23
Acase of the late evening munchies had driven Drew out of his bedroom and into the kitchenette, and now he stood in front of the fridge with the door open, debating whether he wanted to make a sandwich or heat up the takeout he’d brought home from the restaurant. Dinner had been so good that he’d ordered another entrée to go and had encouraged Joe to do the same so they’d have a meal ready and waiting, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the curry.
The sound of laughter distracted him from his indecision, and he glanced toward Joe’s room. The door stood open, and he could hear other voices, although they weren’t loud enough for him to make out what they were saying.
Joe laughed again—a full, rich sound unlike anything Drew had heard from him before. Hell, Drew didn’t even know Joecouldlaugh. Butsomethinghad lifted the weight of guilt and depression from Joe’s shoulders, even if it was only temporary, and Drew had to know what it was.
He closed the fridge door and headed over to Joe’s room, and he paused outside to knock on the doorframe.
“What’s up?” he asked, peering inside.
Joe glanced up from his laptop, and to Drew’s amazement, he actually seemed to squirm, like a small boy caught doing something naughty. “Oh… um, I was just watching a couple of guys make a vlog.”
“What vlog?” Drew asked. “I could use something new, especially if it’s funny.”
“I doubt it’s something you’d be interested in, really,” Joe replied, a flush rising on his cheeks as he closed the laptop.
Joe’s embarrassment only spurred Drew’s curiosity, and he went to sit down on the edge of the bed where Joe was reclining against the pillows, his long legs stretched out and crossed at the ankle.
“We won’t know unless you tell me what it is,” Drew said, giving Joe’s hard bicep a playful poke. “Come on, I promise I won’t laugh.”
For a moment Joe’s lips hardened into what promised to develop into a stubborn line, but then he sighed. “If you laugh, I’ll beat the shit out of you.”
Drew held up one hand as if he was being sworn in and drew a large X over his heart with the other. “I will not laugh. Do you want me to pinky swear, too?”
That made Joe snort and roll his eyes. “No, you don’t have to gothatfar.” He hesitated for a moment before finally seeming to make up his mind. “Look, I read a lot, okay? It can get pretty boring on missions sometimes, and when Finn goes out without… well. When I’m alone. I read all kinds of things. Survival magazines. Thrillers. Science fiction, fantasy, mysteries. And romances.” He dropped his gaze to the closed top of the computer, not meeting Drew’s eyes.
Drew blinked, taken aback by that new tidbit of information. Joe was one of the last people he’d ever peg as a romance reader. “Gay romance?”
“Yeah. Sometimes it’s… nice, you know? To be able to identify with the characters and their situations.” Joe lifted his chin. “I’m not ashamed of it, I just hate having people tease me for enjoying romances sometimes. It pisses me off.”
But Drew had no intention of teasing Joe. With a delighted smile, he climbed fully on the bed and sat cross-legged, facing Joe. “Who’s your favorite author? I finished binging R.K. Epson’s contemporary Western series last month, and it wasreallygood. Lots of rolling in the hay and cowboys in tight jeans.”
Joe finally looked at him again, his mouth dropping open. He seemed incapable of speech for at least thirty seconds, and there was no mistaking his expression of stunned surprise. “Wait… are you telling me you read gay romance, too?Really?”
“Yep, really,” Drew said, both pleased and amused he’d finally managed to surprise Joe in a good way. “Like you said, it’s nice being able to relate.”
“Huh.” Joe seemed off-balance, and he shook his head. “I never would have thought you’d be the type to enjoy romances, but I guess people would think the same thing about me. Big scary mercs aren’t supposed to be mushy inside.”
“We’re big, scary mercs, but that’s not all we are.” Drew debated whether to say what he was thinking, but then he decided he might as well. He’d already made himself vulnerable to Joe once in talking about what happened in Iraq. “It’s nice to read about happy endings,” he said at last. “About the kind of life I’ll probably never have. You know, coming home to a husband and a dog, living out the white-picket-fence scenario.”
Joe gave him a sudden, sharp glance, eyes narrowed. He seemed about to say something, but instead he dropped his gaze again, letting out what appeared to be a deliberate breath. “I enjoy romantic suspense and urban fantasies the most,” he admitted. “I read a lot of Angie Leonard and Sandra Crane. Oh, and Jim Walker. He’s one of the guys on the vlog, actually. He and his husband Bill.”
“What’s the vlog?” Drew asked, hoping to keep Joe distracted. “I don’t think I’ve heard it.”
“The Fabulous Gay Romance Review.” Joe opened his laptop again, turning it so that Drew could see the screen. “They cover a big variety of things, not just romance books, but movies, audiobooks, and even plays. They interview authors and have guest reviewers, too. But what I really enjoy is watching their recordings of them making a show. The flubs and asides and commentary are great. They’re really funny guys, and Bill has a variety of facial expressions that crack me up. Especially the way he uses his eyebrows.”
“Strong eyebrow game, huh?” Drew chuckled. “Mind if I watch it with you?”
“You really want to?” Joe seemed hesitant, as if not entirely sure Drew wasn’t having him on.
Instead of replying, Drew shifted so he could lean against the headboard and stretched out beside Joe. Even though he didn’t nestle close—Joe probably would’ve kicked him out if he’d tried—he could still feel the warmth radiating from Joe’s body, and he became acutely aware that he was in bed with a hot, buff, sexy, growly man. Too bad Joe wasn’t the slightest bit interested in him, he thought ruefully. He wouldn’t have minded acting out some of the sex scenes in their favorite books.
“Start it up,” he said, forcing himself to focus on the laptop instead.
Joe didn’t protest Drew’s nearness. He shifted the laptop around, balancing it between them. “I’ll go back to the beginning. You heard me laughing because Jim kept trying to say ‘prestidigitation’ and screwing it up, and every time he did Bill’s eyebrows would twitch.”
Drew settled in to watch, grateful for the respite—and for the moment of rapport with Joe. Maybe the more Joe learned about him, the less Joe would see him as a threat. At the very least, he hoped he and Joe could develop a decent relationship without any lingering jealousy or resentment marring it. Anything more than that…. Well, that was probably a pipe dream best suited for the pages of the romance novels they both liked.
