"As long as you don't get emotionally involved, dating is fine," Jeffery said. "Is this the English teacher who has an ethnic name? The one who looks like Sean Penn? Kenny's mentioned him to me. He said he met you and was drooling over you."
"Carson Savione."
"That's the name," Jeffery said. "He seems like a nice guy. I met him at an open house while you were in Havilland. I had a feeling he was gay, but wasn't sure. He's not my type at all. Way too pushy and aggressive. But I don't see any harm in you having dinner with him."
"I'm not asking for your permission, Jeffery," Evan said. "I'm asking about whether or not dating is part of an open marriage." He knew sex with other men was okay; he just wasn't sure where he was supposed to draw the lines.
"And I told you it was fine," Jeffery said. "Do you want me to spell it out for you in a goddamn text message?" His tone grew stronger, the way it sounded right before he started shouting.
"There's no need to snap at me," Evan said. He'd learned to speak up fast when Jeffery took this tone. There was a reason they called Jeffery Charles "The Wall Street Shark" and Evan had learned how to snap right back at him for his own survival.
Jeffery took a deep breath and exhaled. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to sound that way. It's just that it's three hours earlier here and I have a busy day. How did your lunch appointment go with Billy on Friday?"
Billy was Evan's literary agent. He would have forgotten to mention this if Jeffery hadn't asked him about it. "Okay," he said. "He wants me to sign a three-book deal for a new historical series and I'm not sure I'm ready."
"What did you tell him?"
"I said I'd think about it and get back next week," Evan said. "The publisher wants all three books in the series written within a year's time and I'm not sure I can do that."
Jeffery laughed. "You should do it. Don't think about it. Just sign the contract and start working. You know you're always happier when you're working."
"How's your business deal with this social media company doing? I read about it online and it sounds both impressive and risky at the same time," Evan said. If this deal went through, Jeffery would be the largest investor in one of the most popular forms of social media to ever go public with stock. At least that's how Evan saw it.
"It's interesting," Jeffery said. "I have a feeling we'll be changing the world if this happens."
Evan had read there were pros and cons to this, and the more conservative people on Wall Street were not certain social media based purely on advertising revenue could hold up as a strong investment. Only time would tell. But Evan trusted Jeffery's judgment more than he trusted anyone else's. He'd made billions of dollars taking risks that had been stronger than this. "I always thought you would change the world. I knew it the moment I met you."
"I couldn't have done it without you," Jeffery said.
Before Jeffery answered, Evan heard a deep voice say, "Are you coming? I thought we were taking a shower together."
It was evident the man Jeffery had slept with that night wanted to take a shower, and Evan didn't want to hear the details. "I'll let you go," he said. "You sound busy." Then he hung up before Jeffery could say, "I love you."
A minute or two after he hung up, he phoned Carson Savione and agreed to meet him for dinner at a place in Chelsea called The Park with which he was familiar. Later that day when he told Kenny he was going out on a date with Mr. Savione, Kenny shrugged and told him to have a good time. When Evan asked if he was certain it was okay to date his English teacher, Kenny reached into the refrigerator for a bottle of water and said, "It's cool, Dad. Besides, he can't compare to Dad. He's not as smart, as rich, as personable or as good looking. Have fun with him."
At the time, Evan had been shocked at his blunt assessment of his English teacher. "You make it sound as if I'm going out to dinner with the Hunchback of Notre Dame."
Kenny smiled and said, "I being honest. He's a nice guy, but he's not Dad."
The thing Kenny didn't understand as a young straight man was that Mr. Savione had an invisible sexual quality most gay men would have found hard to ignore. Kenny was right about him not being as smart, rich, personable, or as male-model handsome as Jeffery. It was hard to find a man who could compete with Jeffery in those areas. But Kenny missed the fact that Carson Savione had a raw sex appeal that could usually be found in gay male porn stars, and this had more to do with his imperfections. His nose was a little too big, but by no means offensive. His ears stuck out a little, but not in a way where people would have made jokes about them. He had thin lips and a strong jaw, both of which gave him the rugged Sean Penn look Jeffery had mentioned on the phone. Though he kept his brown hair short, Evan had a feeling if he'd let it grow longer it would have looked messy and wavy like Sean Penn's hair. But the thing about Carson Savione that Kenny had missed the most was something Evan would never have admitted aloud to his son. Evan had a feeling that Carson's dick was one of his best attributes. This feeling was instinctive and Evan was rarely wrong when it came to these things. Although he'd never been a size queen, he'd never refused a man because his dick was too big either.
When Evan showed up at the restaurant on Tuesday night, he had to walk through the huge open bar that resembled an atrium to get to the back of the restaurant. This place was called The Park because it had once been an indoor parking garage. He knew a few people there by sight. As he walked past them with his fists clenched, trying hard to fight the urge to get a drink, he said hello and smiled as if nothing was wrong. They weren't good friends; just drinking acquaintances he'd met over the years. This was one of those bars where gay and straight mingled together without giving it a second thought. It was also his first time in a bar since he'd left Havilland. He could have met Carson at a restaurant where alcohol wasn't served, but Evan didn't want to be one of those alcoholics who avoided other people who drink. He wanted to be an alcoholic who could avoid drinking altogether whether he was in a room full of other drinkers or a room full of nuns sipping tea and honey. For him, facing his fear of drinking took precedent over avoiding it.
He found Carson at a table for two in a dark corner in the back. The moment he saw Evan, he stood up and walked across the room to meet him. Jeffery had been right about Carson's aggressive tendency. He put his hand on Evan's back, gave him a push forward, and said, "I hope you don't mind. I already ordered drinks for us both."
Evan took one look at the beautiful ice-cold martini sitting on the table and his chest caved in. For an instant, his mouth started to water and he rationalized that having one small martini couldn't hurt him. Then he touched the rim of the martini glass and said, "I'm sorry. I'm a recovered alcoholic and I don't drink anymore." He figured honesty would work best this time. It didn't make him want the drink any less, and he still had to clench his teeth to keep from reaching down and drinking the martini in one gulp, but at least he'd said it and he knew there would be no turning back.
Carson pulled out his chair and said, "I'll tell the waiter to get rid of the drinks right now."
Evan sat down and reached for a napkin. He spread the napkin across his lap and put his martini on the other side of the table next to Carson's. "No, please don't do that. Just because I don't drink doesn't mean you can't. I don't mind at all."
Carson smiled at him, then lifted his arm and gestured to a waiter at the next table and said, "Please take these drinks away. We'll have coffee instead."
When he sat down, Evan said, "Thank you. You didn't have to do that, but it was nice of you to do it."
Carson stared at his lips and said, "I can live without drinking. I've never been anything more than a social drinker. I can take it or leave it. And I admire your honesty."
After that, Carson seemed to take control of the entire evening. He ordered for them, made sure Evan's coffee cup was always filled, and he even stood up and held Evan's chair when Evan went to the men's room. While they ate they talked about Kenny, then Evan's new books. Evan told Carson he'd just signed a contract to write three historical romance novels that he'd been debating. Then Carson told Evan about how much he loved teaching, that he'd always wanted to be a teacher, and that his only hobby was boxing. He liked to ride horses, too. But boxing took up so much of his free time he found it hard to find more free time for riding.
Evan said, "I'm not all that surprised you're into boxing."
Carson's head tilted back. "Why not? Most people are. Let's face it, most people don't think of gay guys and boxing at the same time. And I'm an English teacher."
"Most people are idiots," Evan said. He sounded like Jeffery. "They like to put gay men into little boxes, tie the boxes up with a pink ribbon, and keep them in there. You have that hard, wiry kind of body most boxers have. I don't know anything about boxing myself, but from what little I've seen I think you actually do look like a boxer. " He was picturing how he would look in a jock strap and those cute little white ankle socks.