Page 32 of Private Exhibit
Andy shuddered and reached out, stopping short of touching the desk surface, where Devon's capable hands had been. Once again, there weren't any visible fingerprints anywhere.Damn it. He almost wished there were. Wished he could see one more piece of evidence that Devon's body still existed in the world. But the fact that Devon had taken the time to clean his work space, to go above and beyond like that rather than doing the bare minimum? Andy shifted in the chair, having to adjust his pants as his cock began to wake up.
“Fuck,” he muttered, shooting to his feet. He stormed into the washroom and tore off his scrubs, changing into his street clothes. Scrubs did nothing to hide an erection, and even though Andy was pretty sure he could get to the parking garage without being seen, he wasn't taking any chances. Once he was dressed, Andy barely spared a moment to make sure he had his phone and keys before he raced out of the office and headed for the elevator.
Down in the garage, Andy punched at the navigation screen in his car, ready to tell the thing to take him home. He muttered a curse. Home was the last place he should be. There would benothing to do but sit and drink, unless Junior showed up and wanted to play some video games.
Andy paused with a frown. Hestillhadn't seen Junior.What the hells, kid? Where are you?
If he were being honest, though, he wasn't remotely in the mood for video games. What he wanted was a moment to forget everything. To not think about death and disease and things he could never have. To not think about his failures.
What he wanted was a distraction from all thoughts of Devon.
Andy moved his finger and brought up prior locations on the car's navigation history. He punched the address for The Dungeon. Even with it being so early in the evening, there was bound to be a crowd. There always was. Maybe he'd be able to find some eager, young thing—boy or girl, he didn't really care which—to help him take the edge off.
But when he got down into the club's exhibition room and surveyed the crowd, nobody caught his attention. Not a single person captured his interest.
Nobody could match Devon.
Fuck!He was so completely screwed.
Andy stormed back out of the club, went home, and got straight into the shower. The enclosure was custom made, outfitted with mode-shifting glass. At the moment, the glass was clear, like any standard window. A touch-control panel just above the water valve allowed Andy to change the settings. He pressed the button forblackout, and the enclosure turned completely opaque. Andy stared at the pristine, black surface while the hot water rained down on the back of his neck.
He shivered and turned back to the control panel, hesitating only for a second before he selectedmirror.
Reflections of himself instantly surrounded him. Andy slowly turned, watching his movements from every side.Gods.He'd thought he'd lucked out when he found this apartment in the wake of Junior's death and his own divorce. There was no way he could stay in the apartment they'd shared. Not with all the memories and heartbreak it contained. When he'd toured this place, it seemed so perfect. An exhibitionist's dream. Not that he'd been ready to play with anyone back then, but he knew he would be someday. Four years later, he still hadn't brought anyone home with him.
Now, he desperately wanted to.
Andy shuddered, picturing Devon there beside him, the two of them surrounded by live images of themselves, able to watch and be watched from every angle. They could enjoy the same thing in the bedroom. That space was outfitted with the same glass, all four walls seamlessly constructed. Even the ceiling in there had the glass installed. Andy had spent many a night, lying in bed, looking up at himself as he jerked off.
But he wanted more. He wanted a warm, living body beside his. Somebody to watch and enjoy the sight of themselves fucking no matter where they looked.
Andy pictured Devon's enthralled gaze trying to take it all in.
He came with a shout, staring at his reflection as his cock shot ropes of cum across the shower floor. Andy stood there, catching his breath. His cock slowly went flaccid. Along with it went his mood.
Andy rinsed away his mess, got out of the shower, dried off, and pulled on a pair of briefs. He padded out to the living room and dropped onto the couch. The wallscreen turned on with a simple verbal command, and Andy picked a show at random, knowing he wouldn't actually pay any attention to it.
He sighed and looked around.Gods. What a turn his life had taken. His old apartment had looked like a home, all cozy and lived-in, but Andy had never had time to appreciate any of it. When he was home, he was either at Junior's bedside orsitting at the dining table with medical journals and notebooks all around him. Every waking moment had been about trying to cure Ashworth-Grahams. Nothing else had ever mattered.
Now, he was alone. In a barely furnished apartment. An empty kitchen, because he'd never learned how to cook and could easily have something delivered for every meal. Nothing to do but mindlessly distract himself until he could either be back at work or spend time with his son. He supposed he could fill up a few hours here and there, learning how to cook or going furniture shopping, but why bother? There was nobody but himself to make comfortable. What did he really need besides a bed? Even the couch didn't get much use unless Junior was there.
Andy reached over and picked up a game controller. Maybe that would attract the ghost.
He picked one of Junior's favorite games—racing cars, because Junior had never been allowed to learn how to drive—and waited. Andy looked all around. No sign of Junior anywhere.
Andy frowned, concentrating all his thoughts on his son, but still the ghost didn't come.
“Fuck.” Andy tossed the controller aside and started to turn the television show back on.
He paused, listening. Utter silence engulfed him until his ears began to ring. His heart raced in panic.
“Junior?” he whispered, slowly rising to his feet.Oh gods. What if he couldn't see ghosts anymore? He couldn't even contemplate how or why that might be, except he realized he hadn't seen a single ghost all day. “Jun–”
What?an exasperated snap interrupted him.
Andy whirled around and spotted Junior behind the couch. The boy had his arms crossed and an annoyed look on his face, but Andy barely noticed those things, too flooded with relief.Thank gods, he said.Where've you been?
Junior scowled at him.I've been hanging out with Jess. Duh.
