Sutter's Bay Box Set

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jason applauded just as Romeo and Juliet finished their big balcony scene. There were a few parents also in the auditorium applauding along with them. The young boy and girl bowed and waved to the crowd.

“All right, that’s a wrap for the night. Next rehearsal is after school Friday night. See everyone in class tomorrow,” Danny told the students.

Jason admired him from the auditorium seats. Danny was dressed in black jeans and a black button-down shirt. To Jason he looked scrumptious. He thought back to their kisses last night on the back porch and the blow job he’d given Danny at the beach. He hoped Danny would want more.

He stayed in his seat while the kids and their parents shuffled out. Danny stopped to talk to several of the parents, so Jason just waited. When the auditorium emptied out save for him and Danny, he rose and walked out of the aisle.

“That was pretty cool.”

Danny smiled. “Yeah? I was sure you were bored out of your mind. At least judging by your expression.”

“No, definitely not. It reminded me of the days when we were in drama.” He grinned. “Damn, you were such a ham.”

Danny laughed and the warm, rich sound flowed through Jason, thawing him just a little.

“I had to be to make up for what a terrible actor I was.”

“You were good and you know it,” Jason said. “I expected you to go into acting, really.”

Danny led him to the doors of the auditorium. “I did some theater work when I was in San Francisco. In fact, that’s where I met my ex-boyfriend, Harris. He directed me in one of the productions I did. But I decided I’d rather teach.” He pushed the doors open and pulled a set of keys out of the front pocket of his jeans. “Listen, if you think you can leave your mom for a while longer, would you want to come over for coffee or tea? My house is within walking distance of the school.”

“I’d really like to. Our neighbor Mrs. Henry was visiting with her. Give me a second, I’ll call her.” Jason pulled out his cell phone and took a few steps away from Danny so he could talk to his mom with just a little privacy. He didn’t mind Danny hearing his conversation all that much, but if his mom begged him to come home and stay with her he wouldn’t be able to keep the disappointment from his voice. And that probably made him horrible.

While his home phone rang, he watched Danny lock up and casually walk a few paces even farther away. He exhaled.

“Hello.”

“Hi, Ma, it’s me.” It occurred rather suddenly to Jason that he was taking a step back to his childhood days where he called his parents for permission to stay out late. How messed up was that?

“Are you having a good time?”

“Yes. Are you all right for a bit longer or do you need me to come straight home?” He held his breath, just waiting for her to tell him she wanted him to come home. He would, too. He was all she had and he knew it. It killed him inside. Even his sister, Lucy, had turned her back on their family, refusing to come home to care for their dying mother. She had her own life, she explained to Jason, and wasn’t going to look back and pretend they were the Nelsons from Ozzie and Harriet.

“It’s all right, honey. Stay out as long as you want. I’m feeling good tonight. Mrs. Henry and I are watching some television. I think I’ll go to bed in an hour or so.”

And just like that his heart beat so hard he thought it might rip right through his chest. He told himself to remain calm. Just because Danny invited him over didn’t mean they were going to hit the sheets. But he couldn’t stop an image of a naked Danny writhing under him from flashing through his mind, especially after the promises from the night before.

“Okay, thanks, Ma. I’ll look in on you when I get home. Love you.”

“I love you, too, Jason. Bye.”

“Bye.” He hit end call and returned the cell phone to the pocket of his leather jacket.

“Everything good to go?” Danny’s plump kissable lips curved into a small smile. He wanted to taste those lips again. Kiss Danny so thoroughly he wouldn’t remember the kisses of any other man.

“Yeah. Let’s go.” He limped over to Danny.

Danny frowned. “Hey, you know, you can drive us to my house if you want. It’s only half a block, but maybe you don’t want to leave your car at the school.”

Jason patted Danny’s shoulder. “That’s a nice way to ask if my leg can take the walk, huh?”

Danny blushed. “Well, I—”

“It’s fine. But I think maybe I will drive us. If Ma needs to call me to come home or something, I don’t want to have to hobble down here for the car.”

“I’m sorry. I’m just used to walking most places. I absolutely hated driving in San Francisco. It was a nightmare.”

Jason nodded. “Driving in Los Angeles was no fun either. Come on, my car’s out this way.”

A short time later, Jason found himself in Danny’s sterile looking white kitchen. Danny filled water in the tea kettle and set it on the stove.

“When I first came back to Sutter’s Bay I wondered if my old house would be for sale,” Danny said. He shrugged. “It wasn’t. I was disappointed at first, but then I remembered something.”

Jason leaned against the counter and folded his arms across his chest. “What was that?”

“How the plumbing sucked. My granddad always had to fix it. That house was a piece of shit.” Danny laughed. “So, I went for one of these new ones.”

“It’s really nice. I like it. I loved the way you painted the living room red. Very cool.”

Danny smiled. “Yeah? I like it, too. I’ll show you the rest of the house when the tea is ready.”

Jason bit his tongue to keep from saying he really wanted to see the bedroom. He did, but thought it was pretty presumptuous. Just because they’d kissed and Danny had let Jason give him a blow job last night didn’t mean he’d let him f**k him. He hoped so, of course.

The tea kettle whistled and Danny poured boiling water over two Chai tea bags. Jason inhaled the spicy aroma.

“Milk and sugar?”

“Of course.”

Danny brought the tea mugs into the dining room and sat down. Jason followed. They sipped the tea in silence for a moment or two but he could tell the other man had something on his mind.

“What is it?” he prompted. He tasted ginger, cloves, and a touch of cinnamon

Danny blew out a breath and tugged his bottom lip with his teeth. “I don’t know. I guess I wondered how you ended up being a cop. I mean, I’d heard you joined the LAPD, but I couldn’t help being a bit surprised. I thought you wanted to be an artist.”

He snorted. “Yeah, painting didn’t pay the bills. Dreams change, Danny, that’s all.”

“Do you ever pick up your brushes?”

Jason looked away from the too perceptive gaze of the other man. “Not in a long time. I got rid of the canvas, paints, and brushes. Why keep them when I wasn’t painting?”

Danny sighed and blew on his tea before taking a sip. “Tell me about the shooting.”

The deep pit in his gut widened. His heart practically leapt into his throat. “I don’t like to talk about that.”

Danny covered his hand with his. “I’m sure. But I want you to do it anyway.”

“Why?” He swallowed, unable to meet Danny’s dark eyes.

“I think you need to.”

He did look at Danny then, to roll his eyes. “What are you a psychiatrist now?”

“Don’t joke your way out of this, Jason. You’re hurting. I know you.”

“You don’t know me, Danny. You knew the boy I used to be. You have no f*****g clue what I’m like now.”

The other man grimaced and took several more sips of his tea. Jason didn’t want to be an asshole, but he hoped his friend would just drop it, but then he noticed the determined glint in Danny’s green eyes.

“You can’t piss me off or hurt me enough to get me to stop asking,” Danny said softly. “When we were growing up, who was the most stubborn person you knew?”

“You.”

“I haven’t changed.”

“Just leave it alone.”

“I don’t want to. I won’t. So tell me.”

Jason clenched his eyes shut, like it could block out the memories, block out Danny’s voice. “It was terrible.”

“I’m sure it was.”

“It…it was a bank robbery. We didn’t usually handle that kind of thing, you know. We were homicide detectives not robbery detail or uniformed police. We were at the bank because Hal wanted to make a deposit.”

Jason remembered it was just after Thanksgiving and Hal wanted to deposit a check he’d gotten from his mother to pay for half of a Christmas present they were going in together on for one of Hal’s little girls.

Danny’s thumb stroked the palm of his hand and for some reason, Jason found it comforting.

“One of the robbers had been busted years before and Hal was the arresting officer. He recognized Hal and flipped out. He had a machine gun and he just opened fire.” Jason chest constricted so tight he could barely breathe. “I don’t really remember what happened after that. I went down and so did Hal. I woke up in the hospital. The doc told me I had been hit it the gut and the leg. The stomach wound ended up not being as bad as the wounds in the leg.”

“And Hal?” Danny asked when he’d clammed up.

“He got hit multiple times in the torso. They took him into surgery, but he didn’t make it.” Jason’s eyes burned with the tears he couldn’t wish away. “And I don’t know why.”

“Why?” Danny frowned.

“Why I lived and Hal died. I’m just a nothing guy nobody cares about. Hal was a great guy. He had a wife and two beautiful little girls. He went to church, he volunteered at shelters, coached softball. He’d been decorated multiple times by the force. He was a f*****g hero and he died.”

He choked on his own sob even as Danny’s arms came around him, pulling him close.

“God, why did you make me think about that?” He buried his face in Danny’s chest.

“Jas, shh, it’s all right.” Danny’s hold tightened.

Jason didn’t know why he was crying again over Hal. He’d cried his tears for the loss of his friend. Or thought he had anyway. The last thing he wanted was to turn into some sort of crybaby.

After a moment, his tears slowed and he pushed away, gently but firmly from Danny’s embrace.

“Better?”

“I don’t know.” And Jason realized he didn’t know.

“I’m sure Hal was a terrific man who did not deserve to die. But that doesn’t mean you did. It wasn’t an either-or situation. It was a tragedy and I’m sorry Hal was killed. Really. I can’t help being glad you weren’t killed. People do care about you. I do, your mom does, and I know Kent did. Hal did, too, didn’t he?”

He nodded.

“Okay then.” Danny smiled and reached for his hand again and tugged him up from the chair. “Want to continue to see my house?’

Jason allowed himself to be led through the house. Danny showed him the backyard, by flicking on the porch light, a bathroom, and a couple of spare bedrooms.

He loved the feel of Danny’s warm hand wrapped around his. It felt so natural. Back when they were lovers they were in the closet so they could never openly show affection. Not even something as simple as holding hands. He supposed that was why it felt so special to him now.

“I’ve saved the best for last.” Danny winked.

That sexy, saucy wink sent a jolt of pure lust from his brain straight to his c**k. The truth was, he hadn’t had s*x since before the shooting. Jason had never been into recreational s*x. He’d broken up with his last boyfriend just after the shooting because Rick admitted to him he was too selfish to deal with an injured lover.

Maybe lack of action was the reason he wanted to push Danny onto the big king-sized sleigh bed in his bedroom, yank down his jeans and f**k him until he couldn’t stand. Yeah right.

“So, what do you think?” Danny spun around, holding his arms out wide.

What he thought was that he couldn’t care less about the room. It was a blank canvas. All he saw, all he wanted to see, was Danny.

Jason launched himself at the man, knocking him onto the bed. He framed Danny’s face with his hands and without letting him catch his breath, Jason crushed his lips over Danny’s.