by A. E. Wasp
“I’m going to kill you!” Mikey yelled at Benny’s back as he hurried down the walkway.
chapter ten
Digging his butt into the pile of pebbles that passed for a beach at the reservior in Red Deer, Benny leaned his face up into the sun, feeling the heat sink into each of his achy joints and loosen his perpetually tight muscles. Next to him, Mikey leaned back against the paddle board they had propped up against a big rock, water dripped from his dreads, curving down the muscles on his chest. He looked even better wet and half-naked than Benny had imagined. Pretty much every woman and at least a few of the guys had noticed, too.
Benny tracked one water drop as it slid down the speed bumps of Mikey’s abs and disappeared into a small gap at the waistband of his swim shorts. He’d been half-hard all afternoon, and that visual threatened to make the situation worse. The water was cold even in the heat of summer, jumping in would take care of his problem. But he wasn’t going alone.
He poked Mikey in the thigh, resisting the urge to run his hand along the hard muscle. “Race you? To the rock and back, loser buys dinner.”
Benny squinted at the light sparkling on the water on the reservoir. The reflections really did look like a spill of diamonds and Benny stared at them, trying to plan how he would capture that effect in a drawing. The points of light stabbed up from the dark blue of the water, dancing and then breaking up as the wakes of speedboats sent ripples across the surface.
Mikey’s elbow punched into his ribs. “Ow! What was that for?”
“Trying to get your attention,” Mikey said. “You were a million miles away. I said I can’t leave Jasmine alone.”
Benny pointed over to where Jasmine was building a rock pyramid with some friends. “She’s not alone. She’s with the Smithwicks.”
A speedboat zoomed past, pulling two bellowing teenagers behind it on a giant tire tube. It looked awesome. Benny started working on a plan to get him and Mikey one of those.
“Hey, Sarah,” Benny twisted around and called over to the bikini-wearing mother of the Smithwick household. “Do you mind keeping an eye on Jasmine for a second while I whip her dad’s butt in a swimming race?”
“Not at all, she’s keeping Sonia amused.”
“Thanks!” He turned back to Mikey. “Okay, now you have no excuses. Or are you just chicken?” Benny flapped his arms and squawked like a chicken. The Girls laughed.
The Girls were a gaggle of young blonde women that had been flirting with Benny and Mikey until the more perceptive of them realized that they were barking up the wrong tree. That had instantly put Mikey and Benny into the safe male category, and the Girls had relaxed completely.
Once they realized that Jasmine was Mikey’s kid, they had lost their collective minds. Benny now had the phone numbers of four potential babysitters, three of whom were studying Early Childhood education and one whom if he were a straight man, he would have been calling right away. He made a mental note not to give that one to Mikey. It was quite a different collection of phone numbers than he was used to getting.
Mikey huffed in exasperation. “You just can’t ask someone else to watch my kid while I play!”
“Why not? Your parents used to watch me all the time.”
“Yeah, but that was different.” Mikey frowned.
“Why?”
“Our parents were friends.”
“And you don’t like Sarah? She seems nice enough.” Benny could see her pulling out snacks for the kids.
“Never mind.” Mikey stood up. “You’re on.” With a grin, he ran down to the water’s edge.
“You bastard!” Benny was up and running a second behind him.
The sun headed down behind the foothills on the west side of the reservoir and the afternoon clouds rolled in. Mikey thanked Sarah for watching Jasmine and made plans for the kids to get together one day during the week. The Girls gave hugs all around, as if they had been friends for years, and made Mikey promise that he would call them if he ever needed a babysitter.
Mikey strapped Jasmine into her car seat while Benny shoved the paddle boards in the trunk of the Altima. With half of the back seat down, they went through the trunk and into the back of the car. Jasmine thought it was hilarious for some reason, and giggled like a maniac when they came through.
She chatted happily about her day as they drove the winding backroads around the reservoir to Benny’s house.
“I wanna stay at Benny’s house,” Jasmine announced as they pulled through the trees. “It’s nicer than ours.”
“Yeah?” Mikey asked, catching her eye in the rearview mirror. “You like it? You think you could live with Benny? Even though he’s ugly and smells bad?”
Jasmine snorted a laugh. “Daddy! Benny doesn’t smell bad. And he’s very pretty. Boy pretty.”
“Thank you, Jasmine. I think you are very pretty, too. Girl pretty.”
“And I bet Benny would let me have a cat.” She gave Benny her winningest smile.
“I knew there was an ulterior motive.” Mikey squeezed Benny’s knee below Jasmine’s field of vision. “I’m going to help Benny get the boards in. You sit tight.”
They walked around to the trunk, and Mikey risked leaning in for a quick kiss, careful not to touch. They hadn’t talked about it, but Benny seemed to pick up on the fact that Mikey wasn’t ready to act like a couple in front of Jasmine. Mikey didn’t want to examine all the reasons why.
“So Jasmine’s on board with the plan,” Benny said. “What do you think? I know it’s only the third date, technically, if you count watching traumatizing movies as a date, which I do.”
Mikey tugged at his hair and exhaled. “Truthfully? I really, really want to move in with you.”
Benny’s smile almost split his face. “Yeah?”
Mikey wanted to kiss him so hard right then. “Yeah. I’m sure it’s crazy, and we’re moving too fast, but I hate dropping you off at night. And I can’t stand one minute more in that neighborhood.”
“Okay. Let’s do it.”
“You’re sure? It’s a big change.” Mikey knew Benny had no real idea what he was getting into, but, selfishly, Mikey didn’t care. He wanted to live with Benny. He loved the way they fit together, all three of them. Though he only admitted it deep in his mind when he let his guard down, they were starting to feel like a family.
“I know. And I’m sure it will make me crazy at times, but so what? Let’s do it.”
They stood behind the car, smiling at each other like idiots until Jasmine yelled for Mikey.
“Call me later to work out the details?” he asked.
“And for some phone sex,” Benny promised. “Because I really want to jump your bones right now.”
“Oh, God, me, too.”
Benny tapped his phone. “We’ll be giving The Girls a call ASAP. Now go, before I drag you into the house and have my way with you.”
“Jasmine would need so much therapy,” Mikey said with a huge smile.
“Go. I’ll call.”
“Okay. Goodbye.” ‘I love you’ pressed against Mikey’s lips, his stomach fluttering with the emotion, but he didn’t say it. It was way too early.
Benny watched them drive away, waving as they turned the corner.
chapter eleven
Of course, the day they had scheduled to move had to be the one day in the last two months that threatened rain. The sky was a uniform gray from west to east, and the temperature hovered in the high seventies. At least they wouldn’t sweat to death while they were moving, but Mikey really hoped they could get everything done before the rain.
“The guys said they’d be here around nine,” Benny told Mikey, shoving random mail into a box. “I thought we could run and get some donuts for them.”
“I still don’t understand why they are helping us. Do you think Kevin asked them to?” Mikey really couldn’t wrap his head around why Troy and Dmitri, acquaintances at best, would spend a Saturday moving heavy furniture and an endless stream of boxes.
/> “They’re our friends,” Benny said. “We’d do the same for them.” Of course they were Benny’s friends. Benny was like a toddler at a playground, he collected new friends just by walking through a crowd. Mikey was a little more cautious to claim friendship so casually.
The living room and kitchen were a sea of boxes. What few suitcases Mikey owned were stuffed with his clothes. Jasmine’s stuffed animals filled two big trash bags. She had been oscillating rapidly between excitement and apprehension all week as they packed; finally breaking when they tried to pack up her room. Mikey felt like he should have seen that one coming, but he had been so caught up in the fact that they were actually doing this that he hadn’t really considered how packing would affect Jasmine.
Thank God Vanessa had been able to come and get her; consoling her with the thought of a movie and ice cream sleepover, and the promises that she should get to pick the decorations for her new room.
Troy’s pickup backed into the driveway, followed closely by the cargo van Jay-Cee had lent them. It looked like their moving crew was arriving. Looking around the room, Mikey despaired that they would ever finish getting packed up and moved in one day.
Vanessa maneuvered around the boxes, Jasmine trailing in her wake. She was sulking and dragging her feet, generally broadcasting her displeasure, until Sweetie walked in the open front door, followed closely by Troy.
“Sweetie,” Jasmine squealed, running across the room.
“Jasmine,” Mikey cautioned.
“It’s okay she’s not wearing her vest. It must be her day off.” Jasmine fell to her knees and hugged the old yellow lab around the neck. Sweetie thumped her tail in welcome.
“Yeah, she’s off duty for the moment. I knew you’d want to say hello to her.” Troy said. Catching sight of Vanessa he held out his hand and introduced himself. “Hi, I’m Troy, a friend of Mikey and Benny’s.”
“I’m Mikey’s sister, Vanessa. Nice to meet you.”
“Where’s Mr. Tree?” Jasmine asked. “Mr. Tree has a dog too,” Jasmine told her aunt. “He’s a man and Mr. Troy called him baby. And I think they’re married because they both have wedding rings. And you shouldn’t call somebody else baby unless you are married to them.”
Troy bit his lip to keep from laughing. Vanessa looked as if she didn’t know whether to be embarrassed by Jasmine or amused by her. Mikey knew the feeling. It happened a lot with four-year-olds.
“You’re a very perceptive little girl,” Troy said to Jasmine. “Yes, Dmitri is my husband. And he’ll be here in a little while, but he’s not bringing Moby today. He did say he wants to have a barbecue soon at our house and you would be invited. Then you could play with Moby and Sweetie if it’s okay with your dad. How does that sound?”
“That sounds awesome.” She turned to her aunt, hands on her hips. “Did you know two boys can get married?”
“I did,” Vanessa answered solemnly.
Jasmine crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, nobody told me that.” She looked thoughtful for a second. “Can two girls get married?”
“They can.”
Jasmine broke out into a smile. “Then I’m going to marry Marcy from school. She has beautiful hair that goes all the way down to here,” Jasmine gestured to below her butt. “And she has horses.”
Angel walked in, followed by another woman Mikey assumed was her girlfriend, Jay. “Long hair and horses? I’m sold. Don’t forget to invite me to the wedding.”
“Hi Angel,” Jasmine chirped. “This is daddy’s new friend Angel. Daddy has a whole bunch of new friends,” she informed Vanessa.
Mikey found himself hoping they would be friends one day. He liked this group of people very much.
“Hello gaybors!” a voice called from outside.
And then there was Chris.
He knew Benny liked and respected Chris, and Chris did seem to be a good friend of Benny’s. But did he have to be so obvious? He was the worst of every gay man stereotype. It was as if he was trying single-handedly to set gay rights back twenty years.
Chris’ platinum blond hair fell in waves over his eyes. His faded jeans were tight and ripped at the knees and the back of the thighs. His t-shirt had a silhouette of a cowboy on it and read ‘Big Daddy’s Twink Ranch. Rope ‘em, ride ‘em, set ‘em free.’ Mikey hoped Jasmine wouldn’t ask him to read it.
Chris caught sight of Vanessa and went over to her, arms wide. “Oh my God, you have got to be our Mikey’s sister. Those eyes! Those cheekbones! Your gene pool is blessed.” He grabbed her shoulders, air kissing her on either cheek.
“Vanessa, that lunatic is my best friend, Chris. Chris that is indeed Vanessa, Mikey’s big sister. Don’t piss her off, she gets meaner than a drag queen with a bad tuck,” Benny offered.
Vanessa snorted a laugh.
Mikey’s jaw dropped, and he smacked Benny on the arm. He rolled his eyes emphatically in Jasmine’s direction. Luckily, she didn’t seem to have heard anything Benny said. There were some things he was not ready to explain to her.
Chris bent down behind Benny and gave him a loud smacking kiss on the head. “Mwah! How goes it, sweets? You ready to move in with that hunk of yours?”
Mikey couldn’t stop his eye-roll.
Chris looked over at Mikey and smirked. “How you doing, Mikey?”
“Why do you have to be like that?” Mikey blurted out. He wanted to take it back as soon as he heard it.
Chris smirked. “Like what, dollface?”
“Like all -” At a loss for words, Mikey waved his hand around wildly with an exaggerated toss of his head.
“Gay, you mean? Why do I have to be so gay?”
While Chris had been working the room, the other four had grabbed the boxes and started carrying them out to the lawn. At Chris’ question, all movement in the room stopped.
Vanessa scooped Jasmine up onto her hip. “We better get out of the way, midget. Ready to go see a movie?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, give Daddy a kiss goodbye.” Mikey came over, and she kissed and hugged him, then held her arms out to the room. “Now Benny.”
Benny smiled ear to ear and stood up to get his goodbye hug and kiss.
“Bye, everybody,” Jasmine waved. “Bye, Mr. Troy, bye, Mr. Tree. Bye, Miss Angel and Miss Angel’s friend. Bye Benny’s other friend. Bye, Sweetie.”
There was a chorus of goodbyes as Vanessa carried her out of the room like a Queen ending an audience.
Chris stood with his fingertips pressed to his heart and a hand covering his mouth. “Oh, my God. She is precious. I want twelve of her.”
Benny gave Chris a one-armed hug around his shoulders and kissed the side of his head. “One day. I’m sure of it.”
Mikey noticed Chris watching out the window as Vanessa carried Jasmine to the car. Jasmine saw him watching and waved again, a big smile on her face.
Chris turned back to the room, blinking rapidly before plastering a big smile on his face. “Ok, manlygirls and girlymen, let’s get this party started.” He pointed to the purple couch. “I assume that is going with us?” Benny nodded yes. “Great. I say we get that in first. Let’s put it in Troy’s truck, and we can stuff all the other soft stuff on top of it. We’ll save the van space for the mattresses and other furniture.”
In no time flat, Chris had them loading and packing like they were getting paid for it.
Just before they all pulled away for the first load, Chris came over to Mikey. “For your information, the reason I choose to be ‘that way’ is the same reason you have those frankly drop-dead sexy dreadlocks,” he whispered into Mikey’s ear. “Because fuck them, that’s why.”
His voice was deep and hard, worlds away from his twinky party-boy voice. “Fuck the haters and the judgers. They’re gonna hate us no matter what, Mikey, my friend. You can be the model minority, be what they want you to be, quiet, respectable, non-threatening, rich, successful, be President Fucking Obama, and they’re still gonna cross the street when you walk up, and they
’re gonna spit on me and call me a fag. So fuck ‘em. Every day I can make some judgmental so-called- Christian clutch their pearls, is a good day for me.” He straightened up and smiled brightly. He kissed Mikey loudly on the cheek and then wiggled his fingers at him in an ironic wave. “Toodles!” He skipped over to his loaded up car.
“What did he say?” Benny asked as Mikey climbed into the Altima.
Mikey shook his head. “Nothing. He was just being Chris.” Chris’ words followed him the entire drive to Benny’s.
They had just enough time to unload the last bunch of boxes and furniture before the storm broke. Luckily for the pizza guy, he had gotten there just a second before. He ran to his car as the thick heavy raindrops punched holes in the dust of Benny’s yard.
The gang collapsed on any flat spot they could find in Benny’s crowded living room. Chris flopped down on Benny’s couch, legs hanging over the arm. “Man, I’m beat.” Troy made room on the table for the pizzas and sat down next to him.
Mikey went into the kitchen to grab some paper towels while Benny knelt by the wood stove. “Anyone mind if I turn this on? I know it’s summer, but I just feel kind of damp and chilly.”
“Sounds great.” Jay leaned against one of the walls, booted feet stretching out in front of her and her arm resting on Angel’s leg.
Thunder exploded outside the window, and almost simultaneously a white flash of lightning illuminated the room casting stark shadows across their tired faces.
“Holy crap.” Angel startled, slipping off the box she had been sitting on, and falling onto Jay’s lap. Jay pulled her around until she was cradled on her lap.
Sweetie whined and put her head on Troy’s lap. He scratched lightly behind her ears.
“Moby is probably cowering under the bed, poor thing,” Dmitri said, coming in from the kitchen with a six pack of beer. He handed them out one by one, before sitting next to Troy. Chris, Mikey, and Benny all turned them down, and Mikey realized why there hadn’t been any alcohol in Chris’ apartment.
“We all survived the fourth,” Troy said. “She’ll survive this.” He pulled a slice of pizza out of one of the boxes piled on the one clear spot on the coffee table and handed it to Benny. “How did you survive the fourth?” Dmitri took two slices of pizza and sat on the floor, resting against a box Mikey thought had his books from law school in it.