Salt & Pepper

Chapter 2

2

Tim straightened his shirt after parking in the driveway of the bed and breakfast, sure that he looked every bit the unmade bed he felt like. The flight from Raleigh to Detroit had been pleasant enough, but try as he might to fall asleep, his racing mind wouldn’t let him, so he’d had to drink more coffee than was healthy to stay awake for the drive from the airport. He felt like no matter how he parsed it, this was a massive mistake waiting to happen.

Sarah hadn’t been kidding when she told him that the place was kind of out of the way—how appropriate for her—and he’d lost cell service a while back so finding it proved more difficult than it should have been. Still, it was worth finding. A beautiful garden wrapped around the entire front of the house, bursting blooms of blue, purple, and yellow flowers of all kinds, and the house itself was nestled back among a series of giant oak trees. It looked like the kind of house that would show up on a greeting card or in some cheesy made-for-TV movie, but it felt inviting and homey nonetheless.

As he sat admiring the place from the car, a kid appeared on the front porch, looking nearly as disheveled as Tim, and waved. Opening the car door, Tim stepped out and saw the young guy’s face crack when they made eye contact.

“Hi, welcome to The Country Cottage!” he called to Tim, stepping down off of the porch to greet him. Tim had expected to find unusual people and things during this sojourn, but he hadn’t expected to find that he’d be rooming with the hottest guy he’d seen in years. He had beautiful blond hair that he wore short on the sides and long on top and a pair of piercing grey-blue eyes. To Tim’s dismay, he looked every bit the part of the sexy art student, the same sort of students he himself had back home that were absolutely off limits. This one’s no different, he thought as the kid approached him.

“Are you with Sarah?” he asked.

“Not exactly,” Tim laughed, pulling off his sunglasses to get a better look at his new roommate. “I’m Tim. It’s actually going to be me staying with you for a couple of weeks.” If the kid’s face had cracked before, it positively shattered this time.

“Oh. Well, I guess it doesn’t make any difference, right?” he asked, his eyes shifting uncomfortably. “Anyway, I’m Ryan. Nice to meet you,” the kid said and offered out his hand for Tim to shake. Tim took it lightly, feeling like a complete creep the entire time for the thoughts that raced through his head at their touch.

“So are you the owner?” Tim asked, trying to make small talk. Anything to distract himself. Ryan laughed and shook his head.

“I am, believe it or not.”

“No offense or anything, but you look a little young to be doing something like this,” Tim said, painfully conscious of the fact that they still hadn’t stopped shaking hands.

“None taken. I get that all the time,” Ryan said, finally releasing Tim’s hand, which Tim quickly tucked into his pocket to tamp down the growing erection in his pants. Jesus, get it together, Tim, he thought. “It’s actually my Mom’s place. I took over for her about a year ago.”

“Did she retire?”

“No, she passed away.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It’s OK, there’s no way you could’ve.”

“So it’s just you, then?” Tim asked, desperately hoping Ryan would answer no. The thought of being trapped in a remote cabin with this supermodel for two weeks was enough to make him want to get right back in his car and drive all the way to Chapel Hill without ever looking back.

“Yup, it’s just me. I kind of prefer it that way. Less drama and I don’t have to pay anyone,” he said.

“Bit of an introvert, huh?”

“Not exactly. I just like being able to choose when other people are around.”

“Well, the place is beautiful,” Tim said, trying his best to take his mind off of being alone with Ryan.

“Thanks, I did the landscaping myself. You know, June is probably the best time to be here, too. It’s not scorching hot yet and all of the tourists haven’t poured into the place.”

“Oh, do you get a lot of tourists?”

“You wouldn’t think so, but yeah, we do. Wait until you see Saugatuck proper, you’ll know why. Anyway, do you have any luggage?”

“Yeah, I have a couple of suitcases in the trunk, but I think I can handle it.”

“What kind of host would I be if I let you carry in your own luggage?”

“Alright, suit yourself,” Tim laughed, popping open the trunk with the key fob in his hand. Ryan passed him on his way to the trunk and kept his gaze locked on Tim’s eyes. It was odd, and if Tim didn’t know any better, he’d almost say that Ryan was checking him out. Yeah, right, because a hot twenty-something like him wants anything to do with a sad old man, he thought as he watched Ryan hoist his two suitcases out of the trunk. He had more muscle than Tim would’ve guessed from looking at his thin frame.

“OK, come on in. I’ll show you the house and your room,” Ryan said and set off across the gravel toward the front door, Tim’s suitcases bouncing along behind him. Tim locked the car and followed.

“I’m sorry, but your bed isn’t made up yet. My last guest left this morning and your booking was a little, well, unexpected,” Ryan said over his shoulder.

“Unexpected is putting it lightly. Running off to Michigan wasn’t exactly part of my agenda today, either,” Tim said, watching Ryan try to haul his bags up the stairs. “Here, let me help,” Tim said, reaching for the bigger of the two bags. Their hands overlapped on the bag’s handle and Tim froze.

“Sure, no problem,” Ryan said, letting go of the bag and stuffing his hand into his pocket uncomfortably. When he looked up, his cheeks were burning red. Ryan whirled on his heel and set off into the house. Completely unsure of what was happening, Tim followed him through the kitchen and into the living room. A bedroom sat off to the left side, its door wide open.

“Here’s your room,” Ryan said, waving an arm to invite Tim in. “It’s not huge, but there’s a restroom that’s all yours right across the hall. Normally you’d share it if there were another guest in the house, but it looks like it’s just going to be you and me for two weeks unless something else pops up,” he said, the words pouring out of his mouth so quickly that Tim could barely understand him.

“Just us?” Tim asked, hoping that he’d misheard.

“Is that a problem?”

“No, no, not at all, just Sarah up to her usual tricks.”

“So you do actually know her, then?” Ryan asked, and a wave of gratitude poured over Tim as the conversation shifted.

“She’s my best friend, or at least she claims to be. These days I’m not so sure.”

“Sounds like this whole thing was a bit of a surprise?”

“Definitely. I needed to get away from everything for a while, you know?”

“You aren’t the first person staying here to tell me that,” Ryan said. “Anyway, make yourself at home. This whole half of the house is yours. If you need anything and you can’t find me, my bedroom is back down the hall off of the kitchen. Breakfast is served at 10 and there’s a packet there on the table with the wifi password and some recommendations of things to see and do. If you have any questions, just ask, but I’ll leave you alone for the most part.”

“OK, first question,” Tim said, stepping over to the gigantic porcelain tub in the corner of his room to sit on its lip, “Is this what I think it is?” Ryan laughed.

“Yeah, every room has a personal jacuzzi installed. I’m not sure why, but my Mom thought it was a good idea. Feel free to use it if you want to. All I ask is that you don’t use it after 11. The tubs have a way of carrying noise.”

“The jets are that loud?”

“It isn’t the jets that are the problem, it’s the people inside of the tub, especially if there’s more than one—if you get what I mean.”

“Oh, right, well I don’t, uh… I don’t think that’ll be an issue for me,” Tim said, and though he knew his stubble wouldn’t hide it all, he was thankful that there was something on his face to cover his blushing cheeks.

“You must be starving after all of that traveling,” Ryan said as if he hadn’t heard what Tim had said. “Can I make you something to eat?”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that, but I appreciate the offer.”

“It’s nothing, really. I own a BnB, it’s kind of what I do. How about some steak and eggs? You look like a guy who likes protein,” Ryan said and immediately Tim placed a hand on his stomach, hoping that he wasn’t making that guess based on its size.

So he’s hot as hell and he can cook? Jesus, I’m doomed, Tim thought. The fact that the thought occurred at all gave him what he needed to make up his mind.

“I think I might just test out the jacuzzi and call it a night, if that’s OK with you. These old bones could use a good soak and a long night’s sleep,” Tim said.

“Yeah, of course. I’m sure you’ve had a long day. Sleep well, I’m down the hall if you need me,” he said, turning to leave Tim to his business.

“It’s Ryan, right?” Tim called out to him, forcing him to stop.

“In the flesh.”

“Thanks a lot, Ryan.”

“Anytime,” he said and left the room, closing the door behind him. When his footsteps had faded, Tim flung the water on in the jacuzzi to cover up the sound of his voice, yanked his phone from his shorts pocket and dialed Sarah. She answered after a single ring.

“Finally! How are things? All settled in?” she asked.

“You set me up for this, didn’t you?!” Tim hissed into the phone.

“Set you up for what?”

“Don’t you play stupid with me, you know exactly what I’m talking about. You booked me a room alone in a house with a guy that anyone would be drooling over and you did it on purpose.”

“Oops,” she said, “I guess he didn’t look that good in the photos on the site.”

“This isn’t funny.”

“I think it’s hysterical.”

“You’re trying to kill me, I’m convinced of it now. Or at least get me arrested.”

“Is he that young? Meowwwww,” Sarah cooed.

“I”m glad you’re getting a kick out of this, but I can’t stay here, Sarah. There’s no way. This is only going to end in disaster,” Tim said. “This guy is gorgeous and I can already see where this is heading.”

“Oh, you’re staying there, like it or not. There aren’t any refunds and I spent a lot of money on this.”

“God damn it, Sarah. I’m never letting you talk me into something ever again. I mean, for God’s sakes, the kid just offered to cook me dinner. Is he trying to get me to take him to bed?”

“Maybe he is—not that you’d know what to do with him once you got him there.”

“Thanks.”

“Anytime. Is that water running in the background? You better make sure you get nice and clean if it is, just in case. No one likes a dirty bottom.”

“I hate you,” Tim said.

“You only wish you could,” she said before the line went dead. Frustrated, Tim tossed his phone across the room where it bounced over the queen-sized bed and clattered to the floor. Tim rolled his eyes and ripped off his clothes.

How the hell do I always end up in these situations when she gets involved? he thought. There was no denying that Ryan was hot as hell, but that was anything but good. A guy with fewer morals might have taken the chance and ran with it, but thinking about making a move on Ryan made Tim uncomfortable. Though he was definitely into his twenties, already putting him firmly into the “look but don’t touch” category for Tim, he had an innocence that made him seem much younger. Old man was a label that Tim had grudgingly learned to accept for himself, but dirty old man? Not so much.

Standing completely naked in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror that Ryan or whoever had installed next to the jacuzzi, he couldn’t help looking at himself: flab here, flab there, and body hair in several of the wrong places—an enemy he’d given up trying to fight as he got older.

“What the hell could a cute young guy like him ever want with a washed up old man like me?” he asked himself, jiggling the small but noticeable belly that had started to replace his already-fading six pack since Eric had ditched him. Tim had never thought of himself as bad looking, per se, but that only took into account his face with everything else wrapped up in layers of clothing. Ryan, on the other hand, probably had no problems fitting in… He was everything Tim had always wanted to be and never was at his age: tall, thin, muscular in the places that mattered, and a stunning pair of eyes that pierced through anything he looked at. Why am I thinking about this? It’s not like I’m ready to act on any of it anyway, he thought and shook his head to clear it.

Tim climbed into the jacuzzi and let all of the words swirling around in his head be blasted away by the jets that lined the sides and bottom of the tub as it filled with hot water that soaked into his bones. Forget about it and relax. A night’s sleep will do you well.