Hard Job

by Jeffery Craig

  At the end of the evening, John Brown walked slowly to his vehicle, enjoying the warm evening air. “He did let me kiss him, and I liked it, a lot.” He drove home, touching his lips and remembering the sensations he felt.

  The next three weeks they were almost inseparable, and saw each other several times. Things progressed a little further, and they necked on the couch until they had to pull away from each other to catch their breath. John Brown buttoned his shirt and replaced his glasses as he stood up on shaky legs. “I better go.” As much as he desperately wanted Toby naked, he decided not to rush things. He wanted to make these new feelings last, but if he didn’t leave now, he knew he wouldn’t be able to hold back. He picked up his blazer and put it on over his rumbled shirt. “I have a busy couple of days ahead so I won’t be able see you until the weekend. Are you busy Friday night?”

  “I’m disappointed that I’ll have to wait, but I’d love to see you Friday.”

  “What would you like to do?” John Brown asked, while trying to analyze the word Toby used. “Love.” He’d very little experience with that word in his life, and he wasn’t sure what the associated feelings should feel like. Maybe it was time to try and find out about this love thing. He figured even a sociopath like him could learn if they wanted to badly enough.

  “I don’t know. What sounds good to you?”

  “Well,” John Brown hesitated, even though he knew what he wanted, more than anything. “It’s nothing fancy, but I have a small cabin about an hour from here. It’s not much more than a single room, but there’s a hot tub on the deck and the scenery’s nice. The stars are amazing at night. It very secluded and I thought – if you don’t have any other plans – we could drive up there Friday evening and come back on Sunday.”

  Toby wondered if it was too soon to be going away with a man he’d only met a few weeks ago, but pushed his doubts away. “He just might be the one,” he told himself. Besides, he thought it sounded like a nice change. “Sounds great. I could use a getaway. I’ll get some food together and we can cook up there. Is there a stove?”

  “Not a great one, but there is a nice grill.”

  “Perfect! I’ll buy the food and you can cook it. I have no idea how to grill anything.”

  John Brown pulled him in for a kiss. “I’ll take care of the cooking then.”

  “What should I bring? I mean, in the way of clothes and stuff.”

  “Bring a sweatshirt, because it can get chilly in the evening. Other than that, just a few casual things should do it.”

  They kissed once more and Toby walked Bill to the door. “I’m looking forward to it, Bill.”

  “Me too, Toby.” John Brown said honestly, before he walked out the door.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Reightman was fed up with the lack of progress they were making on the case and as a result, was having a rough go of it at work. She was plagued by the feeling she was missing something important. Finally, she decided to let it go for a couple of days, and decided to visit her daughter and grandbabies. She arranged to take Thursday through Sunday off since there was nothing to hold her back from finally making the much postponed visit. Everything could wait until she got back. It wasn’t like they were racing against the clock right now. She packed a small suitcase and a bag full of gifts and toys for her girls and then, on a whim, she called Toby.

  “Hey, Detective Reightman,” he answered. He sounded cheerful and more energized than she’d ever heard him.

  “How are things going, Toby?”

  “Actually, they’re better than I could’ve ever imagined a few weeks ago. I’ve almost got everything shut down at the spa and I’m starting to think about what to do next. How about you?”

  “I’m still trying to plug away, Toby. It’s down to just me and my partner now, but I’m trying not to lose hope. I’m going to visit my daughter, though. I have been meaning to get to the upstate since…since the weekend Sam Jackson was killed.” They were both silent for a moment, then Reightman forced some brightness into her voice. “I’m looking forward to seeing my granddaughters.”

  “How many do you have?”

  “Two, and believe me, some days that’s more than enough!”

  “Somehow I get the feeling you don’t really mean that. I bet you spoil them to death. When are you leaving?”

  “Tomorrow afternoon. I’m going to stay until the last possible minute on Sunday.”

  “What a coincidence! I’m going out of town on Friday and will be coming back on Sunday too.”

  “Are you going to visit your Grams?”

  “No, but I am planning a visit a few weeks from now. I need to spend several days helping her get the yard and the house ready for winter. She does a great job keeping things up, but she’s getting older and I try to help as much as I can. This weekend I’m going away with someone I met a few weeks ago.”

  “Oh? Is this someone special?”

  “Maybe, but I’m not sure yet. We do have a great time together and seem to like a lot of the same things. He has a cabin about an hour from here and invited me up to spend the weekend. It will be a change of pace, and I can use a change.”

  “Sounds nice. Sometimes a change is just what’s needed. Oh, before I forget, have you heard from Mitchell? I don’t see him much these days. They’re keeping him busy over in Vice.”

  Melba caught his slight hesitation and wondered what caused it before he answered. “I talk to him occasionally, and he promised to meet me down at the gun range in a few days. We’ve both been busy and he’s…he’s seeing someone, too.”

  “Everyone seems to be seeing someone except me,” Reightman laughed, after deciding that maybe there wasn’t anything wrong after all. “Let’s plan to catch up more when we both get back. Maybe we can take Madame Zhou to dinner. I miss her – I can’t believe I just said that.”

  “That would be fun! Have a fun visit and enjoy your time with your family.”

  “You have a good time too, Toby. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  Melba didn’t realize until she was almost at her daughter’s house that she hadn’t asked the name of the man Toby was seeing. “I’ll find out when we go to dinner,” she thought as she turned into the driveway of her daughter’s small, neat home. When her grandchildren flew out the door to greet her, she forgot everything except the laughing, squealing girls she scoped up in her arms, and Abby’s hug of welcome. At that moment, life for Melba Reightman was very good.

  

  Unbeknownst to Toby, the new man he was seeing made a trip to his weekend cabin on Thursday evening to prepare for the weekend. He’d been reading up on this love thing and wanted everything to be perfect. The experts all said one of the things that showed someone you loved them, was when you made an extra effort to make things nice on special occasions. Since in his mind this qualified as a special occasion, he cleaned the place from floor to ceiling. He brought in a load of firewood, cleaned the hot tub and the grill, and put fresh sheets and blankets on the bed. As a final touch, he gathered an armful of foliage from the wooded acres around the cabin and placed then in an old glass jar in the middle of the rough wooden table. He stepped back to view his work, and was satisfied with all he’d accomplished. The last thing he did was check that he had a plastic tarp – just in case things went wrong. It would save a lot of mess in the end. Tired, but satisfied, John Brown went back to the city to get ready for the next day.

  Toby likewise occupied himself by getting ready for the weekend. He shopped for food and wine, and picked up a good bottle of brandy, thinking it might be nice to enjoy in the hot tub while viewing the stars. Not knowing what provisions the place had, he filled a weekend bag with essentials. He put his portable wireless speaker in the bag and assembled a few clothes. When John Brown arrived to pick him up, he laughed hysterically at the assorted bags and boxes, but happily helped carry them down the stairs and load them into the back of his SUV.

  They talked about their week and the ride went quickly
. As they made the turnoff onto the country road, Toby realized just how secluded Bill’s weekend hideaway was from the rest of the world. A few miles later, John Brown turned onto the rough gravel road.

  “I think civilization stopped about twenty miles ago,” Toby commented. When they pulled up to the small weekend retreat, he got his first view and gave a sigh of contentment. “But after seeing this, I think civilization is highly overrated.”

  “It’s not much,” his host apologized, “but it’s a good place to get away to for a few days.”

  “It looks pretty fantastic to me.” Toby took in the small clearing in front of the house and the mixed woods and foliage casting graceful shadows in the early evening sun. “How far away is the nearest neighbor?”

  “At least a couple miles away. That’s part of the reason I come here – it’s nice and secluded and I can hear myself think.” John Brown opened the front door and ushered Toby in. Toby set his arm load of provisions on the nearest surface and looked around the space.

  The small cabin consisted of a single large room, about four hundred and fifty square feet of space. There was a large wood burning fireplace centered on the back wall flanked by two large windows which looked out onto the deck and then to the forest beyond. The kitchen was not really a kitchen at all, just a mid-sized refrigerator and – separated by a few feet of counter – a small and ancient three burner stove top and oven. Toward the back of the room, a large bed was positioned to catch the view from the windows. There was a roughhewn table and four chairs with a vase of foliage on top of the table. Toby noticed everything was very clean, as if someone had worked hard to make the room inviting. He suspected Bill had been very busy and was touched by the effort.

  “What do you think?” John Brown asked nervously, as he watched Toby look around the room.

  “I think it is wonderful! Let’s finish unloading and when we have everything put away, you can show me around.”

  After they were done, John Brown opened a bottle of wine. He realized he’d forgotten to buy wine glasses, so he filled a couple of mason jars. He handed one to Toby. “I’d like to toast the first visitor I’ve ever brought to this place. I hope you enjoy your stay, Toby.”

  “And I’d like to say ‘thank you’ to the man I met just a short time ago, but feel I’ve known for much longer. Thank you, Bill, for inviting me for the weekend.”

  John Brown was pleased by the sincerity of Toby’s words, and after they had taken the obligatory drink to complete the toast, John Brown showed him the cabin. “There’s not really enough to call this a tour, but I’ll show you around anyway. You can pretty much see everything there is to see without me showing you, but here,” he opened a small door almost hidden in the wood encased door, “is the bathroom. It’s small, but everything works and I’ve only had to chase out snakes a few times in the last three years.”

  “You forget that I practically grew up in the country. You can’t scare me with the mention of snakes or any other kind of critter. “

  John Brown laughed and led him out a door at the near the back of the room. “Here’s my favorite part of the whole place.”

  The deck was huge and was filled with furniture made for outdoor living by local craftsmen. There were chairs with huge overstuffed cushions which Toby suspected had been placed there the day before, and the aforementioned grill and hot tub.

  Toby imagined all of the good times they might have here. “This is amazing! Is the water in the hot tub warm?”

  “It should be. Help me pull off the covering, and we’ll find out.”

  The water was hot, having been heating since the day before. The grill, however, was not. “I’ll just turn this on to warm up,” John Brown said. “What did you bring us to eat?”

  “I got easy stuff for tonight since I didn’t know what time we’d get here. There’s some rotisserie chicken and a couple of sides. I got steaks and a couple of chicken breasts as well, and a few breakfast and snack things for the next couple of days. You can choose. I’m just glad to be here.”

  “Then I’ll turn off the grill and we’ll take it easy tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll teach you how to grill up the best steak you’ve ever eaten.”

  “That sounds good, but don’t get your hopes up about my cooking ability. Right now I could use some more wine.”

  After both men refilled their glasses Toby took another look around the room. He liked the spare lines and the handmade furniture and thought it was a perfect weekend retreat. He was curious about one thing, though. “Should I assume we’re both sleeping here?”

  John Brown looked up from assembling their makeshift dinner to see Toby testing out the mattress. “Well, I thought maybe we’d be…”

  Tony grinned at the worried expression on his face. “Bill, I’m happy to share the bed. It looks plenty big enough. You don’t snore do you?”

  “I, uh…I don’t know.”

  “No one has ever mentioned if you snore or not?”

  “No,” John Brown replied, and decided to just tell him the whole truth. “You see, I’ve never slept with anyone for a whole night.”

  “But, you’ve …”

  “If you’re asking if I’ve ever had sex, the answer is, yes, many times. But, to tell you the truth, I’ve had sex with more women – many more – than with men.”

  Toby was surprised. Bill had been taking things slow, which he appreciated, but Toby had never expected part of the reason might be due to inexperience. “How many men have you had sex with, Bill?”

  John Brown looked away for a moment. “Technically, two different men. And one more, which didn’t work out too well. I cut things short with that one.” He sighed, remembering his encounter with the fat doctor. He decided he’d better get it all out there. “With the other two, it was mostly fooling around and a little bit of oral, on their part – not mine. I’ve usually just been attracted to women.”

  Now Toby was confused. “Then why did you ask me out, and why have you been…courting…me?”

  John Brown looked into Toby’s blue eyes. “I’ve been attracted to you from the very beginning. I can’t tell you why, but you make me feel….something when I am with you. If you’re worried about that, all I can say is I’m open to about anything.”

  “Even the sexual aspects?”

  John Brown thought about his question. “I’m not sure, but based on the reactions I get when we kiss, and the way I couldn’t control myself when I had the massage, I’m almost positive there shouldn’t be any problem.”

  Toby set down on the bed and stroked the quilt thoughtfully. “Come over here and sit down.”

  John Brown walked slowly over to the bed and sat down, worried about what Toby was going to say.

  “First of all, give me those glasses.” Once the eyewear was removed, Toby leaned in and pulled the man’s head to his and brought them together for a kiss. As it grew in intensity, Toby placed his hand on Bill’s thigh and worked it up to cup the cock and balls through his jeans. After a minute of heated mouth action, he pulled away. “There’s a reaction – you’re right about that! I have reason to know you’ve had that reaction before, so it’s a good start. But here’s the thing – I haven’t been in a regular relationship with anyone in a long time. My romantic life has been somewhat curtailed, for many reasons.”

  John Brown knew that Toby had been through a lot over last few months, and he himself had even indirectly contributed to the trauma. After he thought about it, he could almost understand why Toby hadn’t found companionship. In fact, he was happy that was the case. But, he was curious if Toby’s lack of regular companionship had also put a damper on Toby’s sex life. “You’ve told me a little about the things that happened, but did that keep you from having sex? Totally?”

  “Pretty much. There were a couple of quick hook-ups, but they were all about getting off, and didn’t even come close to what I’d consider to be anything more.”

  John Brown was trying to understand, but was having difficulty because h
e’d never really considered there could be anything more. He wondered what it would be like to have someone steady who cared about him and who he cared about in return. The idea intrigued him, in ways he didn’t expect. “What would come close? I mean, what would it take for it to be more?”

  Toby shrugged and thought about how to tell Bill what he wanted. He took his time before he spoke. “I think I want someone who will be a true partner. I’ve told you a little about me and Geri, and with him, I thought I’d found that. But Geri lied and did a lot of things, which in the end, I couldn’t accept. He convinced himself that he was doing those things to help me – and maybe he really believed it. But they didn’t help, and led to a lot of bad things happening. I want someone to share my life with who’s my friend, and who’s honest, and supporting, and knows right from wrong. I think it’s the only type of relationship I could accept.”

  John Brown was perplexed, but decided not to think about it anymore. Instead, he asked the question foremost in his thoughts. “Do you think I could be that person?”

  Toby looked him in the eye. “Do you, Bill?”

  John Brown didn’t know. He’d never had the opportunity before. He hesitated, but finally gave Toby the best answer he could. “Maybe. If you’d help me. No one has ever wanted me to be their…friend before.”

  Toby grinned. “Well, at least you’re honest.” Then more seriously, he added, “I like you a lot, Bill. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you, and if I haven’t actually said it, I also think you’re pretty darned hot.” He could see he’d embarrassed Bill with his last comment, but needed to continue. “In spite of that, I’m worried you haven’t had any experience with a real relationship and that makes me nervous.”

  John Brown might not have had any experience in this relationship business, but he had a lot of experience in making people nervous. Usually, he enjoyed it, at least when it was for a job. But he was dismayed that Toby was feeling uncomfortable with the situation, especially since the weekend was just getting started. He knew if he was going to have any hope of having a little fun, he needed to put Toby at ease. “You’re right. I don’t have that kind of experience. But, if you’ll give me a chance, I’ll try my best to give you what you’re looking for.” He looked over at the man beside him to see what effect his words had, and decided it wouldn’t hurt to add a little more. “Just tell me what you need. I’m willing to try.”