Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 10

he'd already endured. He knew how old-fashioned his dad was, and having a gay son was probably not something he'd easily embrace.
    "Don't worry, Dad," he said, "when I find that perfect person, I'll manage to strike a balance between work and my personal life. Right now I want to focus on the business. I've got this hoity-toitey degree and all—which you paid for—and I wanna use it."
    "Well, I'll make you a deal. If you make an effort to live a little, then so will I."
    "Hm, I can live with that," Jason said. "Starting right after the trade show."
    ****
    Jason knew from experience that these trade shows tended to be rather anticlimactic. There was so much preparation involved, but the event itself was quite boring. For the most part, he'd be sitting around all day, smiling at potential customers that approached their booth, available to answer questions, and when appropriate, making small talk.
    This particular show proved to be a bit more eventful than most. On the first morning they were able to capture the interest of a major manufacturing company. Their representative was a middle aged woman, and thus Jason stepped back and allowed his father to interact with the prospective customer. To Jason's delight, the two seemed to hit it off, and they agreed to meet later that day for a late lunch to discuss some specific concerns the company had with the software.
    "She seemed really interested," Jason said, after the prospect was out of earshot.
    "Yeah," his dad agreed, obviously trying to sound casual. "We'll have to see how it goes."
    "And what was her name?" Jason said, a slight lilt in in voice.
    "Waters," he responded dryly.
    "I mean first name."
    "Oh… Laura, I think. Yes," he looked down at the business card. "Laura Waters."
    "And she wasn't wearing a wedding ring," Jason pointed out.
    "Well, let's not mix business with … other things," his dad said. "Remember our deal? After the trade show, we'll start working on that."
    "Oh, okay," Jason said. "If you say so."
    The remainder of the morning wasn't too exciting. Around 1:30 Jason told his dad he was going to go grab a deli sandwich from a nearby sub shop. He'd come back and man the booth while his dad took off for the "business lunch" with Laura.
    When Jason returned a few minutes later with his sandwich, he noticed that his father had spiffied up a bit. He must have sneaked off to the restroom to comb his hair, and he was now wearing his sports jacket. As the minutes ticked by, Jason found it endearing the way his dad started to become fidgety.
    "Oh… I guess I've got to go now," his dad said, rising from his chair. Laura had approached their booth, and Jason looked up at her, offering a warm smile.
    "Are you two brothers?" she asked. "I think I can see a resemblance."
    His dad chuckled, soaking up the flattery. "This here's my son, Jason."
    "A pleasure to meet you," the sharply dressed business woman said, extending her hand. "I swear you don't look old enough to have a son this age. He's absolutely stunning though, I must say." Although she was shaking Jason's hand, she looked directly at his dad as she spoke.
    "Thank you," he said, as if the compliment had been more about him than his son.
    After they were gone, Jason couldn't help but smile to himself and shake his head. Crazy how middle aged men acted like teenagers when it came to romance. Well, at least Jason hoped there was a potential for romance. It well could be that this Laura was just flirting, trying to finagle a good deal.
    With the showroom now somewhat quiet, Jason decided to sit down and tackle his sub sandwich. He was starting to get hungry and assumed most of the trade show attendees were off having lunch themselves. Just as he stuffed the end of the bun in his mouth and tore off a big bite, a customer stepped up—at least he assumed it was a customer.
    The man, perhaps a few years younger than Jason's father, was dressed very casually, jeans and a tee shirt. Jason couldn't help but notice how nicely the man's defined pectorals were highlighted by the tight fabric of the shirt. He gulped, swallowing as much of the mouthful of food as he could and allowed his eyes to trail up the man's body until he was staring directly into his eyes.
    Jason swallowed again and stood up. "Sorry," he said, "tryin to sneak in a quick bite."
    "Oh no, go ahead," he said, smiling warmly. "Sorry to interrupt your lunch."
    "Not at all," Jason said. "See anything that interests you?"
    "Oh yeah," the man said,