by Sue Brown
SmokeyJo protested her starvation as soon as Dan walked in the door. She took one look at him and weaved around his legs to greet Gideon.
“Traitor,” Dan said to her.
She presented her tail to him and purred at Gideon, who scratched her under the chin. “She knows who’s going to feed her. Get into bed, and I’ll sort her out.”
Dan staggered into the bathroom and got a look at his face for the first time. “Lena’s going to kill me.”
“What’s that?” Gideon called.
“My face. It’s going to ruin the wedding photos.” He poked at the puffiness. Of course it hurt.
Gideon appeared in the doorway. “You’ve got over a week. The swelling will be down, and any bruising we can cover with concealer.”
“You know about makeup?”
Gideon got a rueful look. “I got a black eye two nights before my wedding. You can’t see it in the photos, but I’m wearing heavy stage makeup. My wife was furious when she found out and insisted I cover it up.”
Dan laughed even harder, but that hurt his jaw. He cupped the injured side of his face and sighed. “I really need to go to bed.”
Gideon nodded. “You get changed. I’ll see myself out when you’re in bed.”
“I thought you’d insist on staying with me and sleeping in the chair or some such shit.” Then he saw the guilty look on Gideon’s face. “You were going to wait until I was asleep, weren’t you? I’m gonna wake up and find you asleep on the sofa, and you’ll tell me you sat down and fell asleep.”
“Busted,” Gideon admitted.
“Who’s opening up at Cowboys and Angels?”
“Juan is working all day. I didn’t know when we’d be out of the hospital. He’s not expecting me back until later.”
Dan sat down on the bed. He looked over at his sofa, which, he had to admit, was very uncomfortable and not the place for Gideon to be sleeping when he didn’t feel 100 percent. His bed, on the other hand, was incredibly comfortable. Dan gave himself a mental slap over the head and then looked up at Gideon. “Come on,” he said. “You lie down here with me. I mean, not with me, but on the bed. We’re both exhausted, and we need to sleep.”
“You want to share the bed?” Gideon asked cautiously.
“Unless you can see another bed, this is the only one available.” Dan yawned and started to strip off his clothes. He got down to his boxers, climbed into bed, and snuggled down under the comforter. He cracked open one eye when he didn’t hear anything from Gideon and found him with a conflicted expression on his face. “Dude, either get in here or go home, one or the other. I’m not letting you stare at me while I’m asleep. That’s just stalkery and weird.”
“You trust me?” Gideon asked.
“You look worse than I feel.” It was true. Gideon looked almost gray from exhaustion. “Come on, man, just get into bed.” He closed his eyes as though he wouldn’t be bothered by Gideon’s decision one way or the other. Then he heard rustling and realized Gideon was getting undressed. Dan concealed his smile and waited.
Gideon slid under the covers on the other side of the bed and settled down, careful not to touch Dan. “Let me know if you need anything, if you need any more pain medication.”
“At the moment I’m stoned. All I need is ten hours sleep.”
He felt a soft caress of fingers on his bare shoulder.
“You go to sleep, then,” Gideon murmured. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”
Dan did as he was told and fell into a deep sleep.
HE WAS disorientated for a moment when he woke up. The light in his bedroom was wrong, and he could hear voices. He sat up and looked around. Gideon was gone. No, not gone, just not in bed. He could hear him talking in the living area.
“Not now, Ariel. I know you’re sorry, and I know you’re upset about what happened to Dan, but he doesn’t need your drama at the moment. Yes, I know I don’t normally speak to you like this, and maybe I should have done it sooner. Then this wouldn’t have happened. I’ll call you tomorrow, and if Dan wants to speak to you, he can.”
Dan wondered if he should pretend to still be asleep, but he decided against it, got out of bed, and went into the living area. Gideon was staring at his phone with a distraught look on his face. Treating Ariel so coldly went against everything he believed in. His daughter had been the center of his life so long. Dan didn’t want to be the reason for an estrangement between them. He sat down next to Gideon.
“I heard you talking to Ariel.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up.” Gideon sounded defeated, and Dan’s heart ached for him.
“I think you should invite Ariel over here. We can talk.”
Gideon shook his head. “It’s not just about you, Dan. She’s walked all over me for too long now. I love my daughter, and I know in her heart she’s a really good girl, but I don’t want to see her ruining her life by thinking she can get away with everything. She’s twenty-one, not twelve. It’s time she understands I have a life too.”
“She does know that,” Dan assured him.
“I think she does, but a little reinforcement won’t harm the situation.”
“Does she know you’re here?”
“Yes. I wouldn’t lie to her. I told her I was looking after you. She wanted to come over and help. But she would be too much, both to you and me. She’s a lousy nurse.”
Dan knew that from previous experience. Ariel was too lively and erratic to make a good bedside companion. The one thing he never wanted was a headache around her. Her father, on the other hand, was exactly the teddy bear Dan needed when he wasn’t feeling well.
“How’re you feeling?” Dan asked. “How did you sleep?”
Gideon took a deep breath and smiled. “Like a log. Your bed is better than mine. It’s nearly five o’clock. Are you hungry?”
“Starving,” Dan confessed.
Gideon grinned. “Pizza?”
“You read my mind. Sicilian?”
“Sounds good to me.”
They bickered for a couple of minutes about who would pay, but Dan insisted because Gideon had gotten out of his sick bed to help him and was still paying him while he was lazing about at home.
“You’re the only man I know who would consider recovery after being beaten up as lazing around.” Gideon shook his head. “You can pay for the pizza, but only because my phone is running out of charge.”
Dan ordered the pizza and then went in search of soda. He couldn’t face coffee, which he found vaguely alarming. He always wanted coffee. No one had ever told him being smacked in the face decreased the desire for coffee.
He got dressed in his standard home uniform of sweats and hoodie and then looked at Gideon. He was still wearing the Giants long-sleeve shirt and sweats from the night before. “I don’t think I have anything to offer you. My clothes are way too small to fit you.”
“It’s okay. I’ll go home later and have a shower. Do you need any pain meds?”
“I’ll take some Tylenol. The pain’s not too bad. It’s more of a dull roar than screaming in agony.”
Gideon’s lips twitched. “I’m glad to hear it.”
“Do you need anything? You sound more like yourself than you did yesterday.”
“I think what happened to you shocked the cold out of me. I actually feel fine. I’ll be all ready for the date next week.”
“It’s a wedding, not a date.”
Gideon waved his hand as though that were unimportant. “Wedding, date—it’s all the same.”
“I hope you never suggest that a woman get married instead of go on a first date.”
“Why would I do that?” Gideon sounded genuinely puzzled. “I’m going out with you, not a woman.”
Dan bit down on his lip. Gideon seemed so damn sure of what was going on, and yet he was only acting as Dan’s plus-one for the day. He decided the safest thing to do was change the subject.
“I’m gonna take a shower. The pizza should be here soon.”
Gideon gave him a mischievous smirk. “Do you want me to wash your back?”
“You just look out for the pizza. You can practice your lines on the delivery boy.”
“Why? Is he cute?”
“No, but you need someone to practice on. Your lines are way out of date.” Dan smirked at Gideon and then headed into the bathroom. Sometimes he needed to get the upper hand. Didn’t happen very often, so he would enjoy it while it lasted.
After a quick shower, Dan wandered back into the living room with a towel wrapped around his waist.
Gideon was at the front door. He had his back to Dan, but the pizza delivery guy spotted him, and his eyes opened wide. It must have alerted Gideon, because he turned and looked at Dan. Gideon turned back to the delivery man and muttered something to him. Whatever it was, he immediately stopped staring at Dan.
When Gideon shut the door, Dan raised an eyebrow at him. “What did you say to scare the delivery man?”
“I told him if he didn’t stop ogling you, I’d gouge his eyes out.”
“He probably saw my face and thought you smacked me around.”
At Gideon’s flinch Dan said, “Sorry, that was a bad joke. Anyway, you’d better not have scared him off. That’s my favorite pizza place.”
Gideon shrugged. “They can find someone else to deliver. Preferably someone who is blind.”
“You must have been a nightmare when Ariel started dating.”
Gideon smirked, but he didn’t say anything.
The aroma of the pizza reached Dan, and his stomach rumbled. Gideon laughed and said, “I guess that means it’s time to eat. You grab the beer and… I guess you shouldn’t really drink if you’re taking pain meds.”
“I keep the beer for Marty. I don’t drink much. I’ll have a soda. You can have a beer, but not too many if you’re driving back to the bar tonight.”
He pulled out a bottle of beer and a can of soda for himself and brought them over to the coffee table. “I’m just gonna get dressed.”
“I like you dressed as you are.” Gideon rolled his eyes suggestively over Dan’s body.
“Down boy,” Dan said dryly. “I’m not sitting in a damp towel to eat good pizza.”
“You could just drop the towel.”
“No.”
“It’s a real shame,” Gideon assured him.
Aware of Gideon’s eyes on him, Dan put just a suggestion of a wiggle in his walk as he went back into the bedroom. Then he got changed as quickly as he could. Because pizza.
Gideon had already opened one of the boxes and was stuffing a large slice into his mouth.
“Dude, chew.”
With a full mouth, Gideon wasn’t in a position to answer, and it took a few moments for him to say, “I am chewing.”
“You’re a pig,” Dan said cheerfully, and then he filled his mouth with pizza and shut up.
They managed to demolish a large pizza, and Dan contemplated sending out for another. They decided to leave it a while and watch a movie on Dan’s tiny TV set.
“You know they make TVs bigger than the size of a microwave these days, don’t you?” Gideon grumbled.
“Sure they do,” Dan agreed, “for people who are around to watch them. I’m barely here, and I watch TV even less. I’m either working, at school, or in the library. My cat’s starting to forget what I look like.”
Gideon grumbled all the same, although he couldn’t argue with Dan’s reasoning. Dan picked an action movie, and they sat back to watch. He wasn’t even aware he was falling asleep, but he woke up with his head resting on Gideon shoulder, the end credits rolling, and the uncomfortable realization that he’d drooled over Gideon’s shirt.
“I’m so sorry,” he blurted out as he eyed the wet patch.
“It’s not a problem,” Gideon assured him. “I was asleep too. I only woke up when you moved.”
“I didn’t realize I was so tired.”
“How’s your face?”
“It’s sore,” Dan admitted. “I’ll take a couple of Tylenol now.”
“It’s almost nine o’clock. I think I ought to get back to the bar. Juan could probably do with a break.”
Dan quashed the ridiculous feeling of disappointment in his gut and nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Gideon shook his head. “Take another day off. Come back on Friday.”
“I’m fine. I don’t need—”
“I know,” Gideon said. “But humor me. I’m your boss. You still get paid for your shift, but I want you to recover.”
With regret Dan watched Gideon go. He cleared away the pizza boxes and the drinks, brushed his teeth, and collapsed into bed again. Gideon was all over the side where he’d slept, and Dan buried his nose and inhaled the musky scent. He’d had Gideon Tyler in his bed, and nothing had happened. Wasn’t that the story of his life?
Chapter 18
DAN RETURNED to work on Friday for the early shift as planned. He would never admit it to Gideon, but he appreciated the extra day off. When he woke up, he discovered aches and pains all over his body, and he was too tired to fight through it. He spent most of Thursday asleep with SmokeyJo curled up in the crook of his leg. She appreciated the extra time Dan was at home too.
He was sorting out a delivery of beer when he became aware of Ariel watching him. He looked up, and she gave him a cautious smile. She looked tired, her usual radiance dimmed. Dan guessed she hadn’t been sleeping too well since Dan was attacked.
“Let me just finish this,” he said, holding up a couple of bottles.
She nodded and went to wait in the bar. Finally he couldn’t put off talking to her any longer, and he sat down opposite her at the table—the same table where she had held court with Tall and Broad. He wondered if she knew that and then decided it was a deliberate move.
Ariel rushed to speak, as though she had to get it out before she lost her confidence. “I’m sorry. I am so sorry for what happened to you.”
Dan studied her unflinchingly. She reddened but she didn’t look away.
“Do you understand what you did?”
“I think so,” she whispered.
“I need you to realize what you did was a complete betrayal of my trust. I know my friends know I’m gay, but they never take advantage of that fact. That’s what you did. It may have been a joke to you, but the consequences were real to me.”
Her bottom lip wobbled. “I never intended you to get hurt. You know that.”
“From where I sit that’s exactly what you wanted.” Dan didn’t relent. It was too important to ignore.
“I was jealous,” she said, her voice so low he could barely hear her. A couple of tears spilled over onto her cheeks.
Dan gently brushed the tears away. “There’s no reason to be jealous of me. You know me, Ariel.”
“But he likes you.” Her voice cracked at the end. She sounded distraught.
Dan’s stomach did a whirl, but he told it to settle down.
“He’s just providing me with a date for the wedding.”
She shook her head. “It’s more than that. He talks about you all the time.”
Baz had said that too, but Dan worked for Gideon. It wasn’t surprising he talked about Dan.
“It’s one date to a wedding, which you arranged,” he said. “Your father isn’t going to suddenly put a ring on my finger. You’re seeing zebras where there are only horses, Ariel. Even if he does like me—someone—you need to understand that just because your father is showing an interest in someone else, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you. You know that you’re the center of his universe.”
Ariel bit her lip. “It’s hard, you know? Since Mom and Simon died, it’s just been me and Dad. He loved Mom so much. I never thought he’d look for anyone else.”
“Is it worse because I’m a man, not a woman?” Dan asked.
She shook her head vehemently, and Dan felt a little of the tension seep away. “I’m not homophobic. I didn’t care that he liked a man. I just cared….�
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“He liked someone else.” Dan finished the sentence for her.
“I was just being a bitch. I never thought they’d attack you.”
“I believe you.” Dan did believe Ariel had just been jealous. He didn’t blame her for the attack by Tall and Broad, even though she had provoked it.
Ariel gave him a tentative smile. “I wish there were some way I could make it up to you.”
Dan leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “You mean that? Are you just saying that because you think that’s what I want to hear?”
“I really mean it.”
He decided to take the earnest declaration at face value. “There is something you can do.”
“Anything,” she assured him.
He gave her a thin smile. “I suggest you hear me out before you agree.”
She gave him a brief nod. “Go on.”
“I want the fights to stop. I know you’re not the one doing the fighting, but you’re certainly the one provoking it. It’s time to grow up, Ariel. Someone’s gonna go home with more than cuts and bruises.” He touched his cheek, and her gaze followed his action. She flinched, and he nodded. “You did real good putting on that event so quickly. Everything was organized, and people had fun. Even me,” he admitted, “although you’re never putting me through that again. But you’re endangering Cowboys and Angels with the way you act. Think of everybody who works here. Bradley, Juan, and Luis, even Liam. Eddie’s got little kids. And me. We rely on Cowboys and Angels for our income. While you’re off at NYU, we’re working for a living.”
It was the longest speech he had given in a long time, and by the end of it, he was tired. He didn’t have anything left to say.
Ariel stared down at her hands for a long time. Finally she said, “I’ll never do that to you again. I promise.”
“See that you don’t or our friendship is over.”
“I’ve always thought of you as my big brother. It was hard when I suddenly had to think of you as my stepfather.” Tears spilled onto her cheeks, and she wiped them away impatiently and left a black smudge from her mascara. “Daddy won’t talk to me. I really fucked up, Dan.”
