Weak in the Knees Ch. 03

Zach didn't want to have a huge party for Nadya when her first birthday came around, but he wanted to celebrate with those closest to them. So he invited his family, Kali's family, and a few of their friends, like Daniel and Brielle, though he really invited them for Brielle. And of course, Diego was invited to join too, since he spent so much time with Nadya and lived in the house. Zach commissioned a little princess dress in pink and purple for Nadya to wear, while he dressed up as a prince, though he told everyone else they could dress casually or business casual for the party.

The two things Zach sprung for was a cake, with a little smash cake for Nadya, and a photographer to capture the important moments. At one point, they had music playing and Nadya was on the ground crawling around when she grabbed Zach's pant leg and held out her arms to ask him to pick her up. He grabbed her hands to pull her upwards and then onto his hip where he danced around the room with her, making her giggle and smile at him.

"That sight always makes my ovaries want to burst," Brielle said to Zayne, Diego, and Brinxton as they watched Zach dance with his daughter.

Brinxton recoiled away from her jokingly, "Ew, not here! I just had this shirt pressed!"

Brielle stuck her tongue out at him while Zayne laughed and said, "Yeah, fatherhood really suits him. I'm pretty sure he would take a bullet for that little girl."

Diego, meanwhile, had been looking back and forth between Daniel and Brielle and the rest of the party, as if trying to decide what to do with information that might not be meant for mixed company. That's when it occurred to Brinxton that he may not know about Daniel's arrangement with his wife. Brinxton leaned into Zayne's ear conspiratorially and pointed this out to his love.

Zayne smirked and then looked over at Diego. "Oh, have you met Daniel and Brielle? Brielle is Brinxton's little sister, and Daniel is her husband."

"You're who corrals the tiny little mademoiselle every day, aren't you?" Brielle asked, and she also had a slight smirk on her face. "You know, Zach talks about you a lot."

Diego's eyes literally boggled briefly before he nodded and confirmed that he was, indeed, that person. "Zach talks about all things Nadya-adjacent quite frequently, so I'm not surprised. How did you two meet?"

"Oh, Daniel and I run in the same circles and eventually ran into each other," Brielle explained. "He asked me on a date, and I gave him a hard time for a bit before I said yes, and the rest is kind of history."

"AKA, they both come from money and she wants pretty babies," Zayne joked and Brielle laughed at that.

Brielle gave a wistful look and looked over at where Zach was with Nadya. "He won't ever be like that with any of his children, though. Maybe I married the wrong person in this group."

Brinxton smirked, mumbling to himself, "I could have told you that..."

Brielle chuckled at him. "I know, I know. One on one he can be so sweet and caring though." Then she remembered that Diego was there. "Oh dear, we probably look like we had an arranged marriage or something, don't we?"

Diego looked askance at her as he mumbled, "Or something."

Zayne snorted at that. "Brielle isn't the overly sentimental, romantic type. Her marriage is more practical. Out of curiosity, did Daniel try to pick you up in one of the clubs?"

Brielle turned her attention back to Diego, her eyes sparkling with what looked like humor. "Did he? Did he make a bad impression while doing so too?"

Diego snorted. "He did, on both counts."

Brielle chuckled. "He's very polarizing. Otherwise the guys love him or hate him. There doesn't seem to be a lot in between. I'm sorry he made a bad impression. I can admit he can be a real asshole sometimes."

"Did you tell Zach about him doing that?" Zayne asked.

"Are you trying to get my husband killed?" Brielle joked, causing Zayne to laugh.

"Zach was there," Diego responded. "He tried to pay for my drinks as an apology for Daniel's behavior but I didn't really feel like it was his responsibility."

Zayne and Brielle both looked at each other in surprise, like they couldn't believe that was all that happened. Finally, Brielle said, "I'm a little shocked my husband didn't end up laid on his ass, but..." She glanced at Zayne, who looked like he had some ideas as to why that didn't happen before she continued. "Well, Zach may not owe you the apology, but my husband likely won't give it. If you'd like though, your next night out with your friends at any of the gay clubs can be on us. In particular, Daniel. Just tell the bar it's on the Brielle Special. They know what that means."

Zayne smirked. "Of course they do."

"Hell, take Zach with you," Brielle added. "I'll just give him the cash straight from Daniel's account. Daniel will be annoyed but he won't fight me."

Diego laughed at the exchange and excused himself to check on Nadya. Zach was still holding her while she munched on a sweet roll. She gave a big toothy grin at Diego as he walked over to them. She hadn't quite gotten his name down, and had fallen back on calling him "Eggo" most of the time, which Zach thought was adorable. She tried to give part of her roll to Diego. She liked to feed her people.

"Careful," Zach warned him. "That roll might be a little soggy."

"They always are," Diego said as he took it with a smile and popped it into his mouth, much to Nadya's delight.

Nadya pulled off another piece and fed it to her dad, who was looking at Diego with a tight but amused smile before he accepted the piece of roll his daughter was offering him. "Mmmm, yummy. Thank you, sweetie," Zach said, though his face slightly betrayed the truth in that. Nadya didn't seem to mind though as she went back to chewing on the roll.

Zach gave Diego a sympathetic look. "You look like you're trying to wrap your head around ridiculous rich people shit and failing right now."

Diego smiled weakly, "Is it that obvious?"

"Not to everyone, no, but I recognize the look," Zach explained. "Kali had it on her face a lot. She called it 'Richie Rich Shenanigans', which really isn't a bad description of it. I know it can all seem a little out there for regular people."

"I've just never been exposed to this much unmitigated gall. How rich does someone have to be to not give a shit about social norms this much?" Diego asked quietly.

Zach gave an apologetic smile. "I think sometimes social norms are different depending on how much money you have. What is acceptable in High Society is different from what the middle class and the working class views as acceptable. Buying your way out of problems, for instance, is the norm in my world. I'm sure someone from the working class can't do that though.

"Morals differ depending on class too. Sometimes I think being part of the queer community, or being in an open relationship is more acceptable in lower classes, whereas in my society, it's highly frowned upon. That doesn't mean we don't push that envelope or anything, but it gets talked about a lot, you know? I get it's jarring though. Kali always said it was, especially when she was the one being gossiped about."

The look on Zach's face became sincere as he added, "You never have to socialize with us if it makes you uncomfortable. It's not part of your work responsibilities or anything."

Diego blushed a little and looked away briefly, subconsciously checking on Nadya as a distraction, "I don't mind. It just takes some getting used to."

"I promise, we're not all completely out of touch with reality," Zach said, shining one his characteristic smiles that seemed to light up the room. "Just most of us."

Diego smiled back. "That Daniel guy really needs a reality check, though. He's going to catch a case at some point."

Zach's eyes shifted over to where Daniel was, a frown furrowing his eyebrows. "Or a fist, yes. Though he's taken one of those to his face before and it hasn't changed him much. It was damn satisfying though. Luckily, he'll probably leave you alone knowing you have no interest in his shit. And once you finish your schooling, you can mostly leave people like Daniel behind, other than as parents of students."

Diego winced. "Not really. This country is growing an ever-widening divide between people in your position and people in mine and sticking closer to the rich is the best way to survive it, honestly. Whether I like it or not, even with my degree I will have to deal with the culture we find ourselves in, so it's best that I try to understand it."

"Ah, thus working for people in my position, then?" Zach asked with a raised eyebrow, but his lips were trying hard not to turn into a smirk.

Diego's face expressed his automatic internal response that he felt that the question was ridiculous and redundant before it dawned on him that Zach was playing with him. He playfully smacked Zach on the arm before pulling his hand back as if he had burned it and exclaimed an apology.

That caused Zach to finally laugh, his eyes twinkling with mirth. "You're only allowed to apologize if you hurt me. Either way, though, I'm glad you're still going to have to put up with my ilk if it means you'll still be around." Then he seemed to realize what he had just said before he added while stumbling over his words a little, "I mean...for Nadya's sake, obviously. We're...She's very attached to you."

Diego looked somewhat surprised by something that just occurred to him but before he could say anything about it, the uneaten remainder of Nadya's roll bounced off of his face accompanied by the most adorable giggle ever. He stooped to pick it up, smiling, and turned to pay attention to her. Nadya reached out, practically trying to jump out of her dad's arms to get into Diego's, who scooped her up before she could knock all three of them onto the ground.

The rest of the party went well, with Nadya covered in pink frosting later before Zach took her into the master bathroom where he got into some swim shorts before he jumped into the big tub with her to wash her off. She was tired by then, and fell asleep on her dad's chest in the bubbles and water. He carefully extracted them and got her dressed before he got her into her car seat so Nana and Papi Lennox could take her over to their house for the night so they could take her for a fun day out with the grandparents the next day.

Soon it was just Zach, his siblings, and friends still at the house cleaning up and having a few drinks. Zach really wanted Diego to stay downstairs with them and drink a little and chat, mostly so he could spend more time with him, but couldn't seem to work up the courage to ask him to when he gave the excuse of being tired and wanting to go to bed.

Zach watched Diego go up the stairs and then let out a sigh once he heard the door close upstairs.

Elias gave a chuckle and sat down next to Zach so he could put his arm around his friend. "You know, in the entire time I've known you, you have never been this unsure of yourself with anyone. It's like the moment you became sexually active, you've been this Casanova and could attract just about anyone you wanted to. I'm loving this."

Zach groaned and leaned his head back against Elias' arm and the back of the couch. "I know! I fucking hate it!"

"So much for the Casanova," Daniel laughed and Brielle smacked him on the arm.

"Just ask him out!" Zayne said. "What's the worst that could happen? He says no?"

"Or he files a sexual harassment suit," Daniel added.

Brinxton quipped, "Someone should file harassment charges against you for that suit, Daniel," with a sneer.

"I've never fucked an employee," Daniel pointed out.

"Neither have I!" Zach growled.

While the group was chatting and arguing, they didn't hear Diego's door open so he could go into the bathroom to clean up before bed, and their voices carried well into the second floor as they spoke.

"Not yet, anyway," Daniel added.

Zach glared at Daniel. "That's not really on my bucket list, Danny-boy. Even when I was fucking around, I was careful about it. I didn't make waves, didn't make the news, and kept my playtime discreet. I don't actually like making the news. It annoys me. I'd rather stay under the radar if I can help it. The things that I want in the news are my designs and buildings."

"It's also not all about fucking, either," Elias commented. "If Zach wants to get laid, he can do it. I commented on him being so unsure about himself because he's never done that before. I can't picture Zach being unsure and cautious about someone he just wants to fuck."

"L is for the way you look at me," Zayne sang, and Zach pushed him playfully.

Ignoring Daniel completely now, Zach looked at Zayne so he could answer his question. "No, the worst that could happen is that he gets uncomfortable with my attention and quits. Not only does that hurt Nadya, but I can't picture the house without him here..."

Zayne, Elias, and Brinxton all shared some looks before Zayne sang, "O is for the only one you see."

Diego paused in the upstairs hallway, listening despite himself. He wasn't sure what to make of the conversation at first, but he listened with renewed interest when he figured out that they were mostly talking about him. He heard Zach laugh and tell Zayne to shut up before Aspen spoke up.

"I'm surprised that you're taking an actual interest in someone," she admitted. "Not that I think you're incapable of it, but I kind of figured you'd keep your casual fun until like early thirties or something. It's cute."

Zach looked down at his hands, looking thoughtful. "I think it was Kali's doing, honestly. She got me thinking about what life looks like after the fun slows down a bit. She was always such a romantic. Sometimes I wish we'd had that romantic spark, but it just never happened. If I'm being honest, I think she's probably the last woman I plan to ever be with. I always connected with men romantically more, as we can see."

"I like Diego," Zayne commented. "He's capable of calming you in a way I haven't seen before. Everyone knows you tend to be an act-before-you-think type of person, which works sometimes but you need someone who can keep you level headed and thinking first."

"And Nadya adores him," Elias pointed out.

"And he obviously loves Nadya," Aspen added with a nod of her head.

Zach sighed at that. "Yeah, but we kind of talked a little about this and by the end of the conversation he practically ran out of the room after laughing uncomfortably and now I'm freaking out over not scaring him off. I mean, there's a ton about me to scare him off."

"That's true," Daniel said while Zayne added an incredulous, "Like what?!" at the same time. Zayne turned a glare on his ex for a moment, like he was warning him to keep his mouth shut and not to feed into Zach's growing insecurities.

"I'm a single dad, I just got diagnosed with a progressive disease, I'm bisexual, I'm known as a bit of a playboy, I'm his boss, and on top of all of that, I'm part of the entirely out-of-touch upper class in the hoity-toity High Society," Zach listed off while using his fingers as a visual aid. "It's a lot, and it's possible I'm missing something in that list."

Brinxton seemed to be counting along. "You forgot your great humility."

Zach gave him a wry smile. "Yeah, some men like my cocky attitude, but not down to earth ones."

"Okay, sure, let's say all of that is an issue," Zayne said.

"It likely is," Daniel agreed, and Zayne sent him a glare which made him shut up again.

Once Daniel was quiet, Zayne looked back at his brother and used his hands to represent a scale, with one side down with all of the negatives that Zach had said. "On one side, we have all of that, but let's consider the flip side. What do you have going for you when it comes to a partner? You're good looking, if I do say so myself." This got him the grin from Zach he was hoping for but then he continued. "I've heard from quite a few of your flings that you're amazing in bed, you're a smart businessman, you don't have to worry about money, you're an attentive and caring father who loves your child more than anything."

"You've loving, compassionate, and care about people," Elias added. "You're the type of person who has a ton of empathy and goes out of your way to try and donate and help in ways that actually get to the people."

"And you have a loving family who would welcome a partner with open arms," Aspen continued.

"You're a catch, Zach," Zayne concluded. "If Diego isn't interested, then that sucks, but you can move on."

"Oh, like you moved on?" Zach asked, and then immediately regretted it because a flash of hurt went over Zayne's face.

Zayne looked over at Brinxton. "That was different. That was an entire year of falling in love and ignoring..." He paused there for a moment, his face like a lightbulb going off. "Ah. I see. Already in the falling stage."

Diego flinched as if he had been caught snooping and retreated quietly to his room to think about what he had learned by accident. Zach, meanwhile, leaned back into the couch again, letting out a sigh. He hadn't really wanted to admit that out loud, but now it had been said so he wasn't going to argue.

"So what are you going to do?" Brielle asked him. "As I told Brinxton before, sitting around doesn't get anything done about the issue."

Zach shook his head. "I don't know. Try and gain the courage to ask him out? Wait for him to make a move if he wants to? Ignore it and pretend nothing is going on? There's so many choices."

Daniel snorted. "I never pegged you for a chicken shit before, Zachariah."

Brinxton snorted, "You've never pegged anyone before, you miserable little bottom. Hush now, the adults are talking."

Daniel looked positively shocked but Zayne immediately started laughing. Brielle just shook her head, showing she wasn't getting in the middle of this. She had a look, though, that said she might lean towards agreeing with her brother this time. Daniel huffed and got up to put his beer bottle in the trash.

Eventually their chatter turned to other things, and it was getting late so everyone got ready to go home or head to bed. Zach finished putting the trash out and when he came back inside, he heard Zayne and Brinxton's door shut behind them. Zach double checked that everything was cleaned up and in place before he went up the stairs and into the bathroom to wash his face and get ready for bed.

Diego laid awake for a while, ruminating over what he had heard and deciding how he felt about it. At first there had been a swell of excitement, a feeling that anything was possible. That quickly turned to fear that one misstep would ruin everything he had begun to build for himself here. By the time sleep took him, he hadn't arrived at any particular conclusions about what he wanted or if it was worth the risks involved.

The next day, Zach picked up Nadya and brought her home, where both Zach and Diego were dancing around their feelings for each other still. That led into the weekday, and Monday morning when Zach was getting ready for work, he heard Nadya wake up but couldn't hear Diego moving around at all.

Zach checked his phone for the time, surprised that Diego wasn't up yet. He normally was by the time Nadya got up in the morning. Zach went into Nadya's room and got her diaper changed and clothes on her for the day before he filled up a bottle and put her back in the crib for a moment with it so he could go and make sure Diego was okay.

He knocked a few times, but Diego didn't answer, so Zach cautiously opened the door to his room and looked in. The room was fairly well ordered and taken care of, and Diego was sleeping soundly in his bed. Zach turned on the light and stopped for a moment as he took in the sight of Diego with the blanket wrapped around him, his eyes closed and breathing even in sleep.