Line of Sight - 6. Chapter 6

“How in the hell did you think this would be a good idea?”

It wasn’t the first time I’d had doubts about inviting Tony over for dinner, but despite my reservations I hadn’t called and cancelled. I had thought about it and even picked up the phone twice but I hadn’t been able to do it. I wanted to see what might be able to build between myself and Tony.

The sound of the doorbell brought me out of my reverie and I hurried to the door to let Tony in out of the cold. It could only be him since Paul had picked Jake up over an hour ago and I wasn’t expecting anyone else. I shivered as the wind brought a rush of snow with it as I opened the door. Tony stepped inside and I shut it quickly behind him.

“Damn, it’s cold out there.” Tony brushed snow out of his hair and smiled at me as he stripped out of his coat. “I was surprised you called.”

“Honestly, so was I, but I’m glad you came.” I reached out and took his coat so that I could hang it in the closet. I turned to see Tony looking around my home before turning to me with a quizzical expression.

“Where’s Jake at?”

“He’s at his mom’s. I just thought it might make things weird for him having his teacher at his home.” It felt a little strange to me too, but I was determined to get past it.

“About that…” Tony looked nervous, “I’m sorry if I put you on the spot. I should have waited to say anything until I was no longer his teacher. I knew asking was questionable, but mainly wanted you to know I was interested.”

“I admit I’m still a bit worried.” I led him further into the house and motioned towards the couch. He sat and I moved to sit on the other side of the couch and turned to face him. I figured it was as good a time as any to get my biggest concern out of the way. “Just promise me, no matter what happens, you won’t treat Jake any differently.”

“I won’t.” Tony paused for a minute and just looked at me, a slight smile curving his lips. “I was happy to hear from you, but I have to ask. What changed your mind?”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. It was kind of ironic to think about it being my ex-wife that had convinced me to call. I didn’t know many guys, gay or straight, whose ex’s would be pushing them to date.

“Actually, believe it or not, Jamie.” I shook my head as he just looked at me, a surprised look on his face. “Yeah, I know, trust me. She convinced me that as long as I was careful, it shouldn’t affect Jake too much. He’s not really old enough to be embarrassed about it.”

“True. Whatever it was, I’m glad.” He glanced around the house again before turning his attention back to me, frowning. “Is something burning?”

“Oh shit!” I leapt off the couch and rushed to the kitchen. I had been so preoccupied I had completely forgotten about the lasagna that was in the oven. I pulled open the oven door and grabbed a hot pad. I groaned when I looked at the blackened cheese and now that it was out of the oven, the burnt smell was even stronger. I set the pan on top of the stove and inwardly berated myself. I hadn’t realized Tony had followed me until he spoke from behind me.

“I’m guessing that was dinner?” He sounded like he was trying not to laugh and I turned, not realizing he was so close.

“Yeah, was supposed to be anyways.” I sighed and glanced behind me at the mess in the pan and turned back to Tony. “I’m usually a better cook than this. I guess maybe we’ll be going out for dinner after all.”

“Or we could order in. I know this great little Mexican place that delivers. Or we could just order pizza. I’m easy.” Tony grinned and whether it was from the double entendre, or not, I didn’t know.

“Mexican food sounds good to me. I don’t eat it very often as usually it’s too spicy for Jake. Plus, we had pizza the other night.” I shifted a little bit and glanced at the phone on the wall, the clock, the living room, anywhere except at Tony.

“Great!” Tony either didn’t seem to notice I was nervous or he chose not to comment on it. Either way I was grateful. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “Anything in particular you feel like? Enchiladas? Chimichangas?”

“Actually, both of them sound really good.” I glared at the lasagna, “Anything has got to be better than that.”

Tony didn’t say anything and headed back to the living room. I turned off the stove and followed, only to find him already on the phone. I studied him as he talked and didn’t realize at first that he was talking to me.

“Brad?”

My name brought me out of my stupor and I swear my entire face was probably flaming.

“Yeah?”

“You want chicken, ground beef, or shredded beef?”

“Ground beef, please.” I waited for him to finish his call before asking, “Would you like something to drink? I’ve got beer, soda, and Jack.”

“I’ll take a Jack and Coke if you’ve got it.”

“Sure, be right back.” I slipped away and took a moment in the kitchen to compose myself. I’d be lucky if I hadn’t made a complete fool of myself before the night was over. It took a few minutes before walking back to the living room, drinks in hand. Tony was looking over my collection of movies but looked up when I walked in. “See anything you want to watch?”

He turned and glanced through the movies again before pulling one out and holding it up for my inspection. I grinned at his selection. West Side Story certainly wasn’t one I was expecting him to pick but it was one I enjoyed and hadn’t watched for a while.

“Looks good to me.” I walked over and handed him his drink as I took the movie from him and walked over to the entertainment center. I popped the movie into the DVD player and grabbed the remote before joining him on the couch. I couldn’t help but notice that he’d sat in the middle of the couch this time, leaving me little choice as to how close I sat. Not that I was really complaining as I sat down next to him, our knees brushing as the previews started playing. Despite the beginning awkwardness, we both seemed relaxed and we settled in to watch the movie as we waited for our unburnt dinner to arrive.