Miss Me

by Mel Spenser

  As he stood there looking down at Andy, Nick felt an unexpected protectiveness toward Andy that he had never experienced toward anyone before. What the hell was that about?

  He walked over and sat on one hip at the edge of the bed. He reached out and stroked down Andy's back until his hand came to rest on that perfect ass. Andy stirred and blinked awake. He pushed back his tousled hair with the back of his hand and looked up at Nick with his big, green eyes. He smiled and Nick's stomach did a little flip.

  "Hi, Gorgeous. What time is it?"

  Nick glanced over to the clock on the dresser. "It's almost two AM."

  "Oh man… I need to get home. I have a managers' meeting in the morning."

  Andy rolled over onto his back and stretched. Nick's gaze traveled down his body. The sight of the nipple rings threatened to make Nick hard again. Andy didn't have much hair on his chest, but below his naval a line of golden hair began, continued down and then fanned out. The base of his cock lay cradled in a trimmed nest of blond hair. The rest of it lay relaxed over on his thigh. Nick remembered that when erect it was long and not too thick. Just right, actually. His gut clenched as he remembered how it looked when the prominent veins pulsed, the head tinged a dark rose with pre-come leaking from the slit. Nick couldn't resist. He reached out and ran his hand along Andy's thigh, brushing along the silky hair there. His fingertips grazed across the head of Andy's cock.

  "If you keep that up, I'll never leave. And I definitely need to get home. Henry's going to wonder where I am."

  "Henry?" Nick pulled his hand back.

  "My dog."

  "Oh." For a reason he couldn't fathom, Nick actually felt a giddy surge of relief.

  "He can let himself out the back door. But I'm never out this late." Andy sat up and rubbed his eyes. "He's probably going to lay a guilt trip on me."

  "Okay. I'll drive you to your car."

  Andy rounded up his clothes and they both started getting dressed.

  Before he could stop himself, Nick asked, "Do you want to see each other again?" He seemed hesitant.

  Pulling on his shirt, Andy looked over at Nick. Andy thought that Nick looked delicious sitting on the edge of the bed in the t-shirt and kaki shorts he'd pulled on. Andy watched him lean over to put on a pair of sandals.

  "Of course I'd like to see you again," Andy said, buttoning his shirt. "I'm not letting you get away that easily."

  As Andy looked at him, Nick cleared his throat and glanced away. "Is something wrong, Nick?"

  "It's just…." He hesitated. "It's just that I've never gone much beyond one-night stands." He paused. "But with you, it's different, you know?"

  "I know what you mean. I feel it, too."

  He looked up at Andy. "I'd like to see you again, if that's okay." Nick’s gaze scanned Andy's face almost hopefully, trying to read his expression. "I guess what I'm saying is that I'd like to see where this goes."

  Andy walked over to him and brushed a strand of dark hair off of Nick’s forehead.

  "I'd like that." He took a step back, tucking his shirt in. "You know, I don't usually do the one–night stand thing. To tell you the truth, I've never done what you and I did last night on a first date. But with you, it just seemed right, you know?" He paused and smiled. "Plus, you're just so damned gorgeous; I lost my mind."

  Nick gave out a nervous laugh. "Then let's just take it a day at a time and see how it goes."

  "Fine with me." Andy tilted Nick's chin up, leaned over and gave him a lingering kiss.

  Chapter 4

  Andy breezed in to the library the next morning after his managers' meeting looking worn out but happy and relaxed. His staff greeted him as he made his way to his office. He unlocked the door, flicked on the light and set his things down.

  "Well, how did it go?" Rhonda was standing in his doorway.

  Andy gave her a big toothy grin and he turned on his computer.

  "That good, huh? Are you two going out again?"

  "Yes and yes."

  Betty Jo popped her head around the door frame. "Well?"

  Andy gave her a big grin.

  "Look at him. He can't stop smiling." Rhonda teased.

  Andy grinned even bigger. Other staff members popped their heads around the door frame. A couple of them gave him a thumbs up.

  "Okay, guys. I've got to make a few calls before we open."

  He shooed them from his office, logged on to his email, and then closed the door so he could make a private call.

  "Hello?"

  "Hi, Sis."

  "Oh, hi, Andy. How are you doing?"

  "Well, the big news is that I met someone. He's really great."

  "Tell me all about him!"

  "He's gorgeous. He works next door."

  "At the deli?"

  "God, no. At the office building. Anyway, he's 32. Six foot two. He's got dark hair and eyes. Did I mention that he was gorgeous?"

  "You might have said that. So does Gorgeous have a name?"

  "His name is Nick Marshall. He just bought a loft in the Montrose area and he's gorgeous."

  "Now that we've established that he's gorgeous…. How did you meet him?"

  "He came in to the branch yesterday looking for cookbooks."

  "He came in on a Wednesday? During the day?" She paused. "He's not a nut, is he? You know what happened before."

  "No, I checked him out before I went out with him. He's legit."

  "You librarians scare the shit out of me. The information you can get your hands on…"

  "Hey! It's publicly accessible information. You just have to know where to look."

  "So anyway. Go on. He wanted cookbooks.... Does this mean he's domesticated?"

  "Hardly." Andy snorted. "He was looking for barbeque books because his sister is coming down to visit. But I think he almost talked himself out of it by the time he left."

  "Will I ever get to meet him?"

  "Well, I'm not sure. He seems kind of squirrelly about long term relationships."

  "Oh, Andy. Don't set yourself up to get your heart broken again."

  "Sandy, give me some credit for learning from past mistakes."

  "Well, it's just that you sound pretty smitten, as they say."

  "Of course I am. He is gorgeous, after all." He paused, "As a matter of fact, we did talk. We both admitted that we are really attracted to one another. But we've also decided to take it a day at a time."

  "At least it sounds like you two are being up front with each other."

  "And I plan on keeping it that way. I am well past the age of playing relationship games."

  "At the ripe old age of twenty-nine."

  "I don't know about you, but the thought of us turning thirty next month scares the shit out me," Andy said.

  "Speaking of which… Do you have any idea what we can do for our birthday this year? It is a milestone, after all."

  "I was kind of thinking about a few days in Cancun. I haven't been there in a couple of years. How does that sound?"

  "Great. I'll look in to some packages and get back with you," Sandy said.

  "You know, of course, that Eric and the twins are welcome to come along."

  "And maybe you'll be bringing a guest on this trip, too."

  "Oooh… now, that's a thought! Hey, it's almost time to open; I've got to let you go for now. The stinking public will be beating the doors down to get to the free computers."

  "You're so rude."

  "You wouldn't say that if you had to deal with them everyday. They are demanding and they do, quite literally, stink. Especially when the temperature gets close to 100 degrees like it's been."

  "You could always go back to the private sector."

  "What? And give all this up? Besides, I like the job security." He looked down and saw the other line flashing. "I've got another call coming in. Later."

  Andy rolled over to the other line.

  "Hi, Andy. How are you doing this morning?" The deep voice he heard sent shivers down his spine and butt
erflies fluttering in his gut.

  "Hi, yourself! I'm doing great. But you just about wore me out last night. I could barely stay awake during the meeting this morning."

  "Think you've got it bad, I have an afternoon meeting. I always have trouble staying awake after lunch as it is."

  "You might want to run to the Starbucks on the corner before the meeting."

  "I just might do that." He paused. "Hey, you got any plans for tonight? We never did get to go out to eat, you know."

  "Do you think we'd actually make it to a restaurant this time?"

  "Good point. Maybe we should avoid sitting in close quarters in small cars to start with.

  "We could walk over to the Mexican restaurant across the street after work."

  "Sounds safe."

  "What time do you get off?"

  "Well, the library stays open late tonight, but I get off at six like yesterday."

  "How about I stop by and pick you up?"

  "Sure. See you then."

  When Andy hung up, he heard a ping and looked at the instant message he'd just received. It was from someone called redcarmech. The words, "I'm back. Miss me?" sat like a lead weight on the screen. He stared the message with a knot in his stomach. He hoped to hell that it wasn't from Lee, but deep down he knew that it was. He had thought that the crazy bastard had finally given up. Apparently not. He logged off his instant messenger without responding.

  ***

  Andy was working on the monthly schedule at his desk and looked up when Rhonda stuck her head in the door. "Andy, somebody wants to see the manager out at the circulation desk."

  "Shit. Are they pissed?"

  "No, they just wanted to see the manager."

  He got up and headed toward the public floor. He stepped out of the workroom, adjusting his glasses, and looked around. Nick was standing off to the side of the circulation desk looking out the window. Andy walked to the edge of the counter.

  "Can I help you, sir?"

  Nick spun around at the sound of his voice. They flashed each other big grins. "I know I'm a little early." Andy glanced at the clock. It was 5:45 PM.

  "Come on back while I shut down my computer and lock up."

  Nick walked around the counter and followed Andy back to his office. Once there, Andy shut the door and turned toward Nick. They didn't waste anytime before they were groping each other and kissing.

  "God, I missed you today," Nick whispered as he brushed his lips across Andy's.

  "Tell me about it. I was so edgy today I thought I'd kill the next idiot who asked me how to log on to a computer." They continued kissing for a couple more minutes before Andy finally pulled away and drew in a shaky breath. "Just let me log off this computer and we can get out of here."

  "Nice poster." Nick was looking at the Orlando Bloom READ poster that was the only decoration in the office.

  Andy flashed him a grin. "What can I say? I obviously have a thing for guys with dark, sexy hair and dark, dreamy eyes."

  "I'm kind of partial to blonds myself," Nick said smiling. "Especially if they have green eyes."

  Andy grabbed his keys off the desk and flipped off the light as they stepped out of the office. As he was locking the door he spoke to the woman who was sitting at a desk in the workroom, "Hey, Pamela. This is Nick. I'm heading out. See you guys tomorrow."

  "Bye, Andy. Have a good evening. Nice to meet you, Nick."

  "We might as well go out the front tonight since we're just going to walk across the street."

  Nick followed Andy back through the workroom. They stopped at the circulation desk. "Hey, guys, this is Nick. This is Bill, Rhonda and Chanda."

  Introductions made, he walked Nick over to the reference desk and introduced him to two older librarians. That done, they finally headed to the front door.

  "Man! How many people work here?"

  "There are sixteen of us total. We're one of the bigger branches in the system."

  "You have your own little empire here."

  "Cool, huh?"

  They crossed the street and headed to the restaurant. Nick held the door and let Andy go first. Andy could get used to this treatment.

  They were seated quickly. As they looked at the menu, Nick said, "Let me get this tonight."

  "Nick, you don't have to buy me dinner."

  "Well, I did ask you out. Anyway, you can get it the next time."

  "Sounds fair enough."

  They placed their order and both sat back in the booth looking at each other across the table. The previous evening was still fresh in their minds, and the sexual tension between the two was palpable. Andy recovered first by coming up with a safe topic.

  "So what is it that you do, Nick? We didn't get a chance to do much talking last night."

  Andy saw a delightful little flush pass over Nick's cheeks. He thought that it was a good thing that they walked over rather than getting in that tight little car together again.

  Clearing his throat, Nick said, "I'm a chemical engineer. The company I work for contracts petroleum surveys to oil companies."

  "Oil is definitely a big business down here."

  "It sure is, thank God."

  "So where were you before you moved here?" Andy asked.

  "I lived in Indianapolis. My family still lives in that area."

  "But you moved to Houston."

  "Well, gay guys just don't blend in as well up there. Plus, I got sick of the snow. I spent last New Year's Eve digging my car out of a snow drift. I ended up missing the whole thing. Then I got home and walked in on my boyfriend fucking some guy that he'd just met at a party. "

  "Man that sucks."

  "Tell me about it." Nick took a drink of his beer.

  "How long were you two together?"

  "Not quite a year. We'd only been living together for a couple of months. Anyway, I moved into my sister's guest room that night. The next day I started putting out my resume. By the end of January I had three offers. I was down here in company housing before the end of February."

  "Do you miss your family?"

  "Oh, sure. But it is the 21st century. We keep in touch with email, phones, text messaging…I guess that I already told you that my sister and her husband are coming down to visit."

  "When's that happening?"

  "Next month."

  "Are you looking forward to it?" Andy asked.

  "Oh, yeah. Victoria and I are really close. Can't wait to see her."

  "Her husband?"

  "Oh, Steve's cool."

  "Any kids?"

  "Not yet. But I guess they're working on it. That's half the fun, right?" He took another drink. "How about you? Got any family around here?"

  "Lots. But since my grandma died, I mostly hang out with my twin sister, Sandy."

  "Andy and Sandy?"

  "Yeah, our parents are a little twisted. Really, it's Andrew and Sandra. She married young and has a set of five year old twin girls. She's pretty much my best friend." He paused and took a drink of his beer. "Our parents have always traveled a lot and are rarely in town. So we learned to depend on each other. My grandma raised us. She died about four years ago and left me her house. She lived in it for almost fifty years. It's really neat. You'll have to come by and see it some time."

  "I'd like that."

  They looked at each other across the booth. Nick slid his arm across the table and rested his hand on Andy's. Their eyes held for a minute and the sexual need was obvious. Of course the waitress chose that time to deliver their food. As they ate, topics changed to interests like sports, music and movies.

  "So what do you like to do for fun, Andy?"

  "I'm a librarian. What do you think?" Andy deadpanned. "I read."

  "Oh."

  "What do you like to do?"

  "Mostly, I work," Nick said. "I don't seem to have time for much else."

  "So, what are you going to do to entertain your sister while she's here?"

  "Man, I hadn't really thought of that. Any suggestions?"<
br />
  "Well, you could always take them to Galveston. There are also museums and the theatre."