Before they sat down, Kenny said, "I'm Kenny and this is my older brother, Evan."
The blonde said, "I'm Candy." She gestured to her two friends. "This is Lorraine and Grayson. We're students at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey and we're hanging out in the city for the day."
Kenny flashed a huge smiled and squared his shoulders. "We go to NYU. We live downtown in Alphabet City."
In a deadpan tone, Evan sighed and said, "I'm older than my brother. I'm in grad school."
Before they sat down, Grayson stepped up to Evan and pulled out his chair. This set the tone for the duration of the meal and Evan had never been so uncomfortable in his life. He soon learned he wouldn't be able to sit quietly and observe. While Candy and Kenny talked about school, Lorraine giggled and she tried to flirt with Kenny, too. Both young women seemed so interested in Kenny, and Kenny seemed so interested in them, everyone forgot about Grayson and Evan sitting at the back of the table. No one even heard Grayson lean over and ask, "How long have you been out? I just came out last year, dude."
Evan gulped and said, "I've been out for a while." On the one hand, he admired the way Grayson seemed to so comfortable talking about being openly gay, but on the other he felt creepy sitting there with a guy in his first year of college. But more than that, he wondered how Grayson had been able to tell he was gay. Most of the time no one knew, at least not at first. These younger kids nowadays seemed to have extra hidden radar or something.
Evan grew even more uncomfortable when handsome young Grayson dropped his napkin on purpose, bent down to get it, and grabbed his ass under the table when the other three weren't looking. Evan remained solid and even. He wanted to pretend it never happened. He reached down and removed Grayson's hand from his ass and smacked him gently. But it didn't end there. Grayson continued to stare between Evan's lips and eyes. Grayson felt up Evan's legs, his arms, and even put his arm around him at one point. By the time the waiter handed them the check, Evan wanted to stand up and kiss the waiter for saving him from this aggressive young gay man who didn't seem to have any boundaries.
Before anyone else could say a word, Evan stood up, took the check from the waiter, and said, "This one's on me." Then he handed the waiter the full amount in cash, with a generous tip, and glanced down at his son. "We have to get moving now, little brother." He gritted his teeth because young Grayson was feeling up his leg and no one knew it. "We'll be late for that appointment we have with Mom and Dad."
Kenny shrugged and stood up. He clearly didn't want to leave yet, but he must have noticed the serious tone in Evan's voice.
Candy asked. "Are you guys free later tonight? There's this party we're all going to in Chelsea and you can come along."
That's when Evan took control. Not only was he too old to be getting felt up by a horny freshman in college, he thought Kenny was too young to be meeting a girl that much older than he was. Kenny was still in high school. It was fun while it lasted; Kenny got a chance to pretend. But enough was enough.
Evan grabbed his son's arm, pulled him away from the table, and said, "Thanks for the offer, but we really can't. Mom and Dad are taking us out to dinner tonight before they leave for an extended tour of Japan. It was nice meeting you, though." Then he yanked Kenny out of the restaurant and onto the sidewalk, and hailed a taxi.
On the way home, Kenny poked him in the arm and said, "I think Grayson wanted to get into your pants. The guy has it bad for you."
"Don't be an idiot," Evan said. He felt his face getting warmer.
"I don't see anything wrong with it," Kenny said. He sounded as if he were teasing Evan.
But Evan gaped at his son. "Kenny. I can't believe you just said that. I'm turning thirty next week and I'm your father. Have you completely lost your mind?"
Kenny laughed and said, "Calm down, Dad. I think it's cool that I have such a young-looking dad. Seriously. How many other dads or moms get hit on by a guy in college? I can't wait to tell Dad about this."
Although Evan didn't want to encourage him, he started to laugh, too. He also took silent pleasure in imagining the expression on Jeffery's face when their son told him about how a college freshman tried to ask him out in a restaurant. "Okay, you've had your fun. But that's the last time I'm ever doing anything like that again. And from now on I'd prefer it if you got to know girls closer to your own age who are still in high school."
Kenny frowned. "We exchanged phone numbers. We might get together."
There wasn't that much of an age difference, and Kenny would be in college himself in less than a year, so Evan took a deep breath and said, "She seemed like a nice girl. Just be careful, if you know what I mean."
* * * *
Later that same day, they ordered take out from a Thai place Kenny liked and then Kenny went out to meet his friend, Zack, at the movies. Kenny said he was going to a party after the movies and he wouldn't be home until midnight. He assured Evan this was not the same party he'd been invited to earlier by the blond girl in the West Village, and Evan told him to check in after the movie so he knew where he was.
Before Kenny left the apartment, Evan hugged him and said, "If you don't want to call, you can text me. I only want to know where you are and that you're safe. And I'd like you guys home at midnight." His friend Zack was spending the night there and Evan always felt a stronger sense of responsibility when someone else's kid was in his home. He knew he couldn't keep Kenny home and locked up in his bedroom forever; he knew he had to let him get out and have fun with his friends. He also wanted to know where he was and what he was doing at all times. And Kenny had always been good that way. He argued about it sometimes, but he always let Evan know what he was doing.
When he left, Evan phoned Jeffery in Cupertino. He'd extended this latest business trip to work on marketing and promotion, hoping to create a better image for the social media company that seemed to be tanking in spite of all the hype when it had gone public. Jeffery answered on the first ring but they didn't speak long. He said he was in the middle of a meeting and he would call Evan on Sunday to let him know what time his plane would be landing.
After that, Evan grabbed his backpack and headed down to the boxing gym on Delancey Street. While Kenny had been sleeping earlier that morning, Carson had phoned him and they'd set up the date. They were still meeting at the gym because Evan didn't want anyone to find out about them yet. Though the press had backed off and the sex scandal with Jeffery had died down, he still didn't feel comfortable being seen going in and out of Carson's loft. He still hadn't mentioned anything to Kenny about Carson Savione either, and Kenny seemed to have become disinterested in them getting together as a couple-at least for the time being.
That Saturday night, Evan didn't have high hopes for his marriage. He was beginning to think he would never move back to the townhouse with Jeffery and nothing would ever change between them. He sometimes fantasized about what life would be like if he and Jeffery did get a divorce. He would be civil and maintain a friendly relationship with his ex-husband for Kenny's sake. In that sense, they would be bound together as parents for the rest of their lives. Evan figured that because he hadn't been able to make his marriage work, he would fight to make his divorce work. He'd seen too many screwed-up kids from divorced homes because the parents had continued to fight each other even when they weren't married.
When he walked into the gym, he found Carson boxing in the ring with a rough-looking young guy who had a scruffy beard and lean hairy legs. Carson's trainer was acting as the referee. The gym looked empty and they were only two training. He didn't want to distract Carson, so he slipped into a seat in the back row and waited for them to finish.
At the end of the training session, Carson reached for a towel to wipe his sweaty face and he caught a glimpse of Evan sitting in the back row. He smiled and said, "Hey, I didn't see you come in. I want you to meet my buddy, Juan." He glanced back at the other sweaty boxer and gestured with his right hand. "C'mon over here and meet Evan, the guy I was telling you about."
Evan smiled and walked over to the boxing ring. He reached up to shake Juan's hand. "Nice to meet you, Juan." Although Juan was as lean and wiry as Carson, his hair was darker, his eyes were more intense, and he had that serious street-wise quality that suggested he came from humble, but rough, beginnings. Evan had always been uncomfortable talking to his type. They tended to make him feel self-conscious about being gay.
"Nice to meet you," Juan said. His handshake was firm; he spoke with an accent.
Then Carson's trainer said, "I'm going home now. You can lock up." He handed Carson the keys to the front door and nodded at Evan. The old man had never been big on small talk and Evan wasn't insulted when he continued walking without even saying hello or goodbye.
Evan looked up at Carson and said, "You're closing up already." This was the first time he'd gone there on a Saturday night. Evan usually spent Saturday nights with Kenny watching TV and eating junk food.
"We close early on Saturdays," Carson said.
Juan remained silent, as if waiting for Carson to make the next move. While he stood at the end of the ring, Evan couldn't ignore what loomed above his head. When he looked up he could see Juan's jock strap through the leg of his shorts. His legs were just as hairy at the top as they were at the bottom, and there seemed to be a nice round bulge in his jock.