She nodded, sending him a friendly smile. "And even better, he's free, so you can walk right in."
Out of habit, Rhett knocked anyway. Levar could be on the phone, having an important conversation. Or flirting with his boyfriend. Either way, he'd learned from experience it was better not to interrupt him.
But when he stuck his head around the corner, Levar looked up from his desk, then smiled. "Hey, gorgeous. How is your day going?"
Rhett came in and, with a sigh, plopped down onto Levar's extremely comfortable couch. So comfortable he'd actually fallen asleep once and almost spent the night in Levar's office. If not for a Secret Service agent doing a last check and accidentally waking him, he very well might have.
"Good. Took some great pics of the president and Calix working in the Oval Office."
Levar leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms above his head. "No disrespect, but it's hard to take bad photo of those two. They're quite the pair together. I know you have a thing for older men anyway, and you have to admit the president and the chief of staff are delicious." His brows scrunched together. "Do you think they ever hooked up? They met in college when they were both still single."
Rhett groaned. "Spare me the rest of that thought, would you? I have to look at them almost every day, and I don't need those particular images in my mind when I do."
Not that Levar had been wrong. The two men were very easy on the eyes. Calix especially, but maybe that was because he was single. Rhett had seen the president with his wife enough to make it feel somewhat inappropriate to admire his physique…gorgeous as it was.
Levar grinned. "Fair enough."
"I made risotto for tonight," Rhett said. If he didn't change the topic now, lord knew what Levar would come up with.
"Oh, yummy. Henley loves your risotto as well."
Rhett slowly shook his head, laughing. "You're saying that as if it's news to me. By now, I'm well aware of all your boyfriend's favorite foods, trust me."
Levar chuckled, but then he grew serious. "It's not too much for you, is it, him being around so often?"
"No," Rhett said immediately. "You know, I like him, and he's proven to be very respectful of our relationship and my quirks. Quirks being a charitable description for all my hang-ups."
Levar's face softened. "You don't have that many."
Rhett raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"You have a user manual. A concise but specific one."
Rhett loved him for that statement, testimony of how Levar saw him, even after all these years. He'd been nothing but supportive, always optimistic, having faith and trust in Rhett. Way more than he himself had.
"We'll go with that," he said. "But no, having Henley around doesn't bother me at all. He's great company, and I love talking to him."
A soft smile played on Levar's lips, and Rhett didn't even have to guess what, or rather, who had caused that. "He loves his new job. I'm so happy he switched, not just because we could be together, but especially for him."
"Yeah, the change in him is quite noticeable. And I'm glad that so far, your jobs haven't clashed. With him still working in investigative journalism, that was not guaranteed."
"No, but he's been very open with his editors about our relationship and the possible conflict of interest. They’ve been respectful of his boundaries. That's not to say he'll never cover national politics, but at least they've shown to be understanding. That's the best we can hope for."
"Anyway, I just wanted to pop in and ask what time you expect to be home."
Levar checked his watch. "It's gonna shock you, but I'm actually done for today. It's been a slow news day… Though now that I've said those words aloud, I've probably jinxed it."
Rhett laughed. "We'll take our chances. Does that mean we get to ride the MARC home together?"
"Indeed, it does. Lo and behold, miracles do still happen."
If going home on time was a miracle, what did that say about their priorities? Not that he mentioned that to Levar. Levar had a boyfriend. A life. Unlike Rhett. And on that depressing note, he walked out with his best friend. At least he had him, for however long it would last now that Henley was in the picture.
3
Calix sat on one of the yellow settees in the back of the room, watching Del patiently pose for photos with the Boston Red Sox, who had recently emerged victorious from the World Series. The players were laughing and cracking jokes with him as he smiled at the camera. Rhett was efficient as ever, taking picture after picture with only minimal instructions.
They'd set up in the Mural Room, as the Oval Office was not the most convenient location to receive a group this size. The official name was the Diplomatic Reception Room, but everyone called it the Mural Room because of the impressive panoramic wallpaper depicting several American landscapes, including Niagara Falls and Boston Harbor. Of course Del had stressed the latter when he'd read up on the White House's history. Fucker.
Rhett had set up two lights on either side of the fireplace, right beneath a painting of George Washington, which made for a nice background. The social secretary had commented to Calix how happy she was with Rhett, who apparently was much easier to work with than his predecessor under President Markinson.
Finally, everyone had gotten their picture taken, and with the last handshake for the coach and the owner, the president waved the team good-bye as they filed out of the room.
"I must admit these are the fun parts of this job," Del said when everyone was gone.
Calix chuckled. "You're only saying that because your team won. If it had been my Yankees, your smile wouldn't have been quite as big."
As a New Yorker, he would always support the Yankees, and even his lifelong friendship with Del, who was equally passionate about his Red Sox, hadn't changed that.
Rhett, who had taken down the two lights, snickered.
"I would've posed for photos with them," the president protested. "Not that they even came close to winning this year, just like last season…and the season before that."
"Yes, but you can't deny your joy wouldn’t have been as genuine," Calix teased him. He'd become quite experienced in ignoring barbs.
"I will neither confirm nor deny that statement."
And that was why Del had become president and Calix hadn't. He'd learned a lot about diplomacy, but he could never play the political game like Del could.
"Thank you, Rhett," the president said. "I'm sure the photos turned out great, as always."
"You're welcome, Mr. President. It's my honor, sir."
Calix smiled. Rhett was unfailingly polite and correct, which was a good trait to have in his job. In fact, he was much better at using the correct form of address than Calix, who more often than not forgot to tack on "Mr. President."
"Cal, I'm heading back to the Oval. I have a meeting in a few minutes."
"Congressional leadership, correct?"
The president rolled his eyes. "Yes. I'm very much looking forward to this, as you can imagine. If you get the chance, sit in for a bit, would you? You may be able to smooth some ruffled feathers."