by Tara Lain
Maybe I just want to talk to someone.
Tom says he never answers his phone.
Oh, what the hell. He grabbed his cell off the dresser, searched for the number, and pushed Send before he could change his mind.
One ring. “Hello there.”
I could hang up!
“Hello? Is somebody there?”
“Uh, yes. Hi, Tom, it’s Merle.”
“Oh, hi, Merle.” He sounded like he was smiling. Then his voice changed. “I bet Ru and Gray don’t want me to come over, right? I understand.”
“No, no. We’re on for tomorrow.”
“Oh, we are? That’s great! Thank you for telling me. I don’t know where they live.”
“I can give you the address, or I can come get you.”
“I can drive. Billy pays for my truck so I can work. But I’d like to ride with you too.”
What the heck? “I’ll come get you.”
“That would be great. Then you can meet the boys. So should I tell you my address?”
“Uh, yes. Just a sec.” He looked around for a pen or pencil. Finally found one on the bedside table. “Okay, shoot.”
Tom recited an address in north Laguna, close to downtown, and Merle wrote it on the same paper with the measurements. “So Billy pays for your truck? That’s really nice.”
“I don’t have any credit, so he cosigned for me. He’s a good friend.”
Quiet. Okay, so you called him. “Remember I told you I might have a chance to make a movie?”
“Yes.” Definitely smiling now. “Did you get good news?”
“Yeah, I kind of did. The director gave me a script, and I read it just now. It’s really good.”
“What did you read?”
“The script. It’s like the story of the movie.”
“Oh, I get it. And you really liked it?”
“Yes. It’s a vampire movie, but it’s more serious than my TV show.”
“People really like you being a vampire.” It wasn’t a question.
“I guess they do, yes.”
“No, for sure. I hear people talk about Merle Justice and how he’s such a sexy vampire. Mostly girls, but guys too sometimes.”
Merle chuckled. “Thanks for telling me.”
“So that means people will go see your vampire movie, right? They’ll want more Merle the vampire.”
Merle laughed softly. “Yes, I guess it could work that way. That’s what the director’s counting on.”
“So you must have seen him again, right? To get the story?”
“Uh, right.”
“So do you like him?”
“Yes, he seems nice.”
“Good. You need to like the people you work with, like me and Billy.”
“So that’s why I called. To tell you.”
“About the movie? Thank you for telling me, Merle. I’ll come see your movie.”
“It’ll take a while to make it.”
“How long?”
“I don’t know exactly. A year, maybe.”
“Will you tell me about what it’s like to be in a movie?”
“Sure.”
“Good. That will be fun.”
“So I should let you get some sleep.”
“Yes. I’m in my bed with the boys, but I should get up and pee.”
“Hope I didn’t wake you.” Great time to think of that, but better than thinking of Tom in bed with his dogs.
“It’s okay. I always answer my phone at night in case it’s Lily. But you can call me anytime you want.”
“Thank you, Tom. I was just excited. I didn’t think about what time it is.”
“That’s a good time to call friends.”
Merle smiled into the phone. “Yes. Yes, it is.”
“Good night, Merle.”
TOM SLID out from between the warm sheets and padded to the bathroom in the dark, Fluffy and Tigger making growly noises from behind him. “Sorry, guys. Gotta pee.”
The toilet was outside his little bedroom and across the hall, but since Mrs. A. slept downstairs, he didn’t worry too much about getting caught naked. Halfway to the bathroom, he stopped and looked down. His cock bounced at half-mast like a big old pole or something. Oh man, not good. He sucked in a long breath and let it out slowly. Go down and don’t be silly.
When he made it to the john, his dick had gone down enough to get some pee out of it, then he washed his hands and walked back. Of course, the guys lay in his exact spot and squirmed slowly to the side as he crawled back in, staring at him like he had taken their bed. “Come on. You have to share. I need a place to sleep too.”
He pulled the blanket up to his neck, and Tigger snuggled close to his side while Fluffy came up by his face and put his head on the pillow. Tom took a deep inhale. Softly he whispered, “Hey guys, did you get what just happened? Merle called me to tell me about his movie. You know why?” Fluffy licked his nose and he laughed. “Right. Because he got good news and he wanted to tell me.” Tigger turned on his back and Tom stroked his belly. “He called me kind of like a friend.” The boys curled closer. “No one ever did that before.”
Chapter Seven
“SHIT, MAN, this Montrose deal sounds great. How did he hear about you? I’ve been putting out the word a lot.”
Right. Sure. Merle bobbed his foot over the edge of the bed as he talked to Jerry. “Some friends of his told René about me since they watched the show with their kid.”
“No shit?”
“Zero shit. Anyway, what’s he offering?” He could practically feel Jerry starting to inflate his own importance.
“Well, he started kind of low, but I negotiated up.”
Merle just waited.
“I got him to a million on the film.”
Merle swallowed hard and processed cool. “How long is filming?”
“He says thirty days of shooting time, but he wants some rehearsal and prep.”
“He’s able to work around my schedule?”
“He plans to do the prep and some rehearsing while you’re still on the series, then shoot while the show’s on hiatus.”
He might pass out from lack of breath, but he didn’t want to show Jerry that. When it came to impressing somebody, your own agent was close to the top of the list. “Can we get more?”
Jerry chuckled. “How about one percent of the gross?”
“You mean that’s already part of the deal?”
“Yep.” He chuckled some more, he was so proud of himself.
Merle flopped back on the mattress and inhaled deeply. “Think we can get two percent?”
Jerry paused.
I’ll bet Montrose offered the percent of gross, and now Jerry’s worried about actually having to bargain. “Tell him it was my idea.”
“Okay. I’ll give it a try. So you really like the script?”
“Yes. A lot. It’s a juicy role.” Don’t even say the award word. “By the way, he mentioned the fact that I got nominated for an Emmy for such a seemingly frivolous role convinced him that I could be taken seriously even as a vampire.”
“I’m glad that nomination did some good.”
“Yeah. So let me know how the discussion goes.”
“Are you in town in case he wants to talk?”
“Nope. I’m still in Laguna. René probably assumes that, since I saw him here. And I have plans tonight.”
“Okay. But you can break them?”
“Uh, not really. I can meet him anywhere he wants tomorrow—assuming your negotiations are concluded.” Jesus, what am I saying?
“Great. I’ll tell him. Congratulations, baby. This is a big one.”
“I guess we won’t really know until after it’s released, but I can sure hope.”
“I’ll text you what he says—since you’re tied up tonight.”
“Thanks.” Merle hung up and rolled on the mattress like a little kid. A million bucks and a percentage of gross? When that got out, it would up his currency, literally. He laughed out loud
and rolled to sitting. Go tell Ru and Gray.
He hopped off the bed—and stopped. When exactly did I become unwilling to cancel a get-together with a friend for a million dollars?
MERLE PULLED the Audi in front of a two-story house at the end of the street up the hill from downtown Laguna. The house looked old but very well cared for. Tom probably contributed to that. Merle inhaled. Funny how he felt a little nervous. Not sure why.
As Merle pushed open the car door, the front door of the house opened and two dogs raced out, barking like hounds guarding a very small gate of hell. Despite their headlong race toward him, they stopped at the edge of the sidewalk, vibrating with excitement.
Even though little dogs did sometimes bite, these two looked harmless, so he walked forward with his hand extended. The black one, who had to be Fluffy, sniffed and, sure enough, licked his hand. Tigger, presumably, sniffed also, and when Merle made it to the curb, jumped up, begging for pets. Merle laughed and started scratching the scruffy, wiry fur.
“Fluffy, Tigger, sit!”
Like someone turned a switch, both little dogs settled on their haunches and closed their mouths, though the barely banked enthusiasm continued.
Merle looked up and smiled. Tom had a graceful way of moving his big body. Maybe efficient was a better word. No extra motions. He came up to the dogs, who looked at him with huge eyes, asking permission. “Okay.”
They broke their sit, and both of them jumped on Merle’s jeans legs.
Tom said, “Is it okay? I wouldn’t let them do it if you had on those nice pants from the beach.”
“Sure.” He knelt and got a couple of licks, one right on the lips. He laughed and almost overbalanced. Tom grabbed his arm before he fell on his butt.
“They really like you.”
Merle stood again, feeling tiny next to Tom’s big body. “I’ll bet they like most people.”
Tom nodded. “But some they like a whole bunch.” He stepped back and made a motion toward the door. Both dogs gave him a look like Do I have to? then ran up the lawn. “Could you come meet Mrs. Allison? She’d really like that.”
“Sure. I’d love to meet her.” He followed Tom across the well-mowed lawn and into the house. In the living room, right off the small entry, an elderly lady sat in a recliner chair. She was slightly round and had black hair streaked with gray.
She smiled and gave him a thorough look-see. “Forgive me if I don’t get up. I’m a bit slower than I once was.”
Tom said, “You stay put, Mrs. A. Merle just wanted to meet you.”
“Well, I’m honored to meet a real TV star. I’m going to watch your show tonight, then Tom and I can compare notes.”
Merle took her offered hand. “I’m delighted to meet you, Mrs. Allison. I’ll be nervous until you two give me your conclusions about the show.” He grinned to communicate he was joking—but it was truer than he let on. Tom was so sincere and honest, if he didn’t like the performance, it would be a definite condemnation.
She smiled. “We’ll go easy on you.”
“No, give it to me full-on, okay? I can take it.”
“Fair enough.”
Tom pointed up the staircase. “I’ll take the boys upstairs so they don’t bother you, Mrs. A.”
“Thank you, Tom.” Tom walked away, and Mrs. Allison looked back at Merle. “I think it’s wonderful that you two are friends.” She cocked her head. “How did that happen to occur?” Her deep brown eyes bored into Merle. Not curiosity as much as protection. Good. She seemed to care about Tom.
“Tom saved my life, ma’am.”
“What?”
“He chased off some guys who were determined to beat me up and very probably more than that.”
“My word. He never told me.”
“I’m very grateful.”
She nodded thoughtfully. “With good reason, it sounds like.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Tom’s voice came down the stairs. “You guys be good and be quiet. Stay in your places.” Tom bounded down the steps.
Mrs. A. smiled. “You two have a good time. Tom, don’t be too hard on Merle, okay? About the show?”
For a second his eyes widened; then he grinned. “I promise. I’ll go easy on him.”
They walked out of the house and climbed into Merle’s car. Tom started to buckle up but got distracted running his hands over the leather seats. “Wow, this is a nice car.”
Merle grinned at his delight. Tom looked at him. “Oh, sorry.” He grabbed his seat belt again and clicked it shut. As Merle drove down the residential street toward PCH, Tom kept looking around. “What kind of car is this?”
“It’s an Audi.”
“Is this a GPS?” He touched the screen on the dashboard.
“Yes.”
“Can I see it work?”
“Sure.” Merle stopped the car at the curb and touched a button on the screen for Ru’s house, then started again.
“Proceed to the highlighted route.”
Tom laughed.
“Turn left on Highland.”
Merle glanced over. “You’ve seen GPS’s before, right?”
“Oh yes, but I don’t have one in my truck because the truck GPS doesn’t do a very good job. When I was doing a test drive, it kept saying to go the wrong way, so I told them I didn’t need it. I want to see if yours is better.”
“You have a really good sense of direction, then?”
“Yeah.”
“What about places you’ve never been?”
“If I know the address, I can usually find it.”
The disembodied voice said, “Turn left at Highland.”
Tom pointed at the screen. “See. We’re going south, right? So it would be one point seven miles shorter to go directly to PCH.”
“What about traffic? Maybe it’s faster on Highland?” Merle smiled at Tom’s intense expression.
“No. Only at rush hour, and it’s not now.”
He drove straight to PCH, and Tom nodded approvingly as he canceled the GPS.
“I’ll bet you’re excited to have your own house in Laguna.” Tom leaned forward slightly in his seat and stared out the windshield.
“Yes. Very excited. I can’t wait to move in.”
“We’ll be done soon. Then you can have it to yourself.”
“Well, I just found out that I’m probably going to be doing that movie I told you about, so I might have to wait until after I finish it before I can take a few days to buy furniture and get the place set up.” He pulled up to the gate that blocked the unanointed from entering the very upscale community of beach homes. The gate guard leaned down, saw him, waved a hand, and the gate went up, letting them through.
“I guess Gray must need lots of protection, huh?” Tom gazed out the window like he didn’t want to miss a detail.
“He’s a pretty humble guy, but he’s also very famous, and a lot of people want to take pictures and write stories about him all the time. That’s why they live here. It’s a little harder to get in. But the photographers even come up to the beach in boats to take his photo.”
“I know a lot of people really like him, but some stopped liking him when they found out he was gay, right?”
Why did it surprise him that Tom knew that? He certainly watched TV and went to movies. But he just seemed so—innocent. “Yes, some did, but not as many as they thought when he first came out. His audience shrank some, but most people came back.”
“That’s because he’s the best.”
Merle chuckled. “Yes, he is. People couldn’t find an action star they liked as much.”
As Merle pulled in to the driveway, Tom stared down at his hands with a small crease between his dark, arched brows. “Some people really don’t like it when you’re gay.”
Merle turned off the car and looked at Tom. “Right. Like those guys you saved me from. Did you know that’s why they attacked me?”
He nodded. “I heard them call you ‘fag.’ That’s why I ran, because that�
��s never good.”
“I’m sure glad you did.”
“That’s what they said to me too.”
What? “Who? Those guys?”
“No. My uncle. My father told him don’t say that, but he did anyway.”
“Why, Tom? Why did he call you a fag?” Merle’s throat felt tight.
“Because he’s the one who found me in the garage with the boy.”
“Oh.” Did his heart stop for a second? Tom’s gay?
“Yes, my father said it was none of his business, but he told me to leave anyway.”
“Leave? Like home?”
Tom nodded, then looked up and smiled, but those big blue eyes held a sea of hurt.
“Your father made you leave home?”
“Yes. He said it was for the best since I didn’t want to change.”
“You didn’t want to change—”
“Being gay. I liked being gay. He said that was bad with God and I should go.”
“But Lily? Does she live at home?”
“Oh yes. She’s in high school. I was never good in school, so I didn’t need to stay.”
“But you bought her a dress?”
He smiled, genuinely this time. “Yes, so she could go to a dance.”
“Didn’t you say you send money home?” Nothing was quite making sense.
Tom nodded. “My dad hasn’t been able to get a job except off and on for a long time.”
“So wait.” He felt his hands clench. “You support your family, but they won’t let you live at home because you’re gay?” His voice rose, and he tried to control it because Tom’s eyes widened.
Tom nodded.
“Holy shit—”
Tom pointed at the clock on the dash. “Look. It’s almost time for your show, Merle. I don’t want to miss it.”
“Right. Right, we should go in.” Tom was out the door before Merle could take a breath. Shit, I scared him. He inhaled and climbed out of the car, meeting Tom at the front door. He used his key to let himself in. He’d told Ru and Gray he’d be happy to watch the show with Tom in his guest room, but the smell of popcorn announced they were planning a viewing party.
