That’s where he figured all their playfulness would lead. But would Wes be pleased to see Art as he was? Wes had seen him in a swimsuit on numerous occasions at the pool, but what would it be like during a more intimate moment? Though Art had gotten off with other guys, he hadn’t been attracted to a man in that way in so long, and he didn’t want to disappointWes.
He thought about the compliment again.Wes was just being friendly, he told himself. He couldn’t have viewed him that way. He would have preferred to shake the compliment from his mind altogether, but no matter how he tried, he couldn’t. It left him feeling unsettled, even as he took the next walk with Wes through their familiartrail.
When they reached the pond, Wes urged them to the log, which had become part of their walking routine by that point. After they sat and got comfortable, Wes said, “This has been a wonderful day, hasn’tit?”
“Yes, we’ve been very fortunate with the weatherrecently.”
But Art felt like a teenager again, sitting next to Wes and wondering what he was thinking at that moment, where what they were doing was really leadingthem.
“So…um…what do you guys do for fun around here?” Wesasked.
“What do youmean?”
“Where do you go out at night? Do you have any bars around here or…I don’t know, danceclubs?”
“Dance clubs?” Art couldn’t say the words without chuckling. “Are you having a strong desire todance?”
“I was thinking I might ask you to dinnerfirst.”
Art’s face warmed, and despite how hot the day was, he knew it had nothing to do with the temperature. Damn, Wes had done it to him again. He wanted to crawl out of his skin and also shout out in excitement at the same time. It was like that first flirtation with a man…which happened to beWes.
“I’m saying I want to take you on a date, Art,” Wes said. As he’d mentioned before, he didn’t play games or beat around the bush. It reminded Art of when he called him beautiful. Had that really beensincere?
But Art hadn’t done this in so long…or even encountered the possibility of actual interest beyond the physical. It made him uneasy and uncertain, which was part of what made it all that much morethrilling.
“This isn’t some sort of joke?” Art spit out, not because he believed it to be one. After all, considering the escalation of their relationship, it was the next logical step, but at the same time, Art hadn’t convinced himself the possibility wasreal.
“I like to think I tell better jokes than that,” Wes said, grimacing, but then smiling immediately after, which let Art know he was just being cheeky. “But if you’re going to say no, you can pretend itwas.”
Art laughed at Wes’s lightheartedness, which diffused much of the tension Art had managed to work up over something sosimple.
“Come on, Art Cromley,” Wes continued. “And don’t give me grief on taking sixty-something years to ask you to go out withme.”
Art couldn’t stop laughing because the whole thing just seemed soabsurd.
He was acting like ateenager.
And that felt damnedgood.
