From the Ashes (11 page)

“Wait. She’s still now. Just stay there.” Tomas must have been caught up in his scrubbing because he didn’t seem to realize how ridiculous he sounded.

“Yeah, I’m comfy,” Jesse said sarcastically. Water dripped off Char and into his clothes.

Tomas added another rag full of water, and it poured off Char’s sleek fur and landed on Jesse’s belly.

“Ah! Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Jesse laughed as he shouted, hoping he hadn’t offended Tomas’s mother too much. “Are you almost done?”

Char licked across Jesse’s face, working some of her saliva into his mouth. He sputtered, shaking his head to get away from her roving tongue.

“Move.” Tomas must have been talking to Char and not Jesse because he grabbed her collar and hauled her backwards. He met Jesse’s eyes, his gaze full of affection. The cold ground at Jesse’s back couldn’t erase the warmth in his chest.

Tomas scrubbed Char’s head with more water, which in turn poured all over an already sopping-wet Jesse, but then he said, “Okay. You’re done.” He loosened his hold on Char’s leash.

Char launched forward, dragging Tomas off his feet so he landed on top of Jesse.

“Ow.” Jesse’s shout was high-pitched.

Tomas’s knee grazed Jesse’s balls, and his chest crushed Jesse’s rib cage.

Next to them, Chardonnay shook out the water. A tidal wave of dirty suds landed on Tomas’s face.

From the porch, laughter exploded, with Mr. Perez joining in with his deep guffaws. Mrs. Perez shouted in Spanish so fast it might have been artillery fire. Jesse had no idea what she was saying, but he was pretty sure that “I’m not doing your fucking laundry” was in there somewhere.

On top of him, Tomas shouted something back at his mother. He rolled over, pulling Jesse on top of him. He smiled playfully. How could the Perezes
not
know Tomas was gay?

When he got them both up to standing, Tomas jogged across the yard to grab the towel he’d left at his back door. He wore a white T-shirt that was wet and dirty and clung to the swells of his arms. His worn-out jeans were covered in dirt and dog hair. Tomas looked rough and ready and like the sexiest thing Jesse had ever seen.

“Grab me the collar?” Tomas called over. He tried to wrangle Char into the towel.

“Nah.” Jesse ran over and took the towel out of his grip. Char would feel better if Jesse dried her off. Jesse was mad at her for the slobber, and he didn’t want her to roll around and get dirty all over again. “Let me dry her.”

Tomas put his hand on Jesse’s back, only for a split second, but that was long enough. It seared Jesse’s skin. “I’ll be right back.”

Jesse tried to get his emotions under control so he didn’t do something stupid, like kiss Tomas in front of his family.

He scrubbed at Char’s fur with the towel, surprised by how much hair shed off her. She needed a brush as badly as she’d needed a bath, but that was a battle for another day.

“Here.” Tomas walked up, holding the collar by its ends. He draped it around Char’s neck and clicked the black plastic fastening. Tomas gazed at Jesse with an expression so soulful it melted him right in place. “You ready to shower?”

Jesse shivered, remembering he was cold. “Oh yeah.” He turned to Chardonnay and waved his finger at her. “I hope you appreciate all the work we just did.”

She panted and danced around in that scooting way of hers. With her tongue sticking out, it looked like she smiled.

They made out slowly that night, rubbing off into the space between their bodies, with Tomas on top. That seemed to be Tomas’s favorite way to get off.

Jesse enjoyed it, though he wished Tomas would accept a blowjob.

For the next week and a half, Jesse and Tomas settled into a pretty stable pattern. Tomas drove Jesse into the city on the mornings he went to work, and on other days, Jesse used his forty-five-minute commute to study. They had dinner on their own on weeknights, but when Jesse agreed to eat at the bigger house on Saturday, Diego and his kids hadn’t shown up.

The second weekend Jesse lived at Tomas’s house, they took Chardonnay to the dog park in Bellevue. Char pulled like crazy at first, but once Tomas convinced Jesse to let her run free, she trotted along beside them. She liked every dog she met, and several bouts of butt sniffing broke out. After that, Char would put her shoulders down and her ass up and start playing like a puppy.

One time when she assumed the position, Jesse met Tomas’s eyes, and he could tell they were both thinking the same dirty thoughts. Not about the dog, of course, but about each other. Jesse tried to laugh, but he knew he was blushing.

They didn’t talk about sex, not directly at least. Jesse wanted to tell Tomas he was a virgin but wasn’t sure how to bring it up. Not that it mattered. Tomas had respected his no-sex rule since the first night and never even hinted he wanted anything more.

A gust of wind blew across the walkway. Jesse pulled up the hood of his sweatshirt.

“We should stop at Target or Walmart on the way home. Get you a real jacket.” It was funny how Tomas did that—used
we
all the time instead of
you
.

Jesse frowned at Char’s short-haired coat. “Let’s hit Target. I want to get Char a sweater too.”

Tomas probably thought he was an idiot for wanting to get the dog a jacket. Even to Jesse’s ears, it sounded precious. He worried about her, though. Char came inside most nights, but she spent her days outside.

Not that Jesse minded. She’d be bored and miserable stuck inside Tomas’s little place for ten to twelve hours a day. Jesse just wished she could fit inside the doghouse with Sushi and Chester.

“Sure thing.” Tomas took Jesse’s hand. If he thought Jesse was being silly, he didn’t mention it.

A family with kids played near the water, throwing a stick into the lake for a black lab. Char panted and whined at the stick and the dog, but when she got close to the water, one of the kids ran up to her, and she barked.

“Hey!” The child’s father rushed to grab the little boy, shooting Char angry looks.

“Sorry,” Jesse called over. He hurried to Chardonnay.

She ran behind Jesse to bark at the kids some more.

“You shouldn’t let dogs off-leash if they’re not socialized,” the father shouted.

Tomas took a couple steps forward, his shoulders thrown back and his stance aggressive. “She didn’t bite anyone, man. The kids came running right at her.”

“No, you’re right,” Jesse said to the father. He popped the leash back on Chardonnay, and then grabbed Tomas’s hand. “She was neglected, and we only adopted her a couple weeks ago. We still don’t know how she’ll react to some things.”

The father pinched his lips, and the woman next to him held up her hands in a way that was meant to placate her husband but also cut off any confrontation brewing with Tomas.

“It’s great that you rescued her,” she said slowly and clearly. It was a voice she must have used with her kids. “What a handsome dog.”

Yeah, it was the mommy voice. Jesse couldn’t be offended, though, because it calmed down the father enough that he wandered down to where his kids were playing.

“Thanks,” Jesse said, trying to end this interaction on a positive note. “She’s really very sweet. Just, with kids…” Char hadn’t acted any better with Tomas’s nephews. Jesse should have known she’d react badly to kids. “I don’t know if she had a bad experience…”

“Well, if she’s a rescue, the Animal Shelter should be providing you with help with socialization.” She looked at him with wide, helpful eyes. She might have been a total yuppie, but she was right. “I’m sure they offer free classes. Or at least low-cost ones.”

Jesse flinched at the insinuation that he couldn’t afford dog training. But considering what he and Tomas were wearing, compared to how she and her family were dressed, it made sense that she would think that. “You’re right. We’ve just been busy getting her settled.” Her helpfulness was stressing him out. Jesse was still trying to decide whether to stay at Tomas’s for the rest of the quarter. Obedience school was not a priority.

“Thanks.” Tomas took the leash from Jesse’s hand and started walking away. He was being abrupt, but Jesse didn’t really blame him. It’s not like they knew those people.

Marymoor Dog Park sprawled along the shoreline, and Tomas led Jesse through parts that were marked for leashed dogs only. Unfortunately, the awkwardness of the conversation hung over their heads.

“You know you haven’t technically adopted her yet, right?” Tomas tugged on Char’s leash, which got her to stop pulling for a split second. When she started tugging again, he gave her another yank.

“I know.” With all the hassle of his life since the fire, Jesse hadn’t thought much about what came next with Char. The shelter had been sending him emails, telling him Sid and Ladonna surrendered ownership after being arrested, and asking if Jesse wanted to find Char a new home or adopt her himself. The problem was he needed a landlord’s signature to adopt a pet. “I don’t have a permanent address.”

“You could use mine.” Tomas kept up what he was doing, tugging hard at Chardonnay every time she pulled. It looked harsh but seemed to be working. She walked calmly for a little longer each time. “They already have my name and address. And now that you’re living there—”

“Temporarily.” Jesse crossed his arms, suddenly feeling much colder. He liked living with Tomas, but it was too much to expect Tomas to let him crash indefinitely.

“Well, anywhere you live is temporary. If you rented a room in a house or got an apartment, you may not live there forever.” Tomas pressed a kiss into Jesse’s temple.

Jesse’s cheeks heated against the damp air. “Yeah, but—”

“Do you want to pay month to month? At my place, I mean?” Tomas linked their arms and pushed his hand into his pocket.

It was funny how he did it so casually, as if it were already decided that Jesse wasn’t going to be leaving any time soon.

Jesse’s chest got warmer, and he was glad Tomas wasn’t looking at him because he couldn’t stop smiling. “Yeah. Month to month is perfect.”

Tomas had to go in to work the next morning, so when Jesse woke up, the house was empty. Bleary-eyed, he wandered into Tomas’s bedroom to flop down on his bed. Tomas’s cinnamony, warm scent was still on the sheets.

The night before, Jesse had fallen asleep there. But a few hours later he’d woken up clinging to the edge. Yeah, Tomas wanted them to sleep together, but Jesse just couldn’t get comfortable with both of them on a full-sized bed.

Despite the schoolwork calling to him from his backpack, Jesse buried his face in Tomas’s pillow.

A knocking sounded outside, like someone was hammering. It stopped after thirty seconds, and Jesse didn’t bother opening his eyes. Another sound ripped through the air—this time a buzz saw. At least that’s what Jesse thought it was. His father had never been handy, so he didn’t know the sound of one kind of power tool from another.

Tomas’s sheets were the perfect level of frayed, and their soft gray color was so calming in the faded light coming through the curtain. Jesse wanted to fall back into dreamland and let all his worries wash away in a cocoon of hormone-laden happiness, but the buzzing started up again. This time, the dogs in the backyard barked.

They lived not far from the airport, and from time to time a plane would pass directly overhead. Jesse had gotten used to it. Mostly. But when a plane taking off from nearby SeaTac Airport added to the din of the dogs and the power tools, Jesse pushed off the bed and trudged into the kitchen for a drink of water.

He blinked the sleep from his eyes and grabbed his shirt from where Tomas had folded it. Jesse dragged it over his head and lifted the shade on Tomas’s back door to peer outside.

Mr. Perez wore clear plastic glasses. He stood in front of a makeshift table and was using a small band saw—at least that’s what Jesse thought it was—to cut equal-sized pieces off a two-by-four.

Not wanting to interrupt, Jesse took a half step back, but Tomas’s father looked up right then, so Jesse had no choice but to say hi.

He opened the door and stepped in bare feet onto Tomas’s small wooden back porch. His sleep shorts and T-shirt didn’t do much to keep off the damp and cool air, but he was warm from Tomas’s bed. “Good morning, Mr. Perez.”

Tomas’s father pushed his glasses up his forehead and gave him a nod and a twitch of the lips that may have been a smile. “Good morning.”

Jesse padded over. “Are you repairing something?” He knew Tomas’s father had worked in construction and risen to a management position within his company.

Tomas’s dad must still work with his hands a lot. After all, he’d turned a garage into a one-bedroom apartment, complete with plumbing, heat and electricity. Maybe he’d brought in friends to help, but either way, it was a feat Jesse couldn’t imagine.

“No. Building a house for your dog.” He pointed a weathered and calloused finger at Chardonnay, who was wrestling near the fence with Sushi.

The existing doghouse was solid wood and built on a platform, almost like a porch or patio. Jesse’d assumed that Tomas’s family had bought it premade or that it had come with the house. “You built that other one?”

“Yes.” Tomas’s father nodded. “And I build a bigger one today.”

Jesse wanted to hug Tomas’s father, but he didn’t know how the guy would take it. Tomas and his family were very physical with each other, rubbing and swatting and pushing, but Jesse had been raised not to touch people. “Thank you,” he said quietly.