by Tara Lain
Merle said, “Tom suggested it.”
René raised both brows. “No kidding. Great inspiration.”
Tom smiled happily.
“Let’s test it. Tom, come over and I’ll let you look through the viewfinder.”
“Okay. Can I take some pictures for my sister?”
“Hmm. This is still in the confidential stage. Pretty hush-hush. It’s better if you don’t let anyone else know what’s going on.”
“Oh, I see. Darn. I promised her. But maybe I can just take a picture with Merle later. She’d like to see him, I bet.”
René smiled. “I bet.”
Merle walked into the lights where the shooting was happening. He could see Tom with René behind one of the cameras, and Aaron walked over to join them. René called, “Samantha, can you increase that glow?”
She waved. “I can in a minute. I’m in the middle of a beard application.” She bent over Xavier.
Tom said, “I can help.” He trotted to the makeup table, grabbed that bottle of golden sunshine, and came back to where Merle sat on a stool. Tom looked at the lights. “These are really hot.”
Merle nodded and watched as Tom put some gold on one of his big fingers and swiped it across Merle’s cheekbone. A shiver started at his tailbone and worked its way up his spine, making a serious detour to his cock. Holy shit.
Tom stepped back and surveyed his work, then did the same thing on the other side. He added a little more to Merle’s forehead, his big, callused finger tickling some kind of nerve endings not described in anatomy books. Tom looked back toward René. “How’s that?”
“Good. That looks good for now, Tom.” René sounded half impressed and half like he was humoring Tom. Wonder which is true?
Tom walked back behind the camera, and Merle ran some lines he’d memorized while René studied him from every angle. Laila stepped into the scene, and they played off each other as René called directions.
After hours of shooting and refining makeup, they gathered back around the table, and René gave script notes to the cast. Finally they were done, and Merle went to the makeup stand to clean his face. When he returned to the table, René was chatting with Tom, Aaron, and Laila. He leaned back in his chair. “How about dinner?”
Laila stood. “Thanks, boss, but I’ve got a date. So when do we start shooting?”
René said, “Merle still has another two weeks of work on his series. Then we’ll begin. If I find I can shoot a few scenes that don’t include him without having to do a start/stop, I may call you a little earlier. Meanwhile, learn your lines and study the notes I gave you.”
“Will do, boss.” She gave Merle a kiss on the cheek. “See you, my sexy vampire.” She waggled her fingers toward Tom and Aaron, who were sitting side by side. “Bye, boys. When you speak of me, and you will, be kind.”
Merle snorted at her variation on the Lillian Hellman line.
Laughing, she strolled out of the studio.
René looked around the table. “Gentlemen, I think that leaves us. What would you like to eat? Italian? Sushi?”
They settled on seafood and walked out together to the parking lot. René pointed toward his Jaguar. “We can all go in my car.”
Merle shook his head. “I want to take mine so I can drive back to Laguna tonight. Tom can come with me.”
René smiled. “Of course. Aaron, ride with me.”
Tom slid into the passenger seat of Merle’s car and ran a hand over the leather seats, flashing his big, sweet smile.
Merle navigated the Audi behind René’s Jag.
Tom peered through the windshield. “That’s a pretty car too.”
“Did you have a good time today?”
“I never had so much fun before in my life.”
Merle pulled through the guard gate and out into the flow of traffic, keeping the Jaguar in sight. “What did you like best?”
Tom smiled. “Lots of things.” He chuckled.
“What?” Merle glanced at him. “Tell me.”
“I liked watching you, Merle.”
“You mean me being a vampire?”
“No. You. Just you.”
Merle looked over at Tom and nearly ran into the back of René’s car as he pulled into the restaurant parking lot. Merle slammed on his brakes, then pressed his foot on the accelerator and found a parking space. Jesus, he wanted to ask Tom what he meant, but René and Aaron were already out of their car and walking into the restaurant. He’d drive Tom home later, and they could talk then.
They walked into the restaurant and looked around until they saw René and Aaron settling into a booth at the back. They followed.
Uh, okay. René sat on one side of the table and Aaron on the other, making it necessary for Merle and Tom to split up. Just to be contrary, Merle kind of wanted to sit next to Aaron, but René patted the seat beside him and Merle slid in. Tom sat next to the handsome Aaron quite happily.
The waiter appeared. “Hi, I’m Sam. I’ll be your waiter. What can I get you folks to drink?”
Tom’s eyes got wide. Merle said, “Don’t worry. René’s taking us to dinner.”
“Not me.” Tom frowned.
“Yes, you.” René smiled.
Merle said, “Do you like beer? Wine?”
“I never had wine, but I like beer.”
Aaron leaned in and said in a stage whisper, “Are you old enough to drink?”
“Oh yeah, I’m twenty-three.”
Sam the waiter said, “Beer it is.”
Merle got beer also, and René and Aaron both ordered chardonnay.
Aaron opened his menu and slid it partly in front of Tom. “What shall we get?”
Merle’s heart tripped. Could Tom read the menu?
Tom smiled and said, “What do you like?”
Aaron rested his head on his hand and grinned at Tom. “I’m thinking of ordering lobster since René is paying. What do you say? Shall we make it two?”
Tom’s face got serious. “Oh no. That would be too much. What are you having, Merle?”
“I like sea bass.”
“Will I like it?”
“Yes, I think you will.”
“Okay, good.”
René said, “If you want lobster, Tom, that will be just fine.” His dark eyes gleamed at Tom’s beautiful face.
“I’ll give him some of mine, okay?” Aaron leaned in and nudged Tom.
“That would be great, Aaron. I always see them and they look kind of funny.”
Sam came back; they ordered, and then started talking movies and plans for the shooting. Merle wanted to be engrossed but he kept wondering what Tom was thinking while he stared intently at first René and then Aaron.
As one glass of wine turned into a bottle, Aaron touched Tom more and more until finally, Aaron rested his arm on the back of the bench seat behind Tom and would encircle his shoulders whenever he wanted to make a point. Tom didn’t seem to mind, but every pat on the arm or lean into Tom’s side flailed Merle’s nerves. Shit, I brought Tom into the midst of these sharks. I can’t let them drown him.
At the same time, René also got handsier, resting his palm on Merle’s forearm and even squeezing his knee once or twice under the table. Under ordinary circumstances, the tender touches would have sent his cock into the stratosphere, but seeing Tom across the table was too distracting.
Tom eating sea bass was better than a movie. He very carefully nudged off a forkful, frowned a little, and brought it to his lips. He nibbled and sniffed and applied a soft-looking pink tongue to the fish. Aaron stared so hard at Tom’s tongue, he practically fell forward, and René seemed to have trouble tearing his eyes away too.
Tom’s face lit up. “Wow, this is good.” He thrust the fork into his mouth and chewed enthusiastically. “It’s way better than tuna fish.”
Tom always made Merle choose between laughing and crying.
Just to make the frustrating evening complete, Aaron ordered crème brûlée for dessert and proceeded to feed it to To
m in small spoonfuls while Tom made ecstatic noises that suggested other kinds of activities.
“This is even better than sea bass.” He grinned, and Aaron gave up pretending he was just resting his arm and wrapped it around Tom’s big shoulders.
Screaming sounded good, but Merle bit his tongue.
“So, Tom, do you like to dance?” Aaron gazed at Tom.
“Oh yes, I love dancing.”
“You do?” The words popped out of Merle’s mouth.
“Um-hm. I’m good at most physical things. I’m just not great at reading and stuff like that.”
Merle released a breath very slowly and silently as he pictured all the possible physical things at which Tom might be good, but Aaron wasn’t so discreet. He just sighed.
Aaron said, “Maybe you’d like to go dancing sometime?”
“With you?”
Aaron chuckled. “Yes, with me.”
Tom glanced at Merle, then back at Aaron. “That would be nice, Aaron. Where will they let us dance?” He smiled sweetly.
“Uh, I know a gay club in Hollywood where we can dance all night if you want.”
All night, my ass. Merle’s hand tightened into a fist. Shit, relax. You’re not Tom’s mother.
“Would Merle and René come too?”
Merle held his breath.
Aaron glanced at Merle like he wanted him to say no. He didn’t.
“Sure, if they want to and they’re free when we go.”
“When would that be?”
“I was thinking Friday night.” Obviously, from the glance and quick frown, Aaron regretted broaching the subject around Merle, but too late now, buddy.
Tom nodded. “I could go Friday. How about you, René?”
Did Tom ask René because he didn’t want to be obvious? That seemed way too conniving for Tom, but—maybe.
René turned to Merle with great ceremony. “Mr. Justice, would you do me the honor of accompanying me dancing on Friday night?”
“I’d be honored, Mr. Montrose.” He bowed in his seat, and Tom chuckled. Aaron didn’t look amused.
Merle tried to look as innocent as Tom did. “Shall Tom and I come up to Los Angeles together on Friday? It seems silly for both of you to have to drive to pick us up.”
“I suppose that makes sense.” Aaron wasn’t happy.
René said, “Sure, darling. How everyone gets back can be determined later.” He smiled, and cats consuming canaries didn’t look so self-satisfied. Finally Aaron smiled.
It took another half hour to have after-dinner drinks. Merle abstained since he was driving, but watching Tom sip his first limoncello was the stuff of fiction. Like with the sea bass, a lot of tongue came into play, but once tested, he drank the little glass with his eyes closed and a small smile on his lips. That in turn produced a smile on both Aaron and René, which made Merle frown.
Finally they all walked out of the restaurant, Aaron carefully maneuvering so he could get Tom beside him.
Don’t interfere.
But Aaron took Tom’s hand, and Merle clenched his fist.
Chapter Eleven
MERLE WALKED beside René and stood next to his car.
René glanced at Aaron and Tom, who stood near Merle’s Audi. “You’re very protective of Tom.”
“Yeah. I know. I feel like I lured him out of his world and that makes me responsible for him in mine, you know?”
“Is that all it is?” René tilted his head and curved a small smile.
“Yes.”
“All those rippling muscles and all that innocence. Quite an engaging combination.”
“That’s why I don’t want to see anyone hurt him.”
René touched his cheek, though he had to reach up a ways to do it. “You did well today. You’re going to be brilliant in this role. Just what I want.”
“I’m glad.”
“May I kiss you?”
Merle forced his eyes not to look at Tom. “I have to confess to some reservation about getting involved with the boss.”
“I understand, but it’s just a little kiss.”
Well, hell, I’d probably do it if it wasn’t for— “Okay.” He leaned in and René met him more than halfway, wrapping a hand around Merle’s neck. Lips. Tongue. Umm, more tongue. Merle opened a bit to allow access and got rewarded with a warm invasion. Nice-ish. Talented, obviously experienced, clearly interested. What’s not to like?
René made a little moaning sound but still released Merle and stepped back, his tented slacks advertising what he wasn’t saying. Merle crossed his hands to disguise his uninflated jeans. Wonder if Tom saw? Quit it. “So I guess I’ll see you Friday.”
René nodded. “Assuming you want to dance?”
“Sure. Sounds fun.”
“I’ll have Aaron send you directions.”
“Great.”
Merle turned in time to see Aaron’s hand on Tom’s cheek. Tom looked kind of wide-eyed. Did Aaron kiss him? Aaron smiled and walked toward René’s car. Merle passed him and gave him a nod since a smile wasn’t quite happening.
He beeped the lock on the Audi and climbed in the driver’s seat. Tom slid into the passenger side, and Merle took off. Neither of them said anything, and Merle pressed the accelerator a little harder than he needed to while his hands clutched the wheel. Should I turn on music?
Freeway traffic was just the regular outrageous flow of taillights and headlights, but they made Merle antsy. Just get home. He flipped on the sound system and “If I Ain’t Got You” by Alicia Keys filled the car.
“So I guess René’s your boyfriend, huh?”
Tom said it so softly, Merle barely heard him above the bluesy voice. “What? No. No, he’s not.”
“Looked like it.”
In answer to my question—yes, Tom saw. “We talked about it a little, but we haven’t gone forward. What you saw was the first kiss ever.”
“Guess it’d be a little weird. Like me being boyfriends with Billy—if he wasn’t married and all.”
“You mean since René’s my director?”
Tom nodded, staring out the windshield, and Merle had to glance over to catch the movement.
“Yeah, that’s why I feel odd about it. I even asked him if that’s why he picked me for the role.”
“I don’t think that would be true, Merle. You’re so good and all.”
“Thank you. But I told him up front if that was why he picked me, he should get somebody else. He said he didn’t.”
“Then he shouldn’t be kissing you, right?” He had a stubborn sound in his voice Merle hadn’t heard before.
“I believe him when he says he didn’t pick me because he wants my body. It’s too great a picture to wreck with someone he doesn’t think can do a good job. But he still comes on to me.” He shrugged. “I guess he wants that too.”
“Who wouldn’t?”
Merle glanced over at Tom, but he was looking out the side window. “So do you like Aaron?”
“He seems nice.” Still looking out the window.
“He’s really handsome.”
Tom shrugged this time.
“If you don’t want to go dancing with him, you can text him and say so.”
“Oh no, I really like to dance.”
“Good.”
They lapsed into silence, letting Alicia do the work for a while.
The bright lights of the freeway gave way to the almost rural darkness of the Laguna Canyon Road, and the inside of the car seemed to shrink.
Merle swallowed softly. “Have you ever had a boyfriend?”
“Yes.”
“The boy your uncle caught you with?”
“No. I never got to be his boyfriend. My boyfriend was before. His name was Bruce.”
“Do you have a boyfriend now?”
“Oh no. I wouldn’t go dancing if I did. Not without my boyfriend.”
“So how did you break up? With Bruce, I mean.”
“His parents sent him away.”
“Becau
se he was gay?”
“No. They knew that already.”
“Oh.”
“They sent him to school. He’s very smart. He was going to Harvard.”
“That’s a great school.”
“Yes. Where did you go to school, Merle?”
“I went to a school called Juilliard in New York.”
“Is that a good school too?”
“Most people think so, yes.”
The car got quiet again but full of tense energy.
“I hope we can still be friends.”
Merle’s head snapped around, but Tom still stared out the side. “Why do you ask that? We are friends, aren’t we?”
“Sometimes smart people don’t want to be my friend. Bruce said he wanted to be with me forever, but his mom and dad didn’t think that would be good. They sent him away and I never saw him anymore.”
Whoa. He inhaled slowly through his nose. “Maybe his parents were worried that you were too young to be making commitments like forever.”
Tom shook his head. All Merle could see was his dark, curly hair waving like a halo in the soft light. “Not too young. Too stupid.”
“Tom, I don’t think you’re stupid.”
He finally turned toward Merle. “You don’t?”
“No. Different people have different strengths and types of intelligence. It’s only your problems with reading that made you slower, don’t you think?” Do I believe that?
Tom sighed loudly. “Maybe. But Billy had trouble reading, and I don’t think I could do what he does—like run a big business. I’m good with my hands and I can keep track of money really well, but managing all the people and stuff….” He shook his head.
“People like you, Tom.”
“That doesn’t mean they’d want to work for me.”
“Would you like to have a business like Billy’s?”
“I don’t think so. I might like to have an animal shelter, though.” He smiled.
“How long have you been in Laguna?”
“Almost since I left home. I hitchhiked and the driver was coming to Corona del Mar. I saw the ocean and started walking south.”
