Clarity of Lines

by N. R. Walker

  “And Ryan?” Cooper asked.

  “He was very upset and embarrassed when I told him,” I said. “It took a while, but he’s okay with it now.”

  “He looks up to you,” Cooper said simply, taking another sip of wine. “It’s not hard to see why. You’re successful, brilliant, sexy as hell.”

  “I’m pretty sure that’s not how Ryan sees me.”

  Cooper smiled. “So the Hamptons, huh? You never told me you had a place up there.”

  “I don’t,” I told him, finishing my wine. “Sofia does. I used to, but she got the apartment here in the City and the house in the Hamptons in the divorce settlement.”

  “What did you get?” he asked.

  “I got my new gay life,” I told him with a smile. “Oh, and I bought this apartment.”

  Cooper shook his head, downing the rest of his drink. “I don’t even want to know how much money you have. This apartment alone must have cost…you know what? Never mind.”

  I chuckled at him. “It was expensive, yes. But worth it, wouldn’t you agree?”

  He looked around the large room. “Um, yes I would, very much. And then there’s me,” he said, putting his glass on the coffee table. “With nothing.”

  “You don’t have nothing.”

  “No, you’re right,” he agreed. “I have a small rented apartment and a college debt.”

  I lifted his hand to my lips and kissed his knuckles. “You have more than that.”

  I didn’t have to say any more. I didn’t have to tell him he had me. By the way he kissed me, I was pretty sure he knew.

  * * * *

  “What are you thinking about?” Cooper rolled over and snuggled into my side. It was early morning and I’d been awake for a while, staring at the ceiling, thinking.

  I was thinking about what to get Ryan for his birthday, but I was also thinking about what Sofia’s reaction would be to meeting Cooper. “I need to know what to get Ryan for his birthday,” I told him a half-truth.

  “So you keep saying,” he said.

  “Well, you’re his age, what should I get him?”

  Cooper laughed into my chest then tweaked my nipple. “It’s a gift from you. You need to pick it.”

  “Ooh, I know!” I said brightly. “You could give him the second ticket to that concert, and you could take him.”

  “Ha ha, very funny,” he said, nipping my ribs. “Suck it up, old man. You’re going with me whether you like it or not.”

  I rolled him onto his back and settled myself on top of him. His morning wood was pressed hard between us and I rocked back and forth. “Oh, that’s a shame. I would suck it up all right, but I have an early meeting this morning.”

  Cooper bit his bottom lip and grinned, pushing his hips up against mine. “If you suck my dick, I’ll tell you what Ryan told me he wanted for his birthday.”

  I tried to act like I was offended by his blatant blackmail, but he knew damn well I’d do it. So I took him to the edge of orgasm again and again, making him beg me, literally beg me, to finish him.

  When I left for work, he was still a quivering, convulsing mess, barely coherent. But I made the meeting on time, and had Jennifer make some phone calls to find out what the hell an Xbox 3D was.

  Chapter Three

  Three weeks later on the Friday afternoon after work, I put the suitcases and Ryan’s present into the trunk of my Mercedes R171, while Cooper got into the passenger seat. He loved my car. I didn’t drive it often—with a company car and driver for all work trips I had no need to—but outside work when we did go somewhere, he loved it.

  He was oddly excited about this trip, while I was almost dreading it.

  “Did you really get the new Xbox?” he asked excitedly. “From Japan? It hasn’t been released here yet!”

  “Yes,” I told him. “It cost me a fortune.”

  Cooper clapped his hands and kind of wiggled in his seat. “I cannot wait.”

  “Did he want it, or you?” I asked, pulling the car out onto the street. “Because you said he wanted it.”

  “Oh, he does,” he said brightly. “I just share his enthusiasm.”

  I couldn’t help but chuckle at him. “Remind me again why my boyfriend is twenty-two?”

  “Because I was born twenty-two years after you, my dear forty-four-year-old boyfriend,” he said cheerfully. “And because I’m amazing.”

  I rolled my eyes sarcastically. “Oh, that’s right. Now I remember.”

  “Is your Alzheimer’s kicking in?” he asked with a laugh. “Should I drive, old man?”

  “You’re a little shit,” I mumbled. “And don’t blame it on Gen Y. It’s all you.”

  He grinned, seemingly pleased with himself. “Oh, my favourite doorman Lionel said to have a good weekend.”

  “Were you giving him a hard time again?”

  “Of course not.”

  Which meant of course, yes. “What did you say to him this time?”

  He chuckled. “I told him your neighbour, old Mrs Giordano, might like to have your apartment exorcised while you’re out. Apparently she hears a man moaning at night time, for hours at a time. I told him I hear it too, but it’s really nothing for her to be concerned about.”

  I stared at him. “You didn’t.”

  He grinned proudly. Shit. He really did.

  “Leave Lionel alone,” I told him. “The poor guy.”

  “He loves me.”

  “I thought he hated you.”

  “It’s impossible to resist my charms.”

  “Yes,” I said with a laugh. “I know.”

  As I manoeuvred through New York traffic, Cooper rifled through the backpack at his feet and pulled out an iPod. He grinned at me. The kind of grin that made me worry. “What?”

  “How long does it take to drive to the Hamptons?”

  “Just over an hour and a half,” I answered. “Why?”

  “Long enough for you to become intimately acquainted with Linkin Park.”

  I groaned and he laughed. “You’ll need to know some songs before the concert,” he told me.

  “Resistance is futile, isn’t it?” I deadpanned.

  He connected his iPod through the car’s Bluetooth, looked at me and smiled sweetly. “It really is.”

  Then he slipped his hand onto my thigh and settled into his seat and for the whole trip, we listened to Linkin fucking Park.

  * * * *

  I’d always enjoyed the drive up to the Casa, but it was even better with Cooper. We chatted easily the entire way, and as the city thinned with the traffic, our scenery became more coastal. Though it used to relax me to come up here, the closer we got to our destination, the more anxious I became. I took the familiar road and when we were almost there I turned the music off. “You nervous?” I asked him.

  He looked surprised by my question. “No. Should I be?”

  I smiled at his confidence. “I just don’t think Sofia will be very understanding. No matter what she says, just remember, I’m on your side.”

  “Ryan’s mom always liked me,” he said.

  “She likes you as Ryan’s friend, yes,” I told him. “But as my boyfriend…”

  He shrugged. “And all the guys who’ll be here this weekend?” he asked. “All Ryan’s friends, some of my friends, they’ll all be here too. We’re meeting them as a couple too.”

  Shit. I hadn’t given that a thought.

  Then Cooper took his hand off my thigh and looked out of the window as he spoke. “If you don’t want to…”

  I pulled the car off to the side of the road, right near the driveway to the Casa. I think I startled him. He looked at me, wide-eyed. “Cooper, listen to me,” I said seriously. “I don’t care what anyone else thinks. I know some people will have a hard time with us being together, because we’re gay men, and because of the age difference. But I don’t care. I’m proud to call you my boyfriend. For the life of me I can’t figure out why you’d want to be with me, but you do, and I’m more than happy to walk i
n there, holding your hand. But I don’t want you to feel pressured.”

  “I don’t feel pressured,” he said. “And I can’t figure out why you’d want to be with me either, but you do.”

  I nodded. “Yes, I do.”

  He smiled, and leaned over the console and kissed me. “Thank you.”

  I sighed and looked out of the windshield. “Well, this is it.”

  Cooper followed my gaze, to the stone gate posts, to the chiselled sandstone sign on the post that read Casa de Elkin.

  “It’s named after you?”

  I nodded. “I designed this house,” I told him. “We named it Casa de Elkin, but have called it the Casa for years.”

  Cooper gave me a weak smile. “Well then,” he said, trying to sound upbeat. “Let’s do this.”

  I slipped the car into first gear and pulled into the drive. I parked the car near the closed garage doors and by the time I’d popped the trunk, Ryan was walking out to meet us. He gave me a bit of a hug, then bumped fists with Cooper. “Hey,” he said. “Most of the guys will get here in the morning. Mom said it might be better if they all crash in the pool room, or wherever they pass out,” he said with a knowing smile. “But you guys have a guest room in the house.”

  A guest room.

  Ryan looked at me a little apologetically. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t you apologise,” I told him. “It’s not my house anymore.”

  We grabbed our bags and the gift box from the trunk and walked towards the front door. Cooper asked me quietly, “Have you been back here in the last five years?”

  “I spent two weeks here right after we separated,” I told him. “But not since then.”

  “Come on,” Ryan said, opening the door. He turned to us and whispered, “Mom’s in the kitchen.”

  I took a deep breath and followed Ryan through the front living room and into the large open kitchen, where Sofia was dicing fruit.

  She looked well. She was wearing a white dress and her trademark gold jewellery and her brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She looked at me, then at Ryan and finally at Cooper. She recognised him immediately. “Oh my, Cooper? Is that you?”

  “Mrs Elkin,” he said politely.

  She gave me a tight smile, but then leaned in and kissed Cooper’s cheek. “It’s so good to see you. Ryan never mentioned you were coming.” Then she looked at me. “Did you bring Cooper with you? I thought you were bringing your friend.”

  There was a beat of absolute silence then I said, “I did.” Sofia looked at me then at Ryan and Cooper, then back to me. “I brought Cooper…my boyfriend.”

  Sofia laughed, but when I took Cooper’s hand, her smile died a slow, painful death. “Is this some kind of joke?”

  “No,” I said calmly. “Cooper and I have been together for about six weeks, and we…dated for six weeks before that.”

  Sofia took a step back from us, looking at the three of us, but her eyes settled on me. “You’re dating Cooper?”

  “Yes,” I answered.

  “No,” she said flatly. “He’s just a boy!”

  Before I could answer, Cooper said, “Mrs Elkin, I’m not a boy.”

  She stared at him. “Did he coerce you into this? Did he mislead you?”

  “What?” Cooper and Ryan asked in unison.

  “Sofia,” I said. “That’s enough…”

  “Excuse me?” Cooper said, interrupting me. He was looking at Sofia, and I could tell by the set of his jaw he was pissed off.

  I considered asking both Cooper and Ryan to give Sofia and I a moment to talk alone, but she’d gone too far. She’d insulted Cooper.

  “Actually, no,” I said. “Cooper you don’t need to excuse yourself, or to apologise to anyone for anything.” I took a step back, pulling him with me. “Sorry, Ryan, we’ll find a hotel.”

  “No you won’t,” Ryan said, stopping us. “You’re my guest, you can stay here. And Mom,” he said, looking at Sofia, “they’re together. You need to deal with it.” Then Ryan looked at Cooper and me. “Isn’t that what you told me? I just had to deal with it?”

  “Uh, pretty much,” Cooper answered.

  I felt a sudden rush of pride for Ryan. He was defending me, probably more so to keep his parents from fighting and him being caught in the middle, but still…his stepping in was heart-warming.

  “Wait!” Sofia cried, turning to Ryan. “You knew about this?”

  “Yes,” he replied slowly. “I was the one who told you about it, remember?”

  “Sofia, it’s certainly not Ryan’s fault,” I said.

  She stared at me, long and hard, as though she couldn’t understand. “Are there no men over forty-five in New York City?” Then she leant back against the kitchen counter and groaned out a sigh. The fight in her was gone. “Really, Tom?”

  I squeezed Cooper’s hand. “Yes, really.”

  Sofia shook her head. She still wasn’t happy, but at least she’d stopped yelling. She turned back to her chopping board and took a paring knife to a mango. “I was making a mango salsa to go with grilled chicken for dinner,” she said. “I thought it would be nice food for company. I was trying to be supportive and show that I didn’t have a problem with you bringing a friend.”

  “My boyfriend,” I corrected her. “And I appreciate the sentiment, but we fell a little short on the welcome.”

  She put the knife down, which was probably a good thing. “How about a little warning, Tom? How about a phone call before you got here, to say you’re dating someone who went to school with our son?”

  “Okay,” I conceded. “Yes, I probably should have given you some warning. I apologise.”

  Cooper squeezed my hand.

  Sofia sighed loudly, put both her hands on the kitchen counter and took a breath. Then she faced us and tried to smile. “Apology accepted. Cooper, I’m very sorry for the way I spoke to you. I was taken off guard, and I’m sorry.”

  He gave her a curt smile. “It’s fine, Mrs Elkin,” he said, but it was clear to see it wasn’t fine with him at all.

  “We might go freshen up,” I told her, giving us all some time to cool down. “Which of the guest rooms is ours?”

  She stopped then, and looked down, as though she finally realised I was staying here with someone else. “The blue room,” she said quietly. “Second on the left.”

  All the guest rooms were upstairs so I led Cooper back the way we’d come to the stairs in the foyer. I dropped his hand to pick up our suitcases and he quietly followed me up to the room.

  I put the bags at the foot of the bed, Cooper closed the door behind us, and I turned to face him. “I’m really sorry about that,” I told him. “I didn’t think she’d take it very well, but she seems to have calmed down a bit.”

  Cooper looked at me. “She might be your ex-wife, and she might be Ryan’s mother, and I was taught to show respect,” he said, “but she’s a bitch.”

  I cupped his face in my hands, and pecked his lips. “Yes, she was very rude.”

  “I was just about to tell her to mind her own fucking business,” he went on to say. “I don’t get angry very often, but she insinuated that you coerced me! Like you were some creeped-out paedophile and I was some innocent kid.”

  “I know,” I agreed, but then he cut me off.

  “And thank God you stood up for me,” he said, “telling her I didn’t need to apologise to anyone for anything, because I was just about to say something I’d probably have regretted.”

  I held his forehead to mine and took a deep breath. “You would have been well within your rights,” I told him. “The fact she’d insulted you is what made me react.”

  He twisted his lips into a frowning pout. “Yes, she assumed it was you who coerced me!” he sulked. “When it was me who coerced you!”

  “The hide of her,” I said with a smile. “Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?”

  Still pouting, he pretended to have to think about it. “Well, she did hurt my feelings.”

&n
bsp; I cupped his balls in my hand. “Does it hurt here?” I asked against his lips. “Want me to kiss it better?”

  He smiled. “Would it be considered rude if you were to suck me off with your ex-wife making us dinner downstairs?”

  I pulled his bottom lip between my teeth, and stroked his cock through his cargos. “Very rude.”

  He smiled. “Then yes, kiss it better,” he said as he rubbed his dick against my hand. I pushed him onto the bed and undid the fly on his cargos. “Tom?”

  I freed his cock from his briefs and looked up at him. “Yeah?”

  “I think she hurt your feelings too,” he said, leaning up on his elbows. “I think I might need to kiss yours while you kiss mine.” Cooper pulled me onto the bed and within seconds we were sixty-nineing, with our pants around our hips and our dicks down each other’s throats.

  At least that way Sofia couldn’t hear him scream.

  Chapter Four

  Dinner was much more relaxed. Well, Cooper and I were much more relaxed after ‘freshening up’ upstairs. Sofia, on the other hand, seemed more resigned.

  She was trying to make an effort. Conversation seemed to revolve around Ryan, which was fine, but she eventually asked Cooper about his parents, how they were and what they were doing. She asked him about his job and he answered politely. He could see she was making an effort and he extended the courtesy, though it was fairly obvious she’d done her dash with him.

  Not long after dinner, Ryan wanted to know if he could open his birthday present. He’d been eyeing the wrapped gift box since I put it on the counter. “If everyone’s arriving tomorrow, I won’t have much time to enjoy it,” he said. “Whatever it is.”

  Cooper grinned. “You’re gonna love it.”

  “You know what it is?” Ryan asked him, and Cooper nodded. Ryan then looked at me. “Can I open it, pleeeeeease?” he whined like a five-year-old.

  I said, “Yes, but take it into the living room.”

  Ryan got up, Cooper quietly thanked Sofia for dinner and joined Ryan in the living room. And no sooner had I picked up the finished plates and taken them to the kitchen than I heard the sound of paper ripping.