'Bandana man is looking for someone. His son, I think. He's only pretending to be gay.'
'How'd you find all this out so quickly?'
'Telefag.'
'Eh?'
'Gino. Mame.'
'Oh. What about that guy there, the tall one, thirtyish - '
'Walt? He's a film agent 7 1 think. Least that's what he says - '
'All right. Anyone with history here is probably okay. Is that it?'
'I think so.' Beat. 'Lane found out that Mame is telling everyone he has the crabs. They're out in the parking lot having a bitch fight. You think-'
'No. Our boy is looking for a boy, not a girl.'
'Hey… Mike?' Tentative.
'Yeah?'
'Promise you won't get mad?'
'What?'
'Mame thinks you're my boyfriend. That's what she's telling everyone.'
Snorted. Smiled. Actually amused by the thought. 'Might as well be. You live with me. You cook. You do the laundry. We sleep in the same bed. We're just about married.'
'Except we don't have sex.'
'See, that proves we're married.'
Matty blinked. He didn't get it. He said, 'I'd marry you. If you asked. If you were - '
I put my hand on the wall over his head, leaning forward and sheltering him under my arm. I leaned down close as if I was going to whisper in his ear. Instead, I kissed him quickly on the cheek. Nobody saw. Gino actively discouraged overt displays. Fear of cops.
'What was that for?' Matty asked.
'That was for you.'
'Oh.' Now he was really confused. We both were. He looked up at me, eyes glistening in the black-light darkness. 'Urn… Mike?'
'Yes?'
'Brad just walked out to the parking lot-'
'Yeah, I saw him.' That was part of the reason I put up my arm and bent down low-to shield both of us from Brad's notice. But I didn't tell Matty that. 'Let's go.'
Brad had gone out through the patio door. We ducked around to the door at the front of the building, then sideways through the space between the art gallery and Gino's. Just in time to see Brad backing his bike away from the wall, and someone turned away from us, waiting to get on the back. As soon as Brad had the engine grumbling, the other fellow climbed on and wrapped his arms around Brad's waist.
'Do you recognize him?'
'No-'
Stuck my head in the patio door. 'Who'd he leave with?'
Gino shrugged. 'Never saw him before - '
'Shit.'
Dashed for the car, Matty following.
We picked them up east on Melrose. Back to Brad's place? Maybe. No. They turned north just short of La Brea. Little cubbyhole apartments tucked away in here. Follow the taillight. The bike comes to a stop half a block ahead. Matty sinks down low and we cruise slowly past on the narrow street. Brad doesn't even look up. The other fellow turns around momentarily and gets caught briefly in the light. We coasted on past. 'Oh, I know him,' Matty says. 'That's Tom. He shaves himself smooth. He dusts your ass with talcum powder and spanks you lightly.'
'And you know this how-?'
'Telefag.'
'You didn't-?'
Matty shook his head.
'You don't do it very often, do you?'
'I would. If I met the right guy.'
'There are no right guys. Just like there are no right girls.'
'Well, that sounded bitter.'
'No. Just wise.'
'I hope I never get that wise.'
I pulled the car around the corner, parked in the red, left the motor running. 'So, you know this guy Tom?'
'Not to speak to, but he's been around.'
'Okay, then he's not our perp.'
'Are we done for tonight?'
'Brad'll be going home after this, won't he?'
'Prob'ly.'
'Okay, then we're done.'
Matty took a shower while I typed up my notes. More of the same. Nothing to report. No clues. No directions. No leads. I sat in front of the typewriter, head in my hands, trying to figure out what to do next. Matty, still drying his hair, stuck his head in to ask if I wanted anything, coffee? I shook my head. He went off to bed.
I smelled like smoke from the club. It bothered me. I peeled off my clothes, started to drop them on the floor, then realized Matty would only pick them up in the morning: I dropped them into the hamper and stepped into the shower. Was it really the smoke I was trying to rinse off?
When I ran out of hot water, I turned off the spray. Matty had put fresh towels on the rack for me. I knew what he was trying to do. He wanted me to let him stay. I hadn't said he couldn't, but we hadn't negotiated any long- term agreement either.
Still naked, I slipped into bed. The springs creaked. He lay quietly beside me, breathing softly.
'You still awake?'
'Yeah.'
'I'm thinking of dropping the case.'
'You won't.'
'Why not?'
'Because you can't stand not knowing.'
'You're an insightful little guy, you know that?'
In response, he rolled on his side facing me, put an arm across my chest, pulled himself close, and kissed me softly on the cheek. He smelled good. He smelled clean. Then he rolled back to his side of the bed.
'What was that for?'
'That was for you.'
'Oh.'
This was it. This was the moment. It was going to happen. And for an instant-like that excruciating hesitation at the top of the first steep drop of the roller coaster-it felt inevitable. All I had to do was turn sideways, he'd roll into my arms, and we'd be… doing it.
And then, just as quickly, the moment passed. And we were still lying side by side in a queen-sized bed that had suddenly become much too narrow.
After a bit, I rolled out of bed.
'Are you all right?'
'Can't sleep.' I got up, went to the drawer, started looking for clean underwear-it was all neatly folded. Grabbed a pair of boxers and started to pull them on. 'I'm going back out.'
He sat up. 'Want me to come with?'
'No - ' I said it too quickly. Turned and saw the expression of hurt on his face. 'I need to think about the case. And you need to get to work early tomorrow.'
'You sure? It's no trouble - '
