Everybody be safe and be happy, I'll see you in a few days!
A Vinnie and Ethan Thanksgiving: Part II
Two other detectives relieved us about eleven o’clock. They
were picking their teeth and patting their bellies and talking about what great
dinners they’d had when they told us we were free to go. We informed them
nobody had entered the premises during our watch, and nobody had left. Nothing
to report. So naturally, we had to file a lot of paperwork to that effect.
According to Ethan—who’d talked to our supervisor, Anderson Riley—that could
wait.
I could live with that.
I wasn’t sure about the rest of it, though. Now we had no
excuse not to have that talk Ethan said we needed to have… and why was I
nervous? Maybe because I’d been kissed for the first time by a guy I couldn’t
stand.
Or was it because I could
stand him more than I was willing to let on? And just maybe I was attracted to
him, whether I wanted to admit it or not? And I had no idea what to do about
it.
“How about we grab something to eat and go back to the
motel?” Ethan suggested. He might as well have added “and talk” because those words were sure as hell
hanging in the air between us.
I wasn’t sure I could eat, or even wanted to. My stomach was
tied up in knots, and every time I thought about that kiss, butterflies were added
to the mix. It was both exhilarating and terrifying.
“I could use some coffee,” I finally replied.
“Coffee it is. We can always get something for later, as
long as it doesn’t require reheating.”
“Or refrigeration,” I added. The motel we were staying at
wasn’t exactly the best, but I assumed it was cheap, and for what we needed it
for, it worked. It had no refrigerator and no microwave. Not even a
coffeemaker. But I’d noticed that the TV which was chained to one of the few
pieces of furniture in the room did have a porn channel. Shows where their
priorities. lay.
We stopped at a convenience store, got what we wanted, and
drove in silence to the motel. It wasn’t until we’d gotten inside and securely
locked the door, removed our guns, and settled down on our respective beds with
our coffee that the conversation began.
Ethan stared over the top of his coffee cup at me, across
the gulf which separated us. I could feel every beat of my heart as he looked
into my eyes. Without a word, he rose and bridged the few steps to my bed, then
took a seat, facing me. I didn’t exactly tell him to go away. At that moment, I
had no idea what I wanted. Or how I felt.
This was the thorn in my side, remember? The pain in my ass
named Ethan Thorne. But when I tried to think of the reasons why I disliked him
so, I found I couldn’t think of a one. I couldn’t tell if I had my dick to
blame for that… or my heart. To be honest, I’d never been in this situation
before, nothing even remotely like it.
And I was scared.
We stared at one another for what felt like forever, but was
probably just a minute or two. His eyes were so blue. I’d never seen eyes so
beautiful before. He reached for my hand and gently held it in his.
“Vinnie, I know we got off to a rocky start somehow…”
“You could say that,” I cautiously admitted.
“If I’ve ever done or said anything to upset you, I
apologize. I sure never meant to,” he continued. “Have I?”
“Have you what?” My brain wasn’t working very well at the
moment, and I was all too aware of my racing heart. Surely he felt it? He held
his fingertips just on my pulse.
“Said or done anything to upset you,” he repeated. One thing
I had to admit, he never got mad, never grew impatient with me. He was never
anything but nice. So why did he annoy me so?
I took a deep breath, trying to chase the butterflies away. “No,
not that I can think of.” I hoped my voice didn’t sound as shaky to him as it
did to me.
“I’m glad.” He leaned a little closer to me, dropping his
voice. “I guess you figured out by now I’m gay, right?”
I nodded.
“Am I safe in assuming you are too?”
I nodded again.
“Have you ever had a boyfriend?”
“Never.” My voice sounded far away, more like a whisper. “Have
you?”
“Once,” he admitted. “A couple of years ago.”
“What happened?” I asked in spite of myself. Why did the
idea he’d been with another man bother me? It shouldn’t have. It was none of my
business.
“I liked him. He was nice, a very sweet guy… but he wasn’t
the one.” Ethan’s blue eyes bore into mine, and I didn’t know what to say to
that.
“You know, Vinnie, I always wondered how I’d know when I did
meet the right one. How would I be able to tell? Would there be some sort of
sign, or what? I knew that guy was the wrong one, but I was also afraid I’d
never meet Mr. Right.”
“And did you?” I asked, wanting to know and yet afraid to
know. “Ever meet Mr. Right, I mean.”
“I did,” Ethan said solemnly. “The day I met you.”
I was stunned into silence for once in my life.
“When I saw you, and then when I found out you were going to
be my partner, I just felt the truth. I knew you were the one I’d been waiting
for. And I wanted to be with you, even if you didn’t seem to like me very much.”
My cheeks grew warm at his words. “I was an asshole,” I
admitted. “A total jerk to you. Why didn’t you just tell me to fuck off?”
“I’d never do that, Vinnie.” He leaned even closer. One hand
still held mine, the other caressed my cheek. “Do you really hate me?”
I shook my head, not trusting my voice.
“Then why…”
“Because you scare me.” My admission surprised both of us.
“But why, baby?”
Oh God, I was drowning in his eyes, falling into them, and I
realized with a start that I liked what I saw. Very much.
“Because… because I’ve never felt like this before.” I
couldn’t believe I was saying this to him. I was Mr. Sarcastic. Mr. Never Let
Anyone Close. The classic loner. When had I changed?
He kissed me then. Softly. Gently. Just a tiny kiss. But it
was enough to fill my soul with a warmth I’d never experienced before.
“I’m glad,” he said.
“Do you think it means you’re the one for me too?” I asked
He cupped my cheek, and I melted into his touch.
“I hope so,” he said. “I’d like to find out, would you?”
“I would.”
“Good.” He smiled at me, and my heart beat faster. Maybe
what I’d thought was hate was really love, and I just hadn’t recognized it. Not
like I’d had any experience with it before.
“Let’s start over, shall we?” he suggested. “Wipe the slate
clean, okay?
”
“Okay.”
His eyes held a glint that might have been mischief, as he
released my hand and held his own out to me. “Hi there. I’m Ethan Thorne. How
do you do?”
“How do you do, Ethan Thorne. I’m Vincenzo Delarosa.”
“Vincenzo,” he repeated, and I liked the way my name rolled
off his tongue.
“You can call me Vinnie,” I said.
We wrapped our arms about one another and kissed… nothing
more… for a long long time. Eventually we curled up together in my bed and went
to sleep.
And that is how Ethan and I began….
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