Love the One You're With (3/16)
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"Hey!"
Scotty turned in his seat at the greeting. He smiled at Kevin as he sat down at their usual table on the coffee shop’s terrace. They had talked and texted, but it was the first time he had seen Kevin since the movie right after he had moved out. Scotty realized just how much he had missed him.
"How are you?" Kevin asked, removing the lid from his cup and blowing on his drink.
"Great!" He crossed his arms as he leaned forward on the table, watching Kevin go through his little coffee ritual. One more blow, and a quick stir with the little straw, which he then removed, tapping it twice against the side of the cup to get the excess liquid off, before replacing the lid.
Scotty needed a hobby. Or a date.
"Oh, your trial started yesterday, right? How’d that go?"
Kevin nodded as he took a sip. Swallowing, he answered Scotty. "Pretty good, I think. Should be open and shut."
"That’s good," Scotty said, and then suddenly he was at a loss. He had no idea what to say next. It hadn’t been this awkward talking to Kevin for ages. What he really wanted to ask was how things were with Jason, if he had changed or if he was still the man Kevin loved.
But he didn’t know if he wanted to hear the answer.
"Any exciting plans for the day?" Kevin asked, interrupting Scotty’s thoughts.
"Nah. I’m off at the restaurant, but I have to cater in the afternoon. Oh, but tonight is karaoke night at this bar my friend Quinn works at. So a couple of us are probably going to do that."
Kevin made a face. "Karaoke?"
"You don’t like karaoke?!"
Kevin just looked at him, and Scotty was saved - a topic for conversation! He immediately began teasing Kevin for being so uptight.
***
"You’re back!" Kevin was shocked to find Jason reading the newspaper in the living room when he returned home. Jason had a meeting scheduled that morning with the bishop, and Kevin had not expected to see him until after he had been to Sarah’s office on Ojai business. He couldn’t believe she was insisting on working on Saturday...
"Yeah, he had to reschedule. What about you? I thought you had to meet Sarah."
"Not until 10," Kevin held up his cup in silent explanation of where he had been.
"Ah."
There was a brief, rather uncomfortable silence. Kevin had somewhat forgotten how to talk to Jason. After he had shared his stories of Malaysia and Kevin had described his own activities over the past few months, it was as if Kevin had run out of things to talk about. It surprised him; after so long, he thought they’d have so many things to say. But it was like he had gotten used to not sharing his day-to-day life with Jason, and he didn’t know how to get back into the habit.
He glanced at his watch and nearly sighed with relief. He had to get going if he didn’t want to be late for Sarah. Tipping the cup back, he finished off the coffee. He stepped into the kitchen to throw away the cup and then returned to the living room. Picking up his briefcase, he bent down and kissed Jason.
"Do you want to go out tonight?"
"Kev, I have the early service tomorrow."
"Oh, right." Kevin sighed. "Well, maybe we can rent something? Order in?"
Jason nodded in agreement and kissed Kevin again.
***
Empty Chinese containers were strewn across the coffee table, but there was still enough room for Kevin to prop his feet on it. Jason had an arm around his shoulders while they watched the movie. It was older; Kevin had rented it with Scotty a couple months ago, but of course Jason hadn’t seen it. Frankly, Kevin hadn’t liked it that much - although he had liked Scotty’s running commentary on the stupidity of the heroine - and the movie really didn’t improve on second viewing.
The music was rather loud in the current scene, and Kevin almost missed the beeping of his phone. He picked it up and opened the message.
I’m thinking Cher. Which song best?
Kevin laughed out loud, and Jason turned to look at him.
"What’s going on?"
Kevin shook his head, still laughing. He typed in Why not Queen? and hit send before answering. "Oh, it’s Scotty. He’s at a karaoke bar tonight, and he’s trying to decide what to sing."
If he hadn’t had been sitting as close to Jason as he was, he wouldn’t have felt him tense. Kevin tried not to react. He knew that Jason was still bothered by the idea of his friendship with Scotty, and he tried to understand where he was coming from. If it had been the other way around, he would have questioned it as well, and Jason didn’t even know about the dreams. But it annoyed him nonetheless. Kevin had never acted on those dreams, and he had remained faithful to Jason, just like he had promised. He wanted Jason to trust him, and he didn’t want to have to choose between his boyfriend and his best friend.
Kevin leaned back into Jason’s embrace and placed his palm on Jason’s thigh reassuringly. Jason tightened his hold on Kevin’s shoulders and kissed the top of his head. Kevin closed his eyes in contentment.
But after several minutes, his phone beeped again, and Kevin opened his eyes.
"Kev," Jason said with a trace of annoyance in his voice.
"Yeah, OK."
Kevin quickly read the screen and bit his cheek to keep from laughing.
Sang 9 to 5 for you, Mr. Uptight.
He sent back a "Ha ha. Later." before turning off his phone and turning his attention back to Jason and the horrible movie.
After a few minutes, Jason spoke up. "I think I should meet him."
***
It had been a couple weeks since Jason said he wanted to meet Scotty, and Kevin was running out of excuses. It wasn’t that he wanted to keep them separate, it was just...OK, he wanted to keep them separate. He couldn’t explain it. They both just meant so much to him, and he didn’t want to ruin his relationship with either man. He knew several people had gotten the wrong idea about him and Scotty in the past few months, and he didn’t want to make Jason feel jealous or insecure. And he didn’t want to rub his relationship with Jason in Scotty’s face. It was never fun to see an ex with someone else, especially if you were single and even if you were still friends with the ex.
So, he avoided introducing the two men. He spent almost every night with Jason and, while things still seemed off, they were getting back into a groove of sorts. And whenever he could, he met Scotty for coffee or lunch. He didn’t want the other man to feel as if Kevin had just been using him for companionship while Jason was gone. He valued their friendship and so he wanted to show Scotty that he still had time for him.
Today, he had met Scotty at the farmers market and they were now passing a container of strawberries back and forth while Scotty told him about work the night before.
"And I was left alone on the line to finish a grilled turbot when we ran out of cider vinegar sauce. So I finished it with cubed red peppers - and cumin."
"And is that bad?"
"Well, it wasn’t what they ordered. I mean, I was sort of flying by the seat of my pants. But the server came in with compliments to the chef," Scotty concluded his story with a grin and a small nod at Kevin.
"Wow. Bravo."
Scotty laughed as he took a bite out of a berry. Some juice slid down his hand and Scotty twisted his wrist, sticking his tongue out to lick it clean.
And suddenly, Kevin was slammed with the memory of a particularly vivid dream he had several weeks ago. It had involved fruit and whipped cream and Scotty licking his entire body. And after it woke him up, it had taken everything in him not to go out to the living room and wake Scotty as well, to instead calm himself down (that time, he had recited Robert’s Rules of Order) and fall back asleep.
All the blood in Kevin’s body pooled in his groin, and he tried to breathe normally. He cleared his throat and tore his eyes away from the still-damp skin of Scotty’s wrist.
And that, of course, was when Jason walked up to them.
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"Hey!"
Scotty turned in his seat at the greeting. He smiled at Kevin as he sat down at their usual table on the coffee shop’s terrace. They had talked and texted, but it was the first time he had seen Kevin since the movie right after he had moved out. Scotty realized just how much he had missed him.
"How are you?" Kevin asked, removing the lid from his cup and blowing on his drink.
"Great!" He crossed his arms as he leaned forward on the table, watching Kevin go through his little coffee ritual. One more blow, and a quick stir with the little straw, which he then removed, tapping it twice against the side of the cup to get the excess liquid off, before replacing the lid.
Scotty needed a hobby. Or a date.
"Oh, your trial started yesterday, right? How’d that go?"
Kevin nodded as he took a sip. Swallowing, he answered Scotty. "Pretty good, I think. Should be open and shut."
"That’s good," Scotty said, and then suddenly he was at a loss. He had no idea what to say next. It hadn’t been this awkward talking to Kevin for ages. What he really wanted to ask was how things were with Jason, if he had changed or if he was still the man Kevin loved.
But he didn’t know if he wanted to hear the answer.
"Any exciting plans for the day?" Kevin asked, interrupting Scotty’s thoughts.
"Nah. I’m off at the restaurant, but I have to cater in the afternoon. Oh, but tonight is karaoke night at this bar my friend Quinn works at. So a couple of us are probably going to do that."
Kevin made a face. "Karaoke?"
"You don’t like karaoke?!"
Kevin just looked at him, and Scotty was saved - a topic for conversation! He immediately began teasing Kevin for being so uptight.
***
"You’re back!" Kevin was shocked to find Jason reading the newspaper in the living room when he returned home. Jason had a meeting scheduled that morning with the bishop, and Kevin had not expected to see him until after he had been to Sarah’s office on Ojai business. He couldn’t believe she was insisting on working on Saturday...
"Yeah, he had to reschedule. What about you? I thought you had to meet Sarah."
"Not until 10," Kevin held up his cup in silent explanation of where he had been.
"Ah."
There was a brief, rather uncomfortable silence. Kevin had somewhat forgotten how to talk to Jason. After he had shared his stories of Malaysia and Kevin had described his own activities over the past few months, it was as if Kevin had run out of things to talk about. It surprised him; after so long, he thought they’d have so many things to say. But it was like he had gotten used to not sharing his day-to-day life with Jason, and he didn’t know how to get back into the habit.
He glanced at his watch and nearly sighed with relief. He had to get going if he didn’t want to be late for Sarah. Tipping the cup back, he finished off the coffee. He stepped into the kitchen to throw away the cup and then returned to the living room. Picking up his briefcase, he bent down and kissed Jason.
"Do you want to go out tonight?"
"Kev, I have the early service tomorrow."
"Oh, right." Kevin sighed. "Well, maybe we can rent something? Order in?"
Jason nodded in agreement and kissed Kevin again.
***
Empty Chinese containers were strewn across the coffee table, but there was still enough room for Kevin to prop his feet on it. Jason had an arm around his shoulders while they watched the movie. It was older; Kevin had rented it with Scotty a couple months ago, but of course Jason hadn’t seen it. Frankly, Kevin hadn’t liked it that much - although he had liked Scotty’s running commentary on the stupidity of the heroine - and the movie really didn’t improve on second viewing.
The music was rather loud in the current scene, and Kevin almost missed the beeping of his phone. He picked it up and opened the message.
I’m thinking Cher. Which song best?
Kevin laughed out loud, and Jason turned to look at him.
"What’s going on?"
Kevin shook his head, still laughing. He typed in Why not Queen? and hit send before answering. "Oh, it’s Scotty. He’s at a karaoke bar tonight, and he’s trying to decide what to sing."
If he hadn’t had been sitting as close to Jason as he was, he wouldn’t have felt him tense. Kevin tried not to react. He knew that Jason was still bothered by the idea of his friendship with Scotty, and he tried to understand where he was coming from. If it had been the other way around, he would have questioned it as well, and Jason didn’t even know about the dreams. But it annoyed him nonetheless. Kevin had never acted on those dreams, and he had remained faithful to Jason, just like he had promised. He wanted Jason to trust him, and he didn’t want to have to choose between his boyfriend and his best friend.
Kevin leaned back into Jason’s embrace and placed his palm on Jason’s thigh reassuringly. Jason tightened his hold on Kevin’s shoulders and kissed the top of his head. Kevin closed his eyes in contentment.
But after several minutes, his phone beeped again, and Kevin opened his eyes.
"Kev," Jason said with a trace of annoyance in his voice.
"Yeah, OK."
Kevin quickly read the screen and bit his cheek to keep from laughing.
Sang 9 to 5 for you, Mr. Uptight.
He sent back a "Ha ha. Later." before turning off his phone and turning his attention back to Jason and the horrible movie.
After a few minutes, Jason spoke up. "I think I should meet him."
***
It had been a couple weeks since Jason said he wanted to meet Scotty, and Kevin was running out of excuses. It wasn’t that he wanted to keep them separate, it was just...OK, he wanted to keep them separate. He couldn’t explain it. They both just meant so much to him, and he didn’t want to ruin his relationship with either man. He knew several people had gotten the wrong idea about him and Scotty in the past few months, and he didn’t want to make Jason feel jealous or insecure. And he didn’t want to rub his relationship with Jason in Scotty’s face. It was never fun to see an ex with someone else, especially if you were single and even if you were still friends with the ex.
So, he avoided introducing the two men. He spent almost every night with Jason and, while things still seemed off, they were getting back into a groove of sorts. And whenever he could, he met Scotty for coffee or lunch. He didn’t want the other man to feel as if Kevin had just been using him for companionship while Jason was gone. He valued their friendship and so he wanted to show Scotty that he still had time for him.
Today, he had met Scotty at the farmers market and they were now passing a container of strawberries back and forth while Scotty told him about work the night before.
"And I was left alone on the line to finish a grilled turbot when we ran out of cider vinegar sauce. So I finished it with cubed red peppers - and cumin."
"And is that bad?"
"Well, it wasn’t what they ordered. I mean, I was sort of flying by the seat of my pants. But the server came in with compliments to the chef," Scotty concluded his story with a grin and a small nod at Kevin.
"Wow. Bravo."
Scotty laughed as he took a bite out of a berry. Some juice slid down his hand and Scotty twisted his wrist, sticking his tongue out to lick it clean.
And suddenly, Kevin was slammed with the memory of a particularly vivid dream he had several weeks ago. It had involved fruit and whipped cream and Scotty licking his entire body. And after it woke him up, it had taken everything in him not to go out to the living room and wake Scotty as well, to instead calm himself down (that time, he had recited Robert’s Rules of Order) and fall back asleep.
All the blood in Kevin’s body pooled in his groin, and he tried to breathe normally. He cleared his throat and tore his eyes away from the still-damp skin of Scotty’s wrist.
And that, of course, was when Jason walked up to them.
Next Chapter
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