“Americus, Sumter County.” Tommy gave a slight shrug. “It’s a real small town, so you might not’ve heard of it. Near Tifton.”
Kevin grinned. “I had you for a Georgia boy with that accent.” He loved the way Tommy’s cheeks grew pink. Next to him, Kevin could hear Patrick conversing with a customer, that deep voice rumbling away. He gave Tommy his full attention. “You’re not dating anyone right now, are you?”
Lord, those cheeks were scarlet. “No, sir.”
Damn, but he was a polite one. “An’ we know why that is, right? Seems you have a thing for older guys.” Kevin winked, and Tommy swallowed, eyes wide.
Beside him Patrick snickered and then leaned around Kevin to address Tommy. “Hey, I’m an older guy too, y’know.” He leered. “How about it, kid?”
Tommy burst out laughing, the sound delightful. “Er, thanks for the offer, sir, but no.” It was a good look on him.
“Hey, can I get you a shot of something? On the house?” Kevin offered.
Tommy shook his head. “That’s real kind of you, sir, but I don’t drink. An’ even if I did, I got my truck, an’ I wouldn’t drink an’ drive.”
Kevin nodded. Yeah, he was liking Tommy more and more. “Well, when you’re ready, the first one’s on me, y’hear?” Tommy gave him that shy smile.
Patrick leaned forward, lowering his voice. “I’ll bet Mike will be sorry to have missed you, but lover boy is out in LA, working in the heat?—”
Kevin gave Patrick a swift dig in the ribs with his elbow, making the older man gape at him in surprise. “Yeah, well I’m sure Mike’s having a wonderful time on hiscelebrity bus tour.” He gave Patrick a meaningful stare.
Patrick frowned. “What the…?” Then his brow cleared. “Oh, yeah, he’s prob’ly having a grand ol’ time.” Nodding to Tommy, he walked off around the bar, Kevin following him. When they were out of sight and sound of Tommy, Patrick opened his eyes wide. “You think he doesn’t know about Mike?”
Kevin snorted. “I’d bet next month’s tips on it. Oh, I’m sure he’ll find out eventually, but let’s see what happens before we get to that point, okay?” He grinned. “Don’t you wanna see how things go between those two? Lord knows Mike sorely needssomeonesince Dirk hauled ass outta his life.” He stared at Patrick. “No sense in bursting the kid’s bubble. He’s obviously a sweet little shy boy. Besides, it’s not our place to tell him, it’s Mike’s. Right?”
Patrick nodded slowly. “You’re right.” Then he chuckled.
“What?”
Patrick grinned. “I’m just picturin’ Mike and shy boy over there in a lip-lock. Think I’d pay good money to see that.” He went off behind the bar, whistling.
Kevin smiled to himself.
Lord, nowtherewas an image.
Tommy opened the door that connected Ben’s basement apartment with the rest of the house and made his way to the large kitchen. Everywhere was quiet, as it usually was on a Sunday morning. Ben was still fast asleep, as it was way too early for his ass to be out of bed. Tommy knew from habit that the only person likely to be around at that hour would be Ben’s sister, Bethany.
Sure enough, Bethany was leaning against the counter, her bathrobe tied loosely around her waist, a mug of coffee already in her hands. She smiled when he walked in.
“I was wondering where my Sunday morning coffee buddy had gotten to.”
She put down her mug and poured him some coffee. This had become their regular time to chat. Every Sunday morning, Bethany got up real early to play tennis at the Piedmont Driving Club, and she and Tommy would meet in the kitchen to drink coffee and shoot the breeze. He liked these times. Usually when she and Ben were together, the atmosphere was very different. Her nose was either permanently lodged in a book or in Ben’s business. The siblings couldn’t be more different. Bethany was the studious one. She was dead set on being an international business lawyer like her daddy. Ben, on the other hand, was the one who always completed his assignments at the very last minute, scraping through by the skin of his teeth. The number of times he expressed gratitude for having a damn good memory…. Bethany clearly disapproved of his happy-go-lucky attitude.
Bethany studied him for a moment while they drank their coffee in a comfortable silence. Tommy didn’t mind her much. He’d not gotten on all that well with his own sister, Mary, whowas older than him, and Bethany was nothing like her. As the months had gone by and they’d grown accustomed to each other, he’d relaxed around Bethany enough to share a joke now and then.
Tommy sipped his coffee, leaning against the counter next to her. Bethany paused, coffee mug in hand, and tilted her head, staring at him.
“So, are you out yet?”
His throat seized up, and breathing suddenly became a chore. He knew his chin was trembling—hell, hislegswere shaking, if it came to that—and he must’ve looked the perfect poster boy forshit scared.
Finally he found words. “’Scuse me?” He was still too stunned to say more.
Bethany put down her coffee mug and patted his arm. “It’s okay,” she said with a smile. “I’m starting to get used to it.”
Tommy took several large gulps of air. He wasn’t about to deny it, all the meetings he’d attended and the stuff he’d watched online had given him more confidence, but it was still a shock to hear Bethany speak of his sexuality so matter-of-factly.
“How’d you know?” he said at last.
