Chapter 2

I stopped the car and turned the flashers on again. We ran up the side of the overpass and checked the space under the bridge on both sides of the road. Nothing. We got back in the car and drove further.

“Anywhere else?” I asked, checking the sides of the road as far as I could see in the dark and the rain.

“No,” came the dull reply.

“Okay.” I turned the car around.

As we passed the light at the exit ramp he looked back, then turned to me and said with some apprehension, “Where are you taking me?”

I looked straight ahead and said, “Home.”

* * * *

We drove the short distance to my house in silence. I was too busy trying not to slide off the road to make conversation, for one thing. For another, I was trying to figure out why, when he asked where I was taking him, I’d responded, “Home.” I hadn’t referred to it as home for a long time. There definitely was something going on within me. What it was or where it would go I wasn’t sure, but some sort of healing process seemed to have begun.

My passenger sat with his head bowed, his hands on the seat on either side of him. Pulling onto my street, I hoped I could make it all the way up the small hill to the house. I shifted the car into low gear and we made slow but steady progress. As I reached the top of the hill, I hit the brakes too hard and we skidded past the driveway. I had to back up to give it another try.

As I stopped the car at the end of the drive, I said, “Here we are, mi casa es su casa.” My house is your house. Shit, now why did I say that?

We got out of the car and promptly started to slide down the drive. We had to hold each other up as we walked along the path to the door. It felt good, my right arm around his waist, my left holding onto his bicep.

When we reached the stoop, I said, “I hope you like dogs, ‘cause there are two that’ll be overjoyed to see us and will express it by trying to lick us to death. So much for trained watchdogs!”

The last sentence was followed by an attempt on my part to laugh, but it fell flat; he didn’t even act as if he’d heard me.

I opened the door and, as predicted, we were accosted by Jake and Annie. Jake was a good-sized yellow lab. Annie, though a fair-sized pup, was a diminutive example of a German shepherd. They immediately lost interest in me and enthusiastically greeted the newcomer. When he squatted down, the two writhing, ecstatically happy animals bowled him over on his back and covered him with kisses.

“Whoa there, guys! Jake, Annie!” I called, feeling some panic for his safety. But he was issuing the first positive noises I’d heard that night—he was laughing. He righted himself, buried his face in their warm, welcoming fur and hugged them close.

“Well, thanks a lot, you two,” I said, feigning hurt. “That’s the thanks I get for feeding your sorry faces.”

They completely ignored me and kept letting our guest know he was more than welcome here. I had to smile, feeling a warm glow at the sight before me.

“I get along well with dogs,” he said simply.

“I see that.” I watched a moment longer before I said, “I hate to break this up, but they’ve been inside since I left for school at seven this morning and they’re probably about to burst.” Addressing the dogs, I said, “Let’s go out.”

They bounded through the dining room to the sliding door that led out to the deck. I stood and waited while they did their thing out there. They were back in an instant, as anxious as anyone to get out of the freezing rain and wind.

I turned to find my guest still standing in the entry hall.

“Come on in,” I said with open arms.

He walked slowly into the lighted kitchen.

Shit,I thought, he’s a mess and now he’s really shivering. “Take off that wet coat,” I commanded.

He followed my orders. The hood and coat came away and I got my first real look at my fantasy of two months. He was dressed in a tee-shirt and faded jeans with holes in both knees. He wore sneakers but no socks.

Hell, no wonder he’s cold, I thought. All these articles of clothing were dirty and wet. Once more my heart went out to the poor guy. How did this happen to someone? His hair was matted and came down to his shirt collar. It was hard to tell for sure what color it was, but I guessed dirty blonde or reddish. He had a scraggly beard that might have been a Van Dyke once. His hands and face were dirty, the latter streaked with tear tracks and marks of doggy kisses. The thing that struck me the most were his startlingly piercing, beautiful blue eyes. Staring into them, I felt my dick react and my heartbeat increase. A wave of emotion passed over me that stirred something long dormant inside. It felt like love or at least affection. What was going on here? First off, I don’t believe in love at first sight. Lust at first sight for sure, but love? No way. Second, men don’t love men. Yeah, I know, there’s all this talk of same sex marriage and happily-ever-after, but I couldn’t buy into it. Love was between a man and a woman. Men could have sex with other men, even like them—but love them?

He broke our eye contact and looked down, no doubt ashamed of his condition.

“We have to get you warmed up.” I headed him to the first floor bath, steering him by his shoulders. It was heaven to touch him. I’d had a chance now to look at both sides of my new charge and could tell that in the not too distant past, this was a body that had been well taken care of. I dropped off his coat in the laundry room, deciding that the garbage dumpster would be its next stop. Then I took him into the small bathroom with its enclosed shower stall.

“You go ahead and get in the shower. Just leave your clothes on the floor. I’ll get you something dry and warm to wear.”

Again he regarded me with that I’m sorry to put you outlook.

On my way upstairs, I noticed Jake and Annie sitting next to their bowls, looking expectant and wagging their tails furiously.

“Okay, you beggars,” I quipped, and immediately was glad our new friend wasn’t there to be further embarrassed by my lack of tact.

When I filled their bowls, they dove in as if they hadn’t eaten all day. Well, that was true. I smiled at my own befuddled thinking. Those blue eyes were definitely having an effect on me.