“Baby, where the hell did you forget your brain today?” Kirby said, shaking his head. But he stepped close to his husband and stood on tiptoes to kiss his cheek.
The food was great, and the mood slowly lifted. Jay sat beside me, and when we finished eating, he held my hand on the table. His brother’s eyes narrowed at that, but Jay lifted his chin as if daring him to say something. Hugh looked away, his face smoothing out.
Then Jay asked about their upcoming projects, and Hugh gaped, a little pale.
“Do you really think that’s a good conversation topic?” he hissed.
“Why not?” said Jay. “Chase’s seen some of your work, I’m sure.”
I wasn’t keen on discussing porn with them any more than Hugh was, though.
“Um. Actually, I was curious about the bar. My brother Perry has been there and said it’s a great place. You restored it yourself, didn’t you?”
Hugh launched into a lengthy explanation of his cocktail bar’s impressive history and the renovation project until he was detailing old cocktail recipes. He didn’t strike me as a talker, so I assumed the word vomit was his way of avoiding any chat about his other job, and I was one hundred percent on his side about that.
Then I asked about his workout regimen, and it turned out Kirby and Hugh had a gym at home.
“Why don’t you go show Chase around,” Kirby said, “and we’ll put the dishes away.”
Jay looked at me with worry, but I smiled. I could handle Hugh on my own. Probably.
I followed him through the open-space layout to a small hallway with several closed doors. After awkwardly pointing out the laundry room, closet, and the guest bathroom, he opened the last door and gestured for me to enter. The room was a decent size and held a couple of stationary bikes, a rowing machine, a respectable assortment of weights, and a state-of-the-art pulley system. I stopped in front of it and whistled.
“Man, that’s a beauty.”
Hugh didn’t say anything, so I turned to face him. He looked like he was about to enter a dentist’s office.
“Look, I owe you an apology,” he said.
My eyebrows flew up. “It’s fine, really.”
“Well, Kirby won’t ever let me live it down if I don’t apologize, so…”
I swallowed a chuckle. “Let’s get it over with, then.”
“You seem like a decent guy. I’m sorry I suggested you were a leech.”
I was about to make a joke about how quickly he gave up under pressure from Kirby and Jay but thought better of it. Too much, too soon. “I’m really grateful you invited me to your home and that you’re giving me a chance.”
He heaved a sigh and nodded. “Okay. Let’s make a few drinks.”
The restof the evening passed smoothly, with only a little gentle ribbing from Kirby toward Hugh. They obviously loved each other, which was interesting given how they’d met. In any case, I would never watch a movie starring either of them ever again.
After ten, we said goodnight, and Jay led me around the house to the other side.
I was about to enter Jay’s home for the first time. I tried not to dwell on the importance of this step so I wouldn’t get even mushier than I already felt.
Jay gave me a tour. The layout seemed an exact mirror image of Kirby and Hugh’s apartment, but it was less flashy—thank God—and contained clear traces of a young teen living there.
“This is Monty’s room,” Jay said, opening the door for me.
I glanced around the dimly lit bedroom. A huge Lego spaceship was the first thing to catch my attention. It took up an entire shelf above the writing desk.
Several skateboards adorned the walls, no wheels, just the boards, painted in crazy colors. Some of them appeared signed. By the artists? Or by some famous skateboarders? The bed was made, but the desk held a mess of papers, pens, game controllers, and charging cables.
“I told him to clean his room before he left, but it’s like he only sees half of it.”
“Hey, this is great. My room was way messier than this. I had the attention span of a hummingbird when I was his age.”
