L. A. Mischief (16 page)

“Glad the two of you could come. Really great to see some of us out in force.” Bryan was the Northeast’s Gay and Lesbian Liaison.

As the band started playing, couples moved onto the dance floor. David wouldn’t entertain the idea of dancing—at least not with Chris.

He did dance with a young Latino uniformed officer who must have been half his age. Chris asked a tight-faced blonde to dance and made sure to whirl her past David and his partner. He laughed at something the breathless blonde said, though he had no idea what her actual words were. His gaze was riveted on David.

It was obvious David was well known and liked, at least by the younger cops. A handful of the older guys stood around the bar sending disapproving looks their way, including the fat pig who had brought Chris to the station where he had met David for the first time. Bulkowski. Chris remembered the leering asshole all too well.

Chris had a second glass of wine and spent some time cruising the buffet, sampling a tray of
empanadas
and another one of California rolls that were soggy and full of limp cucumber. He moved over to find a slender, uniformed Korean man studying the appetizers. His crew cut head caught the overhead lights. He smiled and took a bite of the rolls wrapped in a napkin.

“You’re here with Detective Laine, aren’t you?”

“Yes, we came together,” Chris said cautiously. Something in the way the guy was watching him triggered his almost nonexistent gaydar. But even he could see this guy was light on his feet. “We’re together.”

“We were all surprised when he was outed like that—” Then as though the use of such a familiar gay term might make him too obvious, he amended, “I never would have guessed.” He flushed red.

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Chris said with a knowing smile. “They don’t come much more butch than David. Hell, I didn’t know when I first met him.”

“But you’re together now. What’s it like?”

Chris couldn’t disabuse the guy who seemed to think he and David were living some fairy tale romance. If he wanted to believe that coming out could be a good thing Chris wasn’t going to kill his dream. Maybe this new generation of cops would make it so. After all who would have imagined gays could ever be seen as legitimate couples, entitled to full LAPD benefits? Maybe even marriage could exist, in the future. Certainly it was happening elsewhere in the world. It was a nice dream.

“It’s good,” he said softly. “Better than I had ever imagined.” He dropped his voice even lower. “Does anyone in the department know?”

The guy shook his close-cropped head. “No. We’re not ready for that.”

“So your partner stayed home?”

He nodded. “Yes... studying. He’s in night school. Pre-med. He’s as worried about them knowing there as I am here. But guys like David... and you, and Bryan Williams. You give us all hope.”

“Good to hear it.”

A fresh faced Asian woman in a crisply pressed uniform and glossy black hair done up in a severe bun that did nothing to flatter her face approached the young officer. “Dao,” she said. “I was hoping you would come tonight. Are you with someone?”

Chris chose that moment to go in search of something nonalcoholic to drink, leaving the hapless Dao to fend off his fellow cop’s advances. He wasn’t a bad looking guy; he probably had to reject eager cop groupies all the time. Male and female. David was always telling him about badge bunnies who only seemed to care about the shield and the gun, not the guy wearing them. It was one reason cop marriages were so volatile.

He slipped into the men’s room and found a couple of cops at the urinals, relieving themselves. They both looked at Chris. The one closet one to Chris turned away and finished his business. The other one, an older balding guy with a walrus mustache that dwarfed his face, hurriedly zipped up and rushed out of the room without washing his hands. Chris raised his eyebrows at his hastily retreating back. The other cop glanced back at him and Chris shrugged and went about his business.

Back out in the hall, he bypassed the stage covered with its small mountain of presents under a massive real fir tree and found David standing by the punch bowl, talking to Martinez. At least that was safe ground. Chris walked up to them.

“Try the
empanadas,”
he said when they both turned to look at him. “But steer clear of the California rolls.” He raised his iced tea. “Tea’s cold.”

Martinez looked startled at the gesture. He shot a glance at David holding a beer. “How have you guys been doing?”

David shrugged. “Not much. Still working on the old jalopy.”

“Yeah, how’s that going?”

“It looks really good,” Chris gushed. He moved to stand close to David who grew tense as though afraid he was going to touch him. “David’s done an incredible job on it. It must be more than half done. Wouldn’t you say?” He almost said hon, but knew David would freak out if he did.

Then David surprised him by smiling. “It does look good. I’ve even got a line on a couple more mint parts. It won’t be long before it’s done.”

“R-r-ight,” Martinez said. “Really, what would you do then?”

“He’s got you there,” Chris said with a laugh. “What would you do? Buy another junker?”

“It was not a junker.” David bristled. “It was a class—”

“Classic American car,” both Chris and Martinez finished the sentence for him. They’d both heard that more times than they could count.

“Hey, if I can find something...” David shook his head, grinning. “It keeps me out of trouble.”

Chris snorted.

They both danced several more times, but never with each other. Chris tried not to care. It had to be enough that David wanted him here. Don’t push it by wanting more than David could give.

Toward midnight David pulled Chris aside. “Ready to leave?”

“Sure.” Chris was tired. It was a good tired, but he was glad to be calling it a night. Then David surprised him.

“Let’s take a drive.”

Chris’s eyebrows went up. “Just drive? What’s the fun in that?”

“We can stop for latte if you want.”

“Where do you want to go?”

David shrugged and muttered, “Tis the season. Let’s go look at some Christmas lights.”

They said their goodbyes and left. David headed west, getting on the 110 freeway then onto the 10, finally onto the Hollywood freeway. Chris had no idea where they were headed until they left the freeway and began climbing up through the hills above West Hollywood. He turned to peer quizzically across at David.

“Mulholland?”

David leered at him. “We’re going to run out of gas soon.”

“Oh really.” In response he lay his head on David’s shoulder where he could smell David’s clean, unique scent, felt his warm breath and the pulse that beat under his chin. He snuggled his hand between David’s thighs. David murmured his pleasure.

“Ah, here’s the spot.” David pulled the car over onto the side of Mulholland Drive, facing toward city center. A sea of lights from the downtown towers greeted them. The normally brilliant lights were augmented by Christmas lights Neither made any move to get out of the car. Chris seemed mesmerized by the scene.

David glanced at them, but his attention was on Chris. He always marveled at how he could go from smooth sophisticate who would have been at home with stars and the next minute show a child-like wonder at something as simple as a display of lights.

Eventually Chris turned his head to find David watching him. He smiled and nuzzled David’s throat, feeling the rasp of new beard growth.

“You taste good,” he murmured. He felt the rumble of David’s laughter through his lips.

“We’re supposed to be enjoying the light show.”

“Oh I am.” He nipped and sucked on warm skin.

Overhead a helicopter played a search light out on the ground below it. David watched it circle. How ironic if he and Chris were caught up here by a patrol car. That would look good on his jacket. He closed his eyes as Chris burrowed his hand between his legs, stroking his growing hardness.

“I can tell,” he said, a little breathlessly.

Suddenly, Chris spoiled the mood by issuing a jaw cracking yawn. David looked at him, puzzled, then turned the Escape back on. “Guess it’s time to get you home,” he said and turned the car onto the road, heading down to Silver Lake.

But at the door Chris wasn’t ready to call it a night. “I’ve got my second wind,” he said. “Want a nightcap?”

“I shouldn’t...”

“Doesn’t have to be alcohol. I’ve got juice. Coffee.” He almost said
Me
, but didn’t want to scare David off.

David looked thoughtful. Then he nodded. “Sure, a coffee would be nice.”

With the coffee brewing they stood side by side next to the sink. Chris got out mugs, his flavored cream and spoons. When he offered to nuke a couple of blueberry muffins David shook his grizzled head. “Not for me.”

Chris kept throwing glances at David, studying his all too familiar face.

“You were the best looking guy there tonight.”

“Hardly.”

“Sure you were.” Chris turned to face David, close enough to see the pores on his rough skin. “You never want to believe how sexy you are.” He reached up and loosened the clasp of his tie—no LAPD cop worth his badge wore anything but clip on ties—why give the bad guys a way to hang you—and slid his fingers over the crisp pale blue shirt front. Suddenly his roving fingers stopped moving. He began to undo the buttons, splaying the edges open.

He stared at the leather harness hugging David’s broad, furred chest. He swallowed against a sudden rush of desire. His gaze went to meet David’s.

“You wore that all night?”

“Yes,” David whispered.

CHRIS TRACED THE outline of the chest strap, knowing it had been there all night, while David danced and laughed with his fellow cops. Knowing Chris would find it later and...

“Why?” Chris pushed the jacket off his shoulders and began to feverishly unbutton the shirt. He came up against the shoulder holster with David’s service weapon. “Get that off.”

David obeyed and drew his breath in when Chris dragged his shirt off and tackled his dress pants.

“Did you put... you did.”

David’s thick cock filled the leather cock ring, expanding, the blood trapped by the strap, prolonging his erection. The pulse leaped in his throat and turned his groan into a hiss as Chris’s fingers slipped past his balls to stroke the soft flesh behind them.

Then Chris said something David never expected to hear from him.

“I want to fuck you, David.”

“What?” He should have objected, should have flat out said no, he didn’t do that, but something stilled his words. All except, “Why?”

“I want to be inside you. I want to feel my cock in your ass. So perfect...” He muffled a groan as David’s cock responded to his words and swelled, jerking in Chris’s hand. He closed his eyes while he pushed the foreskin back, exposing his fat mushroom-shaped head. “I can tell. You want it too. Say yes.”

David thrust against the finger probing into his hole. He’d never let another man do that. Had barely ever considered it. But the fevered part of his mind still capable of thought wanted to yield, to surrender to the invasion for the first time—with this man. With Chris.

“Yes,” he hissed and rammed his mouth down on Chris’s.

They fought their way out of the kitchen, but never made it anywhere near the stairs toward the bedroom. In front of the window overlooking the Christmas lights of Silver Lake they tore each other’s clothes off. David bent over the leather chair in front of the granite coffee table. Chris gripped his hips with iron fists.

Hoarsely he said, “Hang on.”

He fell to his knees on the carpet behind David and parted his cheeks, his tongue unerringly slamming home, coating his hole with saliva and probing it with fingers lubricated with David’s own pre-come. Then he slid the tip of his cock past the tight sphincter and pushed home.

Sharp pain assaulted David’s ass, but quickly turned to burning heat, then liquid fire.

Chris leaned over and bit David’s neck, hot words of love and lust mingled with moans until they were both reduced to gasping, shattered wordless cries.

David felt Chris released the strap of the cock ring and let go, exploding inside him at the same time his hand found and jerked David to orgasm.

They collapsed against the thick arm of the chair, shaking, barely able to breathe.

Slowly Chris untangled himself from David who turned to fold him in his trembling arms.

“Is it always like that?”

“Sometimes better.” Chris traced the outline of David’s swollen mouth. “You were incredible.”

“I love you, Chris.”

Chris’s eyes lit up. “I love you.” He smoothed a finger over David’s pockmarked face. “All of you. Even the parts of you that aren’t all that lovable. Your stubbornness, your neo-con sensibilities, your cop mentality...” He stroked his thick mustache. “Your gray hairs. Both of them.”

He stared deep into David’s eyes. David stared back, seeing things there he had never imagined before. “You have beautiful eyes.”

Chris lowered his lashes, holding on to the moment, hoping it would never end.

“I want to be with you,” said David.

“I want to be with you too,” answered Chris.

They sat in the chair in each other’s arms, Chris feeling his heart thumping in his chest, the heat from David’s body enveloping them both. The house was completely silent—not even a ticking clock broke the stillness.

“Let’s move in together,” David said.

Chris looked at him, his breath hitching in his throat. “Are you serious?” he asked.

“I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life. I can rent my place out. We can split household expenses—”

“Shh. Let’s talk practicalities later. Right now I just want to love you.” Chris traced his hand across the leather strap and looked into David’s eyes, his face suddenly breaking out into a hundred-watt smile that lit up the whole hillside.

“Be mine, Chris,” David whispered.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

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