Set Ablaze

by KC Burn

  “Hello there.” Hayden sat cross-legged on the floor, careful not to squish this apparent second, secret roommate, and found himself with a lapful of puppy. Pugs were small to begin with, but Hayden didn’t think it was full-grown yet. A quick glance confirmed it was a boy puppy, and then he was completely occupied with not drowning in tiny puppy kisses.

  “Aren’t you a good boy?” Hayden hadn’t forgotten about his own dog and the baby talk that went along with it when no one could hear you. He still missed Scout to this day and had entertained the idea of getting another dog after his gran had passed, but his hours made it impossible. It would require a boyfriend—or a roommate—who was home at more regular hours for that to happen.

  How had he missed a dog carrier the day Jez moved in? He hadn’t seen any boxes labeled as dog paraphernalia, and he’d been nosy enough to read every label. He had no idea why neither Jez nor Miguel had mentioned a dog. Although he was a little pissed about the secrecy of it all, he wasn’t unhappy about the presence of a dog in his house.

  Hayden loved on that tiny pug, losing track of time, until the pup calmed and settled in his lap. Hayden took advantage of the lull to inspect the tag dangling from the collar.

  “Fang?” Hayden let out a laugh and smoothed a finger over the New York phone number that he now knew belonged to Jez. “You, my friend, have an impossible task in front of you, trying to grow into that name. What was your daddy thinking?” He gently lifted Fang’s lip and promptly got another kiss for his trouble. He wasn’t sure Fang even owned teeth that would live up to that namesake—his personality was so sunny people would have to smile around him, like Hayden had done since he’d opened the door.

  “Your daddy is a big mean daddy, isn’t he, leaving you in his bedroom all the time.” Maybe the little mite wasn’t housebroken? Hayden sniffed, but the only thing he could smell was a faint remnant of Jez’s enticing scent. No piss or shit at all. Fang had been barking, but it hadn’t been because he needed to pee.

  “How’s your breakfast situation?” Hayden’s stomach was not happy about delaying breakfast, but Jez wasn’t here and this little baby had wanted something, either food or loving or both. And Hayden was more than happy to indulge him. He stood, carefully nestling Fang in the crook of his arm, and stepped into Jez’s private space. Yet another thing he’d probably have to apologize for, if it weren’t for the giant yet tiny secret in his arms. Hayden laughed again. His gran had devoured romance novels, and while Hayden hadn’t ever read any of them, the secret baby had been a common theme. His gran would have been as amused as he was that Hayden now had evidence of his very own secret baby.

  A white pad edged in blue lay on the floor near Fang’s small doggie bed, presumably for accidents, but still pristine. Jez’s floor and bed were covered with a disconcerting riot of clothes that had apparently exploded. They were draped over piles of boxes, some of which were open and mostly full. A suitcase lay on the dresser, spilling its contents like a clothing lava flow from Mount Disaster. Hayden grimaced. How could Jez stand it? More importantly, how was it even possible to create such a disaster in just a few days? He couldn’t tell Jez to clean up his room, but he sure as hell wanted to.

  He dropped a kiss on Fang’s warm head and continued to poke around, searching for Fang’s food and water. But he found nothing. Frowning, he opened the closet door, and Fang wriggled in his arms, eager to get down.

  “There you go, boy.” Fang dove face-first into a bowl filled with dry food. “Poor baby.”

  Surely Jez wouldn’t have shut the closet door knowing Fang’s food and water were inside? That didn’t jibe at all with the sensitive boy he’d known, nor even with the prickly man he was learning about, although he still wasn’t sure what to make of the secret baby. Then he noticed a wooden ruler lying on the floor inside the closet, tiny teeth marks marring it at either end. Jez must have used it to prop open the closet door, but hadn’t realized Fang might mistake it for a chew toy. Oh, silly baby. He’d have to make sure Jez got Fang some proper doggie chews. Wood splinters weren’t good for dogs. If Fang had gotten trapped inside the closet, well, he’d have been well-fed and watered, but Hayden would never have heard him, and that would have been a fucking shame.

  He pushed the closet door wide open. Now that the secret was out, maybe he could convince Jez to put Fang’s dishes in the kitchen, where spills would be easier to clean up.

  With more light shining in the closet—also filled with a jumble of clothes hanging somewhat haphazardly—Hayden spotted a dog carrier on the shelf, back in a shadowed corner.

  Nope. He definitely hadn’t seen that on moving day. How the fuck had Jez managed to be so sneaky?

  Hunger satiated for the moment, Fang turned and looked up at him, tongue out, wrinkly little jowls lifted in a puppy smile. Hayden’s stomach chose that moment to inform him that something else required food. Now.

  “Wanna keep me company while I make breakfast?”

  Fang wiggled his butt in the affirmative and followed Hayden out of the room like he owned the place. Until they came to the stairs. Hayden made it halfway down before he heard a whimper and turned to see Fang pacing at the top of the stairs.

  Hayden shook his head. He was so stupid. Not only was each riser almost as tall as Fang, he had to have been living in an apartment with Jez. It was possible he’d never had to use stairs before. If Hayden had been his owner, he’d have scooped the dog into his arms and carried him down the stairs to avoid any accidents in a common area.

  Hayden was too hungry to try to teach Fang how to deal with stairs right now. He went back up, grabbed Fang, and carried him to the kitchen. Maybe after lunch he’d take him out back, see what Fang knew about fetching. The few steps from his patio down to the grass would be good for practicing going up and down stairs.

  He’d need treats. Maybe a bit of cheese would do, since he didn’t know where Jez kept doggie treats and didn’t want to go rummaging in Jez’s drawers to find them. Although he had to admit to being insatiably curious about what he could learn about Jez from going through his personal stuff, that was the domain of a total creeper.

  Maybe he could even take Fang over to the local pet store and pick out a few things. He’d never been, but as he understood things, pets were welcome to go inside. Then again, maybe he could just putter around, get some laundry done, and relax in the yard, enjoying the company of a dog.

  JEZ BLEW out a breath as he exited the Uber.

  “Thanks, man.”

  The driver nodded and drove away.

  Car shopping was going to be even more of a pain in the ass than he’d anticipated.

  He’d gotten up early and done some yoga in the sunroom, trying to be as quiet as he could to avoid disturbing Hayden. Faint shadows under those mossy green eyes had attested to his exhaustion. Jez had eaten dinner by himself. Knowing Hayden was in the house was an unfamiliar sensation, but not unwelcome.

  He was also sure Hayden had been giving him heated looks. Their trip to the grocery store had been laden with sexual tension and innuendo. If someone at a club had flirted with Jez like that, it might have led to orgasms. The past few weeks in New York had been so stressful, he’d wondered if he’d ever have an erection again. To have his libido stirred to life by a man who was so wrong for him troubled him. Not like Jayson had been wrong for him, because Hayden was a good guy. Jez’s inability to find a suitable man spoke to some deep-seated flaw in Jez’s character. It had to. Why was it the big, athletic, and bicurious or closeted men were the ones who rang his bell? However attractive, none of them would stay and be open. He’d have thought Jayson’s bad apple would have killed the attraction to men like Hayden for an eternity.

  He needed to find a damned librarian or a violinist to date.

  Jez pushed his key in the lock and stumbled inside. He definitely wasn’t going to be looking for a used-car salesman. They were the worst. Pushy as fuck and so full of bullshit their ears should have been sprouting potatoes. No, he didn’t kn
ow anything about cars and should have done more research before heading out to the nearest used-car place, but he’d hoped to find someone who’d help him. Jez considered himself primarily a dancer and singer, an actor second, but after spending most of his adult life in the theater and around actors, he’d found it easy to spot someone being as phony as a three-dollar bill.

  His time in the clubs had also taught him to identify the reek of desperation, and after hours of battling the bullshit trying to get a feel for a car that would suit him, he left feeling like he’d let someone pay him to indulge in a fetish he wasn’t comfortable with: disillusioned and slightly dirty. Arriving in an Uber hadn’t helped matters any. They probably thought he was as desperate as they were.

  Without regard for the noisy floorboards, since Hayden should have left for work long ago, Jez ran up the stairs. Then he rocked to a stop at the top. His door was open.

  “Fang?” Jez could barely get the word out. Surely he hadn’t left his door open when he’d left this morning. He just couldn’t have. “Fang?” But no puppy came to greet him with a waggly butt and corkscrew tail.

  Just in case, Jez dove to the floor to check under the bed, but still no Fang.

  Fear clawed at his throat. Where was his dog? Had Hayden found Fang?

  He searched the entire house, even calling up into the attic and opening Hayden’s bedroom door. But there was no sign of his dog.

  Impending tears burned his eyes and stung his nose. How could he have been so stupid? Jez ran outside, back and front, calling for Fang, the bright sunny day an affront to his panic.

  Had Hayden found Fang? Or had Fang escaped? He’d been wearing a collar with Jez’s mobile number, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t ended up in the pound. Were there coyotes around here? He’d heard horror stories about small dogs and coyotes.

  Sweaty and disheveled, he fell onto the couch, sniffling. With trembling fingers, he pulled up a list of nearby animal shelters on his phone, hoping with all his heart that one of them had Fang and that he wasn’t hurt. If he didn’t have any success there, he’d call Miguel, see if his brother could help him search.

  The front door opened and he heard Hayden speak. “Who’s a good boy? You look so handsome with that bandana.” The door banged shut.

  But it was the gruff little bark that sent Jez shooting to his feet and tearing into the front hall.

  “Fang!” He fell to his knees and Fang greeted him as enthusiastically as ever, little puppy tongue swiping away the tears he just couldn’t keep from falling. He sniffled into Fang’s neck, dimly aware that yes, there was a new bandana over Fang’s sweet little purple collar.

  Then he took in a great shuddery breath and glared up at Hayden. “I thought he was gone. I came home and he was gone. I’ve… I’ve been looking everywhere.” Jez couldn’t bring himself to let Fang go and kept hugging him.

  Hayden dropped to his knees in front of Jez. “I am so sorry, Jez. I should have told you I was taking him out. I left a note on the fridge, but you wouldn’t have had any reason to look there. I should have made it more obvious. We just went and did a little shopping at the pet store.” Hayden reached out and cupped Jez’s face with a large hand before rubbing at his jaw with a callused thumb. They stayed like that long minutes until Jez’s tears dried up and Jez put Fang on the floor. He immediately waddled his little puppy butt toward the kitchen like he had a blueprint of the house.

  Jez hiccupped a little. Hayden groaned and got to his feet before helping Jez up. Kneeling on a hard floor wasn’t ever comfortable, and Jez had only done it when he was drunk enough not to feel it. His knees got enough abuse dancing.

  “You okay?” Hayden hadn’t let go of Jez’s arm, his grip warm and comforting. But this didn’t make sense at all.

  “I don’t understand.” Why would Hayden take Fang shopping? Judging by the bag he’d dropped by the door, the bandana wasn’t the only new thing Fang had scored. Deep down, Jez had been so afraid that Hayden had taken Fang to an animal shelter.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about Fang? I don’t understand that at all.”

  “You don’t like dogs.” Obviously. Why else would Jez keep it a secret?

  “I love dogs.”

  Jez frowned, the movement pulling at his swollen eyelids, and he sniffed. Hayden frowned right back, but he didn’t seem angry. Just as confused as Jez felt.

  “C’mon. Get a glass of water in the kitchen. I’ll meet you in there in a second.”

  Jez obeyed, glancing around for Fang, but it seemed he’d moved his little puppy butt elsewhere. The pounding anxiety had receded, leaving Jez drained. Some water was a good idea.

  Hayden strode in as he finished filling the glass. “I don’t have any tissues, so I just grabbed the toilet paper from the downstairs bathroom.”

  That was going to change if Jez had anything to say about it. With his allergies, he wasn’t about to rely on toilet paper. But he took it gratefully and blew his nose.

  “Why do you think I don’t like dogs? I was devastated when my parents had to put down Scout. If it wasn’t for the fact I spend twenty-four-hour shifts at work, I’d have a dog of my own right now.”

  Jez shook his head angrily. “No. I heard you talking to your friends about… Scout. You hated him. Said he was old and smelly and that you weren’t going to miss him.” The hero worship had abated somewhat after that incident, just a couple of years before Hayden left home. Jez had always wanted a dog, but his parents didn’t believe in having pets, and not only had he been in awe of his older brother’s best friend, he’d been insanely jealous of the dog Hayden had just for himself, since he had no siblings and never needed to share with them or wear hand-me-downs.

  Hayden sucked in a breath like Jez had slapped him or something. “Fuck. I’d almost forgotten about that. That… did not reflect well on me at all. I was devastated. But I was also embarrassed about crying. About how sad I was. So I blustered and lied and said I didn’t care to hide the pain. I wasn’t sure the guys believed me, so I’m sort of surprised you did. But I guess you were really young then. I was sixteen, so you’d have been about ten or so?”

  Jez nodded. He might have missed a subtle nuance like that in the innocence of his youth. It wasn’t until a couple of years later, when he started realizing how much he deviated from his family’s expectations and how hurtful people could be even when they didn’t outright use insults or fists, that he started seeing the lies. Acting had given him an edge in reading nuances now, and the way Hayden was staring at him made him think thoughts that were far from innocent.

  He took a tiny step closer, and Hayden didn’t flinch or drop his gaze.

  “I’m so sorry you felt you needed to hide Fang. I think he’s adorable.”

  Jez quirked his mouth into a smile. “Yeah, I figured that out, even if I wondered for a moment if you’d been replaced by an alien.” The bag of puppy spoils didn’t lie.

  Hayden shifted his feet, putting them closer together. “I guess Miguel thinks I hate dogs too, since he never mentioned Fang either.”

  Jez flushed slightly, skin already sensitive from crying burning a little hotter. “He doesn’t know.”

  Hayden lifted an eyebrow. “You didn’t tell your brother you got a dog? How long have you had Fang?”

  “About four months. He’s seven months old now, and he’s on the smaller end of the spectrum, so he seems a little younger.”

  “Four months and you never told Miguel?”

  Shit. Hayden wasn’t going to let that go. He shrugged. “I don’t know. Miguel and I don’t talk all that often, and it’s usually just a quick check-in, not like… a conversation. You know?”

  Now Hayden stared at him like Jez was the alien pod person. Seriously, how did Hayden not realize Miguel might be the only family Jez acknowledged and who acknowledged him back, but they weren’t close? Hell, Jez hadn’t even seen Miguel in person since he left home at seventeen. Miguel probably hadn’t changed much, but it had still been eight years. He wa
sn’t sure either of them could pick the other out of a lineup at this point. Maybe Miguel didn’t realize his refusal to discuss anything that could be considered too gay, like Jez’s love life or his career, prevented them from being as close as Jez would like.

  “I guess,” Hayden said slowly. Then again, Hayden and Miguel were still close. Close enough for Miguel to ask for a favor of such magnitude that only desperation drove Jez to ask Miguel for help. “Hopefully you guys can reconnect now that you’ll be living in the same city.”

  Jez nodded, although he wasn’t at all sure about it. Miguel hadn’t been in a hurry to meet up with him. “So you’re really okay with Fang being here?”

  He’d been so damned afraid. Each mile closer to LA he’d fretted, planning how he was going to keep Fang hidden, and now one of his biggest worries had been destroyed with a few words.

  “Of course. If he’s housebroken, you don’t have to leave him in your room. Even if he isn’t housebroken, the kitchen might be a nicer spot to confine him.”

  Oh, he had Hayden’s number now. Jez lowered his voice. “You just want a chance to spoil him.”

  Hayden grinned and shifted. “You figured out my secret plan. You could feed him in the kitchen too.”

  “Can I?” Somehow they ended up standing close enough that Hayden’s body heat radiated against Jez like flames licking over his skin.

  “Yes.” Hayden’s voice deepened, and he leaned in.

  There was no mistaking that look, that move, and like he’d been waiting his whole life for it, Jez tilted his head in invitation—an invitation Hayden took without any further hesitation.

  At first Hayden’s lips were soft, placing exploratory nibbles along the seam of Jez’s mouth. Then Hayden wrapped his arms around Jez’s waist, and Jez sighed into the kiss, opening to Hayden’s tongue, a choreography that flowed as naturally as anything Jez had ever experienced.

  Jez slid his arms around Hayden’s shoulders, pressing them together, and Hayden groaned into his mouth. An iron bar of need pressed against Jez’s stomach, matching his own erection, and Hayden moved his hands from Jez’s waist to his ass, gripping and kneading.