“I said I don’t have a car and I’m not likely to get one as long as I live in the city. It’s too expensive to put it in a garage and the streets are an invitation to theft.” Davey’s ears turned red—obviously embarrassed that his comment was overheard.
“Driving is a life skill you should learn in case of emergency. If I had a heart attack, could you drive me to the hospital? No…we’d have to wait for an ambulance and I may die.”
Davey snorted. “The ambulance has flashing red lights and can get you to the hospital a lot faster than I could even if I did drive.”
Jake thought a moment. “You’re right, bad example. However, suppose we do get a house out here for weekends, how would you get over to see your friends if I was playing golf with the Doms? It wouldn’t be fair to ask them to pick you up all of the time.” Jake was satisfied he made his point.
“Are you getting a house?” Davey wondered if he would ever get to see it.
“I think we’re going to look for one starting next weekend. There are a lot of changes coming, especially if you stay with me.”
§ § §
After Jake’s last remark, Davey spent the rest of the drive in silence. He had to think.
Does Jake really want me to stay with him? It’s a good thing I got everyone’s phone number. I’m at a loss until they tell me what he had to say to the Doms.
It was nine thirty when they drove up to the circular drive of Jake’s building. The valet took the car to the garage and Stanley opened the door and signaled Regis to take the duffle bags. Davey carried Bandit’s carrier inside.
Jake opened the cat food. “We have those two briefs to finish tomorrow and I have a meeting with Gilcrest and Sampson at nine so we should call it an early night. Leave the duffle bags. Marla will deal with them in the morning. Bandit has his bowls full, clean litter and all his toys are out. Come to bed.”
Davey wondered,
Am I supposed to come to bed with him or go to my own room?
“What are you waiting for?” Jake asked as he grabbed Davey’s hand and dragged him into the master suite.
I guess he just answered my question.
“Can I get my pajamas?”
“Is it cold in here?” Jake asked in that smooth as melted chocolate voice.
“No, not really.” Jake let go of his hand and Davey stood in the middle of the room.
“Then strip down to your briefs and come to bed.”
Davey stared at Jake almost cross-eyed in surprise. He thought that Jake wanted him in his bed just for the weekend.
I guess I’m wrong.
Davey gamely stripped off his clothing and came to bed.
Jake put his arms around Davey and tucked him into his shoulder. He bent his head down and gave him a soul destroying kiss. He ran his tongue over Davey’s lips until Davey parted his. His lips moved over Davey’s, plundering his depths.
Jake turned him abruptly and put Davey’s back to his chest. “Good night, baby.”
“Good night, Jake. Sleep well.”
I know I will, I’m in your arms.
§ § §
Tuesday Morning
Just as he had the week before, Davey got up early, showered, dressed and made blueberry pancakes. Although the pancakes were perfect, Davey was in a bit of a snit.
“Jake, can I go downtown after work today? I have to mop, dust and spray. In addition to that I’d like to get some of my cooking things. You don’t have any non-stick pans or a waffle maker.” Davey watched Jake expectantly.
“Did you say waffles? I suppose we could make a quick run downtown to Chelsea after work tonight before you go to class.” Jake glanced at the schedule Edith put together that was synced to his phone. “My last meeting is at three. I’ll be done by three thirty.”
“I should have those briefs finished by tomorrow,” Davey told Jake as he dished out the pancakes. The warmed maple syrup along with a large slice of ham sat on the table with some melted butter.
“I skipped my last two workouts. If you keep feeding me like this, I’ll be as big as a boat. We’ll work out tomorrow morning. We won’t have time after we get back from New Jersey. We’ll order Chinese when we get home.”
“I could still throw something together for supper when we get back,” Davey offered, afraid he wasn’t pulling his weight.
“Remember who’s in charge here. We go to Chelsea with a few boxes to get the kitchen things you need and then go to Jersey.”
“Yes, Jake. I just don’t want you to think I’m slacking off,” Davey said nervously.
“Baby, you don’t know how to slack off. Let’s put the dishes in the sink for Marla and head uptown.”
“Are you sure that’s okay? I mean, we could get roaches leaving food out.”
“It’s okay. Marla will be here within a half an hour.”
§ § §
Davey was in the middle of one of the briefs when the phone on his desk rang. It was Greg.
“How did the rest of the weekend go? I gather you both got home in one piece?” Davey turned on the screensaver, ever mindful of a client’s privacy.
“Yes, he had me sleep with him again last night.” Davey glanced nervously at his door.
“Sleep as in sleep?” Greg asked.
“Yeah, just like over the weekend only this time he kissed me. It was my first real kiss. I loved it, but he stopped after the first one. I was so disappointed.”
“Did you kiss him back?”
“I think so. Let’s say I tried to respond with enthusiasm.” Davey compulsively straightened his desk and the file.
“Sounds to me like you’re getting somewhere. I’ll have Jim check with Reed to see if he can find out what the Doms spoke to Jake about this weekend, then I’ll have him call you.”
“I don’t know if they allow personal calls at work,” Davey fretted.
“Don’t worry. Jim will call and if Jake says anything tell him it was Jim and you didn’t know the policy, which is the absolute truth. I’ve got to go. I have a patient coming in at ten.”
Davey finished the brief and walked across the hall to Jake’s office. He knocked on the open door. Jake motioned him to come in. “You can take for granted that you can come into my office unless I’m on the phone or have a client. If I have a client, you’ll probably be here with me anyway or in the conference room. What can I do for you?” Jake tented his hands with his elbows on the desk.
“I finished the first brief. I thought this would be difficult—but I immediately found two recent precedents and once I found those, I was able to apply the same citations to our brief that the lawyers made to the judge that set the precedent. The last one will take me the rest of the day. I may have to go pretty far back to find something to support this client’s claim.” Davey looked for disappointment in Jake’s eyes; he found none.
“If you find even one precedent to support Spinelli’s position, you’ll get that raise early. I think that one is unwinnable. Don’t forget we’re going to lunch at noon?”
“I won’t.”
“Good, then get going.” Jake cracked an invisible whip which made Davey think of their weekend together. Davey smiled.
§ § §
When Jake came to Davey’s office at noon as promised, Edith told him that Davey was in the law library. Miraculously, Davey found a precedent for Spinelli that dated back to 1972. He also found one case from two years ago where that precedent was cited and that side had won. “I’m so happy about Spinelli that I’m not even going to scold you for not being where I told you to be at noon. Let’s go to lunch. Have you ever been to Le Cirque? I had Edith make reservations this morning but hurry up. They will only hold our table for twenty minutes.”
“Isn’t that the restaurant in our building?” Even he had heard of Le Cirque.
“Yes, that’s the one.”
Davey grabbed his suit jacket and raincoat against the early October chill and they took the elevator downstairs and grabbed a cab to Le Cirque. Davey had the trout with green apples and fennel, and Jake had the lamb confit with corn pesto and lemon. They were going to share an order of pomme frites and vegetables.
The waiter brought out Davey’s iced tea and Jake’s wine.
“Jim called while you were in the law library. You are allowed to take personal calls at work so call him when we get back to the office. I can’t believe you finished the Spinelli brief. I may have to loan you out after all, I don’t know if I have enough work to keep up with you.”
Jake saw the baby frown lines appear on Davey’s face. “Don’t worry, baby. You’re mine, here in the office and at home for at least three months, remember?”
Davey smiled and Jake was happy.
§ § §
Before Davey had a chance to pick up the phone to call Jim, the phone rang. “David Howell speaking.”
“Hi, David Howell, this is Jim Menetti. How are you this fine October day?”
Davey sat down. “I’m fine, Jim, how are you? We just got back from lunch. Jake actually took me to Le Cirque, it was heavenly.”
“I’ll bet. I’m calling because I’ve done my part in our little conspiracy and thought I’d call you with the result.”
“I didn’t know there was a conspiracy or what part you were supposed to play. Was I on tap to do something?” Davey racked his brain trying to think of what the subs could have assigned him to do.
“He is falling in love with you, love, not lust. He told Bear he didn’t know what he’d do if you left him.”
“It’s been less than a week…”
“Some people just know,” Jim said sagely.
Davey tapped a pencil onto his desk calendar making little dots, then stopped when he realized he was making a mess.
“What do I do now?” Davey asked, hoping Jim had an answer.
“Do you want him?”
Davey didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”
“Then go for it.”
“Uhh…I’ve never gone for it before. I’ve never even had a boyfriend—I don’t know how to go for it.”
“No worries. When you guys come down this weekend, they’re going to play golf again on Saturday. We can make a plan then. I know you’re at the office, so I’ll let you go. See you on Friday night. We plan to be at Brian’s on Saturday. He doesn’t cook so any offerings will be appreciated.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Tuesday Night
They left the office at four and outside there was a Lincoln Town Car waiting for them with a driver. Davey looked at Jake, eyebrow up in question. “I ordered the car so it would be easier for us to get the things out of your apartment without worrying about where to park so we can cart the stuff to the car. I doubt we’ll be as lucky as last time and get a spot right in front of the building.” The driver opened the door and Jake, and then Davey, got in the back seat.
“The driver will take us to Jersey and wait while I go to see Bear and you’re at class. Then we can nap on the way home.”
The ride downtown was uneventful. Davey kept apologizing because he’d forgotten about class. Jake said it wasn’t a problem. Class wasn’t until seven and that would give them plenty of time. The driver double parked and gave them his number to call as soon as they needed him.
Davey opened the main door to the vestibule and collected his mail. He unlocked the door to his apartment and found Harry laying on his futon. “Where’s the television and the stereo system?”
“Never mind that, Harry, what are you doing here?”
“Bud kicked me out. So it’s time for you to find a new apartment.” Harry stood up to his full height, towering six inches over Davey who was only five foot seven.
Jake stepped out of the dark hall. “Davey’s rent is paid for the next four months. Unless you have four thousand dollars and a writ of eviction, you’re the one who has to find somewhere else to stay.”
“Who’s the dude?” Harry walked up to Jake and tried to stare him down. He was noticeably unsuccessful.
“I’m Jake Cohen from Cohen, Gilcrest and Sampson.” Harry’s mouth hung open. “Davey works for me and we are seeing each other. You have no legal right to set foot in this apartment once it’s been sublet. The terms of this sublet are open-ended, so I’d say you’re screwed, Harry. You better go back to where you came from and make nice to whoever the fool is who took you in until you can find something else—because for the next four months, at least, this apartment belongs to Davey. I’m his legal representative. If you want to terminate the sublet, you need to go to court. Leave us your phone number and we’ll get back to you about the availability of the apartment.”
Harry stormed out.
“How did you do that? Harry won’t take this lying down.”
“Don’t worry, baby. We’ll depose Mrs. Darcy and you’ll bring any papers you have from Harry on the apartment to work tomorrow and we’ll fix it. You’ve been living here for three years without Harry and have an equal claim because he signed papers for an open-ended sublet. You did have him sign papers, didn’t you?”
“I guess I’m not that stupid because I made him sign a standard lease agreement that was open-ended. We had a verbal agreement that I’d have six months to vacate, which I wouldn’t try to enforce if Harry hadn’t been such a dickhead.”
“You were right, Harry is no friend and he is a dickhead. I’m afraid Harry has set our schedule back a little, you can’t be late for class or Bull will be fuming. Just spray and get what you need from the kitchen. I’ll call the driver.”
“I’m going to have to buy some more spray,” Davey mumbled.
“Put it on Marla’s grocery list.”
§ § §
What you’re going to do is move out and move in with me.
But Jake said nothing aloud. Davey picked up two strange looking pans. “What are those, indented cookie sheets?”
“No, they’re for madeleines. They are a cake-like cookie that you serve dipped in chocolate, with raspberry jam inside or dusted with powdered sugar. Jim said that they would be at Brian’s on Saturday morning while you played golf. If it’s okay with you, I’ll leave Marla a note telling her what to get from the store and I can make and freeze them Thursday night.”
“Because you took care of Spinelli, we’re both off on Friday so you can make them then. Make enough for the Doms or they’ll complain loudly. Come to think of it, so will I.” Jake chuckled. “Let’s get going.”
The ride to New Jersey was quick and uneventful. They dropped Davey off at the studio then Jake instructed the driver to put Bear’s address in his GPS. Jake slowly stewed until he got there.