Where You Least Expect It (4 page)

“A music war, huh?” Matt glanced over at Christian as he drove into downtown proper. “Where do you want me to take you?”

Christian shifted in his seat again. “You can just drop me off on Main near the Thai place. I can lock my bike up while I eat.”

“You got it.”

Matt found a spot a couple of doors away from the restaurant and pulled in smoothly. “You want help with your bike?”

Christian shook his head and unbuckled his seatbelt. “I can get it.” He put his hand on the door handle and hesitated. “Um. Do you have plans? Do you want to maybe grab some dinner? Unless you hate Thai food. Or we could get something else. Unless you think it’s weird to have dinner with me.” Christian paused briefly before continuing. “Am I babbling? I tend to babble when I’m nervous.”

Matt was sure his surprise showed on his face. “I actually don’t have plans and I love Thai.”

“Really? Cool.” Christian started to open the door but turned back toward Matt again. “You don’t think I’m some kind of crazy stalker, do you?”

Matt laughed. “No. Besides, I think I can handle myself. Army, remember?”

Christian’s face flushed. “Right. Army.” Christian jumped out of the truck and headed into the restaurant.

They were seated quickly and ordered drinks. Christian picked up his menu, chewing on his lower lip as he read.

Matt opened his menu as well; he knew what he was ordering, but he needed something to focus on. “Do you want to split an appetizer?” he asked.

Christian glanced up at him. “Okay. Like what?”

This Matt could do; he could talk about menu items and debate appetizers without feeling awkward and having to search for words. Luckily, he and Christian shared similar tastes, which made it easy to decide.

After the server took their orders and left their drinks, they looked at each other for a minute.

“So—” They both started at once and laughed. Christian looked embarrassed.

“Go ahead,” Matt said.

“Oh. Um, okay. What was the last movie you saw?” It seemed like Christian felt a little awkward as well. Matt took a drink of his beer, relaxing, and answering Christian’s question.

Once they got started, they were able to keep the conversation going without much difficulty. They covered their favorite movies, books they had read recently — Christian’s were mostly for school, Matt’s were bestseller thrillers, they both liked action and horror movies.

Somewhere during the course of their dinner, one of their early conversations flashed into Matt’s head. “I’d lose my gay card if I couldn’t make a Cosmo.” The fact that Christian was openly gay hadn’t been more than a basic piece of information until now. Matt found himself wondering if Christian was getting the wrong impression. It was obvious that Matt was straight, wasn’t it?

“Matt? What’s wrong?” Christian broke into his thoughts.

Matt shook his head. “Um, nothing. Just thinking about work,” he lied. There was no way Christian could have the impression that Matt was interested in anything beyond friendship. “I’m sorry, I missed what you said.”

Christian looked mildly concerned but thankfully didn’t pursue Matt’s distraction. The rest of the dinner passed with relative ease, although with a bit more conscious effort on Matt’s part. He tried to hide his discomfort behind eating and left as quickly as possible without being rude.

Christian was a nice enough guy and Matt enjoyed the company, but what did they have in common, really? Matt was better off sticking to his usual routine.

***

Matt jerked awake, covered in sweat and still trying to get away from the images in his dream. It was early — too early for a Saturday — but he knew from experience he was unlikely to get back to sleep. This was the first time the nightmares had returned in over a year. He swore at himself for not managing his stress better and got up to take a shower.

The hot water helped to relax him and wash away the memories of IEDs exploding and the sounds of grown men screaming in agony. His conscious mind could still clearly remember all the details from that day, details he didn’t even realize he’d noticed at the time. He hadn’t been close enough to be injured himself, but he’d been part of the response and cleanup.

By the time the water ran cold, the images had faded but he was still feeling unsettled and unsure of the dream’s cause. Stress from work had never been a trigger, which left his personal life. Matt had been too busy to do much of anything lately; Sam had even taken a break from the endless quest to get Matt laid. Sure, dinner with Christian was out of the ordinary, but it was just dinner.

Matt tossed his towel in the hamper and decided to see if this was one of the rare times when sleep wouldn’t elude him. The nightmare was obviously a fluke.

That night found Matt at another one of those too-loud, too-many-people-he-didn’t-know parties that Sam always had lined up. Matt had been so busy lately, he was actually looking forward to getting out of the house for a change. Besides, it was Halloween weekend and even Matt wasn’t boring enough to stay home.

They arrived together, albeit in separate cars, sparing Matt the initial moments of awkwardness as he tried to find a familiar face in a crowd; there were several people in costumes and some in standard jeans and T-shirt attire. He used Sam as a shield as they made their way through the crowd to the beer. Matt was relieved to see he recognized several people and wouldn’t have to rely solely on Sam, who would inevitably wander off.

They took up a place near the drinks and chatted with various people who came for refills. As usual, Sam did most of the chatting while Matt tried to remind himself to relax. At least he no longer stood in the “at ease” position the Army had drilled into him.

Matt noticed Mindy and Sara across the room at the same time Sam did, if the elbow in Matt’s ribs was any indication.

“There’s Mindy,” Sam practically yelled in Matt’s ear to be heard over the music.

“I see that,” Matt shouted back. He knew what was coming next.

“You should go talk to her.” Sam nudged Matt’s arm.

“Why?”

“Because she liked you.” Matt was about to ask how Sam could possibly know that when Sam continued, “Sara told me when we had dinner. Come on, she’s nice.”

Matt opted for a deflection. “When did you have dinner with Sara?”

The look Sam gave him let Matt know his attempt to change the subject didn’t pass unnoticed. Matt knew he’d never be able to explain his aversion to one-night stands to Sam. While Sam was happy to find a pretty face to pass a few hours with, Matt wanted someone he could be friends with.

Matt turned to grab another beer and promptly collided with another person. “Sorry,” he started to apologize but was interrupted.

“Hey! Watch it — oh, it’s you,” Christian said.

He was dressed in tight jeans with strategically placed holes and a worn concert T-shirt; Matt didn’t recognize the band name. His blond hair was spiked more than it was during the week and Matt thought Christian wore a hint of eyeliner.

Matt felt off balance. He was glad he hadn’t pissed off a stranger, but he was uncomfortable given how he’d acted the last time he’d seen Christian. What kind of impression was he giving people, spending so much time with the younger man?

Christian smiled brightly, seemingly oblivious to Matt’s discomfort. “I see Sam hasn’t deserted you yet.”

“No. Not so far, anyway.” Matt tried to think of something else to say but came up blank. Just because he was straight and Christian was gay was no reason they couldn’t have a casual conversation at a party, he told himself. It was ridiculous to think that everyone would start assuming Matt was gay just based on whom he talked to.

Sam’s voice startled Matt. “Hey, I don’t desert him. I just get sidetracked. Besides, it’s not like I don’t do my part to keep him entertained.”

Matt snorted. “You have bizarre sense of what I find entertaining.”

“You just need to relax, man.” It was a common refrain from Sam.

Matt raised an eyebrow. “Is that what they’re calling it now?”

Christian laughed. “You know, Sam, not every party has to be a meat market.”

“What? Meat market?” Sam feigned offense. “You make it sound so crass. Group gatherings are part of the traditional mating process. In fact —”

Matt cut him off. “Oh, no. No lectures on mating rituals. I can watch that shit on the Discovery Channel, which is probably where you heard that, anyway.”

“Okay, man. Your loss.” Sam turned to Christian. “How’s life in the coffee shop? Is he as much of a pain in the ass as a customer?” Sam jerked his head toward Matt.

Christian shrugged. “It’s a job. And he’s not too bad.”

Christian and Sam proceeded to talk as if they knew each other well. He remembered Christian mentioning meeting Sam before, but there was still something mildly unsettling about it.

A familiar laugh caught Matt’s attention and he realized Alison was here, as well. It was almost too weird for Matt. Alison had already made it clear how novel Matt making new friends was; how would she react if she realized his new friend was not only younger, but gay and out? He didn’t have much time to think about it before Alison made her way over to him.

“And I thought you were going to be a homebody all weekend,” she teased, leaning against the counter next to Matt.

Matt took a swallow of his beer. “Sam can be persuasive.”

“I see, that’s your way of saying ‘Sam nagged me to come to another party.’” Alison pushed her auburn hair behind her ear, her normally conservative style replaced with a more relaxed, mussed look.

“You know, I’m not nearly as grouchy as the two of you make me sound.” He didn’t give her the chance to contradict him. “So, how was your date?”

“Ugh,” Alison said with a mild shudder. “Sometimes I wonder what people are thinking.”

“This wasn’t another guy from some dating website, was it? Seriously, Al, when are you going to give up on those?” Matt knew finding people to date was difficult — for everyone except Sam — but finding dates on the Internet seemed too sketchy.

“Yes, it was a guy from a dating website. And don’t be so damn skeptical. I mean, look around this room.” She gestured with her glass; one of these days, she was going to douse someone. “These options aren’t much better.”

“Yeah, but at least you’ve seen these people before.” He held up a hand when Alison started to protest. “And a few emails and IM conversations don’t count. You have no idea what kind of freaks you might meet.”

“Thank you, Dad. I’ll be sure to run a full background check next time.” She finished her drink. “Where’s Sam?”

Matt looked around and realized Christian had moved to another group that Matt didn’t recognize and Sam was nowhere to be seen.

He shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. At least I have my own car.”

“He’s such a player. I can’t believe I dated him, even if we were only sixteen. Come on, mingle with me.” Alison tugged on his sleeve and pulled him into the party.

By the time Sam turned up, Matt was getting ready to leave.

“Dude, it’s not even twelve-thirty!” Sam had a reputation for being one of the last guests to leave a party and always wanted Matt along with him, something that hadn’t changed in ten years.

“I know, I know, but I had a shitty week and I really need to get some sleep.” It was true enough, and last night’s broken sleep didn’t help matters. “Call me tomorrow and we can watch the game.”

Sam was about to say something else when Alison walked up and handed Matt his coat.

Matt caught Sam’s raised eyebrow and clear look of interest. “We are not leaving together.”

Sam laughed at him. “Man, you are so paranoid. I was just going to say hi to Alison.”

“Hi, Sam.” Alison kissed his cheek. “Bye, Sam.”

Once out the front door, they were immediately hit by a cold wind. Alison wrapped her coat tighter and Matt wished he had worn something warmer. At least it wasn’t raining yet.

“Where are you parked?”

“I’m right there, actually, so don’t worry about being chivalrous.” She winked.

“I just wanted to know if we were walking in the same direction. I’ll see you on Monday.”

“Sadly, yes.” Opening the car door, Alison pointed behind Matt. “It looks like our barista could use a ride.”

Matt turned around to see Christian walking out of the alley with his bike. “Man, I can’t imagine having a bike as my only transportation.” He waved good-bye to Alison and walked over to Christian.

Apparently, Matt’s good Samaritan was back. “Are you okay to ride that thing?”

Christian looked up from struggling with his helmet straps and frowned. “Are you asking if I’m too drunk to ride my bike?”

“I’m offering to drive you home.” Matt tried to sound friendly, but he thought he might have sounded inexplicably annoyed.

“I’m fine.” Christian’s words were slightly slurred.

Matt knew Christian might think he was fine — might even be fine for the moment — but Matt didn’t think Christian could make it all the way back to his apartment. “Let me drive you home. You can’t ride your bike like this.”

“Nah, I’m fine.” Christian shook his head and staggered slightly.

Matt placed a hand on the bike’s handlebars. “You can barely stand. Besides, it’s freezing and the ride will just make you colder.” Matt cut off Christian’s protest. “Come on. My truck’s warmer and safer. And I’m sober.”

Christian finally nodded his assent and Matt grabbed the bike by the bar, carrying it with one hand while keeping an eye on Christian. He was parked close and Christian tagged along silently. Matt loaded the bike easily before opening the passenger door.

Alison honked and waved as she drove past.

“Do you like her?” Christian asked suddenly, one foot on the running board and half in the passenger seat.

“What?”

“That woman. Alison. Do you like her?”

Matt frowned, confused. Christian must have known he and Alison were friends. “Sure. We’ve been friends for a long time.”

“No, I mean, do you like her, like her? Are you sleeping with her?”

Matt’s jaw clenched. “No. Not that it’s any of your business. Get in the truck, Christian.”