Chapter 22 #2
“Yes, yes he is. Now, about—”
The door opened, and a young man dressed in black brought in a tray containing a coffeepot, milk jug, sugar bowl, and three cups and saucers. He placed them on Sean’s desk, then left the room.
“About Brad’s boyfriends,” Gary continued. “Did he have any?” Then his chest tightened when Sean’s eyes glistened.
“Yes, he did.” Sean grabbed a tissue from the box of Kleenex and wiped his eyes.
Gary stared at him as realization dawned. “Oh my God. You. You and Brad….”
Sean blew his nose and dropped the wad of tissue into the trash. “We started dating in ’93.”
“And you were still a couple when he died?”
Sean nodded. “And no, I can’t think of anyone we knew who’d want to harm Brad. Because whoever killed him had to be a psychopath.”
Gary’s gut clenched. “I hate to tell you, but to misquote Wednesday Addams, psychopaths look just like everyone else.”
“You gave him a plastic ring, didn’t you?” Dan interjected.
Sean gaped at him. “How did you—” He held up his hand. “Forget I asked. Stupid question. Yes. I can’t remember where I got it, but I do remember slipping it onto his ring finger as a joke.” He swallowed. “Only I wasn’t joking. I’d have married him in a heartbeat.”
“He loved you.” Dan’s voice cracked.
Sean’s breathing hitched. “You… you learned that from the ring?” Dan nodded, and Sean teared up. “Thank you for that.”
“We’re going through Brad’s address book,” Gary told him, “contacting as many of his classmates as we can, hoping for a breakthrough.”
Sean froze. “Then stop what you’re doing. I can save you a lot of time. How would you like to meet all of them under one roof?”
Gary blinked. “Seriously?”
“Every six years, we have a class reunion. I have no idea who decided on six, but there you are. We like keeping track of each other, finding out who’s doing what, who’s doing who.
And there’s one coming up soon. It’ll be here, too, at the hotel.
” He smiled. “I drew the short straw to organize it. And I think you should be here.”
“We’d have no right to attend it,” Gary protested.
Sean arched his eyebrows. “Yes, you would. You’ll be there representing Brad.”
Dan stared at him. “You think we might learn something.”
Sean’s smile lit up his face. “I think you might learn something. Like I said, I don’t think for a minute one of them will turn out to be Brad’s killer, but yes, you might learn more about Brad.
If you leave me an address, I’ll send you an invitation.
After all—” He gave Gary a sad smile. “—we could’ve been family. ”
Dan had lost all track of time. He’d been staring at the negatives and the photos relating to the Caravaggio since before dinner. Not that he’d learned anything. He couldn’t shake the feeling of curiosity that accompanied each touch of the negatives.
What aroused your curiosity, Cheryl?
And then there was the Kama Sutra. Time after time, he found himself drawn to the book, and he had no idea why.
Gary joined him on the couch. “Hey, it’s late.”
Dan glanced at his phone. “Good Lord, where did the evening go?”
“Have you found something?”
God, he was weary. “Maybe? But it doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
Gary took the negatives and photos from him, tucked them into their folder, and placed it on the coffee table. “Bed, now. You’re tired. And you’re trying too hard.”
“But I—”
“But nothing.” Gary’s voice was firm. “I know your gift can be a pain—it doesn’t exactly work to order, does it?—but don’t try to force it. It’ll come.”
Dan couldn’t suppress his smile. “You sound more certain than I feel.” Then something tugged at his consciousness, a trickle of instinct, an awareness of conflict within Gary. “What is it?”
Gary heaved a sigh. “Dan, I… I need you.”
“What’s wrong?” He grabbed Gary’s hands and held them tight. He gave himself several mental kicks for not noticing Gary’s emotional turmoil earlier. He’d allowed Cheryl’s case to take over.
Gary gazed at their joined hands. “I think it was meeting Sean, the prospect of meeting Brad’s friends.
The possibility that maybe one of them knows more about Brad’s death.
” He raised his chin, and Dan’s heart quaked at the pain he saw in Gary’s eyes.
“I need you to take me away from this. I need to stop thinking about it.”
Without a word, Dan rose, still holding Gary’s hand, and led him to the bedroom. He undressed Gary in silence, sinking to his knees to worship Gary’s cock with lips and tongue. And when Gary began to thrust deep, his hands keeping Dan’s head steady as he pumped, Dan knew he was ready for more.
Then Gary came to a halt, gazing at him, his chest heaving. “Make love to me?”
Dan’s breathing quickened. “Are you saying…?”
Gary nodded. “I want you inside me. I think we’ve waited long enough.”
They’d talked about Gary becoming more versatile, but in the two months since they’d first initiated a physical relationship, Dan had been more than happy to be on the receiving end.
Not that he hadn’t imagined sliding into Gary’s warm body, feeling it tighten around him.
He wasn’t a greedy man. He loved every intimate moment they shared, and even if it took Gary years to decide he was ready to bottom, that was fine by him.
It seemed Gary was ready.
They explored each other with fingers and tongues, taking their time, until both were moaning, Dan’s need at fever pitch.
After what seemed like hours of licking, sucking, stroking, and fondling, they lay naked together on the bed, Dan spooned around Gary, slowly rubbing his rigid dick through Gary’s crack, listening to Gary’s staccato breaths, hearing the need in his voice when he begged Dan to take him.
“We go slow,” Dan whispered.
“Slow is good.” Gary’s soft exhale when Dan finally entered him was like music to Dan’s soul, and he stilled inside him, waiting for a sign, his arms around Gary, his hand over Gary’s heart, feeling each beat.
They had all night, and they made it last, their soft sighs and moans mingling, an erotic accompaniment to Dan’s sensual rocking in and out, their bodies joined, moving as one. And when Gary came at last, Dan held him and kissed him until he couldn’t hold his orgasm back a second longer.
Gary widened his eyes. “I can feel you,” he whispered.
Dan kissed him on the lips. “I love you.” The words didn’t come close to conveying the depth of his emotions. Their kisses grew languid as they lay connected, Dan’s cock locked in the warm prison of Gary’s body.
“I think we need to practice more,” Gary said when Dan finally eased out of him. “At least three or four times a week.”
Dan chuckled, his head on Gary’s damp chest. “I like the way you think.”
Gary turned his head toward the nightstand, where Dan’s copy of the Gay Kama Sutra sat. “Who would think such delights lie within the covers of a book?”
Covers….
Something in Dan’s mind clicked into place, and he sat bolt upright.
“That’s it!” He lurched off the bed and hurried into the living room.
“What’s it?” Gary called after him.
“One of Cheryl’s secrets.”