Page 14 of Capturing Perfection

He jogged the rest of the way, looking both ways before running across the street and up the stairs to the front door of the building. His feet barely touched each tread of the stairs before moving to the next, and when he reached the top level, he was out of breath.

The laxness of his conditioning since his discharge appalled him, and he promised to find a gym and get back in shape. His hand reached for the front door, but it whipped open before he could grab the handle.

Clay stood inside, still dressed for work, with the biggest smile he’d ever seen on the man’s face. Clay grabbed Logan’s hands and dragged him over to the caption phone the audiologist had arranged for them to get. Most people had gotten rid of their landlines, but Clay told Logan he wanted to have a backup way to contact any of his doctors just in case something happened to Logan's cell phone when Clay was at work. The phone had a large touchscreen where all the captions appeared but also came with an integrated voicemail. The system automatically transcribed any left messages when someone retrieved them.

At first, he thought someone might have been on the phone for him, but he saw the message light blinking. He looked at Clay and wondered what the big deal was.

Clay gestured toward the screen; a message awaited Logan. The number was the one they'd stored in the contact list for the VA. His heart tripped over itself for a couple of beats. This could be very good or very bad. His finger trembled as he reached for the menu button to access the stored message. Clay stood behind him, looking over his shoulder as the message scrolled across the screen.

This is Kelly from the VA. I’m calling to let you know you’ve been approved for two cochlear implants. Please call me to set up your first appointment.

Clay spun Logan around and wrapped him tight in his arms. The feel of Clay’s muscled frame against him short circuited his brain. His mind went blank and his body numb. He should be jumping and screaming with joy now that the VA finally approved his claim, but all he could focus on was how fast his heart was beating, sending blood raging through his veins where it landed in his groin. His cock thickened as he inhaled the scent of Clay’s aftershave.

Logan tilted his hips back, hoping, in Clay’s exuberance, he wouldn’t notice Logan’s hard-on. When he realized his secretwasn’t out of the closet yet, a smile blossomed across his face. They approved the implants! Logan couldn’t believe it. He was actually going to understand words again. As the man lifted and swung him, he held onto Clay's neck. He could hear loud sounds coming out of Clay’s mouth, but had no idea what the man was saying. It didn’t matter, not now. They approved him!

Clay placed Logan back on the floor and looked into his eyes. “We’re going out to celebrate.”

Logan nodded his head. “Chart House?”

He saw Clay begin to say something else but stop before any words crossed his lips. Clay opened the live caption app on his phone.“Perfect, I’ll call for a reservation.”

Logan wanted to go out and celebrate the amazing news and figured it would also be an opportune time to come clean with Clay. He opened the restaurant's website to study the menu. His preparedness for service staff questions reduced stress. He watched as Clay spoke into the phone and smiled when the man gave him a thumbs up.

Clay hung up and held up the phone."We need to leave. They got us a table in thirty minutes.”

Logan lifted his cross-body satchel over his head and set it on the countertop. In all the excitement, he’d never put it down after coming in the door. He popped into the bathroom to take care of business and gave himself a quick pep talk to prepare for the confession later.

The mirror reflected two dark blue eyes staring back at him. On the outside, one would never know how broken he’d been only a couple of months ago. His appearance was like any other thirty-six-year-old. There were a few lines on the side of his eyes from squinting into the sun for too long. His hair had yet to show any signs of gray, despite the way he felt every one of his years, and then some, more often than not. He had definitely lost some of the bulk he’d had when active, but was still in decent shape.His body bore more than a few scars, though he concealed most of them under his clothes.

He looked down at his hands. Hands that had shed blood and staunched the flow of the same from leaving a buddy’s body. Hands that had caressed a lover and beaten an enemy. He looked at the closed door to the bathroom and pictured Clay standing out there waiting for him.

It was time.

Clay thanked the hostess as she placed the leather-backed menus on their table. He glanced at the selections for a moment and decided to go with the miso maple glazed salmon. Wood-beamed ceiling arched overhead and abstract art dotted the red-bricked walls surrounding them. Sufficient lighting distributed throughout the restaurant enabled Logan to see Clay's face clearly, without excessively brightening the interior and ruining the ambiance. Clay looked across the table and gave Logan a smile. Logan’s pearly whites flashed, and Clay’s heart skipped a beat. Sentimental, perhaps pathetic, Clay happily gazed into Logan's blue eyes until the waitress interrupted with their food.

Clay had made a significant dent in his food when he noticed the water in Logan’s glass shook as he took a drink. Was it the crowd making Logan anxious? The room was fairly quiet, and they’d gotten a table in the back corner. Before accepting the table, Clay had made sure Logan could place his back to a wall. He knew the move well. While his back twitched from exposure, Logan’s comfort was more important.

He placed his hand on top of Logan’s. “Everything okay? Do you want to leave?”

“No, why?”

Clay pointed to the trembling hand now holding Logan’s fork. A tense smile graced Logan’s sensuous lips.

"It’s not nerves. Sometimes they do that, and I don’t realize it. Could be the drugs, I’m not sure. I’m having a great time. Thank you for bringing me."

Hearing Logan's voice after the months of silence still got to him. Despite the brush off, he’d become familiar with many of Logan’s new behaviors over the last several months to know that hand tremors were not normal. Since Logan started working with the psychiatrist, the anxiety had improved, but clearly, something was bothering him. Not wanting to push the issue, Clay looked at him, telling him with his eyes that everything would be fine. Logan must have gotten the message, because his body noticeably relaxed, and his blue eyes now glowed.

The server removed their finished plates and asked if they would like any desert. They both denied the tempting offer, requesting coffee instead. Clay was stirring in his milk when he heard Logan’s soft voice across from him.

“Clay?”

The break in silence startled him for a moment, and he sloshed a bit of hot coffee over the edge of the cup. Hissing, he shook off his finger and patted the skin of his hand with his napkin.

He looked across at Logan. “Oops.”

Logan reached for Clay’s hand, frowning. “Okay?”

Clay nodded. “I’m fine. It was more startling than actually painful.”

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