Alex & Clayton (10 page)

“I’m truly sorry to hear that you had that experience. Look, the guy is a jerk. Probably one in three guys is a jerk. The trick to dating is trying to determine who is and who isn’t a jerk. What was this guy’s name?”

“Blake,” Clayton replied.

“Okay, Blake is a jerk, and you learned a lesson. But that lesson isn’t to stop seeing people. You’ll lead a very lonely life doing that!”

“Alex, are you a jerk?”

“No, I’m not. The only thing I want from tomorrow night is to eat dinner with you and to enjoy a movie afterward. While I find you very attractive, I have no intention of putting any moves on you. See, I don’t happen to think that dinner equals sex. So, how about it? You gonna trust a retired federal cop?”

Clay smiled. “Okay, sir, I’ll trust you. Yes, we’re still on for tomorrow night.”

“You’re gonna get a spanking, I’m warning you!”

“Huh?”

“You called me sir again!”

“Oh no, sorry. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow,” Clay said with a laugh.

“Good. See you then.”

C
LAY
hung up the phone in a lot better frame of mind than when it rang. Blake was gone from his thoughts, and only Alex took up space now. He looked at his watch, saw that it was closing time, and quickly went through his closing routine. He made the bank drop and went home. That night while he watched television, all he could think about was the handsome cop he’d be seeing tomorrow night.

T
HE
next day flew by as Clayton dealt with more customers than he ever thought he would outside of the season. It proved to him that there were many full-time residents who were gay. When he got home, he jumped in the shower, shaved, and put on nice casual clothes. He checked himself in the mirror and was generally pleased with his reflection. He certainly wasn’t the beautiful twenty-year-old he once was, but he thought he was aging fairly well.

He left his house with the piece of paper that Alex had given him and headed for the address on Baltimore Avenue. He found the house with no problem and was impressed by the size of the residence and its location. In front it had a manicured lawn and what he could only imagine was a beautiful garden during the spring and summer.

He nervously rang the doorbell, and a moment later, Alex opened the door and stood there looking through the screen.

“Hi, Clay, come on in. You look great tonight, but you really didn’t have to get all fancy for my house,” Alex said with a chuckle.

“This? Oh, this isn’t fancy. These are my relaxed clothes.”

“Oh, I see. Well then, we have a different definition of relaxed clothes. Would you like something to drink? How about a glass of wine?” He gestured for Clay to enter.

“Yes, I think I will. Your house is beautiful, by the way, both outside and inside. And I like your taste in furniture,” Clay said as he walked in and around the living room.

“Thanks, but as you can see, the walls are bare. I’m not too good when it comes to picking out artwork.”

“Really? Well, I’d be happy to help you with that. I love to shop for art, and it does finish off a house when you have everything else in place.”

“Well, sit, make yourself at home. It’s gotten a little cool, so I think we’ll skip sitting out on the deck. Be right back.”

Clayton sat down on the sofa, looking around at the beautiful things that Alex had placed in his home. He didn’t expect such refinement as he assumed a man like Alex would prefer a rather more basic and practical style.

Alex came around the corner with a tray with two glasses of wine on it along with three different varieties of cheese and some crackers.

“Here ya go, and please have some cheese,” Alex said as he sat down on the sofa with Clay.

“That looks great, Alex! I love cheeses from all over the world, but I’m just as happy with the plain ole American cheeses.”

They sat back and sipped some wine as they munched on the cheese and crackers.

“There’s a wonderful smell coming from the kitchen,” Clay observed.

“It should all be ready in about twenty minutes. That gives me another five for sitting here with you before I have to return to the kitchen.”

“What are you making?”

“Ah, you’ll have to wait until you sit down at the table to find that out,” Alex answered with a laugh.

“Now I’m really intrigued. I hope you didn’t go through a whole lot of trouble just for me,” Clay said.

“When you have guests, no amount of trouble is too much. I hope you enjoy what I’m preparing, and now I really have to go check on things. I’ll give you a shout if I need anything. If you want another glass of wine, just come on out to the kitchen.”

Clay sat happily on the sofa munching away on the various cheeses and sipping his wine—which he found quite passable to his surprise. Clay made a mental note to check his police-officer-stereotype files and remove the ones that were obviously very wrong.

“
D
INNER
is served. If you’ll please come this way,” Alex said when he came back into the room. “Bring your wine with you.”

Clayton walked into a beautiful dining room with a chandelier over the table and a formal sideboard as well as a china cabinet. As Clay took the chair Alex pointed to, he looked at the very nicely set table and was astonished by the menu.

“Is this beef Wellington?” Clay asked with surprise.

“Ah, I’m glad you recognize it. I must have done something right then!”

“You can make beef Wellington, whipped potatoes, green beans, and salad?”

“You think the only things I eat are hot dogs and donuts?” Alex asked.

“Oh, no, I just mean, this is not what I expected from a retired cop. No offense meant.”

“I’ll only be offended if you don’t like my food,” replied Alex.

They dug into dinner, and Clay made multiple comments on how well everything was prepared. When they had finished the food, along with a second glass of wine, Clay insisted on helping clear the table.

“Do you want some help cleaning up in here too?” Clay asked, looking around the kitchen.

“Not on your life. Pour some more wine and have a seat in the living room. I’m gonna stack this stuff after rinsing it and throw it all in the dishwasher later. I’ll be in with you in ten minutes.

“Fine, but I must say once more, that was an incredible meal. My compliments to you.”

“Thank you, now scoot!”

“Yes, si—Alex.”

Alex looked over at Clay and smiled. Clay blushed and left the kitchen, and Alex got busy rinsing the dishes. While Alex cleaned up, Clay looked at the walls in the dining room and the living room, trying to imagine what sort of artwork would blend in with the furniture and the house itself. He would enjoy helping Alex choose a few pieces and decided to broach the subject again when his host returned.

Alex rejoined Clayton with a glass of wine in his hand and sat down next to his guest. “Shall we just talk for a while before the movie?”

“By all means. I don’t mean to be presumptuous, but I’d really like the chance to help you pick out some art. I could help you find pieces that not only go with your home, but that you’d enjoy seeing every day. We could go to some galleries, or it could even be done online.”

“Thank you, I’d like that very much. Right now, as I said, the house looks unfinished and cold. Art would fix that problem.”

“Fine. I’ll locate some pieces on the Internet and send the images to you so you can tell if you like them or not. You pick the ones you like, and I’ll get an idea of your taste in art.”

“Excellent. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.”

“Great. Now, a change of subject. How come you never had a permanent partner? You were a good-looking cop, practically every gay male’s fantasy, and though you’re old enough to be retired, you’re still handsome. So why are you single?”

“I might ask you the same thing! You’re a handsome man, and I’m sure you were hot as hell when you were in your twenties. Why don’t you have a partner?”

“Well, my story is a little complicated. I grew up in a very nice home with two great parents. My father died years ago, and my mother recently passed away. Except for college, I lived at the family home until I moved here. Early on, I had a hard time accepting that I was a gay person, and in fact, I’m still struggling with it somewhat. My mother always wanted grandchildren, and since I was the youngest son, it was expected that I’d have the last set of babies. Right up until the end, she kept pushing me to meet that special girl who was waiting for me out there somewhere,” Clay said as he moved his hand through the air to indicate a wide-open space. “As for my brothers and my sister, we’re not close. They live spread out across the United States, and I stayed in New Jersey.”

“Wow, you lived at home until just recently? Wasn’t that hard on dating? I mean, it would be hard to have privacy with your mother lurking about, wouldn’t it?”

“Actually, I’ve never had a boyfriend, never even really dated anyone until recently. Even if I had met a guy I liked, I couldn’t bring him home because my mother would insist on being introduced and then grill the poor guy about his life, just to be friendly. Any chance I might have had with him would be out the window as soon as that all started.”

“You’ve never had a boyfriend? Or a date? You mean, you’re a virgin? In this day and age?” Alex asked in a slightly shocked, disbelieving manner.

“No, I didn’t say I was a virgin… well, that really depends on how you define it for a guy. At one point, I was going to bookstores for quick, anonymous sex. I always felt dirty when I left the place and was ashamed for days afterward. It disgusted me to be honest, but it was a way of relieving sexual tension for a few days at least.”

“Well… okay, I don’t mean to get real personal here, and you can tell me to fuck off, but… what exactly did you do in the bookstores?”

Clay blushed and stammered. “I mostly went down on guys when they stuck their dicks through the hole between the booths. A couple of times, I stuck mine through. Oh, and one guy came into my booth, took off all his clothes, and asked me to pee on him.”

“And did you?”

“What? Pee on him? Hell no! With what little experience I’ve had, I’m very conservative when it comes to sex. I pushed the guy aside and left the bookstore at a run. The guy grossed me out. He smelled awful,” Clay answered, blushing once more.

Alex took a sip of his wine, trying to digest all that Clay had just told him about his pathetic love life. When he looked over at Clay, he found his guest looking down at his shoes, unwilling to look Alex in the eyes.

“Look at me, Clay. I’m not judging you at all. You’ve been an angel compared to most gay guys—including me! So you’re not that experienced in sexual matters? What I find sad is that you’ve never fallen in love! How old are you again?”

“I’ll be fifty next July tenth, which I always hated. People were all partied out from the Fourth of July, and then they’d have to try to ramp up again for my birthday. At least I still got my birthday cake. But, what about you? A hunky cop in uniform, I’m sure you’re no virgin,” Clay said with an envious smile.

“Well, in some respects I didn’t make out any better than you. Sure, I had no shortage of guys wanting to go to bed with me, and I took quite a few up on their offers. It’s so easy with men. Men know what they want and how to get it. They know that they can get their itch scratched without the hassle they’d get from women. They generally don’t wanna go out for dinner, or a movie, or things like that. They simply wanna get laid. Plus, when the act is done, most are ready to put their pants on and get going. They don’t want you to make them breakfast in the morning or any of that.

“So, yes, I’ve had my fair share of sex, and I’ve been told I’m quite good at it. But as far as the emotional commitment of having a boyfriend or lover… that never happened for me either. I may have mentioned that I was married to my job. I was always on call even if I was off duty. I was part of an elite anti-terrorism response unit, and if the unit was needed, you got beeped, and all members had to respond. For twenty-seven long years, there was a very powerful sniper rifle and scope locked away in the trunk of my car. So if I did have to go somewhere quick, I had my specialty weapon with me already. Does that sound like the kind of life that was conducive to a steady boyfriend?”

“No, not really, but look what you had in place of it! You had the excitement, the prestige, and there was always a chance you’d win a place in history. You must have loved your job if you stayed long enough to retire from it… although I am surprised you retired so early,” Clay said.

“Part of my reason for choosing that job was the fact that I could retire in my forties before I was too old to enjoy everything that life has to offer. I have a great retirement plan and medical and life insurance from the federal government. So, in a way, you’re right. I traded a partner for a very rewarding, fulfilling job. I was in the presence of world leaders, powerful men and women, even the president of the United States. I had a front row seat to history. But, what about you? What path did you follow and why?”

“Question first. I suppose you had to hide the fact that you’re gay from everyone you worked with. Am I right?”

“At first, you bet. I had to deal with homophobia on the job, the queer jokes, and the asinine comments about gay men. But after being on the job about twelve years, I came out to a couple of close buddies on the force, and they accepted me without question. They were shocked and surprised, but their friendships never wavered, and they kept their mouths shut. Employment conditions have changed since I first joined. They can no longer fire you or withhold a security clearance based on sexual orientation. Where guys get jammed up is when they lie about it to a background investigator or on a polygraph. Then you get transferred or fired for lying during an official investigation—not for being gay. After I was hired, I was never officially asked if I was gay, so I never had to deal with that question,” Alex replied.

“Incredible life you’ve led. In comparison, my life has been one gigantic yawn. I went to college, got a degree in library science, and was lucky enough to get hired by the library system of the county where I lived. After a while, the head librarian was transferred, and I put in for her job. I got it and spent the rest of my career as the head librarian at that library. When my mother died, I knew I had to let go of that house and start a new life. I chose Rehoboth when I ran across the bookstore for sale.