Every Shade by Nora Phoenix

10

Before Tris could react to that statement, his ears perked up at the faint sound of a car. Was that…? Oh god.

"We have to get dressed. Now."

As carefully as he could, he pulled out of Samuel, quickly getting rid of the condom by dumping it in the kitchen trash can, making sure it was buried under some other trash. When he turned around, Samuel was still on the kitchen table, looking at him with a dazed expression.

"I'm so sorry, but that's my ex-wife in the driveway, with my boys. She has a key, and you have about thirty seconds before they walk in the door."

That did get a reaction out of Samuel, as his eyes widened in shock before he scrambled off the table, then hurried out of the kitchen up the stairs. Tris frantically grabbed his own clothes, putting them on as quick as possible, then realized Samuel’s shirt and boxers were still in the kitchen as well. He heard the back door and knew he had no time to take them upstairs, so instead, he hid them in a cupboard behind a few boxes of cereal.

He dragged two hands through his hair to get rid of the worst of the just-fucked look and spread his papers back out on the kitchen table before putting his laptop back. He had just turned it on when his oldest son, Dean, walked in.

"Hey, Dad."

He was followed on his heels by his brother, Paul. "Hi, Dad, what were you doing?"

They were too old for hugs and kisses, they had told him a few years ago It was something Tris usually lamented, but now he was grateful. He was certain they would’ve smelled the sex on him.

"Nothing much. Paying bills. Boring adult stuff."

Cara came into the kitchen and of course, she did give him a hug. "How have you been, big guy? The boys wanted to pick up the new Nintendo game they got from you last week."

"That's fine," Tris said, almost holding his breath in the hopes Cara wouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

Alas, he had no such luck. He spotted it at the same time as she did, the condom and lube that were still prominently displayed on the kitchen table. Her hand flew to her mouth, but he had to give her props for not showing anything to the boys. In fact, she handily moved toward the table, half-hiding behind Tris as she pocketed the condom and slid the lube quickly toward Tris so he could grab it and put it in his pocket.

Thank you, he mouthed to her, and he got a cheeky grin in return that told him he would have to explain later. That was a small price to pay for his boys not finding out their dad had just had sex on the kitchen table, he supposed.

"So get the game," Dean told Paul. He always liked to boss his younger brother around. Good thing Paul had a mouth on him and wasn’t afraid to use it.

"Go get it yourself," Paul said. "You're the one who wanted to play it so badly Mom had to drive over here to get it."

"Dude, that thing is buried somewhere in the unholy mess of your room. I’m not digging through your dirty underwear to find it."

Tris was about to tell Paul Dean had a point, when he realized the problem. Dean's room was, of course, upstairs. That was also where Samuel was. The last thing he wanted was for his kids to meet him like this.

"Jeez, don't the two of you ever get tired of bickering all the time?" he said. "You're lucky I'm in a good mood. I'll go get it. You just stay downstairs with Mom."

Cara's grin told him she was seeing straight through his ruse, but he didn't care. Anything to make sure Samuel was okay. "I'll make sure they stay with me," she said, affirming his suspicion.

"Never mind, Dad. I'll get it. I wanted to pick up some of my comics for a project I’m doing for English lit," Paul said.

Tris shot a look of pure panic at Cara. What reason could he possibly give why his son couldn't go into his own bedroom?

"You can get that Monday, when you're going back to your dad's," Cara said. "Your dad is busy right now, and we shouldn't interrupt his day any further. Let your dad get the game and we'll go."

Paul looked from one parent to the other, a frown furrowing his brows. "The two of you are acting strange," he said.

"We're adults," Tris said. "That's our prerogative. Listen to your mom now."

Before his son could protest, Tris hurried out the kitchen and up the stairs. He grabbed the game first, which fortunately for him wasn't hiding underneath dirty underwear—though he did have to give Dean credit for calling the state of Paul’s room correctly. Definitely something he should pay attention to more.

With the game in his hand, he softly opened the door to the guest bedroom, where he found Samuel hiding under the covers. "It's just me," he whispered. "I'm so sorry. They came by unannounced. They'll be out of here in a few minutes, I promise."

Samuel had appeared from under the covers. "Okay. I didn't think you wanted me to meet them, so I figured I'd stay here and not make a sound."

Tris's heart softened. "I do want you to meet them, but not like this. Properly. Okay?"

Samuel rewarded him with a big smile. "Okay."

Tris sent him a meaningful look, then closed the door behind him again and hurried downstairs. Apparently, their kids had been badgering Cara the whole time for more insight into what was going on, but she was standing her ground. She was good like that, supporting Tris. She always had been, just like he had kept her relationship with Colin a secret until she’d been ready to introduce him to the kids.

"Okay, boys, let's go," she said, her voice leaving no room for interpretation.

With a last, somewhat accusing look at Tris, his sons filed out behind their mother. "See you guys Monday," he called after them, sighing with relief when he heard the back door close. Damn, that had been a close call.

He waited until he heard the car pull out of the driveway, then rushed back upstairs. Samuel hadn't left the bed, which made sense, considering he was naked. Tris couldn't deny the sight of him in that bed was an appealing one, and he had to resist the urge to crawl in next to him for round two. But if the unexpected encounter with Cara and his kids had shown him anything, it was that they were moving at a breakneck speed. Slowing down was probably a good idea to avoid crashing.

"I'm so sorry about that," he told Samuel, lowering himself on the bed next to him on his side so he could look at him.

"Don't be. They're your kids. You shouldn't apologize for the place they have in your life."

His easy acceptance of how important his boys were to him flowed over him like a warm shower. At that moment, Tris realized that he was already halfway in love with Samuel. It was crazy fast and it didn't make much sense, but they were so perfect together. Still, slowing down was necessary.

"It means a lot to me that you recognize that," he said.

"This is moving fast, isn't it?" Samuel asked, turning on his side as well so they were face-to-face.

"It is," Tris confirmed. "It feels good, but we may want to slow down a little."

"You mean you don't think it's wise to meet your kids after we've known each other for not even twenty-four hours?" Samuel joked, and Tris appreciated he could see the humor in the whole thing.

"It seemed kind of fast," he said with a laugh, but then grew more serious. "But I think you need a little time to process everything that has happened. Maybe talk to your lawyer, find out if there are any unwanted consequences of Evan's presence in your life. Then take some time to consider if you're ready for a new relationship."

"That sounds wise." Samuel bit his lip. "What if I come to the conclusion that I'm not ready yet?"

Tris reached for his hand and enveloped it in his much bigger hand. "Then we’ll wait until you're ready."

"That's a big promise to make to a man you only met yesterday," Samuel said, but Tris had no trouble detecting the hope in his voice.

He brought Samuel's hand to his lips and kissed it. "I know, but I stand by it. Look, I met Cara after her family moved to Jersey from upstate New York. We were sixteen, and she sat in front of me in math. I fell in love with her on sight, and I asked her for a date two days later. When you know, you know, and I've always been a man who goes by his gut. Right now, my gut is telling me that I am willing to wait until you're ready."

Samuel shot him a look that made Tris think of those cartoons where the character had little red hearts instead of eyes. "You said you and Cara grew apart. What happened?" Samuel asked.

"Honestly, I think we were too young when we started dating. We both changed a lot since high school, and we lost that magic connection. I think if she hadn't gotten pregnant, we would've broken up a long, long time ago, but I never regretted marrying her. We're just better off as friends. She is a loving mom and a fantastic woman, but just not the right fit for me and vice versa."

"She sounds like a wonderful person," Samuel said. "I'm so happy you guys still get along and that you can co-parent your kids. I'm sure that makes a big difference for them as well."

"It does, but it helps that we parted on such amicable terms. It's a whole different scenario when one of the parents cheats, I can tell you that from experience."

Samuel frowned. "You've mentioned your hatred for cheating a few times now. I'm assuming you have personal experience in some way?"

“Close friends of ours, he cheated on her while she was pregnant, then left her days after the baby was born. That divorce turned ugly, as he refused to pay child support and it broke her. She was never the same and it was devastating to see.”

“People suck sometimes,” Samuel said, and Tris could only imagine what was going through his head.

“They do…but not all of them. Every now and then, you strike gold.”

Samuel’s look changed, softened. “Are you saying I struck gold with you?”

Tris leaned in for a soft kiss. “No, I did.”