The noise from the window caused Jase to sit up in bed. He yawned and rubbed his eyes.

When he saw Luis peeking through the sheer white curtains, he looked around the room with furrowed eyebrows. Then he lifted his arm and said, “Hold on, ah…” He kept looking back and forth, as if he were terrified the redheaded guy would see Luis sneaking into his bedroom. He’d been startled enough to forget Luis’s name.

Luis smiled and said, “Luis Fortune. Don’t worry. He’s gone. I saw him leave.”

Jase took a deep breath and sat up in bed. He adjusted the pillows, pulled the covers up above his waist, and said, “This is a little peculiar.”

“Don’t worry,” Luis said. “I waited until your friend left. He keeps very long hours for an interior designer. But that’s none of my business.” He lifted his dog up and smiled. “I have this little problem. There’s this guy downstairs and he refuses to leave. I told him we were just friends, and he seems to want more than friendship, if you know what I mean. And he’s a persistent old boy, too. Chased me up five flights of steps and now he’s trying to break the door down.”

While Jase rubbed his jaw, a loud crash came from Luis’s apartment. It sounded as if the door had been knocked down and something made out of glass had shattered. So Luis put his legs through the open window and stepped into Jase’s bedroom without being invited. He put the dog down and adjusted his bathrobe. It was so short that when he’d climbed through the window, the back had ridden up and exposed half of his ass.

“If you want us to leave,” Luis said, “we will. But there’s no telling what the old guy might do, so we’ll just have to wait out on the fire escape until he’s gone. And it’s so cold out there.” He tightened the bathrobe and pulled on the hem. If it had been just one inch shorter, his genitals would have been showing. “I told him we were just friends and nothing more. But he had a few too many gins tonight and he’s become impossible. He told me he’s known all over town for giving the best blow jobs in New York. Only I’m not interested in that sort of thing. I’d rather have the worst blow job in New York from someone else than the best one from him.”

Jase sat up in bed and frowned. “Well, if this guy is known all over town for giving the best blow jobs, I’ve never heard of him.” He adjusted the pillows to get comfortable, then shrugged his shoulders and asked, “Did you see any interesting real estate listings this afternoon with your other friend?”

Jase’s deep voice and reassuring tone made Luis smile. Though Jase wasn’t smiling and his eyes were still heavy with sleep, he silently welcomed Luis into his home and he didn’t have to do that.

Luis shrugged back. “When you’ve seen one empty New York apartment, you’ve seen them all, trust me. I’ve seen them all.” His voice trailed off at the end of the sentence with an exhausted sigh.

Jase watched as the little dog jumped up on the bed and curled up near his feet. He pointed to the dog and said, “I guess he’s not going to lose any sleep tonight.”

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“He seems to like you,” Luis said. “He doesn’t like everyone at first. He’s usually standoffish.” Luis hadn’t used the word standoffish for a while. But it was one of his favorites.

There was something about the sound and the way the word rolled off his tongue that made him smile.

The dog lifted his head, gave Jase a look, and yawned.

Jase laced his fingers together on his lap and gave the dog a sarcastic smile. “By all means, make yourself at home, buddy.”

Luis sat down on a long white lounge chair. It was one of those ornate affairs with gold trim and carved legs that resembled swans. The entire room seemed to be designed with a swan theme. When he stretched out, he let the bathrobe fall off his right leg on purpose to see if Jase would react. Though his genitals remained covered, it was evident he wasn’t wearing anything beneath the robe.

“You’re a nice guy,” Luis said. “You remind me of my favorite uncle back home.

Actually, he’s my only uncle. He’s the only family I have left now.”

Jase frowned and tipped his head to the side. “Uncle? How old do you think I am?”

“Ah well,” Luis said. “I didn’t mean it that way. You’re not old by any means. Trust me, I know old men. Actually, you’re one of those guys who always seem ageless. Do you know what I mean?”

Jase shrugged, spread his arms wide, and shook his head back and forth.

“Some men never seem to age,” Luis clarified. “When they reach thirty, they stay that way until they become old men.”

Jase smiled. “Well, thank you. I think.”

Luis looked around the bedroom. The interior design wasn’t finished yet, but what had been done looked expensive and carefully planned. Though the stuffy neutral colors weren’t his personal taste, he liked the mix of modern and classic. And the swans were interesting. There were swan prints over the bed, swan carvings in the furniture, and a large porcelain swan on the fireplace mantel. Luis was curious about the redheaded guy, too. He wondered if Jase was one of those high-priced rent boys he’d been hearing about since he’d moved to New York.

So he leaned forward and lifted a small velvet box from a table beside the lounge chair.

He looked it over and said, “Is your designer a top or a bottom? He looked like a bottom to me, but you never can tell these things from a glance.” Then he pointed to the money on Jase’s nightstand and said. “Either way, I’m sure you’re good at what you do. That looks like a lot of money.”

“Hold on,” Jase said, sitting up higher. He clenched the edge of the top sheet hard. “If you’re insinuating that I’m sleeping with my designer for money, it might be time for you to leave.” He pointed to the window. “You can go out the same way you came in.”

Luis jumped up from the lounge chair and rushed to the bed. He kneeled next to Jase and said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything. Don’t get mad at me. I’ve had enough people get mad at me for one night. I don’t think I could handle anymore. I was just trying to see if you two are together. I didn’t think you were, but I was curious. He seems very devoted to you.”

“He’s just a good friend,” Jase said. “He’s helped me with my move to New York, and he’s been there for me through some rough times, is all.” He folded his arms across his chest and frowned without offering a viable explanation about the cash on his nightstand.




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