Ty

 

They sat in a curved booth in the back of IHOP. Again, sitting close enough to have a private conversation. It was quiet on a Monday and he was glad for it. Kell appeared relaxed with his hood off and his thick, caramel-blond hair layering around his face while he flipped through the menu. They were out of the cover of the night inside the brightly lit restaurant and Ty was able to watch him openly. Kell’s jaw was firm but looked soft to the touch. He didn’t have facial hair, not even stubble. He’d touched other parts of Kell, his hand, his neck, but not his face. He wouldn’t be so bold. His nose had a slight bump along the bridge, and a few nicks and scrapes along his brow and beneath his lip, evidence of his life as a fighter. His face was not flawless, instead he was absolutely, imperfectly beautiful. Ty had never encountered a more spectacular specimen. He’d never thought this about a female. Or anyone. He’d always been searching for that one… the one who made his heart race and his mind turn to mush.

“You’re staring again.”

He wasn’t trying to be subtle. He liked it when Kell teased him. Liked him on the offense instead of defense. He smiled more when he wasn’t being so cautious. It had only been a few days ago he’d said he wasn’t ready to let Kell into his head, but he was already there and Ty needed to figure out how? Eager to ask his questions he signaled the waiter.

“You decide what you want?” he asked Kell.

“Yes.” Kell took his hand and brushed a wave of hair behind his ear, giving Ty’s greedy eyes access to the entire right side of his face.

He’d ordered the grilled tilapia while Kell had the chicken Florentine crepes. The waitress placed two glasses of water on the table and told them their orders would be out soon.

Now they had nothing but time. Kell turned to look at him, his hair flipping behind his shoulder without effort. It was modelesque and most likely the opposite of what Kell was going for.

“I like your hair too, ya’know.” Kell’s eyes went to the top of his head.

He ran his hand over the deep waves in his low fade. He kept his hair about an inch short, and even closer at the temples. He used coconut oil conditioner to keep his waves soft and healthy. Kell stared as if he wanted to smooth his hand over his head like Ty had done, but instead he tucked it under the table. 

“Thank you.” Ty didn’t mean to preen but Kell was gazing at him again with those magnetic eyes, in that sensual way… that way that made Ty feel like…

… made him feel like a king.

Ty almost choked on the realization. He covered up his half cough by taking a long drink of his water. My goodness.

He was silent again before Kell asked, “What did Dana say to you in the parking lot after lunch? At one point he looked in my direction when he spoke; then you had an unreadable expression on your face.”

The ninja in Kell didn’t miss anything. His cover had been low on his forehead but he’d been watching them the entire time. Ty secretly liked that. He felt a pleasant stirring below his waist at the thought of Kell watching him beneath hooded eyes. Mmmm.

Ty ignored his flesh and answered Kell’s question. “He said we need to keep anything personal out of the place of business.”

“Do you think they’ll have a problem with this?” Kell gestured between the two of them.

“The way him and Ford were wrapped around each other earlier, I don’t believe so.” Ty reached for Kell’s hand under the table and pulled it into his lap. He absently fingered the sheathed knives under his cuff, remembering the way Kell nailed a target with two of them in pitch darkness. His cool blood warmed, “And what exactly is ‘this’ between us Kellam?”

“You like everything spelled out don’t you.” Kell’s face flushed light pink again.

“Yes. I like things to be crystal clear,” Ty confirmed.

“Good. Me too. Are you gay? Because I am,” Kell blurted out.

“What I am is feeling the hell ’outta you. If that makes me gay, then sure,” Ty didn’t miss a beat.

Was Kell expecting him to flip out and haul ass at the mention of a sexual preference? Ty squeezed Kell’s hand a little tighter. “And what I’m feeling didn’t only stem from your biology, shorty. I dig your mind, your spirit. More than I’ve ever dug anyone. The moment I saw you step into Duke’s office, loaded down with wood in each arm, fully covered in black garments, as if seeing your beauty was something a man had to earn. My interest was piqued, my imagination soared… and my body lit on fire. I wanted to see you immediately, already knowing that you were not a female underneath that hood.”

Ty brought Kell’s hand up to rest on top of the table. For a few seconds he turned their hands back and forth, flipped them over and back. Then he took their fingers and wove them together. He heard Kell take a deep breath. Yeah. He liked the way they blended together, too. Beautiful.  

Ty’s voice was husky, he was losing his cool, his mind was turning to mush, “If I look back on that first moment, I should’ve known then. I asked you to show yourself to me. In front of six other men I asked you that. I should’ve made that request when only my eyes were on you. My weak excuse is that I’d lost my mind for a minute.

“That night, getting into Ford’s truck, I didn’t know where they were bringing me or exactly what they were recruiting me for. After laying eyes on Brian and his brother, I was prepared to see more warriors when I got to Duke’s.” Ty ran the back of his finger down Kell’s arm. The more he touched him, the more addicted he got to the sensation. Kell looked at him so innocently, “But I wasn’t prepared for you.”

“No one’s ever asked to see me before. Not like that.” Kell licked his lips. “Guess I had to oblige.”

“Oblige?” Ty laughed. “Don’t you mean teased?”

“I’m twenty-seven years old, I don’t tease.” Kell gave him some attitude.

Such firm words leaving that pretty mouth.

Ty released Kell’s hand and reclined in the booth, draping his arm over the back. “Are you seeing anyone?” he asked. He stared Kell in the eye, he wanted to see the truth.

“No. I’m not.”

“When I say anyone. I mean any one. Friend, buddy, part-time—”

“Hey!” Kell snapped. “I don’t get down like that.”

“I didn’t mean to offend. I’m just wanting to be clear,” Ty responded calmly, caressing the back of Kell’s neck.

The waitress brought their plates. It smelled delicious, and Ty realized he’d worked up quite an appetite over the last few hours. “Everything look okay?” she asked, putting one hand on her hip and the other on the edge of the booth.

“Looks great.” Ty waited for her to refill their waters. “Thank you.”

“Check on you in a little while.” She walked to the other side of the restaurant and sat with another waiter at a table underneath a television airing CNN.

Ty glanced around. There was a man in their section a few tables down, sitting with his back to them, otherwise they had total privacy. He watched Kell clasp his hands in front of him and bow his head. Eyes closed, his lips moved rapidly a few seconds before he quietly whispered ‘amen’. He looked back at his plate, fork in his hand, Kell took a bite of his crepe, moaning at the hot Swiss cheese stringing from his mouth to his fork.

Ty felt the pleasant stirring in his jeans again, only this time his manhood pulsed continuously as Kell ate his steaming dish. Moaning and licking that cheese sauce from his wet lips. Does he know what he’s doing? Ty took large bites of his fish to distract himself, but it didn’t work.

“What about you?” Kell asked after he’d tortured Ty by humming and licking his fingers while eating half of his crepe.

“What about me?” Ty wet his dry throat.

“Are you seeing any one at all?” Kell mocked him.

Ty chewed his green beans before he answered, “No. No one. Not for a very long time.”

Kell put his fork down and wiped his mouth, gaping at Ty with something akin to disbelief. “I can’t believe a woman hasn’t claimed you yet.”

“Well, that’s because a woman can’t claim me. I’d be the one to claim her… if she was the one who was mine. Obviously, that never happened. I’ve never found her.” Ty made sure he emphasized that last pronoun. Kell was a smart man. He had to understand what Ty meant by that. 

“You believe in true loves and soulmates, huh?” Kell mumbled, moving around the last few bites of his food with his fork.

Ty pushed his plate away. “Are you a believer, Kellam? You have religion?”

Kell gave him a quizzical look. “Yes, I do. I was raised Catholic and Baptist. My father sent me to an Catholic school until I graduated. Why would you ask me that? You don’t believe in God?” Kell frowned.

“I do believe in Allah.”

“You’re a Muslim?” Kell said, appearing surprised.

“No. But, I was raised in a Muslim household by a Muslim father. My mother’s Baptist. I was a practicing Muslim until I was seventeen—until my father didn’t return home.”

“This is personal. You don’t have to tell me this.” Kell gently put his hand on Ty’s thigh. It comforted him immediately. Already his touch does that?

“We do have to talk about this. I think it is personal as well but also very important. We’re getting to know each other in a lot of ways. As partners. We have to work together, study each other. Formulate strategies together. We can’t be strangers and trust each other to watch the other’s back.

“We’re also getting to know each other in a very special way. And I think being forthright about our religious differences is bringing light. I’m not a practicing Muslim, Kell. I’m letting you know this because I watched you say grace before your lunch and your dinner. You love your God. You have a relationship with him.”

Kell nodded, kind of shyly. “I like to think so. I try to be a good person and remember the teachings I received my entire life. I don’t go to mass every Sunday, but I go sometimes. I enjoy it.”

“That’s really good. And I like that you do. Very much. But, I don’t pray.” Ty sought Kell’s touch. He linked their fingers together. “After the death of my father I never got on my knees again. I wanted to tell you about my religion and how I was raised, so you’d understand me a little better, not a religion. My ways aren’t the same as a lot of these other men. I was born here. My father was born in Kenya. He used to tell me American men did some things very differently than African men.”

“Like what?”

“Mainly relationships and partnerships. Love. Man’s role in those relationships.”

“Oh.” Kell was chewing on his lip again. He seemed to do that when he was hesitating on how to say what he wanted.

“Can I get you two anything else? Dessert maybe?” The waitress popped up out of nowhere. She refilled their waters.

“No, thank you. You can leave the check, please,” Ty told her, needing her to go quickly, not wanting her to completely kill their vibe.

She cleared their plates then left them alone.

“‘Oh’ what? You were about to say something,” Ty prompted.

“Muslim men don’t believe in gay relationships. It’s male, female only for them. Am I right?” Kell challenged him. Looking him dead in his eyes.

“I have strong beliefs, Kell. Some of my beliefs are my own. I have a lot of my father’s teachings in my head. Words that I live by and that still guide me every day. But, again. I’m not a practicing Muslim. In any sense. My father would tell me when I was younger that a man had the right to choose any religion in the world, that I didn’t have to follow his path. He told me to just always be a good man. So, that’s what I strive to be. That’s why I talk like I talk, it’s why I walk and style like I do. I’m a good man, Kell.” Why did he feel like he was trying to sell himself? Well, because he was. He had to earn this remarkable man’s faith just like he’d have to earn the trust and respect of a woman.

He was making his intentions fully known and it appeared Kell was open to giving him a chance at earning even a degree of his affection. Therefore, Ty had work to do.