Josh’s hand pulled away. “I do have wet dreams sometimes. They don’t count.”
This raised Steve’s eyebrows. “Wow, I haven’t had one of those in a long time. Who’s in it?” He shouldn’t have asked, but he did anyway.
Josh’s eyes dropped. “You are.”
“Me?” No way. Josh didn’t invite him, not even on a Tuesday. He slapped himself on the thigh and hit the burn by mistake. He winced. “That’s got to be the worst. I lost out to another guy, and it was me.”
“Sorry. I thought you’d take it as a compliment. This is such a long light. Look at all the cars whirling by. It’s like a dance.”
There was something that wasn’t right about this for Steve. “Are you telling me you need to wash your hair? You are. Aren’t you? That’s what this is all about. Isn’t it?”
“My hair?” Josh twirled it. “What does it have to do with my hair?” Josh’s dark eyes bored into him.
“It’s an expression from the movies back in the day, an excuse, a way to tell a guy to take a hike without telling him to take a hike.” He’d watched too many movies with Genie.
Josh’s hand dropped from his hair and bounced on his lap. “Why would I go through all this trouble not to see you, when I could just not see you? Why are you so insecure? You have all the power in this decision, and I have none.” His hand went back up and pulled a strand tight.
Steve’s scalp hurt in sympathy. He winced, but mostly from Josh’s accusation. “You’re right. I guess I’m off my game. I haven’t been the same since you gave me that love note.” Palm turned up.
Josh cringed. “So, what are you going to do? You don’t have to tell me. You can just turn around and take me home. It’s alright.”
Do? He didn’t even know what to think. This had never happened to him before. Whoever heard of a curse? Was it real? It couldn’t be. “You really believe this curse thing?”
Josh dropped his hand. “Not so much with my head, but how I feel, it’s all I’ve ever known. I’m afraid to question it forty feet in the air. I have to stay focused up there.”
The light turned green. Steve pressed on the gas. In his own way, he kind of understood. “I get it.”
Josh’s eyes looked wide at him. “You do?”
The car picked up speed well over the limit. He lightened up. “What you said, it’s kind of how I feel about you. It doesn’t make sense, but it’s there.” He guessed he could go for week. He’d done more than that already. At least Tuesday was something. He couldn’t imagine going forever without Josh.
“Tuesdays come around fast. You’ll see. It’s only five days from now.” Josh smiled at him.
Five days? Seemed like a long time. “Just one thing.” He tapped on the brake. “Don’t take this wrong. It’s intended to help, not to judge. I want you to see a psychiatrist if you haven’t already.”
Josh didn’t hesitate. “Someone else suggested it too. I think it’s a good idea.”
“Let’s try then.” He turned a corner and smiled at Josh. “We’re on for Tuesday?”
Josh’s eyes glistened. “We can try. I’m okay with trying for now, but I want more than that. However it turns out, I want a decision.” He twirled his hair “Yes or no, no yellow lights, I’m not interested in sharing you during the week.”
The look in Josh’s eyes killed him. “Maybe Tuesdays are enough.” Steve had his doubts, but he said it anyway.
Josh tilted his head to the side. “It is to me, but you’re not very convincing.”
Steve caught the green light on another intersection. “Maybe the psychiatrist has a pill.”
“Maybe, and if he doesn’t?” Josh stared out the passenger window.
“Maybe you’ll quit the trapeze. It’s dangerous, even without a curse.”
“And what will I do?” Josh’s face came back in full view questioning.
“You could do a lot of things. Go to school if you have to.” He pulled into a turn lane.
“It’s too soon for that. I love the trapeze, and I help my uncle. I couldn’t if I quit.”
He waited for oncoming traffic before the turn. “You didn’t answer my question about Tuesday. Is it a date?”
Josh’s eyes met his. “Yes.”
“Sweet.” He turned down a residential street.
Josh beamed. “Then you’re okay with it?”
He made another turn on a side street. “Everything will sort itself out.”
“I hope so.” Josh’s hand brushed his arm.
Steve pulled into the driveway. “We’re here.”
Josh opened the passenger door, but before he got out, he looked Steve’s way. “I don’t want to see any more houses.”
Steve’s hand was on the inside lever for the trunk, and he pulled it. “Okay. This will be it.” He got out and walked to the back of the car. The trunk had opened. Beach towels were under for-sale signs. He pulled out the blue striped one and tossed it.
The towel landed on Josh’s head. “What’s this for?”
“We’re taking a dip.”
“Why did you pick a house with a pool, when you know I don’t want one?”
“It’s hot. I need a swim.”
Chapter 18
When Josh entered the dimly lit house, it was furnished with nothing but air, hotter than the heatwave outside. Nearly a hundred degrees at midnight, the room closed in on him.
“What made you want to stop looking?” Steve asked.
He ignored the question. “Why is it so hot in here?”
Steve pointed to a cracked window. “The owner doesn’t want the air turned on. You don’t want a house?”
“I read it’s risky to sink all your assets in one investment. I might be better off with something diversified, like a mutual fund or real estate investment trust.”
“Okay, time for a swim.”
Steve stood too close and stared at him. Josh’s eyes shifted to a sliding glass door, which lead to the patio. A blue light reflected on the backyard wall, and a lighting fixture in the pool illuminated the water. Azure ripples shimmered on the surface.
Steve walked to the door and slid it open. A warm breeze brushed Josh’s face. He followed Steve outside and slipped off a sandal. A toe dipped in the water. It was icy from recent winter, and the shock drove him back. The chill made a sharp contrast against the sultry air. One thing was certain, he wouldn’t have to worry about the curse in there. “I don’t have a suit.”
He turned around, and behind him Steve stood naked.
“It’s okay. It’s private.” Steve dived and surfaced quick. “Whoa! I really do have blue balls now.” Steve’s feet made pirouettes under water. Tiptoes lifted his shoulders above the surface until he settled into it. “Come on.” Steve invited him in with a wave.
Josh’s shorts dropped, and the T-shirt came over his head. He hung them next to Steve’s on the fence and went to the steps. Steve swam over to him in the shallow end and smirked. Josh’s feet made the first step. When Steve rose from the water, with the light glistening on his chest, the response for Josh was instant and involuntary, a rush and a rise. He had no time to wait and jumped in. Freezing. Problem solved. He swam to warm up, one lap, flip then another, flip and another.
When he could feel his limbs again, he sat on the steps, waist deep beside Steve. Josh’s eyes rested on him, and Steve’s weighed heavy in return. Josh knew his own thoughts and had a pretty good idea of what Steve was thinking too.
Wet hair twirled on Josh’s finger. “Would we be friends, if we didn’t have, you know, chemistry?”
“What do you mean?” Steve leaned his elbow on the pool deck and put his chin in his hand. His brow furrowed and eyes focused. The pupils spread wide open, beckoning to Josh. Those black wells drew him in.
“Are we compatible?” Josh asked. “Do I really know you? What do we have in common?”
“Let’s find out.” Steve leaned in. “What do you like?”
“Okay.” He could play this game. “Well, I l
ike to fly. The trapeze, hang gliding, sky diving, any kind of soaring.”
“And I like watching you do it.”
“You won’t go with me?”
“I’m not too good with heights, but I’ll be there to catch you.” Steve’s heavy guns extended outward.
A picture flashed in Josh’s mind of Steve cradling him in those arms after saving him from a fall, and something inside him melted. “What do you like?”
“Uh, the movies, especially some of the old ones and Bond.”
“I like movies.” He paused for thought. “I like my bike.”
“I still have the dirt bike I had as a kid. Let’s go for a ride.”
“When?” Josh asked.
“Let’s do it this week.”
“But when? I go at dawn sometimes.”
“I’m asleep then.” Steve’s hand dropped from where his chin had rested on it. His arm fell against Josh’s along the pool ledge. Steve’s fingers brushed Josh’s wrist. “When do you work out?” Steve asked.
“In the middle of the night.” Josh’s arm soaked up Steve’s warmth. “When do you?”
“Usually before the show. It accentuates my muscles. I could do it another time. Let’s go together.”
Drops of water ran down Steve’s chest. They called to Josh’s mind the path his fingers took on that first night. They flowed through the narrow valley between Steve’s pecs, down the gullied abs, and along those subtle veins, which peaked above the tight skin on the tummy below the navel, where a little line of hairs began. These minor embankments channeled the droplets on their descent, just as on that first night they’d led Josh’s touch to the treasure at the end of the trail. Steve seemed to want to work out with him. Their schedules might prevent it, as well as the curse.
“Do you like skiing?” Steve asked.
Thank God, he changed the subject. “In school back in Quebec, I skied cross country.”
“I played football.”
“Hockey’s better.”
“It’s okay.” Steve didn’t sound like a fan. “I want to see the world.”
“I have. My show took me almost everywhere before Las Vegas.”
“Do you like it here?”
“Yes.”
Josh’s heart sped up as Steve’s hand lifted toward him. It caressed his cheek and pinched his chin.
Steve’s fingers held there for a moment. “I like this.” Once said, the hand dropped in the water.
“And what’s inside?” Josh asked.
“Huh?”
This wasn’t a difficult question he’d posed to Steve. “What about my personality?”
“What’s not to like. How about mine?” Steve asked.
“You’ve got one.” He shouldn’t have said it like that.
“And?” Steve asked.
“It’s a little childish sometimes but endearing. Fun-loving, there’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Well at least I have one.” The smirk on Steve’s face belied a laugh.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” This wasn’t funny.
“I love your personality, when I get to see it.” Steve lifted his palms in the air and shrugged. “You’re kind of distant sometimes.”
“I guess I’ve heard that before.” He had indeed.
“Let it out. Why not?” Steve gave him a little slug on the arm. “I want to see it. On the other hand, I kind of like that mystery thing you’ve got going. It’s really hot sometimes.”
The pool light on the deep-end wall caught Josh’s eye. So bright, when he looked away from it, purple spots floated in front of him. “I like how you always show your feelings.” And Steve really did. It brought a smile to Josh’s face. “When we ran into each other that second time, you were mad at me. But you got past it. You stood by me when I was distant. You cared about me more than sex. These are things I like about you most.”
“Well, there’s nothing wrong with sex. It was good. Wasn’t it? That time?”
Embarrassment held Josh’s tongue, and purple splotches hung in the air.
Steve looked concerned. “Something the matter?”
In Josh’s mind, it was perfect, but he didn’t want to say that. “Nothing a little training couldn’t fix.”
“I thought you liked it.”
“I didn’t say I didn’t.”
“I know you did.” Steve got a devilish smile.
There was one concern. He wanted to ask why Steve avoided penetration that night. It was just Josh’s finger, but if Steve brushed it away, this didn’t bode well for anything else for Josh. He shouldn’t have to ask Steve about this expectation, but maybe he needed to.
He could have brought it up earlier, but the curse distracted him. Maybe it wasn’t too late to talk about it. Not now though, it seemed so clinical and technical. The mood wasn’t right. Another time might be better.
In Josh’s recollection, they all rolled over eventually. They had for him, anyway, no matter what they might have said about it beforehand. Not that he thought Steve would lie to him. But was he prepared for Steve’s answer? Too soon to worry.
A chill ran up Josh’s spine. He pushed off the pool steps and swam a lap to warm himself. Instead, he simply could have gotten out, but the cold water protected him. It squelched his desire and its manifestations.
Steve got out and jumped in again, hooting. A wave from a cannonball exploded in the water and washed over Josh’s back as he swam. Steve did it again, too much noise for this hour. And he did it again, such a child. Shout. Splash.
Just as Josh’s mouth opened to take a breath, the bomb went off. A wave crashed over his head. In the bubbles for a moment, tentacles reached up from the bottom of the pool. Maybe just the hoses from the filter, his imagination, but the nightmare flashed back. He choked.
Coughing under water, he took it in. Unable to call for help or raise his head above the surface, his heart shouted for air and pounded against his ribs to get out. Then a broad hand crossed his face. A great arm followed it and wrapped around his chest. It pulled him to shallows.
Above the water, he hacked, and it poured out, splattering in all directions from his mouth. He took in air as Steve stood by him and slapped his back, while Steve’s arm held his chest.
When Josh could breathe without a cough and stood on his own, Steve released the grip and stepped in front of him with a startled face, an expression Josh had never seen on Steve before. The usual lift to the cheek and outer corners of the mouth and eyes had fallen. Though a simple thing, this and the wet hair clinging to Steve’s forehead made such a difference. His appearance was hardly recognizable, which surprised Josh, who stared at Steve’s face as Steve stared at him.
Then Steve’s lips were next to his and joined in a kiss, as Steve’s hands held his jaws. The lapping water, no longer cold against Josh’s belly and back, he closed his eyes and bathed in a tropical sea, the air heavy with the scent of salt.
But what was that flash? Lightening from dark clouds on the horizon? It shone even through his closed eyelids. The inside of them, appearing black before, now lit red from a bright light shining through them. When he opened his eyes, the light blinded him.
“What are you guys doing here? We got a call. Noise. Someone drowning. This house is vacant. Why are you here?” Two police officers, a man and a woman stood by the pool.
Josh could barely make them out with the flashlight in his eyes. The beam followed him wherever he turned.
“I’m a realtor.” Steve spoke up. “My friend swallowed some water and choked. He’s okay now. I’m showing the house.”
“That’s not all your showing, Mr.,” the female officer said.
Steve stepped behind him, and it dawned on Josh that he, too, was naked. He covered himself with his hand, what was left to cover. The extreme cold, near drowning, and now fear of arrest left his poor penis miniscule, but he covered it anyway.
“Where’s your ID,” the male officer asked.
Steve pointed to his pants hanging o
n the fence. “Would you mind throwing me that towel?” Steve pointed to it on the patio chair.
“Don’t get out. Stay where you are. Don’t move.” The officer lowered the light and his hand was on the holster. Then he shined it in Josh’s eyes again.
Blinded, he froze and couldn’t understand why Steve chuckled behind him. Surprises were not Josh’s thing, especially when naked and cold. He backed up closer to Steve, whose arm draped on his shoulder and calmed his shivering.
The female officer stayed by the pool and shined the flashlight at his chest instead of his eyes, while the other officer went to the clothes on the fence and pulled out the wallets and the driver’s licenses. He typed information on a mobile device and stared at the screen. It seemed like forever. The device beeped oddly, like it tried to speak. Steve laughed, but it aggravated Josh’s nerves.
“All clear.” The officer joined his partner. “Let’s book them, disturbing the peace.”
“He just swallowed some water,” she said. “It was an accident.”
“What about the noise?”
A nervous laugh came from Steve behind the chattering teeth in Josh’s head.
“They weren’t making any when we got here,” she said.
“Lewd and lascivious behavior, let’s book them for that.” The male officer muffled a laugh.
“Come on. Let’s go,” she said. “I’m telling your husband you gave these guys a hard time.”
The officers chatted inaudibly, glanced back, and had a good chuckle as they left. Josh climbed out of the pool. The hot air calmed his shivers, and he grabbed a towel. Steve held him, which he welcomed until he stopped shaking. Not long. Then too long in Steve’s arms for a Thursday, he shook himself free, got dressed, and checked his wallet. He turned to Steve. “I want to go home.”
“Aren’t you hungry?” Steve asked.
He was, now that Steve mentioned it. His gut gnawed at him. Famished, he hadn’t noticed. It must have been all the excitement. “I’m hungry and exhausted. I don’t know which more.”
Steve took his hand and led him to the car. He put him in the passenger seat, walked around the other side, got in, and started the engine. The house pulled away, but the purple spots, remaining from the pool light or the flashlights, followed Josh before they faded. “Where are we going?”
The Curse of Flight Page 9
