The Crush Revisited

Chapter 1 Micah Graves and Keith Peterson’s reception was still going strong hours after their commitment ceremony. Tim had acted as Micah’s best man. They all wore charcoal-gray tuxes and pink ties. The happy couple had been practically glowing. They’d hired a band, a loud one at that, and for a while Tim watched couples dance in the middle of the large floor, until he’d had enough of watching laughing, smiling pairs. Tim had been asked to dance by two women and a guy, but he’d declined all three. Not because he was being particularly mopey, but rather because he had two left feet. He took a glass of champagne off a nearby tray and headed through the French doors that led to the gardens of the community center where the reception was being held. “I can get through this,” he told himself, leaning on a wrought-iron railing that overlooked a duck pond. It wasn’t as though he’d lost something. He’d never had Keith. Hadn’t even gone on a single date with him. They worked together at the same law firm, that was all. Anything to do with Keith had all been in Tim’s head. So really, he needed to get a grip. Only easier said than done. Keith was handsome, successful, and a philanthropist. He’d been perfect for Tim, or so Tim had thought. But Keith hadn’t ever thought of Tim as anything but a friend and colleague. And when Keith met Micah…well, that was like magic. For them. He smelled Keith’s cologne just before Keith clapped a hand on his shoulder. “You look like you’re a million miles away, Olfander.” Tim turned to give him the practiced smile. The one he’d worked on for days and was pretty sure he’d perfected. Raising his glass of champagne in a sort of salute, he said, “Just wondering if this kind of thing will ever happen for me.” “It will.” He sounded so sure that Tim had to ask him, “You have a crystal ball or something?” Keith laughed. “No. I just know what a great guy you are. You’ll meet Mr. Right just like I did.” “Yeah?” “I didn’t think I would ever meet the one either. But then you introduced me to Micah.” Keith looked pretty lovesick. “I couldn’t be happier.” This time the smile Tim offered was easy. He was happy for them. Micah had been his best friend ever since Tim moved to Los Angeles, and he definitely deserved having a great guy. “I’m glad for both of you. Micah really loves you.” Keith’s smile got wider, if that was possible. “What are you really doing out here? There’s a party inside. I happen to know there’s a member of the band who has a big crush on you.” “Which one?” “The little piano player. I’m surprised you didn’t see him ogling you.” Tim laughed. “Hmm. I can’t believe I missed being ogled myself.” Keith jerked his head in the direction of the doors leading inside. “Come on. Let’s go check him out.” * * * * Tim had just poured himself a glass of chardonnay the next evening when a tinny beep alerted him to having received a text on his phone. He picked up his cell and saw that it was from Micah. Having the best time! He took a sip of the wine and then typed back. Great. Then he shut off his phone. Probably stupid, but he didn’t think he could take hearing more about their honeymoon. He knew he had to get over it, of course. And hooking up with the little piano player after the reception had been a start. Tim had gone home with him and spent a couple of hours f*****g him senseless. Or maybe it was Tim who was senseless. Probably both. The piano player had fallen asleep or passed out, Tim didn’t know for sure, so he’d used that as his chance to leave. The musician had been a cutie and had a great ass, but really Tim didn’t see it being anything more than a one-night stand, so he’d made his escape before things could get too awkward. He powered on his laptop and sat on the couch with his legs tucked under him to go through his e-mail. About the tenth message down, he noticed one marked with the subject line Lincoln Hill High School Reunion Committee. Tim clicked on it and read. Greetings, fellow former students. Hard to believe, but it’s been ten years since the class of 2003 graduated from Lincoln Hill High School. We’re planning a reunion at the Lincoln Hill River Resort on Saturday, May 25, 2013. Hope you can join us for Memorial weekend. Lincoln Hill alumni get special rates. It went on with further details about reserving a room at the resort and reunion activities for the long weekend, along with prices and registrations forms. It included links to the resort’s Web site and an indication that they would also be mailing information. Well, it had certainly been a long time since he’d thought of his days in high school. He’d moved out of Lincoln Hill not long after school and had never looked back. Back in those days Tim had hung out with his two best friends, Lance Lewis and Ashtyn Raleigh, who were also gay. They’d thought of themselves as the Lincoln Hill Gay Club. Hell, they’d even formed a Gay-Straight Alliance with monthly meetings. Tim laughed out loud. Yeah, they’d pretty much been dorks. He clicked the link in the message that listed alumni who had already registered and searched for his friends’ names. Lance and Ashtyn were both on the list as attending. He was sort of surprised neither of them had e-mailed him to mention the reunion. They’d kept in touch via e-mail for the last several years, updating each other on their lives. He hadn’t really planned on revisiting high school, but it would be nice to see the guys in person after all this time, and maybe this reunion was exactly what he needed to make something happen in his life.