Saving Grapes - Madeline Kirby Page 0,30
curious myself.”
“Okay, let’s do it then. Thanks.”
Chuck stood to leave and Ben walked him to the front door. As he started down the steps, Chuck turned back.
“You know, your cousin Donna just got a job as a hostess at The Inn.”
“What’s The Inn?”
“It’s kind of like a bed and breakfast. Maybe more like a small hotel, since they’ve got a restaurant. It’s a popular date spot, I hear. Anyway, Donna says they’re not very busy on Thursdays. Okay, gotta run!”
Ben watched his uncle drive away, his truck bouncing on the gravel road. Not the most subtle of guys, his uncle. Ben headed back into the house to invite his man on a date.
Thom wasn’t in the office, but Ben thought he could hear water running, so he went upstairs. Sure enough, he could hear the shower going in the master bath. Thom’s dirty clothes were tossed in a pile near the hamper, so Ben picked them up and put them in – he couldn’t figure out why someone as organized as Thom could never seem to get his dirty clothes all the way into the hamper.
The bathroom door was open, so Ben went on in. Sliding back the frosted glass door, he stuck his head in the shower to see Thom rinsing shampoo out of his hair. Sure enough, there was a livid hickey at the base of his neck. Oops.
Thom must have heard the shower door open, or felt a draft, because he opened his eyes and glared at Ben. He must have looked in the mirror, then.
“Hey, sweetheart.” Ben gave Thom his best smile, because he knew how much Thom like his dimple.
“Hey yourself.” Not a friendly tone. Maybe the dimple didn’t work for every occasion.
“Uh… sorry?”
Thom turned his back and started soaping himself up.
“I can’t believe you did that. What if people see? What if Chuck saw it?”
“Um, did he say anything to you?” Ben knew he hadn’t.
“No, of course not.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it – it’s where a collar can cover it. And even if people did see it, so what?”
“That kind of stuff is private. I don’t want the whole world knowing my private business.”
Ben rolled his eyes. “Okay, I won’t do it again. Not where people can see anyway.”
Thom turned back around to give him another glare. Ben enjoyed the view – angry Thom was too pissed off to worry about being embarrassed, and the soap suds and water were making interesting trails down his torso and legs.
“I haven’t had a shower yet either. I don’t suppose I could—”
“No.”
“Even if I promise not to leave any marks?”
“No. I’m getting out anyway.” Thom finished rinsing and turned off the water. Ben handed him a towel from the rack on the wall and stepped back so Thom could get out of the shower. He waited for Thom to dry his face and rub the towel over his hair, then reached out to place his hands on Thom’s cheeks and pull him in for a kiss.
“I really am sorry,” Ben whispered. “I guess I got carried away.”
Thom sighed, “It’s okay. Maybe I overreacted.”
“So, I wanted to ask you out. On a date.”
“A date?” Thom pulled back and started drying himself.
“Yeah. I thought I could take you out to dinner. We’ve never been on a proper date.”
Thom blinked up at him, his eyes wide. “I haven’t been on a date in years.”
“Well then, it’s high time you went on one. I’ve heard about this place called The Inn that’s supposed to be nice.”
“I don’t know…”
“Don’t you want to go on a date with me?”
“It’s not that.”
“What is it then?”
“I…”
“Are you worried about being seen on a date with a guy?”
“I don’t know. I hadn’t really thought about it.”
“Are you ashamed of being gay? Is that it? Because if you are, we might have a problem.”
“No! I’m not ashamed, I’ve just never really talked about it. I don’t want to have to explain myself and have a bunch of awkward ‘yes, I’m gay’ conversations.”
“Well, how about we go to dinner, and if anybody says anything I’ll deal with it? You don’t have to have any conversations with anyone but me unless you want to.”
“You’re not going to give up, are you?”
“Nope.”
“Fine. Okay, yes, I will go to dinner with you.”
“Great. I’ll make a reservation for Thursday.” Ben started undressing.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to take a shower.”
“Oh yeah. Okay.” Thom stepped over to the sink to shave while Ben got in the shower. “Everything okay with Chuck?”
“Yeah.