Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 7

beaches. He told Rob about the ski trip they'd taken in January, about the visit they were planning down to Palm Springs as soon as the semester was over, about Ruby's visit and how well Jimmy got along with his mother and sister.
    Scott hadn't realized how much he'd talked about Jimmy until half way through dinner when Rob asked, "So, you and Jimmy, are you two…?"
    Scott laughed, shaking his head, "No, he's straight, just friends."
    "But you wish he weren't?" Rob's tone was light and friendly and he didn't seem bothered by the idea, more curious than anything.
    At a loss for a moment, Scott nearly stammered his response, "No, uh, it's not that. I mean, Christ, he's my best friend, ya know? Sometimes I'm glad he's straight so we don't have to worry about messing things up." Laughing at himself and his own backwards logic, "Does that even make sense?"
    Rob nodded, smiling as he took a sip from the wine their waiter had just poured, "It does, but…I don't know, I guess I always figured if I were going to settle down with someone, my partner would be my best friend too."
    Lifting his glass to that, "In a perfect world." Scott said. Taking a sip, his eyes held Rob's for a long moment. The man was attractive enough to make him feel warm all over, funny in just the right ways, and seemed genuine and friendly. Rob was so right on so many levels that it made Scott's palms sweat, but through all the laughs and all the small flirts and innuendoes, he still found himself wishing it was Jimmy sitting across from him. Despite the fact that the man would have ended up in a bathroom stall with one of the waitresses before the end of the meal.
    In the end, they decided to skip dancing and went instead to one of the old theaters that was running a classic film festival for the weekend. They shared popcorn and talked about their favorite films while they waited for the lights to go down. Rob slid his arm around Scott's shoulder and they relaxed together in the soft velvet seats.
    Everything went well and when Scott dropped Rob off at his front door, he thought for sure he would be invited in. Instead, they exchanged a clumsy kiss that led to a few a gropes and a breathless goodnight. As Scott turned to go, Rob asked him, "Next weekend? Maybe we can go down to Alki or something? Picnic on the beach…"
    Biting his lip around his grin, Scott just nodded as he turned to go back to his car.
    ****
    "You're home early." Jimmy told him, arching his brows at Scott as the man walked through the door. "It couldn't have gone that bad…"
    As he kicked off his shoes and dropped his keys on a small table by the door, Scott told him, "It didn't go bad at all." Sticking his tongue out playfully at Jimmy.
    "Oh. So, what'd you guys do?"
    "Dinner and a movie." Scott was already stripping his sweater off and unbuttoning his jeans as he wandered through the apartment. "We're gonna get together next weekend." he added, Jimmy watching intently as he dropped his clothes in a trail between the living room and bedroom, down to just boxers and a t-shirt before he disappeared around the corner.
    When Scott came back into the living room, he was cinching some flannel pajama bottoms around his tight waist, "You get your work done?" Scott asked, coming up behind Jimmy, his hands landing on the man's shoulders, kneading the muscles there.
    "Mostly, yeah," Jimmy sighed, not quite resting back against Scott as he normally would. "So, what'd ya think of Rob?" he asked, his tone just hinting at annoyance when he said the other man's name.
    "He's nice," Scott told him honestly, noncommittal, "Cute…" Jimmy's jaw muscle worked a tense rhythm as if he was trying to stop himself from saying something. Laughing a little, not noticing Jimmy's discomfort, Scott added, "Funny as hell too. I'm surprised you never had him over before."
    Saving his document and shutting down his laptop, all Jimmy said was, "Yeah, well." Scott thought the man would lean back into him then, relax a little, but instead, Jimmy was on his feet, pushing his chair back so abruptly it nearly knocked Scott over. "I'm gonna go for a run," he told Scott, turning and heading down the hall, leaving Scott dumbfounded, standing in the middle of their little apartment.
    It was well past midnight when Scott finally gave up waiting for Jimmy to return and went to bed. He didn't fall asleep, hearing the front door open and then shut again, a quiet click as the lock was set into place. He thought about getting