Secret Admirer Ch. 01

Sebastian dragged his weary feet up the last flight of stairs. Tips had been pretty good tonight and so he had stopped at the all night grocery store on his way home and spent thirty precious dollars on groceries. The rest would be added to his savings account, which was growing due to his absolute diligence on his spending. He shifted the heavy bag to his left hand, fumbled for the keys and let himself in.

Closing and locking the door behind him he flipped on the light. Flowers? There on the tiny, shabby table that he sat at for meals was the most colorful arrangement of spring flowers he had ever seen. Bright tulips in red, striped and yellow, yellow daffodils, daisies, and baby's breath, some kind of sweet smelling grass stuff and some green frondy things: all combined to make a beautiful splash of color against the rather dingy wall of his apartment.

How on earth had it gotten into his apartment? He highly doubted that Mrs. Duncan would have heaved her fat self up three flights of stairs just to make sure the flowers and package made it into his apartment. It was far likelier that she would have taken the delivery, and simply not passed it on to him.

There was a card on the table as well as a small package. The envelope had his name written in swirling calligraphy. He opened it and pulled out a white card, embossed with his name in gold on the front. He opened it and written in the same elegant calligraphy was a short note.

Beloved,

Happy Valentine's Day a little early.
I hope that you enjoy the flowers and your gift.
Thinking of you today.

Your Secret Admirer,

G

Sebastian's jaw dropped. A secret admirer? Him? Oh God, some poor female had lost her mind. There had only been one or two girls in his entire life that he had felt attracted to: and one of those had been in grade school. Mostly his fantasies had consisted of men, usually men older than he was. A daddy complex Sarah had teased him gently.

Shaking his head he opened the small box covered with a golden paper and bow. Inside, were a small book and a tin of his favorite tea, a very expensive brand that he had only treated himself to twice last year because of the price.

Feeling rather guilty, he put some water on to boil. It was alright he told himself, there was no way to know who had given it to him so it wasn't like he could return it. He put his groceries away, made himself a cup of fragrant tea and sat down at the table across from the flowers and opened the book 'Victorian Flower Meanings'.

Paging through the book he found that some of the pages were marked with sticky notes. He discovered that tulips in general meant 'perfect lover': red tulips meant 'declaration of love', the striped tulips (which he found out were called variegated) meant 'beautiful eyes', yellow tulips said 'there is sunshine in your smile. The yellow daffodils meant 'chivalry' while the general meanings were 'regard, sunshine and respect'. The baby's breath meant 'innocence and pure of heart'. The green frondy things turned out to be maidenhair ferns which were 'secret bond of love or discretion'. The cheerful daisies meant 'innocence, loyal love, purity and beauty. The very last ingredient in his bouquet was lemon grass. Grass itself meant 'submission' while the lemon grass meant homosexual love.

Maybe his admirer wasn't a woman after all? He reached out and touched a silky tulip petal. They were definitely a romantic, whoever they were. He had never really paid all that much attention to Valentine's Day. The one year he had had a boyfriend things had ended very badly just after Christmas. These flowers were his first Valentine's Day present that hadn't been the little cards that he had exchanged in grade school.

He had never really dated, except for Aaron. He thought a little nostalgically about the good times with Aaron, and then shook his head. He had been young and in love; and stupid, very stupid for staying as long as he did. He had paid for that, and paid dearly.

He smiled. A secret admirer. Even if he never met them it was nice to be noticed for once. He felt that he was pretty ordinary looking, brown hair and eyes, average height and build, nothing about him was terribly eye catching. Whoever had sent the flowers must have been watching him fairly closely to know what his favorite tea was though. He frowned that that. He hadn't noticed anyone out of the ordinary hanging around. Maybe it was someone he knew?

Eyes aching from tiredness he crawled onto his futon bed and curled up under the log cabin quilt that his grandmother had given him for his tenth birthday. In the light of the streetlight shining in his window he could see his bouquet across the small room. He was still smiling as he fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

@@@@

Sebastian was up early the next morning, regardless that he didn't have to be to work until three in the afternoon. He ate a quick breakfast, admiring his flowers, and then threw his soup on to cook. Made from rather cheap ingredients it was a tasty concoction of white beans (which he bought dry and soaked), a ham bone, and a variety of vegetables which generally tended to be the last few carrots, celery, potatoes (generally a bit wilted), an onion and a garlic clove. He had always loved to cook, learning practically at his mother's knee.

At two o'clock he tucked the lidded pot into the fridge, got ready for work and stopped off to pay rent before leaving the building. Mrs. Duncan's sour expression didn't change and he said nothing about the flowers. He simply handed her the money order and headed out for work. Early on he had been warned by the other tenants not to pay in cash unless he asked for a receipt. His beady eyed landlord had been known to 'forget' that someone had paid the rent and demand it twice. He shook his head, what a bitch.

Work went smoothly, as it always did on Sundays. When he had first started bartending at 'The Happy Hour' he had expected tips to be much less than they were during the weekends. They were for the most part, but still better than he expected due to the large amount of regulars that were decent tippers. He liked this job. In the past three months he had been able to quit his other jobs and pick up extra hours here. He definitely liked having some money in savings again. Once he had reached his minimum goal for that, he was planning to do some things for himself, like some new clothes and shoes, as well as treats like his favorite tea. He didn't mind shopping at thrift stores; they had pretty decent stuff for the main part. It would be nice to have something new though.

Sebastian kept a close eye on his regulars and new customers trying to guess if any of them were his secret admirer. No one seemed to treat him any differently than they had before. There was the usual crowd. Fridays and Saturdays were the busy days, but during the week the bar was open for lunch and supper and a lot of the local businessmen, lawyers, secretaries and such stopped by for a quick bite.

"You're kinda quiet tonight," Sara commented as they took a quick break during a lull.

"Well," he hemmed. He liked Sara, he really did, but sometimes she could be a down-right pain in the ass. Mentally kicking himself, knowing that he would probably regret it, he told her. "I got some flowers yesterday."

"Well, who were they from?" she asked, almost jumping up and down, her ponytail bobbing.

"I don't know," he said, grinning at her. Sara was only a year older than he was at 22, but sometimes acted like she was 12.

She giggled, "you schmuck, stop drawing it out and just tell me!" She mock punched him in the shoulder.

"Ok, ok," he said. "They are from a secret admirer. There are you happy now?"

"Oh that is so cool!! Do you know who it is?"

"Sara," he groaned, "what part of 'secret admirer' do you not understand? I have no idea."

She continued to tease him off and on through out the evening and he was more than happy to close up the bar at 11 and head out for home. His step was lighter; he wasn't as tired as he usually was. Sebastian had the next few days off and he was looking forward to them. He was kind of hoping he would have another letter waiting for him. It added to his anticipation and for once he was actually looking forward to getting home.

Sure enough, on the table next to his flowers were another card and a single red rose. Locking the door behind him he crossed to the table and opened it with eager hands.

My Beloved,

You were smiling today. I hope that
you had a good day. I am planning to
introduce myself soon. I hope that I do
not disappoint you. I can only tell you
that you stole my breath the moment I
first saw you.

G

Sebastian grinned, his heart pounding a bit. He felt a bit giddy as he put the note into his dresser, next to the first. He then added his rose to the bouquet and more water to the vase.

As he expected: red roses meant love and desire. Grinning from ear to ear he heated up a bowl of his soup and sat down to eat it. Him, he had a very romantic secret admirer, just imagine. He didn't really care what they looked like. Rather than some looker that would turn heads where ever they went, (a bit like Aaron had) he just wanted someone to love him. Was it really so bad to want someone that would take care of him? Not that he wanted a sugar daddy or anything, but it would be nice to have someone take the lead, to have someone to help shoulder the burden that his life felt like sometimes. Was it so wrong to crave someone strong that he could trust and rely on to make good decisions for both of them sometimes?

He sighed. He had to try and not get his hopes to high. Most of the guys that had tried to pick him up were only interested in a fling or a fuck buddy.

Finishing his soup he took a hot shower and crawled into his bed. He lay awake for quite a while trying to tamp down his excitement so he could sleep. When he finally did his dreams were filled with flowers.

@@@@

A knocking on the door woke him from a deep sleep. Slapping a hand down on his snooze button he rolled over. He finally woke up enough to realize that it was the door.

"Just a minute," he shouted. It was nearly 10 am; he almost never slept this late. He scrambled for a t-shirt (he usually just slept in his flannel pj bottoms) and flipping on the light, opened the door.

A middle age lawyer type stood there, complete with leather brief case.

"Hello, are you Sebastian Torrance?"

Sebastian just looked at him for a second, still stupid with sleep.

"Yeah," he rasped, running a hand through his untidy brown hair, suddenly very conscience of still being in his pj's.

"I am Donald Hartman. I am representing the estate of Aaron Stiles. May I come in?

"Estate?" he asked, not moving from the door, nor making any move to let this stranger into his apartment. His hackles had gone up instantly at the mention of Aaron's name.

"Well, yes," Mr. Hartman replied, looking a little surprised at not being welcomed immidely inside. "My law firm is the executor for Mr. Stiles will." He smiled, obviously trying to put Sebastian at ease, and failing miserably.

"Will?" Sebastian asked, still not quite comprehending why this man was on his doorstep.

"Yes. Mr. Stiles has passed away. He left a will and you are named in it. Can we discuss this inside?"

"Alright," said Sebastian, still mentally hesitating. He stood to the side and ushered Mr. Hartman in. "Why don't you sit down," Sebastian waved at a chair at his small table. "Can I get you some tea? I am sorry I don't have any coffee."

"Tea is more than fine," Mr. Hartman replied.

Sebastian put some water on to boil and used the opportunity of puttering in his tiny kitchen to try to wake up.

He poured out two mugs, sat down at the table with his toasted bagel and waited.

"Thank you," said Mr. Hartman taking a sip, and then another as he caught the fragrant aroma and light taste of Sebastian's favorite tea.

"Mr. Stiles died of complications from an emergency appendectomy, while he was still in prison," the lawyer began. "He had a fairly large estate due to the sudden death of his parents last year from a car accident. He has left you as the sole beneficiary of his will." Here he paused, obviously waiting for a response from Sebastian.

Sebastian just sat, chewing the bite of bagel in his mouth that had suddenly turned to ashes. "Well wasn't that nice of him," he said with far more sarcasm than he had intended.

"Mr. Torrance, I am aware of the circumstances surrounding this case. I can assure you that Mr. Stiles was genuinely sorry for what he did," Mr. Hartman said gently. "Part of that may be due to the fact that his parents insisted that he see a psychologist four times a week while he was in prison or they threatened to cut all ties with him: that and the fact that they tested him regularly for drug use also. Being forced to remain sober and drug free did good things for that young man. He might have actually turned into a decent human being given enough time."

Sebastian's jaw had dropped to the floor. Absolute surprise had replaced the anxiety and anger that had swamped him when Aaron's name had first been mentioned. He hadn't expected this man to know much of anything about him, let alone not care that he was gay.

Mr. Hartman smiled slightly at Sebastian's reaction. "I was the Stiles' attorney for almost 15 years, and a close friend for almost twenty. Aaron had been in trouble off and on for years, even in grade school. There isn't much that went on that they didn't turn me to legal advice for. No one was really aware that you had changed your name after what happened. It took me almost six months to track you down." Reaching into his briefcase he pulled out a sheaf of documents.

@@@@

Sebastian shut the door and leaned heavily on it for a moment. Mr. Hartman had just left, after over an hour of discussion and obtaining his signature on what seemed like a million documents.

Two hundred thousand dollars was what he would have once all of the taxes were paid. His first impulse was to refuse it. After what Aaron had put him through he wasn't sure he wanted any reminders. The scars on his body were quite enough, as well as the bad dreams that still haunted him from time to time. Almost unwillingly though, he had become a bit excited. College, he could afford to go to college if he kept it. Up until now that had been a far off dream, a someday, somehow. He imagined being able to go to school full time and not have to work 70 hours a week to make ends meet.

Grinning and feeling giddy he took a quick shower and got dressed. He was full of too much energy to stay put. He grabbed his jacket and headed out for a celebratory lunch and some shopping.

@@@@

Watching his quarry leave his apartment, Gabriel was ready when Isaac, or Sebastian as he called himself now, hit the street. His apartment was in the middle of the downtown area and close to all the shopping, restaurants, and entertainment one could find in a city this size. The small camera that he had installed in the hallway outside Sebastian's door had paid off. He had been worried when the suit had shown up this morning. The small bug that he had planted under the table had worked well and he soon learned that the man was no threat to the boy that he was fast considering his own. He shook his head at himself as he got out of the van and shadowed Sebastian from across the street.

He had first heard of Isaac Sebastian Anderson a month ago when an older man had shown up and hired him to find him. Gabriel hadn't liked the look of the man, his attitude or his scent, which reeked of stale alcohol and a body that hadn't seen a bar of soap for a while. The man had produced cash and quite a bit of information on Isaac though, along with several pictures. It was the pictures that had prompted him to take the case. There was something about the brown eyed young man that had tugged at him, refusing to leave his thoughts. And so he had searched.

The man had obviously hoped that Gabriel would simply do his job and not ask any extra questions or go digging. Gabriel however had put his skills to good use and discovered all manner of things about Isaac/Sebastian and his family that his client hadn't counted on. He knew everything about Sebastian that there was to know, from his birth weight to his choice of name change (Torrance was his favorite grandmother's maiden name).

The client had turned out to be the young man's step-father. A little more digging had turned up a gold mine on the small time con-artist and wife beater. He also learned that the man's wife, Sebastian's mother, had recently died. She had had a trust, left for her by a relative that she had received a monthly check from. The principal of the trust could not be touched. Her husband had spent her money even before she had received it. According to the trust only a blood relative, starting with her son, would inherit.

Why the man wanted Sebastian tracked down was anyone's guess. Gabriel had a hard time believing that it was to tell him that his mother died. More than likely it had to do with the money. And that couldn't be good for Sebastian.

He followed Sebastian as the young man window shopped and stopped at a small coffee shop/café for lunch. He followed him in and sat at a small table near the door while Sebastian ate at the counter.

His fascination with Sebastian had started with his high school pictures. He was handsome, with brown hair and eyes, full lips and eyes that smiled right along with the rest of his face. Something about him called to him, making him wonder if he was going crazy. His dreams were full of the young man; usually in his bed, begging to be taken, soft lips meeting his in endless kisses and the lithe body under his. The first time he had broken into Sebastian's apartment he had caught the scent of the boy in the dirty cloths basket in the bathroom. The scent of him was enough to make him so hard it was painful. He didn't just want him, he needed him, and that was enough to scare him senseless.

His people believed in soul mates although Gabrielle had always been skeptical. As friends and family began to pair off he had wondered however. He had put that down to being gay in a clan that was both intolerant and suspicious of a 'different' type of sexuality. He had left home after his family had found out what he was. His two older sisters were the only ones that he had kept in contact with over the years. They were a little more understanding of him. They had both married outside of their immediate clan and had a slightly broader view of the world.

Gabriel watched a little jealously as Sebastian began to chat with several other young men about the same age. He obviously knew them, as the conversation was comfortable and full of laughter. As he stood at the counter to pay his bill he listened as they discussed the clubs they were planning to hit that night. Sebastian accepted their invite to go with them. Gabe suppressed his urge to growl and then smiled. He would invite Sebastian to dance tonight, that would be a good way to introduce himself.

@@@@

Sebastian woke with a raging headache. The sun shone directly into his apartment, indicating that it was afternoon. He was so warm and comfortable that he didn't want to move though. He lay still for a little while, trying to go back to sleep. Eventually though, the need to pee and get something for his headache triumphed. He tried to sit up and became aware for the first time that there was a large body tangled up in the sheets with him. Slowly, gingerly, he disentangled himself and practically ran to the bathroom.

He peed first; feeling like his bladder was going to explode if he didn't. He was wearing his usual tee shirt and flannel sleep pants. He would know if he had had sex, wouldn't he? He didn't feel like he had, his ass wasn't sore like it usually had been after a night with Aaron.