Page 108 of Rule the Roost
That was news to me and I was hurt that he hadn’t spoken to me about it. “Rick? What?”
“I’ve been thinking about it, recently. I need to devote more time to my business, surely, but I also want to spend more time with the kids and…you.”
I felt guilty and giddy at the same time. “Rick, you love it. Everyone in town loves you. Are you sure?”
“No. I’ve only been thinking about it on the fringes. We’ll talk about it. I’ll speak to Chandler, to my people in the city council. Don’t worry, I rarely jump into something at the spur of the moment. I think things out, do my research.”
“Oh, like spying on me at the club?”
He laughed as the gate opened slowly in front of the car. “Yes,” he said lowly. “Still sorry about that.”
“You should be, but if it was simply research, then…I guess I can forgive you.”
“So magnanimous.”
“I really am,” I said.
As we drove to the club, he asked me about Jeffery. “He’s going to be there. We asked Burke and Damon not to take him off the member list, and he’s decided to reserve a room this weekend.”
He didn’t have to mention a name. “I know. Joel made sure to tell me. It’ll be weird, for sure, but this isn’t like last time. We’re together now. I’m not hurt anymore.”
“Come on, Kan. You don’t have to say that to me.”
“No, it’s true. If he hadn’t broken up with me, I would have never found you.”
Sighing, Rick said, “Damn, babe.”
“It’s true. Now we just have to keep Joel from feeding him to Theo’s and Hud’s pigs.”
“You know that chickens will pick the bones clean,” he mentioned, laughing.
“Rick! Stop! It’s bad enough I have to keep Joel from feeding him to animals.”
“Can’t have Joel outdo me, defending my Kanan’s honor.”
“My honor…yeah, we’re about to go to a sex club where I’ll be performing. I think my honor is iffy at best.”
He scolded, “Kanan, it’s not dishonorable to show your sexuality. You are a sensual man and you enjoy the lifestyle.”
I knew that, but it was good to hear Rick say it. “Sir…Kama?”
“Not yet. We’re stopping first.”
“Stopping?”
All he did was smile.
Then I saw why. He pulled into the picnic area that was next to one of the ponds. It was the opposite side of the wooden bridge we liked to frequent. He took my hand after opening the car door for me and led me into the cold night. “I just wanted a few minutes of you to myself before I had to share you with the crowd.”
“I’m not opposed to that.”
We walked along holding one another closely, as much for warmth as love. Still, the water was like a strangely shaped piece of glass laid on the land, perfectly reflecting the half-moon in the sky.
The romance of that walk to the pond, looking over to the fairyland on the other side, Rick close to me, holding me, it meant everything. Before we went to a place where lust was in the air, he reminded me that while he lusted after me too, he loved me first.
“Kanan, when you showed me those movies, and I saw what you were missing, your beautiful parents, all I wanted in the entire world was to give you another family.”
“You already have,” I said, not understanding what he meant.