To Nick’s delight, the fans on either side of them had shown up. When they sat, his leg, arm and shoulder were pressed against Jesse.
Michigan had the ball first and easily took it the length of the field in six plays and scored. Jesse rose with the rest and roared his approval.
“Hey,” Nick said over the noise of the celebration, “you’re an Illini, remember?”
Jesse just laughed as he high-fived the man standing next to him.
“When in Rome…” He laughed again.
* * * By half-time, Michigan seemed to have the game well in hand. They were up seventeen points over their opponent.
“Let’s go get something to eat. I’m starving,” Nick said.
“You go,” Jesse replied. “I want to stay and watch the half-time show.”
“Can I get you anything?”
Jesse turned and smiled at him. “Sure, whatever you get is fine.”
Nick nodded and made his way down the narrow row. As he got to the end and started up the stairs, he turned and looked back at Jesse, who was standing and clapping as the Illini band took the field.
This is good.
With a light heart, he made his way up the stairs with the crowd heading for the johns and concessions.
The lines at the food stand were long. Nick stood behind an older man. As Nick casually appraised him, the man turned. He knew the man had caught him checking him out. The guy, in turn, unabashedly looked Nick up and down. Embarrassed, not knowing what to say, Nick started to mumble some sort of apology.
“Hey, no problem,” said the handsome, middle-aged man. “You see something you like, enjoy it. And I definitely see something I like.”
Nick was disconcerted with the guy’s openness. He looked around uncomfortably.
“Sorry,” the man said. “Didn’t mean to embarrass you. Just figured we were on the same page. Am I wrong?”
“No, you’re not wrong,” Nick said, “but I’m not used to being outed in public.” He kept his voice low.
“Ouch!” the older man chuckled. “Okay,” he said also lowering his voice and taking on a comic, conspiratorial tone. “Guess I just got overexcited seeing an attractive stud like you giving an old codger like me the once over.” He looked around and then winked at Nick.
Nick really did not want to continue this conversation, but he said, “I wouldn’t call you old at all. But I’m not—”
The man cut him off. “Look, I’m busy this weekend, but maybe we could…uh…arrange something for another time. Here, let me give you my card,” he said and began to pull out his wallet.
Nick raised his hand to protest. The man seemed to look over his shoulder, put the wallet back in his pocket and abruptly turned away.
“There you are, Carter,” sounded a voice from behind Nick.
Nick turned to see Denny striding toward them as the line inched forward.
The smile on Denny’s face faded as he recognized his neighbor. Nick looked from Denny to the man standing in front of him and back to Denny again. In an instant, it all became clear, all Denny’s strange behavior over the past few weeks that had Jesse so puzzled. His partner was having an affair.
* * * Nick made his way back to his seat carrying the little cardboard box with the drinks, hot dogs, and pretzels inside. His mind was reeling. The scene he had just exited was awkward to say the least. This man Carter didn’t want Denny to know he had been putting the make on Nick. Denny didn’t want Nick to think he was having a fling with Carter. And Nick didn’t know what to do with this newly acquired information.
The three had stood uncomfortably as they moved toward the counter of the concession stand to place their orders, talking about the game and what a small world it was meeting someone you knew among all these people. Denny kept trying to say things that made his relationship with Carter seem totally platonic. Carter, evidently realizing the guy he tried to get a date with was someone Denny and Jesse knew, tiptoed around this knowledge and tried to support Denny’s attempts at the red herring.
When Nick told Denny that Jesse was here, his panic seemed to deepen. Denny forcefully refused Nick’s invitation to come and say hi. He made some totally lame excuse.
Finally, as the pair started to make their way back to their seats, Denny let Carter get a little ahead and said, “Look, I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t tell Jess you saw me. I mean, Carter and I are just friends, not… Well, we’re just friends and you know how upset Jesse can get. So…” He left the sentence hanging.
Nick just nodded and watched as Denny walked away, catching up with Carter and disappearing into the crowd.
What were the chances of me meeting up with Denny and his boyfriend?
Nick knew this could work to his advantage in his plan to extricate Jesse from his relationship with this jerk, but how best to do it? He couldn’t just say, “Oh, by the way, I just met your cheatin’ partner and his sleazy fuck buddy.” Or could he? Nick would have to think about it.
Nick excused his way down the crowded row, making sure he didn’t spill the drinks as he came back to their seats and Jesse. When he reached him, Jesse turned to him with a big smile.
“I’m having the best time. Thanks for inviting me. This is just what I needed.”
Nick returned the smile as they sat, passing Jesse’s share of the refreshments he had procured.
“What took you so long? You missed the whole half-time show,” Jesse said, diving into his hot dog.
Nick hesitated and thought better of saying, “Oh, you’ll never guess who I just met.” Instead, he just said, “Long lines and…interesting people.”
“Oh?” Jesse responded, looking quizzically at him.
Before the conversation could go any further, the crowd stood and roared as the second half kick-off resulted in a spectacular eighty-yard return for a touchdown by Michigan.
* * * That evening, the men sat on the couch, the dogs between them, a fire in the corner fireplace. Jesse was thoroughly enjoying himself. As they sipped their glasses of wine, watching the evening game on TV, he couldn’t imagine being more content. The only negative was that Nick seemed to be a bit distracted.
At dinner in one of the Main Street restaurants, on two occasions Nick had not heard Jesse’s comments. When Jesse had asked if anything was wrong, Nick seemed to fumble with his response. Jesse tried not to read too much into this. Now they were back at home, he seemed more in tune with the conversation.
Jesse’s cell rang. He retrieved it from his pocket. “Hi, Denny,” Jesse said, looking across the dozing dogs at Nick with a smile.
Nick seemed to take a deep breath.
“Uh…hi, babe,” Denny said, almost hesitantly Jesse thought.
“How’s Atlanta?” Jesse watched as Nick narrowed his brow.
“It’s…um…fine. How was the game? Did Michigan win?”
“Yeah, they did. But I didn’t mind. You would’ve loved it. It was a rout.” Jesse laughed, watching Nick as he smiled slightly.
“Good, I’m glad you’re having a good time. Yeah, I would’ve liked to see that.” Denny’s voice sounded less tentative. “I’ll be home Monday, unless they decide to send me to Timbuktu.” He laughed.
They went on to talk for a few minutes.
“Okay, see you Monday. Love you, too. ’Bye,” Jesse said.
He hung up and looked over at Nick again. “Denny said to say hi.” He turned to watch the game when something crossed Jesse’s mind. “Hey, I don’t remember telling Denny I was coming to Ann Arbor. In fact, I know I didn’t. How would he know I’m here?”
Nick took a deep breath.
Jesse saw him frown. “What? You know something I don’t?”
Nick looked down and wrinkled his brow.
“What? Tell me,” Jesse said, confused.
“Denny’s not in Atlanta,” Nick said, raising his eyes to meet Jesse’s.
CHAPTER 12
Nick unpacked his bag. Clyde lay on the floor looking up at his human. He thumped h
is tail as if trying to reassure him all would be well. Nick ignored him, finishing his task. He came back from returning his toiletries to the bathroom and sat on the bed, shoulders slumped. Clyde belly-walked forward and laid his head on Nick’s foot. Nick gave him a weak smile, then reached down and pulled him up on the bed next to him. Clyde responded by trying to lick Nick’s face. The man grunted a half laugh and lay down on his side, pulling the hound against him.
“That didn’t quite turn out as we hoped, did it, old boy?” he said, scratching Clyde behind the ears.
Clyde’s tail continued its attempt at reassurance.
Nick sighed. “Well, I didn’t want to lie to him. He’s had enough of that.” He continued as if Clyde could understand every word. “When he asked me if I knew something, I had to tell him, right?”
Clyde wiggled his response.
“I just don’t understand why he got mad at me.”
Nick hugged his canine companion tightly against him, replaying the scene in his mind for the dozenth time.
“Denny’s not in Atlanta,” Nick had said.
“What do you mean? He told me he was going to Atlanta and would be home next week,” Jesse had said looking at him with an apprehensive expression.
Nick had sighed and moved closer to his friend. “Jesse, Denny’s here in Ann Arbor.”
Jesse had moved away from Nick, faced him, eyes narrowed, breathing hard. “He can’t be…he said he was in Atlanta…just now…on the phone. Why would you say something like that?”
Nick had thought of reaching for Jesse’s hand, but thought better of it. “Jesse, I saw him at the concession stand during halftime.”
“You couldn’t have. He just called…he said he’s in Atlanta. You must’ve been mistaken; just saw someone who looked like him.”
“No, it was him, Jess. I talked to him.”
Jesse had shaken his head, as if trying to wake up or make sense of what he was hearing. “Didn’t you tell him I was here? Why didn’t he come back with you?” He’d looked directly at Nick. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Nick hadn’t known how to respond. He’d shrugged his shoulders and opened his mouth in a silent, I’m sorry.
At that moment, a faraway look had crossed Jesse’s handsome face. His eyes began to glisten. Turning away from Nick, he’d said slowly and softly, “He wasn’t alone was he?”
Nick had lowered his eyes. “No, he wasn’t.”
“I see,” Jesse had said. “Who was it?”
Nick had winced inwardly. He hadn’t wanted to inflict more pain on the man he loved. He had seen he was already suffering.
“I asked you a question. Who was it?” He had turned back to Nick, his voice steely and cold.
Nick had met his gaze. “I don’t know. Not someone I recognized.”
“Did he have a name?”
“Jesse, don’t torture yourself. I—”
“I asked, did he have a name?” Jesse had pressed, frighteningly calm.
“Denny said his name was Carter.”
“Carter? I don’t remember Denny saying anything about a Carter from work. The only Carter he ever mentioned was his financial planner.”
Nick had known Jesse was trying to rationalize the situation, hoping there was some logical explanation.
“What did he look like?”
Nick had sighed. “He was older, distinguished looking—”
“Attractive?”
“Jesse, please.”
“Attractive?” Jesse had repeated, an edge in his voice.
“Yes, attractive. But, Jesse, Denny said he was just a friend.”
“Yes, just a friend.” A tear had rolled down Jesse’s cheek. “An attractive, older friend, who none of us has met and one who Denny didn’t want to introduce to me.”
Nick had wanted to reach out, take him in his arms, tell him he loved him and he was better off rid of that scum.
“When were you going to tell me about this friend? Or were you? Whose side are you on?”
Nick had been taken by surprise. “Whose side am I— Yours, of course. I just didn’t know how to do it. I—”
“I’m going to bed,” Jesse had abruptly announced. “Come on, Shelby.”
Nick sighed deeply once more as he let the memory fade. They had left Ann Arbor the next morning, earlier than they had planned. The drive back to Chicago seemed to take forever. Jesse hardly spoke at all. When they’d arrived home, he unloaded his bag, thanked Nick politely, ignored his attempts to make things right and went into his house.
“I just don’t understand,” Nick said again to Clyde, as he reached out and turned off the light on the bed stand. “I just don’t understand why he’s so upset with me.”
With those thoughts roaming his mind, he fell asleep.
* * * “He should be home by now,” Denny said as he closed his cell and put it on the bed stand. “Why isn’t he answering?”
“Come on, Denny,” Carter said, lying on his back, slowly stroking his erection. “When you called him yesterday, he didn’t know a thing. He thought you were in Atlanta, right?”
“I guess,” Denny replied dully, sitting on the edge of the bed in his briefs. “But he didn’t answer when I called him tonight.”
Carter reached out and stroked his back. “That guy, Nick, you trust him not to say anything, don’t you?”
Denny felt a shiver run down his spine. He wasn’t sure why he didn’t want Carter to touch him just then.
“I’m not sure. He likes Jesse. I know he’s not too fond of me.”
Carter moved closer, sat up and started to nibble on Denny’s shoulder. He snaked one arm around him and ran it through the hair on his chest, teasing a nipple to life.
Denny sighed and leaned back into the stimulation, his reservations lessening.
“You were going to tell him about us anyway.” Carter alternated each word with a soft kiss on Denny’s flesh.
When Denny didn’t respond immediately, Carter stopped his ministrations. “You were gonna tell him?”
“Yeah, yeah I was, but—”
“But?” The older man said somewhat sharply.
“But I don’t want him to find out this way. I care enough about him to do it… Well…gently. Fuck! Who woulda thought he’d be here in Ann Arbor and we’d run into Nick at a game with over a hundred thousand people. I wonder why he didn’t tell me he was going to go to the game.”
Denny felt Carter stiffen slightly, then relax. “Maybe this is a sign.”
“A sign?”
“Yeah, a close call like this…maybe it’s a sign you should tell him.”
“I guess,” Denny said again, sadly.
“Hey, you’re not changing your mind, are you?”
“No.”
Carter forcefully turned him around and pulled him down on the bed next to him. “Let me give you a reason to do it sooner rather than later then.”
He took Denny in his arms and kissed him. Denny forgot why he had resisted giving into his feelings of arousal and returned the kiss.
* * * Jesse sat on the couch. He held the picture of Denny and him in both hands, his elbows on his knees. Shelby was curled up next to him, her head on his lap. He didn’t bother to correct her for being on the furniture. After staring at the two smiling faces, he laid the photo facedown on the cushion, leaned back against the sofa and stroked Shelby’s soft head.
“I’m a gullible fool, Shelby, a class-A gullible fool.” She raised her head and looked at him with her sad hound eyes. Then she licked his hand.
“No, I am, Shel. I shoulda seen this coming. Shit, I shoulda
known before it all started. That’s the kind of guy he is. He picked
me up on a flight, for God’s sake. He was so smooth I coulda
guessed he was no novice, that he’d probably done it a hundred
times before.”
Shelby laid her head back down on his knee with a deep sigh. Jesse closed his eyes. Visions of his two years with Denny
&
nbsp; moved across his mind: the cruise to Acapulco; the day they
moved into the townhouse; bringing Shelby home; the nights and
days of passion and gentle affection.
Denny, why? Why wasn’t I enough for you? What did I do
wrong?
A solitary tear rolled down his cheek.
The phone rang. Jesse sat up and checked the caller ID. It was
Denny.
“I’m not gonna listen to any more of your lies, Mr.
Christopoulos! Not tonight anyway.”
He let it go to voicemail, but Denny didn’t leave a message.
Jesse was just as glad. He didn’t want to hear from him. Wearily getting up from the couch, he walked to the hall, put
on his jacket and took Shelby’s leash from the hook. She was there
in an instant, sitting before him, tail wagging, impatient to be on
her way. They stepped out into the cool night air. They walked
down the street past Mrs. Kloswick’s condo and then Nick’s. The
lights were still on. For a moment Jesse considered knocking on
the door and inviting Nick and Clyde to join the walk. Shelby
seemed to sense his thought and stopped, looking from Jesse to the
door. Then the lights went out.
Jesse sighed and said, “Come on, Shel.” They walked off to the
dog park.
As he sat watching Shelby trot about the deserted enclosure,
sniffing here and there, he pondered his reaction to Nick’s lack of
disclosure of his meeting with Denny and, he thought
derisively…Carter. He didn’t quite understand why he was angry
with Nick. No, he wasn’t angry…why he was upset with Nick for
not telling him immediately, for waiting until Jesse himself figured
it out. Nick wouldn’t protect Denny. He was pretty sure Nick
didn’t like Denny. And if he allowed himself to think it, he was
also pretty sure if there were no Denny in the picture, Nick would
be something more than a neighbor by this time.
So why am I feeling this way? Then it dawned on him. He
Second Thoughts Page 12
