Page 15 of Joey's Trick
“Only you can let him do that, Joey. You can choose to believe him, but he has to show you he deserves your trust.”
That was the part that scared the shit out of him. How did he separate the obvious feelings he still had for Trick from the outright fear of letting the guy back into his life? “I have to go, Joey. My next appointment is here. We’ll talk when you get back, okay?”
“Sure, Dr. Garrett. Thanks,” Joey said, disconnecting the call. He dropped the phone on his bed and continued to lie there, his head spinning in circles over everything. His entire perspective of his past had become distorted. He’d spent the last year of high school miserable, depressed, and lonely, no longer tagging behind Trick and Anthony. Then in college, he’d made friends, gone off the rails with alcohol and sex, before the attempt to take his life. Finally, for the last six years, he’d been in therapy, still lost himself in sex most of the time, and continued to find his thoughts constantly dominated by Trick.
Now Joey wondered if he hadn’t wasted the last eight years by being angry at Trick, letting that rage drive him, only for it to be pointless. A derisive chuckle echoed in the quiet bedroom. Dr. Garrett’s words about believing Trick were hard to swallow, but that was all Joey wanted to do. Because if he did, Trick suddenly became available. Something Joey had wanted since he was thirteen years old.
His phone vibrated next to his ear and Joey grabbed it, cringing when he saw Vince’s name and the start of the text message. The guy just wouldn’t take no for an answer. Instead of responding, Joey deleted the alert and let the phone drop to the bed again.
Sighing, he rolled over, buried his face in his arms and dozed, needing an escape from the endless train of thoughts circling in his brain.
5
Dinner was the usual boisterous affair of laughter, wine, and good food. Joey spent much of the time forcing himself to join in, his mind still a muddled mess after everything he’d learned, and sneaking peeks at Trick when the guy wasn’t looking. At one point, he caught Veronica watching him, a knowing gleam in her eyes. Joey shook his head at her, giving her a pointed look. She grinned but kept quiet.
Joey presented a matching set of engraved silver watches to his parents. Both of them attempted to refuse the gift, saying it was too extravagant, but Joey waved away their protests. “I wanted to get you something that would last and it was either those or an engraved silver-plated serving platter.”
They thanked him and promptly put the watches on, all protests gone. Joey felt good providing something a little more extravagant to his parents. They’d done their best to give him and his brother everything they could while growing up, without spoiling them, but there were times they’d hit a few rough bumps in the road. His father had lost his job once because of cutbacks, which caused them to fall behind on their mortgage. They’d had a couple of years struggling to bring the payments current and almost lost the house.
His mother started asking him questions about his job, his life back in Orlando, and even if he was seeing anyone. Joey shook his head. “No. I am not in a relationship at the moment.”
“No potentials?” she asked.
“Nope. Just enjoying my job and the traveling I get to do.”
“No one at all?” Veronica asked, an obvious teasing glint in her eye.
Joey took a sip of his beer and shook his head. “Not right now, no. My biggest client keeps me busy enough.”
“Oh? Who is your biggest client?” Veronica asked.
“Wesley Prince. Remember I told you about him last night.”
She smirked. “You and him have more than a professional relationship?”
Almost choking on the small bite of food he’d taken, Joey stared at her. What the hell was she doing? She flicked her gaze toward Trick before looking back at him. “I don’t kiss and tell,” Joey finally replied.
Veronica laughed. “That is always such a cop out. It’s obvious something has happened between the two of you.”
“Really, Veronica, this isn’t the type of conversation to have at dinner,” Joey’s mom reprimanded her.
She’d gotten whatever response she’d been trying to get because she agreed too easily. Joey glanced at Trick and had to do a double take, but Trick looked away before Joey could be certain at what he’d seen. Was Trick jealous? Trick had kissed him at his apartment earlier, so it was entirely possible, he supposed. But why? Joey frowned. They hadn’t seen each other for years and until this morning, he’d thought Trick hated his existence. Deciding to shelve the entire thing until he was alone again, Joey consciously pushed the thoughts from his mind, joining in on the conversation once more.
Afterward, they returned to the house where they all sat around and played Bullshit, a card game Joey had hated as a kidbecause his mother wouldn’t let him swear. It wasn’t until after midnight that his parents called it quits and headed upstairs. Trick made his excuses. “I’ll see you in the morning, Ant,” Trick said, standing.
“You’re leaving, too?” Anthony asked. “But it’s so early.”
“And we have to be up early to finish Mrs. Levy’s front lawn.”
Anthony groaned and slumped in his chair. “Damn, I forgot.”
Trick grinned. “Comes with the territory of owning your own business.”
“Let me use the restroom and we’ll head out, too, babe,” Veronica said. She headed out of the kitchen toward the bathroom.
Trick looked at Joey. “Walk me out?”
Anthony gave them both a strange look that Joey didn’t miss. Joey swallowed and shrugged. “Sure.”