Violet's Present by Kim Fielding

Author:Kim Fielding [Fielding, Kim]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

AFTER Matt returned to Oakland, he tried to concentrate on work. The new assignment was a step up from the usual. Instead of slaving over cartoons to advertise a car dealership or appliance store, Matt had been given the task of creating an animated video to accompany a local band. The Deeper Souls already had a recording contract and a pretty big following in the Bay Area, but they wanted to upload a video to YouTube, hoping to get some national or even international attention. Maybe somebody at Pixar would notice Matt’s drawings; even if they didn’t, the gig paid well, which made his boss happy, and it was a hell of a lot more interesting than making talking refrigerators.

So Matt took his work home most nights and begged off on drinks with Vanessa or Paul and Enrique or any of his other friends. He was too busy to be lonely, and if the star of his cartoon-in-progress had short black hair and iceberg eyes, who was going to complain?

It was late in the evening and he was taking a break, considering heating a can of soup, when he was startled by a knock on his door. He didn’t often get visitors and it was too late for salesmen or Jehovah’s Witnesses. He padded to the door and flung it open impatiently, only to discover a smug, handsome, familiar face.

“Hi,” said Brandon. He wore tight jeans and a tighter tee. A new tattoo was just visible beneath his left sleeve, something involving twining vines.

“Hi,” Matt answered.

“Gonna let me in?”

Matt stepped back and waited for Brandon to enter the apartment. Once inside, Brandon looked around, probably cataloging the few changes since he’d been there eight months before. “Looks like you’re busy.” He waved a hand at the paper-crowded drafting table.

“Actually, yeah.” Matt crossed his arms over his chest. “What do you want?”

Brandon glanced at a drawing and shrugged. “I missed you.”

“Bran—”

Brandon prowled closer, a half smile on his handsome face. He stopped well within Matt’s personal space and pitched his voice low. “Haven’t you been missing me, baby?” He was wearing a new cologne, something with sandalwood. It made Matt’s nose itch.

“C’mon, Brandon. We’ve been through this already. What I want—what I need—just isn’t what you want.”

“Monogamy. You want… what? A mortgage, white picket fence. Maybe adopt a kid—or find some donor one of us can knock up. Or, I don’t know. Buy a kid on fucking craigslist. Is that what you’re looking for?”

“Maybe. Some of that, anyway.”

Brandon’s face twisted and he stepped away. “Why? Why do you need all that shit? You had me, baby. We were good together.”

“Not really.” Matt’s voice was calm, nonjudgmental. “If we were so good together you wouldn’t have been fucking other guys.”

“That was… nothing! Just fooling around, having a good time. Nothing serious.”

“That’s the problem, Bran. It was nothing serious.”

“Look, maybe if we worked at it—”

“We’d just end up making each other miserable.” Matt sighed. “You’re a great guy, Bran. And really hot. But the two of us don’t match.

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