Chapter 21
Monty
Monty didn’t know how to explain what had changed after he and Hilliard slept together.
Because on the one hand, nothing changed.
Hilliard still gently scolded him when he fed Henrietta table scraps or when he dipped his finger into the batter of cookie dough Hilliard was mixing.
Hilliard still smiled at him affectionately when he said something honest or when he sang in harmony to the song playing on the radio.
When they drove to the studio on Monday morning, they still took Hilliard’s car, with Henrietta perched on Monty’s lap as Monty read over his script for the day.
But on the other hand, everything had changed.
When Hilliard scolded him, Monty now kissed him in response.
The affectionate smiles were now charged with something more, and sometimes accompanied by soft kisses or embraces.
And when Monty went to bed on Monday night, it was in Hilliard’s room, tucked up against his friend, with Henrietta nestled close.
At the studio, they remained professional, although Director Chen gave them an amused side-eye when Monty stood a mite closer than usual to Hilliard as he listened to her instructions. His arm might have wound its way around Hilliard’s waist, as well. Hilliard certainly didn’t seem to mind.
They were back in the sound stage that week, recording closeups and transition moments of walking through hallways or opening doors.
It would have been a dull work week, except that Monty felt more attuned to Hilliard than ever.
He found himself paying close attention to every detail about the man, soaking him up like he’d just met him.
He noticed how Hilliard’s voice changed slightly when he was delivering a particularly funny line, or the way he used his hands to add emphasis for comic effect.
He began to tell when Hilliard was in filming mode by the set of his shoulders, or that the man clenched a muscle in his jaw when he didn’t like his own delivery of a line.
It was clear Hilliard was observing him closely too.
Monty was filming his fifth take of a closeup in which he yelled, “You have got to be kidding me!” He finally delivered it with the right emphasis and was relieved that Director Chen apparently agreed when she didn’t demand another take.
Hilliard leaned close and said, “You’re so cute when you’re pleased with yourself.”
“I didn’t even smile,” Monty protested. But since he was pleased with himself, he added, “How did you know?”
Hilliard simply looked smug.
The next day, they were doing closeups and transitions for the first scene he and Hilliard had done together. They had spent nearly an hour setting up and filming a shot of a stack of papers being passed from one person to another. And then another hour walking in and out of the same office door.
After lunch, they filmed Monty opening a window and sticking his head out to see that it was snowing. The camera was on the other side of the window, showing Monty’s face as he peered upward. Light soapy snowflakes drifted down on cue as he said his line: “Well, would you look at that!”
“Let’s try it again,” Director Chen said. “A little more of a smile there, Kincaid. But just a little one. Don’t overdo it.”
“Right.” Monty ducked his head back in and wiped the soapy taste from his lips before closing the window again.
Hilliard was standing nearby, out of view of the camera. “Don’t be so worried,” he said quietly. “Multiple takes doesn’t mean she doesn’t like your performance. It just means that she knows you can do better.”
“I know, I know,” Monty said, shaking out his hands as he waited. “I don’t mind retakes. King does a million of them.”
“Tell that to your left foot.”
“Huh?” Monty looked down at his feet and then back up at Hilliard.
“You keep going on tiptoe on your left foot every time you’re annoyed with yourself.”
“Oh.”
“Action!”
Monty slid the window open, looked up at the sound stage ceiling. Realizing that Hilliard was right, he carefully eased his foot down and then gave a small smile. “Well, would you look at that,” he said quietly.
“Cut! Print! Let’s do the next setup.”
Monty closed the window with relief.
Hilliard leaned forward and tapped one eyebrow. “There it is.”
“What?”
“The quirk of your brow when you’re pleased with yourself.”
Monty grinned and lowered his voice. “Well, if you play your cards right, you might get to see that later tonight too.”
Hilliard rolled his eyes and smacked Monty’s arm with the back of his hand. “Don’t I know it.”
When they weren’t at the studio, Monty felt more at home in Hilliard’s house than he had since moving out to California.
Evenings after dinner were spent on the sofa, with Monty’s head on Hilliard’s shoulder as he read or played crossword puzzles.
Although Monty would often derail this leisure time by distracting Hilliard, and the book or paper would often wind up forgotten on the floor.
Monty found that he slept better in Hilliard’s arms. He woke up more easily when he knew there was a kiss and a cup of coffee waiting for him in the kitchen.
As the days ticked by, he found himself settling into an unusual sense of satisfaction and peace.
Hilliard had his back, not to mention his heart, and he had Hilliard, which made him the luckiest guy in the world.
On Wednesday morning, Cal and Jesse showed up for the aforepromised trip to the beach.
Monty took great delight in catching Hilliard’s sneaking glances at his swim trunks.
He made an effort to bend down to pick things up or put things away while packing the Cadillac as much as possible, just to see if he could attract Hilliard’s gaze.
They drove to the beach with the top down.
Monty hooked his elbow over the sill and felt the breeze ruffling his hair and the sun kissing his skin.
Months ago, Cal Campbell joining the party would have definitely upset Monty’s calm.
But now he reveled in the fact that Hilliard was happy having people around to take care of, and that he actually kind of liked Cal’s company, as well as Jesse’s.
He peeked in the rearview mirror. Cal and Jesse were sitting on opposite sides of the picnic basket between them on the seat, but it was easy to catch them both stealing furtive glimpses of one another when they thought no one was looking.
He smiled to himself. Perhaps he wasn’t the only one hoping the trip to the beach would turn romantic.
Hilliard read in the shade while Monty, Cal, and Jesse enjoyed the water. Monty made sure Henrietta got to swim and run, keeping a tight hand on her leash. After lunch, they wandered to the pier for ice cream.
The sight of Hilliard licking his orange sherbert was positively sinful, even more tempting than Monty’s chosen scoop of rum-flavored ice cream—and a good deal less disappointing. When Cal and Jesse broke away from the group to investigate the carousel, Monty nestled close to Hilliard’s side.
“Having fun, doll?”
Monty nodded and pulled him close for a kiss. Hilliard was warm from the sun and his lips still had some lingering coolness from the ice cream.
“We should do this more often,” Monty said.
“Which part? Spending time with Cal and Jesse? Going to the beach?”
“Yes.”
Hilliard chuckled and slid his arm around Monty’s waist. “Agreed.”
They pulled apart when Cal and Jesse came back into view and they all left the beach.
“Are we going home already?” Monty asked.
Hilliard shook his head. “I know of a nice little spot. A bit more private.”
The second place was lovely and quiet. Cal and Jesse promptly disappeared again, confirming Monty’s theory about them.
Hilliard chuckled as Monty stared after the pair making their way down the path toward the sand. “Cal’s been moon-eyed over that kid since the Pink Peacock,” Hilliard said, leaning carefully against the hood of his car.
“Really?”
“Glad he’s finally doing something about it.”
“I guess we won’t see them for a little while then.”
“Probably not.”
Monty’s expression turned seductive as he spooled out his magic. He stepped between Hilliard’s legs and wound his arms around the other man’s neck. “What will we do with the time?”
Hilliard responded with a soft kiss that Monty deepened quickly. Hilliard broke off the kiss with a moan. “Don’t tease me, Montgomery. I thought you promised Jesse there wouldn’t be any public indecency today.”
Monty laughed, feeling as light as a kite. He was standing in the arms of a man he loved and he couldn’t remember the last time he felt so carefree. “I believe I was cautioning him against public indecency. I made no promises about myself.” He cocked an eyebrow. “Or you.”
Hilliard’s hand flew to his chest. “Sweetheart, if you think I’m going to be indecent in public, you have another thing coming.”
Monty tsked. “Where’s your sense of adventure?”
“Well, there is a rather intriguing recipe I’ve had my eye on that pairs chocolate with—”
“Hilliard, unless that recipe involves you licking it off my body in a very indecent manner, I’m going to hazard a guess it’s not the kind of adventure I had in mind.”
Hilliard’s cheeks went pink.
Monty grinned. “Do you like the idea of that, baby? You want to lick—”
“Do not finish that question.” Hilliard’s hand went up as his blush deepened. “Sounds like we’d waste perfectly good food.”
“Mm. You’d have to be very thorough then, to make sure we didn’t waste it. Or maybe I should lick it off of you instead.”
Hilliard’s breath caught. Monty’s grin grew. He leaned close and nuzzled into Hilliard’s cheek. “I’d have to go very slowly of course, to make sure I got every bit.”
“Montgomery,” Hilliard whispered. “I believe I told you not to tease me.”
“You love it.”
Hilliard heaved a sigh. “I do. But not with that recipe though. Something else.”
Monty laughed. “What would we use then?”
Hilliard gave it due thought, his hands rubbing up and down Monty’s sides. “I’ll bet a chocolate mousse would be effective.”
Now it was Monty’s turn to moan. “Hell yes. Maybe on the way home, we should stop and get—”
“Uh-uh. Not tonight. We’ll be home far too late.”
Monty pouted.
Hilliard kissed the tip of his nose. “That’ll teach you to go around teasing people.”
Monty relented. They let Henrietta out of the car and walked her around until the sun started to set. When they got back in together, Henrietta curled up at Monty’s feet and promptly went to sleep. Monty climbed onto Hilliard’s lap and began to kiss him.
“They’ll be back soon,” Hilliard warned.
“I’m not so sure. They might be doing this somewhere else.”
Hilliard grabbed Monty’s hips and Monty deepened the kiss, his mind already working toward the logistics of how much they could do—or how much he’d be allowed to do—in Hilliard’s precious Cadillac. Then a boom sounded above them and Monty shouted in surprise.
“What the devil!”
Hilliard laughed and kissed him again. “Fireworks!”
Monty grumbled and moved back to his seat. “Killjoy, more like.”
“Looks like we came back just in time for the show,” Cal said, as he and Jesse strode out of the woods, hand-conspicuously-in-hand.
Another crack echoed across the sky.
Monty grinned and leaned back in his seat. “Join us if you’d like. We can make room for two more.”
Hilliard crooked an eyebrow at him.
“What?” Monty asked sweetly as Cal and Jesse got back into the car. “I’m being friendly!”
Hilliard rolled his eyes and Monty laughed. “I’ll be good,” he promised.
“You’d better,” Hilliard said, his voice low enough that only Monty could hear. “Or I’ll change my mind about that mousse.”
“You wouldn’t!”
Hilliard only smirked.
Monty’s heart warmed as he leaned back against his friend.
Hilliard’s arm came around his shoulders and Monty settled comfortably under his embrace.
He could still hardly believe it was real, that he got to have Hilliard Burke as a friend and as a lover.
It seemed impossible to have both Hilliard’s strong and gentle reassurance, his wisdom and advice, and his care, while also getting his banter, his kisses, and his breathy moans.
As the fireworks boomed overhead, Monty nestled closer, feeling safe and loved and, for the first time in a very long time, content.