Song and Dance - 1. Chapter 1 Walking on Sunshine

Chapter 1

Chet was sweating like a pig. The gym was hotter than usual today, and he'd set a blistering pace to match his mood. He was going to pay for this workout tomorrow, but he didn’t care. Maybe he’d be able to conk out tonight. An exhausted sleep was better than the kind he’d been having lately. Working out alone sucked. Having Kendall as his partner at The Spectrum had spoiled him. Before their friendship, solitude was welcomed. He would even revel in it when he first moved up here from the city, over a year ago. Toronto was filled with bad memories for him. But he was changing, and the loneliness overpowered him at times, to the point where it brought frustrating tears, and some painful anger with it. He looked around the gym, but there was no knight in shining armor here. There wasn’t even a rusted-out one.

Kendall had been the first guy to spark his interest since Ian. From the beginning though, friends were all they were meant to be. Kendall had already found the love of his life. Michael Aceto was his perfect partner, a keeper, and Chet saw it from the beginning. He was happy they had finally figured it out, but watching them together had served to open up that well of loneliness he'd kept lidded. He wanted what those two had, in the worst way. Disgusted with himself for the self-pity he was wallowing in, he headed to the locker room.

Conversations going on around him as he showered and changed, merely fed his dissatisfaction with the way his life was going... being on the outside of life. He was aware of the appreciative glances his extremely fit, naked body attracted, but they did nothing to ease the disquiet he was experiencing. He didn’t want to be ogled; he wanted to be loved.

He fought the urge to text Kendall to see if he could join him and Michael for coffee or have a quick visit. They were leaving early the next morning to fly to Calgary, and while they would probably say yes to his request, he didn’t want to intrude. They needed time to get ready, and he knew Kendall was stressed about visiting his sick, estranged father. Besides, seeing them so blissfully happy together might make his mood even worse. He wasn’t jealous, but he was envious of what they had. The realness of it was beautiful. The first time he heard them use pet names for one another, something twisted in his chest, and the longing seemed to double in him.

Chet noticed the attention of a cute, buff-looking guy focused on him, furtive glances becoming more obvious, but after locking eyes for a second, he looked away. It was tempting, but the guy looked to be at least five or six years younger than him, and it would just be an empty hook-up. He was so done with those, just like he was done with younger guys. No, he was looking for someone who knew what they wanted… not like Ian, who had changed his mind about their commitment at the last minute.

The searing pain of that day had never left; it had only receded. God, he had loved that golden angel of a man. He'd thought he finally found what he wanted, but it wasn’t to be. The twenty-one year old Ian had wavered after Chet had signed the lease on what was supposed to be their first apartment together. Telling him he hadn’t lived enough yet, Ian exited his life, and left him in astounded disbelief.

His world had come crashing down around him with a three minute conversation that left him reeling. Subletting the apartment he could never have lived in, and running from downtown to the northern suburbs, was the only option he could see. He was done with ‘The Village’ lifestyle. Chet could see the disappointment on the young guy’s face as he walked by him and out the door, but he felt no regret. The guy would have no trouble finding what he was looking for.

So here he was, working for a small architectural firm, doing what he loved, but with no one to share his life with. Folding his big frame into his precious white Jeep Cherokee, he pulled out of the Spectrum parking lot lost in thought, not sure where he was headed. His life had become an exercise in killing time, moving from one disconnected thing to the next. Driving by the Coffee Emporium, a favored hang out, he decided an extra-large black-no-sugar was in order. Checking the Sunday morning traffic, he took a chance and did an illegal U-turn on the quiet road before pulling into the parking lot. The place looked dead as he got out of his Jeep.

Shit! Realizing he’d been caught, he uttered “crap,” under his breath as a police car pulled in next to him. Chet could barely make out the solitary officer as he sat in the cruiser, probably running his license plate. Unsure of what to do, he stood there until the passenger window rolled down and a deep voice told him to get back in his vehicle until he was ready for him. A chagrined Chet did as he was told, pissed at himself for pulling the U-turn in the first place. He was getting agitated as the officer took his time getting around to him. Finally, the murky figure emerged from the dark police car into the sunlight, and Chet caught his breath at what he saw.

As the cop approached his car, he took in the fit form of an intriguing-looking man. The first thing he noticed, despite it being only noon, was that this guy already had a five-o’clock shadow on his chiseled face. As he got closer, Chet found himself looking into incredible steel gray eyes ringed in a circle of black. Wolf eyes.

“Could I have your license and ownership, please?”

“Certainly, Officer.”

“Do you understand, sir, why I followed you in here?”

“Yeah, I think so. U-turn?”

“That’s correct, sir. An illegal U-turn.” He compared Chet to the picture on his driver’s license, making him cringe. He considered it the worst picture ever taken of him. “That’s not a very safe thing to do, Mr. Little, and not necessary, considering there’s a set of traffic lights just ahead. You could have turned around there instead of doing something dangerous.” He was staring at Chet with what seemed to be more than usual interest.

“I know. I wasn’t thinking. I just came from working out, and forgot I was going to the Emporium. Sorry about that. I don’t usually do such dumb things.” Those gray eyes were surrounded by very full, sooty black lashes, making it hard to concentrate. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I said, can I see your proof of insurance?”

Was that a smirk on his face? “Sure.” He could feel himself blush as he handed his insurance card to the officer. He'd been caught.

“So, were you coming from the Spectrum, Mr. Little? It’s not far from here.” His cop vibe seemed to have gotten friendlier.

“Yeah... you know it?”

“Uh huh. Yes, I do. I work out there myself once in a while. It’s not my normal gym, but it’s nice enough. It’s very clean and well looked after. I have a couple of friends who have a membership there.”

“Oh yeah? Are you by any chance talking about Michael the cop, and Kendall?”

“Hell yeah, I was," he answered, looking surprised, but pleased too for some reason. "You know them?”

“I sure do. They’ve become really good friends as a matter of fact. I work out with Kendall now and again, and when Michael’s knee is better, he’s going to join us. I was just at their place a couple of days ago. Do you and Michael work out of the same station?”

“Uh huh. We both work out of 51 division.”

He was definitely friendlier now, and Chet was drinking in his exotic looks as he talked. Was there Mediterranean in there?

“I’m going over to their place when they get back from Calgary. We’re going to order in dinner because neither one can cook worth a damn, apparently.” He laughed... such a nice laugh, thought Chet. Those gray eyes deepened and sparkled when he did so, and the creases of his dimples lengthened considerably.

“That’s funny, because I’m going over there for dinner too, when they return. We’re gonna have Chinese food... there’s someone they want me to meet.” Chet’s eyes widened at the same time as the captivating policeman’s did. “Uh, can I ask you… is your name Arron, by any chance?”

Startled eyes met Chet’s this time. The cop nodded his head up and down slowly, as the situation dawned on him. “So they invited us to the same dinner? They didn’t tell me that.”

From the sudden change in vibe, he got the idea Arron wasn’t on board with this, and he felt real disappointment at the thought. “It’s probably a different dinner then,” he said, doing his best to keep his voice devoid of emotion.

“Then how come you knew my name… Chet?”

“I don’t know, maybe I heard wrong. Anyway, you can just cancel and make it another night.”

Arron looked at him strangely before he spoke. “Answer me this? Is this a set-up, do you think? Because I hate set-ups.”

“I don’t know what to tell you. Kendall said he had someone he wanted me to meet, but he didn’t say why, and I really don’t think I got the name wrong, to be completely honest. I figured it might be something like that. Are you even… ah?”

“Gay?”

“Yeah, well… yeah.”

“Are you?” Those already intense gray eyes became more so.

“Yes, I am,” Chet answered, holding his breath.

“Me too. Those sneaky bastards,” he said, smiling broadly with perfect teeth on display. “If you hadn’t pulled that illegal U-turn, we wouldn’t have figured out what they were up to. Son-of-a-bitch... this is hilarious. I think we should teach them a lesson.”

“I think this is more Kendall’s idea than Michael’s from what I know of them. So, are you going to cancel?” His heart had already sunk, and he cursed himself for making that stupid fucking U-turn. He held the man's gaze as he waited for what he was sure would be a hope-crushing answer.

“What are you doing tonight, Chet? I’m assuming you’re single?”

Chet was momentarily stunned, but quickly recovered, staring into smirking eyes this time. Why did he get the feeling this guy could read him like a book. “Completely single, and I have no plans… Arron.” He liked the way it felt, saying that name. “What did you have in mind?” Christ, he felt like a school girl, almost giddy because things were suddenly looking so promising.

“Maybe we could go to dinner, somewhere casual, and talk about how we can get back at those two for not being straight up with us. I’m sure we could come up with something devious… maybe even slightly evil.” The smile on his face was playful, sexy, and almost blinding… and Chet was smitten.

“I’m in, Arron.” Saying that name again felt so good. “What time is good for you?” It was his turn to turn the wattage up on his smile, causing Arron to stutter his answer. His eyes appeared concentrated on Chet’s chin dimple.

“Oh, uh, I’m off at, ah, four, so how about maybe six at Pieterangelos on Ellesmere?”

So it’s not just me, Chet thought. He’s feeling it too. Good. “Sounds like a great plan to me. I’ll be there. Jeans and a shirt okay, or should I wear a jacket?”

“It’s nice there, but casual, so jeans and even a tee are okay. I’ll probably wear a polo. Make sure you wear a warm jacket, though, because it’s supposed to get cold tonight.”

“Will do. Looking forward to it.” Chet found his reminder of the warm jacket really sweet.

“Me too,” was said as Arron turned back towards his cruiser, showing Chet navy blue uniform pants molded to a perfect lower half. He craned his neck so as not to miss a second of that view. His already semi-filled cock reacted instantly as Arron made his way to the far side of the car.

“Hey, what about my ticket?”

“Do you really want one?” That one raised eyebrow was so sexy.

“Only if it has your phone number on it. And maybe you could give me back my insurance card?” He couldn’t help but grin as Arron looked down at his hands, before looking up sheepishly.

“Oops. Sorry about that.” He reached into the car before coming back to Chet’s window, handing him his insurance card and another one with his number on it. Chet took it and handed him his own card.

“Call me if there’s a problem, okay?”

“There won’t be… and I’ve decided to let you off with a warning… this time. If I give you a ticket, you might not show up for dinner.” There was that playful, sexy smile again.

“Fat chance of that happening, Officer Arron,” he said with a wink. Driving out of the parking lot, he realized he hadn’t gotten his coffee, but was too embarrassed to turn around and go back. Nobody had rattled him like that in a long, long time. Maybe not ever.