Page 17 of Out of the Storm

For the next ten minutes, the interview progressed like that, with Gary coaxing pitiful one- or two-word answers from Jeff. There were occasional brief segments where Jeff said something a little more thoughtful, but by the end of the interview, Gary wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to air it.

Gosh, he hated to admit it, but he suspected the interview probably wouldn’t be interesting to his listeners. Every time he’d tried to pull a more colorful answer out of Jeff, Jeff had clammed up even more. It was like the hobby was... like it was private for him. Geez. Tomorrow, Mel would probably really razz him over the whole fiasco. Had he actually been fretting for the whole week overthis?

Not that he hadn’t been enjoying hanging out with Jeff. He was nice to look at. And nice to listen to, too. He even smelled kind of nice—musky and manly and maybe a little like vanilla or some kind of scrumptious treat. But, yeah, this interview? Probably not the best material for his show. He couldn’t believe he’d spent hours worrying that he’d fall in love with Jeff over the course of their chat, only to have Jeff barely talk.

With the lackluster recording session behind them, Gary led Jeff into the kitchen so that they could have the potato salad and cookies. Seeing the spread through less-nervous eyes, Gary had to fight the urge to smack his forehead with the palm of his hand. It was probably the strangest midday snack on the planet, especially in the wintertime. Potato salad inFebruary? Nice choice, Gare.

They both took seats at the table, and after a moment of a sort of awkward silence, Gary started on one of the cookies. While he was munching, Jeff eyed the potato salad with what looked to be suspicion.

“So, there’s no mayo?” Jeff asked.

“None.”

Still wearing a skeptical look, Jeff took a bite. After a few seconds of chewing, he nodded and said, “Not bad.” He stabbed a few more pieces of potato with his fork. “I kind of like it.”

Gary’s face lit up. “I knew you would!” He picked up the plate of cookies and held it out to offer Jeff one. If Jeff liked the potato salad, surely he’d enjoy the cookies too. “Chocolate chip?”

“Uh, maybe later.”

Oh, right, Jeff was eatingpotato salad. Why on earth would he want to mix the flavors of vinegar and chocolate? Gary’s cheeks warmed, and he let out a nervous chuckle.

“Afraid it won’t mesh well with the potato salad, huh?” he remarked.

Desperate to push past his embarrassment, Gary took a cookie from the plate and proceeded to repurpose it as a spoon, scooping up a hunk of potato salad. What better way to shift the mood than by being wacky? God, he’d probably regret this. Bracing himself for a possible retch, Gary shoved the mess into his mouth.

He chewed once. Surprisingly, the flavor really wasn’t all that unpleasant. He gave a small nod to Jeff, who only stared with wide eyes at the rest of the potato salad-topped cookie in Gary’s hand.

“Uh, what the hell was that?” Jeff asked.

“Innovation, I think.” Gary swallowed and tried the mixture a second time. “Oh yeah, hits the spot. Kinda. Hits many spots at once, really.”

Jeff let out a little snort-laugh that was really way too adorable. “Does it hit any of themwell?”

After shoving the rest into this mouth, Gary held up one of his hands and rocked it back and forth while chewing. Somehow, the stupid stunt made Jeff smile even more.

Gary’s stomach flip-flopped excitedly from the sight. Ho-ly heck, what a smile that was. For the next couple of seconds, Gary couldn’t stop himself from staring. And Jeff didn’t stop smiling either. He only cocked one of his eyebrows, probably wondering why Gary suddenly looked a little thunderstruck.

Damn, the way Jeff’s eyes were crinkling at the corners was nothing short of magical. Okay, so, Jeff’s interview may have been the most snore-inducing recording ever fit to tape, but his smile had enoughoomphto oust Mona Lisa from her throne. If Gary could have come up with a saying that meant the exact opposite of “you have a face for radio,” he’d have blurted it out right then.

Jeff thumbed over his shoulder. “So, maybe I should...”

“Uh, yeah, sure.” Gary rubbed the back of his neck. “Unless...”

“What?”

“Nothing. Never mind.”

Jeff stood up from the table and moved to the counter, where he placed his empty clown bowl in the sink. Then Gary showed him out. As he watched Jeff shove his feet into his sneakers, Gary couldn’t help but wish he’d had the courage to ask Jeff to stay. Jeff’s company had been distracting enough that it had taken his mind off of that stupid photograph. But maybe it was for the best if Jeff left. It wasn’t like the two of them could reallybeanything. Gary had no business being in a relationship anyway, not with how clingy he knew he would be. And, well, considering the whole heartbreaking AIDS crisis, he should probably be careful about how often he hopped into bed with someone, too (which hadn’t happened in forever, but Gary knew that, if Jeff ever showed interest in him, he’d hop into bed with the man. Or whatever might be even faster than hopping. Leaping, maybe?).

What’s more, Gary shouldn’t even entertain the possibility of friendship either. Despite what Mel had said, Gary had no need for extra friends. His time was limited enough. Besides, the more people he had in his life, the more he had to worry about peopleleavinghis life, especially if he became close with someone, and so, if he and Jeff ever became friends, he’d probably spend their entire friendship obsessing over whether or not Jeff still wanted tostayfriends, which was really no way to live.

Rationalizations like these continued to circle through Gary’s mind as he escorted Jeff to his car. And even though he knew he shouldn’t even be hoping for either friendship or romance, Gary couldn’t really refute how much he’d enjoyed their time together or how incredibly cute Jeff was. Especially while he’d been eating wintertime potato salad out of a silly clown bowl.

Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately—depending on which part of Gary’s brain was still rationalizing—that wasn’tgoing to happen.

They reached the car, and Jeff stepped up and opened the door. “Alright, well, see ya, Gare,” Jeff said, climbing in without any sort of hesitation.

“Take care, Jeff,” Gary replied, and Jeff nodded slightly and shut the door.

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