Chapter Thirty-One
Ezra
New comic books came out on Wednesday, which meant the middle of the week was the busiest for us. Customers would flood the store, eager to get their fix, but also lingering around for some good flirtation and social time. As the only comic book store catering to LGBT people in the city, a lot of our regulars thought of Northstar the way other people might think of their favorite bar or coffee shop.
Looking around the store that Wednesday, I was happy to see everyone out in full force. There were geeks wearing shirts to advertise their fandom and their favorite characters, gaymers who came in that day for the flirtatious crowd, and dedicated readers who rushed in, grabbed their new issues, and hurried home to read. With all the brightly colored clothes, thick glasses, and giggly laughs, I felt as much at home as anyone else.
And right on cue to make me even happier, Irving came strolling through the door early that afternoon. It reminded me of the way he used to show up, shuffling around the store and staring at the floor as though he hoped no one would notice him. He still avoided eye contact with most people, but his gaze went straight to the counter, and his face opened with a smile when he caught my eye.
“Your boyfriend is here,” Clark teased as he handed a customer a bag of comics.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” I said, although it sounded wrong coming out my mouth. “He’s just… Irving.”
“The guy you smooch and talk about nonstop? Sounds like a boyfriend to me.”
I poked Clark’s side, and he laughed and swatted my hand away. “One of the guys I’m smooching and talking about nonstop,” I corrected.
I hadn’t given Clark or anyone else at the store the full story, although it had taken whole new levels of self-control to stop myself from narrating every exquisite detail of our trysts in the motel, from the way Irving had undressed me with his mouth to the explosive pleasure of Brick’s pounding. Part of my silence had to do with the fact that I could barely believe it was happening myself. After years of fawning after men who were out of my league and pleasuring myself alone with my toys at home, I had started to believe that romance and sex lived in my fantasy world rather than my everyday life.
Irving and Brick were proof that didn’t have to be the case. As Brick continued to push us away, however, I was starting to worry there was an expiration date to the whole fling. And no matter how much I cared about Irving, I still wasn’t sure what it would mean for us, were Brick to disappear like he kept threatening to do.
Anyway, I didn’t have to worry about that quite yet. In a white T-shirt that clung to his slim muscles and those denim shorts that made his butt look like a piece of fruit, Irving was cute, sexy, and right in front of me.
“Look at that,” Clark teased under his breath. “He’s even smiling now.”
“Busy day?” Irving asked, stepping up to the counter and leaning forward to give me a quick kiss. I heard someone across the store “aww” at us. Irving blushed and looked down, but I just hollered a “Thank you!” toward the back of the store.
“It’s good when it’s busy,” I said. “The day goes much faster.”
Clark grabbed his soda from behind the counter. “Even though he complains about not getting enough time to sketch.”
“Anything new you can share?” Irving asked.
I glanced around, confirming we had a quiet moment at the register, then pulled out my sketchpad. Flipping it open, I showed him some of the drawings of the Snoqualmie Pass I had been working on, as well as some rough sketches of characters I was inventing for fun. I almost flipped ahead, too, showing off the drawings of Irving, Brick, and me together, but stopped myself. Even though they were G-rated, I still felt shy in front of Clark. It was one thing to share a steamy fantasy, but showing my romantic scribbles felt even more revealing.
“Beautiful,” Irving said, tapping one of the mountain cliffs. “I remember that one from the drive.”
“You get your freelance project finished up this morning? I know you had a lot of coding and a big deadline looming.”
Irving nodded. “I sent it in before I came here. It’s a startup I’ve worked for a few times before, so it should go pretty smoothly. I’m sure their team will find a few glitches and bugs for me to tidy up, but after that, I’ll be able to put the project to bed.”
I leaned closer to Clark. “He says they’ll find some bugs, but they probably won’t. Did I tell you that Irving is one of the most highly sought coders in the city?”
“You did tell me that,” Clark said, accepting a pile of comics from a customer. “About five times.”
“It’s not even true,” Irving objected. “I’m good, but I’m not that good.”
I grinned, my mischievous side flaring up. “Oh, you’re that good, babe. Trust me.”
Irving swatted at me, clearly flustered by the flirtation. Now that I had figured out how to draw him out of his shell, I was glad to get him to show a little more of his fun side at the shop and around other people. I knew that he was still slow to trust other people, but spending time with Clark and my other friends was a good step on the way.
“Thank god your other boyfriend doesn’t stop by,” Clark grumbled as he finished up the transaction. “Otherwise, I’d be left alone to run the store.”
“Sorry!” I said, pouncing to attention. Clark had been so kind about my distractions, both at the store and at home. I didn’t want to take advantage of his friendship. “I’ll do a round and make sure the shelves are all tidy.”
“Why don’t you take a break instead?” Liza said, returning to the counter. “Half the customers are staring at you two flirt anyway. Go for a walk, get some sunshine. I’m sure when you get back, there will be plenty of customers knocking down the door to get their weekly comic fix.”
I glanced to Clark to make sure he was okay, then shrugged. “A stroll through the sunshine?” I asked Irving.
