Fog City Temptation (Bathhouse Confessions Book 4)

by Nathan Bay

  "I just thought..."

  "You thought what?" With a firm hand on his towel, he erased our memories from his skin.

  I looked down at my hands intertwined in my lap and sighed. "Please don't be sore at me. I just thought we could start seeing each other more often. We could meet here, you know, at the end of the day. It could be nice, the two of us. We're safe here."

  Ricky turned to face me from across the room. His soulful eyes glimmered in the light. For a moment, I thought those beautiful lips of his were going to part and he was going to share something profound and meaningful. But instead, he said, "I report for duty in the morning. I'll be in Taiwan for the next six months."

  My heart sank into my stomach. "Oh."

  "Yeah, 'oh.' Charles, what did you really think was going to happen here?"

  I shrugged. "I don't know, Ricky. I've always been pretty content with my life, or at least I thought I was. Same routine, day in, day out. No real friends, no companion. One night a week, I came here and got to be a different person. But now you're in my life and suddenly one night a week isn't enough. I want more."

  Ricky scoffed. "I can't give you more. I'm sorry. Even if we didn't have time and distance working against us, we're both men. We're different colors, we come from different worlds. There are places in this country where people don't even think my kind and your kind should be in the same classroom. No, I can't think of any way that wouldn't end without one or both of us getting hurt." He finished wiping his skin clean of us. Wiped away everything we'd shared. Then he wrapped himself loosely in his towel and opened the door, stopped inside the frame, and regarded me with a heavy stare.

  I wanted him to come back to bed and hug me one last time. Give me one last kiss good-bye, if this really was good-bye. But instead, he served me a humble nod.

  That wasn't enough. I stood and went over to join him in the doorway. "Ricky, wait, there's something special between us." He flinched when I put my hand on his shoulder. "I see the longing in your eyes. And listen, things are getting better out there. I know it's not my place to say that, but it's what I believe, damn it. Segregation is ending. Safe places like bars and bathhouse are becoming more common. We might be from different worlds, but our worlds are moving in the same direction. Let's find out where this goes when you get back. I'm willing to wait six months if it means we'll be together."

  He caressed my cheek. I instantly felt my heart break.

  "You'll be waiting a lot longer than that," he said. "I'm not coming back here. It's gotten too complicated. Take care of yourself, Charles. Oh, and um, I like what you did with your hair. You look like James Dean."

  With that, the soldier walked out of my life.

  Chapter 5

  One month later

  It's funny how someone can come into your life and turn everything upside down. I hadn't been the same since my whirlwind affair with Ricky.

  We didn't know each other at all. Where did he grow up? What kind of music did he enjoy? All of those little things two people get to know about each other. It didn't make sense for me to be so hung up on him.

  Maybe it was just the possibility... The 'what-ifs' about it all. I liked the way I felt when we were together. That was the only thing I knew for sure.

  I knew Ricky was right when he said there wasn't a world out there for us. But I kept catching myself thinking, there's a world for us in the bathhouse. At least we'd have somewhere safe we could go. That had to count for something.

  It was a rowdy Friday night at The Pacific and I was sitting outside in the hot tub. A month had passed and I hadn't been with a man since my soldier left. I knew it was absurd to save myself like some celibate priest, but I wasn't ready yet. So I just went out on Friday nights, trying to keep up my usual routine. It felt good to be around familiar friends.

  Lenny was soaking in the water beside me. We'd never spoken about the way I behaved on that fateful night. He seemed to figure out that something deeper was going on, and thankfully he was kind enough to let it go.

  It was only a little after nine o' clock when I decided to call it a night and go home. As I grabbed my towel, Lenny reached out and grabbed my arm.

  "Hey, pal, where are you running off to?"

  I looked at him curiously as I dried my legs. "What do you mean?"

  "The night is young."

  "But I'm getting older by the minute," I quipped.

  "Well then I'll go get you a walking cane and we can take a stroll around the main room."

  "Don't worry about it. I'm just going to go home and settle in with a book."

  The owner, Jimmy, hurried out and nodded at Lenny. Something fishy was happening.

  "What's going on?" I asked.

  Lenny hopped out of the hot tub and wrapped a towel around himself. "I really think we should take that stroll."

  He slung his arm around my shoulder and led me toward the door. Jimmy held it open for us, but he avoided eye contact as he tried to suppress a mischievous grin.

  "Guys, what's this about?" I asked.

  "Follow me," Lenny said.

  We walked down the main corridor to the lounge area. My heart leaped into my throat when I locked eyes with my handsome soldier.

  Ricky.

  I'd never seen him in uniform and the view was stunning. But as my gaze traveled from his smooth face down his body, I realized something wasn't the same. He was supporting himself on crutches.

  His left pant leg was pinned up at the kneecap so it wouldn't drag. There was only one brown leather boot on the ground.

  My mouth fell open and emotions surged through me as I rushed over to greet him. "Ricky, your leg—"

  Tears began to well in his eyes but he forced his teeth into a smile. "Who weighs twenty-five pounds lighter and gets his shoes at half price?"

  I was in such shock, I didn't comprehend that he was trying to make a joke. "What—I—"

  All I could think to do was pull him into my arms. "Ricky, what happened?"

  "I wish I had some brave story about how I fought off the enemy and narrowly escaped, losing my leg in battle," he explained. "But in truth, it was just a dumb accident. I'd only been in Taiwan two days. We were running a parachute drill. I jumped out of the plane and my equipment malfunctioned. I crashed into the slope of a mountain and shattered my leg."

  I took his face in my hands and wiped away his tears. "That's terrible. I... Ricky, I can't even believe it. You could have died."

  He nodded. "All in all, I consider myself lucky that it was just one leg I lost. I'm still getting used to the idea," he confessed. "But the whole time I was away, all I could think about was the way I'd hurt you. I kept having dreams about you when I was in the hospital. I knew when I got back, I had to find you and make things right."

  Now I was the one crying. "Ricky, are you saying what I think you're saying?"

  "Yes. Charles, I'm sorry for how cold I was to you. I didn't want to admit that I was falling for you too, so I thought if I could hurt you, maybe you'd forget about me."

  "I couldn't forget about you. I've thought about you every day since you left. So is this it for you? I mean, are you going back?"

  "Losing a limb gets you an honorable discharge."

  "Oh. Right." I smiled lamely. "Well, what happens now?"

  "That depends." He pressed his soft lips against mine and kissed me long and deep. When we finally parted for air, he said, "I'd like to spend some time getting to know you. Maybe we could even try to be together outside of here."

  Nervous energy fluttered through me. I felt like I was home again. I'd missed his touch, his kiss, the twinkle in his eyes. "My place is kind of small," I said, trying to think of ways to get him into the guesthouse without attracting too much attention from my employers. "But it's private and tucked away by the beach."

  "I'm getting an apartment," Ricky said. "You could come see me there."

  "That sounds perfect." I hugged him tightly against me, inhaling his fresh, clean scent and feeling the
rough graze of his starched uniform on my bare skin.

  "Why don't you get dressed and then we'll go somewhere and have some coffee?" he suggested.

  "I'd love to."

  Still stunned and taking it all in, I had a long look at the wounded soldier standing before me. Until I'd met Ricky, I'd never imagined a future with someone else in it. But that's the thing about the future: it's yours to re-write any time you like.

  Everybody wants to be loved. That's what I believe. I'd hidden from love for so long, my heart had gone numb. But Ricky had thawed the ice and warmed me up to the idea of finding my own slice of happiness.

  After I was dried off and dressed, I met up with Ricky in the lobby and slowly walked beside him as he hobbled out of The Pacific. I could tell he was struggling a bit to maneuver on crutches, but his pride would never let him admit it.

  "Hey, soldier," I said with a sidelong glance, "did you learn any new rope tricks while you were away?"

  His heart-shaped lips formed into a smile. "I may have picked up a few."

  "Well, when you're feeling up to it, maybe we can try some more role play... Sir."

  He reached for my left butt cheek and gave it a firm squeeze. "I'd love that."

  We walked out together into the foggy San Francisco summer night. That's when our happily ever after began.

  About Nathan Bay

  Nathan Bay currently resides in sunny California with his husband, son, and a schnauzer named Mrs. Madrigal.

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  One Last Thing...

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  Nathan Bay