“When Michael said I was your boyfriend. So, we’re there, right?”
He seemed almost wary, as if he was afraid David felt something different, wanted something different than he did. David cupped Jackson’s hard jaw. His chin felt rough against the skin of his palm. “Yeah, we’re there.”
Jackson’s full lips curved in that devastating smile, the one that went all the way to his eyes, and he curved his arm around David’s waist. “God, I feel like I’m in high school.”
“I didn’t know anyone who looked like you in high school. And even if I had, they wouldn’t have noticed me. I was a terrible band geek. I’ll bet you weren’t.”
“No, I wasn’t in band.” Jackson’s thumb moved against his back and sent a shiver up David’s spine.
“So, what did you do?”
Jackson looked sheepish. “I was a shop geek. Between wood shop and metal shop, I rarely left the vocational building.”
“They didn’t have an interiors class when I was in high school. Hence, band.”
“What did you play?”
David sighed, dropping his forehead onto Jackson’s shoulder.
“Come on, David. What did you play?”
“The flute,” David finally answered, his voice muffled. “Go ahead. Laugh.”
“Does it sound like I’m laughing?”
It didn’t. David raised his head and angled it, studying Jackson’s expression. He was smiling but there wasn’t any ridicule in it.
“I think it’s cool.”
“You are seriously the first gay man I’ve ever met who didn’t have something snarky or filthy to say about the fact I played the flute.”
Jackson appeared to think about it for a moment, then shook his head. “Nah, too easy.”
David laughed softly and Jackson pulled him closer. Wrapping his arms around the strong neck, David leaned into Jackson’s body.
“So Michael is staying with you tonight?”
“He said he’d stay as much as I needed him to.”
“He’s a good friend.”
“He is.”
“I wish it was me.” Jackson pulled him even tighter. “I wish I could stay with you.”
David sighed. “Me too.”
Jackson slid his hand down David’s back, letting it come to rest on his ass. He gripped David’s asscheek and pressed his groin forward. David felt the hardness pressed into him and his cock began to fill.
“This is really unfair, you know, when you’re going to get in your truck and leave.”
“If I wasn’t pretty sure some little kid dressed as Iron Man and his nice soccer mom was about to walk along the sidewalk, I’d drop to my knees and blow you right here.”
David’s breath stalled, and he was about to lose his composure all together and beg Jackson to do just that when, as if he’d conjured it with his words, a child’s laughter carried to them on the chill breeze. David groaned and Jackson squeezed him before letting go. He brought their lips together in a sweet and disappointingly brief kiss.
“I’ll call you after I get Mom squared away for the night, okay?”
“Okay.” David hesitated. “Is it really stupid to say I’ll miss you?”
Jackson favored him with another sweet smile. “Not when I’m going to be missing you too.”
Their shoulders bumped and fingers linked as Jackson walked him up the porch steps to the door. David opened it and Jackson leaned in far enough to bid Michael good night, kissed David quickly, then made his way down the steps. David enjoyed the view of the square shoulders and narrow hips.
“You’re watching his ass, aren’t you?”
David sent Michael an exasperated look before closing the door, and his friend looked pointedly at David’s groin, one of his brows arching above the dark frames of his glasses.
“Oh, you’re vile,” David huffed, adjusting himself. Michael gave him a cheeky grin.
It was less than ten minutes later when the doorbell rang and the first of a parade of trick-or-treaters made the pilgrimage to his front door. There were grade school kids dressed as zombies and even high school kids dressed in camo and wearing white sheets with holes cut out for the eyes. There was one teenage girl wearing a T-shirt that read, “This is my costume. Now give me the damned candy.” Michael laughed at it when he answered the door, and the flirtatious grins she shot him made David smirk.
“I thought she was going to give you her number,” he teased when Michael closed the door.
Michael shuddered. “God save me from teenage girls. I didn’t know what to do with them when I was a teenager. You’re up.”
The doorbell pealed again, and David pushed up from the couch. This time it was his turn to laugh.
His neighbor Jordyn held her baby, who was dressed as a football player in Seattle Seahawk blue and chartreuse green, a large three on the jersey. Boots stood on a leash beside her, his little butt wiggling. He was wearing a taupe-colored fuzzy sheath from his neck to just above his tail, with wide white lacings in the center of his back. Clearly he was the football. He looked up at David, doggy grin in place.
“Okay, you win best costume.”
The baby held out a pumpkin bucket in his tiny fist, and David smiled at him as he dropped in three candy bars. “One for Mom, one for Dad, and one for you.” He looked down at the little dog. “Sorry, boy. I’m going to have to stock up on biscuits for your next visit.”
Michael had come up next to him and dropped to one knee with a giggle, scratching Boots behind one bat-shaped ear. “Oh God, I think I’m in love.”
“Bootsy, meet Michael. Michael, this is Bootsy and his owner, Jordyn.” He gestured to the baby. “And this is clearly Russell Wilson.”
“Actually his name is Colin. And I’m surprised you know football players.”
“I’m gay, I don’t live in a cave.”
Jordyn chuckled but it faded quickly, and David noticed she looked harried.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” She spoke quickly, then sighed and shook her head. “Just rushed. We got news that Paul’s grandmother died this afternoon.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
She dropped the leash as Michael continued to pet the dog, and pushed some wayward dark hair behind her ear. For his part, Boots had apparently decided Michael was his new best friend and nudged his hand every time he looked like he was going to stop petting him. “She’s been sick for a while, but they didn’t expect it this soon. His family is all in Michigan, so we have to fly. Paul is making reservations and I should be packing. It’s just, this is his first Halloween and I didn’t want him to miss it….”
“I understand.” David smiled at the baby who was studying him with disarming seriousness again, and this time his little bow-shaped mouth pulled up at one corner. He gave David a gummy smile.
“We can’t get out before nine, but we have to get ready and drop Bootsy at the kennel on our way to the airport.” She made a face. “It’s in his vet’s office, and I hate to take him there, but we can’t leave him at home.”
David shook his head. “Jordyn, don’t take him there. I’ll watch him for you.”
“Oh, David, thank you, but….” She looked down at the dog, who had rolled to his back and was leaning into Michael’s hand as he rubbed his head. “Really?”
“Absolutely.”
“We’ll only be gone until Tuesday, but I don’t want to put you out.”
“Jordyn, it won’t be putting me out. Boots and I are buddies. It’ll be fine.”
Her eyes lit up for the first time since David had opened the door. “Really? I mean, he’s really good. I leave him in the house for hours sometimes, and he doesn’t bother a thing. And he likes to take walks, but it isn’t really necessary. He eats in the morning and the evening, but I can bring you his bowls and food and everything. Oh, David, are you sure?”
“I’m positive. I grew up with dogs. Besides, I’ve been thinking about getting one, so this is perfect timing. It can
remind me what goes into it before I lose my mind and go buy a corgi puppy.”
She smiled. “He isn’t going to help with that.”
“Yeah, I sort of figured. Go do what you need to do. We’ll be here.”
Jordyn looked at Michael as he stood, her cheeks turning a pretty pink. “I’m sorry. You’re Michael?”
She offered her hand and Michael shook it, sending David a bemused look.
“Are you and David dating, or…?”
Michael shuddered. “Good God, no. We’re just friends. The one he’s dating is the hunk with the silver pickup truck.”
“Michael,” David scolded.
“What? It’s the truth.” Michael grabbed a Snickers from the bowl in David’s hand and went back to the couch.
Jordyn’s sloped brows arched. “The one with the dark hair and the chiseled chin?” David nodded, feeling his cheeks turn pink. She gave him a sassy grin. “Nice job, David.” She leaned around the doorframe and looked at Michael. “Oh, and you’re very handsome too. In fact there’s been nothing but good-looking guys around here all day today. The scenery was lovely while I pulled weeds. Okay, I need to get going, but we’ll drop this guy off in an hour or so.”
She gave David a relieved smile and made her way down the steps.
“I like her.” Michael bit into his candy bar.
“Of course you do.” David closed the door. “She told you you’re handsome.”
“Well, I am,” Michael replied without a trace of arrogance. “It’s still nice to hear it every once in a while.” He crossed his long legs and licked chocolate off his fingers, and David answered the door when the bell chimed again.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
THE STREAM of costumed children waned by eight thirty. Jordyn and a haggard-looking Paul brought Bootsy by, along with a reusable shopping bag full of his food, bowls, biscuits, a medium-sized plush bed, and even a stuffed toy shaped like a hedgehog. Jordyn said it was his “baby,” and Boots certainly seemed attached to it. When Michael offered it to him, he took it in his mouth, lay down by the couch, and propped his chin on it, bright eyes surveying the room.
“Oh God.” Michael scratched his ruff. “This animal is going to make me want a dog, and it’s not allowed in my lease.”
David sat next to Boots on the floor and started to pet his head. He looked up at David in adoration, and David smiled. “So move.”
“I plan to when the lease is up.”
“Oh, yeah?” David leaned back on his hands. “Where do you want to go?”
“Up here, actually. I’d love to find a little house to rent.”
“I’ll keep my eyes open.”
David’s cell phone buzzed in his back pocket, and he lifted onto one hip to retrieve it. He saw the number and answered with a smile. “Hey. Is your mom already in bed?”
“Actually she’s sitting right here and Evelyn is giving candy to a bunch of miniature zombies.”
David chuckled. “Yeah, zombies are big this year.”
“I have a feeling zombies are big most years. Hang on a second.” Jackson murmured something, a door closed, and then there was a short pause before he spoke again. “Okay, now I can hear you. What do you have planned for tonight?”
David glanced at his houseguests, who were clearly enjoying one another’s company. Michael was petting Boots and the little dog was luxuriating in the attention. “Michael and I were going to order Chinese, I think. Why?”
“Do you think Michael would mind if I stole you?”
Even as delight filled him, David was confused. “Jackson, what’s going on?”
“Well, I kept thinking about our discussion this afternoon, about a real date. Mom’s been doing so much better, and Evelyn offered to stay with her whenever I needed her. So… I asked, she’s staying, and I’m taking you on a date.”
David’s heart rate sped up. “Seriously?”
“Very seriously. Evelyn is going to stay until tomorrow morning.”
“You’re going to spend the night, then?”
“I realize that I’m inviting myself, but I sure hope so.”
David was so excited he felt a little light-headed, but he hesitated. “Can you hold on for a second?”
“Sure.”
David covered the speaker and looked at Michael. “Do you mind if I—?”
“Oh, for God’s sakes, don’t be stupid.” Michael grinned at him. “Boots and I will hang out, eat the rest of the candy bars, and then I’ll go home.”
“I’ll buy your dinner.”
“The fuck.” Michael shook his head. “I can buy my own. That way I don’t have to eat any shitty kung pao chicken.”
“You’re sure?”
Michael looked at him in exasperation. “David, tell the man yes already. If you don’t go, I’ll just have to watch you pout all evening.”
David wanted to protest, except he knew it was more than likely the truth. He removed his hand. “Mr. Henry, I’d love to go.”
“Excellent.” He could hear the smile in Jackson’s voice. “I’ll pick you up in about half an hour. Is that enough time?”
“That should be fine.”
“And David?”
“Yeah?”
“Wear something sexy.”
David was still giggling when he hung up, then slapped his hand over his mouth. “Tell me I wasn’t giggling.”
“You weren’t giggling.” Michael smirked at him.
“Oh my God, you liar.”
“Hey, you told me to tell you that you weren’t giggling. Never let it be said I’m not a supportive friend.”
“I’ve got to shower.” David pushed up from the floor.
“Yeah.” Michael leaned back, his hands behind his head and a wry grin on his face. “You’ll want to get really, thoroughly clean. Everywhere. If you get my drift.”
David felt his face flame. “Oh, be quiet, you perv!”
Michael’s laugh followed him into the bathroom.
WHEN DAVID emerged from his bedroom, Jackson was crouched near the door rubbing Boots’s stomach, and the little dog was wiggling with joy. He and Michael looked up when David came into the room and Jackson’s hand stilled in the white fur, his gaze slowly moving over David from his feet to his head.
David was so nervous his skin felt electrified, but he managed to stand still under Jackson’s intense gaze. When Jackson said “wear something sexy,” David threw caution to the wind and dove into his old wardrobe. He had on tight black skinny jeans, an untucked bright green button-down with a gray pinstripe, and a gray V-neck sweater over that. Over all of it was looped a large mint-green-and-white scarf, and on his feet he wore zip-up half boots with a slight heel. His hair had taken longer than picking out the clothes, and he’d gone for messy, but not too messy. He knew he looked very thin and hoped he’d achieved more hip than overdressed nerd.
Jackson stood up, and the appreciation on his face was unmistakable.
“Wow. You look great.”
Michael leaned back against the sofa cushions with his hands behind his head. He gave David a slow, approving smile.
“Thanks. So do you.”
And Jackson did. He had on well-worn jeans, but they were spotless. His button-down shirt was black, and the black suede jacket over it looked like it would be soft to the touch. It accented his broad shoulders and clung to his musculature in all the right places. But what David noticed the most was that his stubble was gone. His square chin and upper lip were without their usual shadow, and his thick, dark brown hair was neat but slightly rumpled, as if he’d run his fingers through it. David wanted to run his fingers through it too.
Boots wasn’t fond of being ignored, and he butted Jackson’s calf with his head. Jackson looked down with a grin. “Michael told me you have a houseguest.”
“A pretty pushy one too, apparently. Or I have a rival for your affections.”
Jackson looked at David with a sly little grin. “He’s cute, but not really my type. You ready to go?”
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David got a black wool peacoat out of the closet and let Jackson slip it over his shoulders. He looked over at Michael. “I’ll see you later.”
“Yep. And while you’re gone, I’m going to eat all your food and order porn on pay-per-view.” David sent him a withering look and preceded Jackson out the door. “You kids have fun,” Michael called after them. “Make good choices.” His cackle followed them out into the night.
Jackson chuckled as he closed the door behind them. “He’s in a good mood.”
“Too much chocolate,” David replied. “And he’s a lunatic.”
Jackson’s teeth flashed in the porch light. When he reached for David’s hand and linked their fingers, David leaned into his shoulder.
“So, where are we going?”
“Well, I thought we’d take in a movie first and then go to a late dinner. How does that sound?”
“Perfect.” Actually David didn’t care where they went. He was just glad to be in Jackson’s company. He stepped closer to Jackson, and Jackson released David’s hand and slipped his arm around his shoulders. The solid heat of him felt good.
A soft sound echoed from behind them on the dark driveway, like the step of a foot on concrete, and David stiffened. The hair on the back of his neck twitched, and Jackson stopped at his side.
“What’s the matter?” Jackson frowned. David peered into the dark shadows near the back of his house. Had something moved there? He couldn’t be sure, and he stepped closer to Jackson. “David?”
“I’m probably jumping at shadows,” David murmured. “But ever since the night Trevor followed me, then sat out in his car watching me, I keep thinking I’m hearing and seeing things.”
“Do you want me to check?”
“No.” It came out more emphatically than he meant for it to, but he really didn’t want Jackson walking off into the shadows by himself. “Let’s go have a good time. I’m sure I’m imagining it.”
Jackson didn’t look convinced, but when David curled his hand around his arm and headed for the car in the driveway, he allowed himself to be pulled along.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
David, Renewed Page 19
