When Are You?

Chapter 2: Newlyweds

Chapter 2: NewlywedsLeo, six months and a cross-country move later…

“Vincent Allen Bailey.” A wince supplemented Leo’s grumble. Damn, but Vinnie’s elbow was sharp, and he totally deserved the full name treatment for digging that pointy bone into Leo’s ribs. Even so, Leo grinned as he rubbed the sore spot.

Vinnie snorted. “You’re worse than me.”

Leo snickered and didn’t bother to pretend he didn’t know what Vinnie was talking about, let alone deny it. Bailey. It had been Leo’s surname since birth, but Vinnie had only acquired it three weeks earlier. Much to Leo’s mother’s delight.

The name change, that is. Not so much the marriage itself, although she’d come to terms with it. Accepted it, even.

After Vinnie’d made the decision to change his name when he and Leo married, he’d gone around testing the sound of the name. Vinnie Bailey. Vincent Bailey. Vincent Allen Bailey. Leo’d melted a little each time he’d heard it softly singsonged over the past month—and written with a flourish on scraps of paper he’d found scattered throughout their old home where Leo had last been stationed in North Carolina.

“Anyway,” Vinnie hissed as they stepped out of the dentist’s office and inconspicuously hitched his head toward the other side of the street. “There he is again.”

Leo had already noticed the object of Vinnie’s concern. Creeper Guy, the man Vinnie was convinced was following them. Leo had paid close attention to the guy ever since Vinnie’d first commented on him. Leo’s social skills might not have been as polished as Vinnie’s but his protective instincts were deeply ingrained, and Vinnie was the center of his universe. “He’s not stalking us.”

“He’s totally stalking us.” Vinnie’s mouth tightened into a thin line. “Bet he’s a homophobe. Seriously, we need to be careful and watch out for this guy.”

Leo chanced another glimpse in his peripheral vision. The man didn’t pop up in their vicinity any more than others did since they’d relocated to this small town near the coast in southern Oregon. Creeper Guy sometimes reacted a bit disconcertingly around them, but it didn’t seem like they were under surveillance. “He doesn’t give off a bigot vibe.”

“Closet case looking for a threesome vibe?” Vinnie’s shiver added a touch of dramatic flair making his opinion on that matter abundantly obvious in case the tone of his voice hadn’t cleared that up.

“No.” Leo snorted. “I don’t get any kind of sinister feel from him. I think maybe he’s curious about us because we’re new to town, and yeah, maybe because we’re a gay couple. But he’s not following us. He’s awkward and anything-but-inconspicuous, so that makes us more likely to notice him.”

“Weirdo,” Vinnie muttered.

“Exactly.” Besides, Leo might be a teacher now—a product of the Troops to Teachers program—but he’d spent years deployed in the elite military unit, Delta Force. His training had been intense and wide-ranging, to put it mildly, and that was on top of the two black belts he’d earned prior to joining the military. If necessary, he could handle Creeper Guy. “Do you feel threatened by him?”

Vinnie was a professional artist and an amateur chef, and generally a good judge of character. He shrugged. “I guess I get more of a flustered or discomfited vibe from him than a truly threatening one.” He looked pointedly at Leo. “But we should still watch our backs.”

“Yeah, I agree.” Leo absolutely intended to keep the man on his radar. The man’s vibe wasn’t malevolent, but it was…confusing, and a bit unnerving. Leo shivered. His impression was that the guy was fascinated by them and possibly wanted to approach them, but at the same time, was afraid to. So yeah, Creeper Guy was totally staying on Leo’s radar.

Half of Leo’s argument in convincing Vinnie to move to a small town had been the relative safety when compared to a large city. “A nice place to raise a family” was splashed across the header of the town’s website. It was a reasonable balance between easy access to hiking, rock-climbing, and the ocean to interest Leo, and proximity to the cultural events that appealed to Vinnie. So yeah, he didn’t need Creeper Guy justifying a future “I told you so” moment.

“I still think he has a foot fetish,” Vinnie muttered.

Leo hadn’t seen it himself—he’d been distracted, placing their order at the ice cream stand—but he trusted that Vinnie hadn’t exaggerated when he’d described the man’s triple take looking at their feet—or their footwear?—the first time they’d noticed him. Perhaps the first time the man had noticed them?

“Maybe.” But probably not. After all, the rainbow of unique glass beads they’d put on the shoelaces of those pairs of sneakers got noticed by any number of people. Still, Vinnie’d said the guy’s reaction had been extreme.

“I’m hungry,” Vinnie said.

“We’ve gotta wait thirty minutes,” Leo said since they’d just had fluoride treatments with their semi-annual teeth-cleaning.

“I went first. My wait’s up.” Vinnie was terrible at keeping a straight face, so even if Leo hadn’t known Vinnie well enough to know he wouldn’t honestly suggest something that selfish, it was obvious he was teasing.

“Come on.” Leo steered them toward their car. “Let’s go check out that park Miranda was telling us about.” Miranda Schmidt was their new neighbor, and they’d asked her about local jogging paths.

“Or not.” Vinnie c****d his head. “Creeper Guy’s headed for the car park, too.”

“Good.” Leo took Vinnie’s hand. “I want to see if he reacts to our shoes again.”

“You don’t believe me?”

“I totally believe you.” Leo lifted Vinnie’s hand and pressed a kiss to the palm. “I also think it would be useful for you to compare that to how he reacts to us this time.”

“Ugh.” Vinnie affected a shiver. “I’d rather avoid him, but whatever.”

Creeper Guy had his head down, flipping through something on his phone, so he didn’t notice them. Leo timed their pacing to deliberately cross paths at the entrance to the parking lot.

When Creeper Guy finally looked up and saw them, he jumped and emitted a startled squawk. To be fair, that reaction could be normal for any particularly skittish person who’d been surprised. But his breathed, “Whoa,” and the way his eyes widened as he walked around them staring at—no, downright examining—their sunglasses could not be written off as merely garden-variety oddball.

Their BNUS sunglasses were brand new. Leo loved the clarity of the polarized military grade glass lenses. He’d gotten a pair for Vinnie, too. Sure, they were sweet shades, but…

“Dude,” Leo said.

Creeper Guy recoiled as if Leo’d slapped him silly rather than muttered a single innocuous word. Leo’s tone hadn’t even been censorious; it had been more of a quizzical what-the-f**k. “Sorry. Sorry.” Creeper Guy’s eyes bugged, and one hand flew up in a classic pearl-clutch. A couple heaving breaths later, and he visibly pulled himself together. “Um…sweet glasses.”

Riiight…Creeper Guy’d just been overcome by the awesomeness of the sunglasses. Sure. Vinnie’s burning gaze broadcast those same thoughts.

Creeper Guy was already backing away with a bead of sweat dripping down the side of his face, despite the chill in the air, when Leo said, “Thanks.” Then narrowed his eyes. “See you around.”

Leo wasn’t quite sure whether he heard or imagined a mumbled, “Not if I can help it,” as Creeper Guy scurried to his car.