Wound Up(62)
“What?” Gavin asked childishly for all he was clearly higher up in Deuce-8’s ranks than Justin had been led to believe.
“Nothing. Just thinking. Tell me something, Gavin. What’s your mom like?”
“You leave my mom out of this,” he yelled, surging to his feet. “You don’t got no right to bring her into this room!”
Justin put his hands up, palms out, in a “backing off” gesture. “It’s cool. I’ll leave it alone.”
“Gavin, stop.” Grace’s calm command cut through the explosive tension. “You might live in a world where violence is accepted, even encouraged, but I won’t allow you to subject me to that. Do you understand?”
The teen resettled himself in his chair. “Sorry, Ms. Grace.”
“Forgiven. Now, tell me something. What’s the one thing that you want me to know about you?”
Justin watched Grace manage the kid and realized she’d made the right move in taking over the conversation. It made sense Gavin would talk to Grace and reject Justin, given a choice between the sexes. Clearly, his mother meant something to him. Justin doubted the kid’s father was in the picture. The only male with any authority he respected would be those higher up in Deuce. So Justin would try harder, work harder.
The timer went off and he stood, casting Grace an assessing glance. Eyes bright and cheeks slightly flushed, he saw she was invigorated by how well the session had gone. He was proud of her. Gavin had gravitated to her like a moon caught up in a planet’s gravitational pull. Justin understood the draw. There was something about her that made you want to be closer to her, physically and emotionally. It had started so long ago for him he’d almost forgotten what that first hit of Grace could do to a guy. Gavin might be a kid, but he was on the cusp of adulthood. He was no more immune to Grace than Justin was.
He shoved his hands in his pockets and Gavin tensed. Slowly, he removed them. “Nothing in there but some loose change and lint. Okay?” The teen nodded and Justin let out the breath he’d inadvertently been holding. “Let’s leave it here and pick things up again Wednesday. You’re in three days a week for how many weeks?”
“Four.”
“I’ll note that in your chart. It’ll give us a chance to get to know each other.” He offered the young man a hand, held it out there and waited while it was considered. Slowly, as if Justin posed an undefined threat, Gavin reached out and gave him a quick, firm shake. “Cool. Catch up with you Wednesday, then.”
He was out the door with only a brief glance at Grace.
“Kid’s got a crush on you.” Justin gathered up his notes and turned to find Grace writing like mad. “What’s up?”
She didn’t look away from her notepad as she answered. “Give me five—ten—minutes. I have to get this stuff down.”
He shrugged and started for the door. “I’ll be in my office when you’re done.”
“Justin?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
That stopped him. “For what?”
“Letting me run the session.”
“You were great in there. Besides, it wasn’t so much about me letting you, Grace. The kid cleaved to you. If you have a better chance to reach him, you should lead the session.”