Chapter Five

Ever: I was right about Diego. Came across the wire a few minutes ago. Found him dead.

Carver: Oh well. Do you want to come over and get handcuffed to my bed?

Ever: Give me ten minutes.

Carver: This is probably the last thing you want to do, but would you like to go to my mom's place with me? It's only the three of us, so we don't really do a Thanksgiving. I still feel obligated to see her, though.

Ever: You didn't have to explain. I'm happy to go anywhere with you.

As much as Ever tried to play it cool, it was kind of low key exciting to meet one of Hollywood's biggest scream queens. While neither Carver nor Casper appeared to live their lives like children of a star, Carver was never exactly hurting either. He joked about needing his tips, but he also never hesitated to buy anything he wanted—for himself or Ever. Ever hadn't quite decided where he fit in Carver's life. They had been seeing each other for nearly a month, and now he was meeting Carver's mom. Ever still didn't think that meant much to Carver. Carver played everything close to the chest.

Simone Night was blonde and buxom. She looked twenty-five rather than the fifty she was. He had never understood how stars pulled off looking half their age. Ever wanted to say it was money, but he thought it was also more than that. It was like they carried themselves differently. They had so much confidence, people went blind to the flaws. It was odd.

"I hope you like tea," Simone said, flashing him a smile. "Casper says his new man hates the stuff. I guess I won't find out until Christmas. He's been too busy for me."

"Tea is fine."

"You should give Casper a break. He's not used to being happy."

Ever blinked at Carver's harsh tone. It wasn't exactly hateful. He sounded the way he had when he held a gun to Ever that first night. Locked down. Hidden. Ever didn't like it.

Simone seemed unbothered. "I know. Mothers still want to see their sons, though, even when they're too grown to need us anymore."

Carver sighed.

A loud chirp had him nearly jumping out of his skin as Simone handed him a cup of hot tea. Thankfully, he made a deft save before the drink ended up in Carver's lap.

Carver's face screwed up in confusion. "What in the hell was that?"

Simone chuckled. It was a sweet sound. She handed Carver a cup. "The upstairs smoke detector. It needs a new battery. It's been chirping for about a month now. I don't even notice it anymore."

Carver looked like he planned to say something mean.

Ever spoke up before he could. "You could always serve coffee when you meet London."

Simone looked confused as hell. "What?"

"Coffee," Ever repeated. "Casper's man, London, looks like a coffee guy. A muscle head," he said under his breath as he sipped his tea.

A quiet chuckle escaped Carver.

Ever hid a smile.

"Oh, so you've met London?"

Ever shook his head. "I've only seen him at…" It occurred to Ever that Simone might not know where Carver worked.

"The club," Carver supplied.

A bright smile lit Simone's face. "Oh, the kink club. I'm not a prude," she said, waving away Ever's concerns. "Plus, I imagine Leather Bait has better security than most other clubs, and a vetted membership list. I don't have to worry about someone coming in with a gun." She shivered. "That's a real fear for me these days. Don't get me wrong, I'll always support and love my sons no matter what, but the world is ugly, and I can't protect them."

Ever nodded. Then he did something terrible that sometimes hit when he was uncomfortable. Ever fell back on humor. "Honestly, it's Carver the world should fear. Not only does he own a gun, but he's also mean."

A laugh burst from Carver.

Thankfully, Simone's eyes swam with laughter too. "Oh, I know." She sipped her tea. "So. How did you meet my son?"

Ever didn't miss a beat. "I stalked him relentlessly until he noticed me."

Carver laughed and choked on his tea. The smoke alarm chirped again. Ever felt Carver tense a second before he snapped.

"For fuck's sake, Mom." He flew to his feet. "How do you live like this? I know you own a goddamn stepstool." He stormed from the room, reappearing with a folded ladder before stomping up the stairs, muttering to himself.

His mom didn't react.

Ever winced. "Sorry. His anger is all bark…I think." He didn't know why he told the guy's mother this. She knew him better than Ever did.

A sad smile touched her lips. "He's owed his anger. It's my fault, and I doubt he'll ever forget it."

"What do you mean?" Ever knew he probably shouldn't be nosey, but it was hard wired into his DNA.

She shrugged and set her cup aside. "Because of his stepfather."

Ever shook his head. "I don't know this story."

The sad smile was back. "I'm not surprised he doesn't talk about it. In short, I was married to my ex, Richard, for about five years. At that time, I had been signed to film a three-season horror show and was always gone. Richard was extremely abusive to Carver. Just Carver. I don't know why. He had just taken a secret hating to the boy and never stopped tormenting him. Casper would text me, telling me Richard had taken Carver's phone or taken his door off the hinges, leaving him with zero privacy. I always just responded that Richard was in charge when I wasn't home. Then, when they were sixteen, Casper sent me a video of Richard beating Carver with a belt." Her eyes filled with tears. "It was terrible. The buckle was hitting his arms while he tried to defend himself. Blood ran from wounds on his forearms while Richard screamed obscenities at him. I rushed home and gathered up my boys. We moved from L.A. to here that night. I hoped putting the entire width of the country between Carver and Richard would help him heal." She shrugged again. "I think it was too late. He already hated me."

"Goddamn, Mom. I don't hate you," Carver said, appearing at the bottom of the stairs. "Just change your fucking batteries. You'll be in here, burning alive and screaming for help. Everyone will just think you're practicing for your next movie. All because you didn't want to change a fucking battery."

Simone smothered a chuckle and took another sip of tea while Ever sat in horror. It was no wonder Carver was bitter. Casper was the only person he had ever been able to trust. Ever wanted to be on that list too. He just didn't know how to get Carver to let him in beyond sex.

Ever was quiet on the drive back to Carver's place. To be fair, so was Carver. Seeing his mom always drained him. It wasn't fair. Carver knew that. He loved her more than life. Time just hadn't healed them as much as he would like. It was hard as hell to forget, when he needed her the most, she had believed a man over him. She wasn't even one of those pick-me women either. It was more that Richard was a warm body in the house with her kids, keeping her from feeling like a selfish parent by leaving them alone all the time. They would have been safer alone. He wanted to let it go. He was trying. Carver needed to focus on something else.

Since Ever had driven them, Carver got to watch him without being too obvious. Occasionally, a muscle worked in Ever's jaw, as if he mulled over something. Carver's nerves stretched a little more by the second. There was a reason Carver never dated anyone longer than one-night stands. His PTSD couldn't handle anyone else's anger. The first time someone got angry or yelled, he shut down. He had spent nearly every day with Ever since Halloween. So far, things had been good. Ever was genuinely nice and easygoing. The longer Ever went without showing even a hint of temper, the more time Carver wanted to spend with him. But the obvious teeth grinding had him worried. He expected Ever would explode any second and Carver didn't know why. He didn't know what he had done wrong. Carver clenched and unclenched his hands. Tension grew by the second.

"Fuck it." Ever pulled to the side of the road and threw his truck into park. In an instant, he was across the truck. His mouth covered Carver's. The air shifted. Carver's heart melted. Ever was so fucking amazing. He made Carver dream and hope again.

Ever pulled away. "I need to know something."

"Okay." Carver was confused, but he would help if he could. He had never been this happy or wanted.

"What are we?"

Oh, no. "What do you mean?" He had to play dumb. Carver wasn't ready for this discussion.

Ever didn't back down. "I've been coming around for a month. You just let me meet your mom. Are we just having fun? Or can I call us something more?"

"Uh." Carver didn't know what to say. His brain froze and failed him.

Ever gave a sharp nod. "I see. Just having fun." He moved back to his side and put the truck in drive. His expression broke Carver's heart.

Carver found himself trying to smooth things over a bit. "I didn't say that."

Ever shrugged. "A non-answer is an answer. This is just fun for you."

"I'm not having fun with anyone else." Carver felt sick.

"Well, that's good to know, I guess." Ever sounded so defeated.

Carver wished he wasn't this way. Even as his house came into view, he didn't know what to say to make things better. Ever didn't pressure him, but damn. Carver still felt pressured. He wanted to make Ever happy, but he didn't know if he could handle calling them something more. Carver had to do something. An invisible weight on his chest crushed him.

"Come inside."

Ever didn't move. "I thought you had to work."

"I'll blow it off. I'd rather be with you."

Some of the tightness in his chest eased as Ever killed the engine and stepped from the truck. He took a breath. Maybe Carver didn't have the right words, but he had actions. Carver climbed from the truck and waited for Ever to circle to his side. He held out his hand so they could hold hands on the way to the door. Once inside, Carver did what he could to make things better. He fell on Ever like the starved fiend he was.