They all sounded like fuck buddies to Luis, but he didn't say anything.
Beth Anne didn't seem to mind. She kept looking over Matthias's shoulder at the young waiter with the tight pants. She seemed mesmerized by him, and hardly paid any attention to anything Matthias said or did.
She didn't even flinch when Matthias lifted the salt shaker and said, “I'm openly bisexual. And so is Hood. We used to play around with each other, but haven't done anything for a long time. We share an apartment in center city and have separate beds.”
Luis dropped his fork and looked at Matthias.
Jase stopped chewing and swallowed with a gulp.
“Do you have to broadcast that?” Hood asked. He rubbed his eyes and glanced down at his plate. He obviously would have preferred to keep this quiet.
Matthias said, “What's the big deal? Luis and Jase are obviously gay. They're married and they have a kid. I just figured I'd be honest.”
Blaze didn't seem upset. She was dipping a French fry into a mound of ketchup and twirling it around.
Beth Anne just sighed and stood up to use the ladies’ room without saying a word. This time she didn't ask Blaze to join her. Luis had a feeling it was because the waiter with the tight pants was standing near the bathroom door emptying a trash can.
Luis smiled at Hood and said, “It's okay. We don't care what you are. Jase and I hate labels. You seem like nice guys and that's all that matters.” Then he laughed and said, “I come from a small town in Tennessee. I wasn't openly gay until my father caught me in the barn with a guy named Snake. Jase here didn't come out of the closet until he was almost forty years old. He was a gay virgin until I met him.”
Jase dropped his fork this time. His eyes opened wide. “I'm almost forty years old?” He didn't seem to care about the virgin part.
For a moment, Luis had forgotten Jase didn't remember anything. “Actually, sweetheart, you're over forty now.”
“Well,” Jase said.
Then Matthias started asking Jase questions. He spoke with a more professional tone, as if he were working instead of out with friends. The questions weren't too personal; just basic things about Jase's past. But the only thing Jase could remember, of all things, was that he came from Alaska and that he knew how to shoot a gun. Jase said he remembered something about an older woman named Isabelle, too, which made Luis smile. So Matthias patted Jase on the arm and said, “Don't worry about it, Jase. When people go through these things there's no set pattern. Some can't even remember their own names. I'm almost one hundred percent certain you'll start to remember things in no time. Sometimes all it takes is a sudden shock to bring it all back.”
Jase tried to smile, but the corners of his lips didn't seem to want to turn up. “Thanks, Matthias. I'm sure you're going to be an excellent doctor one day soon.” Then Jase reached for Luis's hand and squeezed it. “I'm so sorry this is so difficult for you. I'm trying as hard as I can to remember.”
Luis felt a sting in his eye. He didn't want to cry, so he opened his eyes wider and shook off the urge. “I know you are, Jase. I love you whether you remember me or not. That's never going to change.”
[Back to Table of Contents]
* * *
Chapter Six
“Hey, I'm going to stay here with Micky,” Beth Anne said. She'd just returned to the table after spending the past half hour somewhere at the back of the restaurant. “You guys don't mind, do you?”
Blaze's head went up. She'd been fishing through her purse for something. “Who's Micky?”
“He's that cute little waiter with the tight pants,” Beth Anne said. “I'm going to teach him how to play poker when the restaurant closes. He lives upstairs with his older brother, Macky Sheltenfester. Everyone calls them the Sheltenfester brothers and they took over this cafe when their mother and father died.”
Luis's head jerked. “Micky and Macky Sheltenfester?”
“Hey, what do I know?” Beth Anne said. “They seem like nice guys, and Macky wears his pants just as tight as Micky, if you know what I mean.” She winked at Blaze.
Luis looked down at his lap and smiled. Good old Beth Anne liked dick a little too much.
Matthias rolled his eyes. “We know what you mean, Beth Anne. But I think you should come back to the cabin with us tonight. There's something weird about this town and all the people in it.”
Beth Anne pulled a twenty-dollar bill out of her purse and tossed it in the middle of the table. “I'll see you all in the morning. Micky said he'd drive me back to the cabin in his daddy's old pickup truck.” Then she turned and left before anyone had a chance to stop her.
Luis and Jase exchanged glances and Jase rolled his eyes. Luis would never have spent the night with Micky or Macky, no matter how tight their pants were or how big their dicks were.
Hood smiled and shook his head. He patted Blaze on the back and asked, “Do you want to spend the night with Micky and Macky Sheltenfester, too?”
“Hell, no,” Blaze said. It was the first time Luis had heard her raise her voice all night. “You couldn't pay me to spend the night here with those two.”
Matthias turned to Hood. “Do you think I should go get Beth Anne and force her to come back with us? I don't like the sound of this. There's something about this place that freaks me out.”
Luis frowned; he didn't like it either.
Hood shrugged and said, “If you think she'll listen, by all means go get her. But I know Beth Anne. When she has her mind set on something she doesn't change it for anyone.”
“Tell me about it,” Matthias said. He laughed. “I have the scars to prove it, too. Besides, after she saw what was going on in that guy's pants, there's no way to change her mind.”
When it was time to pay, Jase reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. No one else noticed the significance of this small gesture. But it made Luis smile. It was the first sign of the old Jase Luis knew and loved. He was hoping this might be a signal that Jase's memory was returning at last. Jase was always the first to offer to pay, especially when he knew he was with people who weren't as well off as he was. When Matthias lifted his hands and said it was necessary for Jase to pay for everyone and Jase still insisted on paying the bill, Luis took the first calm breath he'd taken since he'd found Jase in the barn. Jase even told Blaze to take the twenty-dollar bill and give it back to Beth Anne. Luis simply watched quietly and let Jase pay for everything and take control naturally, as if nothing was wrong.
On the way back to the cabin, Luis had to admit it was quieter without Beth Anne complaining and shouting. He just hoped she was going to be okay with those peculiar Sheltenfester brothers, but he didn't mention this aloud either because he didn't want to make matters even more ominous than they were. The rain had started up again, and it was pouring down so hard and so fast it was difficult to see through the windshield. Matthias drove back to the cabin, and he didn't seem intimidated by the rain. He sat back in his seat, held the steering wheel loosely, and maintained an even speed limit without showing any signs of stress. For someone in a strange place, Luis marveled at how well he maneuvered the dark, narrow roads.