Rain Storms Ch. 02

"Honestly, Rain, I'm afraid you'd like it too much if I started slapping you around." he ribbed. "If I remember correctly, word was that you got off on the rough stuff."

"Holy shit," I groaned and rolled my eyes. "Seriously? That's what they said about me?"

"Among other things."

"Like what?" I prodded.

"I didn't take too much stock in the gossiping of whores," he replied. "But they did say that you had a golden mouth. Tony the bartender, not my Tony, used to tease the girls that he had it on good authority that you gave the best head. I just thought he was trying to get a rise out of them. Now I know it was probably true."

"Thanks but I'm putting my money on your mouth. You're better than I am."

"I don't think so," he snickered.

"Why don't you come over we'll test the theory," I playfully suggested.

He laughed. "You're incorrigible."

"You're irresistible," I chuckled.

"Oh shit!" he exclaimed. "I have to go. My lawyer's here."

"Lawyer? Are you in trouble?"

"No, Babe. It's just business. I have to go. I'll call you later."

"Ok. Enjoy your business dinner."

After he hung up, I snuggled down into the couch with a warm fuzzy feeling because he'd called me Babe.

When the phone rang a few minutes after ten, I lifted my head from the book that I was reading but let the machine pick it up.

"Hey Rain. It's Ryan. I know it's late but I said I'd call..."

I picked up the receiver. "Hey Minx. How was your dinner?"

"It was good. Thanks," he replied. "I'm sorry it's so late. Were you sleeping?"

"No. I was just..."

"Screening your calls?"

"Yes."

"Well I'm honored to have made it through the process," he teased. "Did he call?"

"Which one?" I asked.

"There's more than one?" he asked. "I only know about Eric."

"Yeah. There's Dylan too. The guy that I'm working for that I told you about. The one that knew me way back when."

"And you're avoiding him too?"

"Not avoiding," I told him. "We just had a little run in. Enough about that. What do you need a lawyer for?"

"It's just business," he explained. "When Tony died, he left me everything. He owned a bunch of little businesses. Mom and Pop sorts of things like dry cleaners and video stores. A couple of service stations, things like that. He didn't manage anything. He let other people do that because he was basically pretty lazy. It's all a huge mess and I've been trying to get it all under control. He had a son, an illegitimate one. The kid is eight but his mom wouldn't let Tony get anywhere near him. I'm planning to hand everything over to him when he's of age. I figure it's the least I can do for Tony."

"I thought you said that you didn't love him. That sounds like love to me."

"I said that I wasn't in love with him," he corrected. "I loved him. He was a good person and he died way too young."

"You said he had cancer."

"Yes," he replied. "It was called small cell lung cancer. It sounds pretty innocuous but it was terrible. He wasted away in less than ten months. He was only forty-five."

"I'm sorry that you had to go through that, Ryan. What are you going to do with yourself if you give everything to this kid in fifteen years?"

"I'm going to enjoy taking care of the one business that I actually own. It'll be fun."

"What do you own?"

He giggled. "The bar."

"The one that..."

"Yes," he snickered. "Doesn't seem like me, huh? It's where I met Tony. He bought it for me the night we met. He was at the bar that night because he was planning to buy it. On a whim, he put it in my name, instead. It was never in his name so it's not part of his legacy. It's mine. I don't know if he was trying to impress me, or buy me, but, either way, it worked. I never left his side from that night until I buried him."

"That's a very sweet story."

"I know it's a hole-in-the-wall but it's mine," he said. "I keep it separate from Tony's businesses. I want to fix it up but it doesn't make a huge profit so I'm forced to go slowly."

"The dive atmosphere is part of the charm, Ryan," I told him. "Please don't turn it into some swanky place."

"I agree," he responded. "It would just be nice to have functioning plumbing all the time."

"That makes me feel better, in a way," I admitted. "I was a little concerned about Barb giving my name out to random strangers, but I guess you're her boss."

"So tell me about this Dylan."

"Oh God, Ryan," I sighed. "My life is such a mess."

"Talk to me, Babe," he urged. "That's what friends are for."

I did. I told him everything. We talked for two hours and, after, I felt better. Better, but exhausted. I fell asleep while still holding the phone. The loud off-the-hook noise startled me awake. I hung up the phone and fell immediately back to sleep.

I saw Dylan over the next two days but we didn't speak. He didn't come to the server room and I had no occasion to be in his office. I kept my head down and my butt planted firmly in my chair at the console unless it was absolutely necessary for me to be somewhere else. I barely spoke, except to Jason, and only about things work related. I didn't socialize. I came in early, worked through lunch, and stayed long after everyone had gone home. I was the first in the office and the last to leave, as Jason was on hourly and I sent him home at five. I didn't get home until seven on Wednesday, and on Thursday, I decided to leave when I noticed that it was six-thirty.

As I walked out of the building, I was calculating how much longer until the job would be over. I already knew that Jason would have to stay when I moved on to the next job. The company was going to have to assign me someone else. It was too bad. I had just gotten to a point where I was comfortable around him and we worked well together. I came around the corner of the building, on my way to the nearly empty parking lot, to see Dylan leaning against my car.

"You haven't called," he accused me as I unlocked my car and dropped my case on the seat.

"I didn't know that I was supposed to," I replied.

His brow furrowed. "You're still mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you, Dylan," I told him. "I thought that you didn't want anything to do with me."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Because we had an argument?"

"No," I whispered. "Because I outed you. I'm so sorry. I never would have done that on purpose. I didn't know that he was there."

He nodded. "I know," he sighed. "It had to happen sooner or later."

"You're not mad at me?"

He shook his head. "It was as much my fault. Probably more. We came to an agreement. I told him to stay the fuck out of my personal life and he told me to keep my fucking life out of the office. Pun intended."

"So I'm not going to be fired?" I asked.

"God no!" he exclaimed. "I would never let that happen, Rain. Never."

"If you're not mad at me, why haven't you spoken to me?" I whined.

"You told me that you wanted space to get your head on straight," he explained. "I thought that's what I was giving you."

"I thought that you were done with me."

"I'm so sorry, Lover." He shook his head sadly. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I wish I could hold you right now and kiss that wounded look off your face." He checked his watch. "I need to go. I want to talk to you but I have a meeting with a potential client. I didn't expect you to work so late. Will you come over tomorrow night?"

A hard knot formed in my stomach. "I can't," I admitted. "I have plans."

His brow furrowed again. "Plans? You're back with Eric."

I shook my head. "I haven't even heard from him since Monday. I have plans with Ryan."

"Ryan?" I could see the gears turning in his head as he tried to place the name. "The bottom?"

"Yes."

The pain on his expressive face was obvious.

"No, Dylan," I rushed to explain. "It's not what you think. He's not my boyfriend. We're just friends."

"Friends who have sex," he stated.

"Yes."

"I thought you were mine." His voice was scratchy and laced with sorrow.

"Were we supposed to be exclusive?" I asked. "We never discussed it. I'm not a cheater, Dylan. If you want us to be monogamous, I can do that. But it's something that we would need to talk about. I would need more from you than you may be capable of, or willing to give."

"I want us to be together," he responded. "Just us. I want you to be my boyfriend."

"I need you to think about that for a while," I told him. "I can't have another one-sided relationship. I just can't. I'm not in the closet, Dylan, and I'm not going in. People will know that we're together. If you can't handle that then I can't commit to you, not like that. I'm not trying to push you or force you. I'm just making things clear where I stand. You need to decide if that's what you really want."

He nodded his understanding but didn't reply.

"Go to your meeting," I prodded. "We can talk later, when you've had time to consider. Ok?"

He frowned. "And in the meantime you'll be seeing Ryan."

"Please don't do that," I sighed. "I don't have many friends. I don't make friends easily. Ryan is important to me. Even if he and I never have sex again, he's still going to be my friend."

He checked his watch again, even though less than five minutes had passed since the last time. "I really need to go. I'll call you later."

I watched him walk toward his car and get in. For some idiotic reason, I had expected him to kiss me goodbye. He didn't.

I didn't see Dylan all day on Friday. He was in the office, but he and the other senior partners were holed up in the conference room with a client. It must have been an important client because they never had meetings that lasted more than a couple of hours. Right at six o'clock, I was headed out the door when someone stepped into my path as I attempted to pass the conference room. Having almost plowed into him, I looked up sharply into familiar hooded eyes.

"Sheldon!" I exclaimed in shock.

He had not changed a single bit in the intervening years since I had seen him the one and only time. Everything, down to his all black clothing and brown pony tail, was exactly the same. The only thing missing was the pentacle around his neck, but I could see a silver chain peeking out from under his collar. He looked confused.

"I'm sorry," I said. "You may not remember me. My name is Rain. Rain Dutton. Eric's Rain."

His sleepy eyes grew wide in surprise. "Goddess! Of course I remember you! Twelve by four!" he laughed. "I told that story for years! It was the funniest thing to see someone that unflappable get all flustered."

I glanced around and realized that we had developed an audience. All three of the senior partners, and a few other people, were within earshot.

"How are you?" he asked. "And how is my favorite stoic artist?"

"I'm fine," I replied. "We split up some time ago."

He frowned. "I'm so sorry to hear that. You were good for him." He turned suddenly then turned back to me and whispered, "Did I just get you in trouble?"

"No," I whispered back, dramatically. "I'm out. Besides, I'm just the contracted network guy."

"Good," he whispered back with a big smile. "I hate having to throw the prima donna, wronged customer fit. It's so boring."

I laughed but noticed that no one else that had been in the meeting was smiling. "I should go. I don't want to keep you."

"No!" he exclaimed. "This is kismet! We were breaking for dinner. You must join us and explain to me all the benefits that this company can provide me in this digital age." He dropped into a sotto voce, "They have to do whatever I want and they are boring me to tears! Please come. I'll die if you don't."

"I have dinner plans," I explained, still trying to bow out.

"Like a date?" He clapped his hands in excitement. "You must bring him. I insist. The suits won't mind. Will you guys?" He had directed the question over his shoulder but didn't wait for a response. "They don't mind. We'll hold dinner for you. Someone will tell you where we're going. I'm not taking no for an answer."

"But Sheldon!" I argued as he turned away from me.

"No. See you there," he tossed over his shoulder as he and two other guys strolled out of the office.

Holy crap. He'd just bulldozed over me and the partners didn't look at all happy about it. The last time we'd met he must have been seriously stoned or something because he hadn't been nearly that pushy.

Mr. Graham and Mr. Weston looked at each other. Mr. Graham shrugged. "I'm not even going to be there. It's all you guys." He turned and headed back to his office.

"Kyle!" Mr. Weston called. Mr. Graham just waved his hand over his head in a dismissive manner. Mr. Weston turned on Dylan. "Fix it," he ordered.

"Fix it how, Al?" Dylan asked. "Do you want the account or not? Add up all the zeros before you answer."

"How many queers do I have to have dinner with to secure one client?" Mr. Weston snarled, pissing me off.

"Looks like five, at least," I retorted. They both turned to me, shocked that I would speak up. I was a little shocked myself, truthfully. It didn't stop me from continuing. "Sheldon is gay and, unless I am mistaken, which is highly unlikely, one of those men with him was his lover. I could be wrong though. The last time I saw him was at a gay pickup place and it was fairly dark."

They both stared at me but I could see a slight twinkle in Dylan's eyes, encouraging me to keep going. "In fact, Mr. Weston, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that you were the only straight guy at the table. But don't worry about it. I'm almost positive that it's not contagious... Usually."

"I'm sorry that I'm late," I said to Ryan as I got out of my car in the parking lot of my apartment complex. "There was a delay at work."

"Server problems?" he asked.

"No," I explained, letting us into my apartment. "The client that they are romancing turned out to be someone that I knew. I have been ordered to come to dinner with them."

Ryan pouted a little and his protruding bottom lip was irresistible. I bent down and kissed him. "I was looking forward to having dinner with you all week."

"You still can," I said. "Your presence has been requested."

"Seriously?" he exclaimed. "I'm not dressed for a business dinner."

He was wearing all white again. He had on tight jeans that hugged his little body just so and boots with high enough heels that he stood slightly taller than the 5'2 that he claimed to be, which I doubted. Over that, he had a white undershirt and a white button down that was unbuttoned and untucked. He was also wearing a touch of make-up, and his long blonde hair was loose and wavy, curling around his face and hanging down his back, just past his shoulders. Even though I was pretty sure every article of his clothing came out of a women's department, it was still the most masculine outfit I'd ever seen him wearing. "You look beautiful, Minx," I told him, honestly. "I'd love to skip it and stay here and mess you up some."

"But?"

"But I told Dylan that I would go," I admitted. "This account is important to him. You don't have to go but I'd like it if you did."

"Does Dylan know about us?" he asked, suspiciously.

"Yes," I replied. "He's not thrilled but he's an adult. He'll be fine."

"Then I'll go," he grinned. "I'm dying to meet your heartthrob."

I smirked at him. "He makes something on me throb, but I'm pretty sure it's a little lower than my heart."

I changed clothes into something more comparable to what Ryan was wearing, black jeans and a silver button down, and we headed out to the restaurant.

"Greek?" Ryan asked when we pulled into the parking lot.

"Yes. Is that ok?"

"It's fine," he said with a small frown. "I haven't had Greek food since Tony passed. He was Greek and we ate it a lot."

"I'm sorry," I grimaced. "Do you want to bow out?"

"No," he shook his head. "I can do this. It's not so bad. It's been over a year. It's time to get over it."

"Are you sure?" I asked. He didn't look very confident.

"Yes." He gave me a sad smile. "They're good memories."

We were the last to arrive, and the others were already at a long table, set for eight. Sheldon introduced us to Steve, his partner, and Edward, his lawyer. I introduced Ryan to the table. Dylan schooled his features into that dishearteningly blank look that I had seen only the once before.

"I know you," Sheldon said to Ryan after we were seated. "You're Tony Augustus's boy."

Ryan startled in surprise. "Yes. Have we met?"

Sheldon shook his head with a sad smile. "Steve and I were at the funeral. I saw you there but we weren't introduced."

"Thank you for coming," Ryan replied. "Where do you know Tony from?"

"We went to school together," Sheldon explained. "I've known Tony almost my whole life. I'm very sorry for your loss. Tony was one of the good ones."

"Yes he was," Ryan agreed. "I miss him."

"And now you're dating our Rain," Sheldon added. "What a small world."

"Dating?" Ryan giggled. "No. Rain and I are very good friends. We've known each other for almost eight years."

Sheldon cocked an eyebrow but didn't gainsay the statement. "So then you know our Eric too?"

"No," Ryan explained. "I was with Tony while Rain was with Eric. We didn't cross paths again until recently."

Mr. Weston cleared his throat. "So about your project..."

"Don't stress, Al," Sheldon replied in a bored tone of voice. "I'm going to sign the papers. You and Edward can work out the details of the contract."

At that, the party seemed to split into two groups with the business men at one end and the gay boys at the other. Only Steve seemed to have any interest in following both conversations. Ryan and Sheldon hit it off, and only Steve and I appeared to take any notice of Mr. Weston and Sheldon's lawyer taking their leave after concluding their business. Mostly I noticed because Dylan got up and moved into the empty chair next to me. He reached under the tablecloth and ran his palm up my thigh.

"I'm feeling overdressed," Dylan announced, glancing around the table. With Steve and Sheldon both in black shirts and pants, Dylan was the only one left at the table in a suit. He stood and signaled a waiter to take away the extra table while he shed his suit coat and draped it over the back of the chair. He loosened his tie and top buttons and sat back down with his elbows on the table. "Now that the stuffed shirts have left, where were we?"

Sheldon chuckled a bit. "I thought you were one of them."

"God, I hope not!" Dylan laughed.

Ryan held out his hand to Dylan. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

Dylan took his hand but didn't shake it. Instead he bent over and bussed the back of it. "It's a pleasure to meet you too. You're far from what I expected."

Ryan tittered a bit at Dylan's charm. "Is that good thing or a bad thing?"

"It's a good thing," Dylan assured him.

Sheldon quietly watched the whole exchange. "There's something here that I'm not getting."

Ryan explained, "Dylan is Rain's... What are you guys, exactly?"

"Boyfriend," Dylan supplied.

"Lover," I corrected. "The boyfriend part is still under consideration."

"Not for me," Dylan replied, staring deeply into my eyes.

"Oh yeah," Sheldon moaned. "I'm definitely signing that contract as soon as Edward gets it ready."

Steve laughed. "Leave it to you to find the one openly gay architect in the city of Dallas."

"Hush you," Sheldon admonished his partner. "I'm sure there are others."

"How long have you guys been together?" I asked them. "I didn't meet you, but you were there at Reverchon that night."

Steve nodded. "We've been together for twenty-five years."

"Wow!" I exclaimed. "How do you do it?"

Steve chuckled. "I have no idea."

"I'm the only one that will put up with him," Sheldon supplied.

"Oh yes, you diva," Steve teased. "I'm tough to handle."