Don't Read in the Closet volume one (54 page)

Once again the man bent
and petted his dog. Levi waited, giving him some time. He wondered if the guy
was going to be okay. If he had a wife and kids crying their eyes out at home.
He’d only had Whirlwind for just over a year, but he couldn’t imagine life
without him. He was trying to figure out what to say or do next when the door
to the examination room beside them opened.

A man in a white lab
coat, obviously a vet, stuck his head out of the door. “Lacey’s resting now,
Shea—if you want to sit with her.”

The man took a deep
breath. “Yeah.” He looked at Levi and smiled. “Take good care of him.”

“Sure. Take it easy.”

As soon as the words
were out of his mouth, Levi regretted them. The man was about to sit in a tiny,
impersonal room and watch his dog’s life fade away and he’d told the guy to
take it easy. He had a real way with words.

The other man didn’t
seem to notice. He gave Levi another small smile. “Thanks.” He turned and
entered the examination room.

Levi made his way to the
reception area to pay his bill.

He thought of the
dark-haired man as he was watching TV later that
night,
and again as he took Whirlwind out one last time before bed. He hoped the guy
was doing okay.

Levi wasn’t big on the
soft, doe-eyed look. He preferred men that met his gaze coolly as they sized
each other up. He’d been checked out plenty of times and done his fair share of
scoping out men in return. He knew what to do when a man’s eyes gleamed with
appreciation and lust. He’d returned that look enough times, right before some
hot, sweaty sex.

But it had been
different at the animal hospital. Levi hadn’t known how to respond. When the
other dog owner had looked at Levi, his eyes had shone with unshed tears not
desire. Levi had felt helpless. Those sorrowful brown eyes had spoken to him.
He’d wanted to do something, anything he could, just so the man would stop
looking so wounded.

CHAPTER TWO

Shea pushed himself a
little harder as he started up the incline. He hadn’t run this far for a long
time and at first it had been hard. It was easier now, though he’d only started
running again after Lacey died.

Towards the end Lacey
wasn’t able to walk without pain let alone run. Shea had felt guilty every time
he’d gone out without her, but even a bathroom break had been an ordeal for the
yellow Lab. She’d been a dignified old lady though, right to the end. Shea
couldn’t believe she’d already been gone for over six weeks. He still missed
her almost every day, especially on long, lonely weekends.

The incline gave way to
a small plateau and he paused to drink from his water bottle. To his left the
land rose and dipped in a series of small hills. To his right, the park
flattened out. He could see the parking lot and the pond from up here.

Off in the distance,
near the pond, a young woman walked her dog. Shea watched them and missed Lacey
all over again.

****

“Come on Whirlwind.
Let’s get you some exercise.” Levi clipped on the leash. Whirlwind wagged his
tail, eager to go.

Levi loaded his dog into
the back of the car, making sure Whirlwind was secure. He wished he’d bought a
bigger car, but he hadn’t realized he’d be the owner of a large dog when he
bought this one and he sure as hell couldn’t afford to upgrade.

It was a beautiful sunny
July afternoon. For once he hadn’t pulled the Saturday shifts at the restaurant
and Levi had nothing to do and nowhere
he had
to be.
He’d give them both a treat and drive over to Green Hills Park. Even though it
was hot out, there’d probably be a breeze.

The park was over five
square miles with plenty of paths for cyclists, joggers and dog walkers. Best
of all, dogs were allowed to run off leash in designated areas. Whirlwind loved
Green Hills and since his apartment was stifling, they’d both enjoy the fresh
air.
  

Whirlwind started
whining excitedly as soon as they pulled into the parking lot. “I
know,
me too,” Levi told him.

He got out of the car
and made sure he had a good grip on the leash before letting the car’s back
door open all the way. Whirlwind scrambled out and pulled eagerly, directly
towards the road and the houses on the other side.

“Idiot,” Levi said
fondly. “You’ve got a whole park and you head straight for traffic. Come on,
let’s go this way and I’ll give you a run.” He turned them towards the
low-lying hills.

Soon they were deep in
the park. Occasionally they met a jogger or were overtaken by a cyclist.
Whirlwind trotted ahead at the end of his leash, crisscrossing the path,
snuffling in the grass and peeing every time he came to something he could cock
his leg at.

At the top of a small
hill Levi stopped. He couldn’t see anyone around. There were no other dogs or
wildlife so it looked safe to let Whirlwind off leash. He pulled a tennis ball
from the pocket of his cargo shorts.

“Sit.” Whirlwind sat and
looked at him happily, his tail sweeping the path. Levi took off the leash.
“Behave or I’ll put this right back on.” The retriever got to his feet, almost
vibrating in anticipation, his eyes fastened on the tennis ball.

Levi threw the ball,
watching the dog chase after it. He brought it back and dropped it at Levi’s
feet and Levi threw it again.

Ten minutes later
Whirlwind showed no sign of losing interest, but Levi was tired of picking up a
ball soggy with dog slobber. He threw it as hard as he could. The ball bounced
down the hill. Whirlwind raced after it, barreling along the path.

Levi saw the jogger come
around the bend. Seventy pounds of friendly retriever veered away from the ball
and headed straight for him.

Levi ran down the hill,
horrified as Whirlwind danced around the jogger, barking and wagging his tail.
The man stopped—he could hardly move forward—and bent to pat Whirlwind, who
started licking his face.

“Whirlwind!”

The dog ignored him.
Levi reached the bottom of the hill. “I’m so sorry.”

The jogger grinned up at
him. “No problem.”

Levi stared, the leash
dangling uselessly from his fingers. He recognized those gorgeous brown eyes
right away. It was the guy from the animal hospital. The one whose dog had been
put to sleep.

The man straightened and
reached out. For a crazy moment Levi thought he was going to take his hand and
his heart leapt. Instead the man caught the end of the leash and attached it to
Whirlwind’s collar.

Whirlwind dropped to the
ground. He lay between them panting, his tongue hanging out of the side of his
mouth.

“I’m really sorry,” Levi
said again.

“No harm done.”

“Right.” Levi suppressed
a wince. He’d stepped wrong on the way down the hill and pulled something. The
initial bright flare of pain had dulled to a steady ache, but the leg couldn’t
support his full weight without hurting. He kept his weight on his other foot
and focused on the attractive man in front of him.

“You and your dog seem
really familiar. Do I know you from somewhere?”

Shit.
Levi really hadn’t wanted to bring that up. “We met at the
vet’s a while back.”

The man’s smiled
faltered. “Oh.”

“I’m Levi and this is
Whirlwind,” he said quickly. He gave the man a bright smile as he wiped his
hand on his shorts before he held it out. He hoped it wasn’t still sticky from
dog saliva.

“Shea.”

They shook hands.

Shea was wearing shorts
and a tank top, the kind that serious runners wore. There was a lot of tanned
muscular thigh on display and the tank top clung to his chest and flat stomach.
His skin was lightly sheened with sweat, but he wasn’t breathing very hard.
Levi dragged his eyes up to Shea’s face.

“I’m sorry we
interrupted your run.”

Shea shrugged. “It’s
okay. I was on my cool down anyway.”

“Oh. Well, nice meeting
you again.” This time he did wince. Considering the last time they’d met, that
was a stupid thing to say.

“My pleasure.”

Shea smiled at Levi,
something in his gaze making Levi aware that the attraction wasn’t one-sided.
He’d seen that look enough times to recognize it. Though Shea was much more
subtle than any of the guys Levi had hooked up with at a club. He might not
even be aware he was broadcasting his interest.

He’d have liked to talk
to Shea. Try to get a feel for whether or not Shea was willing to have some
fun, but his ankle was throbbing. He could feel sweat starting on his forehead.

 
Shea must have picked up on something in his
body language because he asked, “Are you okay?”

 
“Yeah. Sure. Don’t let us keep you.” Levi
willed Shea to leave so he could limp back to his car. Forget looking for the
ball. Even if he took the shortest route to the parking lot, he had a good walk
ahead of him.

 
“Okay.” Shea frowned. Maybe he didn’t like
being dismissed. “Nice to meet you. Bye, Whirlwind.”

Shea loped away and
turned to wave after a few feet. Levi waved back and made a show of petting
Whirlwind. He waited till Shea was out of sight before he started down the
path. He hadn’t sprained his ankle, but he’d wrenched something. Maybe his
Achilles tendon.

“This sucks,” he told
the dog. “If I hadn’t messed up my ankle I could have asked for his number, maybe
hooked up with him. I don’t get as much as I used to since you came along.
Actually, I don’t get any.”
 

Whirlwind ignored him,
nose to the ground as he padded along, waving his tail from side to side
happily.

Levi still had a long
way to go when he heard the slap, slap, slap of feet approaching from behind.
He hobbled over to the side of the path.

The runner was Shea. He
slowed to a walk and watched Levi with concern. “You’re limping.”

Levi stopped and
suppressed a grimace. “It’s not too bad.”

“Do you want some help?”

“No, I’m good.”

“Okay.”

Shea didn’t move and
after a moment Levi realized he was waiting for him. He limped along as Shea
walked beside him.

Shea seemed content to
let Levi make his own way. He didn’t offer his help again or say anything to
make Levi feel more embarrassed than he already was. Levi realized he was glad
to have the other man’s company, which was kind of surprising considering the
circumstances.

A minute or two later a
butterfly rose up out of the grass beside the path and Whirlwind lunged at it.
Levi wasn’t expecting the sudden movement. Whirlwind pulled him off balance
forcing Levi to take all of his weight on his sore ankle. “Ow, fuck.”

Shea grabbed him by the
upper arm to steady him.

Levi’s skin was
hypersensitive to Shea’s touch. He could feel each individual finger against
his skin. “Thanks. Sorry,” he said.

Shea was still holding
his arm. He let go almost reluctantly. “It’s worse than you said. At least let
me take Whirlwind.”

“Okay.” He handed over
the leash.

They made their way
slowly towards the parking lot. Levi was aware of Shea watching him from the
corner of his eye. Probably waiting to see if he was going to make it without
asking for help. He
grit
his teeth and kept
going.
 

Levi pointed. “My car’s
just over there.”

Shea gave him an
exasperated look. “Can you drive?”

Levi shrugged. He didn’t
have much choice. “Sure.”

“Look. I live just
across the street. Why don’t you come with me and we can ice your ankle?”

Levi tilted his head,
considering. He was attracted to the other man though he wasn’t the type Levi
usually went for. Shea was good-looking in a healthy, eats-his-vegetables kind
of way, but he was so far out of Levi’s league it was laughable.

 
He opened his mouth to refuse politely and
surprised himself by accepting the offer.

From the expression on
Shea’s face he’d surprised him too.

CHAPTER THREE

After a brief discussion
they decided to drive over to Shea’s house. Shea drove out of the parking lot
and across the street to a small, freshly painted house with a tidy front yard.

“Wait here a second.”
Shea unlocked the front door then came back for Whirlwind as Levi carefully got
out of the car.

Shea helped Levi hobble
down a short hall and into the living room. “I’ll get Whirlwind some water. He
can stay in here, but he’d probably be happier in the backyard.”

Levi hesitated. What if
Whirlwind dug up some flowers or escaped?

Shea interpreted his
expression correctly. “Don’t worry,
it’s
dog friendly
and fenced. He can’t do any damage or get out of the yard. There’s plenty of
shade too.”