The Geek and His Artist (12 page)

Jimmy looked up at Simon’s friends. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Kip and Tony waved, and Deck leered at him but said, “Same,” at least.

Simon wanted to punch him. His annoyance must have shown, because Deck just grinned even wider. “Oh, fuck off, Deck,” Simon grumbled, and Tony and Kip laughed.

Deck glared.

“Leave him alone man, just cause you’re jealous,” Tony taunted.

“I’m not jealous. I don’t want a boyfriend,” Deck growled.

That only made Tony and Kip laugh harder.

“Sure you do. At least a guy might take you, since none of the girls want you.” Kip dodged the punch Deck threw at him.

“Fuck you,” Deck said, scowling. The laughter got worse, and finally Deck cracked a smile. “Okay, maybe a little. How the fuck did you end up with someone first?”

Simon snorted but Jimmy answered, “By being gorgeous.”

Simon’s face turned red again. “Stop,” he mumbled.

Jimmy replied by kissing his temple. “Nope.”

Simon looked up to see grins on all of his friends’ faces. He scowled, but that only made them laugh. “Don’t you guys have class?” Simon asked, looking pointedly at the clock.

“No sooner than you do,” Kip answered, annoyingly correct.

Jimmy tightened his arm then, and despite Simon’s best attempts, a hiss of pain slipped out. Jimmy let go quickly, but Simon grabbed for his hand. Jimmy considered him for a long moment, then glanced over at Simon’s friends. “Uh, I gotta go to the bathroom before class. Simon, can I walk you?”

Simon frowned but nodded. He snatched up his backpack, but Jimmy took it, and they hurried the few feet over to Simon’s locker. A moment later, he had his skateboard stowed and his English book in his hand. “Uh, half day. See you guys after?”

“Yeah, see you.” Kip waved, and Tony and Deck added theirs.

Simon turned to Jimmy, who held out a hand. He took it, and Jimmy led the way to the boys’ bathroom. Once they were inside, he headed to the sink at the opposite end from the urinals and dropped his and Simon’s bags. “Let me see.”

“It’s nothing to worry about—”

“Bullshit. Let me see,” Jimmy said again.

Simon swallowed. He didn’t want to see pity, couldn’t stand the disgust he’d see in Jimmy’s eyes when he showed his skinny, bruised chest. Saturday he’d managed to stay dressed, except for his cock. This was something else.

He looked away. “I… you don’t….”

“Hey, baby, what is it?”

Simon shook his head and whispered, “You don’t want to see me.”

A noise came from Jimmy’s throat, and he took Simon’s hand again. “Yes, I do. Let me see,” he said for the third time.

With a sigh Simon turned his back to the mirror as he pulled off the fading blue flannel. He laid it on the sink, then lifted his long-sleeved T-shirt.

Jimmy sucked in a breath. “Holy fuck!” He kept the words whispered, but Simon winced anyway. He knew exactly what Jimmy was seeing. He could still clearly see in his mind’s eye the bruises that pretty much covered his back, shoulders, and sides, and the scars across the skin that had never completely healed from earlier instances. “Oh God, baby, this… I…. Fuck,” he bit off, finally.

It took all Simon had to hide his shame. “I know it’s ugly, you don’t need to look—”

Jimmy gripped Simon’s shoulders gently and turned him around. Simon kept his gaze firmly on Jimmy’s Chewbacca T-shirt as he let his own shirt fall back down. “
You
are no less gorgeous, no less
anything
, because of these.”

The words drew Simon’s gaze to Jimmy’s face, and he was shocked at what he saw. No pity, no disgust, like he’d expected. Instead, there was carefully buried fury, a lot of concern, and something else Simon couldn’t put a name to. “How can you…?”

The play of emotions across Jimmy’s face as he struggled for words—fighting some internal battle Simon could only, probably incorrectly, guess at—was hard to watch. “Because I care about you, and these are not your fault. All they show is just how much you can take. I… I shouldn’t have taken you out, I shouldn’t have asked—”

Simon put his hand up over Jimmy’s mouth, shaking his head. “No. I’m glad I went. It was
so
worth anything The Bastard could do to me.”

Jimmy took Simon’s hand and shook his head. “Nothing is worth this, Simon, nothing.”

“You are,” Simon said softly.

“Oh, baby,” Jimmy whispered staring down at him with soft eyes. “Come home with me, please? Don’t do this.”

Frowning, Simon tried to ignore his fear, but it was an ever-present thing that had filled him for too long, and he still hadn’t figured out how to put it aside. “I’m still thinking about that, okay?” It was all he could offer, which he knew was nothing.

He saw a flash of frustration cross Jimmy’s face before the emotion was buried. “Okay. Listen, uh, Amy’s coming home this weekend, with Dirk, for a visit. Maybe you could get away then. We’re having this big noon meal on Saturday. And I’d really like to introduce you to my sister. And my dad, for that matter.”

Simon nodded. “Yeah, if he goes, I’ll be there.”

Jimmy smiled and pulled Simon gently into his arms.

Heart pounding, Simon closed the tiny distance. “Can I kiss you?”

“Of course, why ask?” Jimmy blinked in puzzlement.

“Well, we’re at school. You didn’t want to last wee—”

Simon’s words were cut off by Jimmy’s lips. Simon knew he should keep it light, chaste—they were in the boys’ bathroom at school, after all—but he needed to feel Jimmy, needed what had so quickly become his center and sanity. So he opened his mouth and thrilled when Jimmy’s tongue met his. Simon got lost in the kiss, in the way their tongues slid, taking in the taste of his boyfriend, the amazing way Jimmy made him feel—safe, important, visible, wanted, like he was Jimmy’s everything. He didn’t understand
why
he felt these things after what most people would call such a short time, but he did and he reveled in it.

The bell rang and interrupted them. Simon would have blushed at the lump he now had in his jeans if he wasn’t against Jimmy’s equally obvious lump. Instead, they both adjusted themselves, and Jimmy helped him back into his blue flannel shirt. After another quick kiss, they left the bathroom, Jimmy insisting on carrying Simon’s backpack.

“I can carry it,” Simon sighed.

Jimmy smiled. “I know. Both shoulders, though, right?”

Simon nodded unhappily. “Yeah.”

“Well, then, let me do this. So… meeting your friends after school?”

“I just figured I’d say hi before I went home or, uh, well, I was going to ask you what you were doing.”

Jimmy’s smile was brilliant. “Hopefully spending time with you. When do you have to be home?”

“The Bastard never pays attention to the calendar, so just by the end of the school day.”

Jimmy nodded. “Okay. Well, I’ll meet you after chem, okay?”

Simon smiled and left a light kiss on Jimmy’s cheek when he took his book bag outside his English classroom. “See you after chem.”

Jimmy watched him walk in, and Simon focused on not looking like he’d been beaten within an inch of his life as he took his seat.

S
IMON
WAS
annoyed that his lab partner hadn’t been in class and he’d been the one having to do everything. So he was still scrambling to finish his notes when the bell rang and was only putting his things away after the fact. His annoyance stretched to his teacher, who
insisted
they start the week with lab work. Simon had been hoping for a simple lecture and note-taking.

He shook it off as he stepped through the door to find Jimmy against the wall across from him. The smile his boyfriend gave him pushed the last of the annoyance away, and he walked over to join Jimmy. “Hi.”

Jimmy’s beautiful smile got bigger. “Hi, yourself. So….” He pushed off the wall and reached out. Simon didn’t bother arguing, simply handed over his backpack, then took Jimmy’s other hand. “Was there anything you wanted to do?”

Simon frowned. “I’m not sure. Before you… well, we used to go over to the skate park at McKinley when we had a half day.”

“I could go with you.” He pursed his lips as he looked at Simon. “Are… should you be on your board?”

Simon sighed. “Probably not. If I fall—and I do, a lot—it’s gonna hurt way worse than normal.” He closed his mouth and gritted his teeth for a moment as his anger at The Bastard surfaced. “I fucking hate that,” he muttered.

“I don’t blame you. But look at it this way. If you fall, it’s that much longer before you can get back on.”

“Yeah.” Simon nodded. “You wouldn’t mind hanging out with my friends? What about yours?”

Jimmy raised his eyebrows as they got to Simon’s locker. He opened his mouth to speak when Tony and Deck stepped up.

“Yo,” Deck said, waving. Simon returned it. “You guys gonna go to the park? It’s so warm out, we can actually, you know, do something today.”

Simon smiled. “We’ll go, I guess. Gotta sit it out, though. Not feeling well.”

“You okay, man?” Deck asked, frowning.

Simon held a hand up. “Fine enough. Just not up to a half-pipe.”

Deck stared at him a moment, then shrugged, and Simon let out a small breath of relief that he let it go. “’Kay. Whatever.”

“Hey,” Sean said, walking up, Ronnie in tow. “What’s up?”

“Was thinking about going with them to the skate park,” Jimmy said, tossing his head toward Tony and Deck.

Sean looked up, smiling. “Oh?” Then he frowned. “Damn, left my board at home.”

“You can use mine,” Simon offered.

Sean raised his eyebrows. “Really?” When Simon nodded, he grinned. “Great. Ronnie, you cool with it?”

Ronnie shrugged. “Don’t much care where we hang out.”

“Great,” Tony said, then frowned. “We are not all fitting in my car, though.”

“I’ve got mine here,” Sean said. “I could drive. Uh, where is it?”

“McKinley,” Kip said, stepping up.

Sean’s eyebrows scrunched. “I’m not sure where that is.”

“I could ride with you,” Simon offered. “Show you where it is.”

Sean nodded. “Okay.” He frowned. “Not sure Jimmy would fit with Ronnie in the back. He’s a fuckin’ giant and I drive a Rabbit.”

“Fuck you, man,” Jimmy grumbled. Everyone except Jimmy laughed, even Simon, though Simon tried to keep it to a chuckle. Jimmy gave him a fake glare, then kissed him.

“I’ll sit back there with him. Ronnie can sit up front.”

“Hey, you don’t have to worry about me getting too close. I wouldn’t fuck him if he was the last man on earth.”

“You don’t fuck men, asshole,” Sean pointed out. For some reason, this sent Kip into a laughing fit. Sean watched him for a minute before shaking his head. “So… we ready to go?”

It took a few moments to get everyone sorted. Simon did end up sitting in the back with Jimmy, even though it was a little uncomfortable getting in behind the passenger seat. But once he’d settled into his boyfriend’s arms, he didn’t mind it quite so much.

The drive itself was mostly uneventful and fun, listening to Sean, Ronnie, and Jimmy snark at each other. Simon caught a few of his own comments and volleyed them back, happy at the acceptance he got from Jimmy’s friends. He’d never had this many friends before, never been anywhere long enough to make them, and it bothered him just a little. He
liked
Sean and Ronnie and knew if Jimmy got sick of him—and Simon wondered if he wouldn’t, as frustrated as he seemed to be with Simon’s resistance—Sean and Ronnie would back Jimmy.

Which was how it should be, but Simon would miss them.

He hoped Jimmy
wouldn’t
give up on him. But Simon still couldn’t seem to shake the fears of what would happen if he left and The Bastard sent the police after him and found him. He didn’t think the current run of bruises would change The Bastard’s reaction either.

And what if he found out where Simon went? Would he be putting Jimmy and his family in danger? The Bastard had been careful to keep things away from the authorities. Despite Simon’s fears of group homes and juvie, he knew The Bastard would get in serious trouble if he were caught. But if the man got angry enough, Simon didn’t know if The Bastard would keep it to beating him or go after Jimmy. And Simon just
could not
stand the thought of that.

Simon pushed the thoughts away as he and Jimmy settled on one of the benches outside the skate park. He knew, one way or the other, he had to deal with The Bastard. He wasn’t sure how many more nights like Saturday he could take. And though he
was
afraid—horribly so, for himself, for Jimmy, and for Jimmy’s family—he longed to get the fuck out and away from The Bastard.

And Jimmy felt safe. Safe in a way no one else ever had. Could Simon trust that?

Simon sighed and wiggled around on the too-small bench as he watched Sean and Kip on one of the half-pipes. But between the lumpy boards and the bruises, he was having a difficult time of it. He looked around, frowning, but there wasn’t anywhere else to sit. Ronnie had set up on the other bench, his computer on his lap for the moment, looking at something. Jimmy and Simon left him to it, and Simon looked at the rest of the area. The ground was too cold, so that left somewhere on the ramps and pipes.

One of the half-pipes had a long flat surface at the top with a rail, set up for watching. It was made of wood and wouldn’t likely be quite as cold as the ground. “Hey, let’s go up there, this sucks,” Simon said, pointing.

“Thank God,” Jimmy mumbled, making Simon laugh. “I wasn’t going to make you move, but these things are
not
built for six-and-a-half-foot-tall people.”

Simon shook his head, agreeing. “Tell me next time.”

“Ronnie,” Jimmy said, standing. “We’re going up there.” He pointed at the top of the ramp. “This is too fucking uncomfortable.”

“Yeah, okay. I’ll be up a little later. I’m about to—”

“I don’t want to know,” Jimmy said. “I am not going to jail with you.”

Ronnie flipped him off but kept his focus on the computer.