Run and Hide Pt. 02

"Oh, plenty," Tanner smirked.

It was odd having another person in his office. It had been a while since he'd shared an office space with anyone else, let alone shared that space in his own home. He was constantly aware of Tanner's presence; it affected the air around him, and not in a completely comfortable way.

Ace sat in the chair he kept for his rare office guests and watched Tanner do some incomprehensible things at lightning speed on his laptop.

The site was really coming together well. Erik hadn't steered him wrong by pointing him in Tanner's direction for this. Ace found a couple of typos and some alignment issues that Tanner set about fixing.

"So, I've been meaning to ask," Tanner said, his eyes rapidly scanning the code on the screen. "You're not from the area, you didn't go to KU. What the hell brought you to Lawrence at all?"

Ace chuckled. "You say that like it's a small town you're ready to leave behind."

"Well, sorta," Tanner said. "I mean, it's a cool place and a great school, but I can't wait to get to a bigger city. Like you did. Why did you ever leave Atlanta?"

Because I couldn't bear to be in Cameron's zip code any more. Because I'm a coward. Because I'm not like you, kid.

"It was Olive and Vince's fault, actually," Ace said, completely skirting the memories that still weighed down his heart.

"You mean Dr. Boyer?" Tanner asked a little distractedly. "I had him for American History. Gave me an A. Really dry sense of humor."

And that sums him up, I guess. All the important bits, anyway.

"I met them when I was living in Baltimore. We were kind of each other's family for a while there." Ace smiled, thinking back to that drafty, creaky brownstone near the university where they had all lived.God, that was a decade ago. Tanner must have been in middle school."I visited them once they moved to Lawrence, and I just kinda fell for the place."

"I just can't imagine settling for this place," Tanner said in a carelessly dismissive way. "Just one more semester 'til graduation, and I am outta here."

Yet another reason Ace shouldn't bother with him. Why get even a little close to someone - even if only for physical comfort - just to have to let him go soon?

It would be different if he were Tanner's age, but Ace was thirty-three, firmly rooted in this funky town in a funky old house and a not-so-funky mortgage. There were times he envied the clueless twenty-two-year-olds out there.

"Anywhere in particular?" Ace asked.

"Wherever the money is," Tanner said firmly. "I figure a comp sci degree and a business minor will be a good combination for a high-paying job."

Ace frowned. That was probably a fair assessment of his prospects. But it was a little disconcerting to know that all his passion was for making a buck, not for the work itself.

"You could use some more content on the results page," Tanner said, changing the subject and pulling Ace's attention back to the screen. "Like testimonials or something. Do you have any e-mails from clients where they talked about how awesome you are? Or can you ask some people to tell you how awesome you are?"

Ace smiled. "I'll check my files. I'm sure I can find something."

"It's not critical for the launch or anything," Tanner said. "But you don't want to leave it empty very long or you'll look all unfinished."

"Got it. Anything else I need to do?"

"Nope. How about we make this sucker live?"

Ace breathed deeply and nodded with a smile. So satisfying to cross a big item off the to-do list.

A few more clicks, and Tanner pulled up the new site online for him to see.

"Thanks so much, Tanner," Ace said. "This is just what I needed."

"I'm glad to help," he replied. "Um, also glad to get paid."

"Right! Sorry, yes, let me get my checkbook."

He wrote out the check as Tanner gathered up his files and laptop.

"I've got just enough time to hit the gym before my last class," Tanner said. "I was worried that I wouldn't make it today. I hate missing a day."

"You don't look like you miss many days," Ace said with a small smile.

Tanner looked at him with a knowing eye.

"Now that you mention it, and I hope you don't mind my saying this, Ace," Tanner said. "I know you've got a good body, but you could do more." He lightly ran his hand down Ace's flank, and Ace quickly moved out of reach. Tanner sounded like a house appraiser, his eyes casting about for potential flaws. Ace fought the urge to suck in his stomach. He wasn't obsessive about working out, but he made sure to get some exercise every day, usually a run.

Clearly, that wasn't enough for the young man who was eyeing him up and down. Tanner had a tight, compact body that screamed of hours spent at the gym. He was pure eye candy.

God knows Ace liked hard candy. Every once in a while.

Tanner was, what, twenty-two? A senior in college. Sculpted and all planned out. He made Ace feel old, especially in this moment of being evaluated.

"I hate to break it to you, kid, but thirty-three is not twenty-two," Ace said. "I'm doing pretty good for an old guy."

Tanner licked his lips. "You're not that old. I could help you put some more definition in your abs," he said, stepping closer.

"You could come to my gym this Saturday," he continued. "I'm usually there for a few hours in the morning. Plenty of time to really do some work on you."

Ace swallowed down his growing annoyance at Tanner's attitude. "I've got a client meeting on Saturday," he said with a shrug and a smile.Congratulations, Steven: the 'maybe' setting just got moved to 'yes.'

"Another time, then, I hope," Tanner said. "I think there's a lot more we could do together."

Oh, just come out and say it, kid.The calculating junior businessman in front of him was probably trying to have his Ace and keep his business too.

Tanner reminded him about getting some testimonials as he gathered his bag.

"Think some more about the gym," Tanner said, turning back to him at the door. "I'd be happy to show you some moves."

Temporary eye candy or a permanent closet case. Rock and a hard place. Ace shifted his stance at the thought of the hard place he craved and the rock in front of him.

"I'll keep that in mind," Ace said with a faint smile. He closed the door and leaned heavily against it.

Tanner was a hottie, no doubt. And his body definitely pushed some buttons.

Instead of giving in to the available, hot-for-him, built young man who had been standing in his living room, Ace couldn't get his mind off the closet case who pretended not to know him after fucking him until he nearly fainted.

Figures.

Maybe Erik was right. Maybe the memory of Cameron was hamstringing his life. He didn't want Cameron back. That book was closed. But he was still drawn to a man who clearly was taking pages from Cameron's playbook.

And now he was going to see him again on Saturday.

Back to the hard place.

*****

I'm going to cancel.

Paul officially knew better. He shouldn't go to Steven's on Saturday, even if it meant pissing off his brother. Even if it made him a chicken.

Sometimes, retreat was the wisest option. Especially when you can't resist the enemy.

Of course, Ace wasn't the enemy. He was more like the spoils of war.

If only he could figure out what he was fighting against.

Paul checked the appointment calendar on his computer. One more scheduled for this afternoon. Mrs. Donaldson, a sweet old lady who had been coming to see him consistently for a few years now. Reminded him of his mom, who was the whole reason he got into chiropractic in the first place. A nice way to end a Friday afternoon.

Friday. It had been a week since the Sparks Incident.Only a week?It felt much longer. Probably because he'd been thinking about it so much in the seven days since he'd first spotted Ace.

And even more in the two days since their lives intersected again.

Maybe he could erase Ace from his mind in another back room? There were other places to go, after all. Ace wasn't the only beautiful man out there.

No! Rules!

And who was he kidding? At this point, he wouldn't be satisfied unless he had the real thing. And that thought was leading him down an even more dangerous road.

He wasn't going to go. Full stop. He just wanted Ace too much to be able to stop himself if it came down to it. His self-control was well maintained and able to withstand years of frustrating temptation. But one more day with Ace would be more than he could handle.

Instead, he would spend Saturday working on Mr. Phipps's back and then distract himself with reorganizing his office. It could use a new arrangement, now that he looked around his small interior office. Like his own condo, it was a functional space, just not very interesting. He had a photo of himself with Steven on the desk, and a kill-proof plant up on one of the large bookshelves filled with medical texts. And that was the extent of his decorating touches.

But maybe a change in the furniture would do the trick. He could angle the desk to face the door, the way Steven's bed looked in the master bedroom. Ace could probably tell him what he could-

God. Damn. It.The man had completely infected his brain.

He stepped out into the waiting area to stretch his legs and check with Nicole on any new messages. He half expected Steven to start calling to bug him about tomorrow.

Nicole Pratt was a good secretary, if a little chatty. Not that Paul blamed her. Because she often had only herself for company in the office, she filled her time talking to every friend and relative she had ever met. Or so it seemed to Paul.

She was a tiny little thing, at least a foot shorter than Paul with a happy mess of curly brown hair framing an equally happy face. Nicole was also - what was Steven's word? Avid. She clearly wanted to be more than a secretary for Paul. Fortunately, he could fall back on the boss-employee relationship clause, and not the real reason that would never happen.

"Hey Nicole. How were the phones today?"

"Pretty quiet. You're booked but not too booked next week. Plenty of wiggle room for emergencies and, you know, long lunch breaks or something."

Nicole's favorite verbal qualifier was "or something." Once Steven had pointed it out to him, it was all Paul could hear in her conversations.

"Sounds good. Listen, after Mrs. Donaldson shows up, you can probably take off for the weekend. Get an early start on it."

"Well, not really," she said. He frowned, not getting it. "I'll be in tomorrow when you are, for your morning appointment," she continued. "Remember?"

Right. His escape route.

His phone buzzed in his pocket with a text message. Steven, of course.

Yo. Coming tomorrow? 9am dont frgt

Now would be the time to tell him he couldn't make it. He really did have an appointment scheduled. He wouldn't even have to lie.I'm a doctor, after all. Steven will understand.

Bzzzz.

And no appt bullshit. 9am

Stupid mind-reading little brother.

Bzzzz.

Z. you gotta

Paul knew he gotta. When it came to Steven, he always gotta. He wished he could tell his brother why he shouldn't. He wished one other person in the world understood how hard this was for him.

But Steven would freak. His parents would freak. Ace was the only other gay man he knew, and talking about his fears wasn't exactly tops on the list of things he wanted to do with that delicious blond beauty.

"So," Nicole said, leaning deeply over the reception counter, throwing out the wrong kind of bait. "You have just that one appointment at 10:30 tomorrow. And I was wondering if you maybe wanted to grab some lunch afterwards or something?"

Paul opened his mouth but didn't know how to tell her, uh, no. Not without potentially hurting her feelings. And he really didn't need things to get awkward at work once he'd made it clear that he wasn't interested.

Man, you can't settle anything, can you, McDonnell? You just leave her in limbo like everything else in your life.

While he considered his next words, his phone buzzed again.

Dont make me sic Holly on you

That made Paul smile - but he knew if Holly pushed him, he wouldn't be able to say no.

"We could do Free State Brewery?" Nicole continued, still hopeful. "They do a fun Science Beer thing on Saturdays, all about the chemistry of beer or something. Do you like beer?"

"Um, yeah, beer is good, but um-"

Saved by the buzz. This one was from Holly.

Darling, we need a big strong man tomorrow. U R the only 1 we know.

Paul chuckled. Then he considered: If Ace was serious about moving that giant TV to the basement, they really would need another pair of hands to shepherd it down the stairs. Maybe he could help with just that, then escape?

Bzzzz.

I can go 2 ways from here. Bribery or threats. U pick.

"Is that a new girlfriend who keeps texting you or something?" Nicole asked, her voice just a little tight. "She's awfully persistent."

She's not the only one, chick,he thought.

So the choice was a fruitless, awkward lunch with his secretary or a sweaty, frustrating morning with Ace.

Really not a choice.

"Nicole, could you call Mr. Phipps and reschedule his Saturday appointment?" He saw Nicole's hopeful expression fade from her face and felt a twinge of guilt for once again dodging her attentions.

"Is that what all the texting was about?" she asked, typing loudly on her keyboard to pull up Mr. Phipps' phone number. "Got a big date tomorrow or something?"

No. Well, yes. Well, not really.

"Family emergency. Sort of. My presence has been firmly requested."

Nicole was somewhat mollified. "Hard to say no to family."

"You have no idea." He pulled out his phone and turned to go back into his office. "Let me know when Mrs. Donaldson arrives."

He pulled out his phone before Holly could devise more punishments for him.

I'll be there. Call off the dogs already.

As he shut the door, he heard Nicole pick up her previous phone conversation.

"Well, that was a bust," she sighed. "He's either just not interested in me or he's gay. Those are the only two options."

Paul's heart stopped. The last thing he needed was his gossipy secretary discussing his sexuality with everyone she knew.

"No, I don't think he has a girlfriend. Or, you know, a boyfriend for that matter. I don't think he has anybody." She sighed dramatically. "But oh he could have me with just a word."

'I don't think he has anybody.' That cut sharply into Paul's gut.She isn't wrong, though, is she?

"That's a good idea, I'll try that next time," Nicole giggled into the phone.

Oh Lord, she's planning something.Probably a lower cut blouse or something else similarly ineffective.

He was going to have to tell her, one way or another.

But one way was definitely scarier than another.

Paul might be running away from one issue, but the direction he was heading was so much more appealing. And it was starting to feel inevitable.

Chapter 6

When Ace arrived at Steven's on Saturday, Paul wasn't there. Ace didn't know whether to sigh - or sigh.

Ace hauled some cans of paint out of his truck bed, along with a box of well-used painting supplies. Steven had given him free reign to buy neutral, warm paint colors, which was a nice change from the overly obsessive clients in his portfolio.

"Hey Ace!" Steven caught up with him as he neared the open garage door. "Glad you could make it." He looked at Ace's bundle. "Got more of that?"

"It's all in the truck."

Steven headed toward the truck while Ace gratefully set down his heavy load and worked some feeling back into his fingers.

"So, I hear you're the one who objects to my choice of wall color."

Ace turned around to find the woman who had drawled those words, heavy with amusement.

Oh, thismustbe the fiancé.She was, in a word, pretty. Blonde hair that looked expertly dyed, long and flowing past her shoulders. Big hazel eyes full of laughter. And an easy smile that she was struggling to hide so she could look ticked about the burgundy.

Ace laughed. "Hand to God, I love it. I just worry about timid buyers."

She made a pouty face. "So we have to erase it?"

"Actually, I have a plan to just tone down its volume."

"Oh," she said, appeased. "Okay. You can stay."

Ace grinned. He instantly liked her.

"I'm Ace Hoffman," he said, shaking her small hand.

"Holly Shipley. And I really wouldn't have kicked you out, not after what you've already done for Steven's house."

"That good, huh?" Ace knew he had an eye for this work, but it was always nice to hear it from others.

"I didn't even recognize the bedroom," she insisted. "You're a magician."

"Not really," Ace demurred. "Just German. My mom says it's the German efficiency in me. Always wanting to find the most optional arrangement in a room, not wasting space. Then when I told her I was gay, she said this was the perfect job for me."

Ace smiled to himself, thinking of how quickly his sweet little mother came to terms with that bombshell. It took his dad a lot longer.

"I'm telling you now, as soon as Steven sells this place and moves all this stuff to my house, I'm hiring you to be my move-in day foreman," Holly said. "I want to get everything right from the start."

"I'll be happy to," Ace said. "I've never worked with anybody on day one like that."

"Well, after seeing this transformation here, I'm a little sorry he has to sell it."

"You know, that's happened before." Ace led them inside. "I've had a couple of clients who decided not to move after I staged their house. Pissed off the realtor something fierce."

"Well, David couldn't say enough good things about you," said Steven, who came in with the rest of the supplies.

"He's a good guy," Ace said. "And a successful realtor. You're in excellent hands."

"He's gay too, right?" Steven said. "I mean, I got that vibe."

"Steven!" Holly exclaimed, smacking his arm.

Ace grinned faintly. David was a little more ... exuberant. Nearly anybody's gaydar would have gone off.

"Does it bother you?" Ace asked carefully. At this point, he didn't think Steven was a homophobe, but you never knew.

"Oh, no. Nothing like that," Steven said quickly. "I just thought, are you two, you know, seeing each other?"

"Steven!" Another smack from Holly.

"What?" Steven rubbed his arm, perplexed.

"Not every gay man is boffing every other gay man, you dumbass!" she hissed at him.

Ace chuckled. "Well put. No, we're not dating. And, for the record, in case you were thinking of setting us up, he's not really my type."

"Oh?" Holly asked, taking Ace's arm confidentially. "Whatisyour type?"

Your future brother-in-law, sweetie. Mr. Film Noir. Mr. Pretends He Hasn't Met Me.

"Oh, Lord," Steven moaned. "You've done it now. You've unleashed the matchmaker."

Ace decided it was time to change the subject. "Maybe after we finish this house, I'll tell you all about my perfect guy," he told Holly. "The way things are going, I could probably use a good yenta."

Holly clapped her hands in childlike glee. "Then let's get to work so we can be finished!"

"What's the plan, boss?" Steven said to Ace. "And Paul should be here soon, so don't leave him out of your assignments."

Ace fought to keep a flush at bay.So, not off the hook after all.

"He'd better come," Holly said darkly. "I warned him there would be an 'or else' in his future."

"Well, my plan is first to paint, starting in the new man cave. Then paint up here, and by then the basement will be dry and we can build a cave."

"Oh, and I've bought some throw pillows and artwork and stuff," Holly added.