I trundled along past some of the older single family homes on the outskirts of town, Cody Johnson’s “Human” playing on the radio, the lyrics hitting hard as I pulled up in front of a tiny cottage with a Pride flag flopping about in the dying wind of early evening. Okay, well that was a good sign. Aubrey was an ally at the very least. My heartrate kicked up slightly as I watched the flag snap out then fall, my eyes moving from the flag to a big golden rooster and a cat chilling on the front porch. I opened the door of my truck. The cat and the chicken came trotting up to me, one rubbing my leg, the other pecking at the toe of my boot as if it were a corn cob.
The front door opened and there stood Aubrey. “I see you met the welcome committee! They’re both very friendly but very averse to coming inside the cottage. Please come on in, I have the table set for two. I hope you like spicy food. I may have gotten a little carried away with the hot sauce! I hope not.” He bounced down to me; the suit having been traded for a flouncy shirt of pale green over some black leggings. His hair was down, his glasses on the end of his nose, and his cheeks flushed. Gorgeous. I so wanted to kiss his pink lips. “I bought a live trap today at the mercantile,” he whispered as the chicken and cat darted off to do whatever chickens and cats did. “I’d like to get Ruggerio fixed and all his shots. I’m not sure what to do about Roberto. Do you fix roosters?”
“I think if you do they’re called a capon. Where did you get that odd couple anyway?” I followed him back to the cabin, trying my best to not ogle his tiny ass in those leggings but failing miserably. Funny how just being here with him made me feel less blasé. He was a bright sunny ray after a rain storm had darkened the day.
“They came with the place. I’ll not get Roberto caponized then. Come in, please take off your boots here. And place them on the tray. I just mopped the floor. My handyman, Mr. Yates, tracked sawdust around. Perfect. Oh, do you need help?”
He dropped to his knees before me. My cock thought something hot was happening and plumped up instantly. “How rude. You can sit down on the bench there. I found it stored in the spare room so I dragged it out here for a nice place to sit and take off muddy boots.”
His dark gaze flittered to mine as I stood in his little house, in front of his little door, looking like a giant asshole. “If you sit I can help pull off your boots. They must be hard to…are you okay?”
“Fine, yeah, fine. Just…not used to such good hosting,” I coughed out then sat with a huff on the skinny wooden bench, making sure my flannel shirt covered the bulge in my jeans.
“Oh pshaw! I’d help any of my guest remove their boots if they were incapacitated.”
“I like how you talk. It’s fancy.”
Shit. His eyes rounded as his cheeks flamed. Oh man he was so pretty kneeling in front of me with pink cheeks. Would he freak out if I tucked some hair behind his ear? Probably. That was not acceptable dinner guest behavior.
“That’s sweet. I tend to glom onto words from literature that’s hundreds of years old then wiggle them into my vocabulary. Hank hated it. Said I sounded like a little fag from some Jane Austen book. Not that he had ever read one of herbooks obviously so he was forming an opinion from the interior of his posterior.”
“He was talking out his ass?” I asked with a smile playing on my lips.
“Mm-hmm.” He grabbed my right foot and pulled. He was stronger than I’d assumed a lithe little bookstore owner would be. Thank God I had pulled on clean socks with no holes. “My goodness you have large feet. You know what they say about men with big feet?”
“No, what do they say?”
“They’re hobbits.” He gave me a wink. And just like that I was smitten. Wholly. Not just admiring his ass or his lips or the charming way he talked. But just…everything.
“Good one. Whoever Hank is he’s a shithead for putting you down. I like the way you talk. It’s lyrical and uncommon. Like you.”
Holy shit, Hoyt, please stop talking. You sound like a queer.
I am queer. Now fuck off, Abel. Just for once let me enjoy this moment.
His blush grew redder. “You’re kind. Here, let me see that other foot.”
I’d made him uncomfortable clearly. This was why I didn’t do things like this. Being alone with a man I found attractive. Playing at being a normal person who knew how to act normally in a social setting. I’d blockaded myself in so much to ensure no one ever found out I was gay that I’d rotted like a forgotten potato in a root cellar.
He tugged on my left boot. It slid off with ease. They were well-worn boots. Very well-worn. Smiling widely, he dusted his hands off then shot to his feet, which were clad in little black ballet slippers half the size of my boots.
“There, now we can go eat. I whipped up a little box of corn bread to go with the chili. Gee-Gee, that’s my grandmother whopassed last year, always made corn bread with chili verde. Let me give you the tour. It’s a short one.” He laughed nervously, waving his slim hands about. “Living room, bedroom one there, bedroom two there, bathroom, kitchen. And the tour is done!”
“It’s a nice little place,” I replied since I had to say something. “You fit in here good.”
“Thanks. It feels quite homey now I’ve added a few things here and there. I dug out all of Gee-Gee’s favorite santos figurines.” He motioned to a small cupboard in the corner of the tidy living room with several carved wooden saints. “She was quite fond of the Virgin of Guadalupe.” We paused so he could lift the carving of the Virgin Mary. “She made the trek all the way from Mexico City to Guadulupe as a young girl. When I would fret over something, and I do fret a great deal over many things, she would tell me to whisper my worries to the Lady of Guadalupe for she would banish them for me. To this day I tend to tell the lady my woes.”
“Your grandmother was Mexican?” I asked and got a nod.
“Yes, she came to America at sixteen and got married to a handsome American farmer. They had my mother who married my father, a factory worker in Austin, and they had me. They passed when I was four in a car accident.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you. I was very young. Gee-Gee raised me. She was a delight. Really, I know most people say their grandmothers are precious but she really was. She always accepted me no matter what. Never blinked an eye when I told her I was gay. Never said a negative word about my college courses. She just loved me wholeheartedly. I miss her terribly.”
He hugged the worn wooden statue to his chest. I felt the need to do something so I placed my hand on his shoulder. Okay so he was gay. And alone. Like me. Talk about peas in a pod.Well, I did have a brother that kept trying to wiggle into my life. Guess I wasn’t as alone as I tended to think.
“She sounds lovely.”
