Lush in Lace (8 page)

I looked around for Rodney Greaves, Kevin’s
unlikely partner in crime, finding the hulking brute leaning
against a potted plant just outside the post office, looking bored.
He managed a slight head nod when his gaze caught mine.

“Sweet,” I replied, returning the gesture
before focusing my attention back to Kevin. “How are things going
with Rodney?” I asked, conscious of the increasingly antsy Scott
Lush, still standing at my side.

“’S okay,” Kevin replied with a shrug,
looking hesitantly at Scott.

“Number eighty-four! Number eighty-four!” a
rotund woman from behind the glass called through her
microphone.

“Shit!” Scott hissed. “The box, Squeaker?” he
demanded, holding out his hand.

As discreetly as possible, I turned and
slipped the plug out of my box, before stuffing it into my coat
pocket and shoving the box toward Scott.

“Here. It’s good to go,” I added, hoping he’d
get my message and not open it again in front of the post office
clerk.

Snatching it away, he roughly placed it on
top of his own box, grumbling about clueless gay men who had no
regard for privacy as he headed off toward the front of the
line.

“Is that your boyfriend?’ Kevin asked,
watching with interest as Scott stomped away.

“No.”

He raised his eyebrow at me in disbelief.

I didn’t flinch.

“Too bad, he’s fucking hot.”

Knowing Kevin was looking to get a reaction
from me, I purposely ignored his comment. “You sure it’s going okay
with Rodney? He’s not too much?” I asked, turning the conversation
back toward him.

“Nah, he’s not so bad once you get to know
him,” Kevin mumbled.

I noticed a faint blush tainting the young
boy’s cheeks.

“I don’t think he’s gay though, which is a
shame,” he added. “Not like your guy.”

“Scott’s not my guy, and he’s definitely not
gay.”

Again, Kevin raised one eyebrow.

Perhaps I didn’t sound as confident in my
denial as I should have. “Don’t you have a video game to pick up?”
I reminded him.

“Trying to get rid of me, Mr. M?”

“Definitely,” I replied only half teasing. I
didn’t want him around when Scott returned and asked for his butt
plug back.

“Sucks to be you then, huh?” he teased.

“Kevin,” I warned.

“I’m going, I’m going,” he said laughing and
holding his hands up in front of him. “I guess I don’t need to ask
if you’ll be coming to the game tonight. It’s obvious you’ll be
busy,” he added with a smirk, looking pointedly first at Scott,
then at my coat pocket. Following his gaze, I noted that more than
half of the bright-green butt plug was now visible and from his
comment it was clear Kevin recognized the item for what it was.

“Aw, shit,” I hissed, shoving it back into my
pocket.

“Have fun with your ‘straight’ dude,” he
offered, using air quotes around the word straight.

Oh god.

Kevin made a hand gesture with his fist and
his tongue to mimic a blowjob as he headed off.

“Little shit,” I muttered to myself, knowing
my face must have been the same ruby shade as Kevin’s
windbreaker.

“What’d you say?” Scott asked.

I hadn’t heard him return but was thankful he
arrived too late to witness Kevin’s departure.

“Nothing,” I grumbled, heading briskly toward
the exit, purposely avoiding Kevin as I strode away.

“Please tell me that guy wasn’t one of your
boyfriends,” Scott growled as he followed me out.

“Jesus, Lush, give me some credit. I don’t
date guys who haven’t even reached puberty yet, asshole,” I
replied, offended that Scott believed I’d date someone that
young.

“Hey Mr. M? This guy a friend of yours?”
Rodney Greaves asked suspiciously as we neared the plant pot where
his big body still loafed.

“Hell no,” Scott replied.

Scott and Rodney together made quite a pair,
both tall, strapping, handsome men, who currently eyed each other
warily as if sensing an invisible threat. You could almost cut the
level of testosterone with a knife. It would be hard to say which
one of the two would be victorious in an actual fight, although my
money would be on Scott. Rodney may have youth and speed on his
side, but Scott was cunning and fierce when he needed to be. Not
that I expected any trouble. It was funny, though, how Rodney
bristled at Scott as if protecting my virtue. I guess he’d
overheard us bickering.

“We’re not friends,” Scott added.

Rodney stood up to his full height, no longer
leaning on the planter. He had two inches on Scott, who
surprisingly didn’t seem threatened at all by the other man’s
movement. Scott stood with his arms folded across his chest in a
seemingly casual manner though I could feel the tension radiating
off of him.

Fuck, his confidence was so damned
sexy
. I could feel my dick beginning to stir.

“He’s my brother-in-law, kind of,” I added in
an attempt to sooth the tension between the two men.

Rodney nodded but still didn’t back down,
which I admired. I only hoped he was this protective of his math
and science tutor—Kevin.

“How’re your grades?” I asked, hoping a
change of subject would help.

He shrugged. “Okay, I guess.”

“Are things not working out with Kevin?”

It was my job to make sure the mentoring
pairs were suitably matched if my “Socially Smarter” outreach
project was ever going to succeed. The program I created matched
popular teens, who needed academic help, with introverted
overachievers, who lacked social skills.

It was a great success so far with four pairs
of students in two different schools. I was especially thrilled
with Rodney and Kevin’s progress since in some small way the boys
reminded me of Scott and I. However, now I wondered if I’d been
oblivious to some of the sexual tension between the two boys.

“Naw, Kev’s a’right,” Rodney replied with
another shrug.

“I can find someone else if you need me to,”
I added sincerely.

“No!” he tensed. “Kevin’s fine. Um… I mean,
n-not
fine,
fine. I… we’re good. Good. Fine,” the teen
muttered nervously, barely able to make eye contact with me.

For the first time, I considered the fact
that Kevin could be wrong about Rodney. It was actually possible
that the big jock had feelings for him. At least it appeared that
way by his reaction.

I decided now was not the time to get into
anything too deep with either of the boys. Especially not with
Scott around, and not with his butt plug still burning a hole in my
jacket pocket.

“Well, I’m glad to hear it,” I added with a
smile. “I’ll see you next week. Okay?”

“Sure, yeah,” Rodney mumbled then went off in
search of Kevin, eager to be rid of me.

“What the hell was that all about, Squeaker?”
Scott finally asked.

“Nothing, let’s go.”

“Who are those boys? Part of your fan
club?”

“Wanna join, Lush? You could be the club
president,” I offered sarcastically, heading for the mall exit.

Scott remained behind, looking back and forth
between the two young boys who now stood in front of the post
office, their heads bent down, ogling the new video game they’d
collected.

“They’re gay, aren’t they?” he deduced,
catching up with me.

“Got a problem with that?” I asked
defensively.

“What the hell is wrong with you today,
Squeaker?”

I exhaled dramatically, knowing I was being
unreasonable. This whole morning hadn’t gone as planned, but it
wasn’t Scott’s fault. I’d been on edge since the moment I knew I’d
be seeing Scott again, and going through a box of sex toys hadn’t
made things any easier.

“Rodney’s not good at math, and Kevin’s a
math whiz,” I began. “Kevin’s also gay. Smart and gay isn’t an easy
combination. I know firsthand just how hard it is being both at his
age. So I help them out. No big deal.”

“Help them out how?”

“It’s a community program I chair. I pair
smart, usually gay, kids with jocks for a year. If they manage to
become friends then it’s less likely the smart ones will get
stuffed in a locker at school.”

“How many times did you get stuffed in a
locker, Squeaker?” Scott asked perceptively.

“Not many,” I hedged.

“I seem to remember you did fine in school,”
he offered.

“True, I had it easier than most. But that’s
because I was kinda king of the nerds,” I reluctantly admitted.
“Too high up on the food chain to get the brunt of the bullying.
But it still wasn’t easy, and I had help.”

He looked surprised. “You did? From
whom?”

I stopped walking. “You,” I declared, looking
into his eyes, further surprising him.

“Me?”

I nodded. “You gave Hal Bringham a black eye
the very first time he came at me. It was enough to get him, and
most of the other football jocks, to leave me alone.”

“I-I don’t remember,” he stated honestly.

“I never forgot,” I mumbled, my throat
suddenly dry and my stomach in knots. I’d always remember the day
Scott stood up for me. It was probably the day I fell in love with
him if I was being honest with myself.

As the awkward silence between us stretched
on, I wondered what he was thinking. We’d stopped walking. Scott
stood still, inspecting me as if seeing me for the first time. I
shoved my hands in my pockets to keep from fidgeting under his
curious gaze. My fingers immediately made contact with the item I’d
hidden in my coat, a stark reminder of why dreaming about Scott
Lush was a wasted effort.

“Here. You probably want this back to use
with your girlfriend,” I stated, handing him the toy.

“I haven’t had a girlfriend in over six
months,” he declared, holding my gaze while reaching for the toy.
“In fact there hasn’t been anyone at all, not for a long time,” he
admitted solemnly. For the life of me, I couldn’t read the strange
expression on his face.

He took the toy, placing it in his own pocket
and waited.

It was my turn to be rendered speechless. If
Scott didn’t have anyone in his life that meant…
holy fuck
.
In that moment, I wished I hadn’t been so eager to return the toy.
Then again, it would be crazy to keep it. I was already obsessed
with the man, not to mention the panties and hose he’d returned.
I’d kept them of course. I never had any intention of giving them
to another man, but I’d never share that information with Scott.
There wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t pull them out and
caress them, remembering vividly how perfect he’d looked in
them.

“I’d better get going,” Scott added after a
while.

“Sure,” I replied, not knowing what else to
say.

He nodded, looking slightly dejected. “See
you around, Squeaker.”

“See you around, Lush,” I replied, feeling
like I was missing something important but I didn’t know what.

****

-
Scott
-

Something changed after I’d left Rylan at the
mall that day. For the first time, I was standing on the outside of
our relationship looking in. Seeing those two young men together
made me wonder if that’s how the world viewed Rylan and I.

Could everyone see the way I looked at him?
Did he look back at me the same way?

Could strangers interpret the hidden emotions
masked beneath each one of our insults? BJ had figured it out. Had
Jamie?

Could onlookers tell in an instant we were
meant to be?

I began to think that we were just like Kevin
and Rodney—even though we were older, somehow we weren’t any wiser.
Hearing Rylan say that I’d unknowingly protected him all those
years ago meant everything to me. It made me want to be there for
him now and always, not that he needed protecting. He’d grown into
a strong, sexy, confident man. However, I hoped that in some way
he’d need me in his life, even if only as a friend. Because over
the last few weeks, I’d come to the conclusion that I needed Rylan
in my life any way I could get him.

The night of the wedding made me realize all
that I’d been denying myself. It no longer mattered that I didn’t
feel gay. The only thing I knew for certain was I wanted Rylan and
no one else, male or female. It was wishful thinking to imagine
that I’d ever get that close to him again. But, at the very least,
we could try to be friends. It worked for Jamie and BJ after
all.

I felt a sense of relief wash over me. I
could work with friendship. It’d be hard, but I could try to keep
my dick in my pants until I knew for certain Rylan was on the same
page.

I never stopped thinking about sex with him
though. I’d even found myself at Wicked Wayz right after we’d left
each other that day at the mall. I’d gone into the store with the
sole intention of looking around. I’d never actually buy anything.
Just because I spent most of my time browsing in the men’s lingerie
section, it didn’t mean I was interested in the stuff. Even when I
asked the clerk about their online store, I was just making
conversation, that’s all. It made no difference to me that they had
overnight shipping or that by the next night, I could have my very
own panties and lace stockings to slip into. Nope, no difference at
all…

That was the conversation I’d had with myself
almost two weeks ago. Since then, I’d never worn any of the items
I’d bought. But today was my last day with the house to myself
before Jamie and BJ returned from their honeymoon. I’d be damned if
I wasn’t going to take advantage of the time alone.

Standing in the kitchen, I shook my hips
rhythmically to the popular Pitbull song that was blaring from the
radio. I was shirtless, scrubbing away at the last few dishes in
the sink. Through the window, I watched as squirrels, chipmunks,
and tiny, little brown birds flittered around skittishly, taking
advantage of the bits of bread and fresh water I’d left out for
them. BJ’s voice filtered in my head, complaining about my
“wildlife sanctuary for rodents.” He never intervened though,
recognizing the importance of my connection with furry little
creatures.