Hurricane Reese Read online

  A few throats were cleared. Chairs squeaked as bodies squirmed. Reese and Tito Rommel locked eyes, and the power struggle was on.

  “Mr. Matheson, family means something different in our house, and it doesn’t involve two men playing house, especially not where my nephew is concerned.”

  “Rommel, don’t be rude to our guest.” Tita Gemma didn’t particularly care for conflict, but she didn’t object very hard. The situation was too scintillating for her to put her foot down.

  Reese sat back with a shocked look on his face. “I can’t believe you would be so disrespectful to your nephew. Don’t you care about what makes him happy?”

  “It is not appropriate for him to live there… with you… in this situation.”

  “Appropriate, huh? But it’s fine for him to sleep in his truck? Which is what he was doing before so he wouldn’t put anyone out.”

  “Reese!”

  Jude’s whole life was out on the table right then, and he felt helpless to stop the awful conversation.

  “Jude, what is he talking about?” Tita Gemma asked softly. Everyone looked to one another.

  Germaine frowned. “Jude? You were staying with Christian, right? That’s what you told me?”

  “He wasn’t staying with me,” Christian said. “I thought he was staying here.”

  Tita Gemma shook her head. “Jude Joseph De La Torre, you answer right now. You weren’t living in your truck.”

  Jude shot a glance at Brianna and Bailey. Their eyes were full of guilt and sorrow. He wanted to be strong in front of them, but he didn’t want them to hurt any longer.

  “Reese, may I speak with you in the other room?” he asked as he stood from the table.

  “Jude, this subject isn’t over. You—”

  Jude gave his uncle an angry look and told him in Tagalog to please give him a minute. Rommel sat back and grinned in a way that let Jude know he fully expected his word to be law. His family argued all around him, but he was determined to put an end to this. He stormed into the front room and waited for Reese to join him.

  “Jude, I’m sorry, I didn’t—”

  “That wasn’t your place to tell them.”

  “Dammit, Jude. I’m sorry, but I love you, and I want to take care of you. I don’t care what they think. You belong with me.”

  Jude’s eyes burned with tears as he looked at the one person who’d given him more happiness than anyone. He braced himself for the pain that would come.

  “Reese, my brother and sister need me. I can’t go against my uncle. Not right now.”

  Reese’s eyes bugged out. “So you’re leaving? You’re going to leave me because your uncle doesn’t approve? Jesus, Jude.”

  “I will still be there for Mr. Matheson. I will—”

  “Jude, I love you. I need you with me.”

  Jude hated that he had anything to do with the pain in Reese’s voice.

  “I’m sorry, Reese. I just can’t. You don’t understand my family, my—”

  “You’re right. I don’t understand how you can choose that intolerant, religious nut over me.”

  Anger pulsed through Jude as he narrowed his gaze at Reese.

  “I think you should go.”

  Reese blanched. He looked as though he wanted to apologize, but then he looked over Jude’s shoulder and his indignation was back.

  “Is everything all right, boys? Please come and eat your food.”

  “Thank you for inviting me, Mrs. De La Torre. I’m afraid I won’t be staying for dinner.” And with that Reese turned and walked out the door.

  All the air rushed from Jude’s lungs as though he’d been hit with a sledgehammer. He tried to breathe normally but he couldn’t seem to get enough oxygen. Then he felt his tita’s hand on his shoulder.

  “It is for the best, dear. You’re too young to know what you really feel.”

  The pain was so intense that Jude felt he’d crumble if he opened his mouth to speak. He turned to face her, and her comforting smile returned his anger to the surface.

  “I thank you, Tita Gemma, for taking care of my brother and sister while my parents have been gone. I understand it has been a sacrifice on your part. But you and Tito Rommel have no right to say what is best for me.”

  She jerked back and gasped. “Jude. How—”

  Jude turned from her as Germaine entered the room.

  “Will you take me to get my truck?” he asked her.

  Germaine nodded, grabbed her purse, and gave her older sister an ugly look as she followed Jude out the door.

  As they climbed into her car, silent tears began to flow down Jude’s cheeks. She reached over and squeezed his forearm.

  “I’m so sorry, Jude. This is all just awful. What are you going to do?”

  He looked out the window and tried to compose himself. “I really don’t know.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  REESE WENT from Jude’s uncle’s house straight to the hospital to see Grandpa. He knew it might not be the best place for him in his current state, but he had to see the old man.

  “Reese, what’s wrong?”

  Reese said a silent thank you to whomever was listening. His grandfather was coherent and knew who he was.

  “Grandpa, I think I just fucked up. Royally.”

  Grandpa patted the side of the bed. Reese pulled the chair close and rested his elbows on the bed next to him.

  “Tell me, son. What happened?”

  Reese couldn’t fight the tears. He blurted out the whole tale, how he’d decided he wanted Jude, how he’d pursued him relentlessly until he gave in, the happiness they’d found together… and then his disastrous declaration at dinner. Through it all, Grandpa held a concerned crease between his eyebrows and kept his hand on Reese’s arm. He gave a little pat when Reese ran out of steam.

  “My boy, Jude is a special man, but you can’t expect him to just give up his family, to go against them, to be with you. You can’t force him to choose. He won’t choose you.”

  Reese buried his face in his arms and felt all of the weight of the past few weeks crash down on him like a brutal wave. If he’d been surfing, he might have paddled his way out of his mess, but all he could do was hold on to the life preserver his grandfather offered him and ride it out.

  He stayed for another hour or so talking to the old man and then got the details of his transfer from the night nurse. Grandpa would be moved to the rehab facility in the morning and would be there for a minimum of four weeks, depending on how his fracture healed. Reese was determined that Grandpa wouldn’t stay there a minute longer than necessary, and he began to think of all he needed to do to make the house more accessible for the old man.

  Reese went home and poured out all of the alcohol so he wouldn’t be tempted to drink himself stupid. He couldn’t hide from the pain, and he needed to do something, so he organized his workspace, went to sleep early. Before exhaustion pulled him under, he texted Toby the plan for the next evening.

  Be ready to work. We’re going to plow through this shit and get this story down. Everything has gone to hell, and the only thing that will make it better is music.

  Toby would understand. Toby would know what to do.

  WHEN HE woke the next morning, Reese made calls to contractors and got someone out that very day to take measurements for the planned addition. The guy gave him a reasonable estimate, and it seemed like they were on the same page, so Reese accepted the bid. He told the contractor it was a time-sensitive situation and he wanted it done as soon as possible. The guy seemed to accept the challenge and promised he’d have a whole team there the next day.

  Reese spent a few hours with Grandpa after he was settled into the new facility and got permission to bring a keyboard in so he could work with him daily. He liked the head nurse at the facility, and she and Grandpa hit it off well. Camilla even came to see him before Reese left that evening. She had definitely taken more than a professional liking to the old man, and that made Reese breathe a little easier. At
least he knew Grandpa was getting some attention from someone other than him. He’d worried about him going to rehab and being alone.

  That night he told Toby the short version of the story, and Toby was not pleased. “Hurricane Reese strikes again,” he said.

  They began a routine that consisted of Reese checking in with the contractor in the mornings, spending the day at the facility with Grandpa, and then nights with Toby in the garage. It was the only part of the house untouched by construction—that and his kitchen—but he had little interest in food. He hardly slept, which was fine by him. He hated going to bed without….

  The music had a new intensity as Reese played it over the next two weeks, and the tone of the story began to feel more impassioned and profound. Gone was the desire to portray an innocent love story on a high note. In its place, The Boy on the Corner developed into a heart-wrenching tale of a pure love robbed of a future by a society that didn’t approve. But he couldn’t get to the happily ever after no matter how hard he tried. How could he? He wasn’t complete, not in his heart. He longed for the man he couldn’t have and poured out that desire and anger in his story.

  Toby wisely took the hints when he tried to pry, and Grandpa also gave up trying to talk to him about Jude. Reese just couldn’t go there without tears, and he had to take care of everything, so he had no time to break down. He felt as if he were constantly a few steps from curling up in bed with Jude’s clothes and staying there until the pain went away or he was too weak to move.

  JUDE PASSED his final with flying colors and enrolled full-time in school for the next term. There was no reason to crawl toward his goal. He needed to provide for himself, so he got a job working from ten at night to seven in the morning at the rehab facility where Mr. Matheson was staying. He started late enough that he didn’t have to worry about running into Reese, and he could spend time with Mr. Matheson when he was mostly sleeping so he didn’t have to talk to him about Reese. Oh, the old man tried in the beginning, but Jude’s raised eyebrow put an end to that. Mr. Matheson mumbled something about them both being “stubborn as mules” and then let it go.

  Thanksgiving came and went, and Jude still hadn’t been over to speak to his aunt and uncle. He knew that once his parents returned in time for Christmas, he’d have to go there, but he was determined to steer clear until then. So he picked up his brother and sister from school each day and either rehearsed with them or took them out to eat—anything to spend time with them. Bailey was mostly quiet. He’d tried to apologize in the beginning, even asked after Reese, but again, Jude’s eyebrow shut him up.

  During the week Jude arranged a system where he crashed at Germaine’s during the day while she and Paolo were at work and the baby was in day care. When the baby had a fever, Jude offered to take care of him, and he never put the little guy down. His baby cousin was precious, a chubby brown angel whose eyes lit up when Jude held him. He realized just how desperately he wanted a family. He missed Reese so much the pain was tangible, but he was resigned to the fact that he was destined to be alone. It just wasn’t in the cards for him to have a family of his own, much less one with the man he loved.

  The weekends were a little more difficult. Kyla referred him to another facility where he picked up a few shifts during the day, but he had to sleep in his truck again overnight. He didn’t want to park anywhere near his friends or family, though. He couldn’t take another family discussion about him. And it was only temporary. He’d be able to rent a room somewhere soon.

  Jude spoke to his mother several times to find out when they were arriving and what the plan was. She felt terrible about what had happened, but Jude was done with discussing his relationship. His mother assured him that they’d bring Bailey and Brianna to live with them when they were back and settled, and there would be room for Jude as well.

  He thanked her, but there was no way he’d go back home. His father hadn’t spoken to him since he heard what happened at Tito Rommel’s, and Jude understood. His father would come around or he wouldn’t. But with his parents taking care of his siblings and their tuition, he could finally plan a life for himself. Alone.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  “DAMN, THAT sounds fantastic.”

  Toby clapped his hands as they completed a run-through of the musical together. They’d finished writing it two days earlier and had been playing it through the past two nights.

  “Thank you so much, Toby. You really helped me work this out. I’m grateful.”

  “You’ve created a thing of beauty, my friend.” Toby’s sad smile let Reese know that he understood just how bittersweet the situation was.

  “We’ve created a thing of beauty. You made it great. I couldn’t have done this without you.”

  Toby tried to play off the praise, but Reese was insistent. Toby had been with him through so many adversities. He was grateful he had his best friend at his side.

  As happy as he was, however, that they’d written the perfect ending, Reese was still without his happily ever after. He’d run into Jude twice at the rehab facility, and all they’d managed were awkward hellos. It killed Reese to walk away, but he didn’t know how to make it right.

  Kyla would work for him once Grandpa returned home, which the doctor assured him would be the week of Christmas. Kyla assured Reese that Jude was okay, that he was living at his aunt Germaine’s apartment and working full-time. She always seemed like she wanted to say more, but she refrained.

  The addition was scheduled to be finished in time for Grandpa’s release. Just one more week, and Reese would have him back. It couldn’t arrive soon enough. Reese wanted to wait until Grandpa was home to play the musical for him, but it was killing him to not be able to share it.

  Toby and Reese met with their agent, Arthur Frye, from Slade Artist Management, and they gave him recordings for the show to review. After just a sampling of the songs, he went bananas.

  “Do you boys know how friggin’ amazing this is?”

  “Yes,” Reese answered confidently. “Now it’s your job to get things moving.”

  “That could take some time,” Arthur backpedaled. “I’m not sure, in this current climate, ah… how well—”

  “Don’t fuck with me,” Reese said as he stood up. “This current climate is exactly why a musical about two boys falling in love needs to be made. We can’t go around being afraid. There are too many young people denying themselves a chance at happiness because of ignorance.”

  Toby and Arthur stared at him in horror.

  “What?” Reese shouted.

  Toby walked Reese over to his chair and handed him a tissue.

  “Well for one, I think Arthur’s a little shocked by your outburst, and two, your tears are a bit disconcerting. Let’s just take a breather. Arthur? Do you still have that whiskey?”

  “No. None of that. I’m not drinking, Toby.” Reese rubbed his hand over his face to wipe the tears away. They were completely unproductive.

  Toby sat back down and placed a hand on Reese’s arm. “I think we need to do a little guerilla work with this show. I have a plan, and it’s going to involve getting a little more exposure than you’re used to, Reese, but it’s important, nonetheless.”

  Reese listened carefully to Toby’s brilliant plan and tried to climb out of his Jude-less funk.

  JUDE HAD just wrapped up his day shift at the nursing home when Germaine called his cell.

  “You’ve got to put the TV on. Go to NBC.”

  Jude hurried into the break room and turned on the TV in the corner. He flicked through the channels until he found Ellen—and Reese’s handsome face.

  “Oh God.”

  On the screen was a scene Jude never wanted to relive—Jada and Reese arguing in front of the diner.

  “Reese, you should have told me. You should never have led me on.”

  “Jada, I know it’s hard for you to understand, but being pansexual means I’m not just going to choose one or the other. I loved you, I may love another woman or ano
ther man, and it doesn’t matter.” Reese looked so handsome that day, but the exhaustion showed clearly on his face.

  “So this thing with beep—”

  “Please keep his name out of it. He’s a good man who doesn’t deserve to have his reputation tarnished because of me.”

  Jada feigned heartbreak. Her overacting was just as good as any other reality-show diva Jude had ever seen.

  “It’s just hard to say goodbye, Reese, after what we had and knowing you’re going home with him.”

  The scene cut to Reese and Toby sitting on Ellen’s couch. Jude covered his mouth.

  “So, Reese, this was about two months ago, correct? And since then you’ve been—”

  “Working on the musical, yes. I’d originally planned to tell the story of how my grandfather met my grandmother, but then I decided there was a more important story to tell.”

  “So The Boy on the Corner is your new musical. Tell us what made you decide to change the story?”

  Reese linked his fingers together between his knees. “Love, I suppose. I fell in love, and we couldn’t be together because, well, a lot of reasons. But the bottom line is that there’s a large portion of our society that doesn’t understand, that isn’t willing to accept that love is love, and I want to show them that it is what it is. It’s beautiful, just like any love story. I want to start a conversation with this show. I want people to realize that when two people love each other, it goes beyond politics and religion.”

  Ellen smiled. “I think that’s a splendid idea. So when will the show open?”

  Toby and Reese smiled at each other. “Well, we’ve decided to produce the show ourselves and we’ll be holding a grand opening in time for Valentine’s Day,” Reese said, his mischievous smile plastered on. “We’ve started a crowdfunding page, and you can donate on our website. We’ve got some investors, including Blackened’s singer Danny Black and his lovely wife Jesse Martin-Black, who is one of the leading Broadway-style dance choreographers on the West Coast. She’s handling the choreography, and we’re already in preproduction. We wanted to share it with people now because we want them to send us their beautiful love stories. We want to honor all of those people who came before us who had to fight to be with the person they loved.”