Secretly Dating the Lionman

by Sue Brown

  Dan wrapped his arm around Ariel’s shoulders. “It’s okay. It’s all over, and you made amends.”

  Judging from his tight expression, Gideon wasn’t so forgiving of his daughter’s lapse in judgment, but then he was hellishly possessive of Dan. Cris sought a way to change the subject. “What do I do about Mikey?”

  “I don’t know,” Dan admitted.

  “Do you want me to ban him?” Gideon asked.

  Cris stared at him. “You’d do that?”

  Gideon twisted his lips into a wry smile. “If it keeps the peace.”

  “But Mikey’s been coming here a lot longer than me.”

  “He’s a ticking time bomb,” Dan said. “At some point he’s going to explode, and I don’t want it to be here.”

  “It’s a real shame.” Ariel was serious for once. “Mikey’s a good man. He’d be so much happier if he could just be true to himself.”

  Gideon sighed and put down his mug. “I’ll talk to him first. We don’t want any more trouble here, and I’ll warn him of the consequences if he tries anything like that with Cris again.”

  Cris felt relieved. He’d been worried they wouldn’t take him seriously, and he was glad to know they had his back. He wished there were more he could do for Mikey, but he wasn’t the one who could help him.

  Ariel grinned wickedly at him. “So, tell us about Mikey’s brother.”

  Cris groaned. “He’s ready to punch my lights out. I don’t know if I’m going to have to look over my shoulder every time I go out. He’s got it into his head that I’m Mikey’s boyfriend. He told me to stay away or else.”

  Dan gave him a wry smile. “You won’t be in a hurry to be a Good Samaritan again, will you?”

  “No, I’ll probably dive in again just like I always do.” Cris sighed. “This is a new one, though. I normally get thanked by the family, not threatened with bodily harm.”

  “I’ll tell Mikey to warn his brother off.” Dan handed Cris a beer.

  “It’s a bit early to start drinking, isn’t it?” Cris asked, although it didn’t stop him chugging down a good slug of the cool liquid.

  “I think you deserve it, and you’re not working tonight.”

  “I wish I were,” Cris admitted. “It would take my mind off the scary brother.”

  Dan eyed him speculatively. “If you’re not busy, and you want something to do, I could use a hand here this evening. Ariel needs a break, and tonight is generally quiet.”

  Ariel squealed and clapped her hands. “If you say yes, I promise to send every woman I know to stick fifty-dollar bills in your jockstrap.”

  Cris stared at her. “You know how creepy that sounds, don’t you? Especially in front of your father.”

  “I’m used to it,” Gideon said. “I’ve had a lot of practice.”

  “I could use the money, but I haven’t worked a bar before, so you’re gonna need to train me.”

  “I’ll do that,” Ariel promised as she rubbed her hands together. “Finish your beer, new minion. It’s time to do some real work.”

  “I do real work,” Cris protested.

  “Uh-huh.”

  The snickers from Dan and Gideon did nothing to inspire Cris’s confidence. “Is it too late to change my mind?”

  Ariel gave a maniacal laugh. “Much too late, minion.”

  Chapter 4

  BY CLOSING time, Cris discovered muscles he didn’t know existed. He was a fit guy, who worked out every day, but under Ariel’s dictatorship, Cris discovered the difference between standing on his feet all day and dancing for a few hours. When the last customers finally left, arms wrapped around each other’s shoulders and weaving out the door, Cris gave a sigh of relief and collapsed on the bar.

  “How do you feel?” Dan asked as he locked up.

  Cris groaned into his folded arms. “I am never gonna be stupid enough to do this again.”

  “You didn’t enjoy it?”

  Cris thought about that seriously. “Yeah, I did enjoy it. It’s a different kind of interaction with customers, and it’s a real pleasure to keep my clothes on for once. But how do you keep going, man? I did not stop working all day.”

  Dan shrugged. “I’ve been working the bar since I left high school. It’s all I know.”

  “I thought my job was physical.”

  “It’s a different kind of work. I couldn’t do what you do.”

  Cris smirked at him. “Dance or strip?”

  “Take your pick. There’s no way I’m taking my clothes off in front of hundreds of women.”

  “That’s a real shame. They’d go wild for a bod like yours.” Cris swept his gaze over Dan and grinned at the flush that rushed up his neck.

  Then he heard a growl behind him. Shit. Of course Gideon had to hear him say that.

  Dan rolled his eyes at Gideon. “Down boy. Cris wasn’t hitting on me… much.”

  “He’d better not be,” Gideon growled again.

  Cris held his hands up. “I wasn’t hitting on your boy. I was just pointing out that women would love him. He’s got a great body.”

  “Yeah, he has, and the only one who’s going to see how fabulous it is is me.”

  Gideon shot Dan a heated look that Cris couldn’t miss. A look like that was hard on the single man in the room, and Cris shifted uncomfortably.

  “What do you need me to do?” All Cris wanted was to go home and crash into bed.

  “I’ll help Dan close up,” Gideon said. “You get on home. You’re welcome to come here for regular shifts. You worked harder than a lot of the guys do.”

  Cris was surprised by Gideon’s praise. “I’ll think about it. Is it okay if I come by tomorrow and we discuss it?”

  “Sure. We’ll need to sort out wages for today.”

  Yawning, Cris rolled his shoulders and stretched. “I’ll see you later on.”

  Dan and Gideon wished him good night, and Cris retreated to the back to collect his coat and order an Uber. When he came back into the bar, the two men were kissing. He waited a moment and then coughed to attract their attention. They broke apart, somewhat reluctantly. Gideon cupped Dan’s jaw as though he were the only one in the room.

  Cris smiled at them apologetically. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I need you to let me out of the bar.”

  Dan blinked a couple of times and then seemed to focus on Cris. “Oh sure, sorry.”

  Gideon didn’t look sorry at all. He looked smug. Cris was pretty sure Gideon was trying to make a point, but he didn’t need to. Cris knew exactly who Dan belonged to.

  He said good night to both of them and leaned against the wall outside while he waited for his car. He was almost asleep when it arrived.

  The driver grinned at him. “Late night?”

  “Really long day.”

  As they drove the short distance to his apartment, Cris thought about the kiss he’d just witnessed. Dan and Gideon were in the honeymoon phase of their relationship, but Cris could see the tenderness between them. He hoped he’d find it himself one day, but it didn’t look like it would be soon—and certainly not with someone as young as Mikey. For some reason Bennett crept into his mind, or rather strode in and demanded attention. Bennett was everything that pushed his buttons. Cris sighed and closed his eyes. It was typical that he’d be attracted to a raving homophobe.

  CRIS GENERALLY didn’t work Mondays. He used them to get his chores out of the way for the rest of the week. He liked the laundromat best, because he used it to catch up on his reading. So he found his favorite machine, loaded his clothes and soap, settled in his favorite seat—yes, he was that predictable—and was deep in his latest thriller when someone said, “Cris?”

  He looked up to see Bennett standing in front of him. “Bennett.” He really hoped the man wasn’t going to cause trouble. The tiny Chinese woman who ran the laundromat wielded a mean broom, and he’d seen more than one troublemaker ejected at the end of it.

  “I didn’t realize you came here too.” Bennett seemed as pleased to see
him as Cris was.

  Cris spotted Bennett’s bag, presumably full of clothes, and was relieved Bennett hadn’t been following him. On the other hand, he never remembered seeing Bennett there before. “I come here every Monday, although I’m usually earlier than this. I had a late night working at the bar.”

  “Cowboys and Angels?”

  Cris nodded. “They were shorthanded.”

  “Was Mikey there last night?” Bennett sounded suspicious, and Cris resisted the urge to tell him to mind his own business.

  “No.”

  “Good. Things aren’t right with Julianne, and I told him to sort it out. I’d be pissed if he’d ended up at the bar.”

  “Why is it any of your business?” Cris didn’t hide his unfriendliness.

  Bennett scowled at him. “He’s my brother.”

  “Yeah, and he’s an adult, so why’re you interfering in his relationship?”

  “Because he makes bad decisions,” Bennett snapped.

  Cris squinted up at him and shielded his eyes from the harsh light overhead. “I can understand you looking out for your brother, but surely his relationship is his business, no one else’s.”

  “You don’t understand.”

  “No, I don’t,” Cris agreed. “I don’t know Mikey that well. I’ve only met him a few times, and we’ve never talked.”

  Bennett sat down next to him. “You know each other well enough for him to try and kiss you.”

  “He was drunk, that’s all. He spent most of his time trying to avoid me because he knows I’m gay. There’s nothing between us.” Cris would say that over and over until Bennett got it into his thick skull.

  “I know,” Bennett said surprisingly. “We had a long talk yesterday. He’s mortified about the kiss.”

  Cris waved his hand. “Let’s forget it. If he remembers anything I said, that’s good enough.”

  “He remembers.” Bennett’s tone was grim, and Cris had a feeling that if Mikey hadn’t remembered, Bennett would have reinforced his lecture.

  “As long as he doesn’t do it again, we’re cool.”

  “You’re not into him?” Bennett asked suspiciously.

  Cris sighed. He was really getting sick of this. “No. For the final time I am not into your brother. He’s not my type.”

  “Good. Because he’s not gay.”

  Oh, good God. That was too fucking much. How blind could the man be? Cris took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. In. Out. Bennett’s head would make a good punching bag. In. Out. He turned to look Bennett in the eyes. “Bennett, I can see you’re a decent man, and it’s really obvious you love your brother. So why is it so hard to accept that he’s gay?”

  “He’s not—”

  “Gay. I know. You keep saying that. But straight men do not stick their tongues down other men’s throats. He may be bisexual, he may be pansexual, but he sure ain’t straight. No amount of saying it will make it so. And I’ve got a feeling a lot of those bad decisions you keep talking about were centered around his relationships?”

  Cris was totally focused on Bennett. It was easy to see the anger rising as Cris spoke. But it wasn’t only anger. It was sadness too. Whatever was going on, it affected Bennett, and Cris didn’t know what the hell he could do about it.

  “It’s none of your business.”

  “You keep making it my business,” Cris pointed out.

  Bennett clenched his fists. “Leave my brother alone. Don’t come near him again.” He stalked out of the laundromat and left Cris staring after him.

  It took a few minutes for Cris to realize that Bennett had left his laundry behind. He waited, but Bennett didn’t come back for it. Cris looked in the bag at the unwashed clothes and sighed. Then he stuffed the dark clothes into a machine, filled the machine with quarters, set it going, and settled down with his book, although the machinations of Russian espionage didn’t hold him quite as much as they had before his encounter with Bennett.

  Chapter 5

  A SHADOW blocked the light, and he looked up to see Bennett holding up a to-go cup. “Peace offering?” Bennett looked sheepish, and the expression seemed out of place on his strong face.

  Cris eyed the cup. “Is it poisoned?”

  “No, but it does come with a dose of humble pie.”

  It was a latte. Cris sipped it as Bennett sat down with a sigh. “I figure I owe you an explanation.”

  “You don’t owe me anything, except maybe to stop biting my head off every five minutes.”

  “If it’s any consolation, I’m not really shouting at you, I’m shouting at myself.”

  “I’m just your punching bag?” Cris asked dryly.

  “Something like that,” Bennett agreed. “Are those my clothes?” He pointed to the machine next to Cris’s.

  “Yeah. I figured they were here, I may as well get them washed.”

  “I’m surprised you haven’t set them on fire.”

  “I left my Zippo behind.” He sipped the coffee as Bennett broke into a wry chuckle.

  “Thank heaven for small mercies.” Bennett paused. “There’s something you have to understand—I don’t care if Mikey is gay or not.”

  Cris raised an eyebrow. “It sure doesn’t sound like it.”

  “I know, and….” Bennett stared at the laundry as it made an endless cycle in the machine.

  “And?” Cris prompted.

  “My parents. They’re good people, but they’re old-fashioned and don’t understand being….”

  Cris supplied the last word. “Gay?”

  “Yeah.”

  Cris could have told Bennett to go away, that it wasn’t his business. But he wasn’t like that. If there was a problem, he wanted to fix it. If there was a chance for him to be helpful, Cris leaped in with both feet. “Tell me about your family.”

  “My parents are from Poland. They came here in the early eighties, and Tata—my father—found a job in construction. It turned out he had a head for business. I was born a year after they arrived.” Bennett reached into his jacket and pulled out his wallet. He flipped it open to show a faded color photo of a young couple and a baby.

  “This is you?”

  “Yeah. My sister Hannah is three years younger than me, and Mikey came along eight years later. There was a sister in between who was stillborn.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Bennett pressed his lips together. “I don’t remember much about it. Mama and Tata went to the hospital and didn’t come back with a baby. She was devastated and took a long time to recover. When Mikey came along, she focused all her attention on him.” He gave a cynical smile. “Maybe too much attention.”

  “He was spoiled?”

  “We all spoiled him. Hannah and I were just as guilty. We were so pleased he was healthy.”

  “My little brother’s the same,” Cris said, “although we’ve got no excuse.”

  “You’re the oldest?”

  Cris shook his head. “The middle kid, the forgotten child.” He laughed as Bennett rolled his eyes.

  “Yeah, yeah. Are you sure you haven’t been talking to Hannah?”

  “I think it’s every middle child ever.”

  “Try being the eldest.”

  “You get to do everything first,” Cris pointed out.

  “Parents aren’t as strict with the second child as they are with the first. I bet your older sibling would agree with me. Brother or sister?”

  “Sister. Sally. My parents think the sun shines out of her ass. Between Sally and Jake, who are engineers, I’m the black sheep of the family. They don’t approve of my lifestyle. But they can’t say too much because I pay my way and don’t ask them for money, unlike my little brother. He’s always on the take.”

  Bennett looked at him curiously. “I gotta ask, why did you end up as a stripper?”

  “I fell into it when I was at college. I needed a job, and my roommate suggested the club. It was good money, and after college I wanted to clear my student debt. Although that’s getting harder now.
”

  “You went to college?”

  “Don’t sound so surprised.”

  “What did you study?”

  “Engineering,” Cris said ruefully. “It’s in the blood. My father and grandfather were civil engineers.”

  “You didn’t want to be an engineer?”

  Cris shook his head. “I knew as soon as I started that I didn’t want to be an engineer, but changing courses wasn’t an option, not with my family. I want to go back to school to do a fine arts course, but financing it is another matter.”

  “You’re an artist?”

  “Yeah. It’s what I do when I’m not taking my clothes off for a living.” Cris heard a gasp and looked up to see an elderly woman staring at him with a horrified expression on her face. He smiled at her. “It’s okay, ma’am, I’m a stripper.” She rushed away as though the hounds of hell were nipping at her heels, and Cris laughed softly.

  “That was mean,” Bennett said. “You’ve probably given her palpitations.”

  “I live to horrify elderly ladies. It’s a gift.”

  “And all the middle-aged ones are trying to rip your clothes off?” Bennett hazarded.

  Cris chuckled again. “Something like that.”

  Bennett was silent for a moment, and then he asked, “Do your parents know you’re gay?”

  “Yeah, they do. Mom wasn’t happy when she found out, but only because she was worried how people would react to me. She was… amazing. If anyone gave me any trouble, she was in there, all mama bear on them. Dad was quieter, until I told them I wasn’t going to be an engineer. Then he got loud, and how.” Cris winced at the memory. “Apparently being a stripper is a thousand times worse than being gay. Who knew?”

  Bennett snorted. “Your parents sound amazing.”

  “They are,” Cris agreed. “My sister wasn’t happy to find out I was gay, but again, I think that was just because she was worried about me. My brother couldn’t care less. He’s not really into relationships, male or female. He’s more interested in his widgets.”

  “What the hell is a widget?”

  Cris opened his mouth to answer but instead asked, “Do you really care?”