Read Smoky Mountain Dreams for Free Online Page B

dumb, unable to reply or even
look away.
    Jesse’s tongue darted out again, and his eyes slid down to
Christopher’s mouth. Then he cleared his throat. “I’ll walk you out.”
    In his admittedly limited experience, Christopher had never
been wrong about a guy wanting him, but this time he had to be. Unless Jesse
Birch was in the closet, or one of those men who cheated on his wife, or the
kind of man who had never really let himself admit that he was gay. Somehow
Jesse didn’t strike Christopher as any of those things. He seemed far too
comfortable in his own skin, and the way he met Christopher’s eyes was free of
shame or guilt.
    As Christopher stood to follow Jesse from the room, he
peeked at the picture again. Maybe those aren’t his kids
and his wife. Maybe they’re his niece and nephew, and maybe that’s his sister,
or sister-in-law?
    “I’ll see you Wednesday, unless Lash gets too drunk to
perform,” Jesse said as they walked into the showroom again. He took the keys
from Amanda, who held them out with a warm smile.
    Christopher followed to the front door, his eyes straying
down to Jesse’s ass, outlined nicely in his jeans.
    “Okay, well…” Christopher wanted to linger and get away at
the same time.
    Sometimes he wished people wore buttons declaring
themselves: straight and available, gay and up for grabs,
bi and taken. But maybe even that would be too complicated. After all,
there was also the possibility of trans and straight ,
or trans and gay , and trans and
bi , and what about asexual ? It was mind
boggling that people came in all combinations of sex and gender, almost none of
them knowable at first glance, and yet the world in general made it so hard to
discover what combination any particular individual might be.
    “See you Wednesday,” Jesse said again, opening the door.
    A rush of fall air washed over Christopher’s face, imbuing
him with new beginnings, like the start of a school year, or the beginning of
football season. He didn’t budge—just let the crisp autumn light shine on him
and Jesse, haloing Jesse’s hair and bringing out the gold flecks in his dark
eyes.
    “Wednesday,” Christopher finally parroted. “Thanks for your
time.”
    “No problem.” Jesse’s smile was warm and amused.
    “Well then. Bye.”
    “Bye,” Jesse said, still holding the door. The light seemed
to fold around him, highlighting dust motes in the air, and Christopher’s heart
clenched hard. He wanted to touch him, or touch the light, or both at once. He
wanted to make the moment stretch.
    “Bye, Amanda,” Christopher called over his shoulder.
    “Mr. Ryder,” she answered.
    It was time to go, but his feet weren’t moving, and the
light wasn’t changing, and Jesse wasn’t any less beautiful to look at than he
had been seconds earlier.
    “Do you want to, uh, maybe get some coffee?” The words hung
like the glowing dust motes and Christopher felt himself go scarlet as a
prickle of sweat broke over his body.
    “Now?” Jesse asked.
    “Sure. I’ve got all day.” It was his day off. He’d planned
to drive down to Knoxville to visit Gran and take her out to enjoy the
beautiful weather, but he could cancel for a date with Jesse. “Or…maybe later?
Tonight. Whenever.”
    “I’d like to, but I can’t.” Jesse’s eyes shaded slightly,
and he stepped out of the ring of light. “Ask again, though. On another day.”
    Christopher’s cheeks burned but he smiled and shrugged. “Sure.
Of course. Bye.”
    Disappointment was almost as transporting as his dashed
hope. When he stopped feeling as if he was half out of his body, Christopher
found that he’d gone the wrong direction down the parkway. He backtracked and
found a street that would lead him up to his home without passing Jesse’s
studio again.

    “He was cute,” Amanda said, following Jesse back to his
office.
    Jesse said nothing, choosing to ignore her innuendo-laden
tone. The truth was Christopher’s green eyes and milky skin were