The Practice

by Grant C. Holland

  “He kissed back?” asked Yale.

  Thomas nodded. “Yeah, he did.”

  Derek added, “I told you he’s a virgin with guys. That’s how they are. They want it, and then when they get it, it messes with their pretty little heads and they can’t handle it.”

  Emma said, “I don’t know if I should bring this up or not, but my sister said one time that she wondered if Hadley Rogers was bisexual.”

  Thomas looked up. “Why would she wonder that?”

  “She told me that he looked at other guys the way that I look at girls.” Jane giggled at Emma’s comment.

  Derek said, “So he pushed you away. Did you go after him and pin him to the wall?”

  Thomas shook his head. “No, he left.”

  Derek sighed. “Big mistake, Thomas. You shouldn’t have let him go. Now he has too much time to convince himself that he didn’t really kiss you back. I know how it is. I met this guy from Mitchell one time who was the same way. They really are kinda weird over there. I hope Aaron has better luck.”

  “How did you meet a guy from Mitchell?” asked Thomas.

  With a grin, Derek said, “Hookup site. He said he wanted to see what it was like with a guy. He was seriously hot in the photo.”

  “And…?” asked Thomas.

  “I kissed him and then we had a mutual jack off session in the car.”

  Emma said, “Please…that’s enough detail.”

  Derek said, “He came, and then five minutes later he was out the door and heading for the hills.”

  “You were that bad?” asked Thomas.

  “No, correction, I was that good!” He turned and clinked his bottle of beer against Yale’s. Thomas watched as Derek playfully wrapped his arm around Yale’s waist and he was surprised at how good they looked together. Then Derek said, “He wasn’t half as cute as Yale, though.”

  Yale blushed from ear to ear and smiled at Derek. He was speechless and seemed to struggle with something to say. Instead, he just pulled the beer bottle up to his mouth and took another swig.

  Derek said, “Honestly, Thomas, that really sucks, and that guy does look really hot. Have you talked to him since?”

  Thomas said, “No, he canceled out on the maintenance work at the clinic for the rest of the week.”

  Derek said, “He’s trying to sort it out. Don’t let him have too long to think though. He’ll talk himself out of everything. You need to get back together with him this weekend if possible.”

  Thomas said, “I’m not meaning to totally change the topic of conversation, but I’m going to anyway. How’s the writing career coming, Derek?”

  “It’s keeping me busy. I’ve got contracts from a traditional publisher and then I’m self-publishing books under another pen name, too. It’s a whole lot of fun, but it takes a lot of time.”

  Yale said, “He works just a little too hard.”

  Derek shook his head. “No, I just know what I want to do. One of these days, when it’s all rolling along, I’ll be able to take more time off.”

  Jane said, “I’m just amazed at anybody who can write a whole novel, let alone multiple ones. I would run out of ideas so fast. I struggle to put together a decent e-mail.”

  Derek smiled. ‘You just have to look around. Here in the bar tonight I bet there are at least a dozen stories from the lives of people here that would make a good novel.”

  Emma asked, “Have you written any novels about Catlett’s Cove?”

  “Not specifically, but there are always bits and pieces of who I am and people that I know scattered around through all of my books.”

  Emma said, “I’m not sure I want to know what pieces of me have made it into your books. It’s probably just as well that I’m in the dark about it.”

  Derek wrapped his free arm around her while he continued to hold on to Yale. He said, “Don’t worry. I would only ever say good things about you Emma. I’m not a kiss-and-tell author.”

  Thomas asked, “So what do you guys have planned for the weekend?”

  Yale said, “I’m going to a movie with Derek on Sunday. Do you want to come along, Thomas?”

  “I’ll see if I can, but I might just spend the day crashing after the way this week has gone.”

  Derek lowered his voice. “Or you might just wake up with Hadley Rogers in your bed.”

  Thomas laughed. “That’s probably wishful thinking.” He stood up from the table and stepped up close to Emma. Whispering in her ear, he asked if she would be interested in going for a walk. Since middle school, she was his confidant, and, as much as he trusted the opinions of his other friends they all knew that she was the ultimate voice of support for Thomas.

  Emma said, “Guys, we’ll be back in just a few minutes. I promise. Don’t run off. Ask Jane about her latest ceramics projects. She really is doing some gorgeous work.” As Emma left the bar with Thomas, she asked him, “Which direction?”

  He said, “Let’s walk in the direction of the docks.”

  They strolled down the main street of Catlett’s Cove. The street lights designed to resemble gas lights of a century before cast a warm, amber glow on the sidewalks. Emma said, “It sounds like you had it pretty rough with Hadley.”

  Thomas pulled his hands up to his face and lowered them again. He said, “Well, in most cases, I could just let it go and accept that I made a big mistake and embarrassed myself, but he is so connected with other parts of my life.”

  Emma said, “And you really like him.”

  Thomas sighed heavily. “And I really like him. It might sound kind of stupid, but he stopped to save a dog, and he’s taking care of his great aunt. Hadley’s heart is made of gold. It’s not just that he’s sexy, Emma. He’s a really good man. That’s blatantly obvious.”

  “Then I don’t think you should give him up just yet.”

  It was a short two blocks from the bar to the small marina that stretched out into the cove. Thomas and Emma walked in silence across the parking lot and then stepped out on to the docks. The inky black water lapped against the posts. Thomas didn’t realize how much he missed the water when he lived in the city. Everything about Catlett’s Cove was focused on Summers Lake and the nearly perfectly rounded cove that gave the town its name.

  Thomas asked, “So what should be my next step?”

  “Have you considered an apology?”

  “An apology for what?”

  Emma said, “An apology for being so forward and kissing him like you did. You can explain that it was a spur-of-the-moment thing and you understand that you need to take things more slowly, but let him know that you really care about him.”

  “What if he says he’s not into guys?” asked Thomas.

  “Well, then, I think that answers a lot of your questions.”

  Thomas squatted down and reached his fingers over the edge of the dock and slipped them into the water. It was still chilly, but it would be warming up soon. He said, “Emma, do you know what we should all do sometime this summer?”

  “Are you changing the subject?” she asked.

  He grinned. “Yeah, for now I am.”

  She said, “I’ll play along then. What do you think we should all do?”

  Thomas said, “We should rent a boat and all go sailing out on the lake.”

  “Like we did that one weekend when Aaron got us all stranded?”

  Thomas laughed remembering the incident. “Yeah, except this time we won’t get stranded. Maybe we should bring a seasoned sailor along with us.”

  She lowered herself to sit on the dock. “Now there’s an idea. If it doesn’t work out with Hadley, maybe you can date a sailor boy. So…about this apology, Thomas. I’m not going to let you off the hook.”

  “Okay, yeah, I’ll apologize to him and then hopefully I’ll get another kiss.”

  She said, “I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.” Then she added, “I’m always curious when somebody comes back after being away, have things changed much around the cove?”

 
“There are a few new roads and a couple more fast-food joints out by the highway. Is that what you mean?”

  She swept the fingers of her right hand through her long dark hair. “I guess that’s what I mean, but also just the overall feel. I mean, your animal hospital is like a town institution. Dr. Benton was there forever. Then all of us are still hanging around. Does that feel any different?”

  Thomas grinned. “That was the best thing. I visited with my parents, and it felt like my whole family passed me by. They were polite, but then they just went back to talking about their kids, their work, and what my father should do with his back yard. Fortunately, that same night, I met up with all of you. It felt like we picked up right where everything left off a few years ago.”

  Emma smiled. She said, “Good, I was feeling the same way. I’m so happy that you’re back Thomas. We all missed you, but I think it was even worse for me. Sometimes without you here I felt like I was missing my right hand or something. Everything else I have is for Jane, but I still need a good friend every once in awhile.”

  Thomas asked, “What about Derek, Yale, and Aaron? They are all great guys.”

  She said, “They are, and I love them all, but you are different, and I think you know that. It feels like an important piece of my personal puzzle has slipped back into place.”

  11

  Hadley

  Saturday morning, Hadley woke up late, and he felt surprisingly refreshed. He thought that maybe it was the fact that he went to bed early by 10:00 p.m., or maybe it was the fact that he had a plan worked out with Aunt Mae to makes sure she got the good care that she deserved.

  Whatever it was, he also woke up determined to face up to Thomas. He wanted to apologize for running out, and he didn’t know where the conversation would go from there. Whatever happened, Hadley wanted to stay friends.

  Standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom, Hadley pulled a comb across his sandy brown hair pulling it back off his forehead. It was getting a little long and growing a little unruly, but he was doing his best. He changed his shirt three times before settling on a dress casual button-down plaid. Hadley cringed when he realized that he was primping like he was getting ready to go out on a date.

  After he pulled on a pair of crisp, new, dark blue jeans and slipped into his best sneakers, Hadley was ready. He slipped the house key into his pocket and exited by the front door. Thomas’ car was parked in the driveway, so he assumed that Thomas was home.

  As Hadley approached the staircase up to the carriage house, he balked for a moment, but then he told himself there was nothing to fear, and he took the first two steps upward. They got easier after that, and, the next thing he knew, he was knocking on the door.

  Thomas answered the door, and he was barefoot. He wore gym shorts and a worn T-Shirt that hung loosely on his frame. The coarse, wavy dark hair was slightly disheveled, and Hadley’s stomach instantly tangled into a knot. Hadley thought Thomas looked even more attractive when everything was just a little bit out of place.

  Thomas gave an enthusiastic greeting. “Hadley! This is a big surprise. I figured you were a delivery guy or somebody soliciting religious stuff.”

  “Can I come in?” asked Hadley.

  Thomas said, “Oh, of course, come right in. I haven’t had breakfast yet. Would you like some coffee or some juice?”

  Hadley was so nervous that he worried that he would spill if he tried to handle anything to drink. He said, “No, I think I’m okay.”

  With a gesture at the kitchen table, Thomas said, “Why don’t you have a seat here. I’ll just pop a bagel in the toaster and be done with it for breakfast.”

  Hadley couldn’t figure out any better approach than to just blurt things out. As he seated himself at the kitchen table, he said, “I’m really sorry about the other night. I never should have just run out like that.”

  Thomas reached out and gripped Hadley’s shoulder. “Apology accepted, but I think I owe you one, too. I don’t make it a habit of going around just kissing all of my friends.”

  Hadley placed his elbows on the table and lowered his forehead into his hands saying, “But I kissed you back.”

  Thomas popped the bagel out of the toaster and began to smear cream cheese across it. He said, “Yes, you did, but still…” Then he asked, “Was that your first time?”

  Hadley looked up with his face twisted into a pained expression. It only took minutes for Thomas to get to the core of Hadley’s angst. “Why do you ask that?”

  Tossing the bagel halves on to a plate, Thomas seated himself at the table and reached across gripping Hadley’s forearm. He said, “Because usually when I kiss a gay guy the first time who has kissed other gay guys, he likes my technique. He doesn’t usually back away.”

  Hadley could hear the shakiness in his own voice when he said, “I liked your technique.”

  “Then what happened?” Thomas took a bite of the bagel and chased it down with a sip of coffee.

  “I’m not gay.”

  “Bisexual then?” asked Thomas. He chewed at the bagel with a slightly bemused look on his face.

  Hadley pulled back from the table. He felt like a man wobbling about on the deck of a boat in rough seas. He said, “Maybe…but…I’m supposed to be straight.”

  Thomas raised an eyebrow. “Supposed to be? Who told you that?”

  “I decided myself back in high school,” said Hadley.

  Thomas laughed softly. Then he said, “I’m sorry, I’m not laughing at you. It’s sort of laughing at the absurdity of the situation. Do you really think you can decide whether you’re gay, bisexual, or straight?”

  Hadley started to feel a little defensive. He said, “I can decide who I want to have sex with.”

  “Oh, of course you can. I just don’t think you can decide who you’re attracted to. You’ve got a little less control there. Are you attracted to me, Hadley?”

  Hadley felt his mouth go dry at the direct question. “Do I have to answer that? I mean, do I have to answer that right now?”

  “Certainly not,” said Thomas. He took another bite of the bagel and asked, “Are you sure you don’t want something to drink?”

  “I think I know what I want.”

  Thomas raised an eyebrow. “Well, go right ahead then.”

  “I want to try the kiss again,” said Hadley.

  Smiling, Thomas said, “Well, I suggest that we not do it across the kitchen table. Let me clean up here, and then we can go relax on the couch.” He rose to put the plate with his half-eaten bagel in the kitchen sink.

  Hadley fidgeted with his hands in his lap. He said, “I’m really feeling kind of stupid here, Thomas. I don’t have a clue what I’m doing. Just there for a moment, it was…”

  Thomas surprised Hadley stepping up behind his chair and rubbing his shoulder with one hand while slipping the other hand around the side of his head forcing him to turn slightly. Thomas leaned down and kissed Hadley once again.

  This time the reaction was different. Hadley moaned softly and parted his lips immediately. Their tongues touched and Hadley felt an electric surge race up his spine. Thomas rubbed gently at his cheek while the kiss grew more intense.

  Then Thomas pulled back and smiled. “Is that what you wanted?”

  Hadley took a deep breath and said, “Yes.”

  Thomas said, “Let’s go to the couch. It’s a lot more comfortable there.”

  Thomas offered his hand, and Hadley took it. For a moment, Hadley imagined walking down the street hand-in-hand with a man like Thomas. He instantly corrected the though realizing it wasn’t a man LIKE Thomas that he wanted, it was Thomas himself.

  Hadley followed in Thomas’ footsteps and sat on one end of the couch. Thomas said, “Stop me if you’re uncomfortable with anything, Hadley.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to show you what it’s like with a man. Is that okay?”

  Hadley shivered. To be honest, he wasn’t sure. He didn’t know if he was
ready, but he also didn’t know if he would ever be ready. He did know that he wanted to kiss Thomas again, and he wanted to touch his body. He not only loved working with his hands, but he also loved to touch beautiful things. He whispered, “Yes.”

  Thomas said, “Kick off your sneakers, pull your feet up and just relax.”

  Hadley followed the instructions. His sneakers were off and he wasn’t quite sure what to do with his hands. He settled against the arm of the couch and pulled them up over his head. Thomas crept forward and leaned against Hadley before kissing him again.

  Each kiss was better than the last, and they felt right. Hadley felt Thomas’ razor stubble brush against his face and it made his cock start to stiffen in his jeans. Hadley closed his eyes and worried that Thomas would notice, and then he hoped that Thomas would notice.

  He jerked slightly when Thomas’ hand slipped beneath his T-Shirt. Thomas pulled back from the kiss and stared into his eyes. “Is that okay?”

  Hadley could feel his heart thumping in his chest. He said, “Yes, it’s good.”

  Then Hadley watched as Thomas pulled his own T-Shirt off over his head. His body was fit and firm. He had a light dusting of chest hair, and Hadley’s breath caught. Hadley started to reach out a hand to touch Thomas’ chest asking, “Can I…?”

  Thomas nodded, “Yes, please do,” and then he said, “This really is your first time, isn’t it?”

  Hadley blushed slightly when he said, “Yes.”

  Thomas closed his eyes and breathed deeply as Hadley rubbed rough fingertips over Thomas’s chest.

  Hadley found one of the hard nipples with his index finger. The touch caused a deep-throated moan to escape from Thomas. Then Thomas opened his eyes and said, “Your shirt comes off, too.”

  Thomas reached forward and pulled the T-Shirt off over Hadley’s head to reveal a smooth, muscular chest and defined ab muscles. He kissed Hadley again and then started to trail kisses down the side of his neck and to his collarbone. Hadley squirmed and arched his back feeling the combination of lips and licking.

  Hadley closed his eyes and let out a low moan before he could stop himself. Then something rubbed against the stiff cock in his jeans, and he realized it was Thomas’ hand. Hadley blurted out, “Oh fuck…”