by Kris Sawyer
Rick nodded. “Great. How far is it though?”
“It isn’t that far from here,” he said and gestured with his hand. “It’s just around the corner two blocks away.”
When they reached the bar, Aidan was talking about his plans for Rick’s portraits. “I’m confident they’ll definitely get a place in the art exhibition. It’s happening sometime next month. A lot of art lovers with big pockets come to appreciate these sort of paintings.” He smiled and turned to the guy who was at the entrance. “Hi, table for two.”
The man led them in and offered them a fantastic table by the window. He handed them the menu cards and left. Immediately, their server came along. She didn’t look older than nineteen to Aidan. Her name tag called her Stacey. “Good evening guys,” she said in her extremely cheerful voice. “How’re you today?” Rick simply smiled back.
“Good, good.” Aidan nodded to her and gestured between him and Rick. “We’re on our first date.”
“Aww, is it? And here I was thinking of a way to give my number to your friend here.” She eyed Rick adoringly and he blushed. “He’s really cute.”
“And …” Aidan reached out to hold Rick’s hand on the table. “He’s all mine for the night.”
She held her hands up. “Alright, alright. I got the message loud and clear.” Stacey giggled and asked, “Can I get something to drink for you?”
“Um …” Aidan let go of Rick’s hand and glanced at the menu. “I think I’ll have a beer. What about you Rick?”
“Yep, beer sounds good.” Neither of them had decided what they wanted to eat yet, so they asked Stacey to come back later. When she left, Rick had a sly smile on. “Why do I get a feeling that I’m on a date with a really possessive guy?”
It took Aidan a few seconds to realize Rick was referring to his reaction toward Stacey’s flirting. He narrowed his eyes trying extremely hard not to smile. “Oh yeah, I don’t like sharing. What’s mine is mine.”
“That’s tough then.” Rick feigned a look of concern. “Because, you see, I don’t date possessive guys. They’re bad news.”
Aidan shrugged. “Maybe you’re right. But they also make awesome bed partners.” He winked suggestively.
“Aidan!” Rick laughed. “Do you ever think before you speak? We’re in public right now you know.”
“So what? Like Kim says, I don’t have the same filters as normal human beings do. What’s on my mind is on my tongue.” He stuck it out teasingly and snickered.
“It’s also one of the things I like about you, Aidan,” Rick shyly admitted.
“Thanks.” It made Aidan smile. “But it has also gotten me into trouble many times.”
Stacey came back with their beers and they ordered food right away. As they lazily sipped on their drinks and talked, Aidan realized the man sitting in front of him had been a complete stranger to him a week or so back. But now they chatted like they’d known each other for years. The comfort level he felt around Rick intrigued him because he’d never been this calm and relaxed on any dates he had been on before.
Aidan had a problem. He’d always known to speak his mind and he didn’t care a damn what someone else thought. It didn’t go down too well with the guys he met up with initially and he had decided to tone it down. So, whenever he went on dates, he’d be watchful of what he said, in turn, hiding who he truly was. Now he wasn’t sure what to do.
“I’ve always had a crush on you, Aidan.” Rick confessed after Aidan asked. He’d been surprised when he had kissed him couple of days back and kept wondering what led him to make such a spontaneous move. It was not like anything the Rick he knew would do. “Ever since I saw you on the wrong floor. Why do you think I said yes to sitting for you?”
“Why?” He asked, picking up French Fries from his plate to eat.
Rick chewed on his food and swallowed. “Because that way I knew I could spend some time with you.”
“Oh boy, aren’t you a mystery?” Aidan smiled devilishly and took a sip from his wine glass. He’d have to be mindful not to drink too much. “But you didn’t say yes right away. I literally had to beg.”
He laughed. “Yeah, that was the side of me who wanted to make a sane decision and stay away from you.”
“Why would you want to stay away from me?” Rick’s smile disappeared and he looked down. He simply shrugged before continuing to eat. Assuming it had to do with something he didn’t want to talk about at the moment, Aidan decided to leave it at that. He cleared his throat before he said, “Well, for me, I guess I always thought you were an attractive man… but I couldn’t decide which part of me found you attractive. Was it Adonis – the artist - or Aidan – the man in me? It was the moment I saw your naked body on my bed, wrapped in only a sheet, I knew I wanted to be with you. I just couldn’t hold back and that’s why I kissed you.”
“And that gave me the courage to take the next step.” Rick dabbed his mouth with the napkin before sitting back. “Believe me, if you hadn’t kissed me first, I wouldn’t have done anything about my attraction to you. I would have let you do my paintings and then gone my separate way.”
“Aren’t we glad that I kissed you then?” Aidan winked.
None of them realized how the time flew by. Rick couldn’t stop raving about the dessert he had the whole time they walked to Aidan’s car. It made Aidan happy when he said it more than once, “I don’t think I’ve had such a great time in a while. Thank you, Aidan.”
They arrived at Aidan’s place later than he’d expected and Rick was becoming more edgy by the second. His sister Jenny had called him twice already. “Did you tell her I’d make sure you got back safely?”
“She knows. She knows about you.”
“Then why does she keep calling?” He asked as he let Rick in and closed the door behind them.
“My brother in law doesn’t know I’m on a date. I told you he already hates my guts for being gay. So, Jenny’s worried he’ll find out and this would piss him off even more.”
Aidan tossed his keys on the table and switched on the lights. “Screw him. It’s your life.”
“Yeah.” He laughed sarcastically. “And I’m living in his house, so his rules apply. He never lets me forget that.”
“Your brother in law sounds like an asshole to me.”
“You’ve no idea.” He rolled his eyes, then looked around the house. “Where’s Bratty? I’ve rarely seen her in the house lately.”
“That makes the two of us.” Aidan shook his head, feeling worried for the cat. “Don’t know where she goes, but she’s out almost the entire day. But when I go to bed at night, she’s there waiting for me.”
Rick laughed. “Maybe she’s exploring your neighborhood and getting herself acquainted.”
“But she’s pregnant. Shouldn’t she stay home and rest?”
“Don’t worry, Aidan. She has mothering instincts guiding her. She won’t do anything that would hurt her babies.” Aidan looked into Rick’s eyes and saw nothing but honesty. Ever since he’d discovered his cat was pregnant, he’d made an effort to change his behavior. He’d been mean to her which made him feel extremely guilty and so, he wanted to make it up to her by being extra nice. “Can I see the paintings now? It’s getting pretty late.”
“Oh yes, sure.” He led Rick into his art studio and uncovered all Rick’s paintings.
Aidan stepped back to stand by Rick’s side and proudly looked at his artworks with his arms folded across his chest. There wasn’t any doubt in his mind. These paintings had turned out way better than he’d imagined. His artistic intuition hadn’t betrayed him. Rick Mahoney was definitely worthy of being a subject for a portrait. There were three different perspectives he’d given through these paintings and he hoped they’d be seen for what they were.
Silence prevailed in the room and Aidan looked down beside him to gauge Rick’s reaction. Sitting in his wheelchair, he looked absolutely stunned. He stared between the three paintings with his mouth slightly open.
�
�I’m not that beautiful.” He whispered suddenly and so quietly Aidan almost missed it.
“What?”
“The paintings.” He still whispered. “You make me look beautiful in the paintings. But I’m not.”
Aidan smiled. Getting down on his right knee, he slightly touched the other side of Rick’s face. “Look at me.” When he did, Aidan noticed the moistened eyes. “But you are. You’re fucking gorgeous, so very handsome and downright sexy and hot.”
“No …”
“Yes!” He said it so confidently Rick seemed to reconsider.
Aidan’s gaze travelled down to his lips. He wanted so badly to kiss Rick again and remember how it felt the first time. He raised himself slightly getting closer. Rick took the hint and leaned forward.
The kiss started off passionately but the armrest of the wheelchair ruined the moment. He moved the wheelchair to turn Rick so he was facing him and that seemed to amuse the man. “You’re adorable,” Aidan murmured and bent closer to cup his face. Much to Aidan’s satisfaction, the kiss Rick initiated this time lasted for longer. It was sheer hunger for more that drove their actions.
Aidan began nibbling on Rick’s left ear making him moan. He soon had a raging hard on troubling him. As he continued to explore the man’s neck with his tongue, Rick whispered, “We should go.”
“No,” he said between his kisses. “I’m not letting you go. You can spend the night.”
Rick giggled. “Please Aidan.” He tried to push him away but Aidan could see even his body wasn’t supporting his words because Rick’s hands hardly managed to move him.
“Stop fighting it.” Aidan pulled him closer, craving for more. “You know you want it.” However, the wheelchair rocked for just a moment as if it would roll back and his heart skipped a beat thinking Rick was going to fall. He tightened his grip on the man and swore. “Shit.”
They both broke into laughter. “I’m sorry.” Rick shook his head, continuing to laugh. “This thing isn’t always so convenient.”
“Yea, definitely not sex-inhibiting at all.” Aidan pouted and it made him laugh harder.
When their laughs subsided, Rick wiped the corner of his eyes with his fingers and said, “We should really leave though.”
Aidan huffed and stood up. “Oh alright. I’ll take you home.”
As they started to head out, Aidan felt he had to ask, “You didn’t tell me … what did you think about these paintings?”
Rick stopped his wheelchair. He smiled up at Aidan and then turned his head to look at the paintings again. “They’re very special,” he said. “That’s what I think about them.” Rick looked at him again. “Because when I see them, I remember looking at you in those moments and thinking how I wish you were mine.”
Aidan had a lot on his mind. It had been a busy week and he just wanted to sleep but there was one call he had to make before he hit the hay.
Rick took the call almost immediately. “Hey,” he said. “I didn’t expect you to call tonight. I assumed you’d be exhausted.”
That he was. All the traveling he’d done going to New York and back on the same day had been extremely tiring. “Yeah, you can’t imagine the day I had.” While fully clothed and with his shoes on, he let himself fall back on the bed. He had no desire to do anything else. “But I had to hear your voice before I slept.”
“That’s flattering.”
Aidan smiled. “I’m sorry I hung up on you earlier today. I felt awful but the meeting was going on so long and I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t help it.”
“I understand, don’t worry. I’ll let you off the hook just this once,” Rick said in a playful tone which made Aidan laugh.
“Thanks, I guess.” He rubbed his eyes and yawned. “Why did you call though?”
“Because I felt like hearing your voice.”
Aidan’s heart filled with affection. “What did you do today?”
“Not much. My sister had a day off so I helped her straighten the house and cooked. Boring, I know, but I also got to spend some time with her. It was nice.”
“Not boring at all. I wish I could get more time to spend with my little brother. But our schedules never match.”
“What does he do? His name’s Aaron you said, right?”
“Yep,” Aidan replied and yawned. “He is doing law at Harvard.”
“Wow.”
“I tell you, he’s the smart one of the two of us.” Aidan suddenly remembered something and sat up. He had noticed something on his way to the bedroom but wasn’t sure. He stood up and walked toward the kitchen.
“Aidan?”
“Huh?” He focused back on Rick’s voice. “Sorry, what did you say?”
“Did you doze off?” Rick giggled on the other end.
However, Aidan remained unaffected by the happy sound. “Um … no.” He rubbed his forehead as fear and worry took over his senses. “It’s Bratty. I don’t think she’s come home for the past two days.”
“What? Why?”
He looked down at her feeding bowl. “You know she wasn’t around yesterday and I did not see her this morning either. I thought she would come by during the day so I left some food for her before I left. It’s still there and I don’t see her around either.”
“That’s not good. Listen,” Rick said in a serious tone, “why don’t you go outside and call her. She might be around.”
Aidan pursed his lips for a moment as he considered. “Yeah, I’ll do that.”
“Don’t disconnect, I’ll hold. Let me know when you see her.”
Aidan did exactly as he was asked. He called her by name and even made the funny sounds people usually make to call their cats but his attempts were in vain. He checked the lawn, the backyard and also checked all the other rooms. But she was nowhere to be found. “She isn’t here, Rick.” He said speaking into the phone. “Where could she have gone? What if something has happened to her? She’s pregnant and she hasn’t eaten anything for God knows how long.”
“Calm down Aidan. Please.” Rick’s soothing voice fell on his ears and Aidan closed his eyes. He breathed in and out. “I’m sure she’s alright. Cats are known to be the roaming kind. And Bratty’s due to give birth any day now. So she must be around. She’ll be nesting, trying to find a warm and safe place for that.”
“But why does she have to go outside the house for that? She could give birth in here.”
He chuckled. “You never know with cats. They’ll do things just as they please even if it wouldn’t make sense to us. One of my aunt’s cats had her kittens in the garage of all places.”
“Fuck! I did not check the garage.” He sprinted out. After a careful look in every nook and cranny, he said with dejection, “Not here.”
“Aidan, will you listen to me? I’ve got a plan.”
“Shoot.”
“Right now, you’re exhausted. So, go and get some sleep.” Aidan tried to interrupt but Rick continued, “Tomorrow, you come pick me up and we’ll go around the neighborhood to look for her. Someone might have seen her somewhere and they’ll let us know. Do you have a picture of her?”
“No, but I’m sure Kim has. She took a selfie with Bratty recently. I’ll ask her to share it.” Aidan agreed with Rick’s plan but he also worried tomorrow was too late. What if Bratty was in some kind of trouble?
“Aidan?”
“Hmm?”
“We’ll find her, okay? Don’t worry.”
Aidan nodded and sighed. “Thanks Rick. I’ll be there tomorrow.”
Next morning, Aidan woke up with hopes of seeing Bratty back home. He scanned every room once again. However, it turned out to be a disappointing effort.
With Rick’s plan in mind, they knocked on every door in Aidan’s neighborhood asking about his lost cat. But no one had seemed to have seen Bratty lurking around. One of the old couples did say they heard meowing of a cat in their backyard the previous evening, but nothing after that. So they assumed she must have left. They kindly offered to look more closely an
d keep an eye out in case the cat turned up again.
The sun stared at them through the crystal clear sky and suddenly, Rick’s stomach grumbled noisily. Aidan turned to see the embarrassed look on his face and realized the guy hadn’t eaten anything since they started out. If it had been just him, he would have skipped lunch and continued his search for Bratty. But Rick was with him. “There’s a café right down the block.” Aidan pointed in that direction as he said, “We can grab something to eat.”
For a moment, it looked as though Rick wanted to argue but he opened his mouth only to close it again. He nodded, then agreed. “Yeah, let’s.”
Aidan hardly ate anything. His chicken sandwich lay on his plate half eaten as he moved on to sip on his espresso. He needed something strong to keep him going. He hadn’t gotten a peaceful sleep the previous night and his body ached for some rest. However, his mind wouldn’t let him stop, reminding him every moment of how it was his fault Bratty had left. If he’d been nicer to her, she would’ve had more of a reason to stay.
A warm hand reached out to touch his fingers and Aidan looked across into Rick’s oceanic eyes. They calmed him, distracted him from the buzzing train of thoughts traveling through mind. He let their fingers entwine as they both sat there speechless.
*****
“Aidan, I’m sorry but…” Aidan turned hearing the hesitant words and looked down at Rick who was resting on a park bench. Rick gave him a sad smile. “I need to get back home. It’s getting late and my brother in law will be home in an hour.”
Aidan looked around the park they’d come to and ran his hand through his hair. It was pointless. The park was too far from his place. Bratty would never come here. But because someone had suggested it, Aidan thought to give it a try. After a half an hour’s effort to ask around the place, he knew it was a waste of time.
“Hey,” Rick said bringing his attention back to him. “We will find her, okay?” Aidan gave a curt nod, not really believing those words. He was scared to death now for Bratty’s safety. “Come here. Let’s just sit for a while.”
