Decisions Ch. 03

They were both silent as they rode in Jacob's car to the offices of Foster, Delaney, and Foster. Each one was lost in individual thoughts that, if they'd only known, were very similar. On Riley's part, he remembered the dream from the previous Friday, except now he imagined his mysterious lover was Jacob. He didn't understand it, but he couldn't help himself. On Jacob's part, he thought of how beautiful Riley was, even in clothes that were old and unflattering. It had to do with more than just his face and form; it was his actions and the way he immersed himself completely in the tasks he set himself.

Once inside the law firm, Jacob showed Riley to his office and excused himself to drop in on David Foster. He wanted to tell Foster about the problems with finding out about Shane MacCready and Riley's suggestion. It was actually a very helpful solution that none of them were likely to have thought of.

The news of the apparent non-existence caused a flurry of cursing from the normally jovial man. None of the three partners ever entertained even the possibility of guilt about Baxter, which was rare. Defense attorneys, always giving their best to their clients, understood that sometimes the people they defended turned out to be guilty. That this one should have projected only innocence, and might well not be innocent, bothered Foster.

"I'll have someone meet with Baxter and draw up a sketch. If he is playing us, it will change our whole strategy. Let's wait until all the information is in, one way or another, before saying anything to him. Maybe there's a logical explanation. I'd hate to think that after so many years, my instincts could be so wrong."

"As Mr. Scott pointed out, there is the possibility, no matter how small, that this so-called MacCready is the one who lied and not Baxter."

"Be that as it may, let's wait until we're sure." Foster ran a hand through his short silver hair. "Keep on working with Scott on this. Jack Ward says he's a relatively new addition to his agency but very talented. It won't be easy to change our entire defense if it turns out there is no MacCready."

Jacob nodded and went to leave the office. "If MacCready did deceive Baxter, however, it will certainly help us out."

Twice on the way back to his own office, he was stopped to answer questions on other cases. His secretary needed his signature on his time sheet for billing purposes and one of the paralegals needed clarification on documents needed from the law library. Jacob found himself anxious to be back with Riley, as though the longer he was away the greater the possibility he would find the other gone.

Once he reached his office door, however, his steps faltered. He wanted so much to drag Riley out and to a restaurant, and perhaps to a club afterwards. Some music and some dancing, swaying together to some soft, throbbing music, as alcohol coursed through their blood to lower inhibitions and raise their libido. It would be perfect. It would likely turn into a disaster. If there was one thing Jacob was certain about, it was that Riley wasn't ready or willing to jump into any kind of relationship with anyone, let alone a man.

Jacob felt the breath leave his body and his palms break out into a sweat. Relationship? What the fuck was he thinking? The last thing he wanted or needed was a relationship, let alone Riley. With a mental shake and a fake smile pasted onto his face, Jacob strode into the office and took a seat at the desk. Riley waited patiently on the other side of the desk, paper and pen in hand to take notes on the case if he felt they would help in his investigation.

The outline of the case as Jacob laid it out was basic. One Miss Veronica Jones was found murdered in her apartment six months earlier by her boyfriend. No sign of a struggle or of a break in were found. As her boyfriend, Andrew Baxter had a key to the apartment, which the police believed was the reason there was no forced entry. A search of Ms. Jones' private papers led the detectives to believe there was some lingering contact with a previous boyfriend, only known by the signature to his letters 'Your only real love, SHNM'. Their theory was that Andrew became enraged that Veronica still had feelings for the other man and killed her in a fit of passion. Maybe it was accidental, but the end result was the same, the young woman was dead and Andrew was responsible.

Andrew claimed that he was aware of letters to Veronica from her ex, as the man was a friend of his from back in college, Shane MacCready. Veronica kept trying to cut off ties, but couldn't seem to get through to Shane. Shane sent a letter a week, begging her to go back to him, sometimes apologetic for whatever he'd done, sometimes enraged that a man he considered a good friend had stolen her away. For some reason, the detectives in charge of the case did not do much to investigate MacCready, although personally, Jacob now believed it was because they probably couldn't find the guy.

Unfortunately for Baxter, he had no solid alibi. His claim that he went to the park to do some reading in the early evening, and then took the bus home could not be verified. He was alone all night and reported to work as usual the next morning. None of his co-workers noticed anything unusual in his behavior, nor did his work suffer at all. One of Veronica's neighbors believed he saw Baxter the night in question. The elderly gentleman also admitted that, since Baxter went nearly every day, he couldn't be absolutely certain if he'd actually seen Baxter or only assumed the man had come by.

"...and that's it in a nutshell," Jacob finished the recital. "The partners here fully believe, without any doubts, that Andrew Baxter is innocent. I have to say, my gut instinct is also telling me the guy is innocent."

With a deep frown, Riley read over the notes he'd made and chewed on his lip again. He was very aware of Jacob watching him and his stomach flipped. This feeling was familiar, even if he hadn't felt it in a year. It was the same feeling he got when Hunter began talking to him and asking him out. It was the same feeling he got when he made his decision to push Hunter into sex in the backseat of his car. Riley didn't want to feel this way at all, especially with Jacob.

"There are lots of things in there that bother me, although I suspect it's because I haven't seen everything about the investigation. I'll work on this, outline the big problems I can see and email it over later tonight or tomorrow. You can look it over and compare my questions with whatever you couldn't reveal."

"That's fine. How about we meet again for an update on both our sides on Thursday? Is that too soon?"

"Thursday's good for me, as long as I'm clear from eleven to about one-thirty."

"Great, so let's say we meet at the coffee shop at three pm. It's almost time for dinner," Jacob commented casually. "Would you care to join me? I thought I'd go to this great sports bar around the corner for a bite. My treat."

First thing on the tip of Riley's tongue was to refuse, emphatically. He opened his mouth and was stopped by various images coming to mind. Most prominently was the memory of last Friday's dream, with the anonymous lover stroking his skin, leaving him aching and desperate for some sort of release until it came to an end with him on the floor. That memory was followed with a quick succession of times with Hunter, none of which came even close to what he felt in the dream.

At the time, he couldn't fathom anything feeling better. His traitorous thoughts made him wonder what another man's touch could do for him. The quick encounters in bars, a quick blowjob or grope, didn't count. Those weren't really meant to do more than bring about some relief and he hadn't really invested anything of himself in them. While anything else he might indulge in now, if he decided to pursue his growing need, might not be for any other reason, his experiences with Hunter had given him something to compare with.

Jacob was a handsome man, and from various hints, he had explored his bisexual side and discovered he enjoyed men. The man's experience probably far outstripped his own. Suddenly, it was imperative for Riley to find out if he could let himself get involved with another man. If he found any sort of intimacy with Jacob possible, perhaps he could start looking again, even if for nothing more than the occasional hookup.

Bolstered by thoughts of soft caresses to his overheated skin, Riley came to a decision and met Jacob's eyes straight on with determination. "I'd love to have dinner with you, as long as it's take out at your place." The blank expression on Jacob's face pleased him and brought out a wide, amused smile.

"Take out? At my place? Well, sure, I mean...If that's what you'd like."

"Yes, I'd like that very much. We can go to your place, order some food, take off all our clothes while we eat, and see what we can come up with afterwards to occupy our time."

Had he thought himself submissive? At that moment, watching Jacob try to swallow his surprise while gathering his briefcase, Riley decided he was anything but submissive. His amused laughter echoed down the hall as they hurried down to Jacob's car.

This was going to be so much fun. Riley was glad to have made his decision, and it was a much easier decision to make than the one where he distanced himself from men and sex. He would worry about consequences tomorrow. This felt absolutely right, right down to the throbbing at his groin as he thought of what he might be up to very soon.

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That's it for this chapter. Please leave me your comments, either public or private, and don't forget to vote. I hope to have the next chapter out within a week, but check out my bio to know when it gets submitted. It needs some reworking and reviewing, so the delay will depend on how that goes.