To the Highest Bidder Go the Spoils

Chapter 6

He got up and went upstairs. He knocked on the door to the bedroom. When he didn't get a response, he opened the door. The room was dark except for the light coming from under the bathroom door. He heard the shower running so he sat on the edge of the bed and waited.

Gavin didn't usually deviate from his routine. Every afternoon when he came home he went to see if Zeke was in his office. If he was, he would sit and talk for a few minutes before getting a snack and doing his homework. If he wasn't, he would do the last part then talk to Zeke at dinner. But he hadn't done either of those things when he came home. Zeke was concerned.

The shower shut off. He heard Gavin puttering around in the bathroom before he opened the door. Steam rolled out before the man, and Zeke got a good look at him naked.

Gavin wasn't fat. Even before he'd been put on the diet Zeke had concocted with Anderson's approval, he had been very trim. Now that he was eating healthy on a regular basis, he was very lean. He was bigger than Zeke, but he was very proportionate. His shoulders were wider than the older man's by at least three or four inches, and his muscle content was a little more.

He eyeballed him like a hungry lion. Seeing him with only the towel made him want to rip it off and take him where he stood. But Gavin doing things that were out of the ordinary had sparked his interest and his concern. He wanted to know what was going on.

He waited until Gavin was dressed before he pulled him into his lap. Gavin looked down at him, brown eyes wide with questions. Zeke ran his fingers through his damp hair, watching as his curls bounced back to their original forms.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Gavin nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Dr. Reed just called to give me my results. I'm not diabetic yet. He said the diet I'm on has helped keep it at bay."

"That's good. I'll look everything over when he uploads it to your profile." The younger man nodded. "Did you talk to your friends about your birthday?"

"Davis said thank you for sparing his life. He didn't understand how crazy you are until he talked to Jetson about it. Jetson's dad is one of your security guards, so he already knew a bit about your erratic tendencies. He talked some sense into Davis before I even called."

"I'm glad someone has some sense." He patted Gavin's thigh. "Come on. Let's go eat dinner. Mrs. Morgan made pasta tonight. I figured you'd enjoy that."

Gavin stood without a word. Zeke frowned but schooled his face almost immediately. Something wasn't right. He'd known it when Gavin didn't come to the office, but it was more evident now that he was right in front of him.

He followed the younger man downstairs and watched him closely. He watched him sit down in his usual spot and take a drink of water. Mrs. Morgan brought his plate out and spoke to him quietly. He smiled at her with a word of thanks, but the smile didn't meet his eyes.

"When is your family landing?" Zeke asked.

Gavin sighed and looked at him. "They'll be here at seven Friday night. They've agreed to fly out early Monday morning so they can attend your event Sunday night."

"Who's coming? Everyone?" Gavin nodded. "I'll talk to Mrs. Roberts about cleaning up the two rooms down the hall. They can stay with us."

"But they've already booked their hotel rooms."

Zeke waved him off. "Nonsense. They're your family. They'll stay with us. I'll take care of the refunds."

Gavin only nodded at him again. Zeke bit the inside of his mouth to keep from cursing at him. He had never done it before, and he wasn't going to start now. But Gavin was keeping something from him. Something had happened between the time he went to the doctor and the time he came home. It was bad enough that he wasn't able to talk about it.