Zany About You - Ch. 7 (Be The Father Of This Child! Side Story, Patreon Exclusive) (Patreon)
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Chapter Seven – A Total Teaser
“Man, slow the fuck down!” Zane shouted at Jett while barely holding to his seat.
The moment Jett had found out that April wasn’t picking up, they had all three ended up in the car, and now, Jett was driving like a frigging maniac.
“April turned off his phone!” Jett shouted back. “Why would he turn off his phone while I’m calling him? That fucker DeLouise better not got to him already, or I’ll be pissed!”
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Dan complained from the backseat. “Maybe he just needed to put Jay to his nap or something!”
“April never turns off his phone! Anyone who has a problem with my driving, get out!”
“At eighty? Are you fucking nuts?” Dan yelled. “Just stop the car, and I’ll get out!”
“I don’t have to deal with your shit! Zane, why is this asshole with us?”
“Hey, easy! And if the police catch us, we won’t get back to your house for hours. So slow the fuck down and don’t call my boyfriend an asshole!”
Yeah. He got that Jett was pissed, but that gave him no right to call Dan an asshole. Zane knew many things about Dan’s asshole, and he didn’t care to share them.
“April could be in danger, and you’re worried I’m hurting your feels?” Jett shouted again.
Man, Jett needed being talked into some sense. He was absolutely berserk, and Zane had seen his best friend at his worst. Now, that was something new. “Slow the fuck down, and we’ll get there!”
In the back, Dan seemed to have a real problem with Jett’s driving.
“That’s it; I have to open the window!” Dan lowered the window and stuck his head out.
He looked at his boyfriend, retching over the open window.
Jett shrugged. “At least, he didn’t do it inside.”
Zane’s shouting and Dan’s puking must have had an effect on Jett after all, because he finally slowed down.
Zane looked at Dan, noticing how pale he was. His boyfriend seemed to have a problem with speeding cars, too. That, besides the fact that he didn’t care for Zane to work for some loan sharks. Just at the thought of that, Zane’s heart filled with warmth. His boyfriend was a big softie; that was what he was.
Slowly, he reached for Dan’s hand and took it. There was no resistance; instead, Dan linked his fingers with him. Zane looked away and smiled. Jett was in no mood to see him happy over such little things, seeing how he was scared out of his wits over April’s not picking up his phone.
They rode to Jett’s house in complete silence, but the moment Jett pulled in front of it, all of them sprinted out and through the front door, calling for April. Zane could feel a shot of adrenaline coursing through his veins the moment Jett took April’s phone from the kitchen table. April was nowhere to be seen.
Zane exchanged a quick look with Dan. He read fear in Dan’s eyes, but also determination. Whatever was happening there, they would get to the bottom of it. For so long, the only backup for Zane had been Jett, but now he liked the idea of having someone else standing beside him.
“Hey, guys, what’s with all the noise?” That was April, sitting on top of the stairs and staring curiously at them.
Zane let out a big exhale and shook his head. As sweet as he was, April deserved a kicking over not answering the phone. He had just given all of them a big ass scare. He turned to look at Dan only to notice the expression of pure happiness on his face upon seeing April safe and sound.
That stung. Yeah, he was happy, too, but still, Dan didn’t need to look at April like a frigging puppy in love. Zane looked down and crossed his arms over his chest. This couldn’t continue too much like that.
Jett climbed the stairs, jumping them three by three, and stopping one hair’s breadth from April. “Why the fuck did you turn off your phone?”
Zane took in the entire scene with curious eyes. There was something off, he could tell. April seemed distant and seeing how Jett had driven there almost killing them all, that was unfair.
“What’s wrong?” Jett asked.
“There’s someone here to see you, Jett,” April said and pointed at the door behind him.
Zane couldn’t see Jett’s face from where he stood, but he knew his best friend’s body language very well. There was sudden tension, the kind he knew well.
“Fuck. Don’t tell me; my old man is at home.”
That was Zane’s guess, too.
“Hi, Jett,” a feminine voice came from behind April.
“I’ll be damned,” Zane whispered to himself. He moved to watch the scene better. That was Carina, and she was holding baby Jay in her arms, like that was her entire life, right there.
That could only mean that the mystery of Jay’s mom was finally solved. Why didn’t it surprise Zane that it could only be her? If there had been at least one part of Jett’s life when he had seemed to be truly happy, that must have been when he had been with her. Zane sometimes noticed stuff like that. Only that Jett hadn’t really moved from the memory of that boy from long ago, and that had hurt his bottom line with Carina, too.
“Who’s that?” Dan whispered.
“Hush, I’ll tell you,” Zane whispered back.
“Carina,” Jett said. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ll let you two talk,” April said and began descending the stairs before Jett had a chance to stop him. “Let’s go into the kitchen, guys,” he told Dan and Zane, and they followed him without a word.
***
Dan sat on a chair, and Zane took another, but it looked like April was in no mood to do the same. He was fidgety, and Zane could only guess what was going on through his head. That was yet another job for Zane, the relationship expert.
“Would you please sit?” Zane said. “Why is she here? Is she Jay’s mom?”
“Yes,” April admitted with a barely kept in sigh.
“And why did you turn off your phone? Your boyfriend almost killed us on our way back.” Zane threw another look at Dan. His boyfriend was keeping both hands on his stomach, and he still looked a bit green. Maybe he just couldn’t deal with too many emotions at once. Yeah, a big softie.
Still, Zane couldn’t forgive him so easily. He had gone and quitted working for the Z brothers, and Dan looked like he couldn’t care less. And that, after he had pestered Zane with that for who knew how long.
“There’s been a bit of a misunderstanding,” April said, making Zane turn his attention to him again. “And I should ask you where you all were. Dan is sick; you’ve spent minutes without teasing me or joking, and --” April trailed off.
There was no point in writing a book on what they had done, but Zane could offer a summary. “We just took care of some business. By the way, you won’t have any trouble with that DeLouise dude. It’s over.”
“Why is that?” April looked at him, evidently surprised.
“Jett took care of it. You should have seen your boyfriend, telling the Z brothers off for you. I should have recorded that stuff. If you hadn’t been love with him already, you would have fallen for him now.” Zane attempted a small smile, but April didn’t return it.
Now that would be the test of fire for him as a relationship therapist. April looked pretty shaken over Carina’s coming to the house and being back in Jett’s life. And not just anyhow, but as Jay’s mom, which was the biggest thing.
“How did he take care of things?” April asked.
“He paid the Z brothers to close the deal with DeLouise without giving him squat. Ah, and he quit,” Zane explained, watching April close and gauging all his reactions.
April looked at Zane in disbelief. “What? Why? I mean … I know it was dangerous, and I’m glad, but, for him --”
Zane put up one hand to stop him. “Any complaints you have, take them with him. And I quit, too. Not that it looks like that is making anyone happy.” He threw one meaningful look at Dan.
“Seriously, dude?” Dan complained. “I’m green in the face. Your pal drove like a madman here.”
“Is that why you’re sick?” April asked Dan.
Dan just nodded. And then, he looked at Zane. “And I’m glad you no longer work for the mafia or something.”
Ah, now that was more like it. Zane smiled. “April, my man, what can you bring to my boyfriend here? I’d kiss him, but he looks like he might puke again at any moment.”
“I keep all the medicine upstairs,” April said. “But I guess the worst came to pass. Dan just needs a tea that’s good for his stomach, and I have that right here.”
“Ah, you don’t want to overhear them talking,” Zane said and nodded thoughtfully. “So Carina is the kid’s mom, eh?”
“It looks like it,” April confirmed. “I mean, she threatened me with a plastic fork. I don’t see why she would have done that unless she was afraid I was hurting her baby. Also, Jay knows her and is happy in her arms.”
“Carina,” Zane said and shook his head. “Kind of a wild beast, that one.”
“So, this dude is straight? Why is he fucking April?” Dan intervened.
Zane threw his boyfriend a brief look, and Dan mumbled something under his breath. “Jett loves April,” he said matter-of-factly.
April pretended to be busy with the tea and didn’t say a word.
“Carina is here, so it’s good that little Jay has a mom, after all. But that doesn’t change anything,” Zane continued.
April didn’t seem convinced. Zane knew that, after all, April needed to come to terms with his feelings and Jett’s feelings on his own. He watched Dan drinking his tea for a while.
“We should hit the road,” Zane said. “Dan, let’s go. We need to leave the guys to talk this out.”
To his surprise, Dan didn’t comment against his decision and stood up from the table.
“Are you guys already going?” April asked. He had been washing the same plate for the last ten minutes if Zane counted correctly.
“Yes. Make sure to talk to Jett.”
April just nodded and looked away. Zane had a feeling his advice wasn’t exactly taken to heart. He would hear all about it later, from Jett. For now, he needed to let the main protagonists handle it. Also, he needed to straighten some things with Dan. He had been nothing but patient and understanding, but Dan was still pining over April.
***
They rode in silence in the back of an Uber, and Zane kept looking out the window, ignoring Dan on purpose. Dan wasn’t saying anything, so maybe that wasn’t a good sign, either. But they really needed to have a talk, and that meant that the moment for some hard truths was near.
“Are you coming in?” Zane asked as the car stopped.
“Yes,” Dan said.
They walked inside Zane’s apartment, still without saying anything else to each other.
Zane sat on the sofa, but Dan remained standing. “So?” he asked.
“So what? You’ve been weird the whole time,” Dan pointed out. “I’m waiting for you to talk or something.”
“I’m always the one talking, right?” Zane said, letting some of the bitterness he felt inside show through. That wasn’t like him, but he needed to let Dan know that he wasn’t that unfeeling.
“I don’t know. I do plenty of talking.”
“I guess,” Zane agreed. “You can’t tell why I’m pissed at you, can you?”
Dan looked away.
“You can,” Zane said with finality. “So? What are you going to do about it?”
“What do you want me to say? April is --”
“Some dude’s boyfriend, not yours. Cut it out. Just stop.”
“But --”
“No ‘buts’. Do you even like me? A little?”
“Of course, I do.”
“Then why do you keep drooling after April, like a frigging puppy in front of a bowl of the best kibble in the world or something?”
Dan stared at him and blinked hard a few times. Yeah, he was adorable, but Zane wasn’t about to let himself steered so quickly from the topic they needed to talk about.
“I can’t help it,” Dan said softly.
“Well, help it, because I don’t see why we should continue.”
“Why do you care? I thought you didn’t care.”
“What made you think so?”
“You’re in this only for the fun. You wouldn’t care if I felt --” Dan choked on his words.
“If you felt what?” Zane’s ears perked up right away.
“Nothing.”
“It’s not nothing. Out with it.” Zane stood up and walked closer to Dan. Dan moved back, but his back hit the furniture behind him, so he stopped. Zane grabbed his chin and made him look at him. “Well?”
“I can’t tell you,” Dan protested.
“You can tell me anything,” Zane said softly.
“Not this.”
“What is it? C’mon. I’m not going to let you off the hook that easily if that’s something you believe I’d do.”
“You will only laugh at me,” Dan said meekly.
“Try me. If I laugh, feel free to punch me in the face.”
Dan looked at him like he couldn’t believe his ears. He snorted. “Right. Like I have a death wish or something.”
“I won’t hit back. I promise. If I laugh to whatever you’re going to tell me, it means that I’m a jerk, and jerks deserve being punched in the face.”
Dan pondered for a moment. “I’m safe still thinking myself in love with April,” he said in one go.
“What?” That wasn’t precisely what Zane thought he would hear. All he knew was that he was curious like hell about what Dan was hiding, without daring to make any predictions. But this thing about being safe, what was it all about?
“If I dare to think of you that way --” Dan choked again.
“That way? What way?” This time, Zane was done playing. He crowded Dan into the bookcase behind him and made a cage with his arms.
“You know what way!” Dan shouted, but he was making no effort to break free.
“I don’t know what way. I wouldn’t ask you about it if I knew.”
Dan blushed so hard that his ears were in flame. Zane moved swiftly and caught one by the lobe. Yes, it was burning. Dan let out half a giggle at that.
Zane let him go. “I won’t laugh. Tell me everything, Dan.”
“I can’t let myself go crazy about you,” Dan blurted out.
“You can’t or you won’t? Because I really can’t see a problem here.”
“You don’t?” Dan risked a look at him, despite looking like he was a moment away from combusting. “You’re a player!”
“I’m not playing with you!”
“You are!”
“Why are you saying this? I’m not playing with you! Okay, we fool around a lot, but it’s not that kind of playing. I’m not seeing anyone else but you.”
“Yeah, but that can change anytime, right? You don’t care about me!”
“When have I said that?”
“You don’t have to say it. It’s pretty clear. It has been from the start, so I have no right to complain and --”
Zane stopped Dan with a kiss. He grinned when he released Dan, who had gone instantly silent. “I like you a lot, Dan. I like you like I’ve never liked anyone else before you. Can’t you see it? It’s okay if you like me back a little. And seriously, all that pining over April is getting old. Even today, you were looking at him with such eyes --”
Now, it was Dan’s turn to shut him up. Unlike him, Dan didn’t grin when he released him from the kiss. Instead, he looked into Zane’s eyes with astonishment written all over his face. “Are you serious? Do you mean it?”
“I’m serious. I totally feel like that about you.” He wasn’t about to drop the big L because he had no experience with stuff like that which, for a relationship counselor, was pretty lame. “So, how about you forget about April? I know it might not be easy --”
Dan began laughing like a naughty kid. “Maybe it’s a bit easier than you think,” he said playfully.
“Really? How is that?”
“I don’t know. Are you jealous?”
Zane thought about it for two seconds. Could he admit it? Like, seriously? “Yeah,” he said simply.
Dan threw him a lopsided grin. “Then, that means that you do feel a little for me.”
“A little? I feel a lot for you, asshole.”
“Really? Or do you feel a lot only for my asshole?” Dan teased him.
Ha. Now, look who was a bit of a smartass. It could be because Dan had paid a lot of attention to him, and that thought made him happy. “Wait, so the situation today --”
“You mean, about you quitting that dangerous job? I’m so glad you did. I hope you just didn’t do it for me only.”
“You played an important part in my decision, but that wasn’t what I wanted to say. I mean, you know that April’s and Jett’s situation just got complicated ten folds.”
“Because of that girl?”
“Yeah. I’m sure they’ll work it out, but I’m curious about you. Don’t you think you have a better chance now?”
Dan stared at him like he couldn’t really understand the question. “No. Why would I? April is clearly in love with Jett.”
Zane let out a sigh. “I’m glad you finally see it. Really glad.”
***
They had ended taking things to the bedroom, like usual. It was with renewed strength that Zane made love to Dan because, at least to himself, he could admit that it was that. Dan wasn’t like the others. Zane was serious about him.
Dan caressed his back, his large hand resting on the small of his back. Zane purred in delight. The hand got a little bolder, and Zane stiffened as he felt it venturing lower. He tried to appear casual as he straightened his position. Dan watched him through the eyelashes. He had really pretty eyes, and Zane was pretty damned sure that he knew it.
Dan lay on his back and then closed his eyes. “It must be a lot of fun to fuck someone, right?”
Zane bit his bottom lip. What could he say to that? He stole one look at Dan’s cock. Even in its dormant state, it was still pretty impressive. There was no way Zane could picture that going inside his ass. It had to hurt. And it wasn’t only that. He was the seducer, the guy on top. When he let some guy top him, it was because he felt completely secure doing that.
He watched Dan in silence, and only then he noticed the ghost of a smile. Ah, damn. Was he being played? He had to be and seeing how he hadn’t even been aware of it, it could only mean that he was starting to lose his touch.
“Are you playing me?” he asked, just for good measure.
Dan appeared surprised when he opened his eyes. “Playing you, how?”
“It must be my imagination, then,” Zane replied.
Dan pushed himself on one elbow. “C’mon, Zane,” he said in a playful voice. “There’s something you’re not telling. Stop being a total teaser.”
Zane moaned. “I’m the teaser? I think I liked you better when you were shy and inexperienced.” He grunted when Dan pushed two fingers into his flank. “You’re the teaser,” he added like a petulant child.
“I’m not,” Dan protested right away. “Anytime you want to fuck me, I’m game. You, on the other hand --”
“Hey, listen, are you hungry?” Zane straightened up brusquely and climbed out of bed. He grabbed a pair of boxers on his way to the door. “You must be. I worked your ass pretty hard.”
A well-aimed pillow struck his back. Zane grabbed it and threw it back. Dan had a crooked smile now. Damn, that had been a close call. How on earth was he going to withstand the kind of attack Dan clearly had in store for him?
***
Having a boyfriend definitely had its perks, but Zane could feel a bit of a nagging sensation at the back of his mind. Dan was getting grabby with his ass more often than not, and there was a lot of innuendo and jokes that involved certain parts of Zane’s anatomy. It could be that he had awakened a monster. Dan was bent on getting him to submit, and, a few times, under the pretext that he wanted to show Zane some football techniques, he has pinned him down and had him admit defeat.
“You know, I am well aware that you’re hot stuff on the field and that, but you don’t have to practice on me,” Zane complained one day.
“Don’t tell me that, since you got rid of that dangerous job, you’re getting soft.” Dan challenged him with his eyes.
There was some softening going on, but it had nothing to do with what Dan thought. More than anything, Zane needed some time to think about that kind of stuff and realize where he truly stood.
“Yeah, right.” He grinned instead of offering a proper reply.
Waving it off like it didn’t matter was the way to go, for now. Whatever Dan thought and hoped for, it just had to wait until Zane would figure it all out.
“You know, I don’t think you’re in this with your all and such,” Dan said.
“In this? You mean, you don’t mind me calling you my boyfriend now.”
“I like being your boyfriend,” Dan said. “And I hope I didn’t hurt your bum.”
As always, Dan used every occasion to throw allusions around and touch Zane’s butt, like right now.
“You know,” Dan added, “for a gay guy, you’re overly conscious of your ass, and not in the good way. Don’t you like it or something? Because, from where I stand, it looks fine to me.”
Zane felt surrounded. How long could he hold out? Dan was bent on getting him to bottom, and that was a pretty scary thought.
His phone went off, and Zane hurried to grab it. He exchanged a few looks with Dan while he talked to Jett. Well, going away for one weekend would help him clear his head. Probably, that was the same thing Jett needed, too.
“I’m going hiking with Jett this weekend,” he informed Dan in a single breath.
“Can I tag along?” Dan asked.
“Ah, sorry, it’s just a thing between bros,” Zane said.
Dan wasn’t great at hiding his disappointment. But he didn’t say anything and just nodded.
Zane hurried to kiss him on the lips. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Is April coming on this trip?”
Zane made a sour face.
“I’m asking because if he comes, I come, too,” Dan added.
“That much you want to see him?” Zane asked gruffly.
Dan grinned and grabbed his crotch suddenly. “No. But it wouldn’t be fair that I should be left at home when your bro’s boyfriend tags along.”
“Ah. So, you want to keep an eye on me or something?”
“Sure,” Dan admitted. “So, is he coming?”
“No. Jett needs a breather or something. He got into a fight with his old man.”
“Okay.” Dan was considerate and didn’t ask for details.
Zane kissed him one more time. “Maybe we’ll take things the next level once I’m back.”
Dan’s face lit up. “You mean --”
“I want to introduce you to my mom and dad,” Zane said promptly.
If Dan was disappointed, this time, he hid it well.
TBC