Page 48 of Blitz
“Wait.” My heart was skipping. “You said it twice.”
“Yeah, I did.” He stared at me with a trace of fear in his gaze. “I’m not good at this. I don’t know what a normal relationship is, so when I fuck things up, be patient.”
“Trick, baby, I am sure you’ll be fine. It’s me being all needy and clingy that will fuck things up.”
“No, it’ll be me.”
“Nope me. Big dumb football player will hose things up.”
Trick opened his mouth to counter when Winnie yipped at us in a most aggravated way. We both fell silent as the dog sniffed haughtily, stood up, walked in a circle four times, and then lay down with a resigned sigh.
“I think that was doggy for stop arguing and just kiss each other,” I whispered, then did just that. I kissed the ever-loving daylights out of the man that I loved, who loved me back.
Guess sometimes you need a third party to tell you to stop angsting and cuddle. Even if that third party was a cocker spaniel.
Rittenhouse Square isone of the five original squares laid out by the city planner William Penn back in the late seventeenth century. It’s the heart of Center City Philadelphia. Close by you can find fine dining, luxury retail shops, and some of the city’s most exclusive apartments. This tree-filled park is named after David Rittenhouse, an astronomer and clockmaker. Mr. Rittenhouse was the first director of the US Mint and a public official, as well as a member of the American Philosophical Society. As you enjoy the park, you can take note of some of the famous statues such as Lion Crushing a Serpent by Antoine-Louis Brye, which sits in the central plaza.
As I stood staring at said sculpture, Trick yanked my ear bud from my ear. I glanced over to see his cheeks were red as apples and his nose was running. He was adorable. I really wanted to kiss him, but I didn’t dare.
“This is all really fascinating,” he said as he wiped at his nose with a hankie. I turned off the walking tour narrative I’d rented for us to enjoy.
“You think so?” I asked as joggers moved around us—breath steaming, scarves tight around their necks.
“No, to be honest, if I wasn’t shaking so damn hard, I would have fallen asleep by that goat statue.”
“Ah.” Okay, so this was a bust. Maybe in the summer when the trees and flowers were all out and being glorious. “Yeah, got it. We’re a little early, but we can head to the restaurant.”
I was pretty hungry. Making love to your man all night will do that to a guy.
“Cool.” He hunkered down into his coat, shoulders up around his ears. I had forgotten he was a Southern boy. Even though he spent a lot of time on the ice, he was exerting himself while skating, so he was rarely cold.
I nearly grabbed his hand but fisted mine instead. Nope.No touchy-feely boyfriend stuff, Thomas.Not that we had used the BF term, but after sharing our feelings last night, I felt it was safe to call him that in my head. So, instead of holding hands, I shouldered him through the park and into Pestoni Brothers. The waiting area was packed, and as we were early, our table wasn’t ready, so we moseyed along on the heels of a beautiful young man dressed in the Pestoni black slacks, green shirt, and black vest to the bar.
We had gotten our mocktail mimosas when Ty and Paula arrived. They joined us at the bar, and introductions were made. Paula was wearing a gray sweater dress and looked incredible. She and Trick hit it right off. She was a whiz at getting people to open up, a trait that would serve her well in a law career. They were jabbering about a new movie they’d both seen. Something scary. I didn’t do horror. I hated jump scares almost as much as I hated athlete’s foot, and I hated that fungusa lot.
The eatery was packed with the upper class of Philadelphia society. The rich and famous all made it a point to nod, wave, or when we were seated, stop by our table, which looked out at the chilly park we had walked through. Ty and I were polite, as always. Trick and Paula had fallen back into discussing another movie that I would never see when the city’s managing director dropped by our table to chat.
Marcus Berry was a tall man with a soft chin, fair skin with old acne scars, and a receding hairline. He’d been appointed by the new mayor last year and loved Puma football.
“Nice to see you again,”,” I said as I shook hands with Marcus.
He waved his wife on to their table as he began to dig into his jacket for something. I hoped it might be a handkerchief, as he had the sweatiest palms of any man with whom I had ever had the misfortune of shaking hands. Ty didn’t need to suffer the sweat. But no, Marcus pulled out his cell phone and showed me a grainy picture as he began to blather on about what a small world it was seeing me and Trick together, yet again. I threw a glance at Trick, who was now engaged in whatever Marcus pattering on about at high speed as his name had been mentioned. “I’m sorry, but I’m not sure exactly?—”
“This picture. It’s all over the internet. Seems some guy who owns a putt-putt golf just sold it to some tabloid.” I grabbed at his phone to bring it closer to my nose. Well shit. There we were, me and Trick, playing fucking golf way back in the summer. It was nothing scandalous. Just two men trying to putt a golf ball past a pirate’s peg leg. “Guess he said he didn’t think anything of it before, but then you came out as gay and he got to thinking. Maybe Tom and that guy were here on a date. And now, here we see you out in public again. It’s just funny isn’t it? Are you two dating? Not that I mind at all! I’m elbow-deep in planning next year’s Pride event. We love our LGBTQ friends!”
I released the cell and chanced a look at Trick. He appeared as if he was one meow shy of having kittens.
“It doesn’t mean a thing, Trick,” I whispered after Ty, sensing something on the wind, escorted the confused managing director to his table. “Seriously, it’s just us playing golf. No long looks or telling touches. Two friends out doing buddy stuff.”
“No, it’s more than that, Tom. He’ll make the connection. He’ll see us out in public twice and know what is going on. Everyone will know.”
I glanced around the packed restaurant. No one was paying us any mind now. Trick was just overreacting.
Then, Ty sat back down. He didnotappear happy. “You two are all over the internet. Golf Guy started it, but then, someone in the park shared a picture of you two looking cozy while checking out theDuck Girlstatue. And then, someone just dropped a shot from here of you and Trick at the bar sipping drinks and whispering to each other.”
“Whispering? We were just talking softly as people do at a fine restaurant!” I growled, throwing a dark glare at my fellow diners. Who the hell here had jumped on that stupid bandwagon so quickly? “We’re just two friends having brunch with two more friends. Since when is it something salacious for two friends to do things together?”
“When one is famous and comes out,” Trick said as his cell phone started to buzz steadily. He flipped it over on the table. “The fuck?”
