTime.”

She pursed her lips as if she’d bitten into a lemon. “Nah, that ain’t gonna work. You need to go there and see him.”

“Ma. I don’t got the money for airfare. It’s stupid expensive, and I gotta work.” He needed to fill out more applications for management jobs. And maybe he should look into marketing jobs. He didn’t mind starting at the bottom. But losing his tip money would be a blow. That brought him in nice cash off-the-books. Plus, he wasn’t sure he could swing it with working at the restaurant. It depended on the hours they wanted, which he’d heard could be long.

His head hurt.

“Eh, you can figure it out.” She folded her hands in her lap. “Have you decided what you’re gonna do about seeing your father?”

“Oh God, please.” He raised his face to the ceiling. “No, Ma. I haven’t. It’s too much right now.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’ta brought it up. You’ll do what you feel is right when it’s right.”

“Yeah. Are you comin’ to the restaurant tonight?”

“Yeah. Me ’n Justine’ll be there.”

He thought for a moment and decided what the hell. “All right, I’ll see you there. I got some stuff to do this afternoon.”

She kissed him good-bye, and he texted Anthony.

Bring Frank to the restaurant for dinner. Let’s get him together with my mom.Since Maxie’s was closed that night, it was the perfect opportunity.

When Anthony didn’t respond right away, Nico got on his laptop and began to search for entry-level marketing jobs. Somehow, someway, he was going to make it all work. Job-wise, at least. His father was a different matter. Thinking about the situation made him sick to his stomach and he couldn’t deal with how to see him. As far as Nico was concerned, both of them were victims, but he wasn’t sure his father would see it that way.

His stomach growled, and he decided to heat up the meatballs and ate while he filled out a few applications. His good grades and degree from college should still mean something.

His phone buzzed.

Nice. I like it, Anthony replied. How’s you and the boyfriend?

Nico rolled his eyes.

If you mean Ford, he left.

You’ll need some cheering up.

Nico didn’t respond, instead eating his lunch. A text came through from Ford, and his pulse spiked.

Landed about 15 mins ago. In the garage and heading home. I miss you already.

Nico’s fingers hovered over the phone screen, as if he could touch Ford. “I’m such a dork.” But he couldn’t stop smiling.

Miss you too. Call me soon.

**

At seven that night, Anthony walked in with Sergio and Frank.

“Frank, how’s it shakin’?”

“Haven’t been here in a while, but Anthony insisted on takin’ me out, so here I am.”

Nico gave Anthony a hug and whispered, “Make sure he sits next to my mom.”

“Leave it to me ’n Sergio. We’re pros.” Anthony strolled to the back, Sergio and Frank flanking him. He pulled out the chair by Justine. “Sergio, sit here. Frank, you sit by Joanne. I need to sit at the end.”

“Yeah, you need room for all those muscles, huh?” Frank snickered, and they all laughed.

Nico watched with approval, then went to the kitchen to pick up several orders. When he reappeared, Frank and his mom were chatting. Nico dropped off his orders, and Anthony excused himself from the table to join him at the front, where Nico was setting up the bread baskets and water glasses for the busboy to take to the tables.

“Mission accomplished. Frank is turnin’ on the charm, and your mom’s eatin’ it up.” Anthony reached over and grabbed a piece of bread.

“Dude, don’t go stickin’ your fingers in the bread. Who knows where they been?” Nico snickered. “Or should I say, I know where they been.”

“Yeah, you do, and speakin’ of stickin’ fingers into things, how was the rest of the weekend with Ford?” Anthony smirked.

Nico grew warm but remained casual. “Good. We had dinner at Gallaghers, that steakhouse, you know? It was awesome. Best meal I ever had, aside from here.”

“Damn, that had to run some big bills.” Anthony snickered. “Snagged yourself a sugar daddy. Good for you.”

Nico’s hands balled into fists. “Don’t you ever fuckin’ call him that. You hear me?”

“Whoa, take it down a notch. I just meant he’s got bucks and you lucked out.”

But Nico didn’t want to take it down. “Fuck that shit. It ain’t like that between us. I’d be with him even if he had nothin’. Yeah, I’m lucky ’cause he’s the nicest fuckin’ man I’ve ever met. Got it?”

A slow grin spread across Anthony’s face. “Oh, yeah. I got it. And so do you. Bad.”

Nico avoided his eyes. “Whatever. Just don’t go calling Ford names like that.”

“I’ll assume present company excepted,” Anthony joked and leaned in close. “Happy for you, bro. I could tell you two had somethin’ special that night at Maxie’s when he showed us what a pool shark he was. You ain’t never kissed nobody in front of us before.”

Nico shrugged. “Yeah, well…”

“Don’t be shy. It’s awesome to find the right person.” Anthony’s gaze shifted to Sergio, who was deep in conversation with Justine. “Why should we have to hide who we love?”

“It’s not that. I don’t give a fuck who looks at me funny ’cause I’m with a guy.”

“Then what?” Anthony’s brows drew together.

“Look how you reacted. Like I’m with Ford ’cause he’s got money. I don’t want nobody thinkin’ I’m only with him for that.”

“I’m sorry. You’re right. That was shitty of me. But there’s nothing you can do to change perception. As long as Ford knows how you feel—and he does, right?”

Thinking about the things they said to each other, he confessed to Anthony. He had nothing to hide. “Yeah. We’re in this together.”

True happiness shone from Anthony’s face. “Dude. That’s fucking awesome. Happy for you.”

“Thanks, now we just gotta figure out how to make it work.”

“You mean the long-distance thing? Listen. You can be with a person in the city, and they’re so damn busy, you never see ’em. If you want to, you make the time.”

“But flights ain’t cheap.”

“Go on those travel websites and make your days flexible. You can find some cheapo prices.”

Nico pondered Anthony’s words for the rest of the night. When the restaurant closed, he watched with satisfaction as Frank offered to walk his mother home, while Anthony quickly told Justine he and Sergio would take her. Bobby, who’d asked to train as a waiter, wished him good night.

“See you tomorrow, Nico. How’d I do tonight?” Bobby waited anxiously.

“Great. Feel like doin’ it tomorrow as well? Wednesday is a little busier, just lettin’ you know.”

“Yeah, definitely, thanks.”

“Good. Be here before five. Joey’s on tomorrow for the early shift.”

Bobby nodded and ran out.

After making sure everything was in order, Nico left too, and got home around 11:15. He’d finished brushing his teeth when his phone rang, and seeing it was Ford, he jumped on the couch.

“Hi.”

“Hi, yourself. Are you home? I didn’t want to bother you at the restaurant.” Ford’s voice warmed him like a bowl of hot soup on a cold winter day.

“Yeah, I was just getting ready for bed.”

“Wish I could be there with you, instead of here by myself.”

“Me too.” The ache of loneliness he’d been too busy to pay attention to while working flared, and he sighed. “But I’m really glad you called.”

“Me too. I just wanted to hear your voice before I went to sleep.”

“You’re too sweet. Talk tomorrow?”

“Yes. Call me when you can.” Ford hesitated. “Miss you.”

“I miss you too. Night.”

Yeah, he had the dopiest look on his face, but he didn’t give one damn. And instead of going to sleep, he opened his laptop and began to check prices to fly to Florida.

**

He’d never done anything this outlandish, but when he stepped out of the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood airport and saw the palm trees reaching up to the blue, blue sky, he couldn’t contain his excitement. It had taken close to a month to work out the time off because the bus company had to find people to cover all his shifts, but they’d finally given him three days off. He’d asked for five but didn’t argue. His mother was almost as excited as him, and he had to insist he couldn’t bring an entire lasagna in his carry-on.

He did have a tin of homemade biscotti, though. Chocolate and almond.

Joey and Tre had already promised to work extra shifts and help Bobby with his.

“Anything for true love.” Joey cackled.

Nico didn’t care. He was going to see Ford and spend the weekend with him. He hoped Ford didn’t mind the surprise, but since he couldn’t be sure if he’d work it all out, he’d kept quiet.

They’d fallen into a routine. After he’d get home from the restaurant, they’d FaceTime well into the night, talking about their days—funny stories from Nico’s tours, or serious stuff, like all the jobs Nico had applied to. Ford had helped him punch up his résumé and often found job openings Nico had missed. Ford had sent packages to his mother, Justine, and Teresa filled with top-of-the-line skin-care items, and Nico couldn’t tell who was crazier about his boyfriend, he or his family.

They also confessed they missed each other, and Nico would whisper all the filthy, dirty, sexy things he wanted to do to Ford the next time they saw each other.

The Uber pulled up to a strip mall, and when he saw the pale stucco building with the Fresh Faces Dermatology Practice sign, his heart pounded.

It was lunchtime, and Nico knew Ford worked afternoons on Fridays. He hefted his bag—a new lululemon overnight bag gifted to him by Sergio—and pushed opened the glass doors.

Several patients sat in the waiting area, and the receptionist greeted him. “May I help you?”

“Is Dr. St. Claire in?”

Her pretty brown eyes assessed him. “He’s due in at one fifteen. Do you have an appointment?”

“No. But I can wait.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but Dr. St. Claire has a full schedule today. Would you like to make an appointment?”

Nico smiled at her. “It’s okay. I’m a friend. I’ll just wait.”

He took a seat next to an elderly man, who moved his cane. “I don’t blame you for waiting for Dr. St. Claire. He’s a good man.”

Hearing someone speak well of Ford made Nico proud, and he laughed to himself. He was acting like a doting boyfriend.

“I think so.”

The man eyed him up and down and smiled. “I see.”

Good thing the old man did, because Nico had no idea what he was talking about. He pulled out his phone and saw he had about twenty minutes before Ford was due to come. Several patients were called in, and Nico admired the beautiful office, done in pale greens, peach, and blue. Definitely a Florida vibe. A man in a white lab jacket appeared—tall, with a short-cropped beard and black glasses. He spoke with the receptionist, and they shared a laugh. He scanned the room, and when their eyes met, he strolled over. The name tag on his jacket read, Dr. Jose Diamond.

“Hello. Adriana said you were waiting for Dr. St. Claire. Maybe I can help you?” His brown eyes twinkled. “Although I can’t understand what someone with such beautiful skin would need to have done.”

The old man next to Nico huffed and shifted in his seat.

“I’m a friend of his, not a patient.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I’m here for a visit.”

The doctor’s gaze turned shrewd. “Ahh. And from the accent, you’re from New York. Now I see why he made all those trips up north.”

Nico remained silent.

Another man walked out from the back, and Nico recognized Ford’s ex, Lenny, from when he’d googled the clinic.

“Jose, babe, are you ready?”

Now Nico had both doctors standing in front of him, and the old man by his side, muttering.

Jose said, “I was just talking to…what did you say your name was?”

“I didn’t.” Nico crossed his arms.

Lenny chuckled. “He’s sharp. Can we leave now?” Lenny took off his white lab jacket and pulled out his phone.

“He’s here to see Ford. A friend from Noo Yawk.” Jose smirked.

Lenny’s brows rose high. “New York?”

“Last time I checked,” Nico drawled.

Lenny’s assessing gaze traveled up and down Nico. “I heard he had a good time at the conference dinner with his date. Was that you?”

“None of your business,” a smooth voice interrupted. Nico’s attention shifted to the doorway, where Ford stood in all his gorgeous glory. “Nico? What’re you doing here?”

“Surprise.”

Ford’s gorgeous face was all he needed to see, and he left his seat to give him a kiss on the mouth. Ford’s tongue met his for a brief moment, before he put his hands on Nico’s shoulders and stepped away. Red spots burned on his cheeks, and his eyes gleamed golden.

“I can’t believe you’re here.”

“I was able to get three days off. I’m here till Sunday night.”

Remembering they had an audience, Nico slipped his arm around Ford’s waist. Lenny and Jose stood wide-eyed, mouths hanging open, while the elderly man smiled with satisfaction. “To answer your question, yeah, I was his date.”

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” Ford murmured.

“Damn straight. Aren’t you?”

Ford’s eyes crinkled with laughter. “More than I thought possible.”