by J P Barnaby
It hit the curb on its way out, bouncing into traffic with the whine of tires and the screech of a horn. After a minute, it was gone.
“I don’t understand,” Anthony said as he stepped up next to Patrick, whose heart thundered against his throat.
Patrick put an arm around Anthony’s shoulders. They felt tiny under the weight of what could have happened to him had he been there alone. The guy in the back would have had no trouble pulling him into the car before they took off into the unknown.
“I don’t know that I understand either. Something isn’t right.”
“Thank you for being here.”
“I’ll always be here.”
He walked Anthony back to the store, fending off Kevin, who always asked too many damn questions. Patrick watched Anthony go back up the aisle, stopping at one of the coolers for his pizza and a bottle of soda before heading upstairs.
At least he’d grabbed the food. That made the slump in Anthony’s shoulders seem not so bad.
Patrick grabbed his cell phone as he climbed into the RAV4. He didn’t bother texting but hit the speed dial to call his brother.
“Hey, what are you still doing at the store?”
“You remember that kid Anthony came here to see?”
“Yeah.”
“He e-mailed Anthony and wanted to meet. I just went with him.”
“I saw Anthony come back into the store. What happened? He looks… upset.”
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear it was a snatch and grab. It looked all kinds of skeezy, Bren. I don’t know what the fuck is going on with that kid, but Anthony doesn’t need to be anywhere near it.”
“Snatch and grab, like they wanted to kidnap him?”
“It felt like that.”
“Did you call the police?”
“And tell them what? It looked weird? They didn’t actually do anything except try to pick up a kid who agreed to meet them.”
“We should do something.”
“Call that guy on the force that you’re friends with. I’ll send you the pics I took of the car.”
“Okay.” Bren’s voice softened. “Is Anthony okay?”
“He’s confused, like I am. But he took a pizza upstairs with him, so hopefully that means he’s not too upset.”
“I’ll e-mail him.”
“I think that’s a good idea.”
Nineteen
EVEN IN the light of day, Anthony had no idea what the fuck had happened the night before. Jay didn’t even get out of the car to see him. No hugs, no excitement, not even a single word. If Patrick hadn’t been there, he had no idea if he’d have gone with them. He hoped he wouldn’t have. He hoped he had the sense enough to walk away, but the lost expression on Jay’s face tore something in him. He’d wanted to grab Jay and let him stay in the apartment.
The computer dinged, and Anthony glanced down to see he had a new e-mail. Nothing else had come in from Jay. Nothing at all had come in from anyone else in his family, including Allen. The only e-mails he got now were from Bren. He smiled at the subject line: When the hell are you coming back?
I don’t have any friends. I don’t have a lot of social skills.
I’m sorry I yelled at you about going out with that kid.
I thought it would mean you wouldn’t come around anymore.
I like it when you come around.
Bring a fucking movie and come around.
Anthony hit the Reply button with a wicked grin.
Be a little more bossy next time.
The e-mail dinged again.
Anthony Downing (which I had to learn from your e-mail name, by the way), would you do me the honor of your company this evening for dinner? Beer, a pizza, and sex?
Cordially and horny,
Brendan Mears
Anthony snorted and tossed the cold pizza he’d been eating for breakfast back onto the cardboard circle.
Mr. Mears, I accept your gracious invitation. However, I’m really fucking sick of pizza. Can we do Chinese instead?
He waited a moment for the reply to come back.
Challenge accepted.
Since he had to work for most of the day, Anthony let Bren know he’d be there in the late afternoon. He threw the next Harry Potter movie into his backpack and tossed it into the corner for later. After a shower and grabbing the only clean outfit he had left, Anthony went downstairs for another day at the liquor store, wondering if he’d lose his virginity later that evening. In fact, he spent the rest of the day distracted by that very notion.
By five o’clock Anthony and his dick were more than ready to spend an evening with Bren. He ran up the stairs two at a time to the apartment to retrieve his backpack. When he came back down, he was surprised to find Patrick waiting for him.
“Want a ride so you don’t have to take the bus?” Patrick asked with a sly little grin.
“How did you know…? Bren told you I take the bus over to see him?”
“Yeah, he got on my ass about hooking you up with Sean. I asked how you guys had managed to get to know each other so well after a couple hours of waiting for the repair guy, and he told me about the movies. It’s kind of you, Anthony.”
Anthony’s face heated at the mention of those couple hours spent waiting for the repair guy.
“Is that all he told you?”
“Hey, whatever else happens between you and my brother, I don’t need to know.” Patrick held his hands up in mock surrender, backing up to let Anthony pass on the way to the door. Anthony felt Kevin’s eyes on him as they left. He climbed up next to Patrick in the RAV4 and they pulled out of the space.
“Does Kevin know Bren is gay?” Anthony asked as Patrick swung the truck out into the afternoon traffic.
“I don’t know. I don’t think it ever came up, why?”
“Nothing. You just kind of announced in front of him that I’m sleeping with your brother. Which I’m not, actually.”
“Oh shit. I’m sorry. Let me know if he gives you any trouble, okay?”
“Okay. I was going to say that I can handle myself, but you’re right. You should handle it since we’re at work and you’re his boss.”
“Wait. Did you just agree to ask for help?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Damn, there may be hope for you yet.”
It only took a few minutes by car to get from the liquor store to Bren’s house. They passed the time talking about a new promotion Patrick wanted to run and how Anthony thought they should set up the displays. He liked getting involved with setting up the displays, and Patrick thought he had a knack for it. When they pulled up in front of the house, Patrick mentioned maybe he should study advertising at Wayne State, the college Sean attended.
“It’s a small school, probably more affordable than the gigantic state schools,” Patrick told him. “You could look into severing your finances from your parents and see if you’d qualify for a grant.”
Anthony pulled his backpack from between his feet.
“I don’t know if I’d be able to afford school. I can’t even afford to get my car fixed yet. But I’ll talk to Sean and see what he thinks.” He opened the door to get out.
“You know, Anthony, I went to college too,” Patrick said with a frown.
“Yeah, but that was like forever ago.”
“Hey!”
Anthony laughed as Patrick took a swipe at him from the driver’s seat and he dodged behind the door. He had been considering college more and more since he’d gotten to Detroit. Being on his own had shown him, more than anything his parents or Aaron had ever said, that he’d need some kind of foundation if he wanted to start a life for himself. He threw the backpack over his shoulder and waved at Patrick before heading up the walk. The door opened before he knocked. A strong arm pulled him through and slammed it shut behind him.
His back hit the door and Bren’s mouth covered his in an almost violent kiss before he’d even had time to breathe. Bren slid one hand behind his head to cradle
it from hitting the wall while the other hand grabbed Anthony’s ass, pulling their hips together. Anthony whimpered into the kiss, and Bren slid his lips to Anthony’s cheek.
“Thank you for coming back,” Bren whispered against his skin.
“Thanks for inviting me.”
“You sure you’d rather be here with me than with pretty-boy Sean?”
“Ask me that again and I’m going to throat-punch you,” Anthony growled and ran a finger over Bren’s Adam’s apple.
“It makes me hard when you threaten me like that.”
“That’s because you’re a freak. Now feed me.”
Bren laughed and gave him one final kiss before stepping back and pulling him by the front of the shirt into the kitchen. After foraging in the kitchen for a few minutes, Bren came up with a menu from the Chinese place, and they sat at the table figuring out what they wanted to order. Anthony had never actually eaten Chinese food before. His parents didn’t like it, and Chase never ate anything but fast food when they’d spent time at his house. So he went with Bren’s recommendations, since Bren seemed to live on nothing but Chinese and pizza.
Anthony popped in the movie and dropped the remote on the table while Bren ordered dinner. He felt more comfortable hanging out in this house than he ever had at home. Even though Bren didn’t want to go outside, he loved the sunshine and left the curtains open, giving the room a light, airy feel. It seemed Anthony had been tense his entire life, but here, he could relax.
Bren dropped down on the couch beside him, but instead of putting an arm around him or even just sitting together, he lay down and rested his head on Anthony’s leg.
“You okay?” Anthony asked and ran a hand over Bren’s shaggy hair.
“I didn’t sleep well last night.”
“Because of the argument?”
“That and your little rendezvous with your friend. Patrick told me how skeezy it was. I can’t even think about something happening to you.”
“I’m glad Patrick was there,” Anthony admitted. “It made the whole thing not quite so scary.”
“Let’s not do either of those things again.”
“Fight or get abducted?”
“Yeah, those.”
“Deal.”
Anthony continued to card his fingers through Bren’s hair after he started the movie. Bren didn’t have any questions as he normally did. In fact, he didn’t say anything after the movie started. When Anthony leaned forward to see his face, he smiled at the calm serenity Bren had in sleep. It warmed something inside him that Bren trusted him enough to fall asleep in his lap. He watched Bren for a long while. Hell, he’d already seen Goblet of Fire a million times. Bren asleep on his leg brought him far more satisfaction.
He lamented the doorbell signaling the arrival of their food. Anthony couldn’t get up with Bren in his lap, so he shook the man awake and went to pay the driver. When he returned, Bren had moved to a sitting position. Anthony grinned at the adorable way he stretched and yawned while Anthony laid out their food on the low table.
God, his mother would have a stroke if she knew he hadn’t eaten in a kitchen for over a month.
“What’s that grin for?” Bren asked as he piled a bit of sesame chicken on his plate.
“My mother was a stickler for eating in the kitchen or dining room. We were never allowed to have food in our rooms or the living room. Sitting here on the couch with you, I just realized I haven’t eaten in a kitchen for over a month.”
“You rebel.”
“Right?” Anthony laughed again, and Bren beamed at him. At the same moment, they leaned toward each other, and their lips met in a slow, gentle kiss.
“Oh, I like that flavor,” Anthony said as he licked at the sesame sauce Bren had left on his lips. “Put some of that on here.” He lifted the plate, and Bren filled it with all the different things they’d ordered.
LATER, AFTER bellies were full and cartons had been stored in the refrigerator, Bren and Anthony sat watching the rest of the movie. Anthony had curled up in the corner of the couch with Bren’s head in his lap. He’d considered making a joke about “while you’re down there,” but he liked just being with Bren, no sex needed.
When Anthony woke up hours later, only the DVD menu on the TV screen lit the room. Bren sat up and looked around, a little confused.
“What time is it?”
“I have no idea.”
Bren reached in his pocket and grabbed his cell phone.
“Shit.”
“What?”
“I have like ten missed texts from my brother and two missed calls. And it’s after ten, so you’ve missed the last bus.”
“Shit,” Anthony agreed.
Bren slid his finger across the screen and tapped a few icons before holding the phone to his ear. He waited about thirty seconds before the call connected, then another thirty while Patrick said something loud and angry.
“Are you finished?” Bren asked and waited until Patrick stopped yelling. “Yes, he’s here. We fell asleep on the couch watching a movie. No, neither of us are dead. No, you don’t have to come out to the house in the middle of the night. He can stay here.”
Anthony perked up at the pronouncement. Stay the night with Bren?
“He can either sleep in bed with me or on the couch, whichever he wants. And no, I’m not going to tell you which.”
Anthony couldn’t help it, he laughed at that. Bren looked at him with his eyebrows raised in question. Anthony nodded. Of course he’d stay.
“Yes, he said he’d stay. You can pick him up on the way in to the store tomorrow if you want.” Again Bren looked to Anthony for confirmation, and again, he got it.
“Awesome. Good night, big brother. We’ll name the first one after you.”
Bren hung up before Anthony could hear a reply from Patrick, and they laughed.
“You don’t mind staying here?”
“I’d love to. Wait, did that sound too eager? Did you want me to protest a little so I don’t sound so easy?” Anthony batted his eyes, putting one coy finger under his chin. Bren busted out in a harsh laugh.
“I’m too tired to fuck you tonight, anyway. So there’s no need to protect your virtue,” he said with a smile, and then it fell, and he took one of Anthony’s hands.
“What?”
“I don’t know where this is going. I just… whether you want to just be fuck buddies, or friends, or whatever.”
“I want the whatever,” Anthony said without hesitation.
“I’m scared of the whatever,” Bren admitted. “If we want something like that together, I think we should start out slow. I mean, yes, I want to take you to bed and fuck until neither of us can walk, but what then? I’d rather know you, and I’m starting to really get there.” He ran a hand over his face. “God, did any of that make sense?”
“You want a real relationship with me. You’re scared. You want to hold off on sex until we know each other better.”
“Wow, you said that way better than I did.”
“That’s because I don’t ramble.”
“Shut up, take your pants off, and go get in my bed.”
“I thought you just said….” Anthony laughed and dashed out of his reach before Bren could grab him. As Bren went to lock up the house, Anthony went into Bren’s bedroom. Patrick had told him that it was Bren’s childhood bedroom, that he’d always slept there. It housed a queen bed, dresser, and football posters that didn’t really fit with the Bren he knew. The walls, a deep blue, contrasted sharply with the stark white ceiling. Every bit of wall space seemed to be covered with something—dresser, mirror, poster, and even a giant corkboard that held yellowing papers from a previous life. The bottles on the bedside table were recent, as were the clothes on top of the dresser. A mix of new and old that never quite meshed together into the person Bren had become.
Anthony stood at the foot of the bed and unbuttoned his jeans. He didn’t quite understand why he felt shy taking off his jeans when Bren had alre
ady sucked his dick. He dropped them to the floor and jumped into bed. A few moments later, the door opened and Bren stepped into the room. He watched Anthony for a long time, long enough it started to get uncomfortable. Then he watched him for another long moment.
“Is it wrong that I love the way you look in my bed?”
“Is it wrong that I love being in your bed?”
“You win that round.”
Bren stood next to the bed and stretched as he pulled his faded Led Zeppelin T-shirt over his head. Anthony wanted to look away and give him privacy, the same privacy he’d had when he got undressed, but Bren held his gaze as he unbuttoned the worn jeans. He smiled as he pulled the zipper down.
“You know, for someone who doesn’t want to have sex, you’re being awfully flirtatious,” Anthony said with fake annoyance.
Bren didn’t answer. He just dropped his jeans with a wink, and the room heated ten degrees for Anthony. The man had long, toned legs that Anthony hadn’t gotten to see when they’d been on the couch. Standing before him in just a pair of blue briefs, Bren was….
“Beautiful.”
“Not really, just, you know, ignore the holes in my side.”
Anthony tilted his head to look at Bren’s side. He could see a small scar where the bullet had gone in and some scarring on the surrounding tissue.
“Can I see your phone for a second?” Anthony asked with a sudden idea.
“Sure.” Bren reached to the side table and handed his smartphone to Anthony, who opened the browser and went to his Facebook page. He scrolled through the pictures. It took him a few minutes on the small screen, but eventually, he found what he’d been looking for and handed the phone back to Bren.
“That is my brother, Aaron. So trust me when I tell you, scars aren’t a big deal for me.”