Rainbow Blues (12 page)

A tiny nod and a smile were Luke’s only responses, but Jimmy thought he’d gotten through to the man.

Twinky waiter boy, hips swinging to draw attention to his pert little butt, approached the table with two enormous gourmet burgers, and Jimmy was suddenly starving.

The server put the burgers on the table, then frowned and rested his hand on Luke’s shoulder. Jimmy rolled his eyes but no one noticed.

“Was there something wrong with the calamari?” Neither of them had touched it, getting too deep in their discussion for food. Not that Toby cared if
Jimmy
had issues with it. Getting involved with Luke probably meant he’d be habitually ignored by gays on the prowl. Jimmy didn’t mind; he got plenty of attention after performances, and it wasn’t like he didn’t understand. A sexy man unaware of his own attractiveness was like catnip, and if Luke became more overt about his sexuality, Jimmy would be beating off the twinks with a stick. Not just twinks, either.

He snorted at his double entendre, but Luke was too busy reassuring the kid that there was nothing wrong. They’d just gotten distracted. Jimmy sure as shit wasn’t eating cold calamari; that would literally be like chewing on old tires.

“I’ll just take this out of your way,” Toby said with another squeeze of Luke’s shoulder. Jimmy narrowed his eyes a bit, but Toby whisked the calamari away and was gone without making eye contact.

With the first minihurdle out of the way, Jimmy’s appetite returned with a vengeance. Judging by Luke’s attack on his burger, he wasn’t alone, and aside from a few innocuous comments, they focused on eating.

Stuffed full, Jimmy sat back in his chair and sipped at his margarita. He wasn’t going to finish it because he still had to drive.

Little Toby returned with a swish. “Something sweet for you tonight?”

This time, Jimmy held in a snort… barely.

“Jimmy? Dessert?”

“I’m full, but get something if you want it.”

“Yes, do get something if you want it. On the house, because of the calamari,” Toby purred with another touch to Luke’s shoulder.

Jimmy glared at the back of Toby’s head. He was pretty sure slutty twinks weren’t on the menu. God. Did no one have manners anymore?

“No, thanks, the burger was great.”

So polite and so oblivious. Jimmy’s irritation with Toby faded. Luke was coming home with him tonight and didn’t appear to be craving “something sweet.”

With a flourish, Toby placed the check in its black faux-leather folder right at Luke’s elbow. One last squeeze of Luke’s strong shoulder—
bitch
—before he sauntered away, hips swinging in such a way to draw attention to his bubble butt. Jimmy didn’t even rate a second glance, but then, neither did Luke bother following Toby’s pert ass with his gaze. How did he get so lucky?

If Luke were comfortable with PDAs, Jimmy would have jammed his tongue down Luke’s throat in that moment. Instead, he snatched the check away from Luke before he reached for it.

“I can get that. We’re on a third date, right? If I want to get lucky, I should pick up the tab.” Luke smirked at him, and Jimmy laughed.

“What if I want to get lucky? Doesn’t that mean I have to pick up the tab?” Not that Jimmy was going to let Luke anywhere near this check. That skank of a waiter had to have put his phone number in the folder somewhere.

Luke pulled out his wallet. “We could split it, so we both get lucky, but that doesn’t seem very date-like.”

“I know you wanted to show me your new bed, and believe me, I want to see it. But maybe we should go to the movie first.” Their serious discussion had intensified Jimmy’s feelings for Luke but had dialed back some of the sexual urgency. Oh, there would be orgasms tonight, but if Luke wanted a proper date, he was getting one. Not many guys were content with weeknight dates while Jimmy spent his weekends at the playhouse, and he was pleased Luke didn’t seem to mind.

“Uh-huh.” Luke licked his lips, making Jimmy almost change his mind.

“Totally date-like. Put your wallet away. I’ll pick up dinner, you can get the movie. Then after, we’ll take a detailed tour of your new purchase.”

“Perfect.” Luke leaned in, almost like he was going to kiss Jimmy. Nope, shoehorning him out of the closet wasn’t going to be that difficult after all.

“Just promise me one thing.” As tempting as it was, Jimmy refrained from taking a quick kiss anyway.

“If I can.”

With one finger Jimmy pulled down the neck of his turtleneck. “Marks below the collar, please. Makeup teased me for
hours
yesterday.”

Attention riveted to Jimmy’s neck, Luke’s eyes darkened, and more goose bumps sprang up on Jimmy’s skin. Luke liked the look of that hickey, and Jimmy suspected he’d be wearing more before the night was over.

“Anywhere below the collar?”

Pulse racing, Jimmy stared at Luke. Oh, yes, he’d be wearing more marks. “Anywhere.”

“Good.” The smug tone heated Jimmy up in all the best ways. And if he had to go to the movies and be all date-like, he was going to do his best to make sure Luke was insane with lust by the time they got back to Luke’s new bed.

Jimmy pulled out some cash, and left enough for a generous tip, despite twinky Toby trying to hit on his date. He palmed the slip of paper with Toby’s phone number on it, and when Luke’s back was turned to put on his coat, he crumpled it up and dropped it in the dregs of his margarita.

As they passed their waiter on the way out, he scowled fiercely at Jimmy. He hadn’t intended for the kid to see him toss the number, but he sure wasn’t torn up about it. It was fucking rude after all.

With a huge smile and a full-on erection hidden by his peacoat, he followed Luke out into the frigid winter night.

“I
T
’
S
NOT
much,” Luke said as he ushered Jimmy into his apartment. He might have been more apologetic, but his place was clean, and it wasn’t much smaller than Jimmy’s place. Had a lot less character, though.

Jimmy didn’t say a word but took off his wet boots and handed over his coat when Luke held out a hand.

Since his apartment wasn’t much more than a couple of concrete boxes squished together, the tour took about three seconds.

“As you can see, here’s the kitchen, dining room, living room. The first door is the bathroom, the second is the washer and dryer, and the third is the bedroom.”

Luke couldn’t keep from emphasizing the last word. Jimmy had spent the whole movie taking advantage of the dark, trailing his fingers along Luke’s thigh. Luke had spent the entire movie with a raging erection and had completely lost track of the plot about halfway through. But he’d had a good time. He’d never been on a date like that, so charged with sexual tension. If asked, he would have assumed he’d hate it, that he’d be too worried about people seeing anything to enjoy himself. But that wasn’t the case, at all.

Once or twice, the sheen of butter on Jimmy’s lips had tempted him to lean in and kiss the man, regardless of who might be watching, but he wasn’t quite ready to kick open his closet door. Not that publicly, at any rate.

“We’ll get to the bedroom, don’t you worry.”

Luke wasn’t worried, he just wasn’t sure he could wait. He turned on a couple of lamps while Jimmy wandered over to his bookcase.

“Did you want something to drink?”

“Water would be fine, thanks.”

Jimmy ran his long fingers over the spines of a few books before picking up a framed picture.

Luke handed him a bottle of water from the fridge.

“Wow, this must be your son.”

Luke smiled. “That’s my Zach.”

“You guys could be twins.”

“Uh-huh. Not hardly, but thanks for the compliment.”

“Who is the other guy?”

“Zach’s best friend, Ryan. I think I told you about him. Calls me LJ.”

“LJ? How come?”

“I don’t know. He had a dad, so wasn’t going to call me that, even though he was at our place whenever he could be. He called me Mr. Jordan for a long time, but at some point just started calling me LJ. Less formal I guess.”

“Cute.”

Luke thought Jimmy had been going to ask something else, but instead, he turned and stepped close to Luke’s chest.

“Ready to show me around your new purchase?”

Luke groaned. “Since the opening credits of the movie. C’mon.”

He guided Jimmy into the bedroom.

A
FTERWARD
THEY
lay together, sweaty bodies rubbing skin to skin. Luke fucking loved the sensation of Jimmy’s masculine body next to his. He couldn’t stop touching it, even though there was no way he was getting it up again anytime soon.

One day, they’d get around to actual penetration. Now that Luke had a more mature understanding of the male body, he wanted to try it out again. It hadn’t been terrible with the escort, but none of those orgasms had come anywhere near to the mind-shattering ones he shared with Jimmy. No reason to believe getting fucked by Jimmy, and fucking Jimmy, wouldn’t be just as good. He’d have to remember to get condoms, though. Jimmy had teased him for forgetting to buy some, and although he had lube, Jimmy gave him a few pointers on ones that worked best with condoms. Luke was nothing if not a fast learner. Especially with motivation like Jimmy’s dick.

Jimmy didn’t seem to mind the gentle caressing, since he stretched and squirmed closer like a cat.

“Your parents call you Jimmy, or is that a stage name?”

“Why?” Jimmy laughed a little, as though he thought it a weird question.

“No real reason. Just don’t meet many people named Jimmy, I guess.”

“My birth certificate says James, but no one calls me that, except my mom when she’s pissed. I kind of hate it. I guess I’m a little old to still be Jimmy, but James just sounds so… serious. Buttoned-up. I’ve never thought it suited me.”

No, that made sense. Luke ran his fingertips over the barely visible blond hairs on Jimmy’s chest.

“My turn,” Jimmy said and shifted so he could stroke Luke’s hair. “No offense, but why haven’t you decorated this place? It looks like a wasteland of despair. Uh, except for the bed.”

Luke laughed. He was pretty sure no one could call the bed a wasteland of despair. Best fucking purchase he’d ever made.

“I’m not a decorator. At all. Besides, this place is hopefully only temporary.”

“Temporary?” Jimmy’s expression got more intent as he shifted onto his side, propping his head on his hand. “How so?”

Luke stroked the length of Jimmy’s torso from pit to hip, and back again. The goose bumps he brought forth were like a prize.

“Kelly and I were able to buy a house after my parents died, which we sold once the divorce was final. I really liked owning a house, and now that I don’t have to worry about raising a child, I might have time to plant a garden. I love to cook, and I think it would be cool to cook with things you’d picked out of your yard.”

Jimmy blinked and squirmed. “That sounds awesome. I’ve always wanted my own house, too. For different reasons, of course.”

“Yeah? What are those?”

“I want free rein to paint a place however I want and not worry about security deposits or rules or having to leave it behind because an apartment is just rented.”

“So why haven’t you bought a place? Gone crazy with decorating?”

Jimmy ducked his head into Luke’s shoulder, hiding his eyes. “You’ll think it’s dumb.”

“Probably I won’t, but tell me anyway.”

“I’ve always associated a house with family. My parents still live in the house me and the sibs grew up in. I want… I want to buy a house with the guy I’m going to be with forever.”

Luke cleared his throat, but it didn’t change the fact he felt all clogged up. Jimmy had articulated exactly why Luke had never bothered moving out of his concrete bunker, aka the wasteland of despair. He’d been hoping for the same thing, although he’d never put it in so many words.

“I don’t think that’s dumb.”

Jimmy lifted his head. “No?”

“No. That’s why I’ve lived here for two years. It does the job… for now.”

Luke could see him and Jimmy in a house together. Someday, hopefully soon. He was falling fast and hard, and he didn’t want to stop.

Jimmy gave him a warm smile and kissed him, gentle and sweet, just enjoying the press of lips together without any particular goal in mind.

C
OMING
IN
to school from Luke’s apartment on Tuesday morning was a little surreal. Jimmy had planned for it, sure. He was showered, in fresh clothes, nary a rumple in sight, and yet it all felt deliciously naughty. He was also exhausted, but it was the good kind. The kind that came with aching muscles from contorting limbs around another person, lassitude from the orgasm endorphins, and a jaw just a little bit tender from the blow jobs. He’d sucked Luke’s cock more times since they’d met on Friday than he’d sucked cocks all of last year. Maybe even the last two years.

Then there was the simple comfort of sleeping next to someone. A lot of guys he knew found the actual act of sleeping the night with someone the hardest hurdle to overcome when starting a relationship. It certainly required a lot of trust, but Jimmy just loved the warmth and the skin-on-skin contact.