It didn’t matter that when he’d kissed James, he nearly lost himself in his firm soft lips, and when James had enclosed him in his arms, Daniel was damned near transported to another place and time, far away from the room filled with people. He’d simply let himself get carried away, and it was time to come back down to earth and fucking reality. It had been way too long since Daniel had had someone to spend time with outside of work, if he was getting his head all twisted around with James. Daniel reran his encounter with the police a few years ago, for a quick reality check. That threw cold water on any flights of fancy that he might have had. On top of that, James was still in the damned closet as far as his family was concerned, and Daniel was not going to be anyone’s dirty little secret. Been there, got the T-shirt, and it wasn’t anything he intended to repeat. They had a few more days until the wedding, and then Daniel would return to his life at the theater and James could go back home to his job as a cop.
“Are you ready to go?” James asked, cutting through Daniel’s thoughts. He extended his elbow, and Daniel took it, letting James lead him back inside. The notion that just thinking about their kiss made Daniel’s lips tingle all over again didn’t matter in the least. Now who was delusional?
Chapter Seven
“Are you still awake?” Daniel asked from next to him.
“Yeah,” he answered without rolling over. He had spent the last hour with that kiss running through his head, trying to figure out if it was real or not. The fact that his body refused to calm down, and that he was too damned excited to roll over in case Daniel became aware of it, was another issue completely. Daniel had said that it was just for show, but it certainly hadn’t felt like it…in any way. He liked to think he could tell when someone was being fake, but this had him completely confused. “I can’t sleep while I’m here. Never can.”
“Why?” Daniel whispered into the darkness.
“Could you? I keep wondering what my mother is going to do next. It’s like walking through a minefield all the time.” At least he was grateful that his mother hadn’t brought up marriage yet during this visit. Usually it was first and foremost on her mind, like she was going to push and prod him down the aisle in order to complete commandment number nine.
Daniel rolled over. “I’m the last person on earth to tell anyone how to live their life, and I’m not going to do that to you. I have made my own way for years. Hell, my job and the way I dress and act are a big huge fuck-you to anything that most people consider ‘normal.’” He made air quotes above them, his pink sleeves blazing the way. “But I can tell you that there is something…liberating…about living the life you want and simply telling everyone else to go screw themselves if they don’t like it.”
James swallowed hard. “I know you’re right. That’s the shitty thing. If I had just been honest with them years ago, I wouldn’t have to put myself…or you…through all this.” But now he was stuck. “I have to make a clean break, but I can’t do that days before my sister’s wedding.” What a mess he’d made of everything.
Daniel took his hand. “I’m not going to leave you hanging in the wind. I promised you I would be your date and see you through this wedding, and I will.” Daniel squeezed his fingers, and James tried to let go of some of the tension. “Try to get some sleep. We have plenty to do tomorrow, and your sister is going to need your help.”
“Why do you think that?” James asked.
“Her wedding is just days away and she’s going to be stressed to the gills. We need to be there to help and support her. Especially since we have no idea when your mother is going to play her version of Mama Knows Best next.” Daniel let his words hang in the air, and in about three seconds, they smacked right into James like the proverbial backhand across the cheek.
“You don’t think…？” God, what had she done?
“I don’t know, but what do you think? You know your mother better than I do.” Daniel sounded so reasonable, and that was even more frightening. James hated to ponder it. Oh hell, now he had a real reason to lie awake and worry.
* * *
“I made coffee, and there are cinnamon rolls in the oven,” his mother was saying as James padded barefoot through the house toward the kitchen. He needed something to perk him up after the sleepless night he’d had. How anyone could be near Daniel and not tell he was a guy just by the earthy, rich scent was beyond him, but Daniel was right. People saw what they wanted to see.