The Geek and His Artist (14 page)

“Are you sure you can’t come home with me? At least for a while? Mom might be able to help.”

Simon frowned. “I really can’t chance it, especially this close to Saturday.”

Jimmy considered him for a long moment, then fished his phone out of his pocket. “Mom? Hi, no, I’m fine. I’m at the skate park with Simon, Ronnie, Sean, and Simon’s friends.” He paused. “Yeah. Look, what kind of treatment do you give for bruises and stuff?” He fell silent as he listened, then hurriedly said, “No, not me! I’m fine. I know better. No, it’s….” He glanced up at Simon. “Sean decided to get on a board and fell.” He paused and listened. “Yeah. Really? That’s all?” He listened again, his eyes meeting Simon’s. “Well, yeah, no, I don’t think so either.” Another pause. “Yeah, it is. Okay. I’ll be home around five.” He waited a moment. “’Kay. Bye.”

Simon just blinked at him. “She guessed, didn’t she?”

Jimmy nodded. “Yeah. I’ve never been good at lying to her. She sees right through it, even when she can’t actually see me. Sorry.”

Simon shrugged. “It’s okay. She knew anyway. What did she say?”

“Painkiller. Like Tylenol or something. Do you have any?”

Simon remembered The Bastard locking it in a drawer in his room, and shook his head.

“Well, we’ll stop on the way back to your place, then. She also said to use ice if it’s swelling, and after two days, you should put, like, a warm washcloth on it to get the blood flowing. Helps with healing and probably feels pretty good. She also said you could take a bath with Epsom salts, but I doubt you’d want to be in the bathroom naked that long. Other than that… not much you can do.”

“Well, I can do the ice and heat. And you’re right, definitely not the bath.” He sighed. “You don’t have to stop for me.”

“Hey, I can’t do what I really want, so let me do this, okay?”

Simon hesitated, frowning, then nodded. “Okay.”

Jimmy’s smile told him he’d done the right thing. He settled into Jimmy’s arms again, and he and Jimmy watched the hot skater guy for a while. Simon closed his eyes now and again, enjoying the arms around him, savoring the feeling of being safe Jimmy gave him.

A few minutes later, Ronnie started muttering to Tony and Deck over the computer. Jimmy and Simon watched them, chuckling. It was actually kind of funny, the way they all seemed so focused.

That was until Sean and Kip came back. Simon didn’t see them come back into the skate park, and if he had, he might not have been
quite
so surprised when he looked up at them. As they took their seats, Simon noted some of Kip’s spikes seemed flattened and Sean’s hair was messy. Both of their T-shirts were askew, and Kip’s flannel was in his hand. Simon couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing, was in the process of telling himself he was reading into it, when Kip… took Sean’s hand. Simon’s eyes widened and Jimmy apparently choked on his breath.

“Uh…. Sean?” Jimmy asked, sounding shocked, stunned, surprised—none of those words seemed strong enough.

“Yeah, uh… I’m….” Sean was bright red in the face, but Kip tightened his hand and Sean took a breath. “I’m bi.”

“How did I never know this?” Jimmy asked, seeing Ronnie’s head whip up.

“I’ve kept it really hidden. You know my parents, Jimmy. I can’t even tell them
you’re
gay.”

Jimmy nodded. Simon knew Jimmy had been worried about telling his own parents. But in the end, he’d probably known, deep down, that they’d accept him. “Yeah, yours would throw you out, without a second glance.”

“Fuck me, are you serious?” Deck asked.

But it was Ronnie who answered. “If they didn’t actually try to exorcise his demons first.”

Deck turned to him, looking shocked. “You’re kidding, right? Exaggerating?”

Ronnie shook his head. “I might joke about a lot of shit, but not this. They really might try. Send him to some of that… what do they call it? Un-gay therapy, at
least
, if not more. Anyway, they’re nutcases.”

Tony and Deck looked at Sean at the same time. Kip pulled the hand he held into his lap. “Well, we don’t know them, but we’ll never tell, that’s for damned sure,” Tony assured him.

Sean stared at Ronnie, then looked at Jimmy. “You guys pissed?”

Jimmy blinked at him. “I’m gay, dude. That’d be awfully fucking hypocritical, wouldn’t it?”

“Not that I’m bi, that I didn’t tell you. You told me,” Sean argued.

“Not right away,” Jimmy reminded him.

“That’s true.” Sean turned to Ronnie and they stared at each other. Simon was interested to see the almost jealous look on Kip’s face.
Huh
. “Ron?”

“Fuck, I can’t ever be pissed at you, you know that,” Ronnie grumbled.

Sean looked like he was about to pass out with relief. “So….”

“Are you two boyfriends now? We gotta put up with more mushiness?” Deck growled.

Kip grinned but looked at Sean first, asking a silent question with raised eyebrows. Sean hesitated, then gave a tentative nod. Kip looked back up at Deck. “Yeah, we are. And if you so much as leer at him wrong, I will shove your board so far up your ass, you’ll be riding it with your head.”

There was dead silence for the space of about three seconds, and then all of them started laughing.

“W
HAT
DO
you think of Sean and Kip this week?” Simon mused at lunch on Friday.

“I think if the end of the day doesn’t get here soon, Sean’s going to simply combust. He’s been bouncing off the walls all week. Except when he’s been with Kip.” Jimmy shook his head, chuckling. “They’ve been worse than us.”

Simon laughed. “Is that possible?” He leaned into Jimmy a little more and looked up.

Jimmy grinned down at him, loving the look on Simon’s face. He still hadn’t managed to get himself to say the words, but soon he would. If the expressions Simon showed were what were really inside, Jimmy knew the words would be returned. He just hadn’t quite managed it yet. He kissed Simon’s nose. “Yeah, it’s possible. We haven’t been caught kissing in the stairwell yet. At least it was Ronnie that caught them, not a teacher.”

“Oh my God, yes. I think I’d have died of embarrassment.”

“Well, it could have been worse. Ronnie said both of them had looked like they had boners, but he didn’t say anything—which surprised the hell out of me, actually—instead, just walked back out again.” He snickered. “I don’t know what’s going on with him,” Jimmy said, frowning. “He’s been a grumpy ass—more of an ass than usual—all week.”

Simon blinked at him. “Are you kidding?”

Jimmy scrunched his eyebrows up in puzzlement. “What?”

“He’s jealous.”

Jimmy blinked at him. “Jealous? That’s ridiculous. Ronnie’s straight.”

Simon let out an exasperated breath. “Not like that. Have either of you hung out with him this week?”

It took exactly two heartbeats. “Shit,” Jimmy groaned.

“Deck and Tony, at least, still can hang out together. That’s where Ronnie’s been. But… they can’t make up for you guys.”

“How did you get so wise?” Jimmy sighed.

Simon blushed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You figured it out. I’ve been stumped all damned week.”

Simon shook his head. “I don’t know. I just… I figured that if all three of my friends—Tony, Deck, and Kip—suddenly had girlfriends or boyfriends and didn’t want to hang out anymore….” He shrugged a shoulder.

“Yeah, I see your point.”

“You should go to a movie with him tonight or something,” Simon suggested.

Jimmy raised his eyebrows. “But….”

Simon sighed. “I can’t go with you. There’s no reason for you to stay home just because I can’t go out.”

Maybe he doesn’t care as much as I thought. If he doesn’t care if I go out with someone else….
Jimmy dropped his gaze to his shoe and picked at the rubber sole as he swallowed the disappointment and tried to figure out what to say—and do.

“Hey,” Simon said, tilting Jimmy’s face back to him, apparently reading him accurately. “You’re not going to hold hands with him, right? Kiss him? Fuck him?” Simon started laughing. “Exactly. The horror on your face just told me enough.” He laughed again. “Seriously. If I thought there was even a chance you liked him more? Well, I wouldn’t tell you that you couldn’t go out, that’s… that’s not my place,” he nearly mumbled, then cleared his throat. “But I wouldn’t encourage it either.”

“It is your place, baby,” Jimmy said, kissing Simon’s temple.

“But—”

Jimmy shook his head. “No, it is. I’m yours, remember? If you’re not comfortable with something I’m doing, you have to say so. If you were really worried about someone—like Ronnie or Sean—you gotta tell me. You
don’t
have anything to worry about, especially from those two, but it doesn’t matter. You come first, baby.”

Simon looked up at him, green eyes big, and Jimmy couldn’t resist another kiss. “I’ve…. That’s….” He dropped his gaze, and Jimmy watched him fidget for a moment. “I’ve never been first to anyone. My… mom wanted to, but
he
had to be or—”

“No, I get it. It’s all right, baby, really.” Jimmy kissed Simon’s forehead. “Are you sure you don’t mind if we hang out tonight?”

Simon smiled and shook his head. “You don’t have to give up your friends to be with me, Jimmy.”

“I didn’t think I did, but…. Okay, yeah, I already said that. Okay.” Jimmy pulled his phone out, opened his messages, and sent a quick one to Ronnie.

Hey, want to go to a movie later or something?

The reply took a while, and Jimmy was starting to wonder if Ronnie even would.
Simon going to let you out of his sight?

Jimmy scowled as he typed.
Fuck you, man, Simon suggested it.

This one came quicker.
He did? Fuck. Sorry. You sure?

Yeah, I’m sure. I’ve got the car. I’ll pick you up after dinner.
Hobbit
again?

Sure. K. Later.

Jimmy could tell Ronnie was still pissed, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. Hopefully another run of dragon, elves, and dwarves, sniping at each other, and throwing popcorn would clear some of the air. If it didn’t, he didn’t know what to do.

“So, The Bastard had work today,” Simon said, tracing a nonsense pattern on Jimmy’s hand.

“Oh?”

Simon nodded. “Yeah. Uh, and he said it’s supposed to last through Sunday. So, he’ll be gone tomorrow.”

“Really?” Jimmy sat up a little and couldn’t contain his excitement.

Simon’s smile in response was huge. “Yeah, really. So, uh, what time do you want to pick me up for the lunch thing? He leaves pretty early.”

Jimmy’s eyebrows went up. “How early?”

Simon snickered. “Earlier than either of us want to get out of bed.”

Jimmy grinned. “I’d get up before dawn for you.”

“Oh God,” Simon snorted. “That’s bad.”

Jimmy blushed but nodded. “Yeah, I guess it is. But… I would.”

Simon looked up at him and smiled. “Yeah, I would to, but, uh, can we… not tomorrow?”

It took a lot for Jimmy to hold in the snicker, but he managed and nodded. “Yeah. How about… ten?”

“I can do ten. I’ll call if something changes.”

Jimmy knew his grin had to be about a thousand watts. “I can’t wait.”

“I
DIDN
’
T
tell you this.”

Ronnie looked up at him, eyebrows raised. “What?”

Jimmy frowned, chewing on his lip for a minute and sipping his mocha. “You know that Simon can’t go out a lot, right?”

Ronnie nodded, frowning. “Yeah, you told me.”

Jimmy ground his teeth briefly at the irritation in Ronnie’s voice. He’d been careful to keep Simon out of their conversation as much as possible all through the drive to the theater, the wait for the previews, and even the walk to Barnes & Noble to the cafe.

Jimmy held out a hand. “Just listen, all right?”

After a few seconds’ hesitation, Ronnie nodded again. “Okay.”

He blew out a breath. “I didn’t tell you this,” he said again, and Ronnie raised his eyebrows. “Right. Simon is abused at home.”

Ronnie blinked at him. “What do you mean?”

“He’s beaten. Pretty regularly, from what I gather. His bastard of a father—that’s actually what Simon calls him, The Bastard—beats him. Usually by throwing stuff, sometimes hitting with something. He rarely uses his fists, but I think that’s just ’cause Simon is as big as he is.”

Ronnie swallowed. “Well, shit. I feel like a shit now.”

Jimmy shook his head. “No, you had a right to be pissed. Annoyed, whatever. Neither of us—Sean or me—should have ignored you. After his date tonight, I’m going to talk to him too.”

“Naw,” Ronnie mumbled, blushing.

“No, I am. Look, there’s no reason we can’t all hang out. When Simon’s able, he can be with us. And yeah, Sean and Kip should have time without us. But—and it was Simon who pointed this out—but there’s no reason we can’t all hang at my place and play games or watch movies or whatever we do. Or all of us at the skate park or whatever.”

Ronnie looked up, then dropped his gaze quickly, but Jimmy saw the gratitude before he could hide it. “Thanks.”

“I do think you need to get the fuck over yourself and ask Bailey out, though.”

Ronnie rolled his eyes. “You know how hard that is.”

Jimmy nodded. “Yeah. And I know that tomorrow, because I finally asked, Simon is going to meet my family and have a big dinner with them.”

Ronnie blinked. “He’s having dinner with your family? Are you nuts?”

Jimmy grinned. “Probably. But I don’t think they’ll scare him away.”

“I get ‘I told you so’ rights when he runs.”

“He won’t run,” Jimmy said, laughing. Then he sobered. “But you get the point.”

Ronnie sighed. “Yeah, I do.”

“She’s not dating anyone, you know.”

“Oh?” Ronnie asked, eyebrows going up again.