What's Life Without the Sprinkles - By Misty Simon Page 0,73
open. He stepped in and let it all wash over him. He’d never been invited to this event before, and it had meant the world to him that Justin had made the invitation. And now he was going to try to fulfill it for his guy the best he could.
Everyone was seated except for a few people picking at what food was left at the buffet. He looked around, trying to spot the one woman in the crowd. He was baffled to not find her sitting at one of the round tables. Maybe they hadn’t come at all. That made him feel even worse.
He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and was ready to dial Claudia to find out what had happened when he spotted Justin sitting next to an older gentleman. Nate had no idea who the man was, or why he would have brought Justin. But then he looked to the left and couldn’t believe his eyes. For there sat Peter, large as life, in the seat that should have been Nate’s.
It took a second to reconcile the picture with his brain. Where the hell was Claudia? And why on earth was Peter sitting there in a suit and tie—and talking to the guy next to him instead of to Justin? It just didn’t compute.
But then it did. Maybe Peter was trying to take a bigger part in his son’s life—because, even though Nate had never really thought of Peter as Justin’s father, in actuality he was. They had the same blood running through their veins, even if Peter had barely acknowledged it in over ten years. But this couldn’t be a bad thing, for Justin and Peter to bond a little.
If Nate felt any kind of jealousy rising, he soon squashed it. The kid knew who he wanted to hang out with, and Nate hadn’t been able to make the dinner. Maybe Claudia had been busy, too, since she’d thought she’d have a night to herself. That left Peter, who just happened to be in town. Made sense to him.
With that thought in mind, then, he didn’t want to ruin what could be the beginning of a new relationship. He started creeping backward, hoping no one would notice him as he made a discreet exit.
He’d almost made it to the double doors when Justin’s head jerked up like a wolf scenting prey. His eyes zeroed in on Nate, and the slight frown on his young face turned into a full-fledged smile of relief. That couldn’t be good.
The boy was up and out of his chair before Nate could blink. Peter spared him a quick glance before returning to his conversation with the man next to him. That didn’t look good, either.
And then Nate’s arms were filled with boy. His heart was just filled, period.
“Oh, Nate, thanks so much for coming. You don’t know how terrible it’s been.” When Justin stepped back from burying his face in Nate’s chest, he looked close to tears. That was saying something for his guy.
“What’s up?”
Justin blew out a sigh that ruffled Nate’s tie. “I don’t want to talk about it right now.” He turned pleading eyes on Nate, the ones Nate had never learned to resist. “Can you please, please, get me out of here?”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Nate put a hand under Justin’s chin and looked into his troubled face. “What’s this about getting out of here? Don’t you still have an hour left before the dinner thing is done?”
“I can’t stay here. Please take me home.”
“But what about Peter?” Nate put his arm around Justin, but he wasn’t budging until he figured out what was going on.
“Peter is a jackass.” Justin flushed and bit his lip.
“I’m not going to call you on the language, but I’m going to need more than that, if you think I’m going to break you out of this joint.”
Justin slipped his hand into Nate’s and gave him a squeeze. “He doesn’t have the faintest clue.”
“That might be true, but what are we supposed to tell him and your mom about you leaving with me?”
Justin clasped his hands in front of his chest. “Please!”
“It’s that important?” Nate didn’t feel good about stepping in where he wasn’t wanted, but he could clearly remember what an ass Peter had been when they were in high school. From what he’d seen, the guy hadn’t changed much. This must have been torture for Justin.
“It’s really that important.” The sincerity in Justin’s voice was no joke.