“I’ll take it.” He smiled at the rental agent, a young brunette with a gorgeous smile and a body he’d have had a hard time dragging his eyes away from when he was younger. “When can I move in?”
“You can move in today, if you’d like.” She smiled. “Let’s get you the keys to your new home, Mr. Swanscott.”
After he signed the lease agreement, Nick took Justin to lunch. Before Nick could bring up how close he was to campus, Justin did himself. “I could walk to see you. You know, if you wanted me to.”
“Come over anytime.” He smiled as he poured ketchup on the plate for his fries. “In fact, why don’t you and Wes set up the third bedroom as your own? I got it so that you guys could come over whenever you wanted.”
Justin grinned. “Can I help you decorate the rest of the place, too?”
“You like interior design?”
“Dad, I’m gay.” Justin gave him a look before he bit into his club sandwich. “It’s in my DNA.”
He laughed. “Well, I’m not bringing any furniture down. I was going to start over with everything brand new. I was just going to swing through Ikea, but—”
“Please. No. We can do better than that.”
Another laugh. “All right, let’s do it. You can teach me a few things. Or you can try. I might be too old.”
“Hardly.” Justin rolled his eyes playfully. “You’re never too old for good taste. First step, redo your apartment. Second step, redo your wardrobe.” He arched an eyebrow. It was, Nick noticed, perfectly sculpted.
“I’m game. I’m up for new things. And I want to spend more time with you and get to know the things you like. Fashion? Interior design? What else?” He munched a handful of fries as Justin’s eyes widened.
“Uhh… Just stuff, you know.”
“I don’t. I don’t think I know you that well. I want to fix that. Tell me: what do you like? What do you do for fun?”
Justin set his sandwich down and wiped his fingers. He took his time answering, sipping his beer and then straightening the bottle on the table. “I dance, still,” he finally said. His voice was soft. “I was doing modern dance, but… Wes took me to the ballet in Paris. He told me I should try it myself. I signed up for a ballet class this semester.”
“You’ve been dancing since high school?”
“Yeah. I never stopped after drill team.”
“I never knew that.”
“I know,” Justin said softly. “That wasn’t an accident.”
Nick stared down at the ketchup slowly separating on his plate. Why hadn’t Justin wanted him to know? His son was, in some ways, a stranger to him. That thought hurt, like someone had reached into him and seized hold, closed a fist around his heart and wrung it out like a sponge. He cleared his throat and forced a smile. “Tell me about this ballet class. What do you learn?”
“Well, ballet,” Justin said slowly. “The positions. Ballet is a series of positions and movements, and you have to learn how to execute each of them crisply before you can put it all together. I was more advanced than the other students because of the other dance I’ve done, but it was still a different focus. It’s just an intro class, but my instructor said I should try out for a local dance company. And Wes thought I was pretty good when we had the little class showcase, but his opinion doesn’t count.” Justin tried to laugh. It fell flat.
“Of course his opinion counts.”
“He loves me. He’s always going to like what I do.” As soon as the words were out, Justin cringed. He looked away.
Nick reached across the table and laid his hand on top of his son’s. “Yes, the people who love you are going to support you. And they will always think you’re special. But that doesn’t mean that you’re not.”
Justin’s jaw clenched.
“Are you going to try out for the dance company?”
“It’s not a big deal. At best, I’d be a backup dancer—”
“It is a big deal. It’s a big deal because you enjoy it. If you want to do it, then go for it. Backup dancers become lead dancers all the time.”
“Dad…”
“I’m sorry I missed your class performance. What did you do?”
“I danced Odette’s intro from Swan Lake.” Justin’s gaze fell to his lap.
“Did anyone record it?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. I can ask the instructor if she did.”
“Please check? I’d like to see it.” He squeezed Justin’s hand and sat back. “And