Staccato (Magnum Opus #2) - E.M. Lindsey Page 0,53

favor though, and I can ask Jay, but…”

“But,” Adam pressed, and Nik sighed when he knew the other man wasn’t going to let him off the hook.

“I’d rather see you.”

Adam hummed quietly. “Hit me with it.”

“I have to take dinner to my father and spend some time with him. He’s in the care facility I told you about, and normally Van takes care of it, but he’s in a meeting.”

Adam was quiet a moment, then made a soft noise of understanding. “You need a ride.”

“Yes,” Nik sighed out. “But also, I’d like to see you. It’s hard, and I know I don’t have any right to ask, but…”

“Nik.” Adam’s firm tone quieted Nik’s rambling. “You said you were sorry, you told me what you needed from me, and I agreed. You have the right to ask for my time as friends. And that’s what this is, right?”

No, Nik’s traitorous brain supplied, but he bit his cheek until the thoughts quieted. “Yes. Thank you.”

“It’s totally dead here anyway, so let me just tell Vincent I’m taking off. Uh…where do you live?”

“I’ll text you the address,” Nik said. “And you know…if you want. You could come in for a bit after. We could watch a movie or something.”

“Your day that bad?” Adam said.

Nik rubbed at his eyelids. “I’ve had better. But if you’re busy…”

“This is a town of, like, thirty thousand people, all of whom think I’m some sort of tattooed, genderless freak. I don’t exactly have a full dance card.”

There was laughter in his tone, but Nik didn’t smile. He wanted to raze the town, to take on anyone who made Adam feel like that—like he was outside of normal. He knew it well, and it was easier to shoulder the burden himself than let someone he cared about feel that way. But he also knew Adam wouldn’t appreciate it.

“See you soon?” was all he could come up with.

“Yes,” Adam said.

And then the call ended. Nik sent his address, then jumped under a cool spray of water and scrubbed at his face and neck. He felt his hair curl over his forehead, and he pushed it back, rocking his head from side to side as the water pounded against his aching muscles that had been tense all day from holding his snark back.

These days were rare, but he saw more on the horizon—once a week, at least, until that woman got tired of fighting her son and Nik’s unyielding opinions. He’d had mothers like her before, and they never lasted long, but dealing with them was another exhaustion he didn’t want to make room for.

And yet, padding his savings mattered. When their father died—which was going to be sooner rather than later—they’d get their full inheritance. The house would become theirs, and he knew Van wanted to sell. It was an old, dated Victorian with a handful of modern upgrades. It would do well on the market—probably—but it wasn’t suited for them.

Staying here felt like closing up the cocoon he hadn’t wanted to be in in the first place, but there was nothing else out there for him. His career was washed up. He was too old, too tired, he’d been gone for too long. He hadn’t made enough waves, hadn’t caught the eye of anyone in the industry who mattered. Now, he was an elementary school teacher with a handful of bad reviews from the one time he tried to regain a little bit of his former life.

It was hardly a screaming endorsement for any kind of real future in the classical world.

With a sigh, he turned off the water, then stepped out to dry off and get dressed. He heard the doorbell just as he was wriggling his feet into his shoes, and he grabbed a sweater on his way downstairs. Van was already at the door when he reached the landing, and he tried not to groan when he heard the surprise in his brother’s voice.

“Hey, Adam. Good to see you again,” Van said, his voice a low, unfriendly rumble. “Glad you could join us this evening.”

Nik walked up and found Van’s shoulder, giving him a shove. “Don’t you have a meeting?”

“I thought I’d say hi to your friend first,” Van said.

“Please fuck off.”

Van laughed, but he did as he was told, and Adam let out an amused snort as he stepped up next to Nik. “Siblings really never do grow up, do they?”

Nik laughed and shrugged. “I feel every single one of my years until Van’s in