Whistling in the Dark

by Tamara Allen

  Jack looked surprised, but quickly recovered to pounce on Bill. "There, you've heard. How about it? I'll drive it like it was my own."

  Sutton let Theo sweep him in beside Jack and squeeze in after him. Theo turned in the seat as Lewis, Miles, Amelia, and Bill crowded into the back. "You'll have to have Mel on your lap, Bill." He winked. "Good practice."

  Amelia giggled and sat on Miles' lap, instead. As Jack started it up, Sutton leaned over to whisper to him. "You are a good driver?"

  "We'll find out."

  "Jack--"

  "Don't look so worried. How much harder can it be than riding a bike?" He hit the pedal. "Hold on to your hats, kids."

  - Twenty-Two -

  The Cadillac roared into the street and the vehicles already on the road swerved out of the way. Jack steadied his speed, easing onto Broadway, and drove as if he had been doing it all his life. He flashed a sidelong grin. "Didn't shake you up too much, did I?"

  More than Sutton cared to admit. He let out a breath. "You've driven before."

  Theo laughed. "Take everything Jack says with the smallest of grains, my dear. I learned long ago it's best for one's health and state of mind. Jack, keep it down to twenty or no one shall see us long enough to recognize us."

  Jack's meandering took them all around Times Square and eventually further afield. The chatter quieted as Jack ventured onto Fifth Avenue.

  "A shame it's too cold for the beach," Theo said after a bit. "Perhaps we could take the yacht up the coast."

  "Or go for a spin in the biplane," Miles said.

  "Spend a week at the country house," Amelia put in.

  Sutton kept silent and ignored Jack's knowing glance. Jack swung a look over his shoulder at Bill. "We could pay our respects to your bride-to-be. Will she give us supper?"

  "Arrest us, more likely," Lewis said.

  "Never mind, then," Theo said. "Circle the park and head back or we'll have to refuel. There'll be more guests at my place and we can't keep them waiting."

  "We'll have to put some gas in, anyway," Jack said.

  Stopping at a general store, they passed around a hat to collect enough change to refill the tank. Miles took a turn at the wheel, Theo and Bill crowded with him. Sutton had barely gotten in the back when Jack, bottle in hand, landed on his lap. Whether Jack intended to spare Amelia or provoke Lewis, Sutton wasn't sure, but from the look on Lewis' face, he'd succeeded at the latter. Theo leaned over the seat as Amelia passed him a flask. "You comfortable?" he asked with a smirk at Jack.

  "Couldn't be more comfortable," Jack said, looping an arm around Sutton's shoulders.

  "Go quick, Miles," Theo said, "or we'll have an orgy in the backseat."

  "Jack would find a way to justify it," Lewis said. "Even on a Sunday."

  "John 13:34?" Jack suggested.

  Theo choked on a mouthful and lowered the flask to wipe his face, grinning at Jack the while. Miles chuckled, shaking his head, and Lewis raised an inquisitive brow. "That would be?"

  "'Love one another'," Sutton said, wondering how he could feel both shocked and amused at the same time. It earned him a whiskey-flavored kiss from Jack, followed by a cool look from Lewis.

  "Jack Bailey, quoting the Bible." Lewis rolled his eyes. "Armageddon is upon us."

  "Hey," Jack said with a good-humored grin. "I wasn't raised in a barn, you know."

  "And yet you have a distinct talent for leading lambs to slaughter."

  Lewis' gaze slid to Sutton, who handed the bottle to Theo before Jack could be tempted to hit Lewis over the head with it. But Jack only studied Lewis for a moment before saying to Theo, "I'll bring the booze next time."

  Whatever that meant, it silenced everyone during the rest of the drive. At Theo's apartment, they were welcomed by other guests awaiting the man of the hour. Sutton saw several familiar faces as he prowled around the front room in search of a place to sit. Drinking and dancing went on as blithely as if it were any day in the week and one couple tucked in a dark corner engaged in the sort of kisses normally reserved for a more intimate setting.

  Sutton skirted past them and found a place on the windowseat, there attempting to give his full attention to Theo's droll eulogy. Halfway through, Jack appeared and handed Sutton a glass of something. "Hey, they've brought the piano down."

  "So I see." Sutton sipped at the drink and immediately wished he hadn't.

  Jack smiled at his expression. "You don't like gin, do you? I can put in some ginger ale."

  "And take out the gin?"

  Jack laughed. "There's champagne, if you want. And sandwiches and cake."

  "Maybe after a while." Sutton set his glass on the sill. "Bill doesn't look happy, for someone about to marry."

  "Can't blame him. All the money in the world's not a fair trade for a good cuddle with someone you like. Of course they'll probably both find someone else they like and keep on pretending to the rest of the world that they're satisfied with just each other."

  Sutton wouldn't have guessed anyone could be so romantic and cynical all in the same breath. "It might be easier if they called off the engagement."

  "Can't now. Promises, and all that." Jack leaned back on the pillows and rested his head against the windowpane. "Maybe he'll get some fun out of living a respectable life for a while. Like you're having, leading a wicked one."

  "Don't look so smug. I was wicked before I met you, you know."

  "That's what I told Harry, but he didn't believe me. Oh, hell--Theo's letting Lewis give a speech. He'll go on all night."

  Miles joined them. "Have either of you got a cigarette? It's getting terribly warm in here. We should open a window." He lit the cigarette Jack gave him. "Sutton, are you going to play for us? Theo will talk you into it."

  "I don't mind," Sutton said.

  "He doesn't mind," Jack echoed with a snort. "He loves it."

  "The poor piano player never gets to dance," Miles said with a sympathetic smile. "Unless you'd like to take a turn while the record's playing."

  Sutton was about to politely decline when Jack cut in. "Go ahead. Why not? I'm going to get a bite to eat." And he bounded off to the kitchen.

  Miles rolled his eyes. "Brave soul you are, Sutton. If you weary of him, do think of me. I won't ask for more than that. We might make a good team."

  "Who's a good team?" Theo appeared and sat between them. "Here you are, dear," he said, handing Sutton a glass of champagne. "Jack says you'd prefer it. My, this is a promising corner, isn't it?" he went on, with a nod at the couple looking more disheveled by the moment. "Miles, what do you think?"

  Miles considered. "A dollar. It's already too warm in here, but I don't suppose they mind it."

  "A dollar for what?" Sutton asked.

  "Oh, we always have bets on how far dear Thomas and his latest will take it. I won six dollars once," Theo said and tried to hide a smile in his glass.

  Sutton lowered his voice. "With all these people present?"

  Theo laughed and put an arm around him. "You must think we're terribly indecent."

  "Oh--"

  "Well, we are," Theo said cheerfully. "But we're quite innocent about it, you know. Mere babies in the garden. Be a good egg and play something, won't you? Something quiet and sweet to finish off Mel's charming little speech."

  Sutton slipped over to the bamboo chair that served as a piano bench and tried to ignore the passionate moans issuing just two feet away while he played something quiet and sweet. Jack returned and, climbing onto the window seat, looked over the crowded room. He waved and, after a moment, Amelia and Lewis broke through and claimed the last remaining seats beside Miles.

  "Did you ask him?" Lewis' faux whisper reached Sutton. Miles shrugged, clearly annoyed. "Well, why ever not?" Lewis said. "I'd think your feelings are at least as significant."

  "Really, my dear," Theo said, even less quietly. "Such a noble act of pure friendship should not go unpunished."

  Lewis wasn't cowed. "You're not so clever, flirting with everyone aro
und. Some of us do things the proper way. Miles, Sutton, and I--and Jack wants to, though he won't admit it."

  Jack had pushed up a window and seated himself on the sill with cigarette in one hand, gin in the other. "Damn. Is that my reputation now? After I've worked so hard to be improper."

  "Next thing, you'll be getting married, like Bill," Theo warned him with a laugh.

  "Bill's done no worse than some," Lewis said, sharp as glass. Sutton knew that was directed at him, though they all had to know he hadn't a dime from his family--and Jack, he was certain, would never encourage him to seek it. He stole a glance at Jack, who gazed out on the fire escape, his face giving nothing away as Lewis persisted. "If you think I want you back, Jack, you're dead wrong. Miles just happens to like Sutton--"

  Miles sighed. "Will you leave it? I've said all I intend to and Sutton understands, even if you don't."

  Sutton could feel the heat in his face. His stomach fluttered, but he kept doggedly to the piece. Jack flicked ash onto the fire escape and the cigarette tip glowed in the gathering gloom. "Why wouldn't Miles like him? They probably have a lot in common. I'm sure Sutton would love a night at the opera--or one of those stifling tea parties you go to every week. Or that social club where the old dames pay you to dance with them. Heaps of fun, that."

  "Jack, you're an ass." Miles took another cigarette from him without a single glance Sutton's way. "If you don't stop it, you'll end up like Lewis, only invited to parties because your brother owns a bar."

  Lewis, who'd turned away to talk to Amelia, hadn't heard Miles--or was pretending he hadn't. Jack didn't take the reproach to heart in the least. "Everyone likes me," he said loftily. "Hell, I've got a date Friday with a fellow Theo and I met at the baths."

  Lewis twisted around to glower at Jack. "You just love to provoke me, don't you? You are an ass."

  "Honestly," Theo said. "If this is what parties have degenerated to, I dread a future with no liquor to soften the blows. Pardon me while I see to those guests who haven't yet gone to fisticuffs."

  Miles rose and finished his champagne. "Lovely Brahms, Sutton. And I'd be happy to stand in for Jack at the opera any night you like," he said, with a note of humor meant to keep anyone from taking offense.

  The others wandered away and Jack put out his cigarette in his empty glass. "It's starting to feel too much like a wake, if you ask me. Why don't you play something with a little pepper in it? I'll get us a couple of sandwiches."

  When Jack had gone to the kitchen, Sutton stopped playing. He needed a lot more practice to become accustomed to modern behavior. He just wasn't any too sure he wanted to. Maybe the dreadful conversation shouldn't bother him, but it did--though none of it so much as the indifference in Jack's voice after Miles had mentioned having an understanding. He wondered if he should apologize to Jack--though he didn't know quite what for. They had all been so hard on each other, so careless with each other's feelings. He didn't want to be callous like that. But Jack might not like him any other way.

  He needed to escape the closeness and warmth of the room, the hum of chatter and the pall of cigarette smoke. Finding his way to the door, he slipped into the dark hallway and upstairs to the roof. The evening reigned clear and cold, with the brightest stars he'd seen since coming to New York. It spurred a longing for the cool quiet of evenings back at home--but that brief homesickness paled beside a new loneliness overtaking him.

  Perhaps it was true that Jack thought of him as one among many entanglements, but he didn't want to believe--after evidence to the contrary--that Jack cared nothing for him. Or, worse, that Jack might care something and wish he didn't. Maybe the implication of gold-digging had bothered Jack more than he'd let on. But that didn't seem like the Jack he was coming to know--or at least thought he'd been coming to know. In the midst of maddening confusion, one thing stood plain. Though he'd promised himself he would not make another headlong rush into heartache, it seemed he was doing just that.

  Behind him, the door creaked and he pulled himself together. He couldn't face being questioned by Lewis or pitied by anyone else. But he was not in line for either, he knew, when Jack called to him across the roof. Sutton looked around, to see him mystified but smiling.

  "I don't hear it," Jack said as he drew near.

  Sutton sucked in a breath and the night air steadied him. "Hear what?"

  "Whatever music called you up here." He was teasing and affectionate, and Sutton regarded him warily.

  "No music. I wanted some fresh air."

  Jack nodded. "Chilly fresh air, without an overcoat," he said, buttoning his. He stuck his hands in his pockets and blew out a ghostly breath. "About all that nonsense before, I'm sorry."

  The apology caught Sutton off-guard and he stared at Jack for a minute. "They weren't being fair to either of us," he said at last. "You could no more get a penny from my father than I could."

  "Oh, they're not really thinking I seduced you for your inheritance," Jack said with a laugh. "Theo knows better. And you and I know, which is what matters, right?"

  "I should have said something--"

  "You were bothered enough already."

  "Was it so obvious?"

  "Probably just to me." Jack came nearer. "Your hands hurting?"

  They were, though he hadn't been paying much attention to it beyond falling back into the habit of massaging his right. Jack pulled his hands apart and took over with warm fingers. "God, your hands are like ice."

  "The cold makes them hurt. Since France, I think." He wanted to say more, but it would sound so emotional. He stood quietly and let Jack ease the ache.

  "My hands used to hurt, too," Jack said. "It was always so goddamned cold, wasn't it?" Seeming to rouse himself, he let go of Sutton and started for the door. "Enough fresh air. Theo's fixing some cocoa and we can all kiss and be pals again."

  Sutton felt more than ready to be back where it was warm. But when Jack pulled the doorknob, then pulled again and swore, it was apparent they were going to be too late for the cocoa.

  - Twenty-Three -

  Sutton came to his aid, but the door wouldn't budge. Together they tried pounding, then yelling--all in vain.

  Sutton sat on the brick coping around the chimney stack and rubbed his hands up and down his arms. "Funny how much colder it seems when you can't get away from it."

  Jack gave up trying to pry the door open with a dinner knife someone had left behind. "I've got an idea." He started to unbutton his coat.

  "We're going to shimmy down the side of the building?"

  "Maybe later. For now--" He pulled the sheet off the nearest sofa. "Lie down."

  "Lie down? Give me the sheet. I'll just wrap myself in it."

  Jack sighed. "Lie down," he said, prodding, and Sutton went along, stretching himself out on the sofa. Jack climbed on top of him and let the sheet fall to form a tent over them. Sutton burrowed both arms under Jack's overcoat and groaned in relief. Jack grinned down at him. "Better?"

  "Much better. But I can just imagine what they'll think if they come looking for us."

  "Let them. There's no one I'd rather be caught keeping warm," he said and buried a cold face in Sutton's neck.

  Sutton's breath caught, but it was less the touch of cold and more the pleasure of Jack pressed so close, holding him--wanting him, it seemed, as much as ever. His spirits, sunk to the depths moments ago, soared in the most disconcerting way. Jack would make short work of him if he didn't learn the trick to taking someone in his arms without taking him into his heart. "Jack, we must be aboveboard about some things."

  Jack kissed his neck, then looked down at him with an agreeable smile. "What do you want me to confess?"

  Still the same joking tone, but Sutton saw the wary sparkle in his eyes. "Nothing. I just think we should be clear from the start that we don't mean to have--certain expectations."

  "Certain expectations," Jack said. "Such as?"

  "I just mean we can acknowledge that two sophisticated adults, as we are, free of
familial ties, as we are, may enjoy an intimate relationship--"

  "As we are?"

  "Jack--"

  "Sorry, go ahead."

  Aware of the amusement that had taken the place of Jack's wariness, Sutton chose his words with care. "All I mean to say is--well, Bill and his bride-to-be might be obliged to keep promises because the world insists. But the world makes no demands of us--"

  "Except to quit."

  Sutton exhaled. "Yes, except to quit, so there's no reason for us to take it all as solemn and serious as others do. We can be content to live as we please and just--well, just--"

  "Have fun?"

  The point he'd been driving at, more or less. "Yes. We might have our fun and no harm done. So you see what I mean."

  "Right." Jack brushed a kiss over his mouth. "So--want to have some fun now?"

  Sutton gave in to a laugh. "You really are impossible to hold a serious conversation with."

  "I'm serious."

  "Here, in the open? I wasn't raised in a barn, either."

  Jack shifted his weight with deliberate intent. "You're going to the opera with Miles?"

  It took Sutton a moment to catch his breath. "What else will I do while you're out with that fellow from the baths?"

  "Oh, that." Jack averted his gaze. "I made all that up."

  Sutton struggled to the surface of the pleasurable sensations enveloping him. "You--" He sucked in a breath. "You made it up?"

  "Every word."

  Sutton jabbed him in the ribs and Jack yelped and twisted to one side. "Ow--hey, you're the one going about with Miles--"

  "You're the one who pushed me into it," Sutton exclaimed.

  "Did I?" Jack stared down at him, seeming on the verge of further argument. Then he covered Sutton's mouth with a kiss, rough and needful, not giving it up until they were both gasping. "I'm sorry," he whispered then, as rough, and Sutton believed him. "Stay here and I'll go bang on the door for a while. Someone's bound to hear."