At least a few days a week he stayed at Simon’s. They fucked like crazy—on the couch, in the shower, wherever they could. There were some things Simon hadn’t done yet, namely give himself to Trevor, but Trevor didn’t push for it. That was something Simon hadn’t ever done, and it wasn’t as though he didn’t enjoy Simon fucking him.

His brother made it obvious he didn’t agree with how much time they spent together, but mostly he kept his mouth shut about it. Blake wanted to support Trevor. Trevor knew that. He just wasn’t sure how.

Rather than going out, they stayed at Simon’s the majority of the time. That didn’t bother Trevor. He would rather it be that way. He always felt rubbed raw when he went into town. People had their memories of him, most of them not so good. Sometimes he was simply reminded of all the things he’d thrown away in his past. That was hard, too.

And there were people there he’d done a lot of partying with as well.

It was Friday, July 3rd. Trevor just finished his meeting and pulled into Simon’s driveway when his phone rang. It was his mom. He hadn’t talked to her much in the past month, so he knew he had no choice except to answer. “Hello?”

“Trevor Anthony Dixon, are you avoiding me? I’ve been trying to get ahold of you for two weeks!” Her tone was light, but he knew there was seriousness mixed in there.

“I’m sorry, Mom. It’s been busy. We’re working long hours at Simon’s, trying to get it ready within the next four to six weeks. We have certain things we can’t be late on, or it makes the contractors we hired out run behind as well. Between that, my meetings and—”

“And Simon. You can say it, you know. Your brother told me you’re seeing him.”

Trevor held in a groan and dropped his head against the seat. “It’s not serious.” Though he wasn’t sure if that was true or not. It felt pretty serious to Trevor, even though they hadn’t said so. It was maybe the only thing that had ever felt serious to him except for his sobriety.

“Still, I’d love to meet him. I’ve never...” She’d never met someone that Trevor dated before. Probably because he hadn’t dated before. He’d partied and fucked. With Blake, at least she knew Jason. Family was important to her, and she always wanted them to know she supported them. But he also couldn’t imagine asking Simon to meet his mother. It felt too serious, and Simon wasn’t good with most people. He didn’t have family of his own.

“What about the Fourth of July Fair? Maybe he can go with you when we meet up there.”

Fuck. Trevor couldn’t hold back his groan this time. He’d forgotten about the fair. Or maybe he’d tried to because he knew his mom would want him to go. It was a tradition. They’d gone since he and Blake learned to walk. It was also the first place Trevor had taken a drink of alcohol. Everyone in town went, including people he wouldn’t want to see.

“You know what? Never mind. I don’t want to push you, okay? I’ll meet him when you’re ready. Or I won’t. You said it’s not serious and I need to respect that. Whatever you want, Trevor, okay?  If you don’t want to go to the fair, that’s all right too. Maybe we can have dinner sometime next week.”

The truth was, he knew his mom was serious. The last thing she would want was to put pressure on him. It wasn’t how she worked. And if she knew he was nervous about going to the fair, she would insist he stay home.

That’s the part that killed him. He’d missed so much from the age of sixteen until now. He didn’t do the things he used to with his mom or brother, and he wanted that back. Even if it wasn’t for himself, but for his mom. He should be able to go to a carnival with her. What kind of man couldn’t handle that? “Are you kidding me? Of course I’ll be there. Maybe I’ll even win you a teddy bear,” he teased, and she laughed. It felt a whole hell of a lot better to make his mom laugh than it did to make her cry.

“Are you sure?” she asked, but he could hear how much it meant to her. There hadn’t been enough happiness from Trevor to his mom, and he wanted to keep it there.

“Yeah, Mom, I’m sure. I don’t think Simon will be able to make it, but nothing could keep me away.”

***

Their evening was mostly quiet. Trevor was usually the one who started most of their conversations, and he hadn’t said much. They watched a movie. It was Simon’s turn to pick so it was a crime drama. The doctor did it, and Simon had been able to call it from the beginning. On Trevor’s nights to pick it was usually a comedy or an old horror.