Bullheaded

thought of him in his worn jeans and scuffed-up boots, he wouldn’t either. He put his hat back on when the car stopped. March was still taller than him, even with the hat.
    It was entertaining to watch March toss the keys at the uniformed young valet, who was practically curtseying he was so obviously panting for a big tip.
    “After you,” March said, holding out his arm to indicate the double glass doors.
    Of course, Johnny didn’t have to open the door himself. Some bellhop jumped to it, no doubt also salivating for a tip. It was like getting a free credit report on March.
    Once inside, March took the lead, heading toward a bank of elevators with actual operators inside. He showed a key card to one of them, and both men were permitted to enter.
    March said, “Derbyshire Lounge, please.”
    Johnny just went along with it, feeling incongruously shabby next to the impeccably, if casually dressed, silver bear.
    The elevator slid soundlessly to a stop on the second floor to let them out into a dark-green marble foyer. March led the way again to a dimly lit bar that had been decorated to look like an exclusive men’s club, or so Johnny thought, never having been in one.
    March chose a table and Johnny sat opposite him. He took off his hat and set it on one of the empty chairs.
    “Name your poison.”
    Johnny named the beer of his dreams and March told the waiter to bring two.
    “I wouldn’t think you’d drink beer,” Johnny said.
    “What should I be drinking?”
    “I don’t know. Some hundred-year-old brandy that costs its weight in gold.”
    March gave a big laugh, showing his excellent teeth. “If you’d ever had brandy, you’d know why I stick with beer. It’s a very specific taste and I haven’t developed mine in that direction. I’m just a regular guy.”
    “I don’t want to poke my nose in where it doesn’t belong, but you seem like a rich dude to me.”
    “I am well-off, but I got rich working. I’m no trust-fund baby; I used to be a contractor. Luckily I got out before the housing crash and I’m able to be a bit more diversified in my interests now.”
    The waiter set two mugs on the table and withdrew. Johnny was surprised by the mugs. He’d never been served a beer that wasn’t still in the bottle it was born in.
    “Pretty good,” March said in surprise after he’d tried it. “I haven’t had this brand before.”
    “So you can buy pretty much anything you want,” Johnny said a bit truculently.
    “This isn’t a Pretty Woman scenario, if that’s what you’re afraid of,” March said. “I think we would enjoy each other, but I don’t pay unwilling men to get into my bed. If you end up there tonight, it’ll be because you want to.”
    “Damn! I could have used a few extra bucks,” Johnny said regretfully.
    March’s face froze and then he laughed. “You almost got me. I’m not often mistaken in my assessment of men but you had me going for a minute.”
    “Am I that obvious?”
    “Not at all. I would say you are a very intelligent, cocky, vulnerable, complex young man with a yen for adventure and risk, and excellent taste in men. I aim to offer you sufficient sexual adventure to hold your interest for one night, which I’m fully equipped to do. We could start by having dinner.”
    “Cocky?” That idea rocked Johnny. Cody was the cocky one.
    “We all have it in some way. With you, it’s how you move. Confidently, like a sexy wild young panther.” March licked his lips. “You know my name. Mind telling me yours?”
    “Johnny Arrow.”
    “For real? Never met a man named Arrow before.”
    Surprisingly, Johnny found himself explaining. “It’s because I’m Native American. Needed a stage name and it was, uh, appropriate.”
    “I’d like to see your arrow.”
    “Lame, but still amusing.” Johnny snickered and looked March over. He liked the man’s appearance; he was older, maybe in his early fifties, but fit, with a light tan that looked good with his silver hair. It was more his face that attracted Johnny, though. He had a nice smile and his eyes were filled with humor and intelligence. He didn’t give off the reek of desperation that Johnny had begun to associate with some of the men who’d hit on him. In fact, if it weren’t for Cody…. Hastily, he banished the thought.
    For the first time since he’d left the ranch, Johnny was attracted more to the man than the idea of getting laid, so attracted that he forgot his initial hostility. “We could