Free Hand (Irons and Works Book 1)

by E M Lindsey

  Basil shook his head, then laid his hand on Derek’s cheek and drew him in for a kiss that was mostly chaste, but a little deeper than he was expecting to have in the middle of a restaurant. ‘It’s okay. But not a date. Friend only.’

  Derek sighed, then nodded. ‘Yes. I want to.’

  Their conversation went quiet when their meal came, and he discovered that maybe this restaurant wasn’t entirely the best idea. Eating with their hands and no utensils and trying to sign made the multi-tasking a little difficult. And yet, the silence between them was just as comfortable as it had been before.

  After they’d finished their entrées, the little show began. It was the same every time—the dancers, the music, the routine. Derek had been coming here a while with everyone at the shop, and yet the routine still got him every time. He and Basil both leaned back as the two women began to sway their hips and balance swords on their sides. He felt Basil shift, looked over and saw that he had his hand pressed to the wall to feel the vibrations playing through the room, a small smile touching his lips.

  Derek moved closer, let their thighs press together, let himself lean in and kiss the underside of Basil’s jaw softly. It was nice to feel comfortable like this. Basil was shorter than him, and smaller, but he never looked at Derek like he was intimidated or afraid, never looked at him like he was some big, hulking monster. He just…looked at him.

  He wasn’t feeling very hungry by the time they came around to serve tea and baklava, but he nibbled anyway and then waved Basil off as he slipped his card in the bill fold. He laughed a little at Basil’s disgruntled glower, so he told him, ‘You can pay for drinks,’ which only earned him an eyeroll.

  ‘My friend is the bartender, we drink for free. Next time me.’

  Derek shrugged, too caught up in the thrill that there was the idea of next time, that this was turning into something maybe real, and maybe great to care about arguing over money. They left not long after, and Derek let Basil take his hand and lead the way to the car.

  Amit’s place wasn’t far, but parking was a bitch and he ended up at the curb right near a strip club which looked unsurprisingly dead for a Tuesday night. They made their way through the empty sidewalks, and up two blocks before they reached the little hipster college bar nestled between two other themed bars on the little strip.

  Derek felt a small wave of anxiety as they stepped in, but the music wasn’t overwhelmingly loud, and the place was spacious enough. There was a decent crowd there, at least half the tables full of patrons, though none of them looked interested in doing more than drinking their whiskey flights and talking through their curly mustaches. Derek almost wanted to people watch, but instead he let Basil lead him to the near-empty row of barstools.

  Amit was there, looking frankly gorgeous in a tight mesh tank-top and dark jeans. He perked up instantly when he set eyes on Basil, then turned a curious and somewhat amused stare to Derek before raising his hands to ask, ‘Date?’

  Derek braced himself for Basil to minimize it, and though Basil’s signs were way too fast for him to catch it all, he saw him tell Amit, ‘Finished dinner,’ so he didn’t think there was any denial there. Especially after Basil moved into his side and tucked in a little closer.

  When Amit finally approached, Derek raised his hand in a hello. ‘I’m Derek.’

  ‘Sage’s brother,’ Amit signed.

  Derek could see hearing aids over the guy’s ears, and he knew that Amit spoke, but he had no desire to break their non-verbal night now. ‘I’m learning sign. Sorry I’m slow.’

  Amit’s smile widened, almost surprised as he gave Derek a look, then turned his attention back to Basil. ‘Good. Lucky.’

  Basil shrugged, but he glanced over at Derek and his face was telling. He was happy, and Derek had done that. ‘Two drinks. Whatever,’ Basil told him, and Amit gave a wink before he wandered off. ‘Is that okay? I let him choose for me.’

  Derek nodded with his own soft, easy smile. ‘Whatever you want.’

  Basil stepped in closer, bringing one of his hands to Derek’s waist, holding him tight there. ‘Thank you,’ he signed with his other hand. ‘Tonight was good.’

  ‘Yes,’ Derek signed in response. He fought the urge to take Basil’s face between his hands and kiss him, but he didn’t want to make a big show of it. When Basil licked his lips though, Derek couldn’t help himself and he leaned in, just brushing their mouths together for a brief moment before pulling away. ‘You’re beautiful.’ His bladder decided to join in on the fun right then, so he sighed and stepped back. ‘Bathroom. Wait for me.’

  Basil pointed out the restroom sign, and Derek made his way around the tables to the small hallway. Like most men’s bathrooms, it smelled like old piss and axe body spray, but it wasn’t as overwhelming as some places, and there were private stalls which always helped him feel a less anxious than the open urinals. He took his time, mostly gathering himself and he was happy to note his anxiety hadn’t overwhelmed him too much in spite of subverting his routine to the point he no longer recognized his day. But it was good. It was wonderful. It was the perfect end to the shake-up, and he couldn’t regret a second of it.

  As he stepped out to wash his hands, he came to an abrupt halt at the sight of a man standing against one of the sinks, arms crossed, very obviously watching him. Derek swallowed thickly, feeling an urge to confront the stranger, and to turn tail and run warring equally in his head. After a beat, he broke eye-contact and walked to the sink.

  “Haven’t seen you here before,” he said.

  It was a fucking cheesy movie-line opening and he felt a rush of irritation build in his gut. “You got a problem, man?”

  “I just saw you come in with Basil and I thought I’d introduce myself. Save us all from an awkward conversation at the table you probably couldn’t follow.” The guy’s tone was smarmy and a little threatening which told Derek he was either an ex or an interested party, which he was so not in the mood for. Tonight had been going so well, he didn’t know why the universe wanted to test him after all this.

  “Look, man, if Basil wants to introduce us, that’s fine with me,” Derek told him.

  The guy held up two hands. “Hey, I don’t have a problem with it, I just noticed your signing is a little…slow.”

  Derek fixed him with a flat look as he finished scrubbing off his hands, then brushed past him for the bin of paper towels. He debated answering, debated trying to defend himself, but what was the point. This guy was going to act superior either way, and Derek wasn’t going to defend his territory like some piss-happy alpha trying to protect his boyfriend.

  He fixed the guy with a last, quick stare, then pushed the door open and walked out. As much as the urge struck him, he determinedly didn’t look behind him. He could tell, though, from the look on Basil’s face when he glanced up from his conversation with Amit, the guy had followed him out.

  Derek shook off his irritation and affected a smile instead, reaching for the second, untouched beer waiting for him on a little coaster. He downed a third of it, and by the time he set the pint glass down, he could feel the guy behind him, his arms moving in rapid signs. Derek was still learning about the Deaf Community, but he was fairly sure the guy was breaking some sort of social etiquette by doing this where Derek couldn’t see.

  At least by the look on Basil’s face, he knew it wasn’t going to be well received. ‘Not now,’ Basil signed, and Derek recognized that one, even as fast as Basil signed it.

  From his place behind the bar, Amit caught Derek’s gaze and offered him a wink and smirk of solidarity. ‘No worries,’ he mouthed.

  Derek cleared his throat, then stood up and backed away so he was no longer the physical barrier between the guy and Basil. ‘Sorry,’ he signed. ‘I met him in the bathroom.’

  Basil’s hands flew, and Derek caught, ‘What,’ and ‘you,’ several times.

  The guy’s hands were just as fast, his gaze flickering to Derek with a smug grin because he knew Derek had no ho
pe of following. This had to be the guy from Basil’s bad date—the guy who’d ruined his night right before things had changed between them.

  ‘Should I go?’ Derek asked.

  Horrified, Basil’s full attention was back on him. ‘No. I’m sorry, please don’t go.’

  Derek reached for him, touching his arm gently. ‘I’ll wait at the bar if you want to finish talking to him. I can’t understand, so you can fill me in later?’

  Basil fixed him with a fierce, determined look and nodded. ‘Yes. I promise.’ He gently pulled away from Derek, but then as an afterthought, surged forward and kissed him, one slow kiss followed by lingering pecks as he pulled back. ‘Soon.’

  Derek nodded and as much as he wanted to look back at the guy, he snagged his beer and moved to the end of the bar instead. Amit was already there waiting for him, leaning in close as he kept one eye on Basil and the dickhead who moved to a quiet corner.

  “Do you want me to fill you in?” Amit asked aloud, his voice startling Derek after so much voiceless conversation.

  Derek couldn’t help a grin, but he shook his head all the same. “Basil told me he’d let me know everything when he was done. I trust him.”

  Amit considered him a long moment, then shrugged. “I think I like you. I mean, I was pretty sure I liked you before, even if we didn’t properly meet, but I’m glad I was right. Do you want something else to drink?”

  “No. I have to drive back,” Derek told him. He was watching as subtly as he could—which wasn’t really subtle at all—and he was fascinated by the way both men’s hands flew. There were no spoken words exchanged, but Derek could all-but feel the way they were shouting at each other. He could see the guy’s face getting redder, getting more insistent, could see Basil holding his ground. “Do you know that guy?”

  “Not before he went on his one shitty date with Basil,” Amit confessed. “I think he saw Basil meet me here one day, but when he realized I was hard of hearing, he backed off. With you though…”

  Derek sighed. “Is he deaf?”

  Amit snorted. “No. He’s CODA. Like the worst kind of CODA.”

  “Uh,” Derek said.

  “Deaf parents,” Amit explained. “Most CODA are chill as fuck, but there are the occasional ones like him that are total dicks. They like to speak where they’re not welcome.”

  Derek’s brows rose in understanding. “Like white dudes with black friends who think they can tell other white people about the black experience?”

  Amit’s grin widened. “You know those guys?”

  “We live in Colorado. Everyone here knows those guys,” Derek said a little flatly, though he was smiling. His grin didn’t last long as he watched the guy and Basil’s signs start to calm down. Their conversation looked far from over, and Basil was looking a little uncomfortable now as he glanced back at Derek a few times. “Do you uh…I mean…would Basil be better with a guy more like him?”

  “Like that douche?” Amit asked, his tone surprised and a little offended.

  Derek shrugged. “Okay, maybe not him specifically, but someone who gets it. Who grew up around signing and…and everything. I don’t know shit.”

  “Saw you talking to him just fine,” Amit replied.

  Derek dragged a hand down his face, then drank more beer just to give himself something to do as he tried to find the words he was looking for. “It’s slow, it sucks. It’s like…he has to spell half the words, and I know he’s not using the right grammar because I’m taking ASL right now and the grammar’s still a little confusing. None of it’s natural and it feels like it’s going to be a hundred years before I can even get half that fast. I can’t imagine how tired it must make him.”

  “But you’re doing it,” Amit said. “I don’t want to overstep here so I won’t say much, but I do know that the fact that you’re doing this on his terms means everything. Because there have been people who wouldn’t in his past.”

  “You mean Chad,” Derek said darkly.

  “He told you about that guy?” Amit asked, sounding a little surprised.

  Derek snorted a laugh. “Yeah, he fucking did, and I wouldn’t mind flying my ass to DC and delivering an epic beat-down if I knew where to find him.” In truth, Chad was probably in politics right now. A guy like that probably would have gotten along famously with his dad. Hell, he was probably closeted and engaged to someone with high aspirations of visibility in the government. Derek had grown up with too many people like that, and he knew how their lives went.

  “You and me both,” Amit said. “But I wouldn’t worry about it. Basil knows what he wants, and it’s not that asshole.”

  Derek chanced a look over, and he felt something raw and possessive take over as the guy’s hand grabbed at Basil’s arm and touched the ink there. In the back of his mind, he supposed that was another danger of marking someone he was growing attached to—the idea that the ink was still his, that he had some right to it. He swallowed it down like a bitter horse pill and forced himself to look away.

  “You’re good for him, and he knows it,” Amit told him softly. “Don’t let that asshole get to you. He’s going to walk away alone tonight, and you’re not. And you’ll wake up with Basil more times than you won’t over the rest of your lives, and that’s what matters.”

  He wanted that. More than anything, he wanted that, but he was still a little too terrified to hope. Before he could reply though, movement out of his periphery distracted him and he turned his head to see the guy storming off and Basil slowly making his way over.

  He was still pink in the cheeks, flush and frustration clouding his features, but when he reached for Derek, his touch was soft. ‘I’m sorry,’ he told him again.

  Derek shook his head. ‘Not your fault.’

  Basil looked just a little guilty, and he shrugged, taking a drink first before he answered in spelling and sign to make sure Derek caught it all. ‘We had a bad date. He saw some guys from your shop at the restaurant and called them trash, so I left him there and never texted him again. Later he tried to apologize, and I let him think I might give him a second chance. I didn’t mean to, I was just confused.’

  ‘If you want to think about things,’ Derek began, but Basil quieted him by gently touching the back of his hand and shaking his head.

  ‘No. I don’t want him. He’s an asshole.’ He spelled it first, then offered the sign, and Derek couldn’t help a small grin.

  ‘You’re sure?’ Derek pressed.

  Basil nodded. ‘I’m sure.’

  Amit grinned at them both before replacing Basil’s beer and then lifting his hands to sign at Derek, ‘I told you.’

  Derek really didn’t mind that I told you so at all.

  15.

  Basil let his eyes close for a minute, though it really was near impossible to relax with a tattoo needle tearing into his arm. It was worth it, and the pain wasn’t unbearable, but he was learning quickly he was never going to be the kind of guy who was addicted to the process. He’d never look like Derek or Sage, he couldn’t imagine coming here every week to have a new image carved on his skin.

  He did, however, find himself in the shop a lot in the few weeks since the night he and Derek ended up in Amit’s bar, confronted by Jay. When he let himself think about it for longer than a moment—the idea that Jay had followed Derek into the bathroom to confront him without Basil there—he found himself overcome with a rage he wasn’t used to feeling. The situation had been handled, though a few days after the incident Basil found himself having to block Jay on his messenger after waking up to a novel of why the two of them should be together instead of him and Derek. It was the same drivel Jay vomited at the bar, and Basil’s feelings hadn’t changed on the matter.

  ‘He’s not like us,’ Jay had insisted, his hands tense and pointed.

  ‘I don’t even know what that means,’ Basil countered. ‘Just because he has tattoos…’

  Jay scoffed, his eyes rolling. ‘I don’t mean the tattoos, though I noticed yours
and I can’t believe you let someone do that to you.’

  ‘Him,’ Basil signed pointedly, his hand steady as he indicated Derek who was across the bar with Amit. ‘I let him do it to me.’

  Jay’s cheeks pinked and he looked almost uncertain, which was what Basil was hoping for. ‘I don’t care. I can learn to live with it. But I won’t sit by and watch you waste more time on some hearing guy who will eventually just treat you like shit. I know about Chad.’

  Basil felt rage boiling in him, his hands trembling now in an effort to keep from clocking the guy in the face. ‘You’re hearing.’

  Jay flinched like he’d been slapped. ‘Not the way he is.’

  ‘Worse than he is,’ Basil told him, his face screwed up in a grimace. ‘You’re entitled and superficial and you refuse to acknowledge that you’re part of the problem. You’re more like my shitty ex than Derek will ever be, and I would rather take a thousand hours of speech therapy and never sign another word for the rest of my life than go on another date with you.’ Basil took a breath for courage, then leaned in close, cleared his throat, and dredged up ancient muscles he hadn’t used in years. “So fuck you,” he said, and watched Jay visibly step back at the sound of his voice. “Never text me again.”

  He stalked off and went right back to Derek and made sure he spent the rest of the night reassuring Derek he was exactly where he wanted to be. Any doubts of what he wanted had been erased by Jay’s confrontation, and in spite of knowing it would be harder as their relationship progressed, he wasn’t afraid anymore.

  He wouldn’t start speaking now, but he had meant what he said to Jay. Not that he’d ever be in that sort of position, but he would have chosen giving up sign over dating a person like Jay, and he wouldn’t have resented it for a second.

  He opened his eyes after a moment, looking down at Derek’s face which was drawn and almost blank in his concentration. It took some getting used to, reading far more subtle facial expressions on Derek than Basil had grown accustomed to in his own community, but in a way, he liked it. It was like learning a private language, and when he managed to get something right, it felt overwhelmingly rewarding.