Page 49 of Tooth and Nail

The rooms were painted bright white, but a colorful area rug done in red, white, turquoise, and green covered the center of the floor. His furnishings were built for comfort. The sofa was a turquoise color that matched the Formica table and parts of the rug. Throw pillows to match the rug were placed at both ends and the low mid-century coffee table in light maple colored wood that sat in front of it, matched the end tables of the same hue. Lamps with crystal bases and white shades sat on each table along with his Kindle. Bear had his own blanket on the opposite end of the couch where he could curl up in a sunbeam most of the day. Of course, the most important piece of furniture in the whole room was a cat tree and scratching post which perched beside the television.

The console TV he’d picked up at a secondhand shop, had new innards and it worked perfectly, thanks to several trips to a store that specialized in repairing the old sets rather than tossing them out on the trash heap. He’d talked to the elderly man who worked there for quite some time as he’d walked him through how to check to see if each tube was working and how to order replacements if one was burnt out.

He liked old things and fixing them up gave Eoghan a sense of accomplishment as well as the feeling that he was shrinking his own environmental footprint on the world. It’s one of the reasons he drove a hybrid. He liked the idea that hewas doing his best for the planet. Besides, the look of the old console TV just pulled all his decorative touches together.

When Ari came padding back down the hall, he was rubbing his hands together, looking way too tasty in a white T-shirt, navy sweatpants that displayed a prominent bulge, and stocking feet. He came around the small, raised bar dividing the kitchen from the rest of the house and glanced around. Eoghan followed his gaze with fresh eyes.

The countertop was a turquoise Formica which matched the built-in table. He’d replaced the small, single sink when it became impractical with a double one. In fact, Eoghan had replaced all the plumbing in here, changing out the old rusting faucets with a fresh one which included a sprayer. He’d removed a set of cabinets and added a dishwasher, repainting the woodwork bright white like the rest of the house. All in all, it was a beautiful, bright space with a window overlooking the sink, letting the sunshine in during the day.

“This is a really nice place, Eoghan. I love the subway tile in the bathroom. It’s so period, I just love it.”

Eoghan nodded, bending to pull out a pasta pot with its built-in colander and turning on the hot water to fill it. “Thank you. I love it. I knew I would love it here the minute I saw it.”

“It’s great and your landlords seem nice.”

“Al and Ted are great. You know they’ve been together over thirty years?”

Ari’s eyebrows arched. “That’s really something.” He sighed as he cut open the package of organic chicken sausages and rinsed them off in the sink. “I could have never imagined living as openly gay when I was in Kentucky. It’s just not done there. Of course, being black didn’t help.”

“How do your folks feel about it?” Eoghan asked as he cut up an onion.

“Being gay or black?”

Eoghan shot him a grin. “Gay.”

“Oh, that. Yeah, they don’t like it but not because they care that much about it. My parents were never the kind of fire and brimstone type of Christians, although they do go to church. They were just worried about my happiness. They were afraid if I was ostracized or if I was in danger, it would just make things harder. Then again, I told you, my dad and brother are Army so that just reinforced the whole nuclear family thing. Until I came out, I’m pretty sure they never suspected I wouldn’t want to marry a nice girl and have kids someday. I suppose I could still have kids…if the right man came along and wanted the same thing.”

Eoghan noticed the sideways glance he sent in his direction but ignored it, wondering if he was flirting with him. If so…well, he thought it was probably better that he change the subject. He cleared his throat. “They didn’t give you a hard time about it?” he asked, deliberately not looking at him as he put the onions on to brown with a little olive oil.

“No. My brother tried to give me grief when I first came out, but my daddy shut him down. He told him that if I was old enough to die for my country, I was old enough to choose who I went to bed with.”

“Wow, that’s really amazing,” Eoghan said. He poured a couple of tablespoons of olive oil into the water for the farfalle, added some kosher salt to the pot, and began cutting up sun dried tomatoes for the sauce. Ari cooked the sausage he’d cut up right beside him. Working side by side had simply come naturally. No one had ever cooked with him in his kitchen before, so it was a really nice change.

Ari turned and looked at him. “Yeah, my dad is a really special person. So is my mom, even though in every way, she’s a church going southern woman. Should I just put the sausage in your pan?”

“Sure.” Eoghan watched him take paper towels and pat down the sausage, draining off the grease before dropping them in the pan. He stirred them together with the rest of the ingredients, adding in the fresh garlic, and leaving Ari with the spatula before cutting up fresh basil. He added it to the mix along with some white wine while Ari added the dried farfalle to the boiling water. Once the sauce ingredients were tossed nicely, he added canned tomatoes, and then a dash of heavy cream before covering the whole lot to let it simmer on a low heat.

“Would you like me to open this?” Ari asked, pulling the white wine they’d purchased out of the bag.

“I have a cold pinot grigio in the fridge if you’d like that one instead.”

“That sounds even better.” Eoghan watched the taller man walk over to the refrigerator and then groaned as he bent over. His round ass was outlined in the sweats which clung to him like a second skin. It was everything Eoghan could do not to drool as he pulled out the wine and closed the refrigerator door. When he turned around, bottle in hand, and caught him looking, Eoghan felt himself blush and deliberately turned away, focusing on the pot of pasta. He stirred it as he felt Ari walk up to stand beside him.

“Would you like me to open this?” Ari’s smooth voice sounded lower than usual and when he twisted to look at him, Eoghan found Ari looking down at him with a glint of something sensual in his hazel eyes. They looked dark tonight, darker and sexier than usual.

He swallowed hard and nodded before reaching around him, opening a drawer, and pulling out a bottle opener. Handing it to him, he watched him expertly uncork it before pouring two glasses. He tested the pasta and set the timer for al dente before taking the glass Ari offered, smiling over therim of it as he clinked it with the man in front of him. If the look in his hazel eyes could have been any sexier, he didn’t know how. It took every bit of strength he possessed to stop himself from thinking that way. Shit.

If he could get a hard on just by watching him cook, he knew he was screwed in every way. Eoghan had known this man for two days and he was already twisted up inside with lust for him. This was bad, very bad. He was in way too deep for this to be good. He needed to change the trajectory of his thoughts before it was too late, and he did something to embarrass himself.

“Let’s take this wine into the living room,” he said abruptly. “I need to talk to you about what happened today.” He dragged his gaze away from the puzzled look on Ari’s face and went over to the couch, moving Bear and his blanket to the center cushion where the cat would act as a furry barrier between them. He sat down on the far end of the couch and watched Ari walk over and sit down on the opposite end. The look on his face was one of confused suspicion and it made Eoghan’s heart hurt to know he’d been the one to put it there after the night began so nicely.

“What did you want to talk about, Eoghan?” Ari pulled one long leg up and made himself comfortable, turning his body, and leaning back against the side of the couch as he took a sip of his wine. He looked way too relaxed for the conversation they had to have. Irritation at how clueless he seemed to be about what had to be said, suddenly coursed through Eoghan. He took a fortifying gulp of his own wine before steeling himself for what he had to say and sat forward.

“I want to talk about your insubordination,” he blurted, slightly louder than he meant to.

“M-my insubordination?” Ari asked, setting his wine down on the table. “When?”

“When I told you that you needed to stay by my side in the cave…but you left anyway,” he said in a rush, setting down his own glass as the memory of his stark terror in those seconds came rushing back.

---