Twenty-Five
“I
was so glad when you called, JC,” Kevin said as they settled in at their table.
They had met at an intimate restaurant in the town where Kevin lived. “Shocked,
but glad.”
“I
kinda shocked myself,” JC admitted, picking up the wine list.
“Allow
me,” Kevin said as the waiter approached. He ordered the exact wine JC would
have chosen, and the waiter nodded. “I guess I should have asked if that was
okay,” Kevin said with a laugh.
“No.
That sounds great,” JC said. It was kind of nice to be with someone who knew
more about wine than just red, white or pink.
“So…I
take it you and Chris broke up,” Kevin said, gracefully dropping his napkin in
his lap.
“Uh…”
JC said uncomfortably. Kevin held up a hand.
“Nevermind.
That was pretty thoughtless. Sorry.”
JC
looked around the restaurant. “I've never been here before.”
“Do
you come out this way often?”
JC
shrugged. “Now and then. I buy some sheet music at a store over here. Otherwise
I normally don't eat at places like this. Too expensive.”
“You
deserve to be treated special now and then,” Kevin said, his green eyes dark.
JC blushed.
The
waiter arrived and poured their wine. Kevin tasted it and nodded, and the
waiter left the bottle. “Excellent,” JC said, letting the liquid float across
his tongue before swallowing.
“I'm
glad you like it.” Kevin smiled at him. “So. Tell me about school.”
JC
chatted a bit about his studies before the waiter returned to take their order.
JC studied Kevin's long fingers as they tapped on the edge of the menu.
Everything about Kevin was the exact opposite of Chris. He was tall and
serious, very reserved compared to Chris' hyperactivity. But for some reason,
this only made JC miss Chris more.
“I'm
sorry if I'm babbling,” JC said a few moments later. “I'm into my work.”
“I
understand.”
“What
do you do?” JC asked.
“Well,
I thought I wanted to be a psychologist, then I realized other people's
problems really bore me,” Kevin said with an arrogant smile. “I like studying
the mind, but I couldn't make it my life's work. So…I went back to school, and
now I'm in law school.”
“Impressive,”
JC said, nodding.
Dinner
went well, and for the most part JC was having a good time. But part of him
realized that although he had thought he had wanted to go out with Kevin,
another part of him realized that he was just doing it to try and get over
Chris.
“Would
you like to come back to my place for a drink?” Kevin asked as he paid the
bill. JC had tried to pay, insisting that he had asked, but Kevin had refused.
“I
don't know,” JC said. “I'm not sure it's the right thing to do. I like you,
Kevin, but…”
“C'mon,
JC. It's not like I'm trying to make you move in with me or something like
that. It's a drink. Whatever happens, happens.”
JC looked up into Kevin's handsome face.
“Okay,” he said with a sigh.
Kevin's
apartment was small but very classy. It looked lived in, but at the same
moment, it could have been photographed for a magazine spread. “Bourbon okay?”
Kevin asked as he went to a tiny bar.
“Sure,”
JC said, studying some paintings on the wall. Kevin brought him a glass and
they sat on a sofa. JC sipped at his drink, then set it on a wooden coaster.
Kevin
stretched an arm out along the back of the sofa, letting his hand rest on JC's
shoulder. “You're gorgeous,” he said softly. “I don't see how Kirkpatrick let
you go.”
“Well,
I wasn't what he wanted,” JC said finally. “We didn't see eye to eye on
something.”
“Commitment?”
Kevin asked, moving closer. JC nodded, surprised. Kevin nuzzled against JC's
neck before planting a kiss on his jawline. “I know. He wanted too much from
me, too. I was way too young to be hooked onto a leash like that.”
JC
turned his head quickly, and the kiss Kevin was trying to place on his lips
landed on his cheek. “What?”
“He
wanted us to be exclusive. I wasn't interested,” Kevin said with a shrug.
“He
WANTED to be an item?” JC gasped. Kevin nodded.
“Why?”
“He…ooooh…” JC almost growled. He tossed
back the drink and stood. “Thank you, Kevin, for a very informative evening.
You're a nice guy, but…I'm in love with Chris.”
“Office
hours from one to…” Chris said sleepily as he opened his door. His eyes
widened. “Um, well, hi.”
“Hello.”
JC shoved by Chris, leaving him in his pajama bottoms in the doorway of his
apartment.
“JC,
it's after midnight,” Chris said. “Couldn't this wait?”
“No.
And it's a freaking Saturday, Chris. Have a life.” JC began to pace. Chris shut
the door and stared at him. “What the fuck, Chris?”
“Huh?”
Chris ran a hand through his hair.
“You
wanted forever with KEVIN, but not me?”
“How
do you know what I wanted with Kevin?” Chris asked, then gasped. “You went out
with KEVIN?”
“Yes,
I did. I thought that maybe a date with a hot guy would make me forget you.
Unfortunately, all I did was compare you to him and find him lacking in all
kinds of ways.”
“Really?
Like what?” Chris asked eagerly. JC glared at him and he stepped back.
“Anyway,
he mentions that you had wanted to be exclusive with him. You didn't with me?
Kevin seems like an arrogant jerk ninety percent of the time, yet you were
willing to be with him and him alone?” JC almost screeched.
“I
was young and stupid,” Chris protested.
“What
about NOW?”
“Now
I'm old and stupid,” Chris said softly, and JC froze in mid-tirade. “I'm scared
to death of how I feel about you, JC. Being teacher and student was only part
of it. God, Josh, I would wake up happy to go to class because YOU'D be there.”
“You
hurt me, Chris,” JC said. “You made me feel like an idiot for loving you.”
“I
was afraid to ruin the dream,” Chris said. “You're my dream, JC. I'm so sorry.”
“I
still love you,” JC said quietly.
“I
love you, too,” Chris said, and JC was surprised to see tears in his brown
eyes. “Can you…can you forgive me?”
“Yes,”
JC whispered, allowing himself to fall into Chris' open arms.
