Car Wash

by Shawn Lane

  “If you’re old friends, why don’t you ask him?”

  He turned back to give her his most intimidating attorney stare. He’d used it often in his position as a highly compensated divorce attorney to celebrities and other wealthy clients.

  She sighed. “It’s his only job. He was laid off.”

  Michael wasn’t surprised. Times were pretty rough for a lot of people. It just hadn’t occurred to him things would be so bad for Kevin. He’d been such a happy-go-lucky sort when Michael had known him. Of course, after he’d been forced to push the kid away, Kevin had ended his friendship with Danny and disappeared off the face of the earth as far as the Bennetts were concerned. Michael had never meant for that to happen.

  “Thanks,” he told Gabby and slipped back outside.

  He couldn’t keep his eyes off Kevin. The man even moved in a sexy way. The way his long, slender fingers curved around the pen as he wrote down each driver’s order. He could just imagine the way they’d feel grasping his cock. Think about something else before you end up embarrassing yourself at the car wash.

  Too soon the Maserati pulled in front of him, and several workers began to dry and wax it. Michael was aware many of the other patrons eyed it with undisguised envy.

  Truth was, he was a little uncomfortable with it. Oh, he loved it. It was a damn hot and sexy car. But in these troubled times it was more than a little flashy. It had been a gift from his father for his thirtieth birthday. And really, who would turn down a Maserati?

  Michael noticed the line of cars waiting to enter the car wash had dwindled down to nothing. Probably a temporary lull, but one he decided to take full advantage of nonetheless. He walked over to where Kevin stood.

  “Hey, Kevin, how’s it going?” Michael spoke to his back.

  Kevin jumped and took so long to turn around Michael began to think Kevin planned on ignoring him. Finally he turned and fixed those incredible baby blue eyes on Michael.

  Wow.

  “As you can see, it’s going well,” Kevin said, his sultry, sexy voice laced with sarcasm.

  Shit, when had Kevin Flaherty become so fucking hot? Had he always had that killer voice that did really inappropriate things to his cock? Michael didn’t think so. The Kevin he remembered was somewhat geeky and awkward, although always cute.

  Michael ignored the sarcasm and instead said, “It’s been a long time. It’s been close to ten years, hasn’t it?”

  “Nine years, one and a half months, actually, but who’s counting?”

  “I like the red.” Michael gestured to Kevin’s hair.

  Kevin’s gaze left his face—he felt the loss like a kick in the gut—and slid to his car. “I like the red there too.”

  “Bordeaux.”

  That intense, cock-hardening gaze came back to land on Michael. “Excuse me?”

  Michael grinned sheepishly. “The name of the color is Bordeaux. According to Maserati.”

  “You’re obviously doing well,” Kevin said. “Working at your father’s firm?”

  “Yeah. I’m a full partner though. A divorce attorney.”

  “Still breaking up relationships, huh?”

  Michael winced. “Kevin—”

  “How’s Danny?”

  He relaxed a little, though he was still wound tight with sexual energy. “Good. He lives up north. Going to Stanford. Engaged, too, to a fellow medical student.”

  “Another wildly successful Bennett. Well, good for him. That’s great. Be sure to tell him I said hello.”

  Michael swallowed his discomfort. This new, somewhat hostile Kevin was hard to get used to. He opened his mouth to say something else when Kevin swayed a little. His arm shot out and automatically wrapped around the man’s waist to steady him. “Are you okay?”

  Kevin nodded but didn’t immediately pull way. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Just a little light-headed.”

  Damn. Michal had a feeling the kid wasn’t getting enough to eat. He thought he’d heard Kevin’s stomach growling a little earlier. Aware of the stares of others, Michael removed his arm, but he kept his hand on Kevin’s shoulder. “Listen, they’re probably almost done with my car and I know you probably need to get back to work, but I wanted to ask you if maybe you’d come to dinner with me tonight.”

  “Dinner? You think you can just waltz in here with your hot wheels and snap your fingers and I’ll be free?” Kevin shrugged his hand off his shoulder.

  Michael sighed. “All right, how about tomorrow night then? Give me your address, and I’ll pick you up.” Behind them the car washers whistled. He glanced over, and one of them waved his towel at him.

  Kevin pulled his bottom lip with his teeth, uncertainty in his eyes. Michael could clearly see he was torn.

  “Please?”

  Kevin nodded, exhaled. “Okay, but, um, pick me up here. I get off at five.”

  Giddy relief flowed through him, far out of proportion to the way it should. “All right. I’ll see you tomorrow night then.”

  He walked to his car and handed the washers their tip. Michael noticed the older, heavyset man who’d yelled at Kevin earlier standing just inside the doorway of the cashier booth. He stared in Kevin’s direction. Kevin was back to taking orders for washes. Something about the way the man stared made Michael uneasy. There was something predatory about it. He damn well didn’t like it.

  As soon as Michael got going on the road toward his Laurel Canyon home, he called his brother.

  “Hi Michael,” Danny answered after only two rings. “Where are you?”

  “Hey, kiddo. I’m on my way home, actually.”

  “Isn’t this a little early for you?”

  “Yeah,” Michael acknowledged. “But I’m wiped out.” And horny as hell.

  “Good, you work too hard. Glad to see you’re giving yourself a break. What’s up?”

  “You’ll never guess who I saw today.”

  Danny paused. “Hmm, Clark Gable?”

  “Ha-ha, he’s dead.”

  His brother laughed. “I know, that’s why it would be someone special to call me about. Michael, you work with stars all the time. Isn’t the celebrity spotting getting old?”

  Michael grinned. “I never said it was a celebrity. You’ll never guess, so I may as well tell you. Kevin.”

  “Kevin? Kevin who?” Then there was a small gasp. “Kevin Flaherty?”

  “In the flesh.” And fine flesh it was too.

  “Oh my God. Where’d you see him?”

  Michael didn’t want to tell Danny that Kevin was working at a car wash. For some reason he knew Kevin would be extremely embarrassed for Danny to know. “Oh, just at the store. Anyway, I’m going out with him tomorrow night.”

  Now there was a long pause. “You’re what?”

  “I’m having dinner with him. You know, that’s what people who aren’t engaged do. They go out on dates.”

  “Yeah, but, Kevin? I mean, hasn’t that boat sailed? You didn’t want him before.”

  “He was fifteen, Danny.”

  “I know, but you still weren’t interested.”

  “Because he was fifteen. Jailbait. End of story.”

  Danny chuckled. “Okay, so how does he look?”

  He’s the hottest fucking guy I’ve ever seen. “Pretty nice. A little on the thin side though.”

  “Yeah, he always was thin. Is he still as crazy and flamboyant as he was then?”

  “Kind of. He has a stud in his nose and red dye in his hair, which is all spiky. He looks a bit like a Japanese anime character from a video game, really.”

  His brother cleared his throat. “Doesn’t sound like your usual type.”

  “Maybe not, but I think my type has just changed.”

  “Wow, you sound almost smitten, Michael.”

  “Hmm…anyway, just wanted to let you know. How are things with you and Peggy?”

  * * * *

  Kevin scooted out of the car wash lot and down the street toward the bus stop as quickly as he could. He did not want to b
e stopped by Mr. Lewis. Whether or not he’d been joking, Kevin wanted no part of it, and he didn’t find it the least bit amusing.

  What a strange day. He couldn’t believe Michael Bennett had come to the car wash and had even asked him out. Kevin had noticed Michael seemed to be devouring him with his eyes. Kevin had learned over the years that most gay men found him attractive. He didn’t ever have to wait long for attention in gay bars. But he had been surprised Michael actually asked him out.

  The bus arrived, and Kevin slipped his money in the slot. It only took about fifteen minutes to get within a block of his apartment.

  Michael wanted to have sex with him. Kevin had no doubt of that. The question was whether Kevin would allow it. Having had no money for a while meant no bars for looking for pickups. And with no steady boyfriend for even longer, he’d had sex with only his hands and toys lately. And he’d wanted Michael all those years ago. Now he could even have him. If he wanted him.

  Kevin got off the bus and walked to his apartment. He ran up the stairs and then stopped halfway up, looking at an envelope taped to the outside of his door. A heavy ball of dread pitted in his stomach. He stood frozen, unwilling to move the last few steps to the door.

  “Just do it,” he said out loud.

  He charged up the rest of the way and removed the envelope. He tore it open and read the words, Eviction Notice. Great. Now he was going to be starving and homeless.

  He unlocked his door and entered the dark apartment. He flipped on the switch, grateful the light came on. At least his electricity hadn’t been disconnected. He threw the envelope on the nearby coffee table and headed to the kitchen. He might be able to find some ramen noodles or something. He turned on the kitchen light.

  “Ah, fuck!”

  Hundreds, maybe thousands, of ants swarmed on his kitchen counters and sink. Okay, now the perkiness was officially shot. Grimacing, he reached under the sink to locate his bug spray. Kevin could swear they’d built these apartments on an anthill.

  Pointing the can at the ants as though he were a cop getting ready to tase a perp, he pushed down hard on the button coating the creatures with a heavy dose of poison. Then, when he was sure most of them were drowning in the spray, he dosed them again. He returned the can to its place and stared at the bugs. He was getting nauseated now. He definitely didn’t need to throw up the little food he had in is stomach.

  He walked out of the kitchen and to the front door of his apartment. He opened the door, stepped outside, and relocked it behind him. He just couldn’t stay there. Couldn’t face the cleanup. Not tonight. Kevin trudged down the stairs and down the street to the nearest drugstore. He knew they still had a pay phone. A rarity these days. He quickly called the one person who knew what shit he’d been going through.

  “Hi, Gabby, it’s Kevin,” he said when she answered. “Listen, I-I’m having a bad night. Do you think maybe I could stay with you?”

  “What happened?”

  He swallowed heavily. “Well, I got home to an eviction notice for starters.”

  “Oh Kev, that’s terrible.”

  “I know. And then there were all these ants, and I—” He stopped, his throat clogged with too much emotion for him to go on.

  “All right. Where are you? I’ll come get you.”

  He got out the directions to the drugstore and then hung up. He was glad he could count on Gabby. He didn’t know who else to call. Yeah, he could call Noah, and he knew Noah would come. But Noah had his own life now. He certainly didn’t need a loser like Kevin horning in.

  One thing was true. He really needed to come straight with his friends. He knew they’d be pissed he’d been hiding it, but Kevin knew he couldn’t hide his humiliation any longer. He did not want to be homeless.

  He walked outside to wait for Gabby. At least he had something to look forward to tomorrow night.

  Chapter 3

  It was already ten minutes past the time Michael was supposed to pick him up, and Kevin had started to think he’d been stood up. Great.

  As if being rejected by Michael once hadn’t been enough, he had to put himself through it a second time. He hated himself for having actually looked forward to it all day.

  Kevin glanced up the street toward his usual bus stop. A couple minutes more and he’d head home. He needed to clean up the ant mess from the night before. Not to mention figure out what he was going to do about getting evicted.

  Last night had been great. Gabby had fed him dinner, and he got to actually watch television. When was the last time he’d been able to just veg in front of the TV? Cable had been one of the first things he’d canceled when he lost his job.

  Then this morning, Gabby had made him toaster waffles for breakfast and had even packed him a lunch. But as great as it was, he couldn’t continue to mooch off Gabby. She had two kids to feed.

  He was going to have to talk to Noah. He hated having to do so. Noah was the second guy he’d loved who’d rejected him. Yeah, yeah, Noah didn’t really know Kevin had feelings for him, unlike Michael, so he didn’t really know he was rejecting Kevin, but unrequited love sucked. Even before Noah hooked up with Charlie, Kevin knew it was a lost cause.

  Still no Michael. Okay, so he’d been officially stood up. Now he needed to go home. He straightened from the pole he’d been leaning on.

  “Flaherty, what are you still doing here?”

  Kevin’s heart sank. He did not need this. He plastered on a fake smile and turned to face Mr. Lewis, who’d pulled along next to Kevin in his sedan.

  “Hi, Mr. Lewis. I was waiting for a ride, but it didn’t come, so I’m heading to the bus stop.”

  “That’s too bad,” Mr. Lewis said, smiling back. “I’ll give you a ride.”

  There was something distinctly sinister about the odd little emphasis the old man put on ride. Kevin shivered.

  “No, that’s—”

  “Hey, Kevin,” Michael called from his Maserati, which had just pulled up to the curb. “Sorry I’m late.” He gazed past Kevin at Mr. Lewis, his expression cool.

  Mr. Lewis made a growling noise. “Listen, Flaherty, I don’t allow hustling on my property.”

  Ah, jeez. “I’m not hustling, Mr. Lewis.”

  “We’re old friends.” Michael leaned over and opened the passenger door. “Get in.”

  Kevin bit his lip and cast one last glance in his boss’s direction. “Uh, good night, Mr. Lewis.”

  The minute the door clicked close, Michael drove away. Kevin blew out a relieved breath.

  “What’s up with you and that guy?” Michael asked immediately.

  “Nothing. He’s just my boss.” Kevin looked Michael over, admiring the obviously tailored suit stretched across his broad shoulders. His dark hair was neatly trimmed, but there was just the hint of five-o’clock shadow on his jaw. Kevin resisted the urge to stroke his fingertips across the tightened muscle there.

  “I’m sorry I was so late. Traffic was worse than I expected.”

  “You’re lucky. I was about to leave.”

  Michael shot him a quick glance. “With Lewis?”

  “Oh hell no,” Kevin burst out before he thought better of it. He cleared his throat. “No, I mean, I was going to go down to the bus stop.”

  “I remember when you were a kid you were into motorcycles.” Michael’s knuckles gripped the wheel hard. “You don’t have one, do you?”

  “Why?”

  “They’re absurdly dangerous.”

  Kevin rolled his eyes. “Well, actually, I did have one. I had to sell it.”

  “Oh.”

  He crossed his arms and looked out the window. “As much of a loser as I’m sure you think I am, working at the car wash was not my first choice. I got laid off.”

  “I know.”

  “How?” Kevin frowned. “You must have talked to Gabby.”

  “Yes.” The GPS on Michael’s dash told him to turn right.

  “Where are we going?”

  “A little Italian place not too far
from where I live. You do still like Italian, right?”

  “Sure. Where do you live?”

  “Laurel Canyon. I don’t, by the way.”

  “Don’t what?”

  Michael sighed. “Think you’re a loser.”

  Kevin snorted. “Yeah right. You’re some hotshot lawyer with a Maserati, for God’s sake.”

  “It was a birthday present from my father after I’d taken care of a big case,” Michael said, his cheeks flushing.

  “Uh-huh. And your father is a hotshot lawyer who can afford to give Maseratis as gifts. Your brother is going to medical school to be a doctor, and he’s going to marry one. I’m sure your parents still belong to that country club. Hell, you probably do too. I never finished college, and I’m working at a car wash. You think I’m a loser.”

  “I do not. I do think you could have applied yourself better and finished school.”

  “Whatever.” Kevin got depressed just thinking about how he’d wasted some opportunities in life. “It’s not like I could afford some fancy university.”

  “Yeah, but you were going to a community college, right? A two-year degree is better than no degree.”

  Kevin could hardly argue with that, so he said nothing. He was grateful Michael didn’t say anything else either until they pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant called Antonio’s. A guy in a valet uniform hurried out to them.

  When they had been seated in a little corner booth, rather than picking up his menu, Michael looked point-blank at him.

  “Tell me the truth, Kevin. What’s up with your boss?”

  Kevin didn’t meet his gaze and instead picked up his menu and pretended to be studying it. “I told you, nothing.”

  “Bullshit.” Michael pulled the menu abruptly out of his hands. “When I drove up you looked like you were about to pass out. Besides, I saw the way he looked at you.”

  He squirmed. “Which was?”

  “Probably the same way the witch looked at Hansel and Gretel.”

  The waitress took that moment to stop at their table for drinks. Michael ordered a carafe of Riesling with some unpronounceable name without even looking at the menu.

  Michael went back to staring at him intently.