God's Angel Ch. 05

"Huh?" Gabe asked.

"Where are we going? I'll drive you."

"You don't have to do that."

"I know I don't have to. I want to. Where do you have to be at one?" Gabe gave him the mid-town address. "That'll take a half hour tops, but let's give you a good forty-five minutes so we don't have to rush things."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Let me just run back to my house and take care of something and I'll pick you up at twelve or a little after."

"Ok." Gabe said and walked Kyle to the door. "Thanks again for doing this. I sort of didn't want to have to navigate the train system today either. It looked a little intimidating."

"Yeah, it's not that bad but it's better you didn't do it today when you've got something to do. Leave that stress for another day. I'll be back in no time."

Kyle left and Gabe had time to get himself psyched up for the interview. At twelve, the door bell rang again and Gabe was ready.

"Hey." Kyle said as Gabe came out.

"Hey. I still look ok, right?"

"You look fine. You're going to knock 'em dead."

"Ok." Gabe said and followed Kyle to a very sporty looking, newer model Saab. "Wow. Is this the car?"

"It is. It's not a manual, I hope that's ok."

"I can't drive stick." Gabe admitted.

"Really? We'll have to teach you."

The ride to the city wasn't as bad as Gabe thought it would be and he gave Kyle the credit. He seemed to know where he was going and drove the streets like a native.

"Are you from around here?" Gabe asked.

"Nah, I'm from a little backwater town in Alabama. I moved up here when I was twenty-nine. My grandmother died and she left me the house. I needed a change and thought I'd only be up here for a couple of years before I sold the house and found somewhere new. That was almost eight years ago. I sort of fell in love with the area. What about you? Phil and Darren said you're from somewhere upstate?"

"Yeah. About an hour and a half north. Near Woodstock."

"Nice area."

"Yeah, I guess." Gabe didn't offer anything else.

"And?" Kyle prodded.

"And?"

"And why are you down here?"

"I guess, I needed a change too."

"Fair enough." Kyle said.

Gabe turned and watched as they crossed a bridge and were funneled into the great city of Manhattan. It seemed no different now than it had when he was a kid. Then it was larger than life and scary as much as it was wonderful and exhilarating. Gabe watched the buildings and the people go by, the neighborhoods change but the bustle stayed the same.

"We're here." Kyle said and pulled up in front of a large building. "Take my cell phone number and call me when you're done. I should be here by the time you're outside."

"Thanks again, Kyle."

"No problem." He said as Gabe stepped out. "Gabe."

"Yeah?"

"Don't worry. You'll get the job." Gabe smiled and thanked Kyle before heading into the building.

Gabe called Kyle about forty minutes later and told him he was coming down. When he walked out of the building, Kyle was out front leaning up against the Saab. He was smiling and Gabe smiled back.

"How did it go?"

"It went really well. She offered me the job right there. You should see the salary. It's disgusting. I feel bad taking it."

"Not too bad, I hope."

"No, not too bad. I'm going to take the wonderful job, the amazing pay checks, the awesome benefits and the glorious 401K." Gabe leaned back against the Saab next to Kyle and folded his arms in a similar manner.

"Congratulations! This means we'll have to celebrate."

"Ok. Let's celebrate. What do you have in mind?" Gabe asked.

"How do you feel about hot dogs?" Kyle asked.

"Hot dogs?" Gabe asked.

Kyle drove them uptown and pulled over in front of a little hole in the wall called Papaya King. From the way he jumped out of the car and rushed over to open Gabe's door, he was excited.

"These are the best hot dogs in New York."

"Better than Nathan's?" Gabe asked, being a New Yorker one knows Nathan's reputation.

"I'm not going to lie, Nathan's does make a mean hot dog, but these are better."

Gabe bit into his mustard and onion hot dog and washed it down with a large swallow of papaya juice.

"This is an amazing hot dog." Gabe felt forced to admit.

"Hell yeah it is." Kyle agreed after taking a sip of some drink called coconut champagne. "But to be fair, you'll also have to try Nathan's."

"I've eaten at Nathan's." Gabe said.

"In Brooklyn?"

"No."

"Then you haven't eaten at Nathan's."

"It's not the same, huh?"

"Is it ever?" Kyle asked. "So, you're in Manhattan for only the second time in your life. What do you want to do?"

"I don't know, honestly. When I was a kid, we came in for a school trip. We saw a Broadway play then went home."

"Jesus, that's it?! All right, so we can pretty much do anything and it'll be new."

"I guess so."

"Then let's get started." Kyle said and ordered two more hot dogs for the road.

Kyle took Gabe to the Guggenheim museum and then for a stroll through Central Park. They rode the Staten Island ferry which passed right by Liberty Island.

"Have you ever been there?" Gabe asked.

"No. Whenever I want to see the Statue of Liberty, I just take a nice little ride on the ferry. Why would I want to go to the island and fight all the tourists. You have to walk up these little stairs with people coming down and then when you get up there, you can't even stop and enjoy the view. People are constantly pushing you to keep moving. That's not for me."

"It doesn't sound too appealing." Gabe said. "What's next?"

Kyle took Gabe to the top of the Empire State building and they stood silently watching the sun set in the west, turning the city into a sea of bright orange buildings. As the sun slipped beneath the horizon, Gabe sighed and watched the evening sky turn dark with dusk.

"That was beautiful."

"Yeah." Kyle said. "It's a great time of day, isn't it? The day ended but the night hasn't really begun. You can take a minute to yourself and think of where you were today and where you'll be tomorrow. I love this time of day."

"Wow, Kyle. Who knew you were so deep?" Gabe smiled.

"Only a very select few." Kyle said and stared into Gabe's eyes who lost his smile.

"What makes me so special?"

"I haven't decided yet. I just know you are and I'm hoping you'll give me the chance to find out."

"Kyle, you're a nice guy, no. You're an awesome guy and you really make me wish I had something to give right now, but the truth is, I don't. I'm kind of lost. You asked why I moved here, it was because a guy I loved married a woman rather than tell his parents he was gay."

"So you're not ready. That's fine. I can live with that. I think you're worth waiting for." Kyle said.

"It's not just that I'm not ready... I don't know if I'll ever be. I feel broken, in a way. I didn't know.... the guy who got married very long but I he because special to me very quickly and then he just wasn't there anymore. I sort of feel...."

"What do you feel?"

"Nothing. It was stupid. I just don't think I'm a good bet for you." Gabe said and began walking back to the gift shop. Kyle followed and they both packed themselves into a crowded elevator to make the long trip down to the lobby.

"Gabe?" Kyle said from across the elevator.

"Yeah?" Gabe looked over at him.

"It's my decision whether or not to bet on your, right?" Kyle smiled. "I still get to make that choice, right?"

"I guess."

"Ok. Then I'll wait for you. Why don't you let me know when you're ready." Kyle said. Gabe blushed and looked around at the people in the elevator, most of whom were looking at him.

"If you ask me," An elderly woman standing next to her husband said. "He's quite a catch."

Gabe smiled weakly and saw Kyle's grin widen. He looked toward the corner of the elevator to hide his embarrassment. It takes roughly two minutes to get down from the top of the Empire State building but to Gabe it felt like forever. When the doors opened, he was glad he was one of the first ones off. Kyle of course, was right beside him as they walked the couple of blocks to the car. They had driven in silence for a while when Kyle spoke.

"Close your eyes."

"Why?"

"Please? I promise I'm not going to do anything inappropriate." Gabe could hear the laughter in his voice.

"Ok." Gabe closed his eyes.

"First, I'd like to say I'm sorry for what I said back there. You're not ready and you probably weren't ready to hear that someone was interested in you. I can be a little aggressive when I like someone."

Gabe opened his eyes.

"You asked me to close my eyes for that?"

"Close your eyes! Hurry!" Gabe did as he was asked. "No, I didn't. But I figured we could get that out of the way."

"Thank you for apologizing, but there's no need. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I'm not ready. I'm sorry I wasted my time on something that apparently wasn't meant to be. I'm sorry for a lot of things."

"Life's not easy and love can be one of the hardest games out there." Kyle said.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"All right." Kyle said. "You can open your eyes."

Gabe did and was struck by hundreds of neon signs and giant screens rising up above a horde of people and cars all heading in various directions. His heart pounded a little faster in response to the onslaught of stimulation. The beautiful chaos of it all struck Gabe as almost magical.

"What is this place?" Gabe asked in wonder and awe.

"This is Times Square. The heart of New York City." Kyle said as he drove slowly through, letting Gabe take it all in.

"Is it like this all the time?"

"No, it's better at night. The lights are brighter."

"Thank you, Kyle."

"You're welcome, Gabe."

The drive home was sedate after all the excitement of the day. Gabe felt a wonderful exhaustion throughout his body. The city had definitely done a number on him. And he would soon be working in it. The thought made him smile again.

"What are you smiling about?" Kyle asked.

"Today was a great day." Gabe gifted Kyle with the same open and free smile. Kyle's heart did a funny jump and his own mouth tugged in a grin of its own accord.

"Today was a really great day."

"Have I said thank you, yet?" Gabe asked.

"About a hundred times." Kyle laughed.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I'm glad I was able to show you the city. I'm glad it made an impression."

"That it did." Gabe said with certainty.

"I hope I made an impression?" Kyle glanced over but Gabe didn't answer. Kyle steered the car into a drive way and pulled up in front of another beautiful Victorian house, much the same style as Darren and Phil's.

"This is me." Kyle said and laid in hands on his thighs to keep him from pulling Gabe in for a kiss goodnight.

"It's beautiful!" Gabe said and thought it was even more beautiful than his friends. Theirs was newly built in the Victorian style, whereas you could tell Kyle's house had been here for years.

"Thanks. Would you like to come in? See the inside?"

"I would but I'm a little beat. Raincheck?"

"Absolutely." Kyle said and got out of the car. Gabe did, to change to the drivers seat. "You know how to get back to Darren and Phil's?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah, just go out there and take a right?"

"Yup." Kyle said and put his hands in his pockets preparing to watch Gabe drive away.

"You know," Gabe said, leaning out the window of the car. "I don't think I would have had a better time today with anyone else. I guess you did make an impression."

Kyle smiled until Gabe drove away and for a good deal longer.

Darren and Phil were sitting on the couch in the living room when Gabe walked in. He took off his jacket and flopped down onto the settee. The television was playing one of Darren's programs and Phil had been reading a book but both had pulled their attention away and were staring at Gabe expectantly.

"What?" Gabe smiled, knowing what they wanted.

"Bitch, if you don't tell us what happened I'm gonna kick your ass all over Westchester." Darren said.

"Gentlemen, you are looking at the newest Managing accountant with Bartley, Fitch and Meade."

"You did it!" Darren yelled. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Oh my God!" Phil exclaimed. "No offense, Gabe but I didn't think you'd ever get in there."

"Um, asshole much?" Darren frowned and hit Phil's shoulder.

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. They're prestigious and usually take the top of the class from Harvard and shit. I didn't even want to write them down on the list because I thought it'd be a waste of time. It was really a fluke that I even found out they were looking for people."

"No offense taken, Phil. I'm actually not sure why they took me. Tara Knox and I had a really nice long talk and she offered me the position right there. I was stunned."

"Does it pay good?" Darren asked.

"Obscenely." Gabe answered.

"Oh, that's so good! I love obscene pay checks." Darren said and hugged Gabe tightly. Phil smiled and shook Gabe's hand.

"Congratulations, Gabe. I know they'll be lucky to have you. When do you start?"

"Thanks. I start next Monday."

"Now, what else?" Darren asked, with a big smile on his face.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you're obviously driving the Saab so you've met Kyle and your interview was at one and it's almost ten now. Did you get lost for eight hours?"

"No, I didn't get lost for eight hours. Kyle showed me the city."

"What did you do?" Darren asked. Gabe told him all of the things Kyle had shown him. "Oh, that's so nice. He's so nice. If Phil wasn't right here I'd tell you of some very interesting dreams I've had about him."

"Well Phil is here and doesn't want to hear them." Phil said, though he didn't look threatened. "About Kyle, really?"

"Oh he's hot." Darren said.

"Yeah, he's hot." Gabe agreed.

"That dark black hair, that's just a little too long and curls at the back of his neck." Darren said wistfully.

"Or his eyes, I can't tell if they're green or hazel but they sparkle." Gabe sighed just as dramatically as he laid back on the settee.

"The dimple in his chin."

"The dimple in his ass."

"He has a dimple in his ass?" Darren said. "Bitch, you didn't see his ass."

"You don't have to see it, you can see it through his tight jeans. I know it's there. I have faith." Gabe smiled.

"I'm starting to get a little nauseous, girls, so if you don't mind can we talk about something other than Kyle's ass?" Phil said.

"Oh baby, you know there's no one for me but you." Darren said and curled into Phil's arms. "Although, there was one time that I thought Kyle was leaning in for a kiss but he was just grabbing the ketchup."

"I thought he was going to kiss me tonight." Gabe offered.

"Really?"

"It was on top of the Empire State Building. The sun had just set and he told me he wanted a chance to find out what made me special." Gabe said.

"Oh wow." Darren whispered. "That's so romantic. What did you say?"

"I told him I wasn't ready for a relationship." Gabe said and felt a pillow hit him in his head. "What was that for?"

"For being an ass. Kyle's a great guy!"

"Darren, calm down." Phil said. "Gabe's not ready. Don't push him into something he's not ready for."

"I know. I'm sorry, Gabe. It would just be so cute. You two together just around the corner, us here. We'd be like gay neighbors."

"It's only been two weeks since I moved down here, Darren."

"I know, sweetie. Take your time. I just like the idea of the two of you in my head, you know?"

"I know, but I'm not there yet. In fact the idea of me with anyone, even in your head, scares me." Gabe said. "I've decided that I'm just going to concentrate on my career right now and let everything else be."

"That sounds like a good idea, Gabe." Phil said. "Just keep in mind, sometimes you can give yourself too much time."

Gabe thought of what Phil had said and wondered if he would know how much time was too much. The thought stayed on his mind for sometime but for thoughts of Kyle sneaking in.