Page 229 of Seasons of Love
"Unless you're ready for round two, old man, I say we follow your suggestion," I said, pushing him away and running toward the bathroom. He was behind me not a second later, showing me that being older also meant he had a trick or two up his sleeve.
On our way to Porto, we decided to stop for lunch in Aveiro. I'd never been to the aptly named Venice of Portugal, but it didn't disappoint. After lunch, we walked along the canals and admired the colorful boats and houses that gave Aveiro its nickname.
Despite not being directly on the seafront, there was still a small breeze that kept us cool as we walked along the canal. I admired the colorful paintings on the sterns and bows of the gondola-style boats, which depicted scenes from old times.
The seaweed trade had died a long time ago, so the boats were mainly used for tourists to enjoy riding along the canal, and for a moment, I wished we had enough time for a ride.
"I want to help you look for him."
I stopped at Vítor's words, not just because they were unexpected since we hadn't talked about anything personal all day, but also because of the underlying assumption.
"Tiago, I haven't known you long, but I don't believe for a second that you haven't been looking for your brother since the day he ran away."
Once I recovered from his words, I told him about my failed attempts and the struggle with keeping the authorities on my side, especially after they found out I worked at a LGBTQ center.
"Until then, I'd been just one of many people looking for a loved one. Their lack of interest came from the slim chances of actually finding my brother. I made the mistake of asking a detective to meet me at work. We'd had this kid come in. He was in such a bad state, Isaac took him to hospital. I tried to rearrange my meeting with the detective, but he insisted it had to be that day, so I asked if he could stop by the center. After that, they were even less interested in helping me until Fred came along."
"Fred?"
"Frederico Mendes. I met him a few years ago. He actually came by the center to introduce himself. He didn't have a problem with me because he's gay himself. I don't know why, but he took a special interest in my brother's case, and he's been helping me since."
Vítor's face dropped, and I had to think for a moment what the reason could be for the sudden mood drop.
"We're just friends. He was really into Isaac before Max came along and hasn't had anyone since. Besides, he's not my type."
He pulled me into a small walkway between two buildings and pushed my back against the wall, caging me in with his arms.
"What is your type, Tiago?"
"Tall, older men with eyes as deep as the ocean and who can go for two rounds of sex before breakfast."
His laugh reached all the way inside my heart, and I pulled him closer so we were nose-to-nose, well, as much as we could be considering our height difference. He got the message and kissed me, a bone-melting kiss.
After that, we spent the rest of the car journey talking about Afonso and all the good memories I had of our childhood.
"This is us," he said as he approached a tall gate that opened as soon as we were close enough.
Inside the gate, there were trees on either side of the short driveway up to the house.
"It's weird, isn't it? The house is kind of back to front. The best parts are inside and the back. Dri designed it, and he always thought it was a waste to have the front of a house looking so grand and beautiful if no one ever enjoyed it."
"I am inclined to agree with him, but I'll reserve my judgment once I see the rest," I teased.
I grabbed my overnight bag and followed Vítor to the front door. He paused before he put the key in the lock and looked at me. There was uncertainty in his eyes. He looked so fragile in that split moment that I didn't want to make things any worse, so I spoke without touching him, even though I wanted nothing more than to offer some comfort or reassurance. Whatever he needed.
"Hey, I know we haven't talked about it, but I get it. If nothing else, we are at least friends, right? I'm not expecting anything, okay?"
He nodded and smiled. He'd given me more in the last twenty-four hours than I'd ever gotten from anyone else in my entire life. I felt such a connection with him that I wanted to crawl into his arms and live there forever. The reality was that even if the feeling was mutual, Vítor was clearly still grieving the loss of his husband, and I would never put myself in a position where I may end up hurting him.
Let's face it, how many other guys had been hurt because they tried to give me something and I couldn't give anything back? Maybe coming to Porto with Vítor was the reminder I needed to be careful with both our hearts.
If Vítor had frozen at the thought of bringing me to the home he'd shared with the love of his life, I froze as soon as I walked in behind him for a totally different reason. Because in the hallway hung a pencil drawing that was the carbon copy of the photo David had given me of his aunt and uncle, his mom, and Vítor.
13
VÍTOR
As soon as I opened the door, I excused myself to the bathroom, making a joke about old men's bladders and a long car journey. It hadn't been that long a drive from Aveiro, but I hoped Tiago wouldn't call me on my white lie.
