The Light in Your Eyes

By Tinnean

Chapter 19

Author’s Note: In palmistry, the 'mound of Venus' refers to the mound at the base of the thumb. In sexuality, it doesn't. Needless to say, I'm using the former.

A well-bred feline, Miss Su waited politely for us to finish eating, giving an occasional 'mrrow' to remind us that she hadn't yet dined.

"I think it should be okay to feed her now. The sedative seems to have worn off."

"Sedative?"

"I had to fly down with her from Cambridge, and Jill gave her something so she wouldn't cry the whole flight."

"When did you get her, babe?"

"Today."

"You flew there and back in one day?"

"Sure. I've done plenty of day trips. They're no big deal." He picked up the kitten, and I followed him into the kitchen. There was a small can of cat food on the counter, and he popped off the lid, put the food into a stainless steel bowl, and set it on the floor. "We'll have to get her name put on these." Beside it was a bowl for water.

"Someone was hungry." Miss Su was gobbling it down with dainty greed. Wills smiled at her, and I noticed a smear of red at the corner of his mouth. "You missed some sauce, babe."

He would have taken a paper towel from the roll, but I stopped him from moving and licked it off. I ran my nose along his cheek. His skin was smooth, and I knew he must have taken the time to shave when he got home. I blew into his ear and nipped the lobe.

He shivered and gave a soft growl. "I want to fuck you, Theo."

My jeans became snug. Usually he preferred to be fucked, but I loved the times when he wanted to take charge and top me. "We don't want to shock Miss Su."

"We can shut her in the kitchen for the time being. We won't be that long."

"Wills, if we're not that long, we're not doing it right."

He gave a huff of laughter. "Let me get the Sherpa bag Dad and Jill gave her for Christmas."

"She gets Christmas presents too?" I crouched down and watched the kitten fastidiously lick her paws and clean her face and whiskers.

"Oh, yeah, babe. And birthday presents, and any other occasion you can think of, Easter, Halloween, Valentine's Day. It's like having a baby."

I looked up quickly. Did Wills regret that we couldn't have children? But he was sauntering out of the room, and the sight of his ass encased in that black silk distracted me.

Was he wearing anything underneath those pants? Well, I grinned to myself, I'd find out soon enough.

I stroked a finger over Miss Su's tiny head, and she butted my hand, then made her way to the utility room beside the kitchen where Wills had evidently put a litter pan. After she used it, she came back to me and rubbed her head against my leg.

"Oh, Miss Su." My own kitten. I picked her up and cradled her in my arms.

By the time Wills returned, her eyes were closing. She uttered soft, questioning 'mrrow?' when I put her into the bag, then curled in a ball on the blanket that was on the bottom and began to snore, a dainty, little, girl-kitty sound.

"Thank you, Wills." I rose to my feet and kissed him again.

"I'm so glad you like her. I hope you're not allergic. After Jill told me Princess Kimba had had another litter, I talked to your mother."

"Why?"

"I wanted to know if you might have a cat allergy, but she said you'd never had a kitten."

"Well, I didn't have a reaction last spring, so I should be okay." If I wasn't… fuck it, I'd go to see Dr. Rosen and get him to prescribe pills or give me shots. "Come on."

"We're not going in the bedroom?"

"Later." Now was as good a time as any to give him his present. I ran my fingertips back and forth over one of his nipples. It plumped under my touch. "You sure I can't talk you into a nipple ring?" He would look so good… so hot …

"Nnnno."

"Will you ever tell me why not?" I paused in the doorway to the living room.

He grinned and shook his head. Was it the thought of the pain that stopped him? It really wasn't that bad.

I realized I was nervous. Would he like the fireplace? I licked my lips and stepped back, allowing him to enter the room, then followed him, my eyes on his face.

His eyes widened as he took in the fireplace, the rug in front of it, the tree with its fairy lights and the decorations his mother had chosen for him.

"Theo?"

"You wanted a fireplace. Your wish is my command. Merry Christmas, baby."

"Oh, Theo!" He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. "Thank you!"

****

We were naked, sprawled on the plush white rug, catching our breath. Christmas music played softly in the background. I felt sated and well-loved – I knew I'd be limping in the morning, but I didn't care, and the warmth radiating from the fireplace made our nudity comfortable.

"I have a couple of pounds of chestnuts." I nuzzled the skin under his jaw, and he angled his head so I had better access. "We can roast them tomorrow, if you like."

"Yes, please. This is a great present, Theo."

"I'm really glad you like it."

"I do. I don't understand how you were able to keep it a secret though. I'm supposed to be aware of things like a wall being torn out in my own home."

'His own home.' I sighed happily. I was so pleased that he thought of my apartment as his also. "Nothing that drastic, babe. This floor used to be the sleeping quarters for the original owner's family, and there was a fireplace in each bedroom. They were bricked up when the house was turned into a boarding house around World War II. I didn't see any need to have them opened when we first had the place renovated, but when you mentioned how much you'd enjoyed the fireplaces at home, I knew I wanted to do this for you."

"I still don't understand how I never ran into any of the workmen."

"You were in St. Paul."

"Oh, yeah, right." He leaned up on his elbow and looked down into my eyes. "So this was why you made love to me every time I started to come in here."

"I had to find someway to keep it a secret. No objections, I trust?"

"None. Especially since I never would have thought of having you on the washing machine otherwise. God, that was amazing!" He settled himself beside me, an arm around my shoulders.

"Ah, yes. The wonders of the spin cycle." I recalled the day he'd come home early. I'd been doing the laundry, and suddenly I'd found myself stripped and hoisted up onto the washer. Wills had dropped his trousers, rolled on a condom, and took just enough time to make sure I was prepared before positioning my legs over his shoulders and slamming into me. Him over and in me, the movement of the washer beneath me as it spun excess water out of the clothes… It hadn't taken long for me to climax. "What got you so hot?"

"You."

"Doing laundry?" That baffled me.

"Seriously, babe. I nearly came just watching you. You were wearing headphones… "

"So that was how you were able to sneak up on me."

He grinned. "… and dancing to the music on your Walkman. You have a way of moving your hips. Y'know something, babe? You're the best present I've ever had."

"And you're mine." I wove a lock of his hair in and out of my fingers. "What would it have been like, if we'd met when we were kids?"

"It would have been awesome."

"Do you think we would have fooled around?"

"Probably not. I was a late bloomer if you'll remember. I didn't have my first girl until I went to college. And my first guy…"

I remembered. "I'm glad you waited for me. That was more than I expected, more than I deserved… "

"Don't talk like that." He placed his fingers over my lips. "What you didn't deserve was what that bastard Franky did to you. I'm… " He blushed. "I know it's a stupid cliché, but I'm glad I could come to you a virgin."

Moved beyond anything, I kissed his fingertips and moved his hand. "Would we have become friends?"

"Yeah." He said that as if he had no doubt. "I wonder if we ever came close to meeting. My grandparents live in Florida, you know."

"I thought they were still living on Long Island."

"No, those are my Dad's folks. I have to bring you to Seaford some time to meet them."

I lowered my lashes so he wouldn't see the tears in my eyes. Whatever gifts he might have for me in the boxes I knew he was hiding in his office, he'd just given me the best gift of all.

I hugged him, and unaware of where my thoughts had gone, he returned the hug. "My Mom's folks moved to Naples after she died," he continued.

"You never mentioned them."

"Didn't I?" He shrugged, his expression sad in the firelight. "Second generation, and really strict from what Dad told me. They only wanted Mom to date Italian boys, and Uncle Tony couldn't go out of state to college. He wanted to be a vet, but they insisted a people doctor paid better. He married an Italian girl, my aunt Angelina."

"So he did what his parents wanted instead of what he wanted."

"Yeah. Well, he was their only surviving son. My Uncle Greg was a cop. He was killed in the line of duty."

"I'm sorry about that."

"Thanks. He sounded like a really good guy, but I never knew him. That was before they moved to Seaford."

"Wills. Your Dad isn't Italian."

"No. See, that was the thing about my Mom. She did what her head told her." He chuckled. "That was one of Grandma's favorite sayings, and when she said it, we knew it wasn't meant as a compliment. She and Grandpa were easygoing with me, though, maybe because they were in their sixties when I was born. Dad let me fly down every summer to stay with them for a couple of weeks. Grandpa would take me out in the Everglades on a fan boat, or we'd go fishing in the Gulf or he'd let me watch him make wine. Grandma always thought I wasn't eating enough, so she'd cook up a storm. Sometimes my cousins would be there too, but not often. Uncle Tony blamed Dad for the accident, and he… he didn't want his kids hanging out with me."

"That's not fair! It wasn't your fault."

"No, but that's Uncle Tony. He was never a… a happy man. Dad said he was different when they were kids – he used to be Dad's best friend – but he changed as he got older. After the accident, he wouldn't even talk to Dad. Grandpa had a stroke a few years ago, and Grandma'd gotten a little frail. She couldn't take care of him by herself, so Uncle Tony sold his practice in the Hamptons and moved down there to take care of them both. I went to see them a couple of times, but it was uncomfortable. Grandma took me aside the last time and asked me not to come for a while. I haven't seen them since."

"Oh, babe." I knew how hard it was to be shut out by family.

"Well, that's families for you." He shrugged as if it didn't really matter, but I could see that it did, and I wanted to punch his uncle. Wills had done nothing to deserve that. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm boring you with old family history."

"Never boring." I swallowed to clear the lump in my throat, and tightened my grip on him in an attempt to convey what I couldn't say. I'm your family now. I love you. "C'mon, Wills. Let's go to bed."

"I guess we'd better, or Santa will never come."

"Well, that's Mrs. Claus' problem."

As I'd hoped, that lightened the mood, and he burst into laughter. "Let's get the fire banked and check on Miss Su." He got to his feet and held his hand out to me. I let him pull me up and against him, and he brushed a feather-light kiss across my lips. "I'm not done with you yet."

"Cool" I said.

And may you never be done with me, I prayed.

****

It was New Year's Eve, and the next day, New Year's Day, was my twenty-eighth birthday. During the time I'd been a rentboy, we hadn't really celebrated birthdays. Oh, maybe an 'over the hill' gag gift. Age wasn't something that was on our side, and the older we got, the closer we came to being less in demand until finally we were shit out of work. I'd been lucky in that I looked a number of years younger than I actually was. When Wills and I had first met, he'd thought I was seventeen.

But now it didn't matter, and I knew Wills had something special planned. He had made reservations more than a month in advance for dinner at Raphael's, and there were boxes in his office. I'd sneaked in and – not given them a shake – I was too adult for that, but I'd turned them over and over in an attempt to see if anything… rattled.

I could tell that some were books or DVDs or CDs, but there was one box, about the size of a shirt box, but deeper. All I could guess for that one was a few shirts.

"When can I open my presents, Wills?"

"Delayed gratification, babe," he'd sing-songed. "When it's your birthday."

After dinner, we were going to the New Year's Eve Ball, the final escort ball of this year's Le Roi. Charlemagne had pulled out all the stops because for this one, escorts always brought their favorite clients, and although they might only stay for a few dances and a few glasses of champagne before moving on to the next party, Charlemagne wanted this to be the one they remembered, the highlight of the evening.

"Who'd you bring, Theo?"

"Oh, it varied from year to year." Was he jealous? No, he didn't seem to be. "Sometimes an undersecretary at State, sometimes a Feeb… That's an FBI agent."

"I know what a Feeb is, babe. I watched X-Files."

"Sorry." I laughed. "And sometimes the CFO of a blue chip corporation." Once I'd even brought John, my real estate agent. I smiled nostalgically at the thought of him and hoped his Bradford was treating him well. Had his holiday been as wonderful as mine?

"I can't believe it's never made the newspapers. You know what a hotbed for gossip DC is."

"Yes, well, the owners and editors of every paper in town are invited. The New Year's Eve Ball is this town's best-kept secret."

I came out of the bathroom to find him already dressed and standing before the mirror, fussing with his tie. It was watered silk, the same midnight blue as his tux. "Goddammed son of a bitch… "

I grinned at him. "Here, let me get that for you." I finished tying the Pratt-Shelby knot, made sure the dimple was locked in, and smoothed my palms over his pleated shirt front. "Now, where's your tie tac?" He handed it to me, an opal shot through with streaks of blue, purple, and green. His Uncle Pete, the Marine, had found it when he'd been passing through Australia and had sent it to Wills when he'd graduated from college. "There. Pretty enough to be kissed." And I pinched his chin, leaned in, and brushed my lips over his.

"Theo… " His eyes were closed and there was that smile on his lips.

All I was wearing was a towel knotted around my waist. A simple tug, and my cock would be free. I pictured Wills on his knees before me…

But he'd get wrinkles in the knees of his trousers. I sighed. "I'd better get dressed."

"Just one second. I want to give you this." He handed me a box wrapped in birthday paper. It was the one that was deeper than a regular shirt box, and it had been lying on the bed. I'd been studiously pretending I wasn't dying to know what was in it. "I know that it won't be your birthday officially for a few more hours, but… well… I can't wait."

"What is it?"

"Open it and see."

I tore off the wrapping paper, lifted the lid, and parted the tissue paper. Not shirts, as I'd expected. Silver mesh, so fine it slid through my fingers like water. It unfolded into a pair of briefs. Scattered on the waistband and the side seams were pieces of blue-green turquoise.

"I… er…was hoping you'd wear this. They're really comfortable, babe. I… " He blushed. "I tried on a pair. And I'd… I'd like you to wear them tonight. I want to know that under your tux, you'll have these briefs on, and we'll be the only two people at the Madison Arms who'll know that."

"What about these?" Beneath the briefs was a cuff that would be worn over the biceps, and ankle and wrist cuffs, all of beaten silver, all also decorated with turquoise.

"No, those are just for us, for later tonight."

"Dammit."

"You don't like them?" He looked hurt.

"I love them, babe! Look how much I love them!" I pulled off the towel to reveal my hard-on. "I'll never get the briefs on!"

"Oh. I can take care of that for you." He started to drop to his knees.

"Oh, no you can't. You'll wrinkle your trousers, and we don't have time for me to pull out the ironing board and iron them."

"Hmmm. But if I sit on the bed?" He backed toward the bed, drawing me along with him. "And if you stand right in front of me? Yes, that's perfect." He spread his legs, and I stood between them. His fingers closed over my ass cheeks and squeezed rhythmically, and he leaned forward, licked the tip of my cock, and swallowed it until it was lodged deep in his throat.

My knees started to buckle, and he slid his palms under my ass to support my weight. I spread my legs and braced them, and watched as his head bobbed along the length of my cock, the spit-slicked length appearing, and then disappearing into his mouth.

I rocked gently forward, not wanting to hurt him. His hands tightened on me, pulling me closer. His cheeks hollowed, and he sucked. God, he was good at this. If he ever went professional, they'd be lining up all the way down Pennsylvania Avenue for a chance to sample his mouth.

But he was mine, and all those fools who hadn't bothered to look past the nothing special suits and the nothing special hair cut would never know what they were missing.

I ran my fingers through his hair and massaged his scalp, and he hummed in pleasure.. At the same time, his forefinger pressed against my hole. The combination of that hum, that finger, and whatever it was he did with his tongue, sent me over the edge.

For the first time in my life, I passed out.

"Theo?" Wills patted my cheeks and chafed my wrists and hands. "Come on, babe, you're scaring me. Theo!"

"Wow." I blinked and opened my eyes. I was lying on the bed.

"Jesus, are you okay?"

"Yeah." I blinked again and stared up at him. "You've got the most amazing mouth! God, I love you!"

"I know."

I know? Okay, I hadn't expected him to make a big thing over my declaration of love – we were guys, after all – but I'd expected more than 'I know.'

Well, I wasn't going to get all girly about it. I'd just come right out and ask him.

"Wills… "

"Can you get dressed?"

"Uh… yeah." I arched and stretched and sat up. "Give me the briefs, would you? Wills, how come… " I was suddenly distracted. "You didn't come." I knew, and not just because the front of his trousers wasn't damp.

"No, although it was touch and go there for a while. You make the hottest sounds when you're ready to come."

"But you didn't come." I stood and stepped into the briefs. He was right. They were comfortable.

"I'll be on a low simmer all night, babe." A slow fire burned in his eyes. His voice low and rough, he pressed my palm to his groin, against the discreet bulge, then brought my hand to his mouth. His tongue flicked out and caressed the mound of Venus at the base of my thumb. "You'll know that I'm hot for you… " He sucked my forefinger into his mouth. "… and any time you want to take me…" He sucked on my middle finger. "… anywhere you want to take me, you can have me."

I shuddered. If I hadn't just come, his actions would have had me teetering on the brink. I took my finger from his mouth and kissed him, tasting my come on his tongue.

"I'd better get dressed, or we'll never get out of here."

"I'll just go brush my teeth."

"Good idea."

It didn't take long for me to finish dressing. I was still worrying about the fact that he'd been so blasé about my declaration of love. After all, I didn't say it very often. Well, actually, I didn't say it at all.

"Wills." I turned toward the mirror – to make sure my hair was in place, my bowtie was straight, and the material of my cummerbund unwrinkled.

"Yeah, babe?" He came out of the bathroom, picked up my tux jacket, and came to me, holding it so I could slide my arms into the sleeves. All the while I watched him through the mirror. He ran his hands up and down my arms, turned me around, and slid the buttons into the buttonholes. "You look gorgeous, you know that, Theo? Maybe I should wear my gun."

"Oh, no. That will ruin the line of your tux." It was the Armani I'd gotten him for Christmas. "Wills… "

"Hmmm?" He pinned a red rose to my lapel. There was a matching one in his. "Come on, get your overcoat. We don't want to lose our reservations."

"No, of course not. Which car are we taking, the Corvair or the Dodge?"

"Neither. I rented a limo for the evening. Nothing but the best for…" He paused by the door. "Is something wrong, babe?"

"No." I was – had been – a pro, and as such, a damned good actor. I gave him a jaunty grin and kissed him. "Let's get going!"

****

Giovanni, who'd been the maitre'd at Raphael's since it had opened, smiled when he saw us. "Your table is waiting, signori." He snapped his fingers, and a young woman in an evening gown appeared and took our overcoats. He snapped his fingers again, and our waiter appeared.

"It's good to see you, Nino."

"And you too, signori. If you will come this way?"

Because he'd made reservations so far in advance, Wills had snared us one of the best tables in the house. We followed our waiter across the room, passing a dimly lit alcove. It was the perfect place for lovers, and I'd kind of been hoping we'd get it, but Wills had told me it had been reserved by a couple of regulars. I glanced toward it to see what lucky couple occupied it.

I did a double take and came to a halt.

"Vince! Happy New Year!"

He looked up from his entree, his expression at first cold and flat, and then warming slightly.

Wills had realized I wasn't with him, and he came back to me. His eyes seemed to widen as his gaze went from Vincent to the man who shared his table.

"Wills, it's Vince! I didn't expect to see you here tonight." And not in an Oscar de la Renta tux. "Usually you're working on holidays."

"Bascopolis." He rose to his feet and shook first my hand and then Wills'. "Matheson."

"Mr. Vincent. Happy New Year, sir."

"Yeah. You too."

I waited for Vince to introduce us to his dinner companion.

"Uh… Quinn, this is my former landlord, Theo Bascopolis. You've met Matheson."

"Yes." He stood also, and I could see he was a few inches shorter than Vince. "It's nice to meet you." His hair was brown and his eyes a shade the dim lighting made difficult to determine. The tux he wore fit him well, and if I'd still been in the business, I'd have been willing to take him as a client.

"Same here." I shook his hand. "Are you a colleague of Vince's?"

He smiled and extended his hand to Wills. "Matheson. It's nice to see you again." He didn't answer my question.

"Mr. Mann." Wills kept the handshake brief. "We won't keep you from you dinner, Mr. Vincent."

"Thanks."

"But… " I started to protest.

"Theo, our waiter is… uh… waiting." He gave Vince's companion a nod, "Happy New Year, sir," closed his hand around my arm, and walked away. Since I didn't want to be dragged across the room, I hurried to keep step with him.

"Wills, that was rude! What's up with you?"

"Do you want to get me… " He bit off his words. "Listen to me. You Did. Not. See. Mr. Vincent here tonight, got that? Especially not with that man."

"What? But… " I shut my mouth. I'd lived in DC long enough to know things weren't always what they seemed, and just because Wills was living openly with me, that didn't mean that everyone working for Huntingdon had that option. "You seemed to know the man who was with him."

"I've seen him before."

"Is he the man who came up to see Vince?"

We reached our table, where Nino was waiting, and I shut up. He was holding out a chair, and Wills gestured for me to take it. I sat down, and Nino snapped out my napkin and placed it on my lap, then moved to Wills and did the same for him. Wills' seat gave him an unobstructed view of the room. And of Vincent and his companion.

"What may I get you signori to drink?" Nino tried so hard to be Italian.

"I'll have a strawberry daiquiri."

Wills was staring across the room toward the alcove where Vince and his friend sat.

"Wills?"

"What? Oh, I'll have a Johnny Walker Black, on the rocks." He looked up at Nino. "Make it a double."

Wills rarely drank. Wine and beer, sure, but rarely hard liquor.

I waited until Nino left to get our drinks. "Okay. Are you going to answer my question?" Wills looked confused, and I patiently repeated myself. "Is he the man who came to see Vince when he was living upstairs?"

He reached for his water glass, nearly knocking it over, steadied himself and took a sip, then brought his napkin to his lips.

"He's someone Mr. Vincent could get can… "

"Vince could lose his job? Because he's dating another man?" I hadn't though Huntingdon was that rigid.

"Jesus." Wills ran a hand over his hair. "It's one thing if Mr. Vincent's just fucking him," he muttered, obviously talking to himself. "If he's dating him… Oh, jesus."

"Can Vince get in trouble for dating this guy?"

"Oh, Theo, you don't know the half of it."

"Your drinks, signori." Nino noticed the unopened menus which were lying on our plates. "Are you ready to order?"

"Not just yet," I told him.

Wills took his glass, downed a large swallow, and began to cough. Nino pounded his back.

"I'm okay. I'm okay." Wills put down the glass and wiped his mouth with his napkin.

"Very good. I give you some time to decide what you would like this evening. Everything is good."

"Thanks, Nino." I waited until he left us. "Are you okay, babe?"

"Yeah." He coughed again and took a sip of water.

"Do you want to go somewhere else?"

"No! If Mr. Vincent thinks… No."

"Are you sure you want to stay?"

"Yeah." He swallowed and opened his menu. "Let's just … This is New Year's Eve, and tomorrow is your birthday. Let's order, okay?"

"Sure, babe." I picked up my menu. I'd never seen him so shaken, and I didn't know what to make of it. Normally the most easy-going of men, I could count on the fingers of one hand – and have fingers left over – the times I'd seen him stressed or pissed. But unless he wanted to talk to me about it freely, I wasn't going to twist his arm. "The cold antipasto looks good… "

****

My back was to the alcove, so I couldn't observe without being obvious about it. There were only so many times I could retrieve my napkin from the floor before it started to look as if I had dropsy.

Wills finished his Johnny Walker Black.

"Would signore care for another?"

"No, thanks, Nino. I'll stick to water."

"But it is New Year's Eve."

"No, thanks, Nino."

"Very good, signore."