The Truth of Yesterday (14 page)

     “Actually, it was just dumb luck. I came real close to missing it altogether.”

     “But you didn't and that's what counts! I'm going to order a celebratory breakfast,” he said heading for the phone.

     “Let me call Novak first,” I said, eager to tell him of my first big success on my own.

     “Don't you think it's a little early?”

     “Are you kidding? Novak rises before the sun.”

     “Hmm, if I remember right, he's not the only one,” he said with a smirk.

     I grinned back as I picked up the phone and dialed out. Novak answered on the second ring.

     “Guess what?” I said breathlessly.

     “Hello, kid,” he said evenly, “You know, most people start their conversations with a salutation of some sort, such as hi, hello, hey,
yo
, or even
wassup
.”

     
“Hi, hello, hey,
yo
,
wassup
.
Now guess what?”

     “You closed the case?”

     “Oh,” I said as I deflated.

     “Sorry, I guess you wanted to pop the big news. Let's try that again, shall we? I don't know, Killian, what?”

     “It's not the same now,” I pouted.

     “Well I still don't know the details.”

     That brightened me a little. “He was cheating on his wife,” I told him triumphantly.

     “You know that for a fact?”

     “I talked to the mistress myself. It's been going on for some time now.”

     “She told you that?”

     “Yes. Well, she thought I was there to fix the john, but...”

     
“To fix the-never mind.
I probably don't want to know.
Great job, kid.
I knew you had it in you.”

     “It was dumb luck actually. I didn't even know she was in the room at first. Knox snuck her in while he was in the conference. If I hadn't, er, overslept this morning I probably would have never known she was there. I just happened to be outside the room when she opened the door and I practically fell in.”

     “Still, you had the presence of mind to act when the opportunity presented itself. A good 75% of our trade is blind luck.”

     “Well whatever it is, I did it. I'll be home this afternoon I guess. You want me to come in and type up the report tonight or will tomorrow morning be soon enough?”

     “Actually, didn't I promise you some free time if you finished up this case quickly?”

     “Oh, yeah,” I said. I'd almost forgotten in all the excitement.

     “Why don't you stay one more night? Have Micah show you the city. I'll even pay for the room. Consider it a little bonus for a job well done.”

     “Are you serious?”

     
“Yep.
You earned it, and besides, this was your first solo case, you deserve to celebrate its successful closing.”

     “Oh
my gosh
! Thanks so much, Novak.”

     “Don't thank me; just keep up the good work.”

     “Oh, I will.”

     “I don't doubt it. Now go have fun.
And Killian?”

     
“Yeah?”

     “I hope you get to sleep in tomorrow morning too.” I could hear the wink in his voice as the phone hung up. I felt my face burn bright as I carefully hung up the receiver on my end as well.

     “What did you get all excited about?” Micah asked, coming out of the bathroom in a robe now. “And why is your face so red?”

     I waved off the second question and just answered the first. “Novak said we could stay another night on him, as a reward for finishing up the case so quickly.”

     Micah's eyebrows flew up.
“Really?
Wow, that's really nice of him.”

     “Tell me about it. He said to have you show me the city.” He frowned a little and I quickly rushed on. “Oh come on, Micah!” I whined. “I don't want to stay in the hotel room all day and night. Show me stuff I've never seen before.”

     “I could do that right here in the hotel room,” he said forcing a smile.

     “Or we could go out and then come back here for that.”

     “You're not going to give up, are you?”

     
“Nope.”

     He sighed. “Fine, I'll give in now and spare us both the bother.”

     
“
Woohoo
!”
I hollered, jumping up and down.

     “Don't get too excited. We don't even know what we're doing yet.”

     “What is there to do?”

     He shrugged. “There're museums, shows, clubs...”

     “I don't want to go a stuffy old museum, not this time anyway. I want to have fun. I want to celebrate.”

     
“A club then?”

     I stuck out my bottom lip. “We can go to a club at home.”

     Micah laughed. “The clubs here are about as much like Inferno as a kitten is to a full-grown tiger.”

     My eyes lit up.
“Oh really?”

     
“Really.
We have all day to decide what we're going to do. Now what do you want for breakfast?”

     I smiled slyly.
“You.”

* * *

     “Holy sea of men, Batman,” I yelled to Micah as I stood at the rail overlooking more writhing men then I had ever seen in one place in my entire life.

     Micah laughed; at least he looked like he was laughing. The noise level was so high any sound he might have made was lost completely. I didn't even know how on earth he'd heard me. The music was pounding so hard the walls actually seemed to vibrate with the bass line. The lighting was low and between that and the smoke machines, the atmosphere was much murkier than the Inferno, which was my only experience with a gay club before tonight. You could have fit four Infernos inside this place and there were easily six times as many people crowded inside. I could already feel a trickle of sweat down the middle of my back.

     “Quit gawking,” Micah shouted in my ear. “Someone's going to mistake that open mouth for an invitation.”

     I snapped my jaw shut and took another look around. The club was called Michelangelo and was known as the premier gay club in the DC area. In the center of the dance floor was a huge white statue which looked remarkably like Michelangelo's famous David except for one small change.
Or not so small actually.
This David was sporting a very impressive erection. Over his head, a huge disco ball hung from the ceiling, which was painted in a parody of the Sistine Chapel. There were still naked folks lounging about on clouds and such, but they were all hard-bodied men in this interpretation, and some were doing more than just lounging.

     There were two dance floors-a smaller one and a huge one. We'd entered through a glitzy entryway, showed our ID's and Micah had whisked me off down a hall crowded with guys. He'd led me up a flight of stairs, and now we were overlooking the larger dance floor. I was still in culture shock. I'd never felt like such a hick before.

     “It's a little tacky,” Micah was saying, “but lots of fun. You ready to dance?”

     I looked back down at the mass of men down below me. “As I'll ever be,” I yelled back.

     He led me back down the stairs and we plunged into the sea of bodies. It was at least an hour later before we broke free for a much needed breather. I'd been groped, grabbed and fondled more in that hour than the rest of my life combined. Micah clutched my wrist and started pulling me back down the hall. I couldn't help but notice that he really seemed to know his way around.

     We were moving down the hall when suddenly someone going the other way let out a high-pitched squeal and grabbed Micah's arm.

     “Oh my
Gawd
!” the guy howled. He had a middle-eastern look, olive complexion, dark, almost black eyes under heavy eyebrows, and a hawk-like nose. His black hair hung to his shoulders in soft curls. He was very striking, not someone who would be easily forgotten. “What are you doing back in town? We've been looking for you. Are you here because you heard?” he yelled while gripping Micah's arm as if he thought he might bolt at any second.
Actually, judging by the look on Micah's face that was entirely possible.
He had the same expression in his eyes as the raccoon we'd found in the garage when I was a kid. Dad had cornered it and shot the poor thing with the same pistol I'd later used to kill a serial killer who was hoping to make me his next victim. I'd cried about that damn raccoon for hours.

     “I'm sorry,” Micah said trying to shake the guy off his arm. “I think you must have me mistaken for someone else.”

     The guy hung on like a leech. “No fucking way, honey,” he cooed. I decided that he was on something. I didn't know much about drugs but I guessed it was probably ecstasy. “I'd know you anywhere.”

     “Well I don't know you,” Micah growled. He snatched his arm away setting his cling-on stumbling and yanked me off down the hall before the guy could recover his balance. I almost had to run to keep up with Micah. He pulled me into a lounge with plush red chairs and sofas arranged around the room. There were more guys in here; it seemed there was no shortage of male bodies no matter where you went in this place. Most of the guys in here were occupied with at least one other guy, some with more than one, but there were still more than a few sets of hungry eyes following us as we made our way into the room.

     “I'm not sure whether to be flattered or frightened,” I said to Micah. The volume level was a little lower in here so I didn't quite have to scream.

     “What do you mean?” he asked me, pushing me gently into a recently vacated chair and straddling my legs.

     
“All those guys staring at us.”

     Micah snorted. “They stare at anything with a dick.”

     “Gee thanks. You really know how to make a guy feel special.”

     He laughed. “I didn't mean it like that. You would definitely be of special interest to most of the guys in here. You're
what's
known as a
twink
.”

     
“
Twink
?”

     “It means you're young, hot, and blonde. The last isn't necessarily a requirement but it helps.”

     “Hot, huh?”

     
“Oh definitely.
Very, very hot. If you ask me, you're the hottest guy here.”

     I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer to me. “I might have to argue about that,” I said.

     
“Oh yeah?”

     “Yeah, because I happen to think that you're the hottest guy here.”

     
“How about if we call it a tie?”

     I pretended to think it over. “I suppose I could live with that.”

     He leaned in and gave me a deep kiss that started a familiar tingle in my crotch.

     “Keep that up and I'm going to want breakfast again,” I giggled.

     “They have a room for that too, you know,” he said suggestively.