Chapter 10-Confessions of a Bisexual
Rob and Thomas left the water park later in the afternoon, both tired from their exciting day. The accountant grimaced at having to sit down on the seat of his car with wet shorts on. But he hadn’t thought of bringing a change of dry clothing, unfortunately. The rocker sprawled on the passenger seat next to him, yawning and running a hand over his damp hair. “Wow, that was fun,” he said. “So, did you enjoy yourself, Thomas? Come on; admit you had a good time.”
Thomas started the car, but he also said aloud: “I admit it. I never thought I would, but I did enjoy myself. Thank you for bringing me here, Rob.”
“You’re welcome. It was my pleasure,” Rob replied, meaning it. It had especially been his pleasure to watch Thomas walk around all day in wet clothing that clung to him…
The accountant concentrated on driving for awhile, while Rob closed his eyes and appeared to be dozing in the passenger seat. Actually, he was thinking about the plan of action that Patrick had given him. It had been his sneaky brother-in-law’s suggestion to take Thomas to the water park, and it had been his equally sneaky sister who’d advised him on just when and how to make his move on the accountant. “You can’t just glomp on someone like Thomas,” she’d told him sternly at the ‘tactical meeting’ that he’d gone to over at her and Patrick’s house on Tuesday. “That might work normally, but not with a person like him. He’s shy and reserved, and you’d scare the crap out of him if you just jumped on him like you normally do. So show some restraint this time, Rob. Go slow and work up to it. The first thing you need to do after he’s relaxed a bit…” she’d added, “Is to subtly mention the fact that you’re a bisexual. And by subtly, I mean SUBTLY. Don’t just walk up to him and go: Hey, I like guys, too. Wanna make out?”
Patrick had roared with laughter as Rob had shrugged sheepishly at her words. “Hey, it works,” he’d protested.
“Maybe with some people. Hell, maybe with most people. But Thomas isn’t like most people. You have to come at him differently, or you’ll scare him off.”
Rob respected his sister’s brains, so he was willing to take her advice. Now he rolled his head on the seat, and glanced at the driver. Thomas’s profile was grave, his brown eyes staring at the road ahead. God, he was just too cute! Made the rocker want to abandon his game plan and just jump the man. But he knew that would be a bad idea. He sighed, rolling his shoulders as he straightened up. “So, Thomas, I was thinking we should get to know each other a bit better,” he said casually. “If we’re going to be good neighbors – and maybe even friends. Tell me a bit about yourself, and I’ll return the favor.”
Thomas glanced at him in surprise, and then shrugged as he returned his gaze to the road. “I don’t think that there’s much to tell,” he said doubtfully. “I go to work, I come home and work in my garden…I don’t do much that’s exciting.”
“Aww, come on. Where do you work? Do you have any hobbies besides gardening? I’m really curious. Tell me,” the rocker urged, making motions with his hands.
“I work as an accountant for a sizable legal firm,” Thomas replied. “I enjoy my work,” he added.
“Now see? That’s something I know about you now that I didn’t before. So what about hobbies? You must do something besides pruning your roses all the time.”
“I like to listen to classical music, as I told you before,” the accountant said. “And I watch television sometimes while I do my paperwork.”
“Okay. Now we’re getting somewhere. What shows do you like?”
“I enjoy the Antiques Roadshow, and of course I really like many of their historical programs as well,” Thomas replied.
Silence. Then: “The Antiques Roadshow? What channel is that on?”
“PBS, of course. That’s the only channel I usually watch.”
An incredulous stare was directed at him. “PBS?! You have got to be kidding me!”
Thomas sighed. “I don’t act as though everything that you do is crazy, Mr. Carleton. I’d like it if you returned the favor.”
The rocker winced at the use of his last name. “Sorry,” he said contritely. “I did ask. So what else do you do?”
“I like to read. And by that, I do not mean the articles in Playboy magazine,” he continued dryly.
Rob gaped at him. “You made a joke!” he exclaimed, making the accountant glance at him.
“Did you think me incapable of doing so?” he asked primly.
Rob grinned. “No, not exactly. You just seem so serious most of the time…it’s nice to see that you have a sense of humor too. Although I suppose I should have known that already, since some of those pranks you pulled on me were pretty funny.”
Thomas looked uncomfortable at being reminded of his behavior toward his neighbor, which amused Rob. He himself thought that the things that Thomas had done to him were hysterical, now that he’d cooled off enough to laugh at them. Clearly Thomas wasn’t the kind of person who could casually play tricks on people. He’d simply been driven to the wall by the destruction of his precious rosebushes. But he’d displayed an amazingly devilish mind; the rocker knew that he wouldn’t have thought of some of those things, especially the limburger cheese. He was looking forward to exploring the inner workings of that mind as soon as possible.
“What about you, Rob?” the accountant asked to change the subject. “Do you do anything besides play music?”
A snort. “Sure. Lots of stuff. I’m a huge fan of the Xbox 360…”
He got a blank look for this, which made him chuckle. “It’s a video game console. I know a grown man shouldn’t waste his time with video games, but what the hell. It passes the time.”
“You could have worse hobbies,” Thomas remarked quietly, taking him by surprise. “At least it’s harmless.”
“True. I also like to party and drink, as you’ve seen…” he went on with a twinkle in his eyes.
“Yes,” Thomas replied with a faint grimace.
“But I’m trying to cut down on that, since it’s not good for my relations with my neighbor.” Rob said with a grin.
“For which I thank you.”
Rob decided to finally make his move. He stretched a bit in his seat and remarked casually, “I suppose another of my hobbies was collecting women. And guys too, of course, on a more limited basis. I’m really picky about the guys I date,” he went on, never letting it show that he was completely aware of Thomas right at the moment.
The accountant’s face went blank as he tried to process what Rob had just said to very casually. “I beg your pardon?” he said at last, still looking baffled.
Rob flicked him a glance. “Huh? What’s the matter?”
“Did you just say…that you date men as well as women?” Thomas’s voice had an odd tone to it.
“Yeah. What is it? Don’t you approve of bisexuality?” the rocker asked.
“Uhh…,” the accountant’s mouth was opening and closing. He looked like a landed fish, albeit a very cute landed fish. Rob concealed a smirk, waiting for it all to sink into that little head.
“I don’t…I just…I’ve never seen you with a man!” Thomas blurted out.
A chuckle. “Told you I was picky. Haven’t dated a guy for months. The ones I meet in the clubs are usually not my type at all. I know this sounds odd, but I’ve always had thing for the nerdy, brainy kind of guy. Dated one in college, in fact. He had a really big…brain.”
Thomas pulled the car over to the curb. Rob looked at him in concern. “You okay, Thomas? You look a little out of it. You want me to drive?”
The accountant was breathing a little fast, his hands spasming on the steering wheel. He couldn’t answer. To discover, in such a sudden way, that Rob actually liked men too…he couldn’t take it in. Of course this didn’t mean anything, right? Rob was just being kind, taking him to the water park and buying him new rosebushes. That didn’t mean that the rocker was attracted to him. Why would he be? But he’d said that he liked intelligent men…Thomas’ head was spinning.
He felt a hand on his arm, and started. His brown eyes were wide and a little wild as he met the rocker’s. Rob was looking at him in concern. The dark eyes searched his face. “Take deep breaths, try to calm down. You’re gonna start hyperventilating in a minute. Cone on, Thomas. Shh, Shhh,” Rob’s hand rubbed at his arm, which made him feel even dizzier. The touch of those long fingers, so hard and warm on his bare skin, made him begin to pant a bit.
He made an incoherent sound. Rob also made a sound, low in the back of his throat. “Fuck it,” he growled, and before Thomas could ask him what he was muttering about (not that he was coherent enough to do so), the rocker’s hand lifted and curled around the back of his neck instead. He gasped, his eyes somehow going even wider, as he was drawn slightly forward. Then Rob’s head bent, and a mouth closed over his for the very first time in his life.
It was a soft kiss, and fairly chaste. No tongue was involved. But it still left Thomas stunned. Reeling in his seat. Unable to comprehend the fact that he was being kissed. And for the very first time! By his awful neighbor! Who had turned out to be not so awful at all. Oh, God, it was amazing. Rob’s mouth was warm, his lips firm but also gentle as they caressed Thomas’s. He found himself giving forth a breathy little moan, a soft sound of pleasure.
That sound did Rob in. He deepened the kiss with a groan against Thomas’s lips, plundering that sweet mouth a little. He still didn’t thrust his tongue into the other man’s mouth, though. He did restrain himself enough not to do that, not wanting to scare Thomas. But it was hard to control himself, when he was tasting the sweetest mouth he’d ever set his lips to. His free hand came to rest at the accountant’s waist, wanting to worm under the damp t-shirt but holding back. No rough groping, no fondling. Not yet.
Rob finally pulled away with a sigh. Damn, if that hadn’t been the best kiss he’d ever had! Thomas’s mouth was kiss-swollen, his brown eyes dazed. It took everything that the rocker had not to push the man back and just take him here and now. In the car, in the open. He shuddered, closing his eyes as he fought himself. “I’m sorry,” he husked. “I shouldn’t have done that. But I really couldn’t help myself.”
Silence. Then Thomas said in a rather husky voice: “Why did you do it?”
The rocker shook his head. “Because damn if you aren’t the sexiest thing, Thomas. Do you know how hard it’s been for me to keep my hands off of you today? Especially when you were wearing those damp clothes. I’d need a will of steel like Superman to stop myself.”
“Oh,” this was a small sound, of wonder and disbelief. “You really…feel that way? About me?”
“Hell, yeah, about you,” Rob responded sharply. “Don’t sell yourself short, okay? You’re smart, and cute, and really sexy. I am totally attracted to you. But I guess I’ll understand if you aren’t attracted to me,” he added. “I’m just you’re crappy neighbor, after all.”
Thomas found himself reaching out to touch the other man’s arm. “I was just…taken by surprise, that’s all,” he said earnestly. “I’m not exactly the kind of person that usually attracts someone like you.”
Rob’s dark eyes turned to meet his. They searched his eyes intently. “A person like me?” he questioned.
Thomas turned red but went on manfully. “Someone like you, who is good-looking and charming and…umm…sexy. I’m just an accountant, a dull sort of person.”
“I don’t think you’re dull at all,” Rob remarked, reaching out to span his waist with long-fingered hands. “A little…quaint, maybe, but not dull. So, now that you know that I actually am attracted to you, where do we go from here? Would you be willing to go out with a guy like me? Maybe?” he looked little-boy hopeful as his thumbs caressed over the damp t-shirt in a way designed to steal Thomas’s breath again.
The accountant felt dumb-struck. Here was a fantasy come to life, and it was almost too much for him to take in or accept. Rob Carleton wanted to date HIM?! Plain, boring, plodding Thomas Merriweather? It didn’t seem conceivable. What was he to do? Say no, and go back to leading his dull life? Or say yes, and see what happened after that? He drew in a shuddering breath as he said the six little words that would change his life intrinsically and forever: “Yes, I’ll go out with you,” he said softly, then had to gasp at his own courage.
Rob felt like whooping in glee. “Great,” he replied, meaning it. “If you don’t mind, I think we should celebrate with another kiss. What do you think?”
Thomas wasn’t thinking very well at all right now. But this sounded like a good idea to him, nonetheless. He took a deep breath. “That sounds fine,” he breathed, and Rob grinned triumphantly just before he claimed the other man’s lips once more.
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Rob and Thomas left the water park later in the afternoon, both tired from their exciting day. The accountant grimaced at having to sit down on the seat of his car with wet shorts on. But he hadn’t thought of bringing a change of dry clothing, unfortunately. The rocker sprawled on the passenger seat next to him, yawning and running a hand over his damp hair. “Wow, that was fun,” he said. “So, did you enjoy yourself, Thomas? Come on; admit you had a good time.”
Thomas started the car, but he also said aloud: “I admit it. I never thought I would, but I did enjoy myself. Thank you for bringing me here, Rob.”
“You’re welcome. It was my pleasure,” Rob replied, meaning it. It had especially been his pleasure to watch Thomas walk around all day in wet clothing that clung to him…
The accountant concentrated on driving for awhile, while Rob closed his eyes and appeared to be dozing in the passenger seat. Actually, he was thinking about the plan of action that Patrick had given him. It had been his sneaky brother-in-law’s suggestion to take Thomas to the water park, and it had been his equally sneaky sister who’d advised him on just when and how to make his move on the accountant. “You can’t just glomp on someone like Thomas,” she’d told him sternly at the ‘tactical meeting’ that he’d gone to over at her and Patrick’s house on Tuesday. “That might work normally, but not with a person like him. He’s shy and reserved, and you’d scare the crap out of him if you just jumped on him like you normally do. So show some restraint this time, Rob. Go slow and work up to it. The first thing you need to do after he’s relaxed a bit…” she’d added, “Is to subtly mention the fact that you’re a bisexual. And by subtly, I mean SUBTLY. Don’t just walk up to him and go: Hey, I like guys, too. Wanna make out?”
Patrick had roared with laughter as Rob had shrugged sheepishly at her words. “Hey, it works,” he’d protested.
“Maybe with some people. Hell, maybe with most people. But Thomas isn’t like most people. You have to come at him differently, or you’ll scare him off.”
Rob respected his sister’s brains, so he was willing to take her advice. Now he rolled his head on the seat, and glanced at the driver. Thomas’s profile was grave, his brown eyes staring at the road ahead. God, he was just too cute! Made the rocker want to abandon his game plan and just jump the man. But he knew that would be a bad idea. He sighed, rolling his shoulders as he straightened up. “So, Thomas, I was thinking we should get to know each other a bit better,” he said casually. “If we’re going to be good neighbors – and maybe even friends. Tell me a bit about yourself, and I’ll return the favor.”
Thomas glanced at him in surprise, and then shrugged as he returned his gaze to the road. “I don’t think that there’s much to tell,” he said doubtfully. “I go to work, I come home and work in my garden…I don’t do much that’s exciting.”
“Aww, come on. Where do you work? Do you have any hobbies besides gardening? I’m really curious. Tell me,” the rocker urged, making motions with his hands.
“I work as an accountant for a sizable legal firm,” Thomas replied. “I enjoy my work,” he added.
“Now see? That’s something I know about you now that I didn’t before. So what about hobbies? You must do something besides pruning your roses all the time.”
“I like to listen to classical music, as I told you before,” the accountant said. “And I watch television sometimes while I do my paperwork.”
“Okay. Now we’re getting somewhere. What shows do you like?”
“I enjoy the Antiques Roadshow, and of course I really like many of their historical programs as well,” Thomas replied.
Silence. Then: “The Antiques Roadshow? What channel is that on?”
“PBS, of course. That’s the only channel I usually watch.”
An incredulous stare was directed at him. “PBS?! You have got to be kidding me!”
Thomas sighed. “I don’t act as though everything that you do is crazy, Mr. Carleton. I’d like it if you returned the favor.”
The rocker winced at the use of his last name. “Sorry,” he said contritely. “I did ask. So what else do you do?”
“I like to read. And by that, I do not mean the articles in Playboy magazine,” he continued dryly.
Rob gaped at him. “You made a joke!” he exclaimed, making the accountant glance at him.
“Did you think me incapable of doing so?” he asked primly.
Rob grinned. “No, not exactly. You just seem so serious most of the time…it’s nice to see that you have a sense of humor too. Although I suppose I should have known that already, since some of those pranks you pulled on me were pretty funny.”
Thomas looked uncomfortable at being reminded of his behavior toward his neighbor, which amused Rob. He himself thought that the things that Thomas had done to him were hysterical, now that he’d cooled off enough to laugh at them. Clearly Thomas wasn’t the kind of person who could casually play tricks on people. He’d simply been driven to the wall by the destruction of his precious rosebushes. But he’d displayed an amazingly devilish mind; the rocker knew that he wouldn’t have thought of some of those things, especially the limburger cheese. He was looking forward to exploring the inner workings of that mind as soon as possible.
“What about you, Rob?” the accountant asked to change the subject. “Do you do anything besides play music?”
A snort. “Sure. Lots of stuff. I’m a huge fan of the Xbox 360…”
He got a blank look for this, which made him chuckle. “It’s a video game console. I know a grown man shouldn’t waste his time with video games, but what the hell. It passes the time.”
“You could have worse hobbies,” Thomas remarked quietly, taking him by surprise. “At least it’s harmless.”
“True. I also like to party and drink, as you’ve seen…” he went on with a twinkle in his eyes.
“Yes,” Thomas replied with a faint grimace.
“But I’m trying to cut down on that, since it’s not good for my relations with my neighbor.” Rob said with a grin.
“For which I thank you.”
Rob decided to finally make his move. He stretched a bit in his seat and remarked casually, “I suppose another of my hobbies was collecting women. And guys too, of course, on a more limited basis. I’m really picky about the guys I date,” he went on, never letting it show that he was completely aware of Thomas right at the moment.
The accountant’s face went blank as he tried to process what Rob had just said to very casually. “I beg your pardon?” he said at last, still looking baffled.
Rob flicked him a glance. “Huh? What’s the matter?”
“Did you just say…that you date men as well as women?” Thomas’s voice had an odd tone to it.
“Yeah. What is it? Don’t you approve of bisexuality?” the rocker asked.
“Uhh…,” the accountant’s mouth was opening and closing. He looked like a landed fish, albeit a very cute landed fish. Rob concealed a smirk, waiting for it all to sink into that little head.
“I don’t…I just…I’ve never seen you with a man!” Thomas blurted out.
A chuckle. “Told you I was picky. Haven’t dated a guy for months. The ones I meet in the clubs are usually not my type at all. I know this sounds odd, but I’ve always had thing for the nerdy, brainy kind of guy. Dated one in college, in fact. He had a really big…brain.”
Thomas pulled the car over to the curb. Rob looked at him in concern. “You okay, Thomas? You look a little out of it. You want me to drive?”
The accountant was breathing a little fast, his hands spasming on the steering wheel. He couldn’t answer. To discover, in such a sudden way, that Rob actually liked men too…he couldn’t take it in. Of course this didn’t mean anything, right? Rob was just being kind, taking him to the water park and buying him new rosebushes. That didn’t mean that the rocker was attracted to him. Why would he be? But he’d said that he liked intelligent men…Thomas’ head was spinning.
He felt a hand on his arm, and started. His brown eyes were wide and a little wild as he met the rocker’s. Rob was looking at him in concern. The dark eyes searched his face. “Take deep breaths, try to calm down. You’re gonna start hyperventilating in a minute. Cone on, Thomas. Shh, Shhh,” Rob’s hand rubbed at his arm, which made him feel even dizzier. The touch of those long fingers, so hard and warm on his bare skin, made him begin to pant a bit.
He made an incoherent sound. Rob also made a sound, low in the back of his throat. “Fuck it,” he growled, and before Thomas could ask him what he was muttering about (not that he was coherent enough to do so), the rocker’s hand lifted and curled around the back of his neck instead. He gasped, his eyes somehow going even wider, as he was drawn slightly forward. Then Rob’s head bent, and a mouth closed over his for the very first time in his life.
It was a soft kiss, and fairly chaste. No tongue was involved. But it still left Thomas stunned. Reeling in his seat. Unable to comprehend the fact that he was being kissed. And for the very first time! By his awful neighbor! Who had turned out to be not so awful at all. Oh, God, it was amazing. Rob’s mouth was warm, his lips firm but also gentle as they caressed Thomas’s. He found himself giving forth a breathy little moan, a soft sound of pleasure.
That sound did Rob in. He deepened the kiss with a groan against Thomas’s lips, plundering that sweet mouth a little. He still didn’t thrust his tongue into the other man’s mouth, though. He did restrain himself enough not to do that, not wanting to scare Thomas. But it was hard to control himself, when he was tasting the sweetest mouth he’d ever set his lips to. His free hand came to rest at the accountant’s waist, wanting to worm under the damp t-shirt but holding back. No rough groping, no fondling. Not yet.
Rob finally pulled away with a sigh. Damn, if that hadn’t been the best kiss he’d ever had! Thomas’s mouth was kiss-swollen, his brown eyes dazed. It took everything that the rocker had not to push the man back and just take him here and now. In the car, in the open. He shuddered, closing his eyes as he fought himself. “I’m sorry,” he husked. “I shouldn’t have done that. But I really couldn’t help myself.”
Silence. Then Thomas said in a rather husky voice: “Why did you do it?”
The rocker shook his head. “Because damn if you aren’t the sexiest thing, Thomas. Do you know how hard it’s been for me to keep my hands off of you today? Especially when you were wearing those damp clothes. I’d need a will of steel like Superman to stop myself.”
“Oh,” this was a small sound, of wonder and disbelief. “You really…feel that way? About me?”
“Hell, yeah, about you,” Rob responded sharply. “Don’t sell yourself short, okay? You’re smart, and cute, and really sexy. I am totally attracted to you. But I guess I’ll understand if you aren’t attracted to me,” he added. “I’m just you’re crappy neighbor, after all.”
Thomas found himself reaching out to touch the other man’s arm. “I was just…taken by surprise, that’s all,” he said earnestly. “I’m not exactly the kind of person that usually attracts someone like you.”
Rob’s dark eyes turned to meet his. They searched his eyes intently. “A person like me?” he questioned.
Thomas turned red but went on manfully. “Someone like you, who is good-looking and charming and…umm…sexy. I’m just an accountant, a dull sort of person.”
“I don’t think you’re dull at all,” Rob remarked, reaching out to span his waist with long-fingered hands. “A little…quaint, maybe, but not dull. So, now that you know that I actually am attracted to you, where do we go from here? Would you be willing to go out with a guy like me? Maybe?” he looked little-boy hopeful as his thumbs caressed over the damp t-shirt in a way designed to steal Thomas’s breath again.
The accountant felt dumb-struck. Here was a fantasy come to life, and it was almost too much for him to take in or accept. Rob Carleton wanted to date HIM?! Plain, boring, plodding Thomas Merriweather? It didn’t seem conceivable. What was he to do? Say no, and go back to leading his dull life? Or say yes, and see what happened after that? He drew in a shuddering breath as he said the six little words that would change his life intrinsically and forever: “Yes, I’ll go out with you,” he said softly, then had to gasp at his own courage.
Rob felt like whooping in glee. “Great,” he replied, meaning it. “If you don’t mind, I think we should celebrate with another kiss. What do you think?”
Thomas wasn’t thinking very well at all right now. But this sounded like a good idea to him, nonetheless. He took a deep breath. “That sounds fine,” he breathed, and Rob grinned triumphantly just before he claimed the other man’s lips once more.
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