by DJ Monroe
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Colton asked.
“I tried but you wouldn’t listen,” Richard said. “I tried and so did Grant.”
Colton fought back the tears that had threatened to appear since Richard arrived. Now, they were angry tears, burning his eyes. He knew one thing for sure, Richard wasn’t going to be the sympathetic ear he’d been counting on in this situation.
EVEN THOUGH LINCOLN still had not taken any of the young men up on their offer at Paddy’s he’d stopped in there several times that week after work. He told himself that looks, even good looks, could be deceiving and he was just trying to get a feel for the clientele. In actuality, he was just working up the courage to let himself relax. Picking up strangers and one-night stands had never been something he was comfortable with. After a few evenings, coming home alone yet still wired and incredibly horny, he decided he’d better get comfortable with it or he was going to turn into a monk.
His thoughts strayed to Colton, right across the hall. A quiet dinner with some intelligent conversation would help. And, yes, Lincoln had to admit, he’d like to do more than just talk with Colton. But Lincoln also knew the man needed some time and distance to start healing if the break up he’d sort of witnessed was permanent.
From now on, it would be strangers, a different man every night if he had anything to say about it. Who knew, it might be the most sexually exciting time of his life. At least that’s what he told himself, not really believing a word of it.
So, on Saturday night when he pulled into Paddy’s parking lot, he’d decided this would be the night. He was going to take someone up on their offer and just enjoy some no strings attached, down and dirty sex.
The place was packed and as dark as usual. A dozen conversations buzzed around Lincoln as he strode through the front door. Some local band was playing a country tune, several couples moving slowly around the dark dance floor. The click of pool balls and raucous laughter from that end of the bar told him all was par for the course over in that area.
A young man with long white-blond hair caught his eye and held it, making silent promises. Lincoln smiled back, went straight to the bar and ordered a beer. He wasn’t surprised when the blond stood up and started toward him a few moments later.
“Hey, there big boy,” the blond said. “Care to buy me a drink?”
“Well, that depends on what’s in it for me,” Lincoln said, feeling like he had somehow gotten trapped in a really bad porn flick.
This lanky, baby-faced blond wasn’t normally his ‘type’ but this wasn’t a normal kind of night. He hoped that once he got over this initial hurdle, picking up casual lovers would soon become second nature.
The blond looked him up and down slowly and then reached out and ran a finger down the front of Lincoln’s shirt, tugging gently at his belt buckle. Lincoln was surprised at the way his body responded to the other man’s touch. It was like he hadn’t been intimate with anyone for years instead of just months. His blood pounded in his ears so loudly that he barely heard the other man’s response.
“Pretty much whatever you want,” came the answer.
“Are you sure you can handle whatever I want?” Lincoln teased, somehow easily falling into the game.
“I’d damn sure give it a try either way,” the blond responded. “What’s your name?”
“Names are not important right now,” Lincoln said. No way was he giving this man his name. Nor did he want to know the stranger’s name. This was about sex and nothing else.
“You can call me Slick if you want,” the man said, with a wink.
Lincoln ordered the young man’s drink and then another one for himself and they stood side by side at the bar drinking. Part of him felt like an idiot, standing there pretending to be something he wasn’t. Part of him longed for the release that would come at the hands or mouth of this stranger.
And then he saw Jon.
At first he thought maybe he was imagining it or maybe it was someone who just happened to look like Jon. But he watched the man talking with what appeared to be his date at one of the tables. The mannerisms were the same, the way he used his hands to make a point, tilted his head and smiled. It was when he threw back his head and laughed, that Lincoln was absolutely sure it was Jon. He’d know that laughter anywhere.
“Hey, I’m over here,” Slick reminded Lincoln along with another tug at his belt buckle.
Lincoln forced a smile and turned toward Slick, who’s mouth had turned into a pout.
“Sorry,” he said, taking another drink of his beer. He hoped the other man had not seen his hand shaking. “Just saw someone I thought I knew.”
“Why don’t we step into the bathroom and maybe I can take your mind off of that for a while,” Slick suggested.
Both men placed their drinks on the bar and Lincoln found himself following this stranger named Slick through the dark bar toward the bathroom. He half-hoped Jon would see him. Half-hoped Jon would never know that he’d stooped to this level.
It turned out that inside the bathroom was a separate, smaller room like a lounge. There was a small sofa and the soft glow of a lamp on the table nearby creating a cozy warm space that stood in stark contrast to the bar.
“This is different,” Lincoln commented and let himself be led toward the sofa.
“Robby—he owns the place—likes to make sure we all have a place to be safe and comfortable. You know, just in case,” Slick said, locking the door behind them.
“In case of what?” Lincoln asked.
“In case something like this happens,” he said, kneeling on the floor between Lincoln’s legs.
Lincoln shivered in anticipation as the stranger ran both hands up his thighs.
Slick smiled at the growing bulge in Lincoln’s jeans, caught his lower lip in his teeth. “Oooooh, I gotta see that,” he whispered.
Lincoln relaxed and, letting his body take control, unbuckled his belt and lowered his zipper, exposing his erection.
Slick licked his full lips and winked at Lincoln. “Nice,” he whispered.
“Tastes even better,” Lincoln said, thrusting his crotch toward Slick’s face. The words felt odd coming out of his mouth, as if someone else was saying them or he was reading words in a play.
“I’ll bet,” Slick said, his mouth so close that Lincoln could feel his hot breath sliding across his swollen knob.
At the first touch of the stranger’s hot tongue, Lincoln closed his eyes and let the thrill of the other man’s mouth roll up through his belly and down his inner thighs. Slick was an expert and soon, Lincoln’s low groans of pleasure filled the room. He dug one hand into the blond hair of the head bobbing up and down in his lap, and tried to think of something, someone or anything else but the white hot pleasure crashing through his entire body in pulsating waves, growing more intense by the moment.
Much to his surprise, it was Colton who came immediately to mind. The beautiful gray eyes, that wonderful smile and the big heart that all but defined his neighbor. Unbidden the fantasy that came to mind was himself in the stranger’s place and Colton on the receiving end of every oral skill he’d mastered over the years.
Lincoln whimpered, quickly losing his fight for control. He imagined Colton saying his name over and over while he brought him to the peak of excitement.
Slick let up only briefly, letting his hand do the work while he whispered, “Come on, baby, don’t hold back. Just give it to me.” Then he engulfed Lincoln in his hot mouth again, sucking as if everything in his being depended on Lincoln’s final release.
Lincoln growled, thrust upward one last time and teetered on the brink of orgasm for what seemed like eternity. The release came in waves, terrifyingly intense at first and then slowly becoming less breathtaking until he could finally relax and open his eyes again.
Slick smiled up at him, his lips shiny wet. “We need to take this someplace even more private,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind more of that.”
“Not tonight,”
Lincoln told him, tucking himself away and zipping up with trembling hands. He felt dirty and used and, now, all he wanted to do was get away from this man.
“Let me give you my name and...”
Lincoln held up one hand cutting him off. “No.” The last thing he wanted to know was Slick’s real name or phone number. And he definitely wasn’t going to give out that personal information about himself.
“Surely, you’ll want to hook up again,” Slick said with a pout.
“I’ll think about it,” Lincoln said, firmly. And then he softened his words with a forced smile. “But I’m pretty sure I can find you here.”
“Oh, yeah, I’m here almost every night,” Slick said.
Lincoln left him behind in the bathroom and headed back out to the main bar. All he could think about was getting home and taking a shower.
He tried not to look toward the table where he had seen Jon earlier and failed. Jon was still there, holding hands and snuggling close to an older dark haired man. His feet started in that direction of their own accord with a dozen emotions sweeping through him. He tamped them down.
“Jon, I’m surprised to see you here,” Lincoln said, his voice as tight as the little smile he offered Jon and his friend.
Jon gasped and sat up straight. “Lincoln, how nice to see you.”
“Likewise,” Lincoln said.
“I didn’t know you came in here.”
“Didn’t until recently,” Lincoln told him. “You know, now that I’m single again.”
Jon forced a weak smile.
It felt so odd talking to the man he’d been so in love with less than a week earlier, greeting him like a stranger. But that was before. Now, as far as Lincoln was concerned, the handsome young man sitting in front of him, holding hands with another man, was a complete stranger.
“Are you back in town for a while?”
“I had to come back and take care of some banking business. You know, settle things here,” Jon said, looking everywhere except Lincoln’s steady gaze.
“You should have let me know you were in town. I may still have a few things of yours,” Lincoln said.
“That’s okay,” Jon said. “Anything I’ve left behind, you can just keep.”
“Or throw it out,” Lincoln said. “Kind of like you did with me and our relationship.”
Jon still could not meet Lincoln’s gaze. “I don’t think this is the time or place—”
“When would have been the correct time or place?” Lincoln asked. And then nodded to the man sitting at the table. “Before or after you dumped me for your new lover?”
“Lincoln,” Jon said, a little whine creeping into his voice.
Lincoln shook his head. “Nope. That used to work but not any longer.” And then he turned to the man seated beside Jon. “Take my advice and get out while you can. He’ll bleed you dry emotionally and then toss you aside when you’re of no use to him any longer.”
Turning on his heel, Lincoln walked away, but not before he heard Jon’s gasp that told him he’d hit home. He smiled, glad that he’d had the chance to let Jon know it was over and he was going to be just fine.
Now, all he could think about was getting home and getting out of his clothes and into a shower. He decided he might even burn the clothes afterwards just so they wouldn’t smell like the man called Slick.
Chapter Eleven
All during the meal, Richard’s cell phone was on the table beside him. He continually touched it or glanced at it. Colton assumed he was checking the time and began to feel as if this visit from his friend was almost a chore, an obligation. As if Richard didn’t want to be there and, really, had better places to go.
Finally, unable to stand the tension between them any longer, Colton said, “Why don’t you go ahead and leave, Richard. It’s obvious you’d rather be someplace else.”
“Well, I did make plans for this evening,” Richard said, finally sliding his cell into his pocket.
“Another date with some stranger down at Paddy’s?” Colton asked and immediately regretted his tone of voice. Richard had his own life to live and, maybe Colton was meddling.
“At least I’m not hiding in my apartment waiting for Jeremy to come back,” Richard said.
“Is that what I’m doing?” Colton asked.
“Sure seems like it to me, and since we’re advising each other on what we should be doing, I have a little advice for you,” Richard said.
Colton sipped his coffee.
“You know, it wouldn’t hurt you to get out a little bit more.”
“I get out. I go to work. I shop,” Colton argued.
Richard gave him a level look. “You know what I mean.”
Colton bit back the sob that threatened to escape. “It’s too soon, Richard. I still want Grant.”
“I didn’t say you had to find someone to sleep with. Maybe just get out and drink a little, dance a little,” Richard said. “Have some fun.”
Colton looked away so Richard wouldn’t see the tears that gathered behind his eyelashes and shook his head. “I was having fun just being with Grant.”
“So you’d rather spend all of your time and energy trying to hook me up with your neighbor across the hall instead of moving on without Grant,” Richard said flatly. “What’s wrong with this picture.”
“Are you saying that I should have put more energy into my relationship with Grant?”
Richard shrugged. “You’re going to have to figure that out sooner or later for yourself.”
With that he left, and Colton spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around in the apartment. When they were first together, Grant would go on antique shopping trips with him. They would purchase items together like a set of brass bells that sat in the kitchen window. They were worn and tarnished but yet still rang out clear and strong. Some of the artwork that adorned their walls had been pieces that he and Grant bought together. He thought they’d brought Grant joy as well but since they were left behind without a second thought, he decided he must have been wrong about that, too.
Late in the evening, he decided to make a trip to the corner market for some wine. He knew he was drinking way too much of the stuff but it helped him sleep. The sleep was fitful and filled with dreams of Grant. Sometimes they were dreams of the two of them together, locked in a passionate embrace and when he woke up, he could still taste Grant’s kisses.
Most of the time, though, they were dreams of Grant making love to someone else while Colton watched, begging him to stop and come home. On those mornings, he awoke with a tear stained pillow and an ache in his heart that he was sure was never going to go away.
Sometimes, after those dreams, he tried to remember who Grant had been with. Maybe if he did, he could figure out who Grant was seeing in real life. As if the dream was prophetic. As if it really mattered who had taken Grant from him. In the end, he could never remember.
While at the market, Colton saw a friend he hadn’t seen in a long time. “Vince? Vince Walton?” Colton said, approaching the older man from behind.
Vince turned to face him, a smile making his bright blue eyes crinkle at the corners just like Colton remembered. But as soon as Vince saw him, the smile disappeared.
“Oh, hi, Colton,” Vince said, his words as cold as the look that had creeped into his eyes and stolen the welcoming smile away.
“It’s good to see you,” Colton said, reaching out to touch a man he once considered a close friend.
Less than a year earlier, he’d introduced Vince to a co-worker, a man new in town, Michael Spinner. The last reports he’d heard were that the two men were head over heels in love and it looked like there might be a wedding in the near future. Colton had lost track of that when Michael left the company abruptly.
Vince merely nodded and took a step back out of Colton’s reach.
“How’s Michael?” Colton asked, realizing that he hadn’t spoken with either of them for months. He’d given up trying to reach either Vince or Michael by phone
and just assumed that with the job change and everything else going on, they wanted some time to adjust.
“I don’t know,” Vince said, his voice clipped and growing colder.
“Oh,” Colton said, confused. “Did something happen?”
Vince took a deep breath and led Colton to a less busy part of the little store. “As a matter of fact, something did happen,” he began. “The charming, upstanding young man that you introduced me to moved in with me. At some point he got hold of my banking and personal information. Drained my account. Then he got several credit cards in my name and maxed those out quickly.”
Colton gasped and covered his mouth with one hand. “Oh, Vince. I had no idea...”
“Of course you didn’t,” Vince snapped. “Neither did I until it was too late and Michael was gone. It may not be fair but I’m still angry at you for introducing me to a man who broke me, Colton.”
“Vince, I am so sorry,” Colton said. “There was no way I could have known.”
If you hadn’t interfered—” Vince stopped, looked away and swallowed hard.
Colton started to say he was sorry again but realized it was too little, too late. The damage had been done.
Vince appeared to get his emotions under control. “I know that as well and I’m as much to blame. But I’ve learned my lesson about matchmakers like you. Stay away.”
His words hit Colton hard and he winced as Vince tossed his basket of items aside and stormed out of the small neighborhood store. As he moved around gathering what he needed, he realized that his action had actually cost Vince, not only financially but emotionally, too. How could he make something like that up to an old friend?
Back in his apartment, he couldn’t get the story Vince had told him out of his mind. How could he help? Maybe he could introduce Vince to Lincoln. Then he caught himself in mid-thought.
“Stop,” he said aloud, looking at himself in the big mirror in the bathroom.
The words Grant had hurled at him - ‘meddler’ and ‘busybody’ - came back to him, swirled around in his head, echoing in his mind. They hit him as hard as they had when he’d heard them coming from Grant.