“Are you comfortable in doing it?”
I wanted to tell him it was no big deal, but in all honesty, it was. It shouldn’t be. But it was. Some gay guys would never do it, for fear of retribution, unwanted attention, and other general arseholeness from the world. The fact Andrew was confident in himself to do it, and the fact he wanted to hold my hand, was a big deal.
“Yes, I am. And thank you for asking. It’s another first for me, that I can cross off my ‘Because of Andrew’ list.”
“You have a ‘Because of what’ list?”
“Because of you list. Like if I can finish any sentence with ‘because of Andrew,’ it goes on the list.”
He chuckled. “Do I want to know?”
“Sure. Like now. I have my first real boyfriend because of Andrew,” I explained. “Or, I now smile like an idiot all the time because of Andrew.”
He laughed. “Do I want to know what’s number one on this list?”
“I jerk off five times a day because of Andrew,” I said. He cracked up laughing. “That’s number one, by a mile. Then number two is I listened to classical piano music online yesterday because of Andrew.”
His whole face lit up. “Did you really?”
“Yep. Though maybe it’s not number two. Maybe it’s number three and the smiling like an idiot is number two. The polls are pretty close.”
He was just beaming. “You’re so funny.”
“Now, if you don’t mind, I need to go check out this bookstore, and while waiting to see if psycho Lance turns up, I need to do something totally romantic like buy a book that I know my boyfriend would like.”
Andrew was still smiling. “Oh yeah, like what?”
“Like How to Have Sex With Your Boyfriend When He’s Hung Like a Horse,” I joked. “Oh wait, no that one’s for me. For you, I’d probably buy How to Abstain From Sex Without Dying.”
He busted up laughing. “Is that so?”
“Yep, it’s a best-seller.”
“There is never a dull moment with you, is there?”
“I hope not.”
He looked at me for a long moment, like he wanted to say something but couldn’t. Instead, he squeezed my hand and led me toward the bookstore. “Come on. Let’s go see if we can find you that book.”
“The one about my boyfriend being hung like a horse?”
He chuckled. “Yep. I somehow think we’ll find it next to the one titled 101 Uses For Lube.”
I loved that he played along. “Excellent. Hopefully there’s free samples.”
He groaned. “We really shouldn’t be talking about this in public.”
“Why not?” I looked around at the people walking past. “It’s not like anyone gives a crap.”
“No. Talking about—” He side-eyed me as he walked. “—that with you is giving me that problem I had earlier.”
I laughed. Jesus. He was relentless. “Shall we find the bathrooms first?”
He growled at me and mumbled something that sounded like “Don’t tempt me,” but dragged me into the bookstore.
He didn’t go to the bathrooms but went past the coffee shop inside the bookstore and headed straight for the escalator to the second floor. “Where are we going?”
“Upstairs,” he answered. “Would it not be a better vantage point to see if whatshisname comes in?”
“Well, true,” I conceded. “Though I’m a little disappointed you’re not taking me to the bathrooms.”
He looked over his shoulder and glared at me. “How are we supposed to make it till Saturday if you keep being suggestive like that?”
I laughed quietly, ignoring the ache in my balls at all the talk of sex with him.
“It’s not funny, Spencer,” he said. “Maybe I should just fuck you tonight.”
I tripped up the last step of the escalator. “Jesus, Andrew.”
Now it was his turn to laugh as he led me to the first stack of books near the balcony. “Not so funny when the shoe’s on the other foot, is it?”
“Caught me off guard, that’s all,” I said, pretending he didn’t shock the hell out of me. “And anyway, it wasn’t strictly an unpleasant visual image.”
Andrew took a deep breath and changed subjects. “So, what does this guy look like?”
“Like a slimy creep. I’ll take a guess that he’ll have just left work, so he’ll be here in about twenty minutes I’d say, wearing an expensive suit and a cheap smile.” I looked down at the entrance to the bookstore but couldn’t see anyone that even looked remotely like him. I put my hand on Andrew’s arm. “I don’t want him to see me with you.”
Andrew’s gaze shot to mine, instant offence and rejection in his eyes. “Why not?”
I smiled softly at him. “No other reason than I just don’t want you implicated in this in anyway. If he is the arsehole I assume he is, I don’t want him to even look at you. I don’t want him anywhere near you.”
“Oh.”
“Do you think I would not want the world to know we’re together?” I asked. “If you want me to broadcast an ad on CBS, I will.”
He smiled now, the corner of his mouth lifted shyly. “Thanks, but that’s not necessary.”