Cody and Grant

Chapter 5

Cody walked into Urban’s on Saturday night and took his usual place at the bar. He ordered a drink when a bartender approached him and asked where Derek was. Told that he’d taken the night off, Cody sighed in disappointment. He and Derek usually passed the time together talking, and Cody was hoping to do the same that night. He sipped his margarita and watched the dance floor idly. The usual crowd was out there gyrating to the beat, but without Derek’s commentary, it seemed boring. Cody decided he would finish his drink and call it an early night, when a good looking blonde guy slid onto the stool beside his and ordered a scotch. He was dressed in black slacks and a black silk shirt opened enough to reveal a black tee underneath. Cody stiffened and turned away when he caught the man’s eyes roaming down his legs.

“New here?” the guy drawled.

Cody turned to him cautiously, not really having had any experience in the dating scene. The guy seemed okay, and he was very good looking. He didn’t see why he shouldn’t have a conversation. He could always leave any time he felt like it.

“Yeah, kind of,” he smiled briefly.

“I thought so,” the man said after he sipped his drink. “You just seem like you feel … out of place.”

Cody shrugged.

“Well, you shouldn’t,” the man went on. He smiled and it softened his sharp features. “This club is tame compared to most out there.”

“I know. I’m just not used to hanging around here alone. My friend’s not here tonight.”

“You haven’t been out long,” the guy nodded sagely. “Now I see.”

“No, I haven’t,” Cody returned the man’s smile finally. “My parents aren’t what you would call receptive to the idea.”

“Ah. Those kind of parents.”

“Yeah. Those kind.”

“Well, it’s been my experience that a life lived by other people’s expectations and standards is a life wasted.”

“Pretty profound,” Cody replied quietly. “But I guess I agree with that. I did move out after I told them the news and they said they didn’t want me to tell anyone. Who could live like that, if they know it’s a lie?”

“Exactly. I would have done the same thing.”

The music got louder and the beat sped up. Cody and the man turned their eyes to the dance floor as more couples took to it excitedly.

“You dance?” the man asked casually.

“Me?” Cody looked at him warily. “Um. No. Not really.”

“You want to learn?”

Cody looked back at the dance floor and watched as the men all moved to the beat. “Oh, I don’t know …”

“Come on,” the man laughed. “It’ll be fun.”

Cody looked back at him uncertainly. He seemed pretty nice. Why did he give him an off vibe, though? Cody chalked it up to his own inhibitions.

“Um …”

The man drained his glass and set it down with a purpose. “It’s just one dance,” he smiled engagingly. “I promise not to bite … for now.” He laughed at the end of that statement to show he was teasing, but Cody wasn’t so sure. Still, he would like to know what it was like to dance with a guy. So he shrugged and allowed himself to be pulled out of his seat.

“I’m Cody, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you, Cody,” the man smiled. “I’m Edison.”

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Grant sighed and sat back on his couch. He’d finally gotten around to unpacking the last of the boxes he’d taken back with him on his most recent trip to California. He’d seen his son while he was out there, and wished he could have spent more time with him. The boy seemed angry now that he and Virginia had made the split official and signed the separation papers. Virginia had suggested they forego the official separation as it would delay the divorce, but Grant insisted that they follow the regular protocol. He was determined to give Matt all the time he needed to get used to the idea of not having both of his parents together. Though the divorce had been necessary to his plans, Grant couldn’t help the enormous weight of guilt he felt when he thought of his boy’s reaction to the news.

“Why don’t you want to live with us anymore?” Matt had demanded.

“It’s not that I don’t want to live with you,” Grant had tried to explain. “It’s that I can’t. Your mother and I both care for each other very much, but we’re not in love.”

“So you say!” Matt retorted. “But I heard mom crying the night you left. She still loves you. You’re the one who doesn’t love her!”

Grant then struggled with the problem of explaining to a 12-year-old how he could fall out of love with his mother when it was all a lie and he’d never actually been in love to begin with. It would be a long time before he could fix his relationship with his son, if ever. The big question remained though, would Matt ever accept that his father was gay? That was something weighing on Grant’s mind. The phone rang jarring him out of his musings.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Grant. I just wanted to see how you’re doing.”

Virginia’s voice calmed him, and he didn’t know why she wanted to give him comfort when he was the reason her life was turned upside down at the moment. But then, as friends when they were younger, they’d always been tuned to each other’s moods.

“I’ve been worse.”

“You’ve also been better, I’m sure,” she said wryly. “Matt told me what he’d said to you before you left. I’m sorry about that.”

“What do you have to be sorry about?” he snorted. “I was the one who caused everything.”

“How many times do we have to go through this?” she sighed. “You didn’t cause this. We both did. Twelve years ago, remember? You were just the first one to call it what it was … a mistake. The marriage, anyway. Not Matt.”

“You really agree it was a mistake?” he asked as he remembered Matt telling him she cried.

“Yes. You can’t love me. Not in the way a man loves his wife. That makes it a mistake.”

“But Matt said he heard you,” Grant revealed softly.

“What? Heard me cry?” she asked. “What woman wouldn’t when her marriage ends? That doesn’t mean I think the decision was wrong. We’ve had twelve years of memories together. I wouldn’t be human if losing that didn’t make me sad. But we’ll always be friends, and I know I’ll never lose you completely. I want you to be happy”

“You know, I still say most women would have chopped my nuts off in your place.”

“And I still say that most women didn’t have the close friendship we did before they got married.”

“Mmm.”

“Besides,” she laughed, “if you’d left me for a younger woman, I would have chopped your nuts off.”

“Ouch!”

“Exactly! Now … what are you doing home on Saturday night?”

“So, you’re not just my ex, you’re my fairy godmother?”

“Why not?”

“It’s strange.”

“We’re unconventional people,” she replied. “Now … get your ass out of that chair and go check out the nightlife.”

“Is that an order?”

“Let’s just call it a strong recommendation.”

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“See? That wasn’t so bad!”

Cody laughed at that and let Edison pull him back to the bar. When he asked him if he’d like another margarita, Cody declined, saying he had a lot of papers to grade tomorrow for Monday morning’s classes.

“Where do you teach?”

“At Densington, two towns over.”

“Interesting,” Edison said. “So, you get summers off then, huh?”

“I could,” Cody shrugged. “But I’ll probably work. The money’s good and I like to keep busy.”

Edison nodded as he sipped at the scotch the bartender just served him. Cody began to fidget as the night wore on, not wanting to stay out too late. The last bus back to his town would be leaving soon and he had to get going in order to walk to the stop in time.

“Well, I need to be going now,” he said. “I have to catch the last bus back home. It was nice meeting you.”

“I can drive you home, if you like,” Edison offered.

“Oh, thanks but it’s okay. I like the bus.”

“Can I at least walk you to the stop?” the blonde man asked hopefully.

Cody quirked an eyebrow but shrugged, not finding a reason to reject the offer. Edison smiled and downed his drink, leaving a twenty on the bar for the tab and tip. He then held his arm out to Cody, who took it tentatively. They walked in silence out of the bar and down the road until they got to the bus stop, where there were only two other people waiting.

“Well … thank you.”

“I’ll wait with you until it comes.”

“You don’t have to.”

“But I want to.”

Cody nodded and looked down.

“I had a great time tonight.”

“Oh, I had fun, too,” Cody smiled.

“Do you think we could see each other again?”

Cody’s head snapped up quickly. This guy wanted to see him again? Wow!

“Um … sure.”

Edison handed him a business card with a grin. “My home number’s written on the back,” he said. “Call me any time.”

“Th-thanks.”

The bus pulled up just then saving Cody from his quickly reddening cheeks. “Bye, Edison.”

Edison leaned down and kissed his forehead. “See you soon, Cody.”

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Grant felt ridiculous scoping out clubs at his age, but Virginia had made him promise he would go to at least one, so here he was, walking down the street to a bar called Urban’s. It seemed like a casual looking place. He stopped for a second as he adjusted his collar. Before he could start walking again, he noticed a familiar figure walk up to the door and flash the bouncer his right hand before entering the place. Edison Mallers? Well, there goes this place. Grant turned around and walked back to his car.