“I’m so sorry about the job,” Shawn said as soon as he joined the table. “If you want, I’ll never go to that museum again.”
Kip laughed. “It’s fine. I was way underqualified. Like I said.”
“You aren’t and it’s their loss,” Shawn said.
“Exactly,” Elena said, raising her pint glass.
The bar was crowded for a Monday night. Kip looked around the table at his friends: Elena, Shawn, and Maria, plus Jimmy and Chuck, who had taken vacation time to come down to New York for this. It was the first time any of them had met Maria, besides Elena. Kip didn’t hang out with her much outside of work, which was too bad. But she was here now, and Kip was surrounded by a wonderful group of people he was lucky to have in his life.
He just wished Scott could be there.
He tried not to dwell on that. It was not like any of his friends had partners with them. None of his friends had steady partners at all, that he knew of.
“Now that everyone is here,” said Chuck in his booming, happy voice, “I propose a toast. To Kip! A guy you want to hate because he’s so handsome, but you can’t because he’s so goddamn charming.”
“To Kip!” everyone said.
“Yay! To me!” Kip cheered, raising his glass.
Their server was the same one who had flirted with Kip the last time he had been there with Shawn—Kyle. He was still very cute and still very flirty with Kip, who couldn’t help but flirt back a little.
“Have you hit that yet?” Shawn asked after Kyle left to fetch them another round.
“Nah,” Kip said.
“That’s tragic,” said Jimmy. “I will if you don’t.”
Chuck laughed. “As if, Jim. He doesn’t even see you through the glow around Grady.”
“Kip,” Maria said, “you didn’t tell me that all of your cute dude friends are gay. What is even the point of me being here?”
“I did tell you and, if you want, later we can go to Olive Garden or wherever straight people go.”
She flicked an olive at him from the nachos they were all sharing.
They all drank and talked animatedly for a while. Kip began to feel pleasantly warm and sloppy, laughing easily and teasing his friends.
“All right,” Chuck said, placing his hands on the table for emphasis, “the next round is gonna be bought by whoever has gone the longest without sex.”
“That’s not right,” Elena said. “It should be the person who had it the most recently.”
“Damn, Elena,” Kip said, “you really want to buy the next round, huh?”
“I’m not sure it would be me,” she said, looking at him pointedly. Kip shut up.
“Nope, my rules,” Chuck said. “All right, spill it, everyone. Been two weeks for me.”
“What counts as sex?” Jimmy asked.
“Getting off with the assistance of another person,” Chuck said, with authority.
“Oh. Like three days, then,” Jimmy said.
“Wait,” Chuck said, “was it that accountant who—”
Jimmy nodded.
“Nice. All right, who can beat two weeks?”
Elena shook her head. “Last night.”
“Sa-ame,” Shawn singsonged.
Maria threw her head back and moaned. “Fuuuuuck!” she said. “A month. Over a month. Ugh.”
“Uh-oh,” Chuck said. “How about you, birthday boy?”
“Um,” Kip said. A couple of hours...
He looked at Elena for help. She just raised an interested eyebrow.
“Been, like, two months or something,” he said finally. Elena was the only one who knew that it was a lie.
“Aw, shit, sorry, Grady,” Chuck said. “Looks like you’re buying the round on your own birthday.”
“S’okay,” Kip said. Because it was okay. He was pretending to be sex-starved when he was, in fact, in the best relationship of his life. There were worse problems to have.
He got up to place the order. He wobbled a little as he made his way to the bar. Kyle was there, cute as all hell in a tight white T-shirt.
“My favorite customer,” Kyle drawled. “What can I do for you?”
Kip smirked and rested an arm on the bar. “Buying a round for the table.”
“Is that everything?” Kyle asked, leaning in to meet him.
This was the point where Kip would normally say something like “For now,” or be more direct and tell him to find him when his shift ended. But...
“Yeah,” Kip said, backing away a bit. “That’s all.”
Kyle looked surprised, but quickly schooled his features. “Whatever you say,” he said, still smiling and raking his eyes over Kip’s body.
Kip went back to the table. It was nice to know that he still had it, even if “it” was reserved for a certain superstar athlete.
They were all quite drunk by the end of the evening. As they waited outside for cabs, Maria hugged Kip with her whole body. “Thanks for inviting me, Kip. I like you. Your friends are cool. You’re cool.”
“Thanks for coming,” Kip said into her hair. “We should hang out more.”
“Yes! Yes, for sure! Kip... Yes.” She pointed at him as she walked backward toward her waiting taxi.
Jimmy, Chuck, and Shawn piled onto Kip in a group hug.
“Thanks, guys,” Kip said. “Love you assholes, you know that?”
“We love you too, Kip,” Shawn said. The three of them got into a cab together, and Kip was left with Elena.
“He’s on his way.” She was always eerily poised and coherent, even when she was drunk.
“Huh?”
“Scott. I texted him. He’s coming to take you home.”
“What? Why? How do you have his number?”
Elena stared at him like he was very stupid.
“You’re scary, you know that?” Kip said.
“Good thing I’m on your side.”
“It is. You are. I love you, Elena.” He hugged her. She resisted at first, but finally accepted it.
“You didn’t have to text him,” Kip said.
“I did. You’re drunk and I’m meeting someone soon.” She was typing on her phone as she talked.
“Another famous actor?” Kip grinned.
“Just a guy from my gym,” Elena said, “who is also a backup dancer for Rihanna.”
“Get it, girl!” Kip said, and raised his hand for a high five. Elena ignored him.
“Looks like your ride is here.” She nodded at a very nice SUV that had pulled up.
“Thanks, Elena. You’re the best!” he said, meaning it completely.
He opened the back door of the SUV and was surprised to see that Scott wasn’t there.
“Um, up here,” Scott’s voice said. Kip turned and saw Scott sitting behind the wheel.
He closed the back door and instead got into the passenger seat. He grinned sloppily at Scott. “Didn’t think you knew howta drive,” he slurred.
“I can drive,” Scott said. “Man, you’re a mess.”
“’M fine. You have your own car?”
Scott laughed. “Yes. I don’t use it very often, but I own this one. It’s, um, easier, to use a service. Not having to worry about parking and stuff.”
“Mm,” Kip said sleepily. Parking or car ownership was not a thing he had ever had to worry about.
They drove in silence for a minute, and then Scott said, “Did you have fun?”
“Yeah. Yeah. My friends are awesome.”
“Good. Sorry I couldn’t be there.”
“S’okay.”
“No, I...” He sighed. “Never mind. We can talk about it when you’re not...”
“Talk about what?”
“Nothing.”
Kip could see the way Scott’s jaw tightened, even through his hazy vision. “I love you,” he said.
Scott relaxed a little. “I love you too. Even when you’re shitfaced.”
“Not shitfaced. Just a little tipsy.”
“Mm.”
“Thank you,” Kip said, concentrating hard at making his words as clear as possible, “for picking me up. Didn’t have to—”
“Of course,” Scott said. “I was glad Elena texted me. Not sure how she got my number—”
Kip waved a hand. “Fuck knows. She finds out everything.”
“Well, I’m glad she texted me. Made me feel...like what we have...”
Kip was losing the thread.
Scott stopped at a red light and looked at him. “I know it sucks keeping things secret. It sucks for me too. Tonight was really hard for me.”
“Scott...”
The light turned green.
“Anyway,” Scott said, turning his attention back to the road, “it was nice to get that text from Elena. Made it all seem more real.”
Kip placed a hand on Scott’s thigh. “It’s real.”
Scott’s lips quirked up. “Yeah,” he said. “Now let’s get you to bed.”
* * *
“Good morning,” a blurry Scott-shaped blob chirped. “Glad to see you’re alive.”
Kip blinked and rubbed his eyes. He was parched.
“Here,” blurry Scott said, and handed him a glass of water. Kip gulped it down.
“Thanks,” he said, handing the glass back.
“How are you feeling?”
“Wonderful,” Kip rasped. He flopped back onto the pillow.
“You were cute last night,” Scott said. “Real cuddly. Until you fell asleep on me.”
“Sorry,” Kip said.
“Don’t be. I’m glad you had fun.” Scott ran his fingers through Kip’s hair, and Kip closed his eyes and sighed happily.
“Do I smell bacon?” he murmured.
“Yes! I made French toast and bacon.”
“Oh my god. You are the best.”
“It’s ready whenever you are. Coffee too. I have to leave pretty soon.”
Kip sat up. “Right! Sorry, I forgot about your practice. Okay. I’m just gonna take a real quick shower.”
He stood under the shower just long enough to shampoo his hair once and run soap over his body. He felt a lot better when he got out.
He walked into the kitchen in sweatpants and a T-shirt and wet hair. Scott handed him a mug of coffee, and Kip kissed him.
“Seriously,” Kip said. “Best boyfriend ever.”
They sat at the kitchen counter and ate (incredible) French toast, and he told Scott a bit about his evening. “I remember,” he said, “in the car last night. You said you had a rough time?”
“Oh.” Scott looked at his plate and blushed. “It’s nothing. I was in a weird mood last night. Don’t worry about it.”
“No, come on. Tell me.”
Scott put his fork down. “I think maybe it was the first time I really felt... I mean, the gala was tough, but you going out with your friends for your birthday...”
Kip reached over and put a hand on his forearm.
“I should have been there,” Scott said. “That’s what was bothering me all night. I wish I could just...” He sighed. “It doesn’t matter. No point in crying over things I can’t have. Should just be thankful for what I do have.”
Kip was very close to asking Scott if he was sure he couldn’t have those things. If it would be so bad if he publicly came out. But he’d promised himself he wouldn’t push that issue. Scott understood the stakes far better than Kip.
Instead, he said, “You need to be ready.”
Scott’s face was miserable. “I want to be ready.”
“You will be. Soon,” Kip said, squeezing his arm.
Scott nodded and gave him a tight smile. “Sorry. Like I said, it was just a weird, lonely night. Imagination started running a little wild.”
“I’ve been there. I understand.”
Kip kissed him, and Scott deepened it immediately, placing a hand on his face and sliding off his stool so he could stand over him. Kip’s neck strained up to meet him as Scott explored his mouth with his tongue.
“You’re good at that,” Kip breathed when they broke apart.
“Must be all those years of practice,” Scott said dryly.
“Stop it.” Kip hit him lightly in the chest. “When do you need to leave?”
Scott looked at his watch. “Now, pretty much. Car is gonna be here in a couple of minutes.”
“Nuts,” Kip said. “I’m working until two today. You’re busy this afternoon, right?”
“Yeah. Sports Illustrated.”
“Right.”
“And I’m busy the next few afternoons too.”
“Well...we’ll figure it out. Do you want me to stay here tonight?”
“I do,” Scott said. “Can you?”
“I’ll make you dinner.”
“Oh yeah? I might be a little late.”
“That’s all right,” Kip said, grinning up at him. “Good luck with your interview.”
“Thanks. I kinda hate doing them.”
“There gonna be a photo shoot?”
“Yeah. Not today, but yeah. Soon. It’s the cover story.”
“Well, now!”
Scott grimaced. “Yeah.”
He threw a leather jacket on and kissed Kip by the door. “Oh! I thought of something! For your birthday present,” he said excitedly. “I was thinking that maybe on Saturday we could go to the Met together?”
“The Met? Like...the museum?”
“Yeah,” Scott said. “I thought you might like that?”
Holy shit. “I would love that.”
Had Scott figured out the thing that Kip hadn’t been able to bring himself to say: that all Kip had wanted for his birthday was to go somewhere he loved with his boyfriend?
“Okay then,” Scott said, smiling. “It’s a date.”
“Really?”
“I mean, obviously we will need to be...discreet.”
“Oh. Yeah. No, I know.” Kip deflated a bit.
“I’ll take you back here after and make it up to you, all right?”
Kip nodded, and tried to keep his face cheerful when he said, “Sounds great.” He kissed him. “Go be a superstar. I’ll be here when you get home.”