Recipe for Two Page 9

  “You’re moving out here?” he asked.

  “Yeah.” Izzy’s gaze was dark, deep enough to drown in. He reached out and ran his thumb along Wyatt’s bottom lip. “Jesus, you’re pretty, Wyatt.”

  “So are you,” Wyatt whispered.

  Izzy’s eyes crinkled when he laughed softly. “That’s some bullshit right there.”

  Maybe. Maybe he was too sharp to be pretty, or too angular, too abrasive. But Wyatt had never seen anyone more beautiful than Izzy in his life. And he knew Izzy wouldn’t believe it if he said it again, so Wyatt did the only thing he could think of to prove to him that it was the truth—he pulled him forward into another kiss. This one started off as rough and desperate, but softened into something sweet and gentle, tiny presses of their lips, the tip of Izzy’s tongue sliding against Wyatt’s bottom lip.

  “You’re moving here,” Wyatt said again, when they’d finally separated. He couldn’t stop from smiling at the thought.

  Izzy grinned. “Yeah, you like that idea?”

  Wyatt nodded.

  “Me too,” Izzy said. “You gonna tell me which bedroom window is yours? Leave it unlocked for me?”

  Wyatt’s heart tumbled over a few beats at the thought of Izzy sneaking into his room at night. At the thought of having him in his bedroom, his sanctuary, surrounded by green walls, surrounded by Wyatt’s arms, their sweet kisses turning more heated in Wyatt’s bed.

  “Yeah,’ he whispered. “Maybe.”

  He heard footsteps approaching, and stepped away from Izzy before they were discovered. He felt Izzy’s gaze lingering on him as he made his way down the long rows towards the greenhouse.

  Chapter 10

  Having a job, a new place to move into so he could get an hour more sleep every night, and having his…whatever Wyatt was or would be, close. Yeah, life didn’t get much better than this, Izzy figured.

  He carried his last box out of the house and into the car, nodding at Vinny and Morales who were on the other side of the street, leaning to Morales’ car and shooting shit like they were bound to, because Morales still wasn’t set to step inside the house Izzy was moving out of.

  He’d gone to see Mrs. Rossi earlier, and Justin had given him the day off to get the moving done during daytime hours and without it affecting his free weekend. It seemed a bit like a dream. Mrs. Rossi had changed their meetings into bi-weekly ones just so he didn’t have to drive into town that often. She’d also check up on him weekly, but that would be on the phone, which worked just fine.

  She’d also told him she might drop by one weekend, if she had time and her wife—and hadn’t that been a surprise, and in some ways, not—wanted to get some first grade produce.

  “You’re off, then?” Vinny asked when Izzy slammed his trunk shut.

  “Yup. And here’s a hundred bucks more. I’ll get you the rest as soon as possible. It’ll be faster with me living there, with there being only utilities to cover.” He meandered over the narrow street to stand in front of the guys he was happy to be mostly rid of.

  Morales snorted. “Living on the property with those rich fags…” He spat on the street, showing his derision clear as day.

  It made Izzy’s skin crawl. He hated guys like this so, so much. “They’re good people, gay or not.”

  “Nah, wussies all of them,” Vinny scoffed, waving his hand with a limp wrist.

  Izzy felt the itch in the back of his head, the rage sliding down his back, but kept his temper in check. He couldn’t start anything, couldn’t give these guys a reason to start a fight, either.

  Morales chuckled in an ugly way. “Yeah, I’m fuckin’ surprised they don’t have walls and gates and that shit. Fucking probably have their house alarmed and like those motion sensor lights in the yard in case a fucking coyote steps a foot on the property!” He cackled like it was the greatest joke ever, and Vinny laughed, too.

  “No, there’s none of that there. They can take care of themselves.” Besides, they had a pack of dogs living under the roof, and Izzy had a feeling Lettie taught her dogs a lot of tricks that would be handy in an emergency situation.

  “Yeah, yeah.” Morales snorted. “Well, you better run off now.”

  “I left my key on the kitchen table. I’ll come give you the rest of the money when I come to see Mrs. Rossi the week after next,” Izzy told Vinnie, ignoring the asshole Morales completely.

  “All right.”

  With that, Izzy jumped into his car and started the hour-long drive to his new home.

  * * * *

  Moving in was easy. Sam was working since it was a weekday, but Izzy didn’t have more than one box with random stuff he’d managed to accumulate since he got out, his bag of clothes, and his old ratty backpack he still carried with him because of sentimental value. It had his stash of weed, enough for maybe two joints total at this point, in one of the pockets. He wasn’t going to get more, unless his anxiety got to be an issue, and then he guessed he could ask Justin if he could maybe help Izzy find a doctor who would prescribe him medical marijuana instead. That had to be okay, right? Getting it legally like that, for an actual medical reason? Instead of recreational smoking? He thought there were cards or something you could get. Seemed like a lot of bullshit now it was legal, but at the same time Justin was pretty hung up on his no drugs thing and Izzy had a good thing going.

  Besides, technically his smoking was still for a medical reason, just that nobody believed it because he’d self-diagnosed and he’d once used heavier stuff. It was annoying that nobody believed a goddamn word out of his mouth these days, even when he was telling the truth, and he chose not to think about it as he made his new queen-sized bed in his bedroom in the surprisingly nice trailer.

  There was a proper bathroom, kitchenette, and a little sitting area he’d share with Sam. So far the guy had been great, really nice and smart, and he didn’t seem to think Izzy was stupid, even though he’d been in jail. Then again, you couldn’t always tell at first. Izzy hoped Sam would be a good guy in the future too, when they got to know each other better.

  The only thing Izzy knew about Ignacio, the guy who had lived with Sam before, was that he’d been a bit sloppy with his stuff and cleaning after himself in the common areas. Izzy had no problems with keeping everything clean and neat, that was how he preferred to live anyway. Besides, it wasn’t like he had tons of stuff to just leave around anyway.

  Since he hadn’t eaten and it was already afternoon, Izzy decided to go see if there was anything extra in the break room to tide him over until he managed to get some groceries from Oak Glen.

  He left the trailer and jogged across the yard and between greenhouses to the break room. He must’ve been smiling, because Patty, who was leaving the break room took one look at him and chuckled.

  “You’re cheery today, Izzy my angel!”

  “I am! I just moved into the trailer. I don’t have to drive back and forth anymore!” He wanted to do a little dance, but decided to be an adult about it.

  “Wonderful news! There’s something else too, I can tell…” She looked at him with her inquisitive, wise eyes, and Izzy had no clue what she saw. “It’s almost that new love kind of vibe, but maybe you’re not quite there yet.”

  Izzy felt a jolt go through his whole body at her words, and he laughed awkwardly. “Whatever you say, lady!”

  “Wyatt brought over some pizza. There’s still a bunch if you hurry!” She waved over her shoulder on her way back to the booth someone else had been manning through her coffee break.

  “Thanks!” Izzy went inside and found the break room empty.

  Like Patty had said, there was a large Tupperware container full of delicious smelling pizza slices.

  The door squeaked just as he was biting into the first slice he’d picked.

  “Hey, Izzy, you moved in yet?” Justin smiled as he went to wash his hands at the sink. Then he poured himself a mug of coffee and raised the pan in question.

  Izzy swallowed his mouthful of food. “Thank
s, I’ll take some. I got fixated on the pizza and didn’t even think to get a drink yet. I came in to see if there were any leftovers so I don’t starve while grocery shopping.”

  Chuckling, Justin fixed them both some coffee and brought both mugs to the table.

  “Wyatt was stress-baking, I think. He takes after his Dad like that.”

  “So how does this all work? I mean, Lettie and Wyatt call Del Dad but he’s your husband and you’re their brother?” Izzy hadn’t asked it all before, not quite so bluntly at least.

  Justin let out a little chuckle and went to get himself a slice. Then he sat down and smiled in the way people did when they thought about someone they loved.

  Izzy was expecting the his next words to be nice ones because of that smile, and was surprised by what came out of Justin’s mouth next.

  “I was nineteen when I got the call that my mom had overdosed.” Justin said it casually enough, but his smile faded and his gaze hardened and Izzy wondered if it was the reason he was even anti-weed. It explained a hell of a lot. Justin continued. “The kids were little, and only Harper really remembered me. I hadn’t ever met Lettie, she was just a baby. So I guess I have been more of a parent to them than a brother, or at least that’s how it’s had to be, you know?”

  Izzy nodded, trying to figure out what Justin at nineteen would’ve been like. “That must’ve been hard on you all.”

  “Oh yeah. Lettie got off easiest, she doesn’t really remember anything. Wy and Harper are a whole different deal.” Something about Justin’s expression suggested that there was much more to the story, but Izzy wasn’t about to push. “Our family was known in town for the kind of stuff mom did. Like drugs and shit. And for the kids having different dads. None of us four have the same dad, you know, and none have ever been in the picture.”

  Ah, that sort of family. Izzy knew of those, even though his had been better at least on the surface level.

  “But then you met Del?” he prompted, because it was obvious the family thing was a hard thing to talk about to Justin.

  “Yeah. He’d moved next door and started to help with the kids so I could work part time. And when we moved to California to get away from it all, we decided it was easiest for the kids to call him Dad.” Justin rubbed the fingers of his one hand with the other and frowned, as if experiencing some sort of ghost pain.

  Maybe Izzy wasn’t as careful as he thought with the staring, because Justin smiled tightly and said, “I got bashed by my uncle. Still have some pain in my fingers after fifteen years, and I’m still on insulin because they had to cut out my pancreas.”

  “Right,” Izzy managed to get out. “I’ve seen you have the less sugary stuff here.”

  “Yeah, it’s not as bad anymore, I guess my body adjusted over time a little. I can have some sugar but nothing like most people can.”

  “I’m glad. That you all got out of that old life. You have it so well here.”

  “What’s your family like?” Justin asked, sipping at his coffee.

  “Eh…My parents were both immigrants, Hungarian and Greek. I guess they clung to each other and she got pregnant and they were stuck together. Then she started to want more and divorced him when I was nine. She moved us to California from Nevada, and for some reason my dad didn’t fight it. I saw him a few times after that. No siblings, until my mom had twins with my stepdad when I was fifteen. I left home when they were still toddlers. My stepdad…” He shrugged, even though he could feel his own ghost pains along his back right then.

  “Not a good situation?”

  “You could call it that.”

  “Your siblings are what, early teens now?” Justin asked, then took a bite of his pizza.

  “Yeah, I think they’re like thirteen, fourteen. Something like that. I haven’t seen any of them since I was nineteen.”

  “And you went to prison at…twenty-four?”

  “Yeah. I had friends. Girlfriends, guys I hung out with. It wasn’t a family, but it was something. Enough to keep me going. Even if it was the wrong direction.” Stupid direction, too. At least that’s what his stepdad had told him after he’d wrenched the phone from Izzy’s mom when he’d called her after he got arrested and then again after sentencing. None of them had come to the trial.

  “Yeah…I guess that’s something more normal these days. People are starting to realize that blood isn’t everything.”

  “Not thicker than water?” Izzy huffed.

  Justin laughed. “Actually the original saying is something like ‘the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb’ so it means the complete opposite of what we think it does. Or, it did mean a different thing. I think it was about soldiers being bound together closer than families are. I can’t remember anymore. Lettie had a bit of a fixation on quotations a few years back.”

  “So these days it would mean that the people you go through shit with bond with you more than your blood family might?”

  “Something along those lines, yes.” Justin finished his coffee and pizza, then got up and stretched carefully. “Okay, I’m back to work. You go get groceries before it gets dark. You haven’t driven to Oak Glen much, right?”

  “No, I haven’t been there yet, but I think I can pull it off with GPS and all.”

  “It gets interesting in the dark. Just be careful. Or I could ask Wyatt to come with you if he’s not doing anything?” Justin offered.

  Izzy swallowed. Did he want to spend time with Wyatt? Yes, hell yes. But driving with him in the car? On tricky, unknown roads? Yeah, maybe not.

  “I’m sure he has better things to do. I’ll manage. I’ll just finish this slice and go now so I’ll be back before dark. It’s not far anyway.”

  “If you’re sure. Drive carefully and see you tomorrow.” Justin took his mug to the sink, gave him a wave, and left the break room.

  Jesus. Izzy realized the thought of being in the same vehicle with Wyatt was giving him a bit of a chub. Holy shit. Izzy had never had this sort of reaction to anyone before. And it had nothing to do with having been in prison for four years, either.

  No, he’d never been as keen on sticking his dick into things as most of his friends. Sex could still be good and often was, he just didn’t have as much of an urge than most guys, maybe? But one thought at Wyatt and his big brown eyes, running fingers through those long locks of his?

  Izzy groaned, stuffed the rest of his pizza into his mouth, and practically ran out the door.

  * * * *

  Couple of days later, the weekend arrived. Izzy felt almost disappointed, because he’d gotten to the rhythm in the last few weeks.

  There was something else to look forward to, though. Sam was going to a family thing in Fresno for the whole weekend, and on Saturday night, Justin and Del had agreed to take Lettie to see a movie and to a casual dinner because apparently she wanted to do that with them first before she had a date with some boy next week.

  Wyatt had had time to tell Izzy that when he’d dropped by the greenhouse the day before. He’d brought a coffee cake which had been demolished in literal minutes, but it had also been an excellent decoy for Izzy and Wyatt to have just enough time to steal a couple of kisses and make some plans for Saturday.

  Sam had left on Friday evening after work, so Izzy had a whole twenty-four hours to be nervous about it all. Maybe he shouldn’t have been. After all, it was Wyatt. They’d kissed and groped a bit. Whether they’d do something more that night would remain to be seen, because consent was a thing and it went both ways.

  It was just…Izzy didn’t want to fuck anything up. There were already so many things that could go wrong for Wyatt with him being non-binary, or whatever the word he chose for his identity would be. It could be downright horrible for LGBTQ people out there, and well, Izzy still had a hard time wrapping his brain around the fact that he belonged to the community too.

  Oh, he knew now, he did. Without a shadow of a doubt. But when he thought about the LGBTQ community, he didn’t feel like he t
hought of himself. Not yet, but he would.

  It had also come to him as somewhat of a surprise that gay people were just like everyone else. Not in a silly way, like he’d thought they all were feminine or super masculine and campy. It just felt like what he’d seen in TV and movies, there were rarely normal kind of people who just happened to be gay or whatever. They were always somehow tragic or comic relief characters and what Izzy had seen when he got to know the Abbots more was neither of those things. They were just people.

  “Hey,” Wyatt said awkwardly from the edge of the parking space in front of the trailer. There was a bit of room for each, a yard of their own and a parking space for two cars, and Wyatt stood just inside the circle of light someone had rigged up to the corner of the trailer.

  “Hi,” Izzy got to his feet and smiled. “Come on in.”

  Wyatt walked to him and smiled slightly, but his nerves were obvious in his expression.

  Izzy closed and locked the door behind them. He hadn’t expected to immediately maul Wyatt like he had before, but there was a weird feeling of separation between them now.

  “I…uh, I have a few hours,” Wyatt said quietly, his back to Izzy as he looked around the common area.

  “You know we don’t have to do anything, right? We can just watch a movie or something.”

  Wyatt turned then, his gaze determined as he strode the few steps separating them. He grabbed Izzy and kissed him in a way that told him what Wyatt wanted, loud and clear.

  “Oh, all right then. But you know, consent and this being new for both of us, right?” Izzy panted, smiling when they separated. “I mean, you haven’t—”

  “Uh, no. Not with anyone else, no. And you haven’t either?” Wyatt blushed again, but the determination wasn’t gone. It felt like this was the first adult conversation about sex he’d had to have and he was going to get through it.

  “Not with someone who has the same parts as I do,” Izzy confirmed.

  “Okay, so, either of us says stop at any point, we stop.”

  “Absolutely.”

  “All right, which is your bedroom?” Wyatt asked, a definite spark in his gaze as he let it roam up and down Izzy’s body. “I want to see all your ink.”