All Cocks Stories Box Set Volume 2

by Smith,T. M.

  Beau watched as the tension in Tristan’s shoulders seeped away, his posture visibly relaxing. The oven dinging caught them all off guard, Beau and Tristan laughing when Gabe jumped and shrieked. “Shut your face,” he told them, grabbing the oven mitts and pulling the door open. Immediately Beau’s senses were assaulted with the most tantalizing smells, his mouth watering at the thought of putting something that smelled that damn good in his mouth.

  Tristan led Beau over to the small dining room, the two of them pulling the table out a bit and moving to sit on the back side by the windows. The plates, glasses and silverware were already set out for them. Micah grabbed a large bowl of salad out of the fridge, carrying it over and setting it on the table along with a loaf of fresh baked bread and the butter dish. The delicious smell emitting from the kitchen continued to tease Beau; he was quite pleased when Gabe headed their way with a large glass dish in his mitted hands.

  “Here we go. I hope you like it; it’s a new recipe just for you, Beau.” Gabe preened, obviously very proud of himself.

  “Why you cook special for me?” Beau asked.

  Gabe rolled his eyes. “I wanted to make something Cajun and authentic for you; don’t be a jerk.” Tristan and Micah both chuckled; Gabe ignored them, continuing to talk over them. “What is it with you guys and rice? I mean, seriously, every recipe I found was rice this, rice that, and rice rice rice. But then I found this colorful guy on YouTube, Justin Wilson—he was just too much fun. He talks like you and he has some amazing recipes.”

  Gabe rambled on while he cut the roast, Beau and Tristan sharing a glance and a smile. Lord but Tris definitely had his hands full with these two. “So, this is a pork roast pan seared with Cajun spices then slow cooked in a white wine sauce, served with potatoes, carrots and green onions. Sorry, no rice.” The little pixie didn’t sound very sorry at all.

  Four hours later, Beau was climbing onto his motorcycle, wondering where in the hell the time had gone. The four of them devoured every last bite of the food Gabe had cooked, which was probably one of the best meals Beau had ever eaten in his life. They talked more about Gio, Beau feeling comfortable enough after a couple glasses of wine to share more about his growing attraction to William. While Tristan knew full well the reason Beau hesitated to pursue any type of relationship with anyone, especially William, Micah and Gabe were not privy to his HIV status. They were both very understanding of Beau’s hesitancy though; a shared pain from loss gave the three of them a better grasp when it came to whys and why nots.

  He drove through the streets of New York, still quite crowded despite the late hour, enjoying the freedom he always felt riding his hog. For probably the first time since burying Izzie, Beau found himself thinking of a life with another man. It was painful and difficult, every thought of William forcing an equally beautiful memory of Izzie to the forefront of his mind. But still, he wondered, after so many years alone, married to a ghost, could he possibly find happiness again with William?

  Chapter 5 | Trying to Fight Attraction

  Beau was leaning over the bar shooting the shit with one of his regular customers when William walked through the door, followed by a guy he recognized as an All Cocks model, and a couple others he didn’t know. The four of them headed straight for the bar, the smile on William’s face brightening the dimly lit room.

  “Hey Beau, how’s it going?” William asked, climbing onto the bar stool closest to where Beau stood.

  “I’m still on dis side of the grass. What can I get you boys tonight?”

  William turned to face his friends. “Beers or shots, guys?”

  “Both!” the other three shouted. William shook his head, laughing. Beau liked it when he smiled, his dark brown eyes would sparkle and—What da hell da matter wit you? Beau’s inner voice still fought his attraction to the man sitting in front of him, smelling like sunshine and rain.

  “Beau?” William stared at him, head cocked to one side.

  “Wha…” Beau’s face heated, realizing he’d been so wrapped up in staring and smelling, appreciating the view, he hadn’t heard a goddamn word William had said.

  “Four beers and four shots of Fireball, please.” William winked. He fucking winked at him with that sly grin; Beau wanted to smack it off his face.

  He grabbed four shot glasses off the shelf behind him with one hand, the bottle of Fireball with the other, turning and pouring them all full to the point of spilling, sliding them over the bar toward the four men before moving over to the tap and pouring four mugs of the new IPA he just got in from a local brewery. Beau watched them toast then down the shots of rotgut, as he liked to call it, shaking his head and quietly laughing. The little blond that stood under the arm of the brunet he only knew as Ashton from the All Cocks site looked like he was two seconds away from tossing his cookies. Beau sat the four full beers down in front of William, grabbing a bottle of water and tossing it at the blond.

  Lord but he was adorable, very much like Gabe but this guy had deep, brown eyes and he clung to the brunet as if the guy were a life raft. “Thanks,” he choked out once he drained the bottle of water dry.

  “You sure you want dat?” Beau chuckled, nodding toward the beer that William had pushed over to the blond.

  “Damn, I’m a rude bastard. Beau, this is my friend Jacob, my roommate Dusty, and his boyfriend David.” Tall, brunet and blond respectively, all nodded and said hi. The really tall one, Jacob, stood up straight and caught Beau off guard. He hadn’t realized just how tall the guy was until he was right in front of him. It wasn’t often that Beau met anyone that stood toe to toe, eye to eye with him.

  “Guys, this is Beau, the sexiest bartender in the city,” William told his friends, his eyes roaming every inch of Beau that was visible from where he stood behind the bar. Beau mumbled something, turning and heading to the other end of the bar where a group of guys stood waiting to be served.

  “I don’t speak Yeti,” William called out, laughing.

  I’ll show you Yeti, you ass! Beau thought, barely suppressing a growl.

  The bar got busier and Beau wasn’t able to chat with William for more than a minute here and there. His backup Veronica—Roni for short and if you wanted to live—took care of the tables while Beau stayed mostly behind the bar. Eventually, the four of them moved over to the pool tables. Beau started to notice the tall one, Jacob, was awfully touchy-feely with William. He didn’t like it. Technically he had no claim on the man that monopolized his dreams as of late, but William had gone out of his way to be sure Beau knew he was interested. So, that begged the question, why come to his bar and flaunt this flirtation in Beau’s face?

  “Beau, can we get another round?” William shouted from across the bar.

  Oh hell no, dat dere boy done gone and lost his fucking mind! Beau ignored him, waiting on the customers at the bar and chatting with a regular, Steve, who had claimed a prime spot directly in front of the taps.

  “Excuse me, sir.” Beau managed to tamp down the snarl—barely—at being called sir by the guy he had dreams of bending over this very bar and fucking senseless. “Beau.” That was much better.

  Beau told Steve he’d be right back and moved to the other end of the bar where William stood, four empty mugs in front of him. “Can I get another round of beers for me and my friends, please?” William followed his request with a soft smile.

  Beau nodded, snatching the mugs and lining them up next to the taps. “Dat’s bettah Cher, manners will get you farther dan yelling at me from the other side of the room.”

  Beau didn’t even realize what he’d said until he sat the four mugs back in front of William. He stared up at Beau, a glimmer in those deep brown eyes that made Beau want to grab the collar of his shirt in his hands and pull him up onto the bar, then kiss him until he couldn’t speak.

  “Cher?” William asked. Beau’s eyes went wide, the color draining from his face. “Beau, what the…you don’t look so good.”

  He stared at William for a long time bef
ore turning and walking away without so much as one word. He could feel William’s eyes on him as he wove his way through the tables to the hall that led to the bathrooms, storage and his office. He stopped in the doorway of the storage room, that night still very fresh in his mind, William writhing and moaning in his arms. Beau grabbed the handle, pulling the door shut with more force than necessary before stomping into his office and slamming that door behind him.

  He didn’t have to worry about the bar; Roni would step up and make sure everything was taken care of while he was out of pocket. What worried him were his feelings for William. When in the hell had he started to care what William did, or with whom? And calling him Cher, he hadn’t called anyone that since Izaiah had died. A soft knock at the door drew his attention. Expecting Roni, Beau tensed when he saw William step into the room and close the door behind him.

  “Beau…”

  “You got no business back here; get away back out dere now.” Beau jerked his head toward the bar, turning and staring at the wall, at the picture of him, Izaiah and Alma the day Beau had graduated from law school. As long as he kept his eyes trained on Izzie he could fight the pull to the sexy man standing behind him, demanding Beau’s attention.

  Beau’s mind and body were at war with one another when William took him by the arm, turning Beau around to face him, those deep brown eyes of his staring up at Beau, a mixture of confusion and longing swimming in them. “Beau, what is it? Why do you continue to push me away?”

  Beau refused to answer him, certain that if he stood mute long enough, William would give up and leave. “Don’t just stand there and try to ignore me Beau, what gives?” Well, so much for that idea.

  “I can’t give you what you need.”

  “And how would you know what I need, Beau? When have you ever stopped and taken the time to consider or ask me what I need?” There was a flash of anger in William’s brown eyes.

  Damn, he was a feisty one. But Beau was bound and determined to avoid attachment. “I tink you’ve made it perfectly clear what it is you want, William.”

  “And what’s that?” William stared up at him defiantly, arms crossing over his impressive chest.

  Goddamn, what the fuck, stop staring at his chest! Beau growled, more at himself than William, the sound making William laugh.

  “Well, I’m waiting.” William all but tapped his foot. Beau was impressed. Not once did William blink or flinch; his gaze never wavered from Beau’s.

  “Dere are tings you don’t know William, tings dat make you look at me differently,” Beau finally told him.

  “I doubt that, but I’ll bite, what is it I need to know?”

  “I didn’t say you need to know; I say you don’t know.”

  “Well I will know if you tell me.” William rolled his eyes and sighed, obviously exasperated with the conversation.

  Beau simply shook his head. A knock at the door finally had the two of them breaking eye contact. Roni stuck her head into the room. “Boss, it’s getting busy out here.”

  “I’ll be right dere,” Beau told her and she left, closing the door again.

  “Beau, please, why won’t you talk to me? I really do want to get to know you better, I want us to at least be friends.” He sounded so convincing. Young, but convincing. “How about this, I got some free tickets for Pier 25 to play a couple of rounds of mini golf, want to go with me?”

  Beau contemplated that for a few moments. “As friends? Dis not a date, right?”

  William’s grin could have lit up a dark room as he nodded like an excited child. Beau couldn’t help but chuckle and shake his head at the man. He would have to find out exactly how old his would-be suitor was sooner rather than later. William often acted like a happy teenager, which made it difficult to discern his exact age. Beau remembered asking for his ID the first time William came into the bar, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember anything other than him being of legal age.

  Beau moved toward the door with one hand on William’s shoulder, reaching for the knob with the other, stopping and turning to look at William with a contemplative stare. “What?” he asked.

  “Just tinking, you want to get to know me bettah? Be friends and hang out?” Beau asked. William quickly nodded. “Why don’t you come wit me to the LGBT Center one day dis week? We can always use more volunteers.”

  “LGBT Center?” William asked.

  Beau nodded, remembering just then that William didn’t know about the Center. “I run an LGBT Center for at-risk youth.”

  William grinned up at him. “Wow, that is so cool Beau. Why didn’t I know you ran a shelter?”

  Beau shook his head. “Not a shelter, a Center. Look, I gotta get back out dere before Roni comes in here and skins us both.”

  “Yeah, I can do that. Would Wednesday work? I’m off starting then through the weekend.” William quickly agreed, still smiling.

  “Yeah, dat works, come on.” Beau opened the door, shoving William out before closing the door behind them. Beau went back to work behind the bar while William joined his friends over by the pool tables. Thankfully the bar got busier and Beau was able to stay focused on customers and drinks, an occasional food order, not the four men across the room playing pool. At one point, Jacob leaned close to William, his hand lingering on William’s shoulder as he spoke into his ear, William smiling up at him and laughing before aiming and knocking a ball into the pocket.

  I’d like to knock my ball into his pocket, was the first thought Beau had and he was far too tired to kick his own ass—an internal eye roll was about all he could muster at the moment.

  Thankfully, William and his friends finally tapped out and left, bidding Beau goodnight with a “Nice to meet you,” from Ashton and his arm candy, a simple head nod from Tall and Handsy, and a whispered “See you soon,” from William, complete with a wink and a lascivious grin.

  Lord Jesus save us, I am in so much trouble wit dat one.

  Chapter 6 | New Horizons

  On Wednesday morning Beau donned his slacks, a white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a loose necktie and of course, his worn-out ankle boots. His measure of professionalism only went so far and was usually saved for the rare appearance in court. Normally, he’d head to New Horizons in his jeans, t-shirt, leather jacket and boots, but one of the benefactors for the shelter was coming by today for a meeting, and Beau wanted to look somewhat professional.

  Pulling the door closed he locked up and slid his leather messenger bag over one shoulder, jogging down the stairs to the back parking lot. He was a little bit surprised to see William leaning against his truck, a tray with two coffees in one hand, a brown paper sack in the other.

  Beau stopped in front of him, reaching up and pulling the bag closer with one finger, leaning to look inside, the familiar smell of warm yeast and powdered sugar making him grin. “Is dat beignets?”

  “Sure is, hot and fresh from Delimarie.” William smiled. “And a hot, steaming cup of black coffee with chicory to balance out all the grease and sugar we are about to ingest.” Both men laughed.

  Beau unlocked his truck and tossed his bag into the back before walking back to the front where William was turning the hood of his truck into an impromptu table. The two of them stood in the parking lot of BB’s bar watching the sun fully rise, eating beignets and drinking coffee. Shoving the last bite in his mouth, William licked the powdered sugar off his fingers, looking up to see Beau staring at him.

  “What?” William asked, looking down at his shirt, wiping away a couple spots of white that had landed on the black material.

  Beau laughed, wetting the tip of his thumb with his tongue then reaching over the hood of the truck and wiping away the powdered sugar from the side of William’s mouth. His touch lingered, their eyes meeting, each man seeing longing in the other’s gaze. Beau tried to lower his hand but William caught his arm, holding his hand there. The spell they were caught in broke sharply and suddenly with the sound of a car horn blaring
from the street beside them.

  Beau pulled away without William stopping him this time, jerking his head toward the truck. “We bettah get goin den.”

  ***

  Unlike his home and BB’s Bar, the shelter was a funded venture, but no less important to Beau. The bar, that investment he owned outright. He’d been lucky, his family not turning their backs on him until he was old enough to fend for himself. He also had Izzie, Alma and their dysfunctional family, so he wasn’t alone. New York was a huge city full of youth that had been kicked out by families, disowned, some beaten and left for dead just because they fell somewhere in the LGBTQ spectrum. Beau gave them a roof over their heads and put food in their mouths, no questions asked.

  The building was once an orphanage, abandoned in the seventies and falling into ruin when Beau stumbled across it several years ago. “At the time, I already had some regular customers at the bar dat were willing to donate time, money and little tings like clothes, shoes, toiletries. We did some bike rides where people donated money for every mile we rode, held raffles, pretty much did anyting we could come up with to make money dat I put directly into the Center here.”