Run and Hide Pt. 03

He was equally eager and terrified of the thought of seeing Paul there. From the short time he'd known these brothers, it was clear that wherever he saw Steven, he would see Paul. But after the disastrous morning after a week ago, Ace didn't know if he'd ever see Paul again – except in his fevered dreams.

He managed pretty well to keep thoughts of Paul out of his head during his waking hours – well, managed to yell at his brain every time those rogue thoughts popped up. Which was pretty damn often.

But at night, his subconscious seized control and let him live out every impossible fantasy, hear every sweet word Paul would never say out loud. At least not in front of people.

Still, as he pulled off the highway and navigated to Steven's house, Ace was looking forward to seeing Holly and her fiancé. It hadn't taken long at all for Holly to make herself comfortable in his life, and Ace found he welcomed the intrusion. Even after a year in his new town, he didn't really hang out with many people apart from Erik and the Olive and Vince tag team very infrequently. It would be nice to expand his circle of friends to include Holly and Steven.

Which was insane, of course. Being friends with even just Holly meant that he would be automatically thrown in the way of Paul, who tended to bolt whenever there were witnesses. How many times could he let himself get hurt like that?

Apparently at least one more time. He pulled into Steven's driveway and braced for the sight of Paul.

Holly opened the door at his knock with a big, cat-who-ate-the-canary grin on her face.

"It's the magician!" she beamed. "Come and see what you have wrought."

"There's been something wrought?" Ace joked. "You should put some ice on that."

In the foyer he was hit with the melting aroma of fresh chocolate chip cookies. It was an old realtor trick – but it was highly effective.

"Smells like David is here," he said.

"Chocolate chip cookies are my signature odor?" A trim, brown-haired man appeared from the kitchen, wearing a "Kiss the Cook" apron. "Well, that explains some things."

"It just means you're very good at your job," Ace said. "Fresh baking is an easy means of seduction."

David gave him a head-to-toe appraisal and smiled. "I'll keep that in mind."

Ace cleared his throat and pulled his camera out of his pocket. "Better get my shots." He turned to Holly. "Lead the way?"

They started in the master bedroom, the farthest room from the kitchen. Holly had clearly been shopping. The bed featured a cerulean comforter and artfully arranged pillows, and new coordinating artwork filled the wall across from the doorway.

"Someone's been busy," he said. "I love what you've added in here. That is absolutely my favorite shade of blue."

"I just love having an excuse to shop," she sighed. "And you called new bedding an investment. I'm going to keep trying that one on Steven to see if he falls for it."

Ace took a number of photos from different angles and moved to the next room.

"So," Holly said, sidling up to him. "Did you catch that look from Realtor Dave?"

Ace rolled his eyes briefly. "Yes, bubbe. That seems to be his typical look for me."

"Not your type, right?"

"Not exactly, no," Ace said. "I mean, he's a great guy and definitely cute. But he's not for me. And I'm not sure how to tell him that without upsetting him and causing him to stop sending me work. So I'm sticking with my policy of feigning ignorance."

"Does that work?"

"For now. Eventually I'll have to show proof of a boyfriend to keep him at bay."

"And that's where I come in." Holly bounced with excitement.

"Yes, one of my legion of yentas," Ace smiled.

"Um, president of the legion of yentas, thank you very much," Holly said.

They moved to the guest bathroom, and Ace froze at the sight of the room. The last time he'd been in there, he was trying to keep his heart from leaping out of his chest while Paul did wicked things with Ace's dick.

"You okay, sweetie?" Holly touched his arm and looked at him closely.

He shook his head to clear it. "That's a good candle for this room," he changed the subject. "Very vanillay."

He snapped more photos, trying to stay on task, but the room had reminded him that Paul might pop up in any of the next rooms. He didn't dare ask Holly if her future brother-in-law was planning to join them because it might give something away. Why should the interior designer be asking about the client's brother? A sharp-eyed matchmaker like Holly would definitely pick that up.

And while he didn't agree with Paul's closet policy, he wasn't going to be the one to give away his secret.

Ace escaped the scene of his hot, dark encounter and bumped into Steven in the hallway.

"Hey, you made it!" Steven shook his hand vigorously. "What do you think?"

"You guys have been remarkable," Ace said. "It's really impressive."

"Man, this is all you," Steven said. "If David hadn't recommended you, I would have just, you know, vacuumed and made my bed and called it done."

"I hate to break it to you, but your work isn't done yet," Ace said.

Steven's face fell. "Seriously, we've painted every wall in this place. There can't be anything more to do," he wailed.

"I meant the vacuuming. The cleaning. You're going to have to keep this place this clean for a while to come," Ace said. "Barring any selling miracles, it needs to stay ready for a showing at all times."

Steven's face cleared somewhat, until he considered the implications of that statement.

"Don't worry," Holly said, linking her arm with Steven's. "It will be good honey-do practice."

"Lord preserve me," Steven sighed with a smile.

"Whipped," David whispered in Ace's ear. Ace startled at the sound. Even without Paul here, he kept tripping over awkwardness.

"Let's keep going," Ace said to Holly, ignoring the lingering look David gave him. "Living room, then down to the man cave."

After finishing the interior shots, Ace took in every angle of the transformed front yard. There should be more than enough photos to keep Tanner off his back.

"All right, let's hit the road," Steven announced behind him. "David says it's time to clear out."

"I'm riding with Ace, sweetie," Holly said. "And don't you need to get gas in your car, too?"

"Right as always," Steven said, kissing her cheek. "See you guys at the Gaf."

"What is a gaf?" Ace asked.

"The best Irish pub in town," Steven said. "Babe, get our usual table, okay?"

With Holly buckled into the seat next to him, Ace turned onto Wornall Avenue. He turned to her to speak, but she beat him to it.

"So, my future brother-in-law is gay," Holly said conversationally.

Ace twisted the steering wheel sharply, earning an angry honk from a car in the next lane. "Whoa! What? That's your opening?"

"What?" she said, all innocent. "We have limited time here. And am I wrong? Do you have proof otherwise?"

"Do you have proof in the first place?" Ace countered.

"My world-class gaydar."

"Really," he said flatly. "Your gaydar has been rated and everything?"

"Yep."

"Huh. How wasted on you."

"I consider it a valuable resource."

"Of course. Terribly valuable for a straight woman to be able to identify gay men instantly."

"You know I'm right," she insisted.

"Fine. I concede the point. Your gaydar is invaluable."

"Not that," she said. "Though, yes. About Paul, I mean. He's gay."

"If that's what your gaydar says, who am I to argue?" She was not going to trick him into giving away Paul's secret.

Holly looked at him, while he kept his eyes on the traffic. "That's it? That's your only comment? My wickedly hot brother-in-law plays for your team, and this is all I get?"

"Yup."

Holly huffed out a breath and scowled comically. "Okay, fine. It's more than my gaydar. I know for a fact."

"He told you? Or did you guess?"

"I guessed, and then he told me." She crossed her arms loudly. "You could have been nicer about my instincts."

Well, it's a start. He's told someone.Although Ace doubted Paul would have broached the subject if Holly hadn't been pulling it out of him tooth by tooth.

"What else did he tell you?" Ace asked carefully.

"I know about you, too. About the two of you."

"How much detail did he use?"

"Not nearly enough. I had to fill in all the yummy parts on my own."

"Poor you."

"He also said he feels terrible about how he left things."

"Uh-huh." Ace was unconvinced. "I could tell how bad he feels. Dozens of phone calls, forgive-me flowers, all sincere and apologetic. I've been overwhelmed, really."

"I know, he's doing it wrong. He knows it too." Holly grimaced and looked out the window. "I wish this didn't have to be such a big damn secret. But he's pretty adamant about it."

"Tell me about it," Ace muttered. "How much farther is it to this place?"

"About six long blocks."

They rode in silence for a while.

"It's just that –" Ace paused, searching for the right words. "I'm not a hider. Never have been. Once I was sure I was gay, I let people know, even if it hurt in the short term. And now I'm supposed to hide an essential part of me for this guy?"

"Be patient with him," she said softly. "He's such a wonderful man with this big, beautiful heart. You haven't known him as long as I have. He's worth it. Trust me."

"Closet cases, in my experience, are not worth the heartache," Ace said, his voice tightening with bitterness. "I've survived that ride already, thanks. I don't want to deal with another one." He pulled into a space in the small parking lot next to the Gaf and hopped out of his truck.

Holly jogged around the truck to take Ace's arm. "Look, you know we can't talk about this around Steven," she said, "but don't give up on Paul. He's like a house with good bones. I'm sure you could make a big difference with him."

"Just what I need, another fixer-upper," Ace said. "I just finished my house, and now I need to work on Paul."

"Oooh, tell me about your house!" Holly's serious, imploring demeanor changed instantly into giddy excitement. "I can just imagine how much fun it must be!"

Ace held open the heavy wooden door for her. "Just what poor Steven wants to hear. More design talk."

From the bright early June Sunday afternoon, they stepped into a different country, even a different climate. The Gaf looked like it was imported directly from Ireland, fully built, every nail authentic. Deep cherry wood lined the floors, the walls, the booths, even the barstools, and faces of long-dead Irishmen stared down at them from the artwork on the walls. A brick fireplace in the center of room crackled with a welcoming fire that was out of place with the warmth of the season outside, but perfectly at home in this space.

Around the bar, old men monitored both the Gaelic hurling game on the television and their world-altering conversations with each other. Ace could tell without asking that those customers were as much a part of the fixtures here as the light bulbs and the Guinness, and just as necessary to the Gaf's charm.

"Good afternoon to you, my lovely!" A white-haired, ruddy-faced man with a thick Irish accent swept Holly into a hug as soon as she stepped into the room. "And who's this strapping lad?"

"John, this is my friend Ace," she said. "This is his first time to the Gaf, so you must make him love it."

"Sure and that's the only option, isn't it?" John shook Ace's hand firmly. "If you're friends with this one, you'll not have much choice about coming here, I'll wager."

"Sounds good to me," Ace said happily. "I officially already love this place."

"And you haven't even had the loaded pub chips yet," Holly said.

"I'll go fetch you an order straight away," John said. "You'll be taking your regular booth?"

"Steven would never know where to find us if we didn't," Holly said.

"Ah, there's truth in that. I'll pour him a stout while I'm at it." With that, John scampered to the kitchen.

Ace turned to Holly. "No kidding, I love this place. He's fantastic. Those walls are fantastic. Thatfireis fantastic!"

"I'm so glad," she said. "One of the perks of marrying a McDonnell is that I'm marrying the Gaf as well."

They settled into a tall, comfortable booth, and they both let out a satisfied sigh simultaneously.

"I could live here," Holly sighed.

"If I hadn't just finished my house, I'd drag all my stuff here today," Ace said.

"Your house!" Holly exclaimed. "That's right! Tell me all about your fabulous house!"

"Somebody's house is better than mine? Blasphemy." Steven slid into the seat next to Holly and gave her a loud, wet kiss on the cheek.

"Obviously, Ace's is going to be better than everybody's," Holly explained.

"Well, I'll grant you that."

John appeared with a steaming plate of thick-cut fries loaded with sour cream, chives and cheese, as well as a glass of Guinness for Steven.

"Mr. McDonnell, how are you my boy?" John asked.

"Better now," Steven said. "Always better in here."

"Ace, I'm going to be rude and order for you," Holly announced. "You have to try the shepherd's pie. It's required."

"Ah, she's right at that, lad," John said. "It's the best in Kansas City or I'll eat my hat."

"Let's do three pies then, John," Steven said.

Ace sat back, content to let his new friends initiate him into the ways of the Gaf without much input from him. It reminded him of the early days of his friendship with Olive and Vince back in Baltimore - the way they acted with him, the light teasing, the comfortable atmosphere. Ace definitely wanted to keep this friendship going.

Throughout their delicious meal, Holly's phone chirped with periodic text notices, and her fingers flew over the tiny keyboard to return them.

While Holly tapped away on her phone, Steven pulled out his wallet and extracted a piece of paper.

"Here," he said. "I want to make sure you get paid for your extra work on my house."

"Oh, no," Ace said, pushing the check back to Steven. "David has already paid me."

"Yeah, but I know how much you were sweating last week, and you didn't have to do any of that," Steven said. "Dave said I didn't need to do this, but I want to."

"Well, thank you," Ace said, folding the check and tucking it into his pocket. "I appreciate this."

"It's worth every penny," Steven said. "Besides, I don't like it when people take advantage of a friendship to get free labor, you know?"

Ace smiled and nodded.Yep, definitely keeping these people as friends.

"People are always trying to do that to Paul," Steven continued. "Trying to weasel free massages or full-out chiropractic work without offering to pay. Drives me nuts."

Ace swallowed hard, thinking of the free massage Paul insisted on giving him. "I bet he gets that a lot."

Steven drained the last drops of his drink and sighed. "Time to break the seal." With that, he headed toward the bathroom.

When he was out of sight, Holly leaned across the table. "Paul is stopping by. Just a heads up."

"Stopping by here? Now? Like right now?"

"Like soon. Like he's on his way."

Ace narrowed his eyes. "Was this your idea, matchmaker?"

Holly's eyes slid to the left. "Sort of. I might have hinted. There might have been subtle innuendo in my recent texts."

Ace sighed. "Well, my day isn't complete without a dash of awkward. Awesome."

Holly grasped his hand across the table. "Give him a chance. Please. For me."

"Okay," he conceded. "For you."

Steven had just returned from the bathroom and resumed his seat next to Holly when his face lit up. Ace knew without looking that Paul had arrived.

"Hey bro!" Steven called out. "You just can't get enough of us, can you?"

"Clearly," Paul said, his voice low and rumbling and perfect. He turned to Ace and caught his eye. "Ace. Good to see you again."

Ace nodded, not trusting his voice.Good to see me again? Since you sprinted away from me? Jackass.

"Sit, sit," Holly instructed. Paul smoothly slid into the seat next to Ace, and Ace shifted to make room for him.

Ace's body tensed with the sensation of being so close to Paul again, as if his molecules were on high alert from sharing the same air space.

"Working hard at your open house, I see," Paul teased his brother.

"Listen, Mr. 'I Hire a Cleaning Service for my Condo,'" Steven lectured, "we were up until the wee hours getting that joint ready. Do not speak to me of working hard."

John stopped by the table to greet Paul and take his drink order, and Holly took that as her cue.

"I hate to run out on you just after you got here, Paul, but Steven and I have a long list to accomplish today," Holly said. She pushed Steven out of the booth and scooted out after him.

"We do?" Steven asked, perplexed. "But Paul just got here. We do?"

"It's Sunday," she said slowly. "The busiest day of our week. I require your presence at various retail establishments."

"That sounds serious," Steven said, furrowing his brows.

"Deadly. Let's go!" she chirped. "Paul, always lovely. Ace, we need a visit to your house next, I think. I'll want to steal some ideas for our new place."

"Oh, Steven, I apologize in advance," Ace said.

"Nonsense," Holly said, kissing his cheek. "You are nothing short of remarkable, and that means your house is, too. I'm sure of it. Bye, you guys!"

She left, tugging Steven behind her and leaving Ace and Paul in awkward silence.

"She's right, you know," Paul said finally. "About your house. It is remarkable."

"You should have told her that," Ace said. "Not that you could. Or would. Gives too much away, doesn't it?"

Paul cleared his throat and looked away. Ace felt bad for snapping like that when all Paul did was pay him a compliment. But the sight of him recalled all those hurt feelings from last week, and Ace didn't want to let him off the hook too quickly.

Ace took another drink of his tea as Paul fidgeted in his seat on the bench next to him. Ace could tell he was uncomfortable sitting next to him instead of across the table.

"Missing your beard?" Ace asked.

Paul looked puzzled and ran his hand across his facial hair.

Ace grinned despite himself. "I mean the heterosexuals," he said quietly.

Paul's hand dropped to his lap and he looked down.

"Look," Paul said, quickly darting out of his seat and planting himself across the table. "I want to apologize for last time. For how I left, I mean. Not for the stuff that came before."

"Yeah, what the hell happened there at the end?"

"I panicked," Paul said. "Thought I'd be seen at your house and recognized."

"Because of all the paparazzi stalking my place?" Ace snarked. "I'm not exactly famous."

"Yeah, but you live there and people who know you know that you're..." he trailed off.

"Are you accusing me of being overly fabulous?"That's all it takes to freak him out? Man, this problem of his is serious.

"Panic is not rational, grasshopper."

"Grasshopper, huh? Seems like you're the one who needs a tutor," Ace said. He leaned over the table and whispered, "A gay sensei?"

Paul cocked his head. "You applying?"

Ace pulled back. "Don't know about that."

"Give me another chance. Please."

"That's exactly what Holly told me," Ace said.

"She's a busy little bee these days."

"I'll say." Ace blew out a breath and looked closely at Paul through their silence. "What do you have in mind, then?"

"A ballgame," Paul said quickly. "Holly gave me these amazing tickets. Diamond Club seats at Kauffman Stadium. Thursday night. Royals and Red Sox."

Ace winced. "Ouch. They're gonna get murdered."

"More than likely," Paul smiled. "But there's always the possibility of a miracle."

"A baseball game," Ace said slowly. "That's about the straightest gay date you could dream up."

"Not true. There's always Nascar at the Kansas Speedway."