Red, White & Blue (Uncorked Book 6)

by Shea Balik

  David popped in another donut hole and chewed. When he swallowed it, he said, “Good for both of you. Blue is a great guy.” He pointed down the street to where Blue was currently walking toward his store with his mother yapping in his ear. “Too bad his mother is fucking nuts,” David muttered.

  Then he sighed and pulled out another donut hole. “Don’t get me wrong, she’s funny as hell and sweet to just about everyone.” He paused before adding, “If only she could be nice to her own child.”

  Just then Blue happened to look Lowen’s way. At first his face lit up as if he was excited to see him, but then that adorable blush rushed across his face and just like at the winery, Lowen would swear Blue wanted to the ground to open up and take him away.

  “Why can’t you be normal?” Apple yelled at Blue. “There is no way someone is going to want to fuck you after seeing you knit for Christ’s sake. He’s going to think you’re an old fuddy duddy who doesn’t know how to have fun. At this rate you’ll never get married.”

  “Like I said,” David declared. “Crazy.” Then he stood with his bag of donut holes and coffee. “Good luck. I really hope you two work out despite his mother.” He took a couple of steps before adding, “Oh, and if you ever need any help with dear old Apple Blossom, you let me know.”

  Chuckling at David’s offer, Lowen stood up and quickly strode across the street wishing, for Blue’s sake, it was his mother that was anywhere but there.

  “Blue, Apple,” he called out in the middle of Apple telling Blue he was going to end up having only his hand as company if he didn’t change his ways. No son should have to have that conversation with his mother. “Apple, I didn’t know you’d be joining us today. Do you knit a lot?”

  She looked positively horrified at the suggestion. Apparently getting caught talking about her son masturbating in the public square was acceptable, but the thought of knitting was too much for her to bear.

  “God, no,” she said with a hand to her chest as if she might have a heart attack at the mere mention of it. “I’m not a hundred.”

  Lowen wasn’t about to let her continue to be rude to Blue, or him for that matter, since Lowen wanted to learn. “I’m so excited to finally learn to knit,” he said ignoring her comment. “I swear, I see so many students at school pull out their knitting just about everywhere on campus. Every one of them looks relaxed and some of the things they create are absolutely amazing.”

  Apple’s jaw had dropped as she stared at him like he was some sort of alien. So long as she wasn’t insulting her son, Lowen didn’t give a shit what she thought of him.

  “There is a small group of students that have started knitting socks for a charity organization to keep kids warm in the winter.” It was actually what interested Lowen to knit in the first place. He didn’t necessarily want to be friends with them, but he thought it great to do something for others when he could.

  Blue was nodding as he unlocked the door. “Yeah, they come in here all the time. They even have a flyer on the store’s community board for donations.”

  As Blue opened the door, his mother muttered something about youth being wasted on the young and stormed off without saying good-bye. Not that Lowen was complaining. He’d rather have Blue to himself if possible.

  CHAPTER 5

  There was zero doubt in Blue’s mind he looked ridiculous as he stared after his departing mother with his jaw on the floor. He glanced over at Lowen in complete and utter wonder. “How did you do that?”

  The corners of Lowen’s mouth twitched as if he were holding back a smile. “What can I say?” Lowen said with a shrug. “It’s a gift.”

  It definitely was. “That’s not going to help me the next time she’s around.”

  Then Lowen stepped closer until their bodies were nearly touching. His strong hands reached out to hold onto Blue’s hips and draw him in even further.

  He could feel the heat radiating off of Lowen’s body. If he was brazen enough, Blue would have closed the miniscule distance and curled against Lowen’s chest. But he wasn’t that brave, so instead, Blue chose to stare into those cinnamon-colored eyes dancing with merriment.

  The tip of Lowen’s tongue came out and licked along his bottom lip, causing Blue’s dick to twitch in interest. When the corners of Lowen’s lips tipped upward, there was no doubt he knew the effect he was having on Blue.

  “I guess,” Lowen whispered huskily. “If you want to keep her away, you’ll have to have me around more often.”

  Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

  It was on the tip of Blue’s tongue. If only he had the nerve to say it. It wasn’t that Blue was gutless, but he’d learned growing up with his mother, it was usually best to keep his thoughts to himself. Not that he’d always done that, in fact, since her last husband left her, Blue has stood up to her more than ever.

  But, he still was nervous about putting himself out there too much with someone he only just met. Instead, he went with, “Sounds like a good plan to me.”

  Feeling the heat start to creep up his neck, Blue stepped back from Lowen and went about turning on the store’s lights and getting things ready to open.

  “Is there anything I can do to help?” Lowen offered.

  Blue chuckled. “Are you kidding? You helped more than I could have ever hoped by getting rid of my mother.” Still, he couldn’t imagine Lowen was the type to stand around watching someone work. He gestured to the two walls of various colored yarns. “Why don’t you pick out some yarn. I’ll start you off with a scarf, so make sure it’s a color you don’t mind wearing.”

  A scarf was Blue’s usual starting points with new knitters. It was rare the first one ever worked out enough to be worn, but it gave a person a goal they felt was achievable. Blankets were usually too daunting as they were large, and things like hats, sweaters, or even socks weren’t recommended for a newbie.

  Flat and straight were much easier to accomplish, giving the new knitter a sense of success to try some of the more complicated designs. For Blue, that was more important than anything. He loved knitting and desperately wanted to share his passion with others.

  As he worked turning on lights, pulling out the new patterns for his knitting group that afternoon, and giving the surfaces a light dusting, Lowen studied both walls first, before going back to the beginning and pulling out eight colors from various shelves.

  It always fascinated Blue how people chose their favorites, and that was no less true for Lowen. If anything, he was mesmerized by the man as he lined up the eight colors – a dark red, bright blue, seafoam blue, turquoise, forest green, moss green, indigo, and medium shade of pink.

  He wanted to ask why those colors, but Blue remained silent as he counted out the cash drawer while still keeping an eye on which ones Lowen returned to the shelves. The first to go was the red, then the forest green and the moss green.

  Five minutes had passed with Lowen glancing over at Blue then back at the yarns and frowning before repeating the process. When he started to reexamine the wall of colors, Blue went over to him. “Do you need help making a choice?”

  Lowen’s frown only deepened when he looked into Blue’s eyes. Then he shook his head and mumbled, “Not even close.”

  Blue didn’t think he was saying it in answer to his question, but he also didn’t want to be too intrusive. Giving it one more shot, he asked again, “Do you need my help picking something out?”

  There was a long blown out breath as Lowen stared intently at him. “These just aren’t quite right.” Then he reached for two other shades of blues. Then he held all four of the blues in his hand and held them up to Blue’s face.

  Not sure what he was doing, Blue waited for Lowen to give him some kind of hint of what he wanted.

  But Lowen only shook his head and reached for yet another shade of blue. When he turned back with all six shades in his hand, Lowen smiled. “Perfect,” he said.

  Blue’s eyebrows rose at the selection. “Uhm, Lowen, six colors is a little bit too ambi
tious for your first time.” He knew people who’d been knitting for a year who couldn’t manage that many colors.

  Apparently, none of that mattered to Lowen. “Yeah, but this is the closest mix I can find to match your eyes.”

  Blue’s heart melted. There was no other way to describe the way he felt all soft and gooey inside. “My-my ey-eyes,” he stuttered.

  If Blue thought it impossible for Lowen to get any sweeter, he’d been dead wrong, for his next words had Blue’s knees quiver as they struggled to keep him standing. “Yeah,” Lowen said. “You know, your eyes are the perfect mixture of blues. They remind me of looking down upon the Caribbean waters as they circle one of the islands, going from a medium blue, to turquoise melting into so many shades until there’s only the softest of blues lapping upon the shore.”

  Well… damn.

  “I know these aren’t the perfect shades, but I think if they’re mixed together, I can come close,” Lowen said as he once more glanced between Blue’s eyes and the yarn in his hand. Then he nodded. “Yeah. Although, I may have to create patches of each color separately too, because your eyes become more one than the other sometimes, too.”

  Not sure what to make of that, Blue asked, “They do?”

  Lowen reached out, his fingers brushing along his temple. “Yeah, like when your mom is around, I notice they become darker, almost as if a storm’s coming.” Lowen held up the medium blue. “That’s this one.” Then he held up the turquoise. “But right now, this one is more prevalent. It was the same when you asked me to hang around you more, too.”

  Blue felt his lips twitch as a smile tugged at them. “I believe it was you who recommended that.”

  Lowen stepped closer until their lips were only a breath away. “But you agreed.”

  Desire flared within him as Blue wanted to close the distance for their first kiss. “I did.”

  “See?” Lowen’s fingers feathered across his cheekbone right under his eye. “The turquoise is drowning out some of the other colors.” He leaned in, their mouths brushing together lightly as he said, “It’s as if it only comes out for me.”

  His lips had just started to press against Blue’s when the chime above the door tingled merrily. He usually loved that sound, but in that moment, Blue wanted to rip it off the doorframe and stomp on it until it never made another noise again.

  “See?” David’s said as he walked in with Shine. “I told you they were dating.”

  “Dating?” Shine snorted. “Shoot. If we’d gotten here a few minutes later, I’d be willing to bet a bottle of my best shine we’d a caught them with their britches down.”

  “Shhh,” David said as he slapped Shine’s arm. “You’re going to interrupt them.”

  Shine gave David a look of disbelief. “Why, because the bell announcing our arrival didn’t? Or do you think they are too deaf to hear you claiming they’re dating? Face it, we interrupted the moment we walked in.”

  Much to his horror, Blue’s cheeks became so damn hot that he was sure he resembled a fricking lobster at the moment. It didn’t help that Lowen not only didn’t step back but his fingers traced along his cheeks again as he chuckled.

  “Damn, that’s a pretty look on you, Blue.” Instead of the kiss on his lips he’d been hoping for, Lowen kissed his burning cheek instead. Then he whispered in his ear, “I wonder just how far along your body that blush extends.”

  A groan mixed with embarrassment and need slipped from his lips before he could stop it. When he heard Shine said, “Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit, if that don’t sound like you when Macalister is having his way with you in the storage closet,” Blue knew there would be no end to the teasing from those two.

  “Me?” David exclaimed. “What about you and Montague? Hell, the last time I walked into Get Your Shine On, I swear it was like listening to porn.” Then he pointed a finger at Shine. “You have got a dirty mouth on you.” Even as he said that, David tilted his head. “Which reminds me. Were you really standing on your head? Because I would think all blood rushing to your head would make you dizzy.”

  “The key is not to stand on your head, but to have your ass on something, which for me was a box in the backroom, and your head rests on the floor,” Shine said as if this were any other conversation than one about sex positions.

  “The floor?” David wrinkled his nose. “Gross.”

  Shine gave a half-eye roll and an exasperated sigh. “I used one of logo t-shirts to give my head some cushion.”

  That was the thing about Blue’s friends - who he hadn’t really remembered making, yet always seemed to be around for some of his most memorable moments – sex was something they always seemed to be talking about. It was one of those things that made them so much fun to have around.

  Blue may not be as outgoing and interesting as his mother wanted, but his friends were and he figured that had to count for something. Right?

  “Sorry,” Lowen said as he tilted his head one way and then the other as if trying to get the picture Shine was painting for them. “If it’s your ass on the box, I am assuming your bending backward.”

  Shine was practically vibrating with excitement as he said, “Yeah. But I don’t recommend trying it unless you have decent core strength. As fun as that was, my abs were killing me for days.”

  “Wait.” David held up his hand. “If your ass was on the box, where was Montague?”

  Shine grinned. “Sitting on my cock,” he said just as a group of women walked in.

  Blue’s face erupted in fire as he stared at them in horror. Shine and David were no help as they both busted out laughing. Thankfully, Lowen was there, for he easily said, “Good afternoon, ladies. How may we help you?” as if they hadn’t walked in to hear Shine’s proud explanation.

  “Oh, I, um,” one of the ladies said, her face a bright pink, probably looking quite similar to Blue’s at the moment.

  “We were hoping to begin a little knitting circle back home. One of waiter’s at the wine bar down the way told us this was the place to learn all we’d need to know,” another of the ladies said, not even batting an eyelash at what she’d heard.

  “But we only have three more days in town, with a couple of more wine tours scheduled, so we were hoping you might be able to help us even though we have limited time,” a third lady, who was blushing slightly but didn’t seem to be having as much difficulty as her friend, or Blue for that matter.

  He still was mortified they’d come in right when they did. But that was his life. Either his mother was berating him in front of a store full of people, or his friends were giving sex tips in front of his customers.

  The good news was, Lowen had seen his mother in action and now his friends, yet hadn’t run screaming. That had to be a good sign. He hoped.

  CHAPTER 6

  When the four ladies came into The Cozy Knit to beg for beginner’s lessons, Lowen wasn’t sure if he should be pissed that he would have to share Blue with them, or jumping for joy. He lamented the alone time he might have gotten in between other customers coming in before the official knitting class started at three.

  On the other hand, with the addition of others, Blue would give an official class before the one at three, forcing Lowen to focus on the lesson instead of being distracted by the man he really hoped to convince to become his boyfriend. As much as he really had wanted some time with just Blue, Lowen figured since it wasn’t going to happen, he might has well take advantage of the opportunity to learn to knit.

  That was before he found out he was all thumbs, which was funny, since Blue explained there were several ways to cast, which apparently was the first line of stitches, but he felt the easiest one for those who haven’t figured out how to use two needles at once, was by using his thumb. Should have made things easier for him, right?

  WRONG!

  Not only was his thumb bleeding with multi puncture wounds and scrapes from the needle, but at one point he somehow managed to get the yarn tied around his thumb so tightly it
had started to turn purple. His thumb, not the yarn.

  Thank goodness Gladys noticed, because no matter how hard Lowen tried to get the thing off, he only seemed to tie it tighter. Seconds after Gladys cried out in alarm, garnering everyone’s attention, which was what Lowen had been trying to avoid by doing it himself, Blue took a small pair of scissors and cut the yarn, saving Lowen’s thumb.

  Maybe, just maybe, if that had been his most humiliating moment, Lowen wouldn’t be tempted to throw the knitting needles and now mostly bloody yarn out the back door with the rest of the trash. Unfortunately, all of that had happened within the first ten minutes.

  That was two hours ago.

  “Honey, you’re doing great,” Rita, another of the ladies, assured him with a pat to his knee. “My husband loves to fish. Because he was with his rod and reel more than me, he insisted I learn in order to spend time together.” She wrinkled her nose in disgust. “He didn’t care that I hated the smell of fish, nor was I about to put my hand on a dirty worm.”

  “Did you end up liking to fish?” Lowen asked.

  All four women chuckled. “Hate it,” Rita told him.

  Stella, another of the four friends, held up her knitting, which, not only was it ten times the size of Lowen’s paltry attempt, but looked like more than the tangled mess of Lowen’s. “Why do you think we insisted on starting this knitting group?”

  “We tried to convince our husbands we were starting a wine group, but they refused to let that be our excuse not to go fishing,” Dinah, the last of the four women, said. Then she pulled a flyer out of her bag and held it up. “That’s when we saw this.”

  Lowen recognized it, as it was the same flyer posted around campus that had gotten him interested in knitting. “That’s why I wanted to learn to knit,” he told them. “I mean, I don’t have a lot of money and with working two jobs and going to college, I don’t have a lot of time I can easily schedule to volunteer.” He held up his own pathetic knitting. “But I figured I could do this whenever I had time and I’d still be helping.”