As far as he’s concerned, I’m just a poor slob who couldn’t rub two nickels together to get a dime, and it doesn’t matter to him. He cares nothing about money.”
“And what about when he finds out about you?” Sherman said. “He might not like the fact that you’ve lied to him and you’ve deceived him for so long.”
“I’ll tell him the truth and I’ll explain,” Jase said. “I know him. He’ll understand. He’s only interested in me, not my money or my power.”
“I see,” Sherman said. “I think you’re going to be disappointed. But I can see that I can’t change your mind.” He squared his shoulders and walked toward the door. When he opened the door, he turned and lifted his chin. “When this little fling is over, I’ll be there. These things never work out. A man like you needs someone like me who knows and understands him, not some silly little bar queen who is only concerned about buying a cute new shirt for Saturday night.”
“The money in the account is yours,” Jase said. “Thank you for helping me out the way you did.” He wasn’t going to apologize anymore. He hadn’t done anything wrong and he’d always been honest and up front with Sherman.
“It’s not about money for me,” Sherman said, shrugging his shoulders. “Thanks for the money in the account. But I’d stay even if there wasn’t money.”
Jase smiled. “I know you would.” Then he shrugged too. “But I’m in love. What more can I say?”
Sherman smiled. “I think you’re making a huge mistake.” He turned and left the apartment without bothering to close the door.
Chapter Thirteen
When Luis didn’t contact Jase by noon, Jase tried calling Luis’s cell phone but he didn’t answer. He couldn’t even begin to imagine where Luis could have gone, or why Luis hadn’t told him where he was going. After the romantic night they’d shared, Jase couldn’t wait to hold Luis in his arms again.
So Jase decided to get dressed and go out. He didn’t feel like walking in Riverside Park that day, so he hailed a taxi on Riverside Drive and told the driver to take him to SoHo where he could go to the Alaska Frontier and spend some time in the quiet library there. He knew if he just sat around the apartment waiting for Luis to return, he’d wind up clenching his fists and biting the inside of his mouth until it was raw. When he felt this way, spending time in the Alaska Frontier was the only thing that helped calm him down.
A few blocks before the Alaska Frontier building, the taxi stopped for a red light. Jase was leaning into the door, thinking about Luis, with his elbow on the armrest and his chin in his palm. He turned to the right and looked out the window. When he saw the back of an attractive young man wearing tight jeans walk down the street, he lowered the back window and shouted Luis’s name. The guy had the same hair cut Luis had, his back was just as straight as Luis’s, and his ass rounded out just like Luis’s. Jase shouted a second time, only louder. Three other people on the sidewalk turned to see who was calling. But when the young man didn’t turn around, Jase pulled a fifty-dollar bill from his back pocket, handed it to the driver, and told him to keep the change. Then he jumped out of the cab and ran after the guy on the sidewalk.
When Jase caught up with the guy, his face was red and he was gasping for breath. He grabbed the guy’s arms and turned him around. “Why didn’t you stop when I called you?” Jase asked.
A total stranger looked into Jase’s eyes and said, “Excuse me?” His eyes were wide with fear and his cheeks began to flush.
Jase released the guy’s arms and said, “I’m so sorry. I thought you were someone else.
You look just like someone I know. I’m very, very sorry.” He pressed his palm to his chest and tried to calm his breathing.
The young guy didn’t wait around. He gave Jase a look and continued walking. Jase wiped a few beads of perspiration from his forehead and crossed the street to the Alaska Frontier .
Before he went inside, he called Luis’s cell phone again. When no one answered, he walked into the building and headed to the back where the library was located.
It was a slow day in the Alaska Frontier. Jase only passed two tourists on his way to the library in the back room: a middle-aged woman with tight polyester pants and a fanny pack cinched around her ample waist, and a tall thin man with gray temples, baggy short pants, and black socks. They were staring at a photo of a vast, snow-covered mountain range. The man smiled and said, “I’ve always wanted to see the real Alaska. We should book a trip, hon.” The woman turned and frowned. She pointed to him and said, “Once you’ve seen one mountain, you’ve seen them all. So take a good long look at this one. We’re going to Disneyworld and that’s that.”
Jase smiled and continued walking until he reached the library. He nodded at a woman behind a desk and turned right so he could sit at his favorite table. As he rounded a corner with a tall bookshelf, he stopped walking and pressed his palm to his stomach. Luis was sitting at Jase’s favorite table. There was a pile of thick books to his right and a large cup of coffee to his left.
Jase walked over to the table and sat down beside him. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m reading. Is there a law against reading?”
Jase shrugged and smiled. “Of course not. I just didn’t think I’d run into you here, is all.”
He looked down. The book Luis was reading wasn’t even about Alaska. It was a book about Vancouver. “Why are you reading about Vancouver?”
Luis lifted his eyes from the book he was reading and faced Jase. He ignored the question about Vancouver. “I didn’t think you’d find me here.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Jase said. “We have to talk.”
“Leave me alone,” Luis said. His voice was calm and quiet. He didn’t sound upset or the least bit disturbed. “I just want to read.” He lowered his eyes to the book and exhaled as if he was bored.
Jase leaned forward. He stared at him without saying a word. A few seconds later, he grabbed Luis’s arm and said, “Luis, I love you. We have to talk.”
Luis didn’t reply, just sat there staring at Jase with an expression that was a mix between stunned and mortified. Then he stood up fast and walked away from the table.
Jase followed him. “Where are you going?”