“The type that takes home a different guy every time he goes out, but never the same one twice. All he cares about is sex, and I’m not just saying that because he rejected me after we hooked up. He’s like a wolf, prowling the Castro every weekend, looking for fresh meat. Sometimes it’s Thrust, sometimes one of the other bars or clubs. I know that because it’s a relatively small community and people talk, especially about a man that strikingly attractive.”
“That can’t be true. He’s seen me twice, if you count the night we met and hung out. We had a date last night, and we have another one planned for next weekend.” While we were talking, I wiped the mashed up fruit off the baby’s mouth and hands with a wet cloth, then offered him another plastic container of finger foods, which he eagerly tucked into.
Sebastian looked surprised. “I’ve never heard of Lucky doing that. Dating, I mean. Has he fucked you? Oops, I shouldn’t say the f-word in front of the baby.”
“No, he hasn’t. And it’s okay, I don’t think Owen noticed, and he isn’t repeating words yet.” As I returned a couple of empty storage containers to my bag, I asked, “If I sleep with Lucky, do you think that’ll be it and I’ll never hear from him again?”
He shrugged and said, “As far as I know, there are three things Lucky doesn’t do—he doesn’t sleep with anyone more than once, he doesn’t give out his number, and he doesn’t tell anyone his real name.”
“He told me his name, and he gave me his number last night, after he asked me to come back to his place next weekend.”
“Well, fu—fudgesicle.” He glanced at the baby as he stopped himself from dropping another f-bomb. “In that case, all bets are off. I’ve never heard of Lucky doing any of that, and like I said, people talk.”
“That seems lonely,” I said. “A stranger in your bed every night, I mean. Maybe he’s just getting tired of that type of lifestyle.”
“Or maybe he really likes you.”
“He barely knows me.”
“Sometimes people just click. I knew after my first date with Preston that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.” The sweetest, most lovesick smile spread across his face. “By some miracle, he feels the same way about me! It’s only been a few months, but I know I’ve found my happily ever after.”
“I’m really happy for you. You’re a great catch though, so I don’t know why you’d call it a miracle that he fell for you.”
“Preston’s special,” Sebastian said. “He’s not just sweet and handsome, he’s also really smart. Just look at the way he worked his way up at the club, from go-go boy to manager, and now he owns the place! Then there’s me. I’m not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, if you know what I mean. As my mama likes to put it, when God was handing out gifts, I skipped the line for brains and got a double helping of looks instead.”
My heart ached when I heard that. “Our mothers aren’t always right, Sebastian. Mine always told me I was worthless and would never amount to anything, but she was wrong and I’m going to prove it someday. Yours was wrong too, because you’re definitely smart. You’re also really kind and caring, and I know you’re a loving person, because I can tell how much your boyfriend means to you. Those are all wonderful gifts.”
He looked a little emotional as he said, “Thank you for saying that. And you know, you already proved your mama wrong. You’ve amounted to something by being a good man, and a good father to that baby. I know that for a fact, just from spending this short time with the two of you.”
“I’m trying my best. There’s so much I don’t know about being a parent, and so much more I wish I could give him,” I said, as I watched Owen feed himself with his little fists. “But what I know how to do is love and support him. I hadn’t really thought about it before, but that’s what success means to me now—doing the very best I can for my son.”
Sebastian raised his water bottle in a toast and said, “Cheers to that.”
The baby ended up falling asleep after lunch. Meanwhile, Sebastian and I chatted for another hour or so before he told me, “I should get going. Preston’s at the club doing paperwork, but he promised to be home by two.”
“I’m glad we ran into each other.”
We exchanged numbers and promised to keep in touch, and after Sebastian took off, I found myself thinking over what he’d said about Lucky. Was any of it really news to me? And did it matter? We’d both said we were just two people enjoying each other’s company, but what was perplexing was finding out he’d totally changed things up with me. Why would he do that?
He obviously wasn’t looking to start a relationship two months before he left town, but maybe building a friendship was another story. It was the only thing that made sense. He might not tell sex partners his real name or give them his number, but he’d tell a friend. Maybe that was what we were to each other, despite the very obvious attraction…and that blow job…and the fact that I had every intention of sleeping with him sometime soon.
Some friends did that, right? That was what friends with benefits meant, and it was probably all Lucky intended this to be.
Bottom line, though? I just needed to relax, enjoy whatever the hell Lucky and I were doing, and stop overthinking everything for once in my life.
I got up and packed our things, and then I managed to transfer Owen to the stroller without waking him, which was a small miracle. When I got home, I found Lark and Dylan with JoJo and Yolanda in the backyard. I parked the stroller just inside the open kitchen door, so the baby would be out of the sun but nearby when he woke up. Then I went out to see what everyone was up to.
My brother had discovered a love of gardening recently. It didn’t seem like something he’d be into, but he’d surprised himself when he and Dylan decided to fix up the yard on a whim. Apparently it had been really overgrown when they started, and now it was a beautiful oasis with lots of flowers in a rainbow of colors.
In fact, the makeover was so good that JoJo and Yolanda had decided to hold their wedding ceremony out here. It was just about six weeks away, in mid-June. At the moment, Dylan was constructing a wooden arch to serve as the backdrop for the ceremony while Lark and JoJo attempted to artfully cluster their latest haul from the nursery into two huge ceramic pots.
It seemed Yolanda had reached her fill of gardening, because she was sitting in the shade of the patio umbrella, drinking iced coffee. I sat down beside her, and then the two of us offered unhelpful suggestions on how the new plants should be arranged. JoJo finally put an end to that by turning to us and saying, “We’re all set with the back seat gardening, thank you very much. If you want to help, grab a trowel.”
Yolanda smiled at her. “No, thank you. I’ve had all the yardwork I can take for one weekend. But as soon as you decide you’re done ruining your manicure, I’ll help by giving you a massage.”
JoJo got up and quickly brushed some potting soil from her red shorts as she asked, “You can finish this, right Lark? I’m going to go inside for a bit and cool down.”
“Sounds like you’re actually going to go heat things up,” he said with a grin, “but I’ve totally got this.”