Curtis began scrubbing, sliding up and down the outside of his hands at first, rubbing vigorously to remove the dried-on blood.
Just the sound of the rough soap sliding up and down Curtis’s arms made Lawrence engulf him in his . “Tell me. I’m here.”
“It was terrible,” Curtis’s small, quiet voice began. “I stopped right behind them and told another driver that I was a doctor, asked him to call 911, and I got to work. Started working as the ambulances arrived.” Tears came to his eyes, and he sniffed. “I lost a grandmother. One minute she was sitting in the front seat happy, and minutes later...” He sighed. “Her daughter survived, but the grandmother was at the point of impact. I tried everything.” Curtis laid his head on Lawrence’s shoulder and let him wash his hands.
Soon the stains were gone, and Lawrence held Curtis’s hands under the warm water, where he took his time, rinsing away the orange-and-red sludge that had formed on and around his fingers. He took care with each knuckle and the palms of Curtis’s hands till both were as clean as the moment they left each other yesterday morning.
With the sink turned off, he stepped away and pulled off Curtis’s white Oxford shirt. “There’s a platter with food in the living room, if you’d like something to eat. I’ll get this in the wash.” Lawrence was gone for a few minutes and then took a seat beside the distant Curtis. His hand was newly bandaged.
“Oh, your hand, how is it? Did the water hurt?” Curtis said.
“Not really,” Lawrence said. “We don’t have to go to the Villa tomorrow. If you need me to take you home so you can rest, just ask.”
Curtis slid his hand into Lawrence’s. “I don’t want to be alone.” He bit his top lip. “It’s not like I’ve never lost a patient before. It’s just that her daughter had told me it was her birthday. They’d just been out celebrating her seventieth, and she’d said that she was so glad she’d finally found a man who made her happy.” He looked up into Lawrence’s eyes.
Lawrence saw the tears and squeezed with his good hand and pulled Curtis to his chest.
Curtis’ voice was muffled as he continued. “We thought we were out of the woods, and then I was called to the grandmother’s side. She was crashing, and they couldn’t get her to come back. She had a smile on her face, but she left before I could save her.”
Lawrence could feel his chest wet with Curtis’s tears, and he brushed the hair out of Curtis’s eyes. “This won’t help, I’m sure, but she had love in her life. That’s probably why she left.” Lawrence knew that this was what love felt like. “She had it when so many don’t.”
Curtis looked up at him. “I know that in my heart, but in my soul, I feel like such a failure for not saving her.”
“From what you said, you did all you could.”
“I know… You don’t mind that I’m staying the night? I don’t want to be alone right now. I feel so safe with you.”
“Not at all. Would you like me to put a plate together?”
Curtis nodded.
Lawrence piled some grapes and strawberries on a small plate with a few slices of cheese and opened both of the ciders. He held the plate in his lap, and they ate silently. At one point Curtis reached for the bottle of cider. “Do you mind if I just share yours?”
Lawrence shook his head. “Sure. It’s not like we haven’t swapped spit or anything.”
A few more minutes of silence. “Her boyfriend or husband, I’m not sure which, also died tonight. He’d been in the seat behind her…” Curtis took the bottle once more and sipped.
Lawrence closed his eyes as he remembered Bernie’s brother and sister. “In some metaphysical studies I’ve read, I’ve heard that loved ones come for others in their hour of need. In fact, my aunt died in the morning, and her brother died later in the afternoon. Our family holds to the belief that she went first to pick him up, since he had dementia and he’d never find the way. Sometimes it’s the little things we hold on to that help us get through life.” His thoughts went back to Abe, and he was saddened knowing there was no one there for him.
Curtis turned to look at him. “Where did you come from? You, you…” There were tears on his cheeks.
Lawrence leaned forward, placed his hands on either side of Curtis’s face, wiped the tears from those soft cheeks one thumb dab at a time, and then kissed him gently on the lips.
Curtis moved closer on the sofa and took the kiss further than either expected even after all the time they’d been spending together. This wasn’t about sex on a drunken night; this was about connection, about finding something in each other that neither wanted to forget.
The kissing didn’t lead to anything else; it was just soft and loving. It was at times chaste and at others passionate, and when they were through, Curtis spoke again. “Thank you, Law. I feel much better, now.” His tears had dried on his face, and he smiled. “Do I get a tour?”
Lawrence smiled, stood, and directed him toward the middle of the house. “This is the kitchen, and through this door is the solarium.”
“Oh… we need a hot tub.”
“And beyond that, the pool and hot tub.” He grinned.
Lawrence turned on the stereo, clicked a few buttons, and brought up a favorite playlist of his on Spotify. He flipped a switch, and Curtis looked over his shoulder as they got outside. “I love Moby too.”
Lawrence watched as Curtis moved around the fifties furniture, the light greens and blues that weren’t a typical color of the time. They were something Lawrence prided his home on, but he didn’t think the brilliant doctor in front of him would notice. They ended up at the out-of-place hot tub.
“This doesn’t blend in with the architecture of your house.” Curtis’s hands slid over the marbleized plastic of the hot tub.
“I know. I just wanted one. Nothing soothes as much after a long day working under…” He stopped when he realized what he’d almost admitted to. “Under a trick or weights.” He grinned.
“You dirty devil,” Curtis winked. “I wouldn’t have guessed you did those things. You always seem to bill yourself as such a simple guy.”
“Well, I am, now that I’m retired.” He felt the twinge in his left eye.
“Hey, do you have a large Ziploc bag?” Curtis asked.
“Yeah, I think so, why?”
“I want us to go in this thing, and I want you to protect your hand,” Curtis said.
“I’ve just been laying it on the side, but let me check.” Lawrence jogged to the kitchen and came back with two sizes. “I brought a rubber band too.”
Curtis took the largest bag, and a few seconds later Lawrence’s hand was secured in plastic.
“Thanks. As I was saying, I don’t use it that much, but the pool guy still comes by and cleans it monthly.” Lawrence turned on the tub. The water began to bubble as he opened a small cabinet and pulled out two huge light-blue towels. He hung them on the hooks drilled into the wall.
Curtis removed his clothes as Lawrence turned around. “I’ve got a couple pairs of trunks in here too… Oh, okay. We can go in that way as well.” He stripped down.
Curtis slipped into the warming water. “Oh, this feels wonderful. I almost had one installed, but I told myself I didn’t want to spend all my waking hours in that loft.”
Lawrence piled his clothes on the bench beside the tub, stepped up, and looked over the fence at Biddle’s sparse yard. Oh, how he’d wished she was up at this moment. As he stood there naked in the moonlight, part of him wished she saw them in the tub.
Curtis whistled. “Law, you’ve got a great body. How old did you say you were?”
He stepped into the warm water, slid under, and sat in his favorite corner as he surfaced. “I don’t think I ever told you. I’m old enough to be your grandfather, I think.”
“Oh, hell. You aren’t that old.” Curtis splashed him with water.
“Hey… maybe your dad.”
“Maybe closer.”
Curtis got quiet.
I wonder if he’s thinking a
bout being with his dad. “Does that bother you?” Lawrence sat cross-legged, worried he’d fucked something up. Did Curtis figure out he was just some old mechanic? Was it the GoJo under the sink?
“Hell, no. I’m a big boy. I can be attracted to anyone I want to.” He moved through the water, pulled Lawrence’s legs apart to slide between, and left a kiss on his chin.
“Well, I’m sixty-five.” He pursed his lips to kiss back.
“My dad’s in his eighties, so you’re closer to my Uncle Thad’s age.”
“Uncle Thad? You can imagine being with your uncle?”
“By marriage,” Curtis hastened to add. “He married my aunt when I was about fifteen. But he inspired a lot of things.”
“Like what?” Lawrence prodded.
“Well, he made me want to be a doctor,” Curtis grinned, and slid back to the opposite side.
“How?” Lawrence rested low in the water.
“He talked about his patients all the time, and the science sounded so interesting to me—at least when I could stop thinking about his ass—and he inspired other things too.”
“Yeah? Like what?” Lawrence smirked.
“Oh, but that would be telling.” Curtis slid through the water. “We haven’t known each other long enough to tell more.” He planted another sloppy kiss on Lawrence’s chin and floated backward to the other side again.
“This is a side of you I don’t think I’ve seen in our weeklong tryst.” Lawrence laughed and extended his legs once more, letting the bubbles massage his lower back.
Curtis gave a weak smile. “Yes, this is devastated and relaxed Curtis.”
“I understand. It’s going to take a while to get over the death.” Lawrence opened his arms for him to come back.
Curtis shook his head. “No, it’s not that, really. I’ve filed them under ‘people I’ve tried to save but couldn’t.’ I’m not sure why I said devastated. I’m more relaxed. I suppose I’m devastated that I haven’t opened myself up in quite a while.”
Lawrence chuckled wryly. “I’m pretty sure I opened you up the other night.”
Curtis splashed water at him. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.” He rolled his eyes.
“I’m sorry, Cur.” Since he’d remained on the other side, it was Lawrence’s turn to move toward Curtis.
“You know, my last boyfriend wouldn’t have fixed a plate of food and put me in a hot tub. He’d be scolding me for not calling him to let him know why I was going to be late for a dinner party.”
Lawrence smiled and pulled him close. “You’re a doctor. I figured this would come with the territory.”
Engulfed in Lawrence’s arms, Curtis lay back in the water. “I’ve been wondering why Thad got so lucky. That old couple finally found joy, and I’ve been so alone because I’ve spent my formative years on overly eager, vapid boys or controlling asshole older men.”
“I understand. Oh man, do I understand.” Lawrence took the chance to lift Curtis to his chest, cradling his head; he kissed his chin, the tip of his nose, and both eyes. “I’m glad we’ve connected, if only for this short time of a class.”
Curtis returned the kiss. “I hope this lasts longer than the class.”
“I would… me too.” Lawrence stood up first and held out his hand for Curtis. “Let’s get to bed. At least the class isn’t meeting till noon.” He led Curtis to the glass doors opposite the hot tub, to the large king-sized bed with white cotton everything. He pulled the light green, blue, and orange pillows off and placed them on the squat Danish chair.
“Are you taking me into your bed, Mr. Barnsdale?” Curtis stood dripping in the doorway.
“Yes, I am, Dr. Fielding. And since you’re just wet, I’ll be right back.” Lawrence jogged back to the Jacuzzi, grabbed the towels, and tossed one to Curtis. “Here, dry off and let’s get to bed.”
“Yes, sir.”
* * *
Once in the bed, both men fell soundly asleep. There wasn’t any sex, but there was a connection. Lawrence felt peace as Curtis slid in beside him. Their bodies fit perfectly, and he couldn’t believe how sensual this skin-to-skin connection felt, how comfortably their bodies slid together. He knew he was falling in love with the man, a man who was young but had a level head on his shoulders. But he can’t know I’m a mechanic or that I never graduated college. That one thing would ruin everything. If I just sell the business, I can say it was an investment. He can never know.
11
Curtis
Curtis was up first. He slipped out of the bed and stepped into the bathroom to relieve himself. He couldn’t help but look around the house, and he went into the kitchen to see a Keurig, still in the box, and beside it an old French press that looked as though it had been around forever. He searched for a kettle or a pot to boil some water.
He looked through the cupboards, where he discovered an interesting atomic-looking set of dishes, maybe from the late fifties or early sixties; he wasn’t sure. It was primarily white with a light blue inside the cups. He pulled down two and placed them on the counter next to the French press. Along the way, he found the ground coffee and shook it into the bottom of the press. Pulling a cast-iron pot from below the counter, he filled it with water and set it to boil on the stove.
Curtis moved around the house like he already lived there, and it was at that moment that he noticed the woman glaring at him from the sidewalk. She stood there with her dog peeing on the mailbox and mouth open. Law, you also don’t have curtains. Oh, I’m naked.
He laughed and scooted back to the bedroom, where he picked up the khakis he’d been wearing the night before. He didn’t know where Law had put his shirt, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to wear it again anyway. I should get my gym bag. He calmly walked out to his car, still with nothing on above his waist. Jogging across the soft cut grass out front, he clicked the remote, and the trunk opened with a beep so he could retrieve his bag.
As he started back across the grass, he saw the woman who had been so entranced with him now standing on the walkway at the house next door. “Can I help you, ma’am?” Curtis walked to the edge of the property. “I noticed you can’t stop looking at me.”
“Well, you are a rude young man!” She unlocked the door and let her yappy dog in the house, but then turned back to him instead of going in herself.
“I’m rude? You were staring at me a couple of days ago, and again now. Didn’t anyone ever teach you that it’s rude to stare?” Curtis wasn’t about to let her win.
“I never! No one talks to me that way!” She stood her ground.
“Well, maybe they should. So again, did you have something else you wanted to say?” His grip on the gym bag tightened.
“What happened to Mr. Lawrence?” She leaned forward.
“Mr. Lawrence is a stripper I know.” Curtis looked over his shoulder into the house. “If you mean Mr. Barnsdale, he’s still in bed.”
The look on her face went from shocked to horrified, as though she finally put one and one together and saw them connected in all that naked flesh.
Curtis couldn’t help himself; he smirked. “Oh yes, I see. Well, Mr. Barnsdale and I had a very strenuous night, and I’m letting him rest. But I’ll tell him that you were frightened for him—that I might have attacked him or something.” He lifted his hands in a claw gesture.
“You… you are a horrid man,” Mrs. Biddle announced to anyone around.
“I don’t know why I’m wasting my time with you,” Curtis said, and turned to leave.
Her voice got louder. “I cannot wait till he moves, bringing someone around here like you. This is a respectable neighborhood. I looked past his little parties years ago, but then he got sensible. When he’s gone, we will have peace once more.”
Curtis looked at her and shrugged.
“Men like you are abhorrent in God’s world!” The anger in her voice intensified.
His eyes narrowed, teeth clenched, he turned away from her. It’s not worth it. He walked quickly
back to the front door. He looked around the neighborhood and saw men and women staring out of their windows. They all had angry looks on their faces, but he wasn’t sure if it was targeted toward him or the lady screaming next door.
He shut the door and turned off the stove, pouring the hot water into the glass French press, letting it brew a few minutes, and pressing the plunger down before slipping back into the bedroom. He lay down beside Lawrence, back in the place he’d been before.
“Where have you been?” Lawrence said, as he placed a kiss on Curtis’s shoulder. His hand sneaked down Curtis’s strong chest only to be stopped by the khaki slacks.
“It was my turn to make the coffee.” He placed a hand on top of Lawrence’s.
“I don’t remember you going to bed with these on, and from the times I’ve been at your loft, I don’t remember anything like this from you in the morning.” He slid his hand under the fabric, taking Curtis’s hand with him.
“Well, I was walking through the house when I realized you didn’t have curtains, and I nearly gave a woman a heart attack, so I pulled these on.” He gasped as Lawrence gripped him, and he couldn’t help the growth.
Lawrence laughed. “Well, yes, but I didn’t expect you to be walking through the house. I guess I could have said something. Can you just weasel out of these?” He tugged the top of the pants down.
“I could, but we have to get up and ready for the Villa.”
“You seem pretty up and ready for me.” Lawrence chuckled as he slid down the bed to pull Curtis out of the slacks. “Just a lick or two before the shower?”
Curtis sighed and lay back into the pillows. “Oh… uh, okay.”
The old lady from next door was forgotten, and his mind wandered. Lawrence had learned things, experimented with the way Curtis had played that first night. He floated on the pressure, on the presence of Lawrence’s mouth, and he brought his hands down to rest on the head of the man between his legs. When he peaked, his toes curled, and then waves and waves of pleasure rode through his body, like when he drove his Roadster with the top down and the wind practically ripped through him.
Hearts Repaired Page 10