“That will be enough of that,” Luis said in his perky, casual, irritating voice. “We’re all on a first-name basis around here. It’s very casual. We’re Luis and Jase.”

Darius smiled and said, “I hope I’m not too casual. I basically dress like this all the time, if that’s okay. If you’d rather have me wear some type of uniform, though, I don’t mind.” He gestured to the outfit he was wearing, a pair of white basketball shorts, a black oversized T-shirt, and the same white cross-training shoes he always wore. The shoes been the last expensive gift he’d received from Leck, who’d gone shopping at an expensive shop on Rodeo Drive and bought them for Darius as a surprise.

Jase waved his arm. “Don’t be silly. You look fine.

Like Luis said, we’re very casual. I know a lot of people think we live like English royals, but we really don’t. We’re simple people, in spite of what you read in the tabloid newspapers.”

Yeah right, Darius thought. You’re simple folk with billions of dollars and not a care in the world. Try telling that to someone who just fucked a married guy, with an asshole like the Lincoln Tunnel, in a horseshit hotel room for two hundred bucks. But he continued to smile. He turned to Luis and asked, “Is there anything I can do right now?”

Luis was standing over the sink, rinsing out a frying pan he’d just used. “Why don’t you sit down for now?” he said. “Have a cup of coffee and get to know everyone. After I get Hunter off on the bus, I’ll go over everything about the job with you.”

Hunter looked up. “Can Darius walk me down to the bus this morning?”

Darius noticed Luis exchange a glance with Jase, as if he hadn’t expected this question to come up the first morning Darius was there. And while Luis and Jase looked at each other, Darius reached around for a knob on the gas cooking range and turned it on. This was an impulsive move on his part, something Darius hoped would get him in good graces with Jase. He’d noticed Luis had left a paper bag on top of the stove and it was an accident waiting to happen. All Darius had to do was give it a little fuel.

Jase shrugged his shoulders. “I guess Darius can walk you down to the bus.” While he spoke he continued to stare at Luis, as if waiting for Luis to react.

Luis set a dish towel down on the counter and said, “I don’t mind walking you down, Hunter. I like walking you down to the bus.”

Darius smiled. Evidently, Luis was the clinging type of parent.

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“But I’d like Darius to walk me from now on,” Hunter said. “We can talk about baseball on the way. Please, Daddy.”

Though Darius could see Luis he was not thrilled by this turn of events, he did take it in stride.

Luis smiled. “Then I guess Darius will walk you to the bus this morning.”

When Jase reached for his coffee, he looked up and sniffed. “I smell something burning.”

Then the ugly dog started to bark and Hunter pointed to the gas cooking range. The bag Luis had left on top of the burner had caught fire and the flames were reaching up to the hood over the range. If it had been left to burn out of control, the fire would have spread to a dish towel on the counter and possibly the Roman shades on the window above the sink. But before Luis could pull out the fire extinguisher from beneath the kitchen sink, and before Jase could run over from the table, Darius grabbed the burning bag with his bare hands, tossed it out the back door, and stomped on it in the grass beside the patio with his cross-training shoes until the fire was completely out.

When the commotion was over and Darius went back into the kitchen, he watched as Jase gazed down at the gas stove and frowned. Jase switched the burner off; it had been set so low the flame was barely visible. Then Jase looked up at Luis and said, “I’ve told you a million times not to leave paper bags, or anything, on top of the stove. It’s a dangerous habit, Luis, and you do it all the time.” His tone was gentle, but his expression serious.

“I know,” Luis said, shaking his head. “I’m sorry. I was certain the stove was off. I know I turned it off after I made your eggs this morning.” Luis’s face had gone pale and he spoke as if he had a lump in his throat.

Darius turned to face the fireplace and smiled. This had worked out better than he’d planned. Evidently, Luis had absentminded tendencies.

Jase crossed the room and gave Luis a hug. “It’s okay,” he said. But while he patted Luis on the back, he sent Darius a friendly glance and said, “Thankfully, Darius saved the day.”

Darius smiled and shrugged. “I acted on impulse. It really wasn’t a big deal.”

“Nonsense,” Luis said. “I agree with Jase. You did the right thing, Darius. Even though I was stupid enough to not only leave the bag on the stove and the burner on, you saved the day. I can’t tell you how thankful we are. You’re our new hero.”

Oh, brother. Darius felt like gagging. Could Luis get any sappier? Part of Darius wanted to punch him in the face, and part of him wanted to bend Luis over and fuck his brains out until he begged for mercy. He had a feeling Luis was one of those guys who liked to lie back, lift his legs, and get fucked for hours. Darius would have bet his left nut Luis sucked cock like an industrial Wet-Vac.

Hunter climbed down from his chair and patted the disgusting ratty dog on top of the head. What a poor excuse for a dog. He hugged Jase and Luis, then grabbed his backpack. “C’mon, Darius. We can walk down to the bus now and talk about baseball. My friend Justin’s favorite team is the Yankees. But I like the Phillies better.”

“Cool. I love the Phillies, too,” Darius said. He despised the Phillies. He gave Luis a cautious look to see if it was okay for him to walk Hunter down early. They thought he was God now and he didn’t want to ruin things.

Luis smiled. “I’ll see you this afternoon, Hunter. Have fun.” He smiled and nodded at Darius. “When you come back, Darius, I’ll help you get settled in. I’m going to be working in the office on a new blog post I’m writing for a blog in France and if you need anything I won’t be far.”

Darius smiled. A fucking blog post. Luis was probably one of the silliest, most frivolous gay men he’d ever met. He felt like slapping him in the face with his dick and giving him two black eyes. But all he said was, “I’ll be back soon.”

Before they left, Darius noticed how fast Jase moved to open the back door for him. So he sent Jase one of his warmest, most helpless smiles and said, “Thank you, Jase. It was nice meeting you this morning. I’m really looking forward to working here.”




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