A Clean Break (Gay Amish Romance Book 2) (6 page)

“I think that’s the store up there,” Isaac said. “It says up the hill and past the green house.” He shook his head. “I never thought I’d see
green
houses! Everything is so…”

“Not plain?” David supplied as he eyed a colorful painting on the side of a brick wall. He wasn’t sure what the zig-zaggy symbols were supposed to mean. It was art, he guessed.

The Sky-Vu drive-in near Zebulon had seemed so worldly to him even though it was only a screen in a field with a little concrete snack bar. The hardware store and main street in Warren had seemed bustling. But just walking a few blocks in San Francisco was like being on another planet.

Isaac bumped his shoulder against David’s. “It’s exciting, isn’t it?”

David nodded, trying to ignore the tendril of worry that coiled deep within him. It
was
exciting, although sweat dampened his brow even in the brisk wind. “I wonder why Aaron called it a bodega?” The word felt strange on his tongue.

“He said it was like the corner store. Whatever that means.” Isaac laughed wryly. “Aside from being a store on the corner. Not that we had any of those in Zebulon.” He spun in a slow circle as he walked. “Here there’s just…so
much
. So much everything.”

“Uh-huh.” Whether the buildings were squat homes, narrow townhouses, small apartments or stores, they all had one thing in common—they were squeezed together on the streets. Once in a while a tree would appear, but for the most part the buildings were squished as if they’d been pressed in a vise. He breathed deeply. “The air smells different here. Wetter. Almost like…salt?”

“Yes. It must be the water nearby.” Isaac grinned. “I can’t wait to see it—the ocean. I want—” He broke off, his stride faltering as he stared at something ahead.

“What?” David followed Isaac’s gaze, and his heart skipped a beat. “Oh.”

Talking and laughing, two men approached, their hands clasped between them. They passed by an old woman sweeping the steps of her blue house, and she didn’t even look at them.

Striding through the world, the men were oblivious to anyone else. One had a mustache, and they both looked older than Aaron. David couldn’t stop staring at how their fingers were threaded together tightly, their arms swaying as they strolled along.

“Wow,” Isaac whispered.

They’d stopped in their tracks, and as the men approached, David realized he and Isaac were staring. He nudged Isaac and started walking again, his head down and cheeks flaming. A mess of emotion coursed through him—shock, embarrassment, envy, and even fear.

Fortunately the men didn’t seem to notice Isaac and David’s attention, and as they passed by, they chattered on. David couldn’t help but stop to look over his shoulder after them, and Isaac did the same. The men walked by more people as they went, and not one gave them a second glance.

Was it really okay to hold hands right on the street in front of
everyone
? It was hard to believe, even after what he’d just seen. Isaac’s hands were stuffed into the pockets of his too-big blue jacket he’d borrowed from Aaron. He scuffed the toe of his black boot on the concrete as he watched the men, who grew distant as the street stretched up a hill.

“Can you believe that? They were just…in front of everyone!” Isaac still whispered.

“And no one seemed to mind. I never thought I’d see anything like that.”

“Can you imagine what they’d say in Zebulon?” Isaac asked.

David surely could, and the shiver that ran through him was icy. He nodded, and then walked on toward the yellow awning on the corner. “Come on, we’re almost there.” He wanted to hold Isaac’s hand, but he didn’t have the nerve yet. As they went up the hill, his thighs burned pleasantly. After so long on buses, it was nice to be moving again.

White plastic buckets filled with fresh flowers lined the sidewalk and wooden crates outside the store. David skimmed a finger over a daisy petal, unable to resist. A bell rung as they pulled open the glass door to the market. It was small, and like the buildings, everything was squeezed together on the shelves, using every available inch.

“
Hola
.” The older woman behind the counter was plump, and her dark hair was graying. On a little television set, she was watching some kind of show where people wore a lot of makeup and spoke what sounded like Spanish.

He and Isaac smiled at her and explored a narrow aisle. The cans and boxes were bright reds, blues, and greens. At the back of the store was a counter selling something called a burrito, which David thought he might have had at Taco Bell—although the smell of beef and cheese and onions here promised a tastier meal.

“There’s the bread,” Isaac said, coming around the end of the aisle to the side of the store with fresh food in refrigerated cases, and plastic bins filled with varieties of rolls. Isaac glanced at the yellow paper. “He said it’s called a baguette.”

“Long and thin, right?” David eyed the bins. “I don’t see anything like that. Oh wait—there, sticking out of that basket.”

The woman at the counter rang up their purchase, one eye still on the TV, and smiled as she passed Isaac the change. The baguette was in a paper bag, but since it stuck out so much, David held it to his chest to make sure the bread didn’t tip out.

Outside, they turned right and retraced their steps toward the townhouse, going downhill this time. Beside him, Isaac laughed. “What?” David asked, already smiling even though he had no idea what had tickled Isaac.

“Is it silly to feel proud that we just went out by ourselves in the city and did our task?”

“Don’t speak too soon—we aren’t back yet. We could still get lost. Or attacked by hoodlums. They have gangs in the city.” David dramatically clutched the baguette to his chest. “I’ve heard they love French bread.”

“Maybe that’s why Aaron sent us. Sure, he
said
he just forgot to buy it on his way home, but really he was too afraid to go himself.”

David tried not to smile. “We’ll be lucky if we make it back alive.” Ahead, four elderly men smoked cigarettes on the sidewalk, huddled together by a coffee shop. “Look—gang members,” he whispered.

“Aren’t they too old to be in a gang?” Isaac murmured.

David put on a tone like ones he’d heard police officers use in movies. “It’s the city. Once you’re in a gang, you never get out.”

Shoulders shaking, Isaac made his face serious and hissed, “Should we run?”

“Absolutely.” David took off like a shot with Isaac on his heels.

As they raced past the old men, David inhaled a whisper of smoke before it was gone. All the anxiety of the noise and cars disappeared as his legs pumped. They dashed all the way back to the townhouse, their laughter trailing in the wind.

“Is that Aaron Byler’s famous spaghetti with meat sauce I smell?”

Twisting her long black curls into a ponytail, Jen shuffled into the kitchen in plaid pajama bottoms, a green shirt with no sleeves and thin straps, and fuzzy blue slippers on her feet. She went up on tiptoes and kissed Aaron lightly before turning.

“Let me guess.” She pointed. “You’re Isaac. It’s all in the eyes.”

Isaac got off the stool and extended his hand. “Hello.”

With a smile, Jen pulled him into a hug. “No handshakes in this house for family.” She frowned as she leaned back. “Uh, unless it makes you uncomfortable. Sorry, I have boundary issues sometimes. Probably why I married a patient.”

“
Former
patient,” Aaron noted, giving her a hip a playful pat on his way to the pantry.

“Hugs are okay,” Isaac said, smiling shyly.

David waited uncertainly by the counter. Was she going to hug him too?

Jen turned to him. “Don’t think you can avoid the hugs just because you’re not blood related. But again, I can be wildly inappropriate at times.”

David awkwardly opened his arms. He could feel her small breasts against his chest through the thin cotton, and her bare arms were tight around him. Aside from June at the bus station, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d hugged anyone but Isaac or his little sisters. Jen was short like Mary, only reaching his shoulder. “Thank you for letting us stay,” he said.

She stepped back. “It’s a pleasure to have you. I mean it.” She went to the fridge and pulled out a tall carton, lifting it to her mouth before freezing. “I guess I should start using a glass.”

“I’ve only been saying that for years,” Aaron muttered as he stirred the sauce.

At the cupboard, Jen pulled out a glass and filled it with milk. “It’s true, he has. It’s a bad habit I picked up in med school.”

Isaac was staring at her chest with a frown. “What does that mean?” he blurted.

Jen glanced down at her shirt, which read
Frak me
. “Yeah, I guess BSG isn’t too big in Zebulon. Frak is the profanity of the future. There’s this show—
Battlestar Galactica
—and it takes place in space hundreds of years from now. We have the DVDs if you guys want to watch. Anyway, to get around the censors, the characters said frak instead of fuck, but it means the same thing. Fuck me.”

David stared before forcing his gaze to the floor. June was English, but he couldn’t imagine her saying something so…
crude
. Granted it was the way he and Isaac spoke sometimes when they were alone together, but to talk like that in the
kitchen
? Around other people?

Isaac opened and closed his mouth, his eyes wide. “Oh.”

David’s mind raced. Should he respond? What was the right thing to say? He couldn’t imagine any women he knew saying something that bold so very casually—not even Anna. Perhaps it was common in Filipino women? But no, he’d seen white women swear in movies.

“Jen, you’re shocking them with your foul mouth.” Aaron laughed from the stove. “I warned you guys. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.”

David cleared his throat. “But when you say that, it’s not…literal, right? I’ve heard people say that in movies when they’re frustrated about something.”

“Exactly!” Jen said. “It’s a lamentation. Well, more like an expression of frustration. It’s not about sex.”

Sex!
Again she said it like it was nothing, and didn’t seem embarrassed at all. David shifted from foot to foot, willing himself not to blush. Isaac’s ears were red, and he tugged at a loose thread at the cuff of the sleeve of his hoodie.

“Lamentation—nice one.” Aaron whispered loudly, “She went to Stanford, so she likes to use big words when she’s not cussing.”

Jen grinned. “You bet I do.” She waved at the stools. “Sit, sit. Let’s supervise Aaron.”

David sat with Isaac on the left and Jen to the right. “So far it all looks good.”

“And smells good,” Isaac added.

“Excellent job supervising, boys.” Jen swigged her milk. “Strong work.” She patted David’s back.

He tried not to flinch at the casual touch. She had a blustery confidence he hadn’t seen in a woman before, and she watched her husband cooking without a shred of embarrassment. Mother would be mortified. When Jen gave him a smile, he realized he was staring, and whipped his gaze back to Aaron.

“You’ll prepare your masterpiece this weekend?” Aaron added more salt to the pot.

“Toast with peanut butter?” Jen answered. “That’s right. I make it in both smooth and crunchy. I know—it’s impressive. Or there’s always my famous call to Giovanni’s. Or Little Nepal.” She groaned. “I could murder some lamb curry right now. Hurry up with dinner, beloved.”

“By the way, I’m going grocery shopping tomorrow.” Aaron’s expression turned grave. “Brace yourself, but I’m bringing home fruit and vegetables.”

Jen made a hissing sound. “I thought we talked about that.”

“We did,
Doctor
Paculba. You know what they say about an apple a day.”

David wasn’t sure what they said, but he didn’t ask. There were a few moments of silence while they watched Aaron stirring the contents of the huge pot. It smelled of beef, tomatoes, garlic, and herbs David couldn’t place. His stomach growled.

Isaac smiled nervously at Jen. “I hope we weren’t too noisy while you were sleeping.” After a moment his expression grew horrified. “I mean—not because of—we—uh—we weren’t, um,” he stammered.

The memory of the heft of Isaac’s cock in his mouth filled David’s mind, and his throat went dry. He couldn’t even dare to look up from his hands where he kept them folded on the counter, his fingers laced together so tightly it hurt. But as Jen laughed, he risked a glance.

She winked at Isaac. “It’s okay. I know what you meant.”

“We have got to work on your poker faces,” Aaron added with a chuckle.

Jen waved dismissively. “But seriously, you could have had the surround sound on full blast and I wouldn’t have heard a thing up there. It was a long-ass night. Multi-car MVA, and—” She grimaced. “Sorry, that’s ER speak. Motor vehicle accident.”

David tensed.
Blood in the snow. White bone jutting out of Mother’s leg
.

Isaac asked quietly, “Were the people all right?”

“A few of them. One DOA—dead on arrival—and another three in surgery.”

David tried to push the memories away. Isaac touched his thigh hesitantly, and David gripped his hand.
Isaac’s here with me. I didn’t lose him. I’ll keep him safe
.