Something Like Lightning (52 page)

“Allison Cross plus one.”

Kelly spun around, beaming at her and offering a hand. “It’s been a long time!” he said.

Allison smiled back. “In my occupation, that’s a good thing. I’d be a lot more worried if you were still on my couch every other week.”

“I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before I return,” Kelly joked. He turned his attention to her companion, a short and slender guy with brownish-blond hair. “And you must be Mr. Allison.”

The man opened his mouth to protest, but Allison got there first. “This is Ben, my gay husband. He fills in when my real husband is busy. He has his own opening tonight.”

“Artist?” Kelly asked.

“Theater. He doesn’t perform, but occasionally he writes. And this one here,” she put an arm around Ben and squeezed, “usually sings in his plays, but he insisted on a break because he’s sad about his man-baby moving out of the house.”

“Man-baby?” Kelly asked.

Again Ben opened his mouth, but Allison was quicker. “The kid is twenty-three years old, but Ben here acts like he’s dropping his child off at kindergarten for the first time. Ain’t that right?”

Ben waited, making sure he wasn’t going to be interrupted again. Then he replied. “Your gay husband wants a gay divorce.”

“Denied,” Allison said, raising her eyebrows and glancing around the room. “We’re going to check out your pretty photos now, Kelly. I don’t know how long you’re planning to be in Austin, but you’re always welcome on my couch. And by that I mean the one in my home. Come hang out sometime.”

“I will,” Kelly said. “Thanks.”

He watched her lead Ben away. Then he turned and ran headlong into someone else. Luckily he was one of the most cushioned people anyone could bump into.

“Do try to control yourself,” Marcello said. “I know it’s been a dreadfully long time since we’ve seen each other, but dry humping hardly seems appropriate.”

“If you hadn’t been creeping up behind me...” Kelly said.

Marcello smiled. “I did consider wrapping you up in a net, but only so I could drag you away for some location shooting. Why must you break my heart and refuse all my job offers?”

Kelly gestured to the nearest wall. “I feel more comfortable behind the lens these days.”

“The art world is a richer place for it,” Marcello said, “but my clients are made poorer by your absence. I don’t just mean that metaphorically. I’m not sure you understand how lucrative your campaigns were.”

“If this doesn’t work out, maybe I’ll come crawling back to you.”

“I doubt that very much,” Marcello said. “From what I understand, there have already been three sales.”

“Really?” Then Kelly rolled his eyes because he saw his mother smiling at him from across the room. “I’m guessing my parents bought all three.”

“Two,” Marcello said. “I purchased one to give as a gift. Regardless, sales are sales, and I have a feeling success will continue to hound you. Speaking of which. I have something to help you along. A present.”

“I really don’t need anything,” Kelly said, looking away.

“Oh? Not even a Canon EOS 1-D?”

“No. Thank you.” Kelly did a double take. “Wait, what? Those cameras are crazy expensive!”

“Indeed. I merely wanted to examine the latest model and had one of my assistants place an order. The silly fool ordered two. Returning the superfluous camera would be a hassle. Clearly I can only trust myself with such matters, and my time is much too precious. I thought you might be interested instead.”

Kelly took a deep breath. “I couldn’t.”

“You might as well. I’ll write it off as a business expense.”

“But you’ve given me so much already. Speaking of which, thank you for the X3. The first day I got it, I spent nearly an hour in the shower, just standing there.”

Marcello’s expression remained neutral. “X3? Is that some sort of fancy new vibrator?”

Kelly snorted. “No. It’s the newest prosthetic leg. You flew me back to Germany earlier this year to have it fitted.”

“Ah,” Marcello said. “I’m afraid you misunderstand. While you were still in my employ, I made the necessary calls to get you into their field testing program. Aside from the limo drive to the airport that day, I never paid a dime to support this enterprise.”

“Nice try. I was worried about the bill and asked the technician about it. The field test program isn’t free. Not for me, but she said the bill had been taken care of.”

“I’m sure it was. Just not by me.”

Kelly’s grin faded. “Then who paid for it?”

Marcello examined his fingernails. “I was sworn to secrecy long ago. Life is more fun with a bit of mystery thrown in, isn’t it? Anyway, do come by my office tonight and at least look at the camera. I’d value your opinion. There are other issues I’d like to discuss as well. I’ll be working late. In fact, I’ll make sure a car is waiting for you when the gallery closes, yes? Wonderful!”

Marcello patted him on the arm and waddled away. Kelly spun around, searching the guests. He spotted his father pointing enthusiastically at one of the framed photos, chatting with a visitor who had wandered in. Kelly supposed his parents could have paid for his leg, but he didn’t see why they would keep it a secret. And they would have had Royal accompany him on his most recent trip to Germany. His mother had worried about Kelly going alone.

In his gut, he already knew. Kelly walked from the main room to one of the wings, as if sensing him there. Sure enough, at the far wall with his back turned, a broad-shouldered figure in a tuxedo studied a photo. Kelly didn’t need him to turn around, since his body remained completely familiar. The direction his short hair moved in before swirling at the crown. The shape of his ears and the lobes Kelly used to playfully nibble. Even the two freckles on his neck, toward the right-hand side and just below his hairline. More than once Kelly had stared at all these things as they lay in bed together. Those tiny details and more came rushing back from the past and caused his heart to pound. They say time heals all wounds, but not when time itself is the cause of them. Kelly felt pained that so many years had passed—so many empty days they could have filled with each other.

Nathaniel moved away from the photo, walking toward the main hall but using the far entrance. Kelly watched him go, and could swear he turned to look just before disappearing from sight. His curiosity getting the better of him, Kelly hurried to the main room. He went to the center, looking in every direction, but saw no sign of Nathaniel. The other wing then?

“Excuse me? I’m told you’re the artist here.”

Kelly glanced over at an older man. He had a camera around his neck, and as it turned out, he was from a local paper. He wanted to take some photos, which Kelly agreed to, and then he wanted to talk shop. The journalist was nice enough, but Kelly remained distracted during their conversation. He kept glancing around, when he saw another familiar face.

William. Kelly wasn’t completely shocked by this, since they had recently talked on the phone. His heart didn’t suffer palpitations either, not like when he’d seen Nathaniel. Sure, memories came rushing back, and as they walked toward each other, some distant part of him felt like they should kiss before holding each other tight. But they wouldn’t. He noticed Jason and Emma then. Their presence was unexpected, but he didn’t mind.

“Surprise!” he said, waving and doing a little skip.

William stepped forward and hugged him, the sensation oddly comfortable.

“You’re walking,” he murmured into Kelly’s ear.

“I am,” Kelly responded, throat feeling tight. “No harm done. It’s like it never happened.”

William pulled back, tears in his eyes. Kelly understood how this must feel to him. Like redemption. He was more than happy to grant it. He swallowed against his own rising emotions and looked at Emma and Jason, who remained puzzled.

“Prosthetic leg,” he said. “It’s amazing what they can do these days. When Marcello found out I was looking into them, he insisted on flying me to Germany, where they have the very best prosthetics in the world. All paid for by the company.”

Or so he had always believed. But what else could he say? That the estranged love of his life had been secretly supporting him all this time? He didn’t even know if it was true. Maybe Marcello was—

“I love that man,” William said. “I love you!”

Kelly rolled his eyes. “Someone fetch William a drink. He gets so emo!”

“Guilty as charged,” William said, “and drinking only makes me more emotional, so we’d better stay sober. Unless you want to see a grown man cry.”

“Tempting,” Kelly said, looking him over. Military service had been good to William. The muscles beneath his navy-blue suit jacket appeared more toned than ever, and his hair was buzzed and bright from exposure to the sun. He’d even managed to get a light tan! None of this filled Kelly with yearning though, which was probably for the best, because Jason was clearly still enamored with William.

“I didn’t expect to see you two here,” Kelly said, making sure his tones were friendly. “Thanks for coming.”

Jason nodded. “It’s good to see you again. Sorry for not staying in touch.”

“It’s fine,” Kelly said. “Modeling kept me busy. Then I got tired of the scene and ran away from home. What about you?”

“Me? Oh, I’ve been...” Jason grasped for words before his shoulders sagged. “Honestly, I’m right where you left me.”

Emma rolled her eyes and nudged him. “You never did know how to sell yourself. Jason has been volunteering at the local animal shelter and keeps coming up with fundraising ideas, enough so that the shelter has been able to expand. He also trains new volunteers.”

“That’s really cool,” Kelly said, “and much more worthwhile than what I’ve been doing. Trust me.”

“I don’t know about that,” Jason said. “People seem to be enjoying your art.”

Kelly smiled. “They feel sorry for me. But if you’d like to look around, I’d be interested in your opinion.”

“Yeah,” Jason said. “Of course.”

“I’ll catch up with you guys,” William said.

Kelly hesitated. As interesting as reconnecting with his ex-boyfriend would be, his search for Nathaniel had been interrupted. Then again, maybe he could do both at once. “Walk with me?” Kelly offered. “Gladly.”

Together they strolled over to the nearest wall of photos. He introduced every piece, and as William carefully considered each photo, Kelly casually turned to search the room. Still no Nathaniel. After ten minutes of this, Kelly turned back around to find William checking him out instead.

“You look good,” he said.

Kelly didn’t hide his surprise. “If you hadn’t shown up with Jason tonight, I’d think you were flirting with me.”

“Don’t worry,” William said. “I wouldn’t be so cruel as to subject you to dating me again.”

“Oh, it wasn’t all that bad,” Kelly said. “I’ve had worse.”

“Really?” William asked. “Just how many prosthetic limbs do you have?”

“Ha! Just one, and when you put it that way, you do sound absolutely villainous. But you’re not. You’ve always been a good person.”

William appeared vulnerable. “I’m trying to be. I really am.”

“You already are,” Kelly said. “I’m disappointed. I thought the Coast Guard would leave you more confident.”

“That was the plan.” William sighed. “And yeah, most of the time I feel like I’ve gotten my life on track. Funny how temptation can sneak up on you though.”

Kelly raised an eyebrow. “Spill it.”

“I came back to Austin hoping to sweep Jason off his feet, only to discover that someone else got there first. He’s with another guy, and I want to wedge my way between them, but we both know that can lead to disaster.”

Kelly tried to hide his amusement and failed. “I can’t decide if this is karma or not, but I’m pretty sure you deserve it.”

William grinned. “You’re such a bastard.”

“I know. But you’ll be fine. From what I can gather, Jason is still madly in love with you. Give it a few weeks and I’m sure things will shake out in your favor.”

“I hope you’re right.”

They moved to the next photo, but only because it seemed the natural thing to do. “Ever regret leaving town all those years ago?” Kelly asked.

William thought about it and shook his head. “No. I became the person I was meant to be. I wasn’t a good boyfriend to you, and I wouldn’t have been to Jason, had I stuck around. All the time on my own has made me feel complete, you know? I’ve let myself be selfish enough that if I get another shot with Jason, I’ll be ready to give all of myself to him. What about you? Do you regret leaving?”

Kelly glanced back toward the main room, just in time to see Nathaniel slipping out the front door. So much for meeting him again. He continued to stare at the door, hoping to see him reappear. When he didn’t, Kelly took a deep breath. “I can’t say I feel complete... But no, I don’t regret it. Leaving was the right thing to do.”

The lights of the gallery were shut off one by one. Kelly stood outside on the sidewalk, watching Tim as he locked the front door. When he was finished, he walked over with his hands in the pockets of his slacks. The hour was late enough that traffic had all but disappeared, the clicking of Tim’s dress shoes loud on the sidewalk.

“Five sales,” he said. “That’s very successful for an opening night. Especially at those prices.”

Kelly nodded, trying to muster some sense of satisfaction, but somehow the night felt like a failure. Holding his first real exhibition, seeing all those old friends, having his family there for one of his proudest moments—even the sales, which showed appreciation for his art—and yet part of him felt emptier than before.

“Cheer up,” Tim said, patting him on the shoulder. “There’s always a weird sort of melancholy at the end of such things. You’ll get through it.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Once he was back in New York, all of this would be a distant dream.

“You need a ride?”

“No.” Kelly nodded across the street at a waiting sedan. A man leaned against the door, smoking a cigarette. “I’m meeting Marcello. He’s giving me a really expensive camera, which means he wants something.”

Tim nodded knowingly. “I’d warn you against doing whatever he wants, but honestly, you won’t know what that is until it’s too late.”