Chapter One

Richmond

I knocked on my son Wade's front door, looking forward to seeing him, as well as his place. It had been a couple of months since I last saw the home, when I signed the rental agreement.

Wade had just graduated from college, and I wanted to give him a place to stay which was close to my home…without inviting him back into my home. I loved him dearly, but it was time for him to stand on his own two feet.

I was happy to help him by covering the cost of the apartment. It had been my idea, actually. I'd made a great life for myself, working hard over the years to climb the corporate ladder. I wanted to share my good fortune with my only son, while relieving his stress and giving him the best start at adult life.

Plus, I knew that once he found steady work, Wade would take over the rent payments. I just hoped he found a job he enjoyed, and was qualified for. Unfortunately, he didn't follow in my footsteps in financial analytics, instead pursuing an art degree. There was nothing wrong with art, of course, but I knew nothing about it, or how to help him with his career path. But I could help him financially until he found his own way in life.

I wasn't the only one looking after Wade. Gavin, his best friend since grade school, was going to be living with him. They'd been inseparable for years, even living as roommates as they attended college together.

I hadn't seen much of Gavin lately, but I knew him very well. I think he spent just as much time at my home throughout the boys' grade school and high school years as he spent at his own place. He had a rocky home life growing up, and I was pleased I could provide a space where he felt safe.

Even though Gavin had been through a lot, he was a great kid with a good head on his shoulders. He was smart and grounded, and I hoped those attributes would rub off onto my somewhat flighty son. Granted, they hadn't yet, even through a decade of friendship and four years at college, but I could still dream.

The door opened and I smiled widely at Wade. It was like looking at a younger version of myself; we were both tall with broad necks and shoulders, but my frame was more padded than his. My graying hair was thinner than his dark, curly locks, but we had matching slate gray eyes, and the same long, slim nose. We even trimmed our facial hair the same way, though his short beard was dark brown while mine was salt and pepper.

"Hey Dad," he greeted as he pulled me into a back-slapping hug.

"Hey. Are you getting settled in okay?" Unfortunately, I"d been tied up with work and didn"t have a chance to help him move in, but I hired a company to help the process go smoothly.

"Yep, the place is all done. Check it out." Wade ushered me inside and closed the door behind us.

My jaw dropped in shock as I looked around the living room. I expected to see piles of boxes, which I came prepared to help unpack. But instead, the house was totally put together. The furniture was neatly arranged, stylish rugs lay on the floor, and nice decor speckled shelves and the walls.

"I'm impressed. I'll admit, I wasn't expecting it to be this put together."

"It was all Gavin," Wade replied with a shrug. "He's been busting his ass the past couple of days to get everything set up."

That made more sense; if it had been left up to Wade, things would be left in piled boxes. But I wasn't surprised that Gavin took care of things. He'd always been a responsible kid. At any rate, not having to unpack would give us more time to catch up.

"What would you like to do for dinner?" I asked, pulling my phone from my pocket, assuming he'd want to order something.

"It's already taken care of. The food should be about ready, actually."

I blinked in shock. "You cooked?"

"Hell no; I'd burn the house down. That was Gavin too." He chuckled at my relieved sigh as I put my phone back into my pocket. "Come on, he's in the kitchen."

As I followed Wade towards the next room, the aroma of chicken and vegetables hit my nostrils, making my stomach growl. But what made my mouth water was the sight of a taut, round ass bent over as its owner pulled a dish from the oven.

My first thought was that the guys had someone visiting; that maybe he was even a boyfriend of Gavin, the lucky bastard. Whoever he was, I couldn't look away. I stared unashamedly as he stood up, his sleek muscles bunching beneath his tight shirt as he placed the dish on the countertop.

The man turned to face me and my jaw dropped when a pair of familiar brown eyes locked with mine. I'd looked into them countless times before, but they'd always belonged to a scrawny, clumsy kid with shaggy hair. That was not the man who stood before me today.

"Gavin?" I squeaked out as my eyes quickly roved over him. His hair was cut high and tight, and his square jaw was shaved smooth. He had to have grown at least four inches since the last time I saw him, and his body filled out nicely. Very nicely; he was still slim, but I could clearly make out the cuts of his muscles, even through his clothes.

"You look…" I wasn't sure what to say. Different didn't seem to cover it. Sexy was more accurate, but that was a wildly inappropriate thing to say to my son's friend. But damn if it wasn't true.

"Hot, right?" Wade said, as though he'd read my thoughts. He flicked Gavin's nipple before laughing and walking towards the dining table, while Gavin smirked and rolled his eyes at my son's antics.

Many different thoughts and emotions tumbled around in my brain. Shock was front and center, though lust was being awfully pushy. And I couldn't deny the spark of jealousy that lingered in the background.

But why was I jealous? Because Wade got to touch the nipple that I could see was now so hard and pointed I could hang a picture from it? Yep. But I had no reason to be jealous of the touch; the two of them always joked around. And unless something changed during his time at college, I knew my son wasn't gay.

Holy hell, what is wrong with me? It didn't matter if Wade was gay, or if he was romantically involved with Gavin. I ignored the way the thought made my stomach tighten. This man was twenty five years younger than I was. I needed to settle my sack and push away any inappropriate thoughts. You're just in shock, I told myself, and I almost believed it.

But no matter how many words rolled around my head, none of them made it to my mouth. I just stood there, gaping at him like a trout.

"It's nice to see you again, Richmond," Gavin greeted in a voice much deeper than I remember him having. His balls must have dropped. Sweet buttered fucks, why am I thinking about his balls? Blood rushed to my face and heated my cheeks. My forty-eight year old ass stood there blushing like a hormonal teenager.

The blush only deepened when I realized he'd called me Richmond. In the past, Gavin only addressed me as Mr. Holt; never by my first name. Why did he have to sound so confident and mature? And why did I like it so much?

Wade snorted in the distance, releasing me from my stupor. I noticed that Gavin's hand was outstretched, so I slipped mine inside. His grip was firm, but his skin was soft.

"It"s good to see you too," I finally replied, though it was the understatement of the year.

Just as I realized I was holding onto him far too long, I noticed Gavin wasn"t pulling away either. He kept cradling my hand, gazing at me with a soft smile. Did he want to touch me? Was he just following my lead? Was I freaking him out, but he was too polite to say so?

At any rate, I came to my senses and released his hand. Wanting a distraction, I looked around until my eyes fell on the dish he"d placed on the counter. It contained a golden brown chicken which was surrounded by vegetables. It looked wonderful and smelled even better.

"So…you cook?" I asked dumbly. Wade snorted again, but when I looked back at Gavin, he was still wearing his kind - and quite handsome - smile.

"I do." He leaned in closer and added, "I learned a lot of things in college." He threw in a flirty wink before he turned away, and my heart nearly raced out of my chest.

School certainly had changed Gavin. He was no longer the nerdy, quiet boy I remembered, who hung out with Wade to play video games and read comic books. He was all man. I wondered what grownup activities he enjoyed now.

I was pulled from a string of highly inappropriate thoughts when Gavin asked, "Will you grab some drinks for us?"

"Sure." I needed to cool off anyway. I opened the fridge and grabbed three bottles of Miller Lite. I knew Wade hadn't done the grocery shopping, and it foolishly gave me a little thrill to think that Gavin bought the brand because he knew it was my favorite.

I placed the bottles on the dining table and sat next to my son. Gavin placed the dish in the center of the tabletop and took the seat across from me.

"Thank you for dinner," I told him when I realized I hadn't done so yet.

"You're welcome," he replied with a smile. "It's the least I can do after all the meals you've made for me."

It was true that I'd cooked for him many times over the years. But I was happy to do so; I enjoyed cooking, along with the words of appreciation Gavin always gave for the meals. I knew he wasn't getting them from his own home, so I always made enough to share. If I worked late at the office and purchased fast food on my way home, I made sure to grab some for Gavin as well, as he was usually at my house when I arrived.

"It was my pleasure," I assured him.

Gavin flashed his pretty smile once more. "And this is mine."

"And this is mine," Wade cut in as he reached out and pulled a leg from the chicken.

"I've got a knife right here, dork," Gavin chuckled, but Wade just shrugged and bit into the meat. I gave my son an unimpressed look, which he ignored. I wasn't surprised; I'd tried his whole life to teach him better table manners, but the lessons never stuck.

Gavin served a slice of chicken and a helping of vegetables onto my plate before filling his own. I took a bite of the tender meat and hummed. "This is delicious."

"Thank you. I'm glad you like it."

After a few more bites, I asked both of them, "How are you adjusting to being out of college?"

"I miss it already," Wade said through a full mouth. I figured as much; while he did study, he also partied and enjoyed his youth. Now it was time for the real world to rear its ugly head.

"I still wish you would have walked through graduation," I lamented. I would have loved to watch my son cross that stage, and to get photographs of the event, but Wade was a free spirit. He wasn't into the pomp and circumstance, pun intended.

"It felt kind of silly, since I barely passed." Wade was intelligent and a talented artist, but the issue was getting his head out of the clouds long enough to focus in class. But, a diploma was a diploma, and I hoped he put it to good use. "Gavin is the one who should have walked. He got all kinds of honors."

"You did?" I looked at the young man, who gave a shy grin.

"I graduated summa cum laude. I was at the top of my class for both of my degrees, and I received the President's Award for Academic Excellence."

My jaw dropped. I knew he had always been a good student; his grades in high school earned him many scholarships, and he had to take out very few loans (since his parents offered him no support) to cover the rest of his tuition. But I was still impressed by his accolades. "But you didn't walk?"

Gavin shrugged and turned his attention back to his plate. "There wouldn"t have been anyone to watch me anyway."

My heart sank. Gavin's relationship with his parents had been strained all through his adolescence. They hadn"t planned on his birth and weren"t keen on raising a child. They never abused him, but they did ignore him, which was one reason he spent so much time in my home growing up. According to Wade, once they left for college, all contact from Gavin's parents dried up completely. I wasn"t surprised they wouldn"t have shown up to his graduation.

But I should have. I"d been very busy with work lately, and since Wade didn"t attend the ceremony, going myself didn"t even cross my mind. But it should have. I was ashamed of myself; my ass should"ve been in the crowd to cheer for Gavin and show him that someone cared about him.

"I would"ve been proud to watch you cross that stage," I told Gavin, who looked up at me again as yet another soft smile crossed his lips. "I am proud of you." Wade cleared his throat and I turned my smirk on him. "Yes, I"m proud of

both of you."

"That"s better," my son teased before shoveling another bite into his mouth.

I chuckled until I looked back at Gavin, and my laugh died away as I caught his gaze. His eyes were dark and intense, with something I couldn"t quite distinguish flickering behind them. "That means a lot to me," he told me seriously. Unsure how to answer, I nodded once, and held his gaze until he broke it to look down at his plate again.

I wasn"t sure how to process the moment. It felt as if he"d left something unsaid, but maybe I was mistaken. Was it wishful thinking on my part? If so, I wasn"t sure how to process that either. So, I turned my attention to the delicious food before me.

After a few bites, the silence around me became heavy, so I asked the pair, "Have you thought about your next steps?"

"Not at all," Wade replied, once again not shocking me.

Gavin chimed in, "I"ve been searching for job openings and dropping off resumes around town. My career goal is to become a marketing analyst or marketing manager, but I know sometimes in business, you need to accept an entry level position and work your way up. If I can get my foot in the door somewhere, I"m willing to put in the hard work and long hours."

I was once again impressed by him; his work ethic and understanding showed maturity far beyond his twenty three years. I wanted to give him any advantage I could in the cutthroat business world, and I thought I had just the ticket.

"My company just completed a major deal with one of our partners; the Kennison Group. Have you heard of them?"

"Of course," Gavin nodded. "They"re one of the top five investment firms in the state."

I beamed at him. He"d certainly done his homework. "That"s right. And next weekend, my company is throwing a party to celebrate the merger. Would you like to come as my guest?" Something flickered in his eyes again. Worried it was apprehension or unease, I added, "It would be great for rubbing elbows and networking."

"I'd love to go with you," he answered, and my heart fluttered in my chest. I told myself it was because I was happy to be helping the young man with his career.

Guilt struck me when I realized I"d invited Gavin while excluding Wade. I turned to my son and offered, "There probably won"t be anyone there from the art world, but you"re welcome to-"

"Pass," he replied before I could get my whole sentence out. "A bunch of stuffy business guys in suits isn"t really my idea of a party."

To my surprise, I breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn"t that I didn"t want to spend time with Wade; I wanted some time alone with Gavin…to focus on his career. Yeah…that"s it.

We finished our meal, followed by a delicious dessert of chocolate cake Gavin baked, as we caught up. Wade told me some tales about the wild parties he"d attended in school, and I was shocked he survived the past few years.

Gavin told me about his newfound love of weightlifting, which he had discovered on campus. He said he worked out as often as he could. I tried my best not to picture him sweaty and breathless at the gym.

We talked late into the night. I got the feeling that Wade and Gavin could have gone all night without sleep, but my much older body was dragging. So, I finally said my goodbyes, but not before inviting the duo to dinner the following evening. I had the weekend free, and was looking forward to spending more time together. I"d missed both of them.

I gave Wade a hug before stepping in front of Gavin and pausing. Over the years, I"d slung my arms around him countless times in a friendly or playful embrace. So why did it feel so different now? Why was I avoiding it, yet craving it at the same time? Why was I wondering if his body would feel as firm as it looked? And why was I hesitant to find out?

Gavin interrupted my train of thought by holding out his hand once more. Both relieved and disappointed, I clutched it and gave it a firm shake.

His innocent yet exhilarating promise of, "See you tomorrow, Richmond," bounced around my head as I retreated to my car. It was joined by questions, fantasies, and guilt I wasn"t ready to address. I told myself now that the initial shock of seeing him again had passed, those thoughts would soon fade away.