The Secrets We Keep by Rick R. Reed

Author:Rick R. Reed [Reed, Rick R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: gay romance
ISBN: 978-1-64405-565-6
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2019-05-18T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

THEY LANDED at O’Hare tired and grouchy. Rob hadn’t been able to sleep a wink and, when he caught up to Jasper in the terminal (Jasper had not waited for him), he figured the same was true for him. Rob didn’t want to make things worse by saying out loud the teasing joke that came to mind: “Now you do look close to my age.”

But it was true. Jasper had bags under his eyes. His hair was mussed, and his clothes, if not his face, were wrinkled.

“Hey, hey, Jasper! Wait up!” Rob tried hard to keep his tone of annoyance at bay.

Jasper whirled on him. When Rob saw the look on his face, he questioned if he’d made a mistake. He figured Jasper’s features, lips drawn into a thin line and eyes narrowed, only softened because it sunk in for Jasper how stunned and hurt Rob was at his expression. “I’m sorry,” Rob muttered. “But I just wondered—”

Jasper cut him off. “I’m so fucking tired. I don’t mean to be a dick. But, uh, what’s your plan?”

“My plan?”

“Yeah. I mean, like, where are you gonna stay?” Jasper glanced down at the floor for a minute and then back up at Rob. “I’ve got a roommate, and we’re crowded into a little one-bedroom on the Far North Side. It’s about the size of your master bathroom.” He grinned, and for a moment and despite what he was saying, his face lit up with a kind of radiance. “I couldn’t let you stay with me if I wanted to.”

Rob really hadn’t counted on Jasper putting him up. And he bristled at him saying if he wanted to as though the implication was, he didn’t. Good God, Rob wondered, have I become a joke? An old man chasing after a young one, a la Death in Venice?

Of course, it had been a long and certainly impulse-driven trip. Rob had never been prone to such literal flights of fancy. But there was something about this young man that touched him deeper than mere lust. It was as though Jasper had grasped and held on to not only his heart, but also his soul. Rob felt compelled to explore this attraction further.

But Jasper was right in wondering what was going on—what his plan was. After what they’d just been through, Rob knew staying with Jasper would be completely out of the question. Besides, he was aware of Jasper’s moderate circumstances and understood things like guest rooms were luxuries he couldn’t afford. And sleeping next to him? While that might be wonderful to imagine, they were a long way from that point. Especially now.

So he’d made arrangements at the airport before they’d left. “As I mentioned, I’ll stay at a hotel downtown.” He didn’t want to mention the Four Seasons, because it seemed boastful, but that was where he’d be.

Jasper smiled again, and Rob melted a little more. Here was a young man whose smile certainly fit the old cliché about lighting up a room. And what was better was that he had no idea how beautiful he was.

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