Table of Contents
Title Page
Book Details
Any Day Will Do
About the Author
Any Day Will Do
Kiss Me Quick
Sasha L. Miller
Sean is good at forgetting about things, so caught up in his painting that the rest of the world slips away. He's pretty certain he's done it again, because his boyfriend, Dustin, is dressed to the nines and ready to take him out to dinner. Whatever important occasion he's forgotten, Sean hopes it's not going to cost him the best boyfriend he's ever had.
Kiss Me Quick is a collection of short and sweet stories from authors familiar and new, celebrating the season of love. Come and enjoy these tales of misunderstandings, lonely singles, pining lovers, and so much more! Because if there is one thing that is never in doubt, it's that LT3 knows the way to your heart, and these stories are a straight shot.
Book Details
Any Day Will Do
By Sasha L. Miller
Published by Less Than Three Press
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission of the publisher, except for the purpose of reviews.
Edited by Courtney Davidson
Cover designed by Megan Derr
This book is a work of fiction and as such all characters and situations are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual people, places, or events is coincidental.
First Edition February 2012
Copyright © 2012 by Sasha L. Miller
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN 9781620041185
Any Day Will Do
Kiss Me Quick
Sasha L. Miller
Sean didn't look up when he heard the door unlocking, concentrating on gentle brushstrokes along the edge of the lake on the canvas. The door opened and shut, and Sean dunked his paintbrush into one of the canisters of water lined up on the tray table set up next to him. It was later than he'd realized, Sean noted, catching sight of the clock on the far wall. It was nearly nine, which was a few hours later than Dustin usually showed.
Edging his palette onto the tray table, Sean nearly knocked over a can of water that held three paintbrushes and murky green-brown water. It stayed on the table, barely, and Sean didn't bother to pull it away from the edge, instead turning to greet Dustin.
"You look nice," Sean blurted out, startled and panicking. Under his long black jacket, Dustin was wearing a three piece suit with thin silver pinstripes running the length of the jacket, vest, and slacks. His shirt was a vibrant purple, the collar starched and firm. The tie was thick and black, the knot neat and wide. Dustin had explained all the types of tie knots once, but Sean was pretty sure he'd only worn a tie once, to his brother's college graduation, and his mother had tied that one. Add the bouquet of bright white roses to the handsome suit, and Sean was probably about to get in a lot of trouble. "Am I forgetting an occasion?"
Dustin laughed, his smile lighting up his pretty blue eyes. Sean relaxed fractionally—laughter was good, especially since it seemed Dustin was genuinely amused and not mocking. "There were big-wigs at work. Top level execs."
"Ooooh," Sean said, pushing his hair out of his face. "And the roses?"
"Are for you," Dustin said, holding out the bouquet. "I saw them and thought you'd like them."
"They're nice," Sean said, hiding a wince because he'd said that about Dustin's outfit. The suit was nice, though. Sean gave Dustin another long look. "I like the suit better."
Dustin laughed again, waving the flowers at him. "You have a vase or something here?"
"Or something," Sean said agreeably, heading over to the sink. His studio wasn't large. It was one large room, one in a series of such rooms on the tenth floor of the Rushlin building. There were large picture windows along the wall opposite the door, which let in plenty of natural light. The room had a long counter along one wall, in which was set a sink. Sean had added a sofa and a few bookcases, some easels, and far too many boxes of paint, brushes, and spare canvases. He had more canvases, some half-finished, some complete, leaning against the rest of the walls.
Sean washed his hands quickly, removing what he could of the traces of paint that had inevitably ended up on his fingers. Hopefully he'd refrained from getting paint all over his face, but he doubted he was that lucky. He kept meaning to get a mirror in here, but between one thing and another he kept forgetting. Dumping out one of the coffee cans at the bottom of the sink, Sean gave it a good rinse before filling it with water.
"It's kind of short," Sean said, turning to find Dustin right behind him. He proffered the can, keeping clear of Dustin because as much as he wanted to touch, he'd probably ruin what looked to be a very expensive suit. Dustin may have been dating him for almost ten months, but if Sean ruined a suit that nice would probably make Dustin think twice about their relationship.
"It'll work," Dustin said, stepping to one side and laying the bouquet down. It was wrapped in cellophane, with tiny sprigs of baby's breath and other green, leafy bits tucked in between and around the roses. Dustin fished in his jacket pocket, coming up with a pocket knife, which he used to slice the cellophane away, then cut the stem of the roses nearly in half. They looked short and a little odd, tucked into the metal coffee can, but Sean liked it.
"You don't celebrate half-year anniversaries, do you?" Sean asked suspiciously, not sure he was buying the big-wigs-and-spontaneous-roses combination.
"Nope," Dustin reassured him, smiling lopsidedly. "Just yearly and the major holidays." He paused, and Sean stared at him blankly.
"Are you sure I'm not forgetting something?" Sean asked, frowning. "I'm sorry if I am."
"When's your final due?" Dustin asked, looking past Sean to the painting set up on the easel. It wasn't anything special, just a landscape that Sean had pulled from a magazine to repaint in impressionist style for one of his final projects.
"Two weeks?" Sean said, somewhat doubtful because it could be a week and a half. He'd been so caught up in catching up on some of his work after the cold he'd had last week that he wasn't quite sure what day it was. "What's today?"
"Thursday," Dustin said, studying the painting. "It looks awesome to me, but I know that's not going to mean much to you."
"It means plenty, shut up," Sean said, flushing slightly. "It's almost done, so there."
"Planning to finish tonight?" Dustin asked, with the fake nonchalant tone that meant he was hoping Sean would say no. He was usually good about it when Sean said yes, though, unlike the majority of Sean's exes, who seemed to think Sean only existed to go along with their whims.
"I was, but if you can offer me better plans, I won't say no. Not when you're wearing that suit," Sean said, eyeing Dustin suggestively.
"Oh, is that all it takes? Wearing a three-piece?" Dustin asked, stepping close and into Sean's personal space. Sean put his hands on the counter behind him, leaning back as Dusting leaned in towards him. He wanted to touch … but he didn't want to ruin that suit.
"Um," Sean managed, making Dustin laugh quietly. Dustin leaned in, stealing a kiss that quickly turned deeper and weakened Sean's resolve to keep his hands to himself. Dustin pulled away slightly, putting a hair's breadth of space between them.
"Let me take you to dinner?" Dustin asked. His expression—what Sean could see of it, this close—was mischievous, and Sean was positive he was missing something.
"Okay," Sean agreed without any hesitation. "I didn't bring a change of clothes—"
"We can swing by your apartment first," Dustin said easily, stepping away from Sean. "I'll call and make reservations while you put away whatever you have to put away."
"Reservations?" Sean repeated, wondering where Dusti
n was planning to take him.
"It's a surprise," Dustin said, as though reading his mind. "I'm not telling you where."
"Are you making up an occasion?" Sean asked, walking over to the tray table. Dustin just waved smiled at him, already on the phone. The painting would be fine left out, since he'd come back in the morning to finish it anyway. Sean capped the open paints, then stacked his paintbrush-and-water cans on top of the palette he'd been working from. He carried the whole mess to the sink and started rinsing everything out, moving a little faster when Dustin set the reservation for ten, giving them just about an hour.
He left the paintbrushes drying on a paint-stained hand towel, and dried his hands on another. Dustin was thanking whoever was on the other end of the line as Sean finished, and he clicked his phone off when Sean turned to him.
"Ready?" Dustin asked. Sean nodded, crossing the room to where his jacket was strewn across the arm of the sofa. He pulled it on, zipping it shut and shoving his hands into the pockets to dig out his gloves. Once they were in place, he let Dustin take his hand and lead him from the studio.
The walk to Sean's apartment didn't take long. The Rushlin building was only a few blocks from his apartment building. Sean's apartment was a second floor studio, barely bigger than the studio where he did his painting. He left Dustin sitting on the sofa bed and ducked into the bathroom to take a quick shower.
Once clean, Sean left the bathroom and dressed quickly, trying to ignore Dustin's presence because paying attention would result in missing their reservation. He wasn't as nicely dressed as Dustin, wearing khaki-colored slacks and a dark gray turtleneck, but Dustin didn't seem to mind.
There was a cab waiting for them downstairs. Dustin must have called for it when he was showering, and Sean almost hesitated about that. Cabs were expensive, and Dustin was already treating him to dinner … Dustin didn't pause though. Instead he tugged him over to the cab, holding the door open for him. Sean slid into the cab, worrying all over again that he was missing something. Dustin made a lot of money in his job as a marketing director, but he was usually more circumspect about it in deference to Sean's status as an art student living off a dwindling inheritance.
"Where are we going?" Sean asked as the cab pulled away from the curb with no direction from Dustin.
"To a restaurant," Dustin said, slanting him a smile. "Patience."
"I don't know the meaning of that word," Sean said, jabbing Dustin in the thigh and sliding slightly closer on the seat. The taxi driver didn't seem to be paying the least bit of attention—and his meter wasn't even running. Sean frowned at that, wondering just what Dustin was paying for this cab ride. Too much, probably.
Dustin leaned close, his chin practically resting on Sean's shoulder as he murmured softly, "Liar. You're very good at patience if it suits you."
Sean shivered, trying hard not to be affected by Dustin's tone or proximity. His mind immediately went to Dustin's bedroom, where they'd spent more than a few enjoyable evenings testing the bounds of each other's patience.
"That is a very different sort of patience," Sean said quietly, keeping his voice low so the taxi driver didn't stop and kick them out of his cab.
"Extend your boundaries, then," Dustin said. He grinned, the expression only somewhat visible in the lights from the dash of the cab. "Be patient now, and I promise I'll reward you later."
"That had better be a promise," Sean said, settling in comfortably against Dustin's side as the cab took a right turn. He wasn't sure exactly where they were, though the area looked familiar. If he'd been on foot like he usually was, he could probably place it more quickly. The cab kept making turns, though, making it difficult to get his bearings, until it finally pulled up in front of a restaurant with a backlit sign that proclaimed it to be La Sorella d'Antonietta. Sean didn't recognize the restaurant, but that wasn't surprising considering it looked to be about ten pay grades above his income of pittance.
The restaurant was on the first floor of a tall building that was maybe a dozen floors tall, tucked between two taller buildings. The sidewalk in front of the restaurant was three times as wide as a typical sidewalk, and the restaurant had taken full advantage of the space by installing large, leafy potted plants and an array of lights that lit up the storefront to display the prominent roman columns and other stereotypical Italian architecture.
The restaurant was busy; there were people loitering on the sidewalk, hands shoved in their pockets to ward off the chill. The foyer inside was even more crowded with people waiting and sitting at every table Sean could see from the front desk—admittedly few, as the main section of the restaurant was hidden by cleverly placed walls and more tall, leafy plants. The plants outside had to be fake, Sean realized belatedly, staring at the plants as Dustin talked to one of the hostesses. There was no way they'd be still alive otherwise, considering it was February and the temperatures were freezing.
The hostess stepped away from the stand, her pretty black dress glimmering in the restaurant's dim lighting. She gestured for them to follow her, leading the way into the restaurant. Sean followed Dustin, noting that the restaurant was almost entirely set up with small round tables meant for two. The tables were decked out in cream tablecloths with a lace trim. A tiny candle burned in the center of the table, set in a curved glass jar next to a vase with a single red rose.
It felt intimate, and Sean flushed, stupidly pleased that Dustin wanted to take him out to a place like this. None of his exes had wanted to take him out to such places, never mind that they could afford it. And Sean really needed to stop comparing Dustin to his exes, even if Dustin was coming out ahead on all counts, even after ten months.
The hostess bustled away after they were seated, promising someone would be with them shortly. Dustin slid his chair closer to Sean, putting them almost next to each other instead of across the table from each other. He moved the place settings and everything, and Sean smiled stupidly, picking up the menu to hide it.
"Order anything you want," Dustin said, resting his hand on Sean's leg under the table. "It's my treat, and I want to treat you."
"You're just saying that so I'll put out," Sean said, flipping open the menu and barely catching the insert from the center as it tumbled out onto his plate.
"I can neither confirm nor deny that supposition," Dustin said, quirking a smile that belied his words and confirmed Sean's suggestion. Or at least confirmed that Dustin wanted him to put out.
"You're lucky that I'm easy," Sean said, just as the waiter stopped at their table. Sean pretended he hadn't said a word, ignoring the way his cheeks heated as Dustin ordered them wine, the name of it rolling off his lips easily despite it being Italian. Sean buried his head in the menu, studying the options on the insert instead of meeting the waiter's eyes, and his eyes caught on the title of the card.
Valentine's Day Specials – Thursday, February 14th only.
Sean's stomach sank. He was a complete idiot. How had he completely managed to miss that it was Valentine's Day?
"Why didn't you say something?" Sean hissed as soon as the waiter stepped away.
Dustin looked at him askance, startled. "Say something about what? Did you want another wine?"
Instead of replying to that, Sean tilted the menu towards Dustin, jabbing his finger at the title of the insert. His cheeks burned, and Sean scowled, wondering how long Dustin would have let him go on pretending there was nothing special going on.
"I didn't want to say anything," Dustin said, his lips twisting into an uncertain, worried smile. His hand slid away from Sean's thigh, leaving Sean's feeling colder for the absence. "You got so upset over not remembering your sister's birthday, and it's really—it's not about Valentine's Day. It's about spending time with you and I don't need a special occasion to do it."
"What if I'd said I wanted to finish the painting?" Sean asked, ignoring the way his stomach flipped.
"We would go to dinner another night," Dustin said easily, his hand sliding back into place on S
ean's leg. Sean slipped his hand under the table, covering Dustin's hand with his own. "The date doesn't matter; celebrating our relationship does, right?"
"Right," Sean said, ducking his head shyly. That was entirely too sweet. He hesitated briefly but then said quietly, "That's why I love you, you know."
Dustin's eyes widened and he stared at Sean, and Sean swallowed hard, hoping he hadn't made a misstep in saying that. Maybe Dustin thought ten months was too soon? Then Dustin smiled slowly, happily, and asked, "Really?"
"Yeah," Sean said, shrugging, his stomach not settling. Dustin hadn't said it back, but what had Sean expected?
"I love you, too," Dustin said, still smiling. "I'm really glad I asked you out last August. I wasn't going to—"
"Why not?" Sean asked, mystified. He remembered that day. It had been cloudy and threatening rain all day, but Sean had still had to trek out to the park to do the "Art in the Park" festival his graduate advisor had set up. Dustin had been passing through, wearing a generic enough suit but with a tie that had been a gorgeous shade of indigo.
"You seemed so sophisticated and artistic. I was sure you wouldn't give me the time of day, being a suit," Dustin said, shrugging. "Then you had to go and compliment my tie."
Sean laughed. "It was a pretty tie."
"I almost didn't wear it," Dustin said, grinning. "I spilled coffee on my first tie that morning, though, and that was the only other tie I had that matched the jacket."
"I don't remember the jacket." Sean thought a moment, trying to recall it. He could only remember the tie, though, and the way Dustin had smiled and ducked his head a little when he'd asked if Sean would like to get a coffee with him later.
"I think there's another discussion we need to have, now," Dustin said after a moment. Sean's heart sped up, wondering what that could be and hoping it wasn't anything serious and bad.
"Oh?" Sean asked, hoping he was hiding his nerves.
Dustin flashed another smile, breaking his serious façade. He lowered his voice, leaning close to Sean. "Yes, we need to sort out just how I'm going to reward you for your patience on the drive here."
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