making out in a parking lot slammed into his brain like a sledgehammer. Forcing
himself to speak calmly, he answered, “No, no, I"ll take your word for it. What do I owe
you?”
He paid the investigator and called for Julio to see him out. Sinking onto the leather
couch, he stared moodily at the marble fireplace. Reese would not get away with this.
Nobody made a fool of Henry Baker Seeley III. Nobody.
The cool thing was, all he had to do to make things right was tell the truth.
~*~
The doorbell rang, the sound nearly drowned out by Rachmaninoff"s Piano
Concerto No. 2. Distracted, Jeff glanced up from the technical journal he was reading.
For a split second he thought it might be Reese, until he remembered Reese was out of
town on business, and wouldn"t be home until the next night.
Home.
A warmth suffused Jeff. For the first time in his life, he was in love with someone
who truly loved him in return. With Tom, he realized now, he"d been permitted to love,
he"d been allowed to adore, but Tom had been passive in his receipt of that love and
adoration. He"d offered nothing but his body in return. In the end, even that was a lie.
With Reese, it was different. With Reese, it was wonderful. Everything they did
seemed to take on a special quality, just because they did it together. As cliché as it
sounded, colors were actually brighter when he was with Reese. Food tasted better, too.
Take the cupcakes Reese liked to bring by Jeff"s desk, along with hot coffee and a
ready smile. Were they really food for the gods, as Reese liked to proclaim, or was it the
sharing of them that made them taste so good?
The doorbell rang again, propelling him to his feet. Clicking off the CD player, he
walked to the door and looked through the peephole, not recognizing the man on the
other side. He looked to be in his late twenties, powerfully built with a full head of dark
brown hair.
“Who is it?” Jeff called through the door.
“Hank Seeley,” the man answered. “I"m a friend of Reese Armstrong.”
A moment"s disquiet settled over Jeff. This was the friend since high school, the one
Reese refused to talk about. What was he doing at Jeff"s place?
All at once his stomach fell.
Oh god, something’s happened to Reese.
He pulled the door
open, trying to quell his panic.
Without even greeting the stranger, he blurted, “Is everything okay? Is Reese
okay?”
Hank smiled, or at least Jeff assumed it was a smile—it looked more like a grimace.
“I don"t know. You tell me.”
“I"m sorry?” Jeff stared at the man in confusion. How did this guy known where he
lived? Had Reese told him? And if so, why? “I know you"re Reese"s friend. Is there
something I c-c-can help you w-w-with?” Jeff closed his eyes. He hadn"t stuttered in
weeks, not once!
“I doubt it,” Hank said, his eye narrowing and his tongue appearing between
parted lips. Jeff was reminded of a snake, ready to strike. “But
I
can help
you
.”
“Look,” Jeff said, now both annoyed and unnerved. “What"s going on? I don"t
know what you"re doing here. Have you been talking to Reese? Is something wrong?”
“Aren"t you going to invite me in?”
Jeff didn"t move, not at all sure he was going to invite this strange man with the
glittering eyes into his apartment.
Hank"s laugh was thin and bitter. “Relax, I don"t bite. I"m here because I have some,
uh, information. Something you should know about.”
“What? What"re you talking about?” Jeff liked this less and less.
Hank looked to either side of himself, as if what he had to impart was top secret
and might be overheard by passersby. Reluctantly, Jeff stepped back, gesturing for him
to enter the apartment. He made no offer of refreshment, nor did he suggest they sit
down. Every nerve in his body was on the alert.
Hank pushed the door shut behind him and stepped into the room, his eyes
sweeping over the place with thinly veiled contempt. He fixed his eyes on Jeff and
looked him up and down, as if taking his measure. Jeff waited, refusing to ask again
what the man wanted.
“Reese Armstrong is a player. I"ve known him since he was seventeen, and I know
what I"m talking about.”
“What the f—”
“Don"t interrupt, please,” the man said. “Hear me out before you subject me to your
outraged squawking. This is my good deed for the week. I"m going to save a poor little
innocent from the clutches of a sneaky bastard who gets his rocks off by ensnaring
pretty boys like you and then fucking them over royally.”
“You"re lying.” Jeff crossed his arms resolutely over his chest, wondering if he
could take the guy if he had to. Jeff was an inch or two taller, but Hank looked
massive—solid muscle beneath a tight-fitting jersey. Jeff was agile though, and could
move fast when he needed to.
“Oh, is that so?” Hank pulled his teeth back in a smile, though it didn"t reach his
eyes. “What would you say if I told you this whole thing started with a bet? Reese and I
are lovers, you see. Oh, yes. Don"t look so surprised. Sometimes we like to play with
others.” He nodded toward Jeff.
“On a dare, I bet Reese he couldn"t get the nerdiest little creep in his office into bed
inside of a week. He said he could have his cock up that pathetic loser"s ass before the
guy knew what hit him.”
Jeff stared at Hank, his mind not processing the words, though his body felt cold
and hot all at once. Hank"s eyes were slit with malice. “Don"t you get it? You"re just a
game. Something to do. Reese is clinically incapable of love. He eats little boys like you
for supper and then spits out the bones. He"s been playing you for the fool.
“I"ve watched it happen time and again, year in and year out. It"s just a matter of
time, kid, before Reese adds another notch to his very long belt, and you"re left with
nothing but the memories.”
Jeff stood frozen, trying to make his mind function. This man was lying. Of course
he was. He had to be.
“You"re c-c-crazy. Get out of here. Reese would n-n-never…”
“Not only that,” Hank went on, riding over Jeff"s words, “he did it for money. He
earned a cool five thousand bucks, while seducing the office nerd in the process.”
Jeff stared at the stranger, flames of shame and fury licking his cheeks. He was
clenching his fists so tight his fingernails dug into his palms.
“That"s right.” Hank"s laugh was low and cruel. “He fucked you for the money.
Come on, Hartman, do you honestly think a guy like Reese Armstrong would look at
you twice unless he had something to gain? And now he"s stringing you along for his
own twisted amusement.”
“Get out! Get the fuck out of my house!”
Hank took a step back. “You need proof? Here it is.” He dug into his pocket and for
a second Jeff thought he was reaching for a weapon. Instead he pulled out something
small and flat. He tossed it on the floor between them.
“It"s all there, in living color. Watch it and weep, you bastard. I did.”
With those parting words, Hank turned on his heel and left, slamming the door
behind him.
Jeff sank to the floor, his heart smashing painfully in his chest. He sat stunned for
several seconds, his mind whirling with the implication of what Hank had just said.
He
fucked you for the money. Come on, Hartman, do you honestly think a guy like Reese Armstrong
would look at you twice…
A small voice, one that had been dormant since that first week, was wide awake
again, whispering furiously in his head,
I told you so, I told you so
…
No, it couldn"t be true. Why would Reese do such a thing? Hank was a vindictive,
crazy bastard, trying to stir up shit for his own twisted purposes.
The object lay on the floor a few feet from him. He stared at it. It was a flash drive.
Reaching for it, he turned it over in his fingers, still reeling from the bizarre encounter.
He couldn"t get his head around it, no matter how he tried. Whether or not they were
lovers now, how could Reese have hung out with such a creep?
Jeff stood, clutching the flash drive in his hand. Moving toward his computer, he sat
heavily in front of it, staring blankly at the screen. Whatever was on this thing, Jeff was
sure it was hurtful. He should just throw it out. Reese and he had a great thing going.
Hank probably had some old video of Reese doing something stupid.
Well, Jeff had news for Hank. Reese had confided about his past behavior. He
wasn"t proud of what he"d done, he told Jeff. He"d used guys. He hadn"t understood
that love was real, he"d told Jeff, not until they"d met…
He would call Reese and tell him what had happened. It was possible Reese already
knew what was on this thing, and could save him the trouble.
He opened his phone and pushed the speed dial. “Hi, this is Reese,” the recorded
message began, “I"m sorry I—”. Jeff snapped the phone shut. No point in upsetting
Reese while he was too far away to do anything about it. They"d discuss it when he
came back.
He turned the stick over and over in his hands, a rising curiosity now warring with
his initial reluctance. What the hell, he"d check it out and then forget about it. Inserting
it into the USB port, he waited for it to load.
Strange. That was the third time the call went straight to voicemail. Jeff had known
Reese was coming home that morning. Maybe something was wrong with his cell? Jeff
didn"t have a landline, so Reese couldn"t try that.
Instead he opened his laptop and waited for it to boot up. His sales call had gone
well, and if things went right, he"d actually have brought a real account to Strata—new
business he"d generated all on his own. He was excited to share the news with Jeff.
He scanned the inbox for something from his lover, but there was nothing. No
matter, he"d shoot him a note to say he was home, and to please call when he got a
chance. He wrote the email, signing it,
Love, Reese.
Love.
Had he finally found it? Had what had begun as a cynical seduction for cold, hard
cash turned into the real thing? Reese didn"t know. He just knew every time he thought
of Jeff, it made him smile. Just the knowledge that Jeff was in the world made it
somehow a brighter place, even when they weren"t together.
Reese stripped off his travel clothes and went into the bathroom to shower, Jeff on
his mind, his hand on his cock. As he stroked himself with lathered fingers, he let
images of Jeff"s smooth, perfect body slide through his mind. Wouldn"t it be great to go
on a beach vacation together? They could find a secluded spot and swim in the ocean.
They"d let the sun dry their naked bodies. Then they could fuck each other"s brains out
on the sand.
Once showered and shaved, Reese dressed in jeans and a casual knit shirt, open at
the neck. He loved when Jeff kissed him there, at the hollow of his throat. He splashed
on a bit of cologne and headed back toward his laptop to see if Jeff had responded.
Nothing.
Maybe he was at the office, so absorbed in some programming problem that he"d
forgotten Reese was coming home. No matter—he"d just hop on his motorcycle and
stop by. He"d swing by the office first to see if Jeff was there.
Though it was Saturday, there were several cars in the parking lot of Strata, but
none of them was Jeff"s old clunker. Good. Much better to see him at his apartment,
where he could take him into his arms and kiss him.
He pulled into the parking lot of Jeff"s apartment building, moving slowly between
the lines of cars until he spotted Jeff"s.
He rang the doorbell to Jeff"s place, thinking maybe it was time they exchanged
keys. He actually laughed out loud at himself. Exchange keys! Was he out of his mind?
Rule number three of the Armstrong code… Who was he fooling? The code had been
broken. He didn"t need codes with Jeff.
He waited a few seconds and then a few more. No one came to the door. Reese
glanced at his watch. Ten-thirty. Could Jeff still be asleep? He rang the doorbell again,
following it up with a knock.
“Jeff?” he called through the door. “It"s Reese. Are you there?”
This time he heard something. He stepped back, smiling broadly at the peephole,
his body tingling in anticipation of Jeff"s embrace.
The door didn"t open.
What was going on? He knocked again. “Jeff! Are you okay in there?”
“Go away,” Jeff called from the other side.
Reese couldn"t have heard that right. “What? I can"t hear you. Open the door, for
chrissakes!”
The locked snicked and the doorknob turned. Finally! The door opened and there
stood Jeff. He looked awful, his face drawn and haggard, a frown tugging down the
corners of his mouth.
“What is it? What"s happened?” Reese said, concern overtaking confusion.