Ch 8-I say love, it is a flower
Thomas pottered around on Sunday, not doing much. He was surprised when his front doorbell rang after two o’clock. When he went to answer it, he found Rob standing there, smiling at him. He felt his stomach lurch as the rocker said easily: “Hi, Thomas. I’m here to take you to a gardening center to buy you some replacement rosebushes today. We could take my car, but since it still smells of limburger…” he began with a grimace.
“Oh, I see. We can take my car. Wait a moment while I change,” the accountant blurted out, feeling awkward and unsure of himself.
“Sure. I’ll just hang out here. How’s your head?”
“It still hurts a bit, but the bump has gone down,” Thomas said as he stepped back to let Rob walk into his house.
“Great. I’m glad I didn’t permanently damage you,” the musician said, his eyes doing a quick survey of Thomas’s body.
The accountant felt his face flame a little, and cleared his throat. “I’ll just…change clothes…!” he blurted out, then fled down the hallway to his bedroom.
He didn’t hear the soft chuckle behind him. Rob rocked on his heels a bit, feeling very pleased with himself. He hadn’t missed the faint stain of color on Thomas’s cheeks, or the way the brown eyes had skittered away from his. He was definitely making his neighbor nervous. He was going to take advantage of that fact. Rob wasn’t always the most subtle of people, but this time he intended to be roundabout in trying to win Thomas’ affections. The man was skittish, and they had a bad history; two strikes against him in his quest. But by God, he was going to do his best to have ‘good relations’ with his neighbor! Really good ones, if he had his way. His eyes gleamed, and his lips lifted in a wicked smile at this thought.
Thomas returned, now wearing tan slacks and a white button-up shirt. “Ready?” Rob asked, and the accountant nodded.
They went out to his car together. Rob eyed him. “Do you want me to drive?” he asked doubtfully. “Because of your head?”
Thomas shook said article quickly. “No, I’m fine,” he reassured Rob.
The rocker grinned when he realized that his neighbor was nervous about his driving. “Okay, let’s go then,” he said, getting into the passenger seat.
Thomas got in behind the wheel, and then gave him a LOOK. “What?” he asked.
“Could you please buckle your seatbelt?” the accountant said primly.
Rob shook his head, but acquiesced. Thomas carefully buckled his own belt, and started the engine. “Go to whatever nursery you want,” Rob remarked. “I don’t care what they cost. I just want to get you some good bushes.”
“Very well,” Thomas replied. He drove skillfully through the streets, headed for his favorite nursery.
“Don’t you listen to the radio?” Rob asked, glancing at the dashboard.
“Not often, no,” Thomas said. “I listen to cds sometimes – but most of the local radio stations don’t play the kind of music that I listen to.”
“What kind is that?”
“I mostly prefer classical.” The accountant said quietly.
“Huh. Me too....when I want to sleep well,” Rob remarked dryly.
Thomas’s shoulders stiffened a bit. “Of course. You prefer music that destroys your eardrums,” he said.
Rob laughed. “Yeah, that’s the kind I play,” he conceded. “But as the saying goes: If it’s too loud, you’re too old. What are you, maybe thirty at the most? Yet in some ways you remind me of my grandpa. You should relax once in awhile, have some fun.”
“I don’t think that your idea of fun and mine are at all compatible, Mr. Carleton,” Thomas replied dryly.
“Probably not. But you never know. We’ll find out next Saturday,” the rocker replied easily.
The accountant glanced at him out of the side of his eyes. “Where are we going?” he asked.
A chuckle. “Nah ah, not telling. I want it to be a surprise,” Rob said. “You’ll just have to wait and find out.”
Thomas turned his eyes back to the road ahead, sighing a little. He couldn’t quite believe that he’d agreed to go anywhere with Rob Carleton. What if the man dragged him to some horrible bar or club? He hated crowds and loud music, and flashing lights made him nauseous. Also, except for the occasional glass of wine, he didn’t drink at all. His stomach tightened inside of him at the very thought of such horror. Waiting a week to find out what their destination would be was going to be hard to take. He’d worry about it the entire time.
They arrived at the nursery. Rob looked around curiously at all the beds of plants and flowers, with bagged trees along the walls. Thomas made straight for the roses, his eyes lighting up as he wandered down the aisle between the low tables. He was looking for healthy plants that would transplant well. Rob followed after him, watching the accountant intently as Thomas fluttered from bush-to-bush. The man was just too cute this way, Rob thought to himself. He was obviously very enthusiastic about this whole thing, and seeing his face light up made the rocker feel good – in both body and mind. His groin was sitting up and taking notice again, and was urging his eyes to look at the nice ass displayed in the tan slacks whenever his neighbor bent over a bush. Damn, but his hands itched to reach out and touch! He had to force himself to deliberately look away down the nursery, lest he end up groping Thomas right here in public. Not a good idea, but his dick didn’t care. Not in the least.
Thomas selected a dozen bushes to replace the mangled ones along his fence, and Rob paid for them with only a little wince at the cost. They loaded the rosebushes into the trunk of his car. Well, Rob loaded them, telling Thomas sternly that he wasn’t going to do much heavy lifting today. The accountant was in too good a mood over the new bushes to object to being coddled. They drove back to his house and Rob began to tote the bushes back to the patch by the fence, while Thomas got a shovel and some other tools from his little shed. They spent a good hour digging up the old bushes, and replacing them with the new (Well, Rob dug and Thomas fussed over the new bushes, easing them into the holes as though they were made of glass), until every one of the stripped rosebushes had been dug up and the new bushes were in their place.
Rob straightened up with a groan for his abused back. “That looks good,” he remarked, gazing in satisfaction at all of their hard work.
“Yes,” Thomas agreed, patting soil tenderly around the base of the last bush. “Thank you so much for your help, Mr. Carleton,” he added, looking up at Rob from under the brim of that ridiculous hat.
“Hey, no problem. It was my fault in the first place, so the least I could do is help. But…do you think you could call me Rob? Mr. Carleton was my father. You make me feel really old calling me that.”
“Oh. Well…I suppose I can,” Thomas said reluctantly. Calling his neighbor by his first name seemed far too intimate an act.
“Great. Anyway, I’m gonna go grab a shower and some food. I’ll see you next Saturday, okay?” he smiled at Thomas and walked away toward his own house.
The accountant watched him go, feeling suddenly bereft for some reason. He’d really enjoyed this last hour in Rob’s company. Who would have imagined? Even though he’d felt some attraction to the man, he’d never thought that he would ever like being around the rocker for any length of time. Rob Carleton wasn’t at all like Thomas had imagined that he was. Underneath the bad boy exterior was a friendly, good-natured person who seemed to revel in gently teasing him. And he…he rather liked being teased, he found. When it wasn’t malicious or unkind, somehow it made him feel rather good. It made him feel that Rob was paying attention to him, to his likes and dislikes and the way his mind worked.
Bemused and a little disturbed, he gathered up his gardening tools and went inside. He shouldn’t be thinking these things. Rob Carleton wasn’t gay, he reminded himself sternly. Reading more into his actions than there actually was was a road that would lead to sheer heartache. He felt glum at this thought, and his steps became plodding. He went inside and took a shower, hoping that the hot water would soothe him. It did a little, but there was still an ache left over when he was done – somewhere in the vicinity of his heart.
The week passed by both slowly and quickly. Slowly, because Thomas couldn’t wait to spend more time with his neighbor, and quickly, because he dreaded their unknown destination. Friday night, he was surprised to hear a knock at his door. He went to answer it, finding Rob standing there once more. “Hey,” the rocker said. “Just wanted to check in with you about tomorrow. How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine,” Thomas replied honestly.
“No problems? Your head doesn’t hurt anymore?” Rob asked.
“No.”
“Cool. Okay. One question – do you have any swim trunks?” Rob asked next.
Thomas blinked, looking perplexed. “Swim trunks? I don’t believe so,” he said doubtfully.
“Oh, come on! Don’t you ever go to the pool or anything?” Rob said in disbelief.
Thomas shook his head silently. The rocker blew out a long breath. “Sheesh. I guess you’ll just have to wear a regular pair of shorts then. Also bring a towel, some sun block…” his dark eyes ran over Thomas’ pale skin doubtfully, “Lots of sun block, actually; and maybe a hat. I’ll come over around noon so that we can go.”
“Please, Mr. Car…Rob, can’t you tell me where we are going?!” Thomas said desperately, now completely eaten up by curiosity.
Rob grinned. “Okay. I’ll put you out of your misery. Have you ever been to a water park before?”
Stunned silence. Thomas gaped at him. “A water park?” he said weakly. “We’re going to a water park?”
Rob nodded, trying not to laugh at his expression. “Yeah. You’ll love it, I swear. And we can both have some fun. See you tomorrow,” he waved at the accountant, and then walked away with a chuckle. He was thoroughly enjoying befuddling Thomas Merriweather. The look on that cute face had been priceless when he’d revealed their destination.
He wandered into his house, seeing Aretha lying on the couch licking at one of her white paws lazily. She blinked her green-and-gold snake eyes at him. “Hey, Aretha,” he said to her. “I got me a date for tomorrow! Course, he doesn’t know that it’s a date,” he added with a laugh as he threw himself down into his one armchair. “And I’m not going to tell him that it is, not yet. I want him to be more relaxed around me before I actually tell him that we’re dating,” he remarked with a grin.
The cat yawned elaborately, showing that she couldn’t care less about human relationships. He shook his head. “You’ve got it good,” he told her. “You don’t have to worry about all of that stuff anymore. All you have to worry about is which patch of sunlight you’re going to lay in, finding a fat enough mouse to eat, or how best to steal my covers or knead my leg while I’m sleeping. It’s a good life, eh, hair ball?”
She gave him an imperious look, and lashed her tail a little as though in agreement. Rob cocked his head. “Hmm,” he said. “I just realized I should find out if Thomas likes cats. Eventually I’ll want him to stay over here once in awhile…” he went on with a dark gleam in his eyes, “And I’m hoping that he can get along with you. A bit, at least, since you’re the Devil come to Earth. Right?”
Aretha flicked her ear in a bored manner. He chuckled again. “Okay, Madam. Dinner time for both of us,” he got up and went into his kitchen, where he opened a can of moist cat food for Aretha and put it down on the floor, before rummaging in his fridge for something that her master could eat. A frozen dinner was thrown into the microwave, and Rob hummed to himself as he leaned on the counter and waited for it to be done. A song was beginning to form in his head. A song about a man with big brown eyes and a serious little face, a man who loved roses and classical music. He turned it over and over in his head, seeing that it was a solid beginning.
“Maybe he’s my muse?” he asked the cat, who was gulping down her food as though she’d been starved for weeks. Aretha ignored him as usual; he was simply a food machine and a warm place for her to sleep on at night. Rob was used to that fact by now. He went to collect some paper and a pen so that he could jot down the lyrics of the new song while the food was cooking in the microwave.
The song flowed onto the paper easily. Rob was pleased by that fact. Maybe he’d turn it into a gentle ballad, so that he could perform it for Thomas eventually. He’d love to see the other man blush furiously when he realized who the song was about. When he was finished scribbling, he took his food out and scarfed it down. He was looking forward to their trip to the water park tomorrow. Especially since it was clear that Thomas had never been to one. It would be like getting to watch a little kid experience the joys and fun of going to a water park for the first time. He strongly suspected that Thomas hadn’t had much of a childhood. Rob was going to thoroughly enjoy seeing that he got a belated one now.
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Thomas pottered around on Sunday, not doing much. He was surprised when his front doorbell rang after two o’clock. When he went to answer it, he found Rob standing there, smiling at him. He felt his stomach lurch as the rocker said easily: “Hi, Thomas. I’m here to take you to a gardening center to buy you some replacement rosebushes today. We could take my car, but since it still smells of limburger…” he began with a grimace.
“Oh, I see. We can take my car. Wait a moment while I change,” the accountant blurted out, feeling awkward and unsure of himself.
“Sure. I’ll just hang out here. How’s your head?”
“It still hurts a bit, but the bump has gone down,” Thomas said as he stepped back to let Rob walk into his house.
“Great. I’m glad I didn’t permanently damage you,” the musician said, his eyes doing a quick survey of Thomas’s body.
The accountant felt his face flame a little, and cleared his throat. “I’ll just…change clothes…!” he blurted out, then fled down the hallway to his bedroom.
He didn’t hear the soft chuckle behind him. Rob rocked on his heels a bit, feeling very pleased with himself. He hadn’t missed the faint stain of color on Thomas’s cheeks, or the way the brown eyes had skittered away from his. He was definitely making his neighbor nervous. He was going to take advantage of that fact. Rob wasn’t always the most subtle of people, but this time he intended to be roundabout in trying to win Thomas’ affections. The man was skittish, and they had a bad history; two strikes against him in his quest. But by God, he was going to do his best to have ‘good relations’ with his neighbor! Really good ones, if he had his way. His eyes gleamed, and his lips lifted in a wicked smile at this thought.
Thomas returned, now wearing tan slacks and a white button-up shirt. “Ready?” Rob asked, and the accountant nodded.
They went out to his car together. Rob eyed him. “Do you want me to drive?” he asked doubtfully. “Because of your head?”
Thomas shook said article quickly. “No, I’m fine,” he reassured Rob.
The rocker grinned when he realized that his neighbor was nervous about his driving. “Okay, let’s go then,” he said, getting into the passenger seat.
Thomas got in behind the wheel, and then gave him a LOOK. “What?” he asked.
“Could you please buckle your seatbelt?” the accountant said primly.
Rob shook his head, but acquiesced. Thomas carefully buckled his own belt, and started the engine. “Go to whatever nursery you want,” Rob remarked. “I don’t care what they cost. I just want to get you some good bushes.”
“Very well,” Thomas replied. He drove skillfully through the streets, headed for his favorite nursery.
“Don’t you listen to the radio?” Rob asked, glancing at the dashboard.
“Not often, no,” Thomas said. “I listen to cds sometimes – but most of the local radio stations don’t play the kind of music that I listen to.”
“What kind is that?”
“I mostly prefer classical.” The accountant said quietly.
“Huh. Me too....when I want to sleep well,” Rob remarked dryly.
Thomas’s shoulders stiffened a bit. “Of course. You prefer music that destroys your eardrums,” he said.
Rob laughed. “Yeah, that’s the kind I play,” he conceded. “But as the saying goes: If it’s too loud, you’re too old. What are you, maybe thirty at the most? Yet in some ways you remind me of my grandpa. You should relax once in awhile, have some fun.”
“I don’t think that your idea of fun and mine are at all compatible, Mr. Carleton,” Thomas replied dryly.
“Probably not. But you never know. We’ll find out next Saturday,” the rocker replied easily.
The accountant glanced at him out of the side of his eyes. “Where are we going?” he asked.
A chuckle. “Nah ah, not telling. I want it to be a surprise,” Rob said. “You’ll just have to wait and find out.”
Thomas turned his eyes back to the road ahead, sighing a little. He couldn’t quite believe that he’d agreed to go anywhere with Rob Carleton. What if the man dragged him to some horrible bar or club? He hated crowds and loud music, and flashing lights made him nauseous. Also, except for the occasional glass of wine, he didn’t drink at all. His stomach tightened inside of him at the very thought of such horror. Waiting a week to find out what their destination would be was going to be hard to take. He’d worry about it the entire time.
They arrived at the nursery. Rob looked around curiously at all the beds of plants and flowers, with bagged trees along the walls. Thomas made straight for the roses, his eyes lighting up as he wandered down the aisle between the low tables. He was looking for healthy plants that would transplant well. Rob followed after him, watching the accountant intently as Thomas fluttered from bush-to-bush. The man was just too cute this way, Rob thought to himself. He was obviously very enthusiastic about this whole thing, and seeing his face light up made the rocker feel good – in both body and mind. His groin was sitting up and taking notice again, and was urging his eyes to look at the nice ass displayed in the tan slacks whenever his neighbor bent over a bush. Damn, but his hands itched to reach out and touch! He had to force himself to deliberately look away down the nursery, lest he end up groping Thomas right here in public. Not a good idea, but his dick didn’t care. Not in the least.
Thomas selected a dozen bushes to replace the mangled ones along his fence, and Rob paid for them with only a little wince at the cost. They loaded the rosebushes into the trunk of his car. Well, Rob loaded them, telling Thomas sternly that he wasn’t going to do much heavy lifting today. The accountant was in too good a mood over the new bushes to object to being coddled. They drove back to his house and Rob began to tote the bushes back to the patch by the fence, while Thomas got a shovel and some other tools from his little shed. They spent a good hour digging up the old bushes, and replacing them with the new (Well, Rob dug and Thomas fussed over the new bushes, easing them into the holes as though they were made of glass), until every one of the stripped rosebushes had been dug up and the new bushes were in their place.
Rob straightened up with a groan for his abused back. “That looks good,” he remarked, gazing in satisfaction at all of their hard work.
“Yes,” Thomas agreed, patting soil tenderly around the base of the last bush. “Thank you so much for your help, Mr. Carleton,” he added, looking up at Rob from under the brim of that ridiculous hat.
“Hey, no problem. It was my fault in the first place, so the least I could do is help. But…do you think you could call me Rob? Mr. Carleton was my father. You make me feel really old calling me that.”
“Oh. Well…I suppose I can,” Thomas said reluctantly. Calling his neighbor by his first name seemed far too intimate an act.
“Great. Anyway, I’m gonna go grab a shower and some food. I’ll see you next Saturday, okay?” he smiled at Thomas and walked away toward his own house.
The accountant watched him go, feeling suddenly bereft for some reason. He’d really enjoyed this last hour in Rob’s company. Who would have imagined? Even though he’d felt some attraction to the man, he’d never thought that he would ever like being around the rocker for any length of time. Rob Carleton wasn’t at all like Thomas had imagined that he was. Underneath the bad boy exterior was a friendly, good-natured person who seemed to revel in gently teasing him. And he…he rather liked being teased, he found. When it wasn’t malicious or unkind, somehow it made him feel rather good. It made him feel that Rob was paying attention to him, to his likes and dislikes and the way his mind worked.
Bemused and a little disturbed, he gathered up his gardening tools and went inside. He shouldn’t be thinking these things. Rob Carleton wasn’t gay, he reminded himself sternly. Reading more into his actions than there actually was was a road that would lead to sheer heartache. He felt glum at this thought, and his steps became plodding. He went inside and took a shower, hoping that the hot water would soothe him. It did a little, but there was still an ache left over when he was done – somewhere in the vicinity of his heart.
The week passed by both slowly and quickly. Slowly, because Thomas couldn’t wait to spend more time with his neighbor, and quickly, because he dreaded their unknown destination. Friday night, he was surprised to hear a knock at his door. He went to answer it, finding Rob standing there once more. “Hey,” the rocker said. “Just wanted to check in with you about tomorrow. How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine,” Thomas replied honestly.
“No problems? Your head doesn’t hurt anymore?” Rob asked.
“No.”
“Cool. Okay. One question – do you have any swim trunks?” Rob asked next.
Thomas blinked, looking perplexed. “Swim trunks? I don’t believe so,” he said doubtfully.
“Oh, come on! Don’t you ever go to the pool or anything?” Rob said in disbelief.
Thomas shook his head silently. The rocker blew out a long breath. “Sheesh. I guess you’ll just have to wear a regular pair of shorts then. Also bring a towel, some sun block…” his dark eyes ran over Thomas’ pale skin doubtfully, “Lots of sun block, actually; and maybe a hat. I’ll come over around noon so that we can go.”
“Please, Mr. Car…Rob, can’t you tell me where we are going?!” Thomas said desperately, now completely eaten up by curiosity.
Rob grinned. “Okay. I’ll put you out of your misery. Have you ever been to a water park before?”
Stunned silence. Thomas gaped at him. “A water park?” he said weakly. “We’re going to a water park?”
Rob nodded, trying not to laugh at his expression. “Yeah. You’ll love it, I swear. And we can both have some fun. See you tomorrow,” he waved at the accountant, and then walked away with a chuckle. He was thoroughly enjoying befuddling Thomas Merriweather. The look on that cute face had been priceless when he’d revealed their destination.
He wandered into his house, seeing Aretha lying on the couch licking at one of her white paws lazily. She blinked her green-and-gold snake eyes at him. “Hey, Aretha,” he said to her. “I got me a date for tomorrow! Course, he doesn’t know that it’s a date,” he added with a laugh as he threw himself down into his one armchair. “And I’m not going to tell him that it is, not yet. I want him to be more relaxed around me before I actually tell him that we’re dating,” he remarked with a grin.
The cat yawned elaborately, showing that she couldn’t care less about human relationships. He shook his head. “You’ve got it good,” he told her. “You don’t have to worry about all of that stuff anymore. All you have to worry about is which patch of sunlight you’re going to lay in, finding a fat enough mouse to eat, or how best to steal my covers or knead my leg while I’m sleeping. It’s a good life, eh, hair ball?”
She gave him an imperious look, and lashed her tail a little as though in agreement. Rob cocked his head. “Hmm,” he said. “I just realized I should find out if Thomas likes cats. Eventually I’ll want him to stay over here once in awhile…” he went on with a dark gleam in his eyes, “And I’m hoping that he can get along with you. A bit, at least, since you’re the Devil come to Earth. Right?”
Aretha flicked her ear in a bored manner. He chuckled again. “Okay, Madam. Dinner time for both of us,” he got up and went into his kitchen, where he opened a can of moist cat food for Aretha and put it down on the floor, before rummaging in his fridge for something that her master could eat. A frozen dinner was thrown into the microwave, and Rob hummed to himself as he leaned on the counter and waited for it to be done. A song was beginning to form in his head. A song about a man with big brown eyes and a serious little face, a man who loved roses and classical music. He turned it over and over in his head, seeing that it was a solid beginning.
“Maybe he’s my muse?” he asked the cat, who was gulping down her food as though she’d been starved for weeks. Aretha ignored him as usual; he was simply a food machine and a warm place for her to sleep on at night. Rob was used to that fact by now. He went to collect some paper and a pen so that he could jot down the lyrics of the new song while the food was cooking in the microwave.
The song flowed onto the paper easily. Rob was pleased by that fact. Maybe he’d turn it into a gentle ballad, so that he could perform it for Thomas eventually. He’d love to see the other man blush furiously when he realized who the song was about. When he was finished scribbling, he took his food out and scarfed it down. He was looking forward to their trip to the water park tomorrow. Especially since it was clear that Thomas had never been to one. It would be like getting to watch a little kid experience the joys and fun of going to a water park for the first time. He strongly suspected that Thomas hadn’t had much of a childhood. Rob was going to thoroughly enjoy seeing that he got a belated one now.
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