Chapter 5
CHAPTER 5
“Thank you again,” Jake said when they exited the community hall and began walking back toward the bus stop while a light rain fell. “That was exactly what I needed.”
“I’m glad,” Blair said, as they stopped at the corner, waiting for the light to change.
Jake shrugged the collar of his jacket up, but didn’t seem to mind the rain, while Blair tugged a beanie from his jacket pocket and pulled it on. Jake shoved his hands in his pockets and tipped his head to the sky. Eyes closed and a tilt to his mouth that threatened a smile. Blair selfishly took the moment to study Jake again. So different from the man he’d met mere hours ago. Now Jake stood taller. His shoulders were back and relaxed. The tension from around his eyes all but vanished, and the air surrounding him lighter.
A fully relaxed and at peace Jake was someone Blair wanted to know more. He wasn’t fooling himself that there wouldn’t be hard times ahead for Jake, but if Jake would let him, Blair would be there for him.
Jake lowered his head and turned a grin on Blair, who smiled back. The light changed and Blair walked silently beside him. He wanted to say so many things, but didn’t know where to start, what exactly to say.
“So,” Jake said as they reached the opposite corner. “About sex.”
An unexpected laugh burst from Blair’s lungs. “What about sex?”
“If two people are HIV positive,” Jake began with a grin. “Then they can have all the sex they want without worry. Right?”
Blair stared at him for a second. Was that a hypothetical two people, or did Jake possibly mean them? Or was that just Blair’s own wishful thinking?
“Not exactly,” Blair said, drawing a frown from Jake. “There are different strains of the virus. Kind of like the flu, and now Covid-19. You can get a vaccine for one strain but still get sick from another. Except with HIV, it’s a superinfection. HIV-SI. And it can increase viral load and disease progression.”
“Oh.” Jake looked down at the ground as he walked, his mouth flattened and the tightness back around his eyes. The odd raindrop dripped from the ends of his hair. “Blood tests would tell you what strain you have, though, right? So, you’d be okay then?”
“Yes, blood tests would tell you the strain you have.” Blair dodged a couple coming the other direction down the sidewalk. “Even then, unless you’re in a monogamous relationship, stick to your antiretroviral therapy, and your viral load is undetectable, you should always use condoms.”
Jake was quiet the rest of the way. He had a lot to process, and everyone had to process in their own time and their own way. Fortunately, Blair had been able to introduce Jake to the support group on a day he needed it most. That Blair and all the members of the group made sure Jake knew they would all be there for him. That he was going to be okay.
When they reached the bus stop, Jake turned to face him.
“Do you live downtown?”
Blair raised his eyebrows. He’d expected Jake to ask more questions about life moving forward. Or sex. He shook his head.
“No. I have a condo in Kits.”
“Nice.” Jake rocked on his heels and looked down the street.
The bus that would take him back to the West End was approaching, and something squeezed in Blair’s chest. He didn’t want tonight to be over yet. Didn’t want to say goodbye to Jake. Not now. Maybe never.
“I’d really like to see you again,” Blair blurted. Shit . “As friends. I mean. To help with anything you need. With—” he waved his hand in the air “—you know. Ugh. Stop me now.”
The bus drew closer, and a mix of panic and embarrassment roiled in Blair’s stomach.
“I would like that,” Jake said with a smile in his deep-timbred voice.
The bus stopped in front of them, and Jake took a couple of steps back.
“Your bus . . .” Blair pointed.
“I’ll get the next one.” Jake retrieved a cell phone from his inner jacket pocket and held it out toward Blair. “Let’s exchange numbers.”
Relief flooded Blair’s veins. He swapped his phone for Jake’s and entered his digits, while Jake did the same as the bus pulled away from the curb.
“I’m really happy I met you today,” Jake said, his gaze steady and intense as he pocketed his phone but held onto Blair’s hand.
“Me too.”
The world could have been burning down around them for all Blair cared, so lost in Jake’s chestnut stare as he was. Distantly, he was aware of people walking past them and the whoosh of tires on wet roads. A horn honked. A siren wailed from somewhere deeper in the city. The rain eased again, offering a no doubt brief reprieve.
Time ticked on, but in minutes or hours Blair couldn’t say.
Jake looked away, running a hand over the back of his neck. But when his gaze returned to Blair’s, there was a naked honesty in his eyes. A vulnerability in them that stole Blair’s breath.
“I just really want to give you a kiss right now.”
Oh my god, yes .
Blair opened his arms, and Jake fell into his embrace as though he’d always been there. Jake’s kiss, the first touch of his lips, was tentative. A gentle press of mouths. A question. The answer was yes. Blair had a feeling the answer would always be yes where Jake was concerned. He pulled Jake tighter to him but didn’t push for more. Jake needed to be the one to take the lead. For tonight, at least.
Jake’s tongue pressed at the seam of Blair’s mouth, and he opened, letting Jake inside while shivers of delight raced from his head to his toes. How was it he’d only met this man today, when their lips and tongues moved together in blissful harmony, as though this had been a dance they’d perfected over shared years?
“Get a room!” someone shouted, and Jake chuckled against Blair’s lips.
Jake rested his forehead against Blair’s and then stepped back. He shoved his hands into his pockets as another bus approached. This time Jake moved toward the curb, but he was smiling. The light in his eyes sparking with desire and hope.
“See you soon, Blair Bliss . . . ett .”
Blair returned the smile, not wanting Jake to go as the bus stopped, but confident this was only the start of something special for them. “See you soon, Jake I-Don’t-Know-Your-Last-Name.”
“Sheraton,” Jake said, stepping up into the bus. “Like the hotel.”
“See you Jake Sheraton, like the hotel,” Blair joked.
Jake’s laughter, full-bodied and free sounding, filled Blair’s chest with warmth and promise.
He watched as Jake walked toward the back of the bus and sat down, watching Blair the whole way. Blair waved as the bus pulled away and his smile faded. He stood there, staring after the bus until it disappeared around a corner.
His phone pinged with a text message, but he ignored it. When it pinged again, he pulled his phone from his pocket and his mouth curved up at the sender’s name.
Jake: Thank you for everything today. For giving me hope.
Jake: I’m looking forward to getting to know you more. Is tomorrow too soon?
Blair’s heart fluttered, doing a little happy dance in the cage of his ribs, as he typed his reply.
Blair: Anytime. I’m glad I was there for you. And tomorrow is perfect.
He pocketed his phone and headed up the street with a skip in his step, to catch his own ride home.
“Tomorrow is perfect,” he said aloud.