by Andrew Grey
“I am—well, I was. I thought I’d take a few days and come home to see my folks. And while I was here, I had to see how you were.” Tony smiled that winning smile that had gotten him out of trouble all through school.
“What are you doing now?” Willy asked. “Your mom said a while back that you were doing a commercial or something? I looked for it.”
“That fell through. It was supposed to be a national spot, but the casting director wanted me to warm her bed. Of course, I wasn’t in a hurry to turn down that sort of thing….” Tony leaned closer, as if imparting a secret. “But then I found out the real deal. There was the possibility of a commercial, and she had been trying out leads for the last month. I wasn’t going to get in the middle of a shitshow like that.” He sighed. “I’m still waiting tables at a really cool restaurant on Melrose, and I’m doing okay, keeping body and soul together. The owner is wonderful, and as long as I give him notice, he lets me work around auditions.” The words flowed from Tony. “It’s a pretty good life. I’m young, good-looking”—he posed a little—“and people are starting to take notice. I did bit parts on a soap and a few series. So maybe that will lead to something. Just gotta keep going.” He had so much energy, it radiated off him like ripples in a pond. “How are you?” Tony hugged him again. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’m doing okay. I have a job at Webster’s. Just started this week. I had to drop out of college, and my dad wants me to follow him into the church.” It was his turn to share a secret. “But I don’t want to. I’m doing the books, and I think if I can get the money and stuff together, I’ll go to online school to finish an accounting degree. I know it isn’t as glamorous as what you’re doing—”
Tony humphed. “It sounds fun and glamorous, but it’s a lot of work and rejection. Still, I have to try. I think I’m pretty good, and all it takes is the right person to see me.”
“How long are you here in town?” Willy asked, trying not to check his watch. He wanted to spend some time with Tony, definitely, but Reggie was expecting him.
“Through Saturday. I spent a huge amount of time in the car, so I thought I’d stretch my legs before dinner. I need to get home, but let’s have dinner or something. How is tomorrow night? We could go out and have a little fun.” Tony lowered his voice. “Is your dad still the way he was?”
“Pretty much.” Willy wished things were different for his entire family. “I don’t have to work tomorrow.”
“Then I’ll come by and we can have lunch at my house. Mom was asking about you, and she’d love to see you. I’ll come by and pick you up at noon or so. Okay?”
“That would be great.”
Tony hugged him again, and Willy went back around, got in the car, and started it up.
Tony grimaced. “That sounds awful. Instead of me picking you up, drive the car down when you come to lunch and I can take a look at it for you.” He smiled and stepped away from the car, heading toward his parents’ house a quarter mile or so away. Willy had made that walk plenty of times when he and Tony had been in school together. They’d been close, very close, until Tony had graduated from high school and gotten out of town as soon as he could. Still, it would be nice to see his friend again.
Willy put the car in gear. Gerty still ran well, even if she was showing her age on the outside. He turned the car around and pointed Gerty out of town.
Trees towered over the road as he went. Willy liked this drive, leaving town behind and heading up into the pines the town was named for. Most were tall and straight, with some brown spots from the years of drought that had affected the area pretty badly. Thankfully a very wet winter had saturated the ground and the trees had been able to drink their fill. Willy rolled down the window, letting the clean pine and earth scent of the forest fill the car.
He pulled into Reggie’s well-lighted drive and parked the car around the back side near the garage. He didn’t want questions from anyone who passed about why he was there. Willy hurried to the door and knocked, unable to stop the smile forming on his lips when Reggie answered the door in sweatpants and a T-shirt.
“Come on in,” Reggie said. “Did you have dinner?”
“Yeah. It was really strained.”
“I don’t doubt it.” Reggie stepped back, running his fingers nervously through his hair. He closed the door and led Willy to the living room. The eight empty beer bottles on the coffee table told Willy just how wrong things were.
Willy stood beside the sofa, then began gathering the empties and dumped them in the recycling. He also took the old pizza boxes and threw them away. “You want to tell me about it?” Willy sat next to Reggie but got up again, opened the refrigerator, and got a couple of Cokes. When he returned, he opened one and slid the other over to Reggie.
“Okay.” Reggie set the beer bottle down, and Willy pushed it away from him. Reggie turned to him, gaze hard, and Willy returned it.
“You don’t need to be drunk to talk to me.” Willy drank beer, but he was always conscious that his brother had been killed by a drunk driver, and alcohol tended to make him nervous sometimes, so he was careful of the amount. Being around people who were drinking… well, the incident in the club had only confirmed his fear.
“You’re right.” Reggie squeezed his hand and stood. “I’ll be right back.” He left the room, and Willy heard water running and maybe the sound of Reggie brushing his teeth.
“Did you clean up?” Willy asked when he returned.
“I took an aspirin and drank some water.” Reggie sat back down, and Willy leaned closer, sniffing.
“Minty water,” he teased, and Reggie grabbed him, tugging Willy over him, tickling him. Willy squealed and squirmed, trying to get away. “That’s not fair.” Reggie backed off, and Willy settled against him.
“I needed to hear you laugh,” Reggie whispered. “It’s been a difficult couple of days.”
“Were you hurt or in danger?”
Reggie shook his head. “After you left the last time, I went to bed and got a call almost immediately after falling asleep. A report had come in about some activity out at the rest area on the highway. There have been a number of reports of suspicious activities out there, so I dressed and got into my car, driving right out. When I pulled up, there were maybe half a dozen cars in the lot. A few people left or got into their cars as I passed through. The report called for some activity in the woods. I walked around and shone my light into the trees but saw nothing. By the time I returned, the number of cars in the lot had thinned to three, and I passed a group of women coming out of the ladies’ room. I heard them get into their car as I reached the men’s room door. I went inside to have a look around.”
“Oh God,” Willy said softly. “I know what goes on there. I never did anything, but I heard rumors in high school.” He put his hand over his mouth. “No…,” he whispered.
“Yeah. Jamie Fullerton. He came busting out of the stall, doing up his pants, and nearly ran into me. The man who followed out of the same stall was a little more buttoned up, but it was plain enough what the two of them had been doing. Jamie shook and said nothing, trying to get himself together.” Reggie reached for his soda and drank most of it, then burped when he was done. “My intention was to not cause him any more trouble and just have him come out to my car so I could talk to him. I knew how easily this would get around town, and I was hoping to help him. Technically what they were doing was illegal, but very quickly I think I understood Jamie, at least to a degree.”
“What happened?”
“Shawn came in. I didn’t call him for backup, but he burst inside, took one look, and sneered. He took the other man into custody, so there was no way in hell I could let Jamie go. I loaded him in the car and took him to the station once again.” Reggie blew out his breath. “I called the mayor and asked him to come down. The poor man seemed at his wits’ end. In the end, we didn’t charge either man. The other one was from Nevada, and we let him go with a warning. I gave the same to Jamie, but the damage was
done. Shawn gossips like a hen.”
“Shoot.” Willy leaned against Reggie. “The town is going to go to pieces. I’m surprised I hadn’t heard the juicy details already.”
“You will. I gave Shawn a lecture about police business remaining police business, and that our personal feelings were not to interfere with the job we did. I told him that he was to speak to no one about anything that happened at the station and to keep his nose out of other people’s business. I had hoped that I’d gotten through to him. I even threatened him, asking why he was out at the rest area, casting a few aspersions to keep him quiet.”
“Poor Jamie.” Willy buried his face in Reggie’s shirt. “I understand how he feels. I mean, he knows he’s gay, and we all heard about the rest area and the last stall by the window. It was all over the high school. So he went out there to see if….” Willy groaned. “Can you imagine being that hurt and torn up to do something like that?”
“Yeah. Not to mention that he was taking his life and health in his hands. I honestly wanted a chance to talk to him and to try to help him. But Shawn shot that all to hell.”
“My dad and the mayor were at the house. My mom told me what happened, in her own way. But I think she heard it from listening to what the men were saying.”
“How did your dad take it?” Reggie asked.
“What little I heard sounded like my father was going to make things worse. Take something bad, add a pile of guilt, and make everything and everyone more miserable. He said that it was the mayor’s fault for not raising his sons right.”
“Son of a bitch!” Reggie swore, leaning forward. “This isn’t the 1950s, for Christ’s sake. We need to be understanding and help Jamie, not vilify him and his entire family. It isn’t something his parents did.”
“I know. I’m gay. I can say it now. But the thought of telling my parents scares the complete crap out of me. My father would—” Willy shivered. “I don’t know what he’d do.”
Reggie held him closer. “You don’t know what he’ll do when you tell him?”
Willy nodded. “I know I have to eventually. This isn’t something that I can keep a secret forever. But I can’t tell him now. I’m too dependent on him for so many things. And then who knows what he’ll tell Ezekiel and Ruthie? I can live with my dad not talking to me, but I don’t want to lose my entire family.” Willy lifted his gaze, tears running down his cheeks that he made no effort to disguise.
Reggie sighed. “You know I understand. And you’re the one who has the most to lose. I’m the sheriff, and like it or not, they can’t fire me for being gay. They could make my life miserable and people could turn away from me. My deputies and the people I work with could make it impossible for me to do my job, and then I’d have to leave.” As easily as Reggie said the words, the darkness in his eyes told Willy that Reggie was almost as scared as he was.
Willy took that in and groaned. He didn’t want Reggie to go through all that any more than he wanted to run out and announce to his father that he was gay.
“But I’m a big boy—I can make my own decisions and I’ll live with them. If people push me around, I can push back. But you have a lot more to lose. You know how your father feels and can guess how he’ll react.”
Willy wasn’t so sure all of that was true. Reggie could say what he wanted, but Willy knew fear, and it was definitely present. Reggie could take care of himself, but that didn’t mean he wanted to do it, to be alone all the time and to have to start over because of who he was.
Willy closed his eyes. “Does that mean I don’t deserve a life or the chance to be happy?” God, that really sucked.
“No. It means you have to know what the price could be. Jamie is going through all kinds of hell right about now, and if it comes out about you, then you’ll be in the same boat he is.”
Willy didn’t move. “Sounds like a rock and a hard place.” He was damned if he did, and lonely, always on the outside looking in, if he didn’t. “What do you want?”
“Me?” Reggie asked. “I just said….”
Willy knew what he wanted. He’d known since that day at the club when the amazing man holding him had saved him from God knows what. “I know what I want. It hasn’t changed.” Willy slid his hand over Reggie’s chest. “I know you think I’m some ignorant kid who has no idea how the world works. And maybe I am to a degree, but I know my own mind.” He paused, lifting his gaze and pressing his lips to Reggie’s, pouring everything he had into that kiss. Willy didn’t want to have to tell Reggie what he wanted. He intended to show him.
Without breaking their kiss, Willy shifted to straddle Reggie’s legs and hips. Reggie wound his arms around him, cupping his butt in his big, strong hands, sending Willy into throes of ecstasy. No one had touched him like that before, and damn, it was hotter than he ever imagined.
“Willy,” Reggie whispered against his lips and ran his hands up his back. “You need to stop a minute.”
“Why?” Willy asked with a smile. “I can tell you’re into it.” That much was obvious.
“That isn’t it. Of course I like what’s happening. You’re a hot young man, and I would have to be a fool or dead not to be turned on by you. But there’s more to it than that.” Reggie swallowed and cupped Willy’s face in his warm hands. “Is this just sex for you? I know that’s what you wanted when we first met.”
Willy gasped and lightly smacked Reggie on the shoulder. “No. I mean, you’re super hot and sexy.” He leaned closer. “Is that all you want? I can be okay with that. But I don’t think that’s what I really want from you.” Willy shivered. “I mean, if it’s only sex, I can dig that, but I think I want more than that. Maybe you think I don’t know what I want or that I’m too young to want to be in a relationship or know what love is….” Dammit, he was rambling, like, a million miles an hour, and Reggie looked at him as though he’d just fallen off the turnip truck and hit his head.
“Hey, sweetheart. You don’t need to be nervous. I was just asking what you thought this was for you. I haven’t had a relationship in a while, and the last one ended pretty sucky. He was a year or two older than you and suddenly he decided that he wasn’t ready for a relationship. He skipped off to go screw half the Bay Area, and I ended up with a broken heart.” Reggie ran his thumb over Willy’s upper lip, sending a thrill of desire through him. Willy was getting so sexed up, he could barely see straight, and Reggie wanted to talk about shit. “I’m not asking you to give me a forever answer, but let me know what you think is going on.”
Willy cupped Reggie’s whiskered cheeks in his hands. “I think you’re the sexiest, nicest guy I’ve ever met. You’re hot and cool, and you think about me and worry what I think and feel. You could have just fucked me half a dozen times, but you keep holding back because you’re worried about me.” Willy bit his lower lip. “You do care about me, don’t you?”
Reggie held him closer. “Of course I do. But getting involved could have repercussions for you… for both of us. If this is just a sex thing…. Do you think it’s worth it? Would Jamie think it was worth it?”
Willy kissed Reggie once more. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. But I know you’re worth it.” He pulled up Reggie’s shirt and rubbed his chest and belly. “God, this is so worth it. I love a guy with a hairy chest.” Willy squirmed as his cock hardened even more, his pants too damn tight. He hoped that situation wouldn’t last too much longer.
Reggie groaned and lay back on the cushions, his eyes drifting closed, and Willy used that time to explore. To say Reggie was a work of art would be an understatement, though it wasn’t like Willy had seen all that much art in his life. Okay, so maybe Reggie was closer to a dream come true. When he closed his eyes and imagined his perfect fantasy guy, it hadn’t come close to the glory and heat that was Reggie.
Willy gently stroked Reggie’s chest and then down his ridged belly before returning to Reggie’s large tawny nipples. He had an urge to see what Reggie tasted like and leaned forward to flick his tongue o
ver the hard bud before sucking lightly. Reggie’s slightly salty, hot, hint-of-musk flavor burst on his tongue and filled his nose and sent quakes running all through him. He was touching another man, seeing what he tasted like. Willy let his hands wander down to Reggie’s belt. Now all he needed was to….
Heavy footsteps echoed on the porch outside. Willy stopped as they sounded again. Reggie stiffened, and Willy sat back and stood, checking his clothes. Reggie did the same, pulling his shirt down as he crossed the room and peered out around the curtains.
“The mayor,” Reggie said softly to warn him. Willy wondered if he should try to hide or something, but it was likely that His Honor could have already seen his car even though he’d parked out by the garage. Shit, what should he do? Flutters of panic welled up inside him, but he took a deep breath and tamped them down. The television remote sat on the coffee table, and he grabbed it, turned on the TV, and flipped through the channels as he held his soda.
A knock sounded, and Reggie wiped his brow before opening the front door.
Willy’s heart still beat a mile a second as Reggie greeted Mayor Fullerton and stepped back to let him inside. His thoughts ran a million different directions, but he settled on the fact that he and Reggie were allowed to be friends, and if asked, that’s what they were. Go for the simple explanation.
“Sheriff Barnett, I wanted to—”
Willy knew the second he was spotted.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have bothered you.”
“It’s all right. Willy and I were just watching TV and talking. Please come in. Is there something I can do for you?” Reggie motioned Mayor Fullerton to a chair.
“I didn’t want to interrupt your evening, but….” He looked so nervous, glancing everywhere like people were going to jump out of the woodwork.
“Please sit down and tell me what’s on your mind. I know you’ve been through a lot lately, and if I can help, I will.” Reggie glanced at him, and Willy stood to leave the room. Heck, he should just get ready to go.