When The Rich Son Falls

Twenty Seven

“Mandy,” James breathed out as he recognized the voice, but Topher didn’t seem that concerned about it.

“She’ll probably go away in a minute or two,” Topher whispered, lowering himself once more; but before he could even lay a kiss, James pushed him off that made him land on his butt on the floor with a thud. Topher’s face crinkled in pain as he scowled up at James.

James, however, didn’t have time to nurse him back up since he was in a panic to get off the couch and button his pants. “You answer the door, and I’ll go clean up in the bathroom,” he commanded Topher in a whisper as he rushed to fluff up the pillows and make the couch look like no one had been doing any s****l acts on it just a minute ago.

“James?” They heard the doorbell ring once more, making James’s panic increase ten-fold.

“Go! Go!” James hissed at Topher, who was pushing himself up from the floor.

“Alright, geez,” Topher sighed in defeat, grabbing a pillow on the way to the door to cover his hard-on, while James ran into the bathroom.

“Hold on a second,” Topher begrudgingly called out as he hurriedly ran his fingers through his hair and fixed his shirt. As much as he liked Mandy as a person, he did not appreciate being cockblocked, even if it was by accident. Nevertheless, he took a deep breath, put on a smile, and opened the door.

“Hey there, Mandy bear!” he cheerfully greeted. “Sorry, I was uh, I was cleaning up something somewhere. Come on in.”

“Oh, no need,” Mandy shook her hand. “I just came by really quick because Linda wanted to give this to James.” She lifted up a brown paper bag with the word James written on it in big letters, using a marker. “Is he inside?”

“Oh, James? He is…” Topher looked behind him. The light in the bathroom was clearly on, and there was obviously someone moving around inside. Quickly thinking of an excuse, he looked back at Mandy with a regretful expression. “He is currently in the bathroom right now. To be honest, he’s been taking so long, I feel like he probably ate too much cheese or something.” He put a hand beside his mouth and whispered, “It’s like there are fireworks in there.”

Mandy covered her mouth, looking more concerned than disgusted. “I guess I won’t bother him anymore, then,” she thought out loud, and Topher nodded to encourage that thought.

“That’s probably for the best.”

“Can I bother you to take this in and say it’s from Linda?”

“It’s no bother,” Topher replied with a kind smile, getting the bag from Mandy. He didn’t look inside, but he could feel that it was a food container with something warm inside. He took a quick guess. “A casserole?”

“Yeah, she baked it for him especially because she knows that’s his favorite and she’s worried that he’s not taking care of himself, but James left early. Maybe because his tum-tum hurt.” She mentioned the last part in a whisper. “Anyway, Linda made sure to make more than usual when she learned that you’re staying with him.”

“That’s so nice of her,” Topher pouted, deeply touched. “And it’s still warm, too. Did you guys just finish?”

“Just for the night, yes. We’re going to put up the decorations tomorrow morning. You should come by, even though it’ll be done at the beach.”

Topher crinkled his nose to display his reluctance, making Mandy chuckle. “Yeah, I thought you wouldn’t like it; but, anyway, if you change your mind, you should at least come by when the festival starts in the afternoon. Lots of people are going to be there, and we have food stalls, dancing, singing, shows, even a firework display!”

“That actually sounds like one heck of a party. I’ll think about it, but no promises,” Topher honestly told her.

Just then, they heard the bathroom door open and out came James in a new set of clothes. It was obvious that he had been in a hurry, with his hair in a state of disarray, and with a part of his shirt improperly tucked in—a look that Topher admittedly made himself feel a sense of pride, knowing that he was the one that caused this lack of composure.

James went straight to the front door with an uneasy smile as he breathed out, “Mandy, hi,” and stood beside Topher.

Mandy greeted him back with a concerned look on her face. “Hey, how are you feeling? Do you need me to get you drinks with electrolytes or hydration salts?” she softly asked.

Topher could see the confusion beginning to form in James’s mind, so before the man could say anything, he decided to step in and fill him in. “For your tum-tum that hurts, which was why you were in the bathroom for so long and why you left early from Linda’s,” he explained with a meaningful look that James, thankfully, quickly understood and jumped in on.

“Right, my stomach, yes,” he sheepishly muttered. To Mandy, he replied, “No, I’m good. I just—yeah, no, I’m good.” Upon noticing the bag that Topher was holding, his eyes lit up as he took it and peeked at what was inside. “Is this Linda’s casserole?” he excitedly asked.

“Yup. We just finished so everyone’s packing up for the night. I went ahead so I could deliver this while it’s still hot.”

“Are there still people at Linda’s? I forgot I have to bring some of the stuff for the fundraiser there.”

“Yeah. You know the drill,” Mandy fondly said, “they’re probably going to stay there until late to help clean up and then hang out to talk about stuff.”

“Great. Can you hang on just for one second? I’ll be out in a jiff,” James said in a hurry to Mandy, before rushing into his room. Less than twenty seconds later, he was out with a box in his arms.

“Uh, where are you going?” Topher spoke up when he saw him putting on his shoes.

“Linda’s. To drop off some stuff for tomorrow,” James replied as he picked up the box and carried it out the door. “I’ll also walk Mandy home along the way.”

“See you tomorrow,” Mandy said with a wave goodbye towards Topher. “Be sure to drop by the festival, okay?”

“Okay,” Topher replied with a smile and a wave to reciprocate; but once Mandy turned around to walk to the sidewalk, he turned to James and whispered, “I’m coming with you.”

“What? No, there’s no need to come with us,” James said, sounding like he was trying too hard to keep him from going. “Just… just stay here.”

“But…” Topher protested with his shoes already in his hands.

“We’ll, uh,” James glanced at Mandy, who was already out of earshot. “We’ll talk later. Don’t forget to lock the door,” was all he said before he hurriedly walked away.

Topher stood there and watched them leave, feeling slightly confused but more betrayed that he was being commanded to stay in the house—alone and with nothing to do once again.