After a half hour in the bar, Luca was glad he’d forgotten his jacket at home. He was boiling hot. With the press of bodies all around him, the place was cloying. It was more than just the heat that affected everyone in the place. It was the sadness. Once again, the LGBT community had been the target of an attack at a popular bar and no one had seen it coming. People stood with heads bowed as speakers took to the stage and told of their memories of times spent at Marty’s, both happy and sad. People laughed and some even cried as they related meeting their husbands, wives, and significant others at Marty’s. When a familiar face took the stage, Luca wasn’t surprised.
Stephen Auerbach was flanked by two older men who locked elbows with him. It was the first time Luca had seen him in the crowd that night but it made sense that he would be there. Marty’s had been his bar after all. He took Corey’s hand and pulled him closer to the stage as Stephen began to speak, looking out over the crowd.
“Hello, friends. My name is Stephen and I am the owner of Marty’s.”
People began to applaud, and his two friends leaned into him, hugging tighter to Stephen’s side. Luca felt a lump suddenly clog his throat as tears sprung to his eyes.
“I want to thank you all for coming out to our hastily arranged memorial this evening. My best friend and partner, Paul, would have loved seeing this.”
There was more applause and one of Stephen’s companions reached up, making a quieting gesture with his hands. When the room settled down, Stephen began to speak again.
“I met Paul Wilder on Santa Monica pier almost forty years ago,” Stephen said. “We were both just out of high school.” He smiled and reached up, rubbing his chin. “I don’t think I even had a beard.” That brought a lot of laughs. “Paul was one of those kind of guys that you’d look at and say, wow, I must touch this man!” There were tons of whistles in the room and more applause. Stephen grinned.
“We were happy for a long time but hey, man, it was the sexual revolution. We had lots of partners.” He raised his hands to quiet the cat calls with a wide grin before beginning to speak again. “We fought like cats and dogs sometimes but somehow, Paul and I always found our way back to each other.” Stephen’s voice dropped low and Luca could hear it shake. “Paul and I loved each other very much. He was one of those men you could imagine a future with. I told him all my secrets and he told me all of his.”
Stephen suddenly smiled. “One day, we got this insane idea. We decided to buy this crappy old empty lot with a tear down on it. Paul’s dad helped him take out a bank loan for ten thousand dollars. That’s when we opened Marty’s, one of the oldest and continually operating gay bars in West Hollywood.”
There was a ton of applause as everyone seemed to get into Stephen’s story. Listening to the history of not only Stephen’s life but the story behind the building of Marty’s and the early days of the sexual revolution in Los Angeles was very cool. Luca had always loved history and knowing just a little more about his boss was fascinating. He wished he’d asked his friend more questions before now. When the room finally quieted down, Stephen’s smile turned melancholy.
“Then, one day, Paul got a sore on his ankle,” Stephen said. The room became even quieter, so quiet, Luca could nearly hear a pin drop. Everyone knew what was coming. “The sore didn’t go away and after we went to the doctor, we were told that Paul had contracted HIV. That was 1982 and within eight months, Paul was dead. He outlived a lot of our friends, but that didn’t mean his loss was any less profound.”
Luca watched his boss smile sadly. He wasn’t crying as others at Hamburger Mary’s were. Clearly, Stephen had come to terms with Paul’s loss over time. Now, nearly thirty-eight years later, HIV was no longer the death sentence it once had been. It was a manageable disease and many people lived longer with it than they had in the very early days. Luca couldn’t imagine how it must have been for men Stephen’s age to have lost so many loved ones to such a cruel disease.
Luca had friends who were positive but not many. Everyone he knew played it safe. At least they said they did. Luca had read enough history to know that when Stephen was his age, that wasn’t always the case. Men eventually learned to use condoms, but it was a bitter pill to swallow. LGBT folks wanted their freedom, sexual and otherwise. During those dark days, many doctors and nurses wouldn’t work with AIDS patients. Funeral homes turned away the bodies of the deceased. Families disowned their sons when they got sick. Every head cold was a reason for panic. It was a horrible time. When Stephen finished speaking and thanked everyone for coming out, he made one final announcement.
“As soon as the authorities are finished investigating, in honor of Paul, I’m going to rebuild Marty’s. That’s a promise!” he yelled over the screaming, hooting crowd.
Luca smiled and waved when Stephen’s gaze landed on him. Stephen grinned widely and blew him a kiss before his two companions swept him up in huge hugs and carried him off the stage. Luca turned to Corey who was watching him closely.
“What?” Luca asked.
“That’s the man you should be dating. He clearly loves the heck out of you,” Corey said.
“I love him too but not like that, Corey. I can’t date my boss,” Luca said. “If you like older men so much, why don’t you date him?”
“Are you serious? I’d drop everything to make it into that man’s bed but unfortunately, when you’re around, honey, you’re all Stephen Auerbach sees. Instead, you’re settling for that stupid cop. I mean don’t get me wrong, Kane Delancey is a walking wet dream to look at but that man…” Corey turned and pointed to Stephen who was stepping down from the stage, “that man is crazy about you and a good, kind, and decent human. Hell, at least he is human, Luca.”
Luca was getting frustrated. Corey hated Kane and with good reason. Luca had been devastated when Kane walked away from him once before. Corey loved him so seeing how hurt he’d been, must have been hard. Luca would no doubt react the same way if it were Corey who’d been dumped but the fact was, when they were together the first time, neither of them had promised each other anything. It may have looked like it was headed that way to Luca, but they’d drifted apart. Luca had to admit, he was probably a stronger person as a result of their separation.
“I don’t want to talk about it anymore, Corey. I’m dating Delancey. That’s all there is to say on the subject.”
“Well, it’s bullshit if you ask me but whatever. I just want to see the light in your eyes, Luca.” Corey reached out and framed both of his cheeks with the palms of his hands, staring deeply into his eyes. “Your flame burns bright, Luca, but right now, guuuuuuurl… you couldn’t toast a marshmallow.”
Luca laughed, turning his face until he dropped his hands. “Oh, fuck you, Corey. Fuck you.”
｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
It was after midnight before Kane finally walked into his townhouse alone. He was exhausted. After the meeting at the coroner’s office, he’d gone to Glendale and sat down with Nico Devecchio and Jose Galvez, his two ATF colleagues. He’d gone through the whole story of how he’d entered the WITSEC program and brought them up to date with why he’d been pulled to the LAPD on a special undercover assignment to try to help bring down the LA branch of the Boston mob. He’d apologized to both men for not bringing them in sooner but they’d both understood, especially after he told them that the assignment was ongoing since there seemed to be a leak at WITSEC with more witnesses in danger.
Once everyone was up to speed about his assignment with the LAPD, they gathered in the large conference room to watch surveillance tapes taken by two different security cameras. One was taken in front of a business across the street from Marty’s and another from a business that sat kitty-corner to the bar. The one directly across the street from Marty’s was the best view but the tape was grainy and the faces of most of the people on the street were hard to make out. Kane recognized one face in particular.
The face was slightly blurry but Kane and his fellow officers had spent
a lot of time looking at Slade Ruiz’s file. The pimp from San Diego had long black hair and the jacket he wore in the surveillance video was identical to the one he’d been wearing when Kane had caught Luca dancing with him at Barcelona not that long ago. He was a tall man with a muscular build but the dark expression on the face of the man who’d turned toward the camera for a few seconds, couldn’t be mistaken. He was a nasty piece of work. Shortly before the explosion, Ruiz had strolled into the bar. Five minutes later, he was seen coming out, accompanied by another man; the bomb had gone off thirty seconds later.
In a tape from the business kitty-corner to the bar, the second man was clearly visible going into Marty’s just prior to the arrival of Ruiz. Martin Carlow—the big bouncer who worked for Brandon Moore—walked into Marty’s five minutes before Ruiz carrying a backpack. When he’d exited with Ruiz at his side only three minutes later, the backpack was no longer slung over his shoulder. Clearly, they’d had a short meeting about something. It was no coincidence that the men had gone in one after another and not even stayed long enough to have a drink together. Clearly, there was a purpose in the short meeting. More than anything, Kane wished he would have been able to listen in on their conversation.
Kane tossed his keys on the small table in his entryway and shucked out of his jacket. He had to get some sleep. It had been a long day and he still had to go upstairs, feed Dorothy and Toto, and let them out of their enclosure for a few minutes. He walked to the fridge and pulled out a Corona, popping the cap and taking a long drink as he remembered everything that had transpired since early that morning. The fact that he woken up in a horrible mood and then spent the entire day in Luca’s bed hadn’t been in his plans. He clomped up the stairs remembering Luca describing potbelly pig yoga to him and Kelly. He grinned, shaking his head. The very thought of it was ridiculous. If it hadn’t been almost one in the morning, he would have called Luca. He realized that just hearing his voice soothed him. Instead, he sent him a quick text.
“Too late to call but I wanted to say goodnight. See you tomorrow after work. We have to talk.”
He set his beer down on the table once he walked into the spare bedroom and quickly changed the ferrets’ bedding, making sure that their food bowls were full and their water was fresh. By the time he got done, it was too late to play with his babies. He cooed at them for a few minutes, giving them lots of pets and told them that he’d be up early in the morning to give them some love from their daddy. He snorted as he shut out the light, realizing the only person who wouldn’t laugh at him if he explained things that way, was Luca.
Chapter Nine
Luca was chewing his gummy vitamins and toasting a bagel as he checked his phone the next morning. Even though he’d heard it beep as he was drifting off to sleep the night before, he hadn’t picked it up because he was just exhausted after everything that had gone on. From Kane and Kelly’s appearance at his doorstep, his reunion with Kane in bed, to Freddy’s death, it had been an emotional day. He smiled as he read the text Kane left him just before bed. It was great to know that Kane had been thinking of him even as he lay his head down on his pillow.
He had to admit, he was just crazy about the man, but he wasn’t stupid. This time around, Luca promised himself he would protect his heart. He wouldn’t let the hot special agent hurt him again and he was committed to see that he stuck with his decision. As much as he wanted to fall headfirst into a relationship with Kane, he wouldn’t let himself do it. Not this time. Corey was right on many levels and if it ended badly, he had only himself to blame.
Sebastian was waiting for him at the door to Auerbach’s Jewelers wearing a double-breasted navy-blue suit. He looked sharp. Luca made it a policy of his not to talk about his relationships at work. He knew Sebastian was gay, single, but not necessarily on the prowl. He took great pride in his appearance and his work. Luca was certain Sebastian would be with the company until the day he retired. He was fiercely loyal to the Auerbach brand and ever since Mr. Auerbach had personally thanked him for his artistic displays of the diamond cases, Sebastian took even more interest in the rest of their jewelry.
“Good morning, Luca,” Sebastian said as Luca unlocked the front door.
“Looking sharp, Seb,” Luca replied with a sly smile as he flipped on the lights and relocked the door behind them. The store wouldn’t be opening for another hour but they always came in early to pull all the jewelry out of the safe where it was kept at night.
“How many times must I tell you my name isn’t Seb?” Sebastian scoffed. His British accent sounded snooty whenever he disagreed with Luca and Luca kept up the nickname in no small part because he loved to banter back and forth with the old man.
“Well, whatever. You look nice today. New suit?”
Sebastian’s nostrils flared as they stepped behind the jewelry counter to get to work. “In fact, it isn’t a new suit. It’s an old one. I haven’t been able to wear it for quite some time.” He smoothed his hands down his sides. “It’s cut a little slimmer than my others. I suppose the Keto diet is working.” His eyes were glittering with mischief when Luca met his gaze.
“I have to say, you look great. Now, it’s time to find yourself a nice man and settle down for God’s sake.”
“Pfft,” Sebastian said, taking out the first pad of diamonds and setting it on the counter. “Who needs a man to be happy? I’ve had two relationships in my life and both were unmitigated disasters. I’ll stick with dogs but help yourself, Luca. There is a world of men out there to sample.” He looked Luca up and down. “Besides, look at you, luv. You’re stunning. Any man in his right mind would want to date you.”
Luca smiled. They hardly ever talked about personal things at work. “How are your dogs?” he asked, deftly changing the subject.
“Byron and Shakespeare are fantastic. I’m thinking about adopting another. The pet rescue group I’m active with has just taken in another dachshund and you know how tempting they are for me. I’m only afraid the two I have won’t take to another baby vying for my attention. I mean, I know I have enough love of wieners to add another one into the mix, but they might resent me petting the new one. They could get nasty. You’ve never seen nasty until you’ve seen a mean wiener.”
Luca burst out laughing, unable to hold it in any longer. Sebastian grinned widely, knowing exactly what he was saying. When Luca could finally breathe again, he agreed with Sebastian.
“I totally understand how you’d like to add a third wiener to the mix. You have to take Byron and Shakespeare’s feelings into account,” Luca said, straightening a pad of 14-karat gold earrings.
“Trust me. The last thing I want to do is get on the wrong side of those wieners. The only thing I can do to calm them down is to go out and pay for a sausage to keep them busy all night,” Sebastian said, his eyes dancing.
Luca chuckled as he put the pad of earrings into a case and returned to the safe to pull out a pad of chains.
“Where does one find a sausage to satisfy two ravenous wieners, Seb?” he asked continuing the theme he was enjoying so much.
“Well, often, I have to travel across town since the ones near my place are so costly,” Sebastian said.
“Wow, and here I thought it wouldn’t be that difficult to find a satisfactory sausage for your wieners in West Hollywood,” Luca said.
“You know, it hasn’t always been this hard to find a satisfactory sausage near my home, but these days, they’re either too long or too soft for my wieners,” Sebastian said.
Luca heard his phone ring and he was laughing when he answered.
“Stephen? What a surprise! How are you?” he asked, sobering immediately.
“I’m good, Luca… considering.”
“I’m so sorry, Stephen,” Luca replied. “I wanted to talk to you at the bar last night but by the time you stepped off the stage, it was getting very late and I had to be in here this morning.”
“It’s fine, dear. It was late. Are you at the store now? I heard you lau
ghing,” Stephen said.
Luca felt his face flush. “Yes, I’m at the store. Sebastian and I just had the most ridiculous conversation about how hard it is to find a good sausage in West Hollywood.” He slapped his hand over his mouth. Sometimes there was no stopping the stupid stuff that poured out if it without thinking.
Stephen chuckled, not seeming to mind at all. “That sounds like fun. I wish I’d been there to hear it. I tell you what. Let me pick you up and take you for dinner tonight and you can tell me all about it. How’s that?”
“Oh, damn. I want to but I can’t do that tonight. I have plans.”
“A date?”
“Um… maybe. Remember the detective I dated for a while? Kane Delancey?”
“Oh, yes, who could forget you talking about that strapping man?” Stephen said. Luca could hear the amusement in his voice.
“Right. Well, after they captured the guys who robbed us, we dated for a while but it eventually ended,” Luca admitted.
“Hmm. But, you’re back with him now?” Stephen asked.
Luca sighed and reached up, rubbing his hand over his face. “I’m not really back with him. In fact, I don’t know if I was ever really with him. I definitely thought we were together… oh shit. Sometimes I just open my mouth and stuff spills out.”
“It’s okay, Luca. We’re friends. You can tell me things. Are you back with each other now?”
“We just kind of hooked up… yesterday… and then I found out that Freddy died at Marty’s and…”
“Wait! You knew someone who died at the bar?” Stephen’s voice was very concerned all of a sudden.
“One of my closest friends… Freddy Lombardi. He died in the blast.”
“Oh, Luca…”
Play With Me Page 12
