Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 5

mouth parted in obvious surprise. "I love lox," he said as he lifted the top half of the bagel and peered underneath at the smoked salmon laid over the cream cheese. "Lettuce, tomato, red onion and… they had capers?"
    "You don't like them?"
    "Are you kidding? That's the best." Ted appeared stunned at the gesture and more than a little embarrassed.
    "I think so, too. Back where I grew up, that was the only way we ate them." Len gazed at Ted as he stared stupidly at the bagel. "Well, are you going to join me? Or are you under a time crunch? I wouldn't want to—"
    "Not at all. We've got plenty of time today." Ted pulled over a chair and took the bagel in his hands as Len unwrapped his own.
    "Great." Len bit into his, then added, with his mouth half full, "Shit. I forgot about the onions. I shouldn't have ordered them today. You're going to have me breathing fire on you."
    "Won't matter if my breath is just as bad, will it?" Ted laughed, and seemed to relax a bit.
    "Nah," Len said with a wicked grin. "It won't."
    "So it's pretty much the same deal today as yesterday," Ted told him half an hour later as he readied the shaving equipment. "I'll make the cast of your face from the mask and I'll use that to create the prosthetics."
    "What's your concept for the look?"
    "I'm going for an updated version of some of the old flicks. Something along the lines of The Creature from the Black Lagoon meets Alien vs. Predator. And since your character is an avatar, really, and not actually an alien, I've worked in some more… ah… human features."
    Len laughed. "As in my pecs, abs, and ass?"
    "Yeah, I guess."
    Ted looked a bit hangdog, but Len was unfazed. He knew why he'd gotten as far as he had. "It's okay to call a duck a duck. I know what my handlers told you."
    "It doesn't bother you?" Len could tell that Ted hadn't meant to ask the question, by the pink flush that quickly rose in his cheeks.
    "Being treated like a piece of meat?" Len shook his head. "No. I guess it did once."
    But this is where it ends. After this movie, it's my dog and pony show.
    ****
    Ted wasn't sure what to say. He was already sure he'd said too much.
    Fucking big mouth Aaronson.
    He pulled a straight-edge razor out of a drawer. Carbon steel blade. Amboyna wood burl handle. American manufacture. Ted had purchased the hand-honed beauty a month before, but had never used it. The thousand-dollar price tag was still floating around on his Visa statement. He hadn't really meant to use the thing at all; he'd just seen it one day on the Web and had been taken by the workmanship, but he couldn't imagine a better first customer than Lenny Golden.
    Or last customer. Ted didn't think anyone else's face could ever live up to Len's.
    "Shit." Len blanched a little in the face of the long blade. Ted decided not to tell Len that the slant-bar style not only gave the best shave, it was sometimes called the "Devil's razor."
    "Been doing this for ten years," Ted said in a calm and reassuring voice. "As long as you don't jump, you'll live." Len laughed. "Best shave you'll ever have. I promise. I'm good."
    Len's green eyes caught the light and he grinned. "I bet you are."
    Oh, fucking hell! Does this guy have any clue what he's doing to me? Ted had to believe Len didn't. Len was straight, right? This was just business.
    Ted pulled one of the heated towels from the warmer he'd asked Tina to set up and gently pressed it against Len's face. This close, Ted couldn't help but notice the scent of musk and citrus on the other man's neck. He willed his heart out of his throat.
    "I could get used to this." Len closed his eyes, sighing contentedly.
    "The towel opens the pores and softens the hairs. Makes it easier to shave without irritating your skin." Ted pulled a bottle of pre-shave oil from the drawer and, after lifting off the towel, began to run the oil over Len's jaw line, cheeks, and upper lip.
    "Smells nice." Len's voice was a soft murmur.
    A fleeting image of Len touching him with well-slicked fingers drifted through Ted's mind. He forced himself back to the task at hand.
    "It's all natural. You could eat this stuff. I add a few drops of arnica oil to help soothe the skin." Ted continued to gently massage the oil in, making sure he hadn't missed any spots. He couldn't help but feel Len's body tense as he touched a spot under his chin. "Sorry, did I hurt you?" he asked.
    "Hell, no. I'm just a little sensitive there."
    Len's Zen-like expression was perfect. Ted wondered if