Hunger Unleashed

Chapter 77: Jean Broody vs. Bradley Jackson ~ When suppressed desires explode… A talk with Dad!

***

“Are you alright?” Briana asked.

“Sure. Why do you ask?”

“Your dad just told me to cheer you up,” Briana said. “He said you’re not happy because you’re worried about someone.”

“I’m okay,” Jean said quietly, reaching out to rub his father on the back. “I’m okay.” He repeated as he began to dance with Briana.

Jean wasn’t surprised at his father’s show of concern. He and his brothers always joked that Michael fussed over them more than Lucy did. Whenever any of them got upset, Michael would behave as if it was the end of the world. He recalled their first conversation about his relationship with Bradley for instance. His father had actually gone out of his way to come and see him in the hospital, to talk to him after his wife had told him everything. Jean would never forget the look on Michael’s face when he’d opened his office door and seen him. The two of them had stared at each other for a moment before he’d stepped back to allow Michael in.

“Did I have to hear that from your mother?” Michael had growled immediately after Jean closed the door.

“Sit down, dad.” Jean had murmured and waited until Michael sat down heavily in one of the couches in his huge office before he took the seat opposite the elderly man. He couldn’t help but notice how defeated his father looked. “Dad…”

“Why?” Michael had whispered with so much emotion Jean had groaned.

“I like him, Dad. I more than like him.” He’d shrugged. “I didn’t plan this. It just happened.”

“How can something like this just happen?” Michael had rasped. “Are you sure you’re not just experimenting?”

“No, Dad.”

“I’ll understand if you just want to have a feel of…”

“I don’t just want to have a feel of anything, Dad.” Jean had said patiently. “I want to be with him.”

“Everyone likes someone. And yet we don’t see them wanting to be with them.” Michael had snapped.

“I’m pretty sure I feel about him the same way you feel about mum.”

“Don’t you dare degrade what your mother and I have.” Michael had said sharply.

“Dad, I don’t want to lose my temper with you.” Jean had said quietly. Too quietly. His father had sat up straight and locked eyes with him. “I’ve never been in a relationship with anyone because I’ve never wanted to. I’ve never looked twice at another man because I love the female body. How do you think I felt when I started having feelings for a man? I fought it. Not because I grew up hearing my dad talk about how unnatural same-sex relations were, but because I found it…strange. You’re my father. You know me very well. And you know that nothing stops me from doing what I enjoy.

But this time, I tried to curb my urges. It didn’t work. I couldn’t suppress how I felt no matter how hard I tried. So I asked myself…why bother? Do it. Get it out of your system. I let myself go, and enjoyed it. Then…I got hooked. Bradley is beautiful inside and out. If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll admit that you saw that beauty inside when we came to the house on Christmas day. You’ve always been a good judge of character so I know you saw it. I see more, dad.” Jean had whispered. “He’s everything I want. He makes me feel big like a giant but at the same time, small like a baby who needs care. I love that.

Nobody knows what’s going to happen tomorrow or even in the next hour. All we have is the moment we’re in. We, therefore, have to live in the moment. And if it’s Bradley I need to make my moment joyful, it’s Bradley I’m going to be with. All I want is for my father, who I respect and love, to be happy that I have this. None of us thought I’d even get something like this. But I have. And I’m not going to let some silly views stand in the way of my happiness. Don’t stand in my way, dad. ‘Cause that won’t be fair to me.” He’d ended in a whisper.

Michael had stared at his son for a moment and then relaxed into his seat. “If that had been a business pitch, I’d have given you the job.” Michael had said. “But it’s not.” He sighed. “All this seem so unreal to me. Your mother claims you love the boy but you can’t even bring yourself to say you love him. I say it’s just a phase.”

“I’m still trying to get used to all this, dad.” Jean had murmured. “But trust me, I’m so into the man that I know my life, as you know it, will not be the same again if I lose him. It won’t be pretty.”

Panic flashed in Michael’s eyes briefly at Jean’s words. But he quickly covered it with a scowl. “You know, I blame Bradley. He turned you this way.” Michael growled.

“No, he…” Jean started to say but paused and allowed a smile to play around his lips despite the seriousness of the issue. “I guess he did.”

“Oh, he did. Your mother told me that his dad threw him out when he was a kid because he was gay. That asshole is to blame for all this. If he’d just befriended his son, kept a close eye on him, and directed him as a good father should, that boy would have snapped right out of it.”

Jean had stared at his father as if the man had suddenly sprouted horns. “Really, dad? I’m your friend. You’ve kept a close eye on me my entire life. You’ve never stopped directing me. Throw in some homophobic utterances. But all that didn’t stop me from…”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, have you met you?” Michael had squinted at Jean. “Out of all my sons, you’re the most stubborn. Listen, son, I get all that you’ve said.” Michael rubbed the back of his neck in a sign of frustration. “I’m happy you’ve found this connection. I just don’t like the sex of the person you found it with. It will take some getting used to. Can we do lunch tomorrow?”

“Sure.” Jean had nodded.

“Good.” Michael had gotten to his feet and started for the door. “You better call your mother.” He muttered as he opened the door. “Tell her I haven’t killed you…yet.” Then he was gone, leaving Jean with a bemused expression on his face.

That had been an unsettling first conversation between him and his father, Jean couldn’t help but think. He thought it was unsettling because it had left him feeling like he’d undergone an assessment and failed miserably. They’d had a series of conversations after that. Some of them had ended with Michael angry but others had ended with him more accepting. Of course, he still called to ask Jean whether he was the pitcher or the catcher.

He’d gone as far as getting Jean and his friend, Ralph, VIP tickets to a game between Los Angeles Chargers and Seattle Seahawks. Jean had taken the tickets and left without telling him what he wanted to know. He liked the relationship he had with his father and was grateful that unlike others, he had the love of his father and could count on the man to put his happiness first. If that wasn’t the actions of a caring father, he didn’t know what else was.

The dance floor was soon packed with guests, dancing as if they were in a competition. Everyone was obviously having so much fun. When it was announced that dinner was served, people were not ready to stop dancing. Who needed food when hot adrenalin was pumping through their bodies?