Dan had to get away. The air was fresh, the sky was blue, and wherever he was, he wasn't home with Bruce. He'd gotten in the car and drove, taking turns whenever he felt like it, but otherwise keeping his eyes on the road. When he found a nice park or a cute little town, he'd get out and stroll around. At the end of the day, he could find out where he was, check his GPS, and make his way home. It would work out.
He decided to stop in this little village. The street was lined with jewelers, bookstores, curio shops, cafes, and it overlooked a glittering lake. Baskets of vinca vine and petunias hung from the lamp posts, and old barrels planted with marigolds and coleus were stationed at regular intervals along the sidewalk. The sweet, perfumed air almost made him forget the fights with Bruce. Almost.
He ducked into and emerged from one of the pastry shops, munching on a sugar-soaked bun. It looked, and tasted, as if it had been dunked in three separate layers of frosting, the sugar was so thick. He realized as he licked his fingers that Bruce had made these for him when they'd first started dating. What did it say that he'd picked one up without even thinking about it? He contemplated tossing it into the trash but decided against.
What was he going to do about Bruce? He turned the corner to a plaza overlooking the lake and sat down at one of the empty tables. A large wooden carving of a brown bear stood watch nearby. The fighting had been going on for two months, three? and he wasn't sure what was even the cause. Work was stressful, yes, and the more stressful it got, the harder it was to keep up with simple tasks like grocery shopping. And every time they ate out, Bruce reminded him in that sickly sweet tone that they couldn't afford to keep doing this. And that was only a small part of it. He crumpled up the paper from his sticky bun. Was it time to end things?
Before he could get up, a man sat down next to him. At first, Dan couldn't take his eyes off his stocky torso. A green button-down shirt barely contained him, his nipples tenting up the fabric, the shirt opened at his neck to show fuzzy red hair. A red beard wrapped around his jaw and grew up into a thick and wild head of hair. The man looked at him with startling blue eyes as if he expected Dan to speak first.
Dan felt a little flutter in his stomach, and his cock was stirring in his jeans. "I'm sorry, sir. Can I help you?"
The man didn't say a word but reached into his jeans pocket. He drew something out, and held out his fist to Dan. Dan understood, and held out his palm. As the man's fingers uncurled, a silver chain fell down, glittering, and eventually a pendant with it.
The man didn't say anything but winked at Dan, and when he smiled he was as handsome as any porn model. Dan couldn't take the necklace. He didn't even know this man. How could he accept such a gift?
The man got up and walked away before Dan could say anything else, much less return the necklace. He wished he could go after the man, but that wouldn't be fair to Bruce. He noticed the pendant was actually a locket, and opened it out of curiosity. Inisde was a single four-leaf clover, pressed behind a thin film of glass. Odd.
Then, his phone rang.
#
It was Bruce. He'd taken this drive out to get a break from the guy. He let it ring for a few seconds, then decided he'd rather get it over with. "Hey, what's up?"
"Hey, Dan. How's it going?"
"It's fine. I just decided to go out." He got up from the table, stretched his legs a bit, then started off towards the lake. "What about you? You don't sound so good."
"Well,you see, I've been thinking..."
Dan stopped walking. He didn't like Bruce's tone at all. "Thinking about what?"
He could hear Bruce sigh on the other end. "About us. You ever get to thinking about what it would be like, you know, to sleep with someone else?"
"Well, yeah, sure, I'm human. But I thought we decided not to do that." Dan felt his heart quicken in his chest. In fact, it was Bruce who'd decided they shouldn't do that.
"I guess I been wondering about it a bit too much lately. Do you want to give it a try?"
Dan squeezed his temples. He didn't want to hear this, but nothing good comes from prolonging a bad situation. "Look, is this really what it's about? I know things have been rough between us. Is it the fight?"
"No, no. I mean, I've been thinking about it for a while. And with how things have been between us lately, well, maybe it would do us some good." He went silent for a moment, but Dan didn't have anything to say. "I feel like things are getting stuffy between us. You know, same ol', same ol'. I just think--"
"Yeah, you think all you want," Dan interrupted. He couldn't listen to any more. "You're right, we do need to experience something new. Something fresh. Just do me a favor okay?"
"Yes, of course, anything. I'm so glad you understand!"
"Don't call me again. Ever." He ended the call before Bruce could fit in another word. Shit. The man probably had some twink over now, naked and waiting for the go ahead. He noticed he'd been clenching his fists, and he hopened them and stretched out his fingers. The sky was still blue, the sun was still shining. It felt so at odds with how he felt inside.
He sat down in the grass. He'd worked so hard to stifle his urges, to give Bruce the monogamy he'd asked for. And now, after all that, he wasn't enough for him? He lay down and closed his eyes, the sun shining warm on his face. Then he sat up again and pulled out the locket. It was plain on the outside, though he was sure whatever metal it was, it was expensive. He turned it over in his fingers and thought of the big man. In particular, he imagined those nipples tenting his green shirt. He licked his lips and opened the locket. The glass covering the four-leaf clover glinted.
"Hey, you!"
Dan slipped the necklace into his pocket and turned. It was that red-haired man again, though this time his torso was barely contained by a police uniform. His eyes were focused on Dan and his lips were drawn in a thin line. Dan had the urge to run, but he knew that running from the police would be a terrible idea.