Page 33 of Cleats and Pumps

IimmediatelyspottedOwenwhenI walked into the bar with Josiah. I waved and caught his expression. He looked alarmed, which confused me. I’d run into Owen at Millie’s before. Then I quickly looked around to make sure Owen wasn’t cheating on his new husband, Jason. I sighed with relief when I spotted Jason talking to a couple of guys behind him.

“Hey, we’re gonna grab a table. Why don’t you grab us all a beer? Light beer for me. Saram?”

“Nothing for me, or maybe a cola.”

Saram was Muslim, and although he was pretty loose with it, he still didn’t drink much. I admired that. I walked over to where Owen was, and when I looked toward the dance floor, I realized why he looked alarmed. Tommy was there dancing with a group of half-naked men.

My blood boiled at the sight, causing me to stop in my tracks. I reminded myself that I had no right to be jealous and forced my eyes back to Owen. “Hey, what’s up?” I asked.

He shrugged and looked at Tommy. “Hey, I didn’t know you were coming.”

“Or you wouldn’t have brought him here?” I asked and nodded back at where Tommy was dancing.

“Yeah, I mean, you two are still, you know, feuding.”

“We aren’t feuding. I haven’t even spoken to him. Hey, come and talk to Josiah and his new boyfriend, Saram,” I said to change the subject. “I’m going to go get us something to drink.”

I watched Tommy as the bartender got my drinks ready. He was going from guy to guy, not paying attention to one man. That was good, at least. I paid the bartender and took the drinks over to Josiah and Saram. Jason and Owen joined us, and they chatted while I watched Tommy.

Was it possible that he’d gotten better-looking? His sharp features had matured, if that was possible. He looked like one of the Aztec warrior paintings in my history textbooks in college. I didn’t understand how he could be even more handsome, but damn, he was.

Josiah hit my arm. “Dude, you aren’t paying attention to us at all?”

“Huh?” I asked, totally confused.

“Jason asked if you plan to fight the team for benching you.”

“Oh, I’m not sure, but probably not. My hope is to get traded.” Jason nodded, and glanced to where Tommy was still dancing and ignoring everyone around him. “I-I think I’m going to go dance,” I said and ignored my friends and brother, knowing the expression all of them would be sporting.

Yeah, I was fully aware of it being an epically bad idea, and I didn’t give a fuck. I wanted to dance with Tommy and fuck everything else.

I tried to get his attention, but he ignored me. I could tell he was super drunk, and when he stumbled, I rushed over and was going to steady him when he danced back into my embrace.

Again, I knew it was epically stupid because I wasn’t sure he knew it was me behind him but, damn, his body felt so goodagainst mine. I put my arms around him and let the music move us. When the music stopped, he turned and gasped. Then he followed with a gush of words about how much he loved me.

Some bitchy ass queen snapped my picture, and I immediately pulled Tommy off the dance floor, knowing if things got crazy, it could get ugly fast. I wasn’t worried about me, but Tommy, on the other hand…

Owen appeared at Tommy’s other side, and deciding to leave, I let Owen and Jason guide us out of the bar. Tommy never stopped telling me he loved me. That I didn’t love him because I was straight, or something to that effect.

I could’ve laughed. He was totally wrong there. I knew I was more bisexual… pansexual. I’d figured that out long ago. But Tommy was the one I thought of. He would probably always be the guy for me.

I tried not to listen to his drunken confessions. I needed to ignore them. Everything he said was exactly how I felt, except about not caring for him. That was wrong, although I understood why he thought that. I had left things really bad. We’d fooled around, and I’d made him feel like I didn’t want him.

I turned toward Josiah and Saram but didn’t look my brother in the eye. He knew how much I wanted Tommy. How much I’d debated hunting him down all these years. “I’m going to go with Owen and Jason,” I said.

I noticed Owen look at me before glancing at Jason. I knew that wasn’t what should happen, but damn, I didn’t care. I wanted to make sure Tommy was okay. He’d probably yell at me tomorrow morning, but he was drunk enough that someone needed to be with him. Might as well be me.

Tommy fell asleep as soon as we got him into the car. Owen drove us to his and Jason’s home and then helped me bring Tommy to the part of his and Jason’s house they used as avacation rental—the part I had been going to ask Owen to rent me during the time I was stuck here. The rental had a nice queen-sized bed, but the living room furniture was tiny. No way I would fit, and I wasn’t going to put Tommy there either. So, after Owen stared at me for several long moments, he shrugged. “I hope you know what you’re doing,” he said.

“I… well, someone has to watch him,” I said, and luckily, Owen didn’t respond. Instead, he handed me the key and left. We’d already stripped off Tommy’s shirt and shoes and tucked him into the bed.

I quickly pulled my shirt off, kept my pants on, and slipped into the bed behind him. I watched him snoring for a long time. My heart quaked at the sight. I had no doubt the man would hate me in the morning, but for now, for just this instant, he was mine.

Sometime in the night, I woke up as Tommy snuggled into me. God, he felt so good. It would probably destroy me for the rest of my life because I knew as I held him there would never be another man I loved as much as I loved Tommy Sanders.

19

Tommy

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