“I’m calling bullshit on that. You had no problem last night when we talked about it. You even liked my ideas.”
Why would a man like this care so much about this project? Did he still have a thing for Jordan and hoped to get through to him this way? “You are aware that Jordan’s in a committed relationship now.”
A look of confusion crossed Ash’s face, before his lips drew up in a sneer. “You think I want to do this because of Peterson? Did he tell you that?”
Nervous, Drew leaned away from Ash, craning his neck to catch the people walking in the doorway. For once in her life couldn’t his sister be early for something? No such luck. His gaze returned to the angry man before him. “No, but I know you had a thing for him once.”
Ash snorted. “Listen. Tell your friend with the overinflated opinion of himself that because I hit on him four or five years ago, doesn’t mean I’m still interested. Tastes change.”
Finally, Rachel walked in and waved to him. Thank God. Before he could stop himself, the snarky comment burst out of his mouth. “Yeah, I know. You’re into waiters now, right? Or should I say they’re into you.” Getting up from his seat, he greeted his sister. “Hey, Rach, how are you, sweetie?”
Her eyes flickered from him to Ash, who sat stunned, frozen in place. “Um, do you want to introduce me to your friend, D?”
“I don’t think so, Rach. We’re not friends, merely acquaintances. I don’t think we’ll be seeing each other after today.” When he looked at Ash over his shoulder, a momentary twinge of regret rippled through his chest. “So long, Davis. See you around.” With his hand on Rachel’s back, he steered her toward the door, hardly paying attention to her complaining that she didn’t have a chance to get her coffee.
“Forget it, Rachel. I’ll buy you lemonade. Now let’s go. I need to buy the fruit to make a cobbler for Nana tomorrow.”
As he passed by the windows of the coffeehouse, he looked through to see if Ash remained. The table was empty, however. Guess he got the message.
“Drew.”
Or not. He turned to find Asher Davis right on his heels, a sheepish expression on his face.
“Listen, Ash, there really isn’t anything to talk about.”
Of course Miss Nosy Pants couldn’t be left out of the conversation. “Hi, I’m Rachel, his much more well-mannered sister.”
In an old-fashioned gesture, Ash picked up Rachel’s hand and kissed it. “Lovely to meet you. Maybe you can convince your brother that I honestly want to help these kids.”
Drew stood observing the exchange between his sister and Ash. He decided to let her form her own opinion of the man. Next to his grandmother, she had the best sense of anyone he knew, not that he’d ever tell her that. Some things a brother never told his sister.
They continued walking down Broadway to the corner of Eighteenth Street, then crossed to enter the park and the crowded farmer’s market. Drew dropped back, letting Rachel talk to Ash. Later he’d press her for the details, but for now he was content to sit back and study the guy.
Was Ash honestly interested in those kids, like he insisted, or was he using it as a way to meet men? It appalled him to think this way about another person, but Jordan’s comments, plus the sexual encounter he’d caught the man in and now outed him about, made him wonder. His face heated as he again recalled the blowjob in the darkened hallway of the restaurant. All the years he and Jordan had been friends, he’d never had any sexual feelings toward him, and merely listened and offered advice whenever his friend began or ended a relationship. Jordan was a buddy, a friend. Nothing sexual with him at all.
This was different. He couldn’t get the memory of Ash Davis’s blissful face out of his mind. Nor could he, if he confessed only to the deepest, darkest part of his mind, forget the sight of Ash’s cock sliding in and out of the mouth of the man sucking him off.
He stumbled. Shit. When was the last time he’d gotten laid? He couldn’t even remember. Months and months. That had to be it, the reason for his strange fascination with Ash’s sex life. Snapping out of his head fog, he heard Rachel laughing at something Ash whispered to her.
“Rach. We need to get the fruit.” Her smile faded at his unusually hard tone.
“Um, okay.” She gave him a frown and a side-eyed glare. “It was nice to meet you, Ash. Maybe I’ll see you around.” She shook his hand.
“That all depends on your brother, I think.”
Drew scowled. “We’ll see. I’ll get back to you this week and let you know my final decision.”
“Can we talk for one second?” Ash gestured with his head to an empty bench. “Rachel, would you excuse us?”
“Sure.” Her uncertain smile flashed for a brief moment. “I’ll, uh, go start picking out the fruit for you, D.”
He nodded and followed Ash to the bench, choosing to sit as far away from him as possible without looking too obvious. “You’ve charmed my sister, which is no easy feat. But—”
“But you still think I’m nothing more than the guy you saw in a hallway getting a blowjob by the waiter, right?”
Ash’s glittering eyes captured the green of the leaves, the blue of the sky, and the brown of the trees, reflecting back at Drew the emotion he held within. Making it impossible for Drew to look away.
“Are you?” Drew held his breath. Footsteps pounded past them, and laughter drifted through the sweet, late spring air as the crowds in Union Square Park walked by. No one paid them much attention, but for Drew, for whatever reason he couldn’t fathom, this conversation became as imperative as breathing.
“Look, Drew, we barely know each other, and you’ve already been prejudiced, not only by your friend but by what you saw the other night. I want you to know, though, that I have my own reason for helping those kids.” He shifted his gaze, focusing on the sidewalk. His black hair swung forward, hiding his face from view. “It’s, uh, too personal to get into now, but I would never, never do anything to hurt any of those kids.” He pulled his hair off his face. “They deserve every chance to live their life.”
What struck Drew—and changed his mind right then about Asher Davis—was the raw and obvious pain in the man’s voice. Whether or not Ash revealed his past, it was clear to Drew this man had suffered greatly in his life. It explained so much about him. A stranger still, yet Drew could sense Ash’s need to be wanted and liked by everyone. It all made sense now, the grasping anonymous sex with men he barely knew and the air of untouchable loneliness he carried with him.
“Hey.” Drew placed his hand on Ash’s shoulder, but to his surprise Ash quickly pulled away. That brief touch, however, gave rise to emotions so intense it rattled Drew to his core.
What the hell is that about?
“You don’t need to talk about it. I can admit it was wrong of me to make a hasty decision. I can see now, my opinion of you was mistaken. I have to get back to Rachel, but I would like you to work with us. I’ll call you?”
His question hung in the air as Ash continued his study of the ground beneath his feet. After a moment, Drew noted the slight jerk of Ash’s head, an acceptance of his words. “Good. We’ll talk. So long, Ash.”
Without waiting for a reply, he left Ash sitting on the bench, all alone in a sea of strangers.
Chapter Five
“Let’s raise our glasses to my parents and the realization of a dream come true.” Drew held up his glass and, with his arm around Rachel, smiled at the group of people who’d made this night possible. “To the Audrey and Maxwell Klein Home Away From Home Clinic.” He drained his glass of champagne and immediately poured another. His apartment might be small and crowded, but it was filled with the people he cared most about in the world. His sister; their grandmother who sat, wiping the tears from her eyes and smiling her sweet smile at him; his two best friends, Mike and Jordan, who was, of course, with his partner, Keith. Also included in their circle now was Peter and his pretty wife, Lisa, as well as Asher Davis. For the past two months while construction was going on, Peter and Ash had helped with getting all the legalities in order, and Peter’s father’s influence had helped with all the necessary permits. His contractor, Jason Mallory, and Jason’s partner, Ryder Daniels, had shown up at the party as well.
Drew moved through the groups of his friends, trying to get through to speak with Nana, but to his amazement, when he got to her chair, she was sitting and laughing with none other than Ash.
“Drew, darling, why haven’t you ever introduced me to this handsome young man before?” Her blue eyes twinkled as her lips curved in a smile. “He’s been so sweet to sit here with me, telling me naughty jokes.”
Ash took her hand and kissed it, then placed a finger to his lips. “Shh, Esther. That was supposed to be between us.” He winked, and she laughed out loud.
“You, young man, are what was known as a rogue in my day.” She winked back at him. “I’ve always had a thing for the bad boys.”
“Nana?” Drew stood, dumbfounded by the scene in front of him. Was this his fierce, independent Nana, flirting with a man over fifty years her junior?
“Yes, dear. Can I help you with something?” She didn’t take her eyes off Ash, and for some reason that irked him.
“Well, no, I wanted to say hello to you and invite you down to the clinic to give you a tour.”
That got her attention. She took his hands in her little ones and squeezed them. “Your parents would’ve been so proud of you, and I know that they are looking down at you and your sister with all the love they have for you and Rachel.”
His heart hurt. Physically. He coughed to try and relieve the pressure in his chest, but it didn’t help. The second glass of champagne slid down his swollen, dry throat. “Thank you, Nana. I still miss them. Every single day.” Hanging his head, he felt her hand stroke his face.
“I do too. But they are here with us, giving us strength. If I didn’t believe that, I couldn’t get up in the morning.”
Ash handed him another drink. “Go on, take it. Seems like you need it. Let go for once.”
Drew held his silvery gaze and smiled. “Thanks, man. I think I do need it, and I’ll take my lawyer’s advice.”
“Is it true that you’re actually the lawyer for that horrible woman? The one who broke my grandson’s heart?” She shot Ash a stern look, and Drew had to laugh. He patted her hand.
“Don’t worry, Nana; she hardly broke my heart. It was a simple agreement, no fighting, and in a few months we’ll be finished.”
“She was a horrible person, wasn’t she?” Nana whispered to Ash, who surprisingly, nodded his head.
“She was indeed. Not nearly good enough for Drew in my opinion.”
A speculative gleam appeared in Nana’s eyes. “Do you have any nice girls for him to date, Mr. Davis? Maybe your girlfriend knows someone.”
Oh brother. The last think he wanted to do was talk about Ash’s sexuality with his grandmother, for God’s sake. He took a big gulp of his drink. Ash, however, came to his rescue.
“Mrs. Klein, I don’t have a girlfriend. I’m gay. That’s why I was so anxious to help Drew with this project, so that no one would ever have to suffer for being different.”
Nana sat for a moment, her gaze shifting from Ash to him. An unreadable look crossed her face. “I see. Well, I could never understand the fuss people make about it. I mean, why is it anyone’s business who you love? Look at those husbands and wives who kill their children. That’s who society should shame, not someone like you.”
To his surprise, she leaned over and kissed Ash’s cheek, then his. “If one of my grandchildren came and told me they were gay, I could never love them any less. Let that be a lesson to you both. Never settle for anything less than true love.” She stood, brushing off their helping hands. “Now I’m going to get a snack. Drew, don’t hover over me. Mr. Davis, I hope you won’t be a stranger.”
Ash took her hand and kissed it again. “You must call me Ash, then.”
She squeezed his arm and walked away. Drew finished his drink, realizing he was a little light-headed. “She’s a firecracker. And she took a real shine to you. That says a lot. My grandmother is the best judge of character.” He tracked her progress across the room as she stopped to socialize with people. Too bad he didn’t pay attention to her opinion about Jackie, but he’d stubbornly insisted on doing what he wanted.
Jordan and Keith came over then, pulling him away. He looked over his shoulder and mouthed
thanks
to Ash, who stayed where he was, a drink in his hand.
* * * *
Ash loved Lisa, he really did, but before this party was over, he’d have to tell Peter he was not interested in his wife’s gay hairdresser or decorator. There was only one man he wanted, and that hadn’t changed since they’d first met two months ago. He wanted Drew Klein in his bed and under his body. He wanted to slide into the man and bury himself, balls to the wall, so to speak. Instead he was stuck listening to her extol the virtue of her decorator’s blond hair and perfect tan, when all he wanted to touch was pale skin and soft, dark curls.
“Lisa, sweetheart. I know you mean well, but I’m not interested. I’m not into dating or having a relationship.” He smiled down at the pretty redhead. Her green eyes narrowed, and he braced himself for her lecture.
“Ash, come on. You can’t go through life having one-night stands. I’m afraid for your health. Besides, you need someone to love. Everyone does.”
He barked out a laugh. “Oh please. Look at Peter’s friends. These men aren’t tied down. Well, except for Peterson. But you know what I mean.”
She scowled at him. “You’re laughing at me, but one day you’ll understand what I’m talking about, and you’ll want to stop this drifting through life with no meaning.”
He kissed her cheek. “I’ve been told I’m very meaningful, sweetheart—where it counts. If you want, I’ll get you references. Now I’m getting another drink; catch you later.” Ignoring her gasp of outrage, he walked away. Conversations ebbed and flowed around him, and he listened with only half an ear as he poured another vodka. Drew, he noticed, looked to be flying high and in a silly, playful mood with his friends. His lips curved in a smile. Perhaps he could end this celebration with a bang after all. Casually, he walked over to a small table by the window and slid his sunglasses behind a grouping of pots holding cacti.