Page 381 of Seasons of Love
Mal moved his hand to take the glass at the same time I did, and the inevitable happened.
“Oh, my god…crap…I’m so sorry,” I repeatedly said as if it would undo the fact that I’d just spilled a whole glass of cranberry-wine spritzer all over his lap.
I had a tea cloth next to the ice bucket, so I grabbed it and started patting his lap to absorb as much of the drink as possible before it soaked through.
“Ah…um…it’s okay, don’t worry,” he said, shifting in his seat.
“No, I’ll just clean it up a bit and—”
“Jake,” he said, placing his hand over mine. “Honestly, it’s okay.”
I stared into his dark-blue eyes, and then I felt it. He was hard. His breath hitched up a little, and he looked at Griff.
I moved back like I’d been burned and nearly tripped on a flowerpot.
“Way to go, Jakey,” Gabe said, laughing.
“I’ll um…go get the red wine. Uncle Frank, do you think those steaks are almost done?” I said, not waiting for the reply before I ran inside.
I went straight to the bathroom and washed my hands. My dick was straining against my jeans. All it would take for me to get some relief would be a handful of strokes, but it felt wrong to do it.
Mal and Griff were a couple. They were married to each other. I was not part of them, and I had no business feeling so out of sorts around them.
“Focus, Jake,” I said to the mirror. “Take a deep breath, go out there, and be the put-together person your uncle expects you to be.”
I listened to my own words and ran some water over my face before I went back outside with the bottle of red wine my uncle had picked to go with the steak.
Mal went inside to clean up just as I came out. It took everything in me not to follow him in.
“You were right, son. Those steaks are done,” my uncle said.
“Great, I’ll grab the salad.”
I went back into the kitchen, avoiding any kind of eye contact with Griff and hoping Mal took his time in the bathroom.
The rest of the lunch was a lot less awkward. I decided to focus on Gabe and keeping him busy, so he wouldn’t drink too much, while my uncle kept the conversation going with Mal and Griff.
I also tried not to take in any of the information they shared, but I couldn’t help being interested in Griff’s writing or Mal’s plans for the resort.
By the time they left, the shock of seeing them had worn off, even if I still felt strangely drawn to them. Mal had accepted my multiple apologies over spilling wine on him.
Luckily, he was wearing dark jeans, so once they dried out, any possible stains became invisible.
Gabe went straight back up to his room, so I made a cup of coffee for my uncle and took it to his office, approaching him with the practiced speech I’d been preparing for the last year.
“Hey, Uncle Frank, do you have a moment?” I said, placing the cup on his desk.
“Of course, son. What’s up?”
I loved my uncle. He was the father I’d never had and my role model. He’d raised me ever since my mom had left me behind with him and my aunt before she decided to go and get herself killed.
“I love working at the resort. In all the summers I’ve worked here, I’ve gotten to know the staff and how things work. With my MBA finishing, I’ve been considering my options for the future.”
My uncle nodded, taking a sip of the coffee.
“I’m incredibly proud of you, Jacob. You have a great work ethic, and I can’t remember the last time I saw you go out with your friends to party and enjoy yourself.”
I smiled. My uncle was the only person I knew that still called me Jacob, and Gabe, Gabriel. I once asked him why, and he simply shrugged and said those were our names.
