Jesus, that was a buildup to nowhere, and not at all what Daniel had been expecting. “Umm, you go ahead.” Daniel waited until James left the room and fell back on the bed. What an idiot. James was being nice, and he let his attraction for the guy run away with him. Daniel needed to get his head on straight and stop this nonsense. He pushed himself upright and removed his wig, tying a scarf around his head to cover up his hair. Then he stripped off his clothes, sighing as the layers came away and he was unrestricted once more.
Barefoot and covered in a robe, he was ready when James returned, and Daniel checked outside the door before zipping across to take his turn in the bathroom.
The real danger was when he returned without his makeup, so Daniel made sure there was no one nearby when he returned to the bedroom and shut the door.
A single light burned next to his side of the bed. James was already under the light covers, his cannonball shoulders and muscled arm resting on top of the covers, with a hint of powerful back also showing. Daniel hung his robe on the doorknob just as James rolled over.
“Pink pajamas.” James chuckled softly. “In all my life I never expected to sleep with someone in pink pajamas.”
Daniel climbed onto the bed and smacked James on the shoulder. “What did you expect me to wear to bed with your mom and dad in the next room?” He met James’s gaze and lifted the covers, because what the hell? James had on a pair of baby blue boxer shorts, nothing else, and Daniel got a tantalizing look at the rest of him…and he liked…definitely.
“Hey…” James protested, but held the covers in invitation. Daniel shrugged and got into bed. What the hell else was he going to do, sleep on the damn floor? He didn’t think so, and making James sleep on the floor just seemed mean. He pulled the covers up to his chin, and James rolled over once again. Daniel turned out the light and stared up at the ceiling.
“You know this has to be the craziest thing I have ever done in my life,” Daniel whispered, unable to relax even though he was tired.
“Somehow I doubt that,” James retorted softly. Daniel glared at his back.
“Ass.”
“You’re going to have to do better than that,” James quipped, still facing the other way.
Daniel poked his shoulder. “Do you really want to go there? I am a drag queen, and I’ve spent more time in the reading room than you can imagine.” He scooted up, resting against the headboard, crossing his arms over his chest. James turned over, propping his head on his hand. “Think before you answer.”
James laughed again, his face free of the tension it seemed to carry so much of the time. “You need to do that more often.”
“What?” James whispered.
“Smile. You’re so serious. And you have a great laugh, deep and rich. It suits you. Too bad it seems to be missing a lot of the time.” Daniel slid back under the covers. “You knew how to laugh when we were back in Chicago.”
James sighed. “I know. There’s very little to laugh about here.” The humor seemed to leach out of the room in seconds. “I’m continuously tense and on edge. Will I say the wrong thing? Is Mama going to be disappointed? It’s like I’m walking on eggshells, and I always seem to be the only one. Give me a good old-fashioned firefight any day of the week. Those I can handle. I just don’t seem to have been able to figure out how to manage the crap with my family.”
“You know, I could sing for you. Maybe that would cheer you up.” Daniel watched as light from the cracks in the curtains played across the walls. “When I was just a little gayboy,” he sang, and James chuckled once again.
“Oh no. Now I’m going to have naughty Doris Day ringing in my head all night long.” Still, his voice held amusement. “Go to sleep. We have a busy day tomorrow, and god knows what sort of drama we’re going to get dragged into.”
“Pun intended,” Daniel said because he couldn’t help it. James snorted softly and shifted closer, sliding an arm around him.
“You make me smile, and anyone who can do that while I’m here with my family is pretty damned special.” James leaned close, kissing Daniel on the cheek before rolling over once more. It seemed like seconds before James was asleep, while Daniel lay awake for what seemed like hours.
Chapter Five
James woke alone and with a headache. He groaned and slowly got out of bed, wishing he could sleep for the rest of the damned day, but he was sure there were things he had to do, and this pain wasn’t going away on its own. James popped a couple of ibuprofen and sat still, willing the pressure to abate.