by Geneva Vand
"Oh, honey. Oh, dear."
"I know," Jason groaned.
"You've got it bad."
"I know."
"Also, you're a stalker."
"Shit, Rina."
"Well, you are."
Jason banged his head on his knees repeatedly. "I swear it's not intentional. It just keeps happening." He lifted his head to find himself the focus of a frowning stare. "What? It's not." A car door slammed outside, followed by children laughing and the deeper rumble of a man's voice. They both looked toward the door, smiling at the sound of happy kids.
Jason shook his head, relieved. He bounced up off the couch. "Oh gee. I think Mark and the kids are home. I'm sure dinner needs to be taken out of the oven. You usually time that perfectly, after all."
She shook her finger at him. "Don't think you're getting off that easy, buster. Flattery will not save you from further interrogation."
"No, but small children will."
"Uncle Jas'n!"
"Uncle Jase!"
He grinned at Rina and caught the two little boys. "You guys ready for dinner?" The babble started immediately, and he waggled his eyebrows at his cousin before he escaped into the kitchen. Saved by wild miniature humans. The topic would no doubt come up again, but maybe by then he could honestly say he'd at least gotten Panther's name.
Jason leaned back in the creaky old pub chair and exhaled hard. The only thing he had expected when he had agreed to meet Mark at the bar was an hour or two hanging out before they met up with Rina and the boys. He hadn't had much one-on-one time with his cousin in a while, even though he'd been over for dinner twice last week, and he'd been looking forward to spending some time with him.
Then he had looked across the room and seen Panther out with a group of friends. And then Panther had grabbed one of those friends and drug her out onto the tiny dancefloor.
Holy. Shit. Panther could dance.
His world was never going to be the same. Not after seeing that. Jason had never fantasized about ballroom dancing before, but it was now on his list. Was that a waltz? Why the hell was a waltz erotic? Damn, Panther was pretty. He moved like molten sex.
Jason was jolted out of his admiration when his new beer thumped him on the shoulder. He looked over at Mark and stared at him with wide eyes.
Mark tilted his head and looked at him inquiringly. "What's up with you?"
Jason took his beer and waved vaguely in Stalker Panther's direction. "I have no words. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to return to my blatant staring."
Jason shamelessly did just that. After all, Panther dancing was the most gorgeous thing he'd seen all week. Maybe all year. Possibly even in his entire life.
Mark sat down next to him again and sipped his beer. "Who are we staring at? The dude dancing with the red-head?"
"Mmmm-hmm."
"I suppose he's nice enough. Too male for my taste though." Mark's eyes narrowed. "She's hot."
"Mmm. You know that guy I told Rina about?"
"You mean the one that she probably wasn't supposed to tell me about that you're apparently stalking?" Mark asked sarcastically.
"Yeah. That one."
"What about him?"
Jason nodded toward Panther, who was leading his dance partner back to their table. "That's him."
Mark barked out a startled laugh. "Wow. You really are."
"I swear I'm not." Jason was distracted again when Panther tossed his head back laughing. He could just barely hear the sound ring out over the din of the pub. It was joyful and bubbling and inspired a lovely fantasy about grabbing that happy face and kissing the fuck out of those grinning lips.
"Man, Rina was right. You've got it bad."
Jason jolted himself back out of the fantasy and sighed. "I know."
"You going to go over and introduce yourself or what?" Mark asked.
Jason looked at his phone, checking the time, and groaned. "No time, man. Rina and the boys are meeting us at the pizza place, remember?"
Mark raised an eyebrow. "You know as well as I do that Rina would be cheering you on right now. She won't mind if you're late."
Jason snorted. "Yeah, but do you want to explain to the boys why I'm missing the special good-report-card pizza?"
"Shit. Yeah, no. Sorry, Jason. No crush in the world is worth that much guilt." Mark tipped his bottle toward Jason. "Maybe you'll finally introduce yourselves someday, fall madly in love, and become a terrible cliché. You could laugh about this in your joint old age."
Jason just stared.
Mark shrugged and downed the last of his beer. "Hey, stranger things have happened."
"And fairies will dance through the streets throwing sugar plums." He contemplated blank space for a moment then scraped his chair back and stood. "I think I need another drink."
Mark laughed quietly. "If you don't have time to introduce yourself to your man over there, you don't have time for another drink." He glanced at his watch. "C'mon. We need to head out if we're going to be on time." Mark stood and headed for the hostess stand by the door to close their bill.
Jason sighed, grabbing his jacket and trailing after Mark. He looked over his shoulder to find Panther watching him. He smiled at the other man and waved, cursing the timing. He just couldn't catch a break with this guy.
It had been a week since Aiden had seen Hot Guy at the bar. He was still dwelling on the way Hot Guy had just smiled at him and walked out with his friend. Date? Crap.
It shouldn't be a big deal. But Aiden hadn't seen Hot Guy since. A whole week without a Hot Guy sighting. It was a new record. He wasn't sure how he felt about it. He should be glad, right? A whole week without accidentally stalking someone or embarrassing himself should be a good thing. Right?
Aiden sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets, staring grumpily around his cousin's apartment.
Meanwhile, Sean ran in a seemingly random set of circles through the living room and kitchen, stuffing a wide assortment of last-minute items into a canvas tote. Aiden figured the tote must be Jamie's. Neon pink and blue plaid didn't seem quite Sean's style. He was more of a neon green and black guy.
"You're sure you don't mind taking care of him, Aiden?" Sean skidded to a stop in front of Aiden and frowned.
Aiden patted Sean gently on the shoulder, making sure to smile instead of keeping whatever facial expression had alarmed him. The man did not need more stress. "I'm sure, Sean."
"We'll be gone at least a week, probably two. We're not sure when her sister and the baby will be out of the hospital."
"You've told me that at least five times. Give me his stuff, give me your key just in case, and get out of here. Your wife's waiting for you downstairs."
Aiden's cousin flipped him off, then picked up a giant bag of dog food and shoved it into his stomach. "Give him the amount printed on the side of the bag for 70-pound dogs. That's actually how much he eats. If you have to buy more, you can get it at the grocery store and I'll pay you back." Sean pointed to a pile of dog paraphernalia on top of a dog bed in the living room. "That's the rest of his stuff. Do you want help carrying it downstairs?"
Aiden blinked at the pile. There were bowls, towels, and a weird looking assortment of toys. Was that a blanket? And he'd thought kids needed a lot of stuff. "No. You're already late. I should be able to get it in a couple dozen trips. It'll be fine." He let the dog food thump to the ground and grabbed Sean in a quick hug. "Now get out of here. Go take care of people. I promise not to kill your dog."
Sean grumbled at him then ran out the door, leaving Aiden alone in the apartment. He sighed and picked up the dog food again. Might as well get started.
It took him twenty minutes and three trips up and down in the elevator to get everything in the car. All that was left now was the dog. Sean had locked Loki in the bedroom so he didn't get stepped on or let out during the chaos of car loading.
Back up in the apartment, he closed the front door and did one last check to be sure that he really had grabbed everyt
hing. He went over to the bedroom door and stood for a moment, battling a mild sense of dread. Sean had told stories about the dog. It was excessively obvious why they'd named him Loki.
Aiden opened the door and crouched down to call the dog. He immediately found his arms full of a happy, wiggling, wagging one-year old black lab mix. Well, that wasn't so bad. His sputtered laughs only seemed to encourage the pup, who bounced up to cover his face in dog spit. After getting acquainted, Aiden hooked the leash onto Loki's collar, locked up, and headed out.
The elevator must have been extremely interesting to dog senses. Aiden spent the short ride watching the dog spin in circles trying to sniff everything. Maybe Sean usually took him down the stairs? The elevator was carpeted. Maybe they'd had an accident. Hmm. Stairs it was from now on. Well, when it was reasonable.
Once they made it outside, Loki bounded into the car and spent the whole of the drive to Aiden's apartment sniffing everything within reach, still, and trying to stick his head out the window. The latter only resulted in nose prints and slobber all over the glass, since the window was only open a few inches. The dog was a dork.
Aiden parked at the curb in the reserved loading zone, got a firm hold on the leash, and popped open the door.
When Aiden was about halfway out of the car, Loki apparently decided he would like to get out of the car first. As quickly as possible. While using Aiden as a launch pad.
Loki bounded out of the car with a gleeful bark and Aiden landed on the pavement with a startled shout. His right leg slid under the car in one direction and the dog tried to take off in the other direction. Aiden had a brief moment to decide that this might be what being drawn and quartered must have felt like before one last strong tug from Loki had the leash jerking out of his hand.
Aiden let out a string of curses that had passersby frowning and dragged himself up onto the sidewalk. He looked down the block just in time to see Loki barreling around the corner at full speed, tail wagging and leash flapping. Aiden lurched to his feet with a strained grunt and took off after the lab.
He cleared the corner just in time to see produce flying into the air. Oh, crap.
Aiden shouted Loki's name and put on one last burst of speed.
The grocery shopper seemed to be tussling with Loki on the ground, trying to catch his collar while the dog bounced all over them. Finally, a masculine hand flailed and grabbed the end of the leash before the man shoved the dog away and stood up. Loki plopped his butt down on the pavement and wagged up at his victim.
Aiden skittered to a stop in front of the pair and glared at the dog. With dread, he dragged his eyes up to meet the man's dark brown ones.
Oh. He was doomed. This could not have gone more badly if Aiden had planned it out in great detail.
Jason stared at the dog. The damn thing was sitting on the pavement, happy as a clam. Like he hadn't just knocked Jason ass over tea kettle and scattered his groceries all over the sidewalk. He glared at the medium sized terror then raised his eyes to the figure that had come bounding up the sidewalk just in time to retrieve his already-caught pup.
Well, I'll be damned. Looks like I finally get that introduction. Standing not five feet from him was the gorgeous brunet. Stalker Panther was shifting his weight back and forth nervously and staring at him like a deer caught in the headlights, but that was all right. He could work with that.
He glanced down at the dog and grinned. He might have to invest in some Milk Bones. This was great. Panther couldn't get away this time, Jason didn't have to leave, and Panther only seemed a little upset about the whole dog catastrophe issue. Having a slightly nervous but otherwise composed Panther in front of him was totally worth picking up his groceries. He moved his grin from the dog to the man. "Hi. Nice to finally meet you."
Jason's grin got bigger when the wide eyes blinked in confusion. He tugged slightly on the dog's leash and shortened the distance between himself and Panther. After switching the leash to his left hand, he held his right out to shake. "I'm Jason. I've seen you around." He snickered mentally. Understatement of the year.
Stalker Panther stared at him before reaching out to take the handshake. "Um. Hi. I'm so sorry. We were getting out of the car and he made a break for it."
"It happens. Might have to redo some of my shopping though."
Panther looked a little frantic at that. "Oh, God. I'm so sorry." Tiny nervous bounces accompanied the words. "If you keep Loki for just a sec, I'll go catch your apples." With that Panther made a slightly lopsided dash for the edge of the sidewalk.
Jason watched in bemusement as Panther grabbed his apples before they rolled under a car and then started darting in and out between the other people on the sidewalk. Panther looked to have a bit of a limp, but was otherwise moving fine. The dog must have dumped him on the pavement, too.
Jason shook his head and looked down at the young black lab. "Well, Loki, I guess we should help him." The dog thumped his tail. Taking a very firm grip on the leash, Jason picked up his grocery bag and trailed after Panther.
Jason stopped next to him and held the bag open. "Put those in here before you drop them."
Stalker Panther looked at the jumble of fruit and vegetables in his hands, before sighing and putting them carefully into the bag. "I really am sorry. This is so embarrassing. Does anything need replaced?" He took a cucumber from a helpful lady with a mumbled thank you and plopped it into the bag before looking around. "I think that's everything. I can replace it if you want. Were you at the farm stand down the street?"
Jason peered into the bag. The tomatoes looked a little squashed, but he was just going to mash them up in spaghetti sauce anyway. "Nah. It should be fine. Thanks." He looked back up at Panther. "You don't get your dog back until you tell me your name, though."
Panther blushed and rubbed a hand through his hair. "Aiden. My name is Aiden."
Jason smiled and held out the leash's handle. "It's nice to finally meet you, Aiden."
Aiden smiled shyly and took the leash. "You, too, Jason. Sorry about Loki trying to kill you and all."
Jason laughed. "It's all right. I don't mind being a cliché now and then. It's usually highly entertaining."
Aiden groaned and facepalmed. He peeked out between his fingers at Jason. "Does it make it better or worse if it's my cousin's dog that I'm watching while he's out of town?"
"Ah, I think that elevates the cliché from mildly amusing to completely ridiculous, actually."
"Oh, good." Aiden sighed and looked over his shoulder. "I should probably go see if someone's stolen my car yet. I think I may have left the door open."
Jason frowned. It was a good neighborhood, but still. "Yeah. That sounds like a plan. You need help with anything? You were limping a little earlier."
"No, I'm fine. Thanks though. Come on, devil dog." Aiden waved at Jason over his shoulder as he turned and made his way back down the street.
Jason watched him go. He'd gotten that introduction, but not much else. Oh, well. He'd probably see Aiden at the coffee shop later. And the introductions had gone well enough that Aiden probably wouldn't run screaming if he said hello.
Oh. Holy wow. Hot Guy was even prettier up close. And those eyes. Not green. No, they were this deep chocolate brown with little flecks of gold. And he was nice. Loki had tried to kill him and ruin his shopping, and Hot Guy—no, Jason—had still been nice. And charming.
Aiden reached the corner and risked a glance back just as he went around it. Jason was still standing on the sidewalk, clearly watching him. Aiden jumped a little but offered a tentative smile before moving out of sight as casually as possible.
A hand to his cheek confirmed that he was blushing. Of course he was. After all, he'd just made the best first impression possible.
Aiden snorted. At least he hadn't stuttered or tripped and dropped the groceries again. At least it wasn't the very first time Jason had seen him. He had a couple okay impressions going for him. Right? There was that whole coffee incident, but that was j
ust the once. Right?
It didn't take him long to get back to his car. Some good Samaritan had closed the door without locking his keys inside. Aiden peered into the back seat as he opened the front door to retrieve the keys from the ignition. Everything looked to still be there. There were apparently benefits to living in low-crime neighborhoods. Go figure.
He stuffed his keys in his pocket and glared down at Loki. The dog just grinned up at him and wagged, like Wasn't that fun? Shall we do it again? Definitely best to take the dog upstairs first and lock him in the bedroom again. One crazed dog chase per day was definitely his limit.
Part 2
Tentative Handshakes
Someone thumped down into the chair across from Aiden, disturbing his book and coffee time and making the café table shift. He frowned at the rudeness of whoever it was and looked up.
Aiden blinked, surprised and a little alarmed. Jason was sprawled out in the chair across from him, grinning smugly.
"Um, hi?" Aiden blushed. Way to sound like a complete dork.
Jason's smile got bigger. "Hi. I saw you over here and thought I would be the annoying person that bothers the reading person."
Aiden tucked his bookmark into his book and set it aside. "Ah. You understand the taboo, but interrupt anyway." He took a sip of his coffee and arched a brow. "You're a brave man."
Jason chuckled. It was a low bass rumble and Aiden suppressed a shiver.
"Not brave. Just desperate." Jason's tone was somewhere between an annoyed mutter and a clear statement.
"Desperate?" Aiden asked, slightly puzzled.
"Yup. It's been over a week since your cousin's dog took me out and I haven't managed to get closer than a block. I was starting to think I'd never get another chance to talk to you."
