The Egg Lady (1/1)
Title: The Egg Lady
Author: WibbleyWobbley
Pairing/Characters: Kevin/Scotty, Michelle
Rating: R
Summary: Scotty chats with an old friend.
Spoilers: Pure imagination, but based on promo photographs from 4.06! If this is even remotely close to what happens, I will drop dead of surprise, but nonetheless...you have been warned.
Word Count: ~3,000
Disclaimer: If only...
A/N: After quite a bit of whining about this character/actress choice, I’ve embraced it and now am actually quite excited about her. I just hope they write it well.
A/N2: By my counts, this is my 35th B&S story since I started writing about this show in January. Wow.
Scotty didn’t even glance up at the quick knock. He was too distracted by the menu he was finalizing for that night.
“Sorry, we don’t serve for another hour,” he said almost mechanically.
“Oh, I know. I have a reservation for tonight. I just can’t wait to try food made by the best chef in town.”
Scotty looked up, startled. “Michelle!”
She grinned at him, and Scotty hurried around the bar counter. He pulled her into a tight hug, and she laughed while patting his back.
“How are you?” he asked once they released each other. “I thought you were in New York?”
“Oh, I am,” she replied, tucking some hair behind her ear. “Just visiting family. I got into town the other week, and everyone’s been telling me I have to come here.”
Scotty rolled his eyes in embarrassment. “Whatever happened to staying in touch, huh?”
Michelle groaned theatrically, reaching out to grab his hands in hers. “I know! Tell me everyth - oh my God!” She lifted his hand and stared at the ring. Scotty laughed.
“Are you married?”
Scotty pressed his lips together and nodded. Michelle’s excitement grew. “Me too!” She held up her hand to show off her own ring. “OK, you go first. What’s his name? How did you meet?”
“Uh,” Scotty said evasively, scratching at the side of his head as he laughed.
***
“I can’t believe you’re actually dating him,” Scotty observed as he tossed a few kernels of popcorn into his mouth, eyes glued to the TV screen.
“I know!” Michelle replied. She had her legs curled up on the couch and was clutching a pillow in suspense. She knew that Chad’s character (and job) would be fine - that it was his big-breasted, talentless diva girlfriend that drinks the poison instead. That Dr. Phillip instead will save Baltimore from the Cassitti Family. But the tension was still high.
“You know, there are rumors that he’s gay.”
“Uh, he’s not. Trust me.”
“Bi, then.”
Michelle didn’t answer, and Scotty turned to look at her. “Michelle?”
“Why do you think I haven’t introduced you?” she finally said stiffly.
Scotty gave her a sympathetic smile. “Don’t worry about me. He’s not really my type.”
“What is your type?” Michelle asked, taking the opportunity to change the subject.
“Hmm?” Scotty said, pretending to be distracted by the TV.
Michelle didn’t buy it. “Come on. In these last couple months I’ve known you, you haven’t once been in a relationship. I mean, I know you haven’t exactly been celibate - ” Scotty snorted in agreement. He definitely hadn’t spent every night alone and pining. “ - but it’s like...you’re not even looking for something more.”
Scotty shrugged. “I had a bad break-up, and I didn’t really feel like starting anything right away. And now I’m focusing on my career. I’m too young to tie myself down to any one guy.”
Michelle shook her head. “No. No, I’m sorry. You’re not fooling me, Scotty Wandell. You are a romantic. You want that one true love. You want to get married and have fat, happy babies.”
Scotty looked at her, trying to maintain his carefree attitude. Then he shrugged. “Maybe.”
Michelle smacked his arm playfully. “Then what’s your type? I’m an actress. I know a ton of gay guys.”
“Well, not beefcake,” Scotty replied, nodding at the screen where Chad once again had his shirt off for no apparent reason.
“Good. You can’t have him anyway.”
“I like,” Scotty paused, trying to find a way to describe his dream guy that wasn’t just Kevin minus all (or at least some...fine, probably none of them, really) of his flaws. “I like...smart guys. You know, not just book-smart, but clever. Funny. Capable of debate. Not afraid of arguing. A guy who loves his family. Who really cares about people and wants to help them. Someone confident, but not annoyingly cocky - who can let his guard down a bit. And, I mean, yeah, good-looking but not necessarily conventionally so. I like a little quirkiness.”
And then Scotty took a breath, and got to the heart of the matter. “I just want a guy who will realize that I do, in fact, matter. And will treat me like I do.”
“So I take it that this bad break-up...” Michelle asked, trailing off leadingly.
Scotty shrugged but didn’t take the bait. “We’re missing the program,” he said quietly.
***
“It’s, uh - ” Scotty finally said, “ - his name is...Kevin. Walker.”
Michelle dropped her head forward as her eyes opened wide. She grabbed him and dragged him over to the chairs by the bar. “Leave nothing out,” she ordered.
***
Thankfully, Scotty was in the kitchen when his phone rang. He had forgotten to turn it off, and he would have been really embarrassed if it interrupted the awards ceremony at the country club he was working. He quickly grabbed the phone out of his pocket, glanced at the screen and answered.
“Michelle, I can’t talk right now. I’m at work.”
“OK, no problem. Just - what are you doing for Valentine’s Day?”
Scotty paused warily. “Nothing,” he replied slowly.
“Great!” Michelle said, and Scotty could hear the genuine enthusiasm in her voice. “You’re coming to my sister’s party, and you’re going to thank me for it.”
“Why?”
“Oh, I might have invited someone for you.”
“What? Michelle, no - ”
But there was a click and then nothing. She had hung up. Scotty released a sigh that turned into a groan. “Great,” he muttered.
But on Valentine’s Day, he was at Michelle’s apartment as they got ready for the party together.
“So, this guy?” he finally asked.
Michelle squealed in excitement. “You’re gonna love him. I don’t know him all that well - he’s a friend of Chad’s from the gym - ”
“A friend?”
“Focus, please.”
“Sorry.”
“So, I’ve met him a couple times when we were all working out at the same time. He was telling me the other day what kind of guys he likes, which is like, basically, you, and then said he was single tonight as well. You guys are just perfect for each other.”
“You don’t know that! You just said you barely knew him.”
“True,” Michelle replied exasperatedly, “but what I do know fits almost perfectly with your description of the guy you were looking for. Besides Kevin’s totally hot, kind of a teddy bear and a lawyer. What’s not to like?”
Scotty exhaled through his nose, not quite convinced by her hard sell - and trying desperately to ignore the similarities. Coincidence. Had to be.
***
“Long story short, he broke up with Jason, said he wanted to be with me, and we went more or less happily along for the next couple of months.”
“And then?”
Scotty smiled as his mind went back to that night that changed everything. “He got home late. He had been pretty stressed out with family and work, and I tried to make things easier for him by taking care of some stuff around the place.” Scotty laughed. “Changing lightbulbs and stuff.”
“Private joke there, huh?” Michelle asked knowingly.
Scotty grinned, raising his eyebrows teasingly. “So he got home. And he talked about everything that had been happening, and then he just stopped...and looked at me. And then he proposed. We had a small, beautiful ceremony that weekend. It’s been over a year,” Scotty concluded with a grin.
Michelle clapped her hands in delight. “Did I not tell you that you guys were perfect for each other?”
***
Despite the Klaxon horns going off in his head in warning, Scotty accepted Kevin’s tentative, almost nervous invitation to continue their sort-of-friendly sniping in a more private location, namely his loft. And, adorably, when they first got there, Kevin did lose some of his confidence. He tried to continue their conversation, and began to ask Scotty more personal, seemingly interested and caring questions about his life.
Scotty humored him for a little while, and they sat on his couch talking while they slowly drank a nightcap each. Scotty wasn’t an idiot. He knew there was more to the story than “gym buddies.” He knew this wasn’t the beginning of happily ever after. But he also knew they both were more than aware of why he was there and how this night was going to end, no matter how long they stalled.
So, in the meantime, they talked. Kevin grew bolder, dragging out pauses in the conversation as he looked at Scotty in that way that Scotty knew Kevin knew was irresistible. They smiled at each other more and more, and somehow every sentence ended with a small nibble of a lower lip, a slow blink, or a soft laugh. Kevin leaned forward to put his empty glass on the coffee table. When he leaned back again, he accidentally moved closer to Scotty, who was sitting sideways and holding his head up by an elbow propped on the back of the couch. As Scotty concluded whatever random story he had been telling - neither of them were really paying attention anyway - he shifted slightly, dropping that hand to play with Kevin’s collar instead. “Absent-mindedly” play with it, of course. He ran his index finger slowly along the edge of the fabric, just barely making contact with the warm skin on the back of Kevin’s neck. He smiled at Kevin just then, because Kevin had once told Scotty in great detail how much he loved the laugh lines around his eyes.
Kevin stared back at him for a long moment. Then he stood, took Scotty’s glass and placed it next to his, grabbed Scotty’s hand and pulled him to his feet. They were mere inches from each other, and Scotty could feel the heat radiating off Kevin’s body. He wanted to lean forward, close the distance between them and finally kiss Kevin. But a bigger part of him wanted to wait for Kevin to make the first move.
Kevin did. Not with a kiss just then, but by turning away and, still holding his hand, leading him to the bedroom. With his back to him now, Kevin couldn’t see Scotty and so he took the opportunity to grin in anticipation. Careful, Scotty reminded himself. This is what it is. Nothing more.
But when their activities in the bedroom were anything but frenzied, when it felt more like making love than anything he had experienced in a long time, when Kevin, smiling lightly, remembered to stare into Scotty’s eyes as he finally entered Kevin, that warning to himself was hard to remember. Scotty, for the first time, admitted that - or at least wondered if - Kevin hadn’t just taken him home because of whatever was or was not happening with Chad. Scotty couldn't help but feel that, if it had been a total stranger Kevin was set up with that night, Kevin would be alone right now.
And, a couple hours later, he was still pretty sure that was a reasonable belief. Kevin was now asleep, but Scotty had been unable to join him. Finally, he sighed. It didn’t matter, really. Kevin had promised him nothing, and frankly, Scotty wasn’t even sure he would want to reconcile with him anyway. Even if Kevin was the standard he compared all other men to over the last few months, even if it felt so right to lie there in his arms, nothing changed the fact that there was something ultimately dysfunctional with their relationship. They were simply not meant to be. And the longer he stayed there, the harder it would be for him to accept that. This was a one-night stand, with an ex no less. There was only one way this could possibly end, and Scotty knew what he had to do.
He slowly, carefully twisted his body as he removed himself from Kevin’s embrace. Trying not to wake Kevin, Scotty sat on the edge of the bed for a moment. Then he leaned forward, reaching out for his pants.
“Don’t go,” Kevin said quietly behind him. Scotty turned around in surprise.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” he replied, ignoring Kevin’s request.
But Kevin wasn’t easily distracted. “I mean it. Spend the night. There’s really no need to rush off, is there? I’m tired of that. Aren’t you?”
Scotty hesitated, and Kevin pushed the sheets down in invitation. Scotty took a deep breath and returned to the warm cocoon of blankets. Kevin wrapped his arm around Scotty again, and his hand moved lower and lower until it was gripping Scotty’s cock.
“What are you doing?” he asked, laughing.
“You’re wide awake now,” Kevin replied, and Scotty could hear the grin in his voice. “You need something to help you fall back asleep.”
Scotty meant to object, he really did, but as Kevin’s hand began to move, he had trouble finding the right words. They didn’t speak at all, as Kevin brought him pleasure and eventually release. And later, as Scotty finally drifted off to sleep, he allowed himself just a little bit of hope after all.
***
“I just can’t believe it,” Michelle said again, laughing. “Mr. I’m-Too-Young-To-Be-Tied-Down, married! And it’s all because of me!”
“Well, no. I knew him before. I told you that.”
“Shut up, and let me congratulate myself.”
Scotty laughed. “OK.”
“So what’s next for you guys?”
“What do you mean?”
“House with a white picket fence? Dog? What disgustingly domestic plans do you have?”
Scotty blushed. “A baby,” he said softly.
“Really?!”
“Yeah, we’re looking into surrogacy.”
“Ah! Tell me more.”
Scotty shook his head. “No way. Your turn. What’s his name? How’d you meet?”
Michelle looked down at her ring and some of her enthusiasm left her. “His name’s Adam,” she said quietly. “We met about a year ago, and it was kind of whirlwind, but I just knew, you know? We got married just over two months ago.”
“What’s wrong?” Scotty asked.
Michelle shrugged sadly. “He’s in the Army. He shipped out last month for a two-year deployment in Iraq.”
Scotty took a deep breath and nodded in sympathy. “I’m sorry,” he said.
“I knew what I was getting into. And we actually can talk more than I would have thought, but you know...it’s still hard.”
“I understand.”
“And the worst part, besides all the worry, of course, is that...there are so many things you dream about when you get married, you know?”
“The white picket fence and the dog?” Scotty asked with a sad smile.
Michelle nodded. “And the babies. I don’t feel married. I want to move forward with our lives, and it feels like everything is delayed for two years. And perhaps forever.”
“You can’t think like that.”
“I know, I know. I just wish there was something I could do that would make me happy, give me something to focus on, you know? Something besides my stupid career, which let’s face it, is not really going anywhere. I’ve been looking into volunteer work or charities or something, so I can help out people and remind myself that my life doesn’t suck too badly! I just have to find the right thing, I think.”
She looked up at Scotty, and he nodded in agreement. “I think that’s a good idea.”
She stared back at him for a second, and Scotty started to get a little wary as he saw the trademark Michelle expression of wheels turning in her head.
“What?” he asked cautiously.
“Oh my God!” she exclaimed.
***
“Well, well, well,” Michelle teased as she opened the door of her apartment the next day. They had a few minutes before Tempest Bay started, and she planned to get all the gossip. “Mr. Wandell. You simply disappeared last night. Seems like I might have a career in match - what’s wrong?”
“I can’t...I can’t watch with you today.”
Michelle stared back at him, waiting for more of an explanation. Scotty sighed, then swallowed thickly. “Kevin was the guy. The...bad break-up guy.”
“You’re kidding me!”
Scotty shook his head quickly. “No.” He took a deep breath. “No, and I made some stupid decisions last night, and this morning was...”
“Bad?”
Scotty nodded. “Really bad. I can’t believe he can still hurt me like that.” He laughed in self-derision and looked away. “I can’t believe I still care about him even now.”
“What happened?”
He stared at her, obviously upset but hesitant. As if he didn’t want to hurt her. “I can’t tell you that,” he said softly.
“But it has to do with why you can’t watch Tempest Bay today?” she asked. It wasn’t really a question.
Scotty’s silence was enough. Michelle closed her eyes in pain and nodded slowly.
***
“This is crazy talk,” Scotty said for what had to be the fifteenth time.
“No, it’s not,” Michelle argued again. “Would you stop saying that?”
“You don’t think it’d be too hard for you, you know, emotionally?”
“No, I really don’t,” she replied, excitement continuing to grow. “It will be like...practice. And I’ll get to help out one of my very best friends.”
“Who you haven’t actually talked to in, like, two years.”
Michelle shrugged and made a big deal expression.
“And the other guy, of course, was sleeping with your boyfriend.”
Michelle waved her hand at him dismissively. “Ex. Under the bridge.”
“You live in New York.”
“The play I was in just finished, and I have a friend looking for a sublet. I’ll move back here until the baby is born.”
Scotty stared at her, mouth open as he shook his head, trying to find the right objection that would make Michelle stop and think. Finally, he just said, “No. We’re not talking about this right now. Here, read tonight’s menu and decide what you’re going to eat later. It’s on the house.”
Michelle humored him, taking the menu and flipping through it. At that moment, another person entered the dining room. Scotty looked up and saw Kevin.
“Hey!” Kevin said.
Michelle turned to face him, and Kevin stopped in his tracks, surprised.
“Kevin,” Scotty said with a hint of sarcasm. “You remember my friend Michelle.”
The End
Author: WibbleyWobbley
Pairing/Characters: Kevin/Scotty, Michelle
Rating: R
Summary: Scotty chats with an old friend.
Spoilers: Pure imagination, but based on promo photographs from 4.06! If this is even remotely close to what happens, I will drop dead of surprise, but nonetheless...you have been warned.
Word Count: ~3,000
Disclaimer: If only...
A/N: After quite a bit of whining about this character/actress choice, I’ve embraced it and now am actually quite excited about her. I just hope they write it well.
A/N2: By my counts, this is my 35th B&S story since I started writing about this show in January. Wow.
Scotty didn’t even glance up at the quick knock. He was too distracted by the menu he was finalizing for that night.
“Sorry, we don’t serve for another hour,” he said almost mechanically.
“Oh, I know. I have a reservation for tonight. I just can’t wait to try food made by the best chef in town.”
Scotty looked up, startled. “Michelle!”
She grinned at him, and Scotty hurried around the bar counter. He pulled her into a tight hug, and she laughed while patting his back.
“How are you?” he asked once they released each other. “I thought you were in New York?”
“Oh, I am,” she replied, tucking some hair behind her ear. “Just visiting family. I got into town the other week, and everyone’s been telling me I have to come here.”
Scotty rolled his eyes in embarrassment. “Whatever happened to staying in touch, huh?”
Michelle groaned theatrically, reaching out to grab his hands in hers. “I know! Tell me everyth - oh my God!” She lifted his hand and stared at the ring. Scotty laughed.
“Are you married?”
Scotty pressed his lips together and nodded. Michelle’s excitement grew. “Me too!” She held up her hand to show off her own ring. “OK, you go first. What’s his name? How did you meet?”
“Uh,” Scotty said evasively, scratching at the side of his head as he laughed.
***
“I can’t believe you’re actually dating him,” Scotty observed as he tossed a few kernels of popcorn into his mouth, eyes glued to the TV screen.
“I know!” Michelle replied. She had her legs curled up on the couch and was clutching a pillow in suspense. She knew that Chad’s character (and job) would be fine - that it was his big-breasted, talentless diva girlfriend that drinks the poison instead. That Dr. Phillip instead will save Baltimore from the Cassitti Family. But the tension was still high.
“You know, there are rumors that he’s gay.”
“Uh, he’s not. Trust me.”
“Bi, then.”
Michelle didn’t answer, and Scotty turned to look at her. “Michelle?”
“Why do you think I haven’t introduced you?” she finally said stiffly.
Scotty gave her a sympathetic smile. “Don’t worry about me. He’s not really my type.”
“What is your type?” Michelle asked, taking the opportunity to change the subject.
“Hmm?” Scotty said, pretending to be distracted by the TV.
Michelle didn’t buy it. “Come on. In these last couple months I’ve known you, you haven’t once been in a relationship. I mean, I know you haven’t exactly been celibate - ” Scotty snorted in agreement. He definitely hadn’t spent every night alone and pining. “ - but it’s like...you’re not even looking for something more.”
Scotty shrugged. “I had a bad break-up, and I didn’t really feel like starting anything right away. And now I’m focusing on my career. I’m too young to tie myself down to any one guy.”
Michelle shook her head. “No. No, I’m sorry. You’re not fooling me, Scotty Wandell. You are a romantic. You want that one true love. You want to get married and have fat, happy babies.”
Scotty looked at her, trying to maintain his carefree attitude. Then he shrugged. “Maybe.”
Michelle smacked his arm playfully. “Then what’s your type? I’m an actress. I know a ton of gay guys.”
“Well, not beefcake,” Scotty replied, nodding at the screen where Chad once again had his shirt off for no apparent reason.
“Good. You can’t have him anyway.”
“I like,” Scotty paused, trying to find a way to describe his dream guy that wasn’t just Kevin minus all (or at least some...fine, probably none of them, really) of his flaws. “I like...smart guys. You know, not just book-smart, but clever. Funny. Capable of debate. Not afraid of arguing. A guy who loves his family. Who really cares about people and wants to help them. Someone confident, but not annoyingly cocky - who can let his guard down a bit. And, I mean, yeah, good-looking but not necessarily conventionally so. I like a little quirkiness.”
And then Scotty took a breath, and got to the heart of the matter. “I just want a guy who will realize that I do, in fact, matter. And will treat me like I do.”
“So I take it that this bad break-up...” Michelle asked, trailing off leadingly.
Scotty shrugged but didn’t take the bait. “We’re missing the program,” he said quietly.
***
“It’s, uh - ” Scotty finally said, “ - his name is...Kevin. Walker.”
Michelle dropped her head forward as her eyes opened wide. She grabbed him and dragged him over to the chairs by the bar. “Leave nothing out,” she ordered.
***
Thankfully, Scotty was in the kitchen when his phone rang. He had forgotten to turn it off, and he would have been really embarrassed if it interrupted the awards ceremony at the country club he was working. He quickly grabbed the phone out of his pocket, glanced at the screen and answered.
“Michelle, I can’t talk right now. I’m at work.”
“OK, no problem. Just - what are you doing for Valentine’s Day?”
Scotty paused warily. “Nothing,” he replied slowly.
“Great!” Michelle said, and Scotty could hear the genuine enthusiasm in her voice. “You’re coming to my sister’s party, and you’re going to thank me for it.”
“Why?”
“Oh, I might have invited someone for you.”
“What? Michelle, no - ”
But there was a click and then nothing. She had hung up. Scotty released a sigh that turned into a groan. “Great,” he muttered.
But on Valentine’s Day, he was at Michelle’s apartment as they got ready for the party together.
“So, this guy?” he finally asked.
Michelle squealed in excitement. “You’re gonna love him. I don’t know him all that well - he’s a friend of Chad’s from the gym - ”
“A friend?”
“Focus, please.”
“Sorry.”
“So, I’ve met him a couple times when we were all working out at the same time. He was telling me the other day what kind of guys he likes, which is like, basically, you, and then said he was single tonight as well. You guys are just perfect for each other.”
“You don’t know that! You just said you barely knew him.”
“True,” Michelle replied exasperatedly, “but what I do know fits almost perfectly with your description of the guy you were looking for. Besides Kevin’s totally hot, kind of a teddy bear and a lawyer. What’s not to like?”
Scotty exhaled through his nose, not quite convinced by her hard sell - and trying desperately to ignore the similarities. Coincidence. Had to be.
***
“Long story short, he broke up with Jason, said he wanted to be with me, and we went more or less happily along for the next couple of months.”
“And then?”
Scotty smiled as his mind went back to that night that changed everything. “He got home late. He had been pretty stressed out with family and work, and I tried to make things easier for him by taking care of some stuff around the place.” Scotty laughed. “Changing lightbulbs and stuff.”
“Private joke there, huh?” Michelle asked knowingly.
Scotty grinned, raising his eyebrows teasingly. “So he got home. And he talked about everything that had been happening, and then he just stopped...and looked at me. And then he proposed. We had a small, beautiful ceremony that weekend. It’s been over a year,” Scotty concluded with a grin.
Michelle clapped her hands in delight. “Did I not tell you that you guys were perfect for each other?”
***
Despite the Klaxon horns going off in his head in warning, Scotty accepted Kevin’s tentative, almost nervous invitation to continue their sort-of-friendly sniping in a more private location, namely his loft. And, adorably, when they first got there, Kevin did lose some of his confidence. He tried to continue their conversation, and began to ask Scotty more personal, seemingly interested and caring questions about his life.
Scotty humored him for a little while, and they sat on his couch talking while they slowly drank a nightcap each. Scotty wasn’t an idiot. He knew there was more to the story than “gym buddies.” He knew this wasn’t the beginning of happily ever after. But he also knew they both were more than aware of why he was there and how this night was going to end, no matter how long they stalled.
So, in the meantime, they talked. Kevin grew bolder, dragging out pauses in the conversation as he looked at Scotty in that way that Scotty knew Kevin knew was irresistible. They smiled at each other more and more, and somehow every sentence ended with a small nibble of a lower lip, a slow blink, or a soft laugh. Kevin leaned forward to put his empty glass on the coffee table. When he leaned back again, he accidentally moved closer to Scotty, who was sitting sideways and holding his head up by an elbow propped on the back of the couch. As Scotty concluded whatever random story he had been telling - neither of them were really paying attention anyway - he shifted slightly, dropping that hand to play with Kevin’s collar instead. “Absent-mindedly” play with it, of course. He ran his index finger slowly along the edge of the fabric, just barely making contact with the warm skin on the back of Kevin’s neck. He smiled at Kevin just then, because Kevin had once told Scotty in great detail how much he loved the laugh lines around his eyes.
Kevin stared back at him for a long moment. Then he stood, took Scotty’s glass and placed it next to his, grabbed Scotty’s hand and pulled him to his feet. They were mere inches from each other, and Scotty could feel the heat radiating off Kevin’s body. He wanted to lean forward, close the distance between them and finally kiss Kevin. But a bigger part of him wanted to wait for Kevin to make the first move.
Kevin did. Not with a kiss just then, but by turning away and, still holding his hand, leading him to the bedroom. With his back to him now, Kevin couldn’t see Scotty and so he took the opportunity to grin in anticipation. Careful, Scotty reminded himself. This is what it is. Nothing more.
But when their activities in the bedroom were anything but frenzied, when it felt more like making love than anything he had experienced in a long time, when Kevin, smiling lightly, remembered to stare into Scotty’s eyes as he finally entered Kevin, that warning to himself was hard to remember. Scotty, for the first time, admitted that - or at least wondered if - Kevin hadn’t just taken him home because of whatever was or was not happening with Chad. Scotty couldn't help but feel that, if it had been a total stranger Kevin was set up with that night, Kevin would be alone right now.
And, a couple hours later, he was still pretty sure that was a reasonable belief. Kevin was now asleep, but Scotty had been unable to join him. Finally, he sighed. It didn’t matter, really. Kevin had promised him nothing, and frankly, Scotty wasn’t even sure he would want to reconcile with him anyway. Even if Kevin was the standard he compared all other men to over the last few months, even if it felt so right to lie there in his arms, nothing changed the fact that there was something ultimately dysfunctional with their relationship. They were simply not meant to be. And the longer he stayed there, the harder it would be for him to accept that. This was a one-night stand, with an ex no less. There was only one way this could possibly end, and Scotty knew what he had to do.
He slowly, carefully twisted his body as he removed himself from Kevin’s embrace. Trying not to wake Kevin, Scotty sat on the edge of the bed for a moment. Then he leaned forward, reaching out for his pants.
“Don’t go,” Kevin said quietly behind him. Scotty turned around in surprise.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” he replied, ignoring Kevin’s request.
But Kevin wasn’t easily distracted. “I mean it. Spend the night. There’s really no need to rush off, is there? I’m tired of that. Aren’t you?”
Scotty hesitated, and Kevin pushed the sheets down in invitation. Scotty took a deep breath and returned to the warm cocoon of blankets. Kevin wrapped his arm around Scotty again, and his hand moved lower and lower until it was gripping Scotty’s cock.
“What are you doing?” he asked, laughing.
“You’re wide awake now,” Kevin replied, and Scotty could hear the grin in his voice. “You need something to help you fall back asleep.”
Scotty meant to object, he really did, but as Kevin’s hand began to move, he had trouble finding the right words. They didn’t speak at all, as Kevin brought him pleasure and eventually release. And later, as Scotty finally drifted off to sleep, he allowed himself just a little bit of hope after all.
***
“I just can’t believe it,” Michelle said again, laughing. “Mr. I’m-Too-Young-To-Be-Tied-Down, married! And it’s all because of me!”
“Well, no. I knew him before. I told you that.”
“Shut up, and let me congratulate myself.”
Scotty laughed. “OK.”
“So what’s next for you guys?”
“What do you mean?”
“House with a white picket fence? Dog? What disgustingly domestic plans do you have?”
Scotty blushed. “A baby,” he said softly.
“Really?!”
“Yeah, we’re looking into surrogacy.”
“Ah! Tell me more.”
Scotty shook his head. “No way. Your turn. What’s his name? How’d you meet?”
Michelle looked down at her ring and some of her enthusiasm left her. “His name’s Adam,” she said quietly. “We met about a year ago, and it was kind of whirlwind, but I just knew, you know? We got married just over two months ago.”
“What’s wrong?” Scotty asked.
Michelle shrugged sadly. “He’s in the Army. He shipped out last month for a two-year deployment in Iraq.”
Scotty took a deep breath and nodded in sympathy. “I’m sorry,” he said.
“I knew what I was getting into. And we actually can talk more than I would have thought, but you know...it’s still hard.”
“I understand.”
“And the worst part, besides all the worry, of course, is that...there are so many things you dream about when you get married, you know?”
“The white picket fence and the dog?” Scotty asked with a sad smile.
Michelle nodded. “And the babies. I don’t feel married. I want to move forward with our lives, and it feels like everything is delayed for two years. And perhaps forever.”
“You can’t think like that.”
“I know, I know. I just wish there was something I could do that would make me happy, give me something to focus on, you know? Something besides my stupid career, which let’s face it, is not really going anywhere. I’ve been looking into volunteer work or charities or something, so I can help out people and remind myself that my life doesn’t suck too badly! I just have to find the right thing, I think.”
She looked up at Scotty, and he nodded in agreement. “I think that’s a good idea.”
She stared back at him for a second, and Scotty started to get a little wary as he saw the trademark Michelle expression of wheels turning in her head.
“What?” he asked cautiously.
“Oh my God!” she exclaimed.
***
“Well, well, well,” Michelle teased as she opened the door of her apartment the next day. They had a few minutes before Tempest Bay started, and she planned to get all the gossip. “Mr. Wandell. You simply disappeared last night. Seems like I might have a career in match - what’s wrong?”
“I can’t...I can’t watch with you today.”
Michelle stared back at him, waiting for more of an explanation. Scotty sighed, then swallowed thickly. “Kevin was the guy. The...bad break-up guy.”
“You’re kidding me!”
Scotty shook his head quickly. “No.” He took a deep breath. “No, and I made some stupid decisions last night, and this morning was...”
“Bad?”
Scotty nodded. “Really bad. I can’t believe he can still hurt me like that.” He laughed in self-derision and looked away. “I can’t believe I still care about him even now.”
“What happened?”
He stared at her, obviously upset but hesitant. As if he didn’t want to hurt her. “I can’t tell you that,” he said softly.
“But it has to do with why you can’t watch Tempest Bay today?” she asked. It wasn’t really a question.
Scotty’s silence was enough. Michelle closed her eyes in pain and nodded slowly.
***
“This is crazy talk,” Scotty said for what had to be the fifteenth time.
“No, it’s not,” Michelle argued again. “Would you stop saying that?”
“You don’t think it’d be too hard for you, you know, emotionally?”
“No, I really don’t,” she replied, excitement continuing to grow. “It will be like...practice. And I’ll get to help out one of my very best friends.”
“Who you haven’t actually talked to in, like, two years.”
Michelle shrugged and made a big deal expression.
“And the other guy, of course, was sleeping with your boyfriend.”
Michelle waved her hand at him dismissively. “Ex. Under the bridge.”
“You live in New York.”
“The play I was in just finished, and I have a friend looking for a sublet. I’ll move back here until the baby is born.”
Scotty stared at her, mouth open as he shook his head, trying to find the right objection that would make Michelle stop and think. Finally, he just said, “No. We’re not talking about this right now. Here, read tonight’s menu and decide what you’re going to eat later. It’s on the house.”
Michelle humored him, taking the menu and flipping through it. At that moment, another person entered the dining room. Scotty looked up and saw Kevin.
“Hey!” Kevin said.
Michelle turned to face him, and Kevin stopped in his tracks, surprised.
“Kevin,” Scotty said with a hint of sarcasm. “You remember my friend Michelle.”
The End