Part 4 (1/2)

”Because now you probably won't call him, and I think you should. I didn't want you to get your hopes up, but it also could be different. I saw the way he kept looking at you at the club. The big guy couldn't take his eyes off you.” Kevin settled back against the cus.h.i.+ons.

”Then why didn't you say anything last night?”

”Because I thought you knew. He kept watching our table. Every time you laughed, he was watching. I thought, him being a bouncer, he thought we might have been up to something, but now I think he was watching you.”

”So what do I do?” Zach asked, pulling out the card again. ”Should I call him or not?”

”In a few days. If you say who you are and he's excited to hear from you, then that's a good sign. But if he can't remember who you are, then forget about him and move on,” Kevin told him seriously. Zach sat and watched Kevin for a few seconds. ”What?”

”If you know so much about getting a date and going out with guys, then why do you spend every weekend with me? You certainly aren't going to get any.” Zach jumped up as Kevin lunged for him. He laughed as he raced toward the bedroom. A throw pillow sailed past his head. Zach scooped it up and lobbed it back at Kevin, hitting him square in the chest. ”So when was the last time you were out on a date?”

”I've got one for Friday night, if you must know,” Kevin told him. Zach stopped and walked back to the sofa, throwing the pillow against the arm. ”I met him while you and the big guy were talking. His name's Louie, and I've seen him around the club a few times. We've talked, and he asked me out last night. Since most guys are there looking to hook up, I'm excited he actually asked me out instead of just to go into the bathrooms or something.”

”Do guys really do that?”

”Yeah. The bathrooms are one of the hookup spots. Those stalls have seen tons of action. But no one goes near them if Bull's around, though. I heard a few weeks ago he dumped cold water on a couple of guys who were trying to get busy.” Kevin laughed. ”Apparently the screams could be heard all the way to the dance floor.”

SOMEHOW Z ZACH managed to wait until Tuesday afternoon on his coffee break before trying to call Bull. His hand shook a little as he dialed the number on the card. He'd spent the past two days deciding between making the call and throwing the card away because he figured he was being a complete idiot. In the end, he decided it was only a phone call and it would be dumb not to try. He waited for the call to connect. managed to wait until Tuesday afternoon on his coffee break before trying to call Bull. His hand shook a little as he dialed the number on the card. He'd spent the past two days deciding between making the call and throwing the card away because he figured he was being a complete idiot. In the end, he decided it was only a phone call and it would be dumb not to try. He waited for the call to connect.

”h.e.l.lo,” Bull said.

”Umm,” Zach began. ”This is....” A crash sounded in the background and Bull swore under his breath.

”Can you hold on a minute?” Bull asked, and then a thud sounded as the phone was set down. Zach waited and heard a few more crashes, smiling when he realized they were pots and pans as opposed to something worse. ”Dang cupboard shelf decided to go.”

”Umm, this is Zach,” he said once he thought Bull was listening.

”Zach.” The excitement in Bull's voice was unmistakable. ”I was hoping you'd call.”

He swallowed. ”I wasn't sure you really wanted me to. Since you gave me the card I hoped you were sincere, but I wasn't sure because after the whole.... Sorry, I'm rambling,” he said, and then he paused to take a breath. ”I tend to do that when I get nervous.”

”Just so you know, I never give anyone a card with my personal number on it that I don't want to call.” He heard Bull sigh. ”And I was hoping you'd call.”

”You had said we could get together for lunch. I have to work during the week and only get half an hour....”

”For me, lunch is at your dinnertime, so I'd like to take you out to dinner,” Bull said, and Zach's stomach did a little flip-flop.

”Is this, like, a date?” Zach asked tentatively. What Kevin had told him about Bull had been running through his mind for days, and he'd finally come to the conclusion that if Bull was only interested in a quickie, then he'd say no thank you and move on. Zach knew he was young, but he wanted to find love-to be in love. Yeah, he wanted to have s.e.x, but he didn't think he wanted to just have s.e.x. His thoughts got all messed up, especially at night when he jerked off thinking about Bull.

”No, it's not like like a date,” Bull said. a date,” Bull said.

”Oh...,” Zach muttered.

”It is is a date,” Bull clarified, and Zach laughed. ”I want to take you on a dinner date. You'll have to bear with me because it's been a long time since I went out on a real date. Mostly lately....” Bull paused briefly, and Zach waited. ”I haven't met anyone I wanted to date in a while.” a date,” Bull clarified, and Zach laughed. ”I want to take you on a dinner date. You'll have to bear with me because it's been a long time since I went out on a real date. Mostly lately....” Bull paused briefly, and Zach waited. ”I haven't met anyone I wanted to date in a while.”

”Why not?”

Bull didn't answer right away, and Zach wondered if he'd crossed some kind of line. ”How about I tell you that when I see you?” Bull was hedging; Zach could feel it.

”You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to,” Zach said. Lord knew he had plenty of stuff he didn't like to talk about.

”Okay. Are you free Thursday night? About six o'clock? I could pick you up if you give me your address.”

Zach smiled. ”Thursday would be nice.” He gave Bull his address along with his phone number. ”Do you have to work tonight?”

”No,” Bull answered. ”I usually have Monday and Tuesday nights off. I've decided to take Thursday this week so I can have the evening with you, but that's unusual. Friday and Sat.u.r.day nights are impossible. Unless there's an emergency, I always work those nights.”

”I can understand that,” Zach said. He glanced at the clock and realized he needed to get back to work. ”I have to go or I'll be in trouble, but I'm glad I called, and I'll see you Thursday at six.” They said good-bye, and then Zach hung up, left the breakroom, and walked back to his desk.

”Did you call him?” Kevin whispered as he poked his head around the cubicle part.i.tion.

”Yeah,” Zach whispered and pumped his hand in the air before breaking into a grin. ”Thursday for dinner,” he added before returning to work in case Brantley caught him. He tried to keep his excitement in check, but it was most definitely difficult, and he wondered how he would make it through the next two days.

HE DID DID, somehow. Thursday afternoon, Zach got out of work on time and rushed home. Almost as soon as he stepped into his apartment, his phone rang. Of course it was Kevin. ”He's picking me up at six,” Zach said before Kevin could ask. ”What I don't understand is why my date is so important to you.” somehow. Thursday afternoon, Zach got out of work on time and rushed home. Almost as soon as he stepped into his apartment, his phone rang. Of course it was Kevin. ”He's picking me up at six,” Zach said before Kevin could ask. ”What I don't understand is why my date is so important to you.”

”You're my friend, and I want you to be happy. No one I know deserves to be happy more than you.” There was something unusual in Kevin's tone.

”What is it you aren't saying?” Zach asked as he pulled open his closet door and started looking for something nice to wear, thumbing through the hangers. He was by no means a clotheshorse.

”Nothing at all. I just want to make sure you have a good time.” Kevin went quiet for a while, then said, ”I guess I'm a little worried. He's so big, and his reputation.... What if he hurts you or something?”

”He's taking me to dinner at a restaurant.” Zach's mind drifted back to the night Bull had rescued him-twice-at the club. ”I think everyone has him wrong or at least might might have him wrong. The few times Bull has touched me, he's been nothing but gentle and caring.” have him wrong. The few times Bull has touched me, he's been nothing but gentle and caring.”

”So you're saying he's a p.u.s.s.ycat on the inside,” Kevin remarked skeptically.

”I don't know if I'd say that. But I find him attractive and interesting and I'm comfortable around him. Or as comfortable as anyone can be when they're talking to a guy the size of a brick outhouse.” Zach chuckled.

”What if he is the way everyone else says?” Kevin asked.

”Then I'll call you to come get me,” Zach told him. ”I promise on a stack of Bibles.” Somewhere deep inside he knew it wouldn't come to that. He had little idea why other than the way Bull had treated him. Yes, the guy was intimidating as all h.e.l.l, there was no doubt about it, but there was something else too. Zach paused and sat on the edge of the bed. ”You're going to think I'm really stupid, but when we were at lunch the other day, Bull's mother called, and after he hung up, I saw... something in his expression.”

”O-kay,” Kevin drawled skeptically.

Zach chose to ignore it. ”The thing is, it was an expression I've seen more than once when I've looked at myself in the mirror.” Kevin scoffed softly. ”I know, and maybe I'm seeing things, but maybe he's been through the same kind of h.e.l.l I've been through.” Zach checked his watch and jumped up. ”I gotta go, but I'll have my phone with me and I promise to call if he so much as hints that he's after my virtue.” He knew Kevin was rolling his eyes as they disconnected. Zach hurried back to his closet and hunted down a pair of dress slacks. They were a few years old, but thankfully they still fit. He found a s.h.i.+rt to go with them and changed clothes in a hurry. Then he rushed into the bathroom and brushed his teeth, wanting to have clean breath. He also splashed on a little cologne. When he was done, he checked his reflection in the mirror and left the bedroom as a knock sounded on his door.

He hurried to the door and pulled it open. ”You're a little early, but I'm almost ready.” Zach stared at the man on the other side of his door. ”What are you doing here?” He slipped his hand in his pocket, clutching his phone in case he needed to call for help.

”Is that any way to speak to family?” his Uncle Hiram said as he stepped into the apartment.

”I'm sorry, but all of you turned your back on me some time ago,” Zach said. Why is he here and what does he want? Why is he here and what does he want? ”So I'll ask again: What are you doing here?” ”So I'll ask again: What are you doing here?”

”I was in town and got your address from the Internet. I thought I'd stop in and see how you were doing.” His uncle looked around the room, and Zach saw it the way he probably was seeing it-the old, mismatched furniture, bookshelves cobbled together from bricks and planks of wood, the secondhand rug that covered the scuffed floor. ”Obviously not very well.” He turned to Zach. ”You know, if you gave up this deviant lifestyle, you could return to the family.”

”Uncle Hiram, I am who I am and I like the life I've built for myself,” Zach said nervously. His uncle was the head of the family, and the values Zach had been raised with died hard. His parents had deferred to Uncle Hiram for important decisions, and that training still existed inside him. ”I'm not interested in returning, so you don't have to worry about me embarra.s.sing you or the family. I have a life here and I take care of myself. I won't be calling to ask for anything, and I expect the same courtesy from you.”

”That is no way to speak to your elders and betters,” his uncle said forcefully and stepped forward. Zach's instinct was to back down, but he suppressed it and stood firm.