“Anyway, you have no reason to be jealous,” Spencer said.
“Sure I do,” Emilio replied. “You’re good-looking, nice, smart. Hell, I spent the past two weeks on this job site, hoping to get your attention.” He put his fingers under Spencer’s chin and lifted it. “And now that I got it, I ain’t gonna let some other guy get in my way.”
Spencer draped his arms around Emilio’s neck and huddled closer to him. “You’re the only one who thinks I’m some sort of catch,” he said softly, sounding bashful but also pleased.
“No way. I bet you get propositioned all the time. You probably just don’t realize it.”
“It’s nice that you think so,” Spencer said, clearly not believing that to be true. Emilio felt sad that Spencer couldn’t see his own appeal but, at the same time, he found that modesty charming. He brushed his hand through Spencer’s soft brown locks and leaned forward to take a kiss. “You never told me what you were doing here,” Spencer mumbled and then licked his lips.
The reminder was like being doused with a bucket of cold water. “Shit,” Emilio said. “I was gonna pop in and say hello. We’re down a truck, so my brother Raul caught a ride in today. I came by to pick him up and take him to a job we’re doing in Spring Valley. I couldn’t be so close without saying hi to you, but I promised him I’d only be a minute. He’s probably gonna give me hell if I don’t get back there.”
Spencer hopped off his lap, and Emilio immediately missed his weight. With a disappointed sigh, he climbed to his feet.
“You look like someone shaved your cat,” Spencer said with a chuckle.
“Shaved my cat?” Emilio opened his eyes wide in horror. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? Who shaves cats?”
“Nobody. That’s the point of the saying.”
“That is not a saying,” Emilio insisted as he shook his head. “A saying is ‘you look like someone kicked your puppy.’”
“Kicking puppies is better than shaving cats?” Spencer asked sarcastically, his eyes twinkling.
“Quit using your college logic on me, Dr. D,” Emilio said, repeating the nickname he’d heard Spencer’s student use.
Spencer shuddered and frowned. “I don’t want you to call me that,” he said.
Emilio laughed in response to Spencer’s expression. Knowing he had such a strong negative reaction to sleeping with his students was comforting. Emilio hadn’t given the idea much thought until he’d walked in on the handsome man in Spencer’s arms and realized Spencer was probably surrounded by cute guys all day long. Not having to compete with them was a relief.
“So no professor-student sex games, then?” Emilio asked.
Looking truly horrified, Spencer said, “God, no. Let’s stick to sexy electrician.”
“How about you stick to working electrician, hermanito?”
At the sound of his brother’s voice, Emilio spun around. Raul was holding the office door open and leaning inside.
“Hey, man, how about knocking?”
“Nah, what fun is that? This way I get some ammo on you.” He pushed the door open. “Ain’t you gonna introduce me to your, uh, friend there?”
Friend, right. Like anybody in the room believed that. Emilio rolled his eyes and said, “If you wanted to meet him, you could’ve asked, man.”
“Yeah, right.” Raul walked in, and Spencer, who was standing behind Emilio and slightly off to the side, scooted closer. “Henry already told me you said we had to wait.” Looking around Emilio, Raul held his hand out. “I’m Raul Sanchez, Emilio’s oldest brother.”
Spencer cleared his throat, an obviously nervous gesture, and then moved forward so he was standing next to Emilio. “Spencer Derdinger,” he said as he took Raul’s hand and shook it. “It’s nice to meet you. Emilio talks a lot about his family.”
“A lot, huh? I doubt that, but I’m glad to hear there was at least some talking taking place this weekend.”
Spencer turned beet red and Emilio growled. “Fuck you, Ro. Lay off.”
“Oh ho, look at that. Little brother’s getting protective of his man. I guess it’s as serious as Henry said.”
Even though he loved his brothers, they knew how to push Emilio’s buttons like nobody else, making him revert back to childhood roles and reactions. Raul’s words and tone were designed to piss Emilio off, and they worked exactly as intended. He planted both hands on his brother’s chest and shoved him backward. They slammed against the wall and tussled for a few seconds, neither one of them coming out on top, then Raul reached underneath his arm and started tickling.
“Cut it out!” Emilio yelled and tried to wriggle free. “Seriously, Ro!” He laughed, breathlessly. “Stop!”
With his own deep chuckles filling the room, Raul finally relented and stopped tickling him. Instead he threw his arm over Emilio’s shoulders and squeezed him fondly.
“Asshole,” Emilio said as he threw him an elbow.
Raul smacked a loud kiss on his cheek. He shook his head and walked back over to Spencer to say good-bye.