Subtle Clues
Ramblin Rose
For Lisa
Jim Ellison's cell phone rang while he was on his way to the loft.
Answering, Jim said, "Ellison." Then smiled as he listened to his
father talking.
"Jimmy, do you think I could come by tomorrow to watch the game with you
and Blair? You know you keep saying I'll be invited over for dinner,
but you never invite me."
"Dad, you know you'd be welcome anytime. I've been busy all week long,
but we'd love to have you over. Why don't you come by around 1:00?
That way we have time to visit before the game starts. Sound good to
you?"
In the back of Jim's mind, he wondered why his father would want to come
over so badly all of a sudden. But Jim didn't want to kick a gift horse
in the mouth, and decided to go with it.
When he pulled into the parking space at the loft, he turned the truck
off and looked up to see if he could see Blair, and sure enough, he was
on the balcony, smiling down at Jim. The long day that seemed to never
end just got shorter. Jim found himself smiling. Getting into the
elevator, he wondered if Blair knew just how much Jim relied on him to
change his moods. /I'm sure he does, he's lived with me for four years.
/
As he let himself into the loft, Blair called out, "Hey Jim."
Smiling back at him, Jim said, "Chief, how do you feel about having my
dad over for dinner tomorrow?"
"Cool, that would be great, Jim. I like your dad. And then he could
watch the game with us, right?"
"That was his thinking, Chief. I was hoping you wouldn't mind. But I
needed to talk to you about it. What should we have for dinner?"
"Tongue?" As Blair said this he stuck his tongue out at Jim and laughed.
"Very funny, smart ass. I'm serious, what should I pick up at the
store. I need to plan. My dad never comes over. What's up with that?"
"Settle down, Jim. He probably wants to spend some time with his son.
He seems like a nice guy."
Laughing, Jim said, "Yeah, his son is a nice guy."
"Now who's the smart ass?" Blair asked, laughing along with Jim. "And
yes, Steven is a nice guy."
"Okay, enough of the smart ass routine, Chief. We've established that
we're both smart asses. Now, what do I make for dinner? Or could you
be persuaded into making something?"
"Yeah, I'll make my meatloaf for you. I know how much you love that.
Your dad will like it too, I'm sure. And I have all of the ingredients
here."
"Thanks, Chief. You're the best friend a guy could ever ask for."
Blair watched Jim for a few minutes and noticed how tired he seemed, and
finally asked, "Jim, are you okay? What's wrong?"
"Chief, I'm okay. Don't worry. I'm just tired. This day was one of
those that you just wish you could start over. I'm so tired. I'm
heading up to bed now. See you in the morning. Thanks again for the
dinner for my dad."
"No problem, tough guy. Sleep well, I'll see you in the morning."
Blair watched Jim as he walked up the stairs and knew that something was
up but wasn't going to push Jim into opening up to him. Jim had to do
that on his own.
Blair was really quiet in the morning while he started the potatoes.
Then he made up two large meatloaves and homemade gravy. He didn't want
to wake Jim up; he'd been so tired the last few days. Blair wanted him
to get all the rest he could. /Can't have a grouchy sentinel, when the
sentinel's dad is due to come and visit. /
Jim glanced at Blair as he walked down the stairs and said, "Why didn't
you wake me up?"
"You were tired, Jim. I figured I'd get things ready and let you
sleep. This is the first day you've slept in for ages."
Grumbling, Jim went back upstairs and got his clothes and went down to
take his shower. His dad would be here in about an hour. /What the
hell was Blair thinking letting me sleep this late? Oh now, I'm
thinking that Blair is my alarm clock? /
Once his shower was done, he stepped out of the bathroom feeling like a
new man. Looking like one, too.
Jim walked over to the door and opened it and said, "Dad, you're early.
Come on in."
"Hi Jimmy, I was in the neighborhood and thought, what the hell? Do you
mind?"
Blair smiled, walked over and grabbed William's hand before Jim had a
chance to even answer. While shaking his hand, Blair said, "It's good
to see you, Mr. Ellison."
"It's great to see you again, Blair. How are you doing? And please call
me William."
"Thanks, William, I'm great. I'm so glad you're able to have dinner
with us and watch the game."
Jim leaned into Blair and whispered, "You kiss ass really well,
Sandburg."
Blair smacked Jim as he walked by, William watched this interplay and
wondered if there were more to these two than he thought. William
watched Jim smiling at Blair and thought he'd never seen his son look so
happy. But if this was the case, why didn't Jim tell him about them?
Blair went into the kitchen to set the table and Jim automatically
followed and started helping. They seemed to have the step down pat and
they were really good at this kitchen routine. William smiled as he
watched them. His son looked over at him and stopped smiling.
"Dad, would you like a beer, or some wine with dinner?"
Getting up, William walked to the table and said, "I think I can get my
own, Jimmy. Don't worry."
"Don't be silly, William, you're our guest. Please sit down at the
table and we'll have dinner on in a few minutes."
Jim just stood looking at his dad. He knew what his dad was thinking
and was waiting for the shit to hit the fan. Jim was so tired of the
same boring questions. But his dad sat down with his beer and didn't
ask a thing.
Jim sat down next to his dad, and said, "Dad, it's not what you think. I
saw that look on your face. I saw the shock."
"I don't care, Jimmy. This is your life."
"Dad, Blair and I are just roommates."
Blair walked over to the table carrying part of the dinner and said,
"Jim, you want to help me here or do you want your dad to carry his own
dinner to the table?"
Laughing, Jim got up and started helping Blair get everything on the
table. It looked delicious. The meatloaf was perfect, not too dry,
really moist, the way both of the men liked it. The mashed potatoes
were lump free. Blair made the best that Jim had ever tasted. And the
gravy was to die for. They all sat fairly quietly and had dinner. Jim
knew full well that he'd have to have a talk with his dad soon; he'd set
things straight.
Once dinner was done, William offered to help Blair do the dishes.
Blair was pleased to have him help him in the kitchen. Jim sat down in
the living room trying to figure out what his dad was up to. It was
freaking the sentinel out.
The game started and Blair brought the dessert into the living room and
set the tray on the coffee table, and handed them out. William said,
"Blair, what is this? Homemade cheesecake?"
"Jim told me that you liked it, William. I hope this is as good as what
you're used to."
As William bit into the first bite, he said, "Blair, this is delicious.
Perfect and just exactly like the New York Cheesecake I'm used to."
"Glad to hear it, William. Jim, do you like it?"
Jim continued to look at both men as if they were insane. "Yes, Chief,
it's great. Thanks."
They watched the game talking amongst each other and enjoying each
other's company. The game was a really close one, which made it all the
more exciting. A few times Blair jumped off the couch and screamed out
obscenities against the other team, which made William laugh out loud.
Finally, as the day wore on, Jim started relaxing.
Once the game was over, William got up to leave. Jim and Blair walked
him to the door. Blair shook hands with him before he left and said
goodnight.
Jim walked his dad downstairs and said, "Dad, thanks for coming. This
was a great day. I had a good time. So did Blair."
"Thank you for having me, Jimmy. I had a great time, too."
As his dad drove off Jim felt certain that his dad had believed him
about him and Blair. Thankfully, he hadn't had to answer a bunch of
embarrassing questions.
As Jim walked into the loft, Blair practically jumped on top of Jim.
"Man, that was killing me. I wanted to kiss you so bad. How do you
think it went, Jim?"
Jim kissed him as he smiled and said, "He had a great time, Chief. Not
to worry."
"Jim, I still don't know why we can't tell him, I think he'd be okay
with it. I really do."
"Well, Chief, he's not your dad is he?"
Blair got a really pained expression on his face as he went into the
bathroom to get ready for bed. Jim knew he'd screwed up. /So what else
is new, Ellison? /
When Blair came walking out of the bathroom, Jim caught his arm and
pulled him into his own arms. Holding him close, he kissed him tenderly
and said, "Chief, I'm sorry. I want to show you how much I love you,
right now."
They both made their way upstairs and Blair said, "Did you say that I
was a good ass kisser, earlier? Well, you have no idea."
And Blair went down on Jim, then spread Jim's legs apart and started
licking him all over. When he got to his hole, Jim was almost jumping
off the bed with wanting.
"Chief, fuck me, fuck me soon. Fuck me now."
"When I'm good and ready, hot shot."
Smiling, he flipped Jim over and spread his ass cheeks apart and started
licking. Jim was howling by this time, not even trying to be quiet any
longer. Just as quickly, Blair started tongue fucking Jim as if there
was no tomorrow. And Jim found himself wishing there wasn't going to be
any tomorrow. /I could die a happy man, now. /
"Chief, I'm going to come, I don't want to come alone. Please fuck me."
Blair turned Jim over and got Jim ready, entering him in one swift
move. Jim gasped out but only for a moment. After that it was pure
heaven.
"Harder Chief."
Blair pounded him over and over again until he could tell Jim was almost
ready to come and Blair said, "Come for me now."
Jim howled as he screamed Blair's name and then came all over them
both. Blair followed soon after.
Sleep came easily to both men that night. Only after they both said, "I
love you."
One week later, Blair called Jim into the kitchen and said, "I don't
know how to say this, but my Mom's gravy ladle is missing. It's been
missing since the night your dad came for dinner."
"Chief, you think my dad needed your gravy ladle?" Jim couldn't help
it, he started laughing his head off, but he promised he'd help Blair
find it.
Both men tore the kitchen apart and decided that maybe William had put
it in his jacket by accident or something. "Jim, email him, and ask if
he remembers seeing it. Okay?"
Jim went to the computer, and even though he was embarrassed, he knew
that his dad had done something with the ladle. So he wrote the email:
"Dear Dad: I'm not saying you 'did' take a gravy ladle from my house,
and I'm not saying you 'did not' take a gravy ladle. But the fact
remains that one has been missing ever since you were here for dinner.
Love, Jim"
About an hour later, Blair's laptop told them they had email. Jim saw
that it was from his dad:
"Dear Jim: I'm not saying that you 'do' sleep with Blair, and I'm not
saying that you 'do not' sleep with Blair. But the fact remains that if
he were sleeping in his own bed, he'd have found the ladle by now.
Love, Dad"
Blair was reading over Jim's shoulder and started laughing his ass off.
"Oh yeah, Jim, we have him fooled. He'd never understand. Yeah,
right."
"Shut up, Chief. What do you suppose gave us away?"
"Subtle clues, man, subtle clues."
He reached up and pulled Jim down for a kiss, then said, "Race you
upstairs, big man."
"I'm there."
Over at William Ellison's house, he was telling Sally all about this and
the two of them were laughing like mad. Yes, his son thought he was so
clever, but he should have known better than to think he could mess with
his dad.
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