The Geek and His Artist (39 page)

He was a bit too thrown off to complain about much of anything.

Dirk turned to him as they sat. “Will it bother you if I drink a beer?”

Well, thrown off again. Simon blinked at him, wondering why he’d asked, and then he realized Dirk would know The Bastard was a drinker, and Simon was humbled by the consideration. “No, that’s fine. Thank you for asking.”

Dirk just shrugged a shoulder and winked at him.

Simon couldn’t help but smile while Dirk asked for a Molson. Simon ordered his Pepsi and waited to follow Dirk’s suggestions on the food.

“Let’s see.” He looked up. “Do you like wings? Mozzarella sticks? Maybe some of those potato skins. They are so good.”

Simon grinned. “Uh, I like wings. M-Mom and Dad get the ones from Italian Village.”

“Oh, those are
really
good. I miss those. No IVP in Harrisburg.” He nodded, turning to their waitress, a smiling blonde girl who looked like she could only be a couple of years older than Simon. “We’ll have a dozen of the Buffalo.”

“All right, we’ll get that in for you,” she said and hurried off.

“So, you’ve never been here?” Simon shook his head and Dirk nodded. “I’m kind of a steak guy, myself—I should have made Amy bring Jimmy here so we could go to the Keg, but the steaks here are good enough. Anyway, I’m a steak guy, and they’ve got great ones. But they’ve also got chicken strips and really good ribs.”

Simon glanced down at his own menu, with no clue what to do. He frowned, feeling so out of his element, he didn’t know where to begin. “Um….”

“Ok. Anything you don’t really like?” Dirk asked, looking up. Simon shook his head. “Cool. Why don’t I just pick for you?”

Simon nodded, knowing heat was creeping up his face. “That’s good. Th—” He had to clear his throat. “Thanks.”

Dirk smiled. “No problem.” They fell silent as Dirk read through the menu a few more minutes. Cheery Blonde came back, and Simon listened as Dirk ordered the same two steaks. “Oh, how do you like it?”

Simon had to think. “Medium rare? Think that’s what Mom said.”

“Red in the middle, black outside?”

When Simon nodded, the waitress smiled. “Easy peasy!” Simon had to quell the urge to roll his eyes. After Dirk answered her million-and-one questions about sauce and sides and extras, she finally left.

“You need a fucking PhD to order in some of these places,” Dirk grumbled before taking a sip of his beer.

Simon laughed, feeling better. “There seem to be a lot of decisions.”

“I know, right? I just want a steak, is that so hard to get?” He sighed, took another sip, then looked at Simon for so long, Simon started to squirm. “So, being married to a Bennet isn’t easy.”

Simon frowned. “We’re not—”

“Yeah, I know, not yet. But the thing is, I think you guys have what it’s going to take. Marriage in general isn’t easy. I don’t care how the couple’s made up, you know?”

Simon nodded, not sure he did.

“Well, maybe you don’t.” He looked down into his beer as if the bubbles had wisdom. Simon didn’t think so—he’d seen nothing good come out of alcohol—but he kept his mouth closed. “Marriage isn’t easy,” Dirk said again, looking back up. “It’s hard. It takes a lot of work to keep things good. Amy and I are pushing seven years coming up, and you know, there aren’t a lot of marriages that last that long anymore. But—” Simon guessed his disappointment must have been a little obvious. “But, just because a lot of people don’t stay married doesn’t mean you can’t. We’ve married into a family that knows what it is to be a family. We’re lucky.”

Simon nodded. “I… I’d love to have what Jimmy’s parents have. They’re so in love, so happy.” Simon kept to himself the simple fact that Mr. Bennet didn’t hit Mrs. Bennet was almost as big to him.

Dirk smiled. “You can. We’re only at seven years, but Amy and I are strong. That comes from spending time learning her. Her quirks, her stubbornness, even the good stuff. And the Bennets have a decently sized dose of stubbornness.”

Simon frowned. “I…. Jimmy doesn’t seem stubborn.” Dirk didn’t reply, and Simon tried to think it through, but then he realized that Jimmy’s insistence on getting him out of The Bastard’s place, his pushing to do things for Simon…. “Okay, yeah, he has moments.”

Dirk threw his head back and laughed. “That’s one way of putting it.” He shook his head, chuckling, then took another drink. “But it’s not just that. They also have a habit of giving. That’s not bad,” he said quickly when Simon frowned. “Giving is a good thing, but they tend to take it to a fault.”

“Jimmy gave up his birthday party for me,” Simon said softly before he thought it through.

Dirk looked puzzled. “I thought he had one?”

“Well, it was a small one. But I… I overheard him talking to Mom. She’d wanted to give him a really big one and he wouldn’t. Because of me.”

“Ohh,” Dirk said, face clearing. He nodded. “Yeah, that sounds like them. And they’re good at that. It’s something you’ll have to talk to Jimmy about. And that’s the big thing about being married. You gotta talk.” He had to pause when the wings came out. Cheery Blonde asked if they wanted anything to go with it, and Dirk requested more dressing before turning back to Simon. “It’s the hardest part of it. I mean… that’s all kinds of relationships, really. If you can’t communicate—” He made a face at the word. “—Amy’s training in counseling, right? She loves that word.” Simon chuckled and Dirk nodded. “Anyway, if you can’t, nothing’s going to work.”

“My own counselor said that. That communicating is important.” He frowned. “But… how do I get him to not, err, give?”

“Well, you have to do the next thing that’s big. Compromise. If you’re honest, if you talk and you meet him halfway on stuff, then you can do it.”

Simon picked up a wing and chewed on it while his mind did the same with the advice. Could it really be that simple? And yet complicated too. He’d been used to keeping things to himself for so long, but his counselor had been pushing for him to talk to people for a while. Mom and Jimmy and even his friends.

He frowned and his stomach twisted as a thought came to him. “It’s my fault that we’re so far apart,” he said, swallowing the lump in his throat.

“Oh hey!” Dirk held up one sauce-covered hand. “No, no.” He shook his head, laughing. “God, you’re both intent on taking fault, being noble. You guys are going to be just fine.” He laughed again. “Look. It takes both of you to screw up. I mean, yeah, if you punch him unprovoked, then it’s your fault. But… really, you’re both usually doing something. Maybe he’s got stuff he’s not talking about. That Bennet sense of nobility again, right?”

Simon nodded. “He wouldn’t want to worry me. Yeah.”

“There you go.” Dirk drank some of his beer, then tore off a bit more wing.

Simon took another, trying to think it through. Well, he knew what he needed to do. He just didn’t know how. “So, Dirk, uh… how can I do this?”

“Ah, see, therein lies the rub. I’d bet a good chunk of my company’s profits on the fact that they’re up at the Keg plotting something now. The problem is, you can’t just depend on that. So my advice is….”

T
HE
NEXT
afternoon, Simon stood in front of the mirror at the sink and tried not to be nervous. He’d tried to talk to Jimmy the night before, planning on following Dirk’s advice. But despite his determination, he’d lost his nerve at the last moment, and he hadn’t been able to pull it off. The thing was, he didn’t
normally
have a problem initiating something in bed with Jimmy, but lately, with the distance between them, it just didn’t feel right.

He
should
have tried something instead of the whole seduction thing—which he discovered he had
no
talent with—aiming for the entire blow-Jimmy’s-mind-with-sex thing. He and Jimmy had only really had full-on penetrative sex a handful of times. They did a lot of mutual hand jobs, more than a few blow jobs—he was getting pretty good at those, if Jimmy’s reactions were anything to go by—and they liked to frot—Jimmy taught him that word, much to his extreme embarrassment. But the seduction just didn’t happen. They’d stroked each other off, which felt good, but it’d been missing that extra whatever that had made it so good in the beginning.

He needed to do something, though. He needed to try to talk to Jimmy, to explain what was in his head, even if
he
wasn’t 100 percent sure what that was. But if there was a chance to fix the
gap
between them, he needed to try. Last night didn’t work, so he needed to try again. That would have to happen later, though.

Simon grabbed his backpack and headed out to the living room portion of the suite. Dirk was flipping channels from the armchair, and Jimmy was on the couch, his laptop on his lap. Simon took the seat next to him, pulled out his own computer, and booted it, then set one hand on Jimmy’s leg.

His heart gave a thud when Jimmy picked it up, kissed it, then set it back on his leg with a press as if to say “keep it there.” Then he went back to typing something on his computer.

Simon cheered inwardly. At least Jimmy still wanted to touch him. Simon focused on connecting to the Internet, then looking through the “Things To Do” bookmarks he’d made for Niagara. Maybe he could plan a date. He’d never done that—they hadn’t been on one since the movie over two months ago—so it might be something to show Jimmy how much he wanted to fix things.

Simon needed his hand, so he squeezed Jimmy’s leg, happy when he got a return squeeze before getting started. There seemed a ridiculous number of options for such a tiny town. Maybe that meant he could find something that wouldn’t freak him out. He hoped so.

J
IMMY
GLANCED
over at Simon, trying not to read too much into the touches. But they really gave him hope that his plans for the evening would work. His phone buzzed, so he picked it up to check the message and saw it was from Amy.

What did you want me to get again?

Sparkling grape juice, candles, bubble bath, and lube.
Jimmy did his damnedest to not blush at that last one.

Lube? You want me to buy you lube?

Jimmy scowled at the phone and glanced over, but Simon seemed engrossed in what he was doing.
Yes. Forgot to pack it. It’s a fact of gay life. Get over it.

LOL! Fine, fine. Any in particular? Or just the biggest bottle they have?

Jimmy was
not
going to die of mortification. Not when he was that close to fixing things with Simon. He decided to get her back.
No, I want you to buy the Astroglide multipack with the different flavors so I can make his dick taste good.
He hit send, then immediately typed:
JK. Just the basic stuff. And next time, maybe give me a break.

He waited until he got her reply.
Are you trying to kill me? I nearly died laughing in the middle of Walmart!

Before he hit send, he had to add a bit more.
Good. You deserve it. :P Uh… should we get something from room service or maybe bring back something? What do you eat with fake champagne?

He didn’t get an answer for a long time and had just set the phone down to go look for the room service menu when it buzzed again.

I got that covered. Get your other errand done.

Jimmy blinked but knew that despite the shit she was giving him, she wouldn’t screw this up for him.
Going in a minute. Thanks.

NP. Back soon.

Jimmy put his phone away and saved bookmarks for the tabs he had open in his browser window. He closed the browser, opened the music player, and picked the playlist he’d put together. When he finished, he closed the laptop and set it aside, sending a pointed look at Dirk, who nodded slightly.

He leaned over and kissed Simon’s temple. “Sis wants me to go get her something at that shop in the casino. Do you want to go along?”
Please say no… please say no….

Simon frowned at the screen, then up at Jimmy. “Will you be long?”

Jimmy shook his head. “No, just a few minutes.”

“I’ll stay, then.”

Jimmy let his sigh of relief out slowly and nodded. “Okay. I’ll be back in just a few.” With another quick kiss to Simon’s forehead, he forced himself to walk slowly out of the room. Since the elevator was only a couple of doors away, he managed to keep
that
walk slow too. Once he was on the street, he jogged around the corner, waited (im)patiently for the light, and when he’d managed to cross, jogged again.

It took him more than a few minutes, but not by much. Amy beat him back to the room and was sitting in the corner of the sofa with a smirk on her face.

Jimmy scowled, then glanced at the clock to see it was just past five. Perfect. He handed the bag he brought back over to Amy, grateful when Simon didn’t look at it too long, then stepped over to his boyfriend. He leaned in and kissed Simon’s forehead softly. “Think you can pull yourself out of whatever that is?”

Simon looked up at him, blinking owlishly. “Sorry, I kind of got into… what I was doing. I can set it aside.”

Jimmy smiled. “Good. Want to go get something at Starbucks with me?”

Simon raised his eyebrows but nodded. “Sure.”

He waited, yet again impatiently, for Simon to close and stow his laptop back into his bag. Once Simon finished, Jimmy took a hand and led him to the elevator. His nerves were getting the better of him, but he forced himself to breathe as he leaned in to push the button. “So, we haven’t really talked about it. Are there things you’re looking forward to doing while we’re here?”

Simon bit his lip as they stepped into the elevator, looking thoughtful. “I’d like to do the caves that go behind the Falls. That looked cool. And, well, I do want to go up to the edge, you know.”

Jimmy nodded. “Oh yeah. I want to get some swimming in too. We brought our suits.”

“I haven’t even taken the tags off mine,” Simon murmured.