3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Binx listened intently to Sel's dilemma, and as Sel added more detail, Binx's smile grew.

"So, you see, I am so tired of being this protected little kid. I want to go to the ranch. More than anything, I want to learn my family's business, even if my parents aren't thrilled that I want that."

"You really want to be a shoot-'em-up mobster?"

Sel laughed a little. "As the head of the family, which I should be, once my father and uncle retire, I won't be doing most of the shooting. Or any, if I can help it. It's much more legitimate than it used to be. Stocks, proper businesses under the umbrella of the family. I've lived and breathed this stuff all my life. I just want a chance to prove myself."

"I think that's just admirable, but…now, don't get mad at me. I think they're right, too. I have a niece and three nephews. Well, they're my friends' kids, but still, they're my family too. I'd freak out if they wanted to do something like that."

Sel deflated. "I see that, too. I'd freak if my sister or brother wanted to do it. But I was born for this, Binx."

"You couldn't leave school. I'd just bet that is something they worry about."

He did, in fact, want to leave school. What Binx said made perfect sense, though. "What about remote school?"

Binx sat up, grinning to beat the band, his hands drumming absently on the island counter. "That might work. So, we just need to get you there, right?"

"Right! I'm thinking that's where you come in."

Binx looked over Sel's shoulder and whispered, "tell."

"Well, can you maybe say that you want me to accompany you to the ranch? Just because you don't know anyone there, and you're afraid of the mobsters."

"But I'm not. I'm not afraid of much of anything, especially if Lonnie and Travis are coming along with my Sirs."

That caught him again, and he asked, "You…live this lifestyle, like all the time?"

"Sure! We're not so serious that they boss me around all the time and stuff, you know?"

He didn't. He was very interested in the lifestyle but didn't have a clue about how it was really lived. "Does everyone?"

"No. Us, our friends, we all are into it, but for most, they can't live it all the time. Kids, jobs, stuff like that. But we are unencumbered that way. And that's the way we three want it."

"You don't want to have kids or anything?"

"I have the sweetest nephews and niece in the entire world. I watch them all the time. That's the biggest downfall of moving, but…they're getting older too, so they go to school, some have friends they see a lot, and I'm vying for their attention from all their other uncles and aunts."

Sel could see it was hurting him, but he also saw a need for adventure. "You've been here a long time. I see it on your face. You need to experience more."

"I guess we have that in common," Binx said, his smile suddenly returning. "How about this? I'll help you ditch the bodyguard before we get on the plane, and by the time he realizes what's happening, you're already in the air?"

His first instinct was right. Binx was going to be his hero. "I know we just met, but I think I love you already."

After a curt nod, Binx said, "Don't feel bad. It happens to everyone. I'm tremendously loveable."

Sel discovered he loved Binx even more, as he watched the man create magic. Food magic, that was. He began with a duck, cutting it into pieces like he'd done it a million times, then he made rough pasta.

"What are you making? This looks Italian?"

"Well, it's not. It's part German. The pasta is, anyway. I'm not sure about the rest," he said as he combined the olive oil and eggs into the flour. "The entire recipe is braised duck with spaetzle and mushroom ragout, which is sauce."

"Ragu, I know."

"R-a-g-o-u-t. It's French. See, it's a mishmash of techniques. I read it somewhere and made my own version. The duck is from a friend who goes hunting. He gets duck, turkey, and deer for us. Sometimes elk, but that's a lottery license."

"Spaetzle, that's the German part," Sel said, proud he knew about some of the dish. "We went to Germany when I was about ten. That's one of the only things I liked when we'd eat out because, well, it's pasta."

After preparing the duck, he pulled out a pressure cooker. "I don't have time to braise it right, so this will have to do."

"You're going to be great in Montana."

"If my Sirs okay us moving there. They love it here. We all do, but, like you said, we've been here a long time. A lot of my friends, like Lonnie and Travis, lived in Denver for years. They owned a club there and everything. Lonnie was in the police department, too. They had a lot of adventures."

Sel felt connected to Binx. Some people yearned for travel, seeing and doing things that weren't the same old routine. Sel saw it in Binx's eyes the moment he started talking about the offer. He wanted it badly.

"It's nice, you know? To have a home to come back to. My parents, they've kept the same house in Los Angeles since I was a little kid. My mom said it was important to have a home you knew, that kept your memories, to come home to even when you're grown."

Binx sighed sweetly even as his hand beat the crap out of the dough. "You're very sweet. I can't believe you're going to be a gangster."

"Binx, I told you, it's different. Look at what my uncle's doing in Montana."

In a conspiratorial whisper, he asked, "A money-laundering caper?"

Sel laughed out loud as he shook his head. "You watch too many mob movies."

"Here is my theory of Robert De Niro. When he was young, he looked like the perfect combination of my two Sirs."

Sel didn't see it, but he wouldn't yuck Binx's yum. "Could be, yeah."

"I always thought they could be in the mob, you know? The preacher, you know, dresses in a black shirt and collar, but in his bible, there is a secret compartment where he keeps a gun, and he shoots up the opposing mob guys that come to the church after their enemies."

Sel was having the best time with Binx. He truly would be a great addition to the ranch.

"And then, the mob doctor makes a ton of cash by fixing up bullet wounds so the gangsters can avoid the hospitals that ask too many questions."

The pressure cooker started as Sel kept laughing. "You could write movies."

"I really could. I think I'd be great at it, but I don't have the time. I have two men to look after, and now, I might even have a job." He leaned over the counter and dreamily sighed. "My own kitchen. Barking orders at the waitstaff, but not too mean, you know? I don't enjoy being mean."

That was obvious. Binx was the type that always wanted to see people smile. Like it was his life's work, making smiles. Selestino had a feeling that's what had driven him to learn to cook like he did. Seeing people eating and enjoying their meals.

"Did you always cook?"

Binx nodded but shrugged his shoulders. Sel had learned to read body language from Dante. The gestures Binx was exhibiting meant he was conflicted. To tell the story, he'd have to come to terms with the answer.

"I learned from nannies. I used to be…I come from a wealthy family."

A family that didn't accept him. That explained the purple hair, long after when his rebellion could hurt them. "You don't seem like it."

That made Binx happy. "I gave all that up long ago. My parents never really liked me, but they are the exception, not the rule. It took me a long time to feel that way."

"I like you, Binx. And there are two men in there that seem to utterly adore you."

Preening, Binx whispered, "They do. I am not the most obedient subby, but they don't seem to mind."

"Who wants someone with unquestioning obedience, anyway?"

"Right! Just for that, I'll make your favorite dessert. What is that?"

There was nothing he loved more in the world than something that came from his Italian side. "Tiramisu."

"Really? I just so happen to have everything I need for that! Wanna help?"

"Sure. What can I do?"

"We'll start with the ladyfingers. Those are little cakes, not real fingers from women. I don't want to give a big bad mobster the wrong idea," he said with a distinct giggle.

"Really funny, Binxie."

"I'm going to enjoy this!"

Actually, so was Sel.

He helped Binx cook and once he came out of the kitchen he saw Bennie there, standing stoically in a corner. But he sat with them at the table for dinner.

Pappy was the one that was coming around to being excited. "My chapel, will it be western too?"

"My uncle said everything will be. I don't know if they wore other things back then, but I'm supposing you would wear traditional clothes."

"It could be fun, I must admit."

Nathan winked over at him as Binx passed the duck. "You in tight jeans and cowboy boots? I'm all over that."

"As long as I get to keep my purple hair, I'll wear anything they want," Binx said, then stared at Sel, alarm making his eyes enormous spheres. "I can, can't I?"

"Binx, you'll be in the kitchen, so I don't see why you'd have to change it. It's a resort for a group of people that shines with their differences."

Nathan nodded to Sel, and he smiled, knowing he was doing a good job, even though he was sure he was given the assignment to simply appease him.

"I called Lonnie, by the way," Pappy told them. "He, Travis, and the boys are with Dennis and Deb tonight for dinner. They said they'll stop by after, for coffee. Dennis and Deb agreed to watch the boys tonight."

Scoffing, Binx commented, "Agreed, sure. They were all over it. Those boys are so fun now that they don't have diapers to change."

"You never minded changing them, Binx, and you know it. Anything to spend time with them," Pappy told him.

Binx shone when he spoke of his adopted niece and nephews. Sel remembered when he and his siblings were little kids. Dante was the same, happy to spend every second he could with them.

The conversation halted as they ate the incredible food. Sel couldn't believe that Binx got such flavor after so little time cooking. He'd happily tell Dante his choice was the right one. Binx would draw people to the resort for his cooking alone.

When they were well satisfied, Sel helped Binx clear the table and get the dishes in the dishwasher. "I'll soak these pans so we can go visit when Lonnie and Travis come," Binx said.

"Cool, I'll help you after."

"For a rich guy, you don't mind helping."

"For a former rich guy, you seem to know your way around cooking and cleaning."

Binx pointed at him and whispered, "Touche."

"To be fair, my mother and father were adamant about us kids learning to take care of ourselves. They hate spoiled kids that don't even do their own laundry. And I was in school with plenty of them. One guy had his maid come twice a week to pick up his laundry and clean the dorm room."

"I'm surprised he was in a dorm room."

"Not for long. He was scooped right up into a frat. Then he made her come to clean up the frat house, and she quit after a kegger they had. I can't blame her."

Binx blanched, "Puke, right?"

"Yeah. A lot. The first big frat party of the year, all those poor freshmen with those fresh livers."

"Who has a fresh liver?" asked a voice from the door, and Binx smiled before Sel could turn to see who it was.

When he turned, Binx was already running over to the drop-dead gorgeous man who was pure fire. "Lon! Hey!"

Lonnie, he presumed, hugged Binx quickly. "Hey, Binxie, baby."

Binx then grabbed his hand and yanked him over to Sel. "This is Dante Carrillo's nephew."

Sel was speechless for a moment. The man was so hot, he knew if he tried to speak, spittle would fly everywhere from how much saliva had collected in his mouth.

Long black hair flowing over both shoulders of the tall man, sharp features, lovely almond-shaped eyes, and a mouth that had full, succulent lips. "How do you do, Dante Carrillo's nephew? Do you have your own name, or…?"

Sel came out of his stupor and shook the man's proffered hand. "Sel. Selestino. Both. I mean, either."

"Dang, he didn't get all blundering and drooly over me like that," Binx said with a pretend pout.

"Then he's crazy," Lonnie whispered. "You're the hottest of all of us, Binxie." To Sel, he said, "Nice to meet you, Selestino. I know your uncle, of course, and he's a…friend, I guess. He's helped a lot of my friends and me."

"He's never mentioned you, but he wouldn't. He keeps his friendships, even the tentative ones, private."

"Sure, sure, of course. Well, what's the big news?"

Binx pushed him to a stool at the island and then ran to the doorway to check to see if they wouldn't be overheard. When he returned, breathless, he whispered quickly, "Sel, here, wants to go to this ranch his uncle bought. He's turning it into a resort for gay guys, and maybe girls, I don't know, but anyway, he has jobs for the three of us."

"What? You're leaving?"

"Wait! Shoot, I didn't want to tell you that part yet. We're not sure yet, so put the bon voyage on hold. Anyway, we're going to go up to Montana and check it out, and of course, we want you and Travis to come, as like our…security or something. Mostly just because I want my friends to go, but to take all of you. I don't think that would work.

Sel placed his hand on Binx's shoulder before the man expelled all his air from talking and passed out or something. "They are thinking of taking the positions they've been recommended for, including a head chef job for Binx."

"Binxie! Your own restaurant! God, I'd miss you, but that would be incredible."

Binx hugged his friend again. "I'd miss you all like crazy. And the kids, God, the kids, I'm just going to video call every single day."

"If I may, Binx?"

Binx looked back at Sel and said, "Oh! Oh, sure, go for it!"

"Anyway, I want to go, but my family won't allow me to, because there's been some trouble up there, and they're worried for my safety."

If Selestino hadn't already known Lonnie was a father, he would have with the next statement. "They're just trying to protect you."

"Oh, he knows, Lon, I promise. He's not going up there to hunt this serial killer down all by himself—"

"Serial killer? Binx!"

"Oh. Didn't I mention that yet?"

Sel held up both hands and whispered, "Let me start from the beginning."