Chapter 5

"SO THAT'S the dog trainer," Davis said as soon as they stepped outside. "No wonder you have the hots for him."

"I do not," Riley countered. "I like Wayne, and he's good-looking and nice, and Frosty adores him."

"But…?" Davis said. "There's always a but when you use that tone."

"I always pick the shittiest guys and they turn out to be so awful. What if I'm doing it again?" He hated that he sounded whiny even to himself.

"I have never had that problem, and all my instincts are telling me that he's a good guy and is what he seems to be. He didn't ping any of my cop instincts at all. You've been alone for a long time. Hell, even when you were dating someone, you were alone. Open yourself up a little and see where this goes."

Riley sighed. "Like you're the most open book in the world."

"Neither of us is. It's one of the things that we share. Mom and Dad were never the most forthright parents. Heck, there were times when I used to wonder if they cared for each other, let alone us."

"But you moved right on and met Stephanie and…."

Davis shook his head. "I was as stupid as you're being. I kept her at arm's length for a long time, and she knew it too. She stayed with me, though." He sighed softly. "Look, we don't talk about this kind of shit, and I'd rather sit on nails than actually have this conversation, but here it is. Stephanie put up with my shit until she was going to dump me. But instead of just leaving, she put it on the line and told me that I was being an ass and that it was time for me to man up and talk about feelings and all that shit." He smiled. "Damn, there is something about that woman when she gets mad… she has this fire that—"

"I really don't need to hear about your wife's fire… or anything else along those lines, okay?"

"But that's just it. I'm proud that she's strong and knows what she wants. Instead of fighting like Mom and Dad did, she and I talk to one another. She's my partner… and I can tell you, that's the best feeling there is. But you're never going to find that if you don't open up and let yourself take a chance. Wayne seems like a really nice guy." He leaned a little closer. "Give him a chance—give yourself a chance."

"Jesus Christ, when did you get to be such an expert?"

"Since I figured some of my crap out. I dated the wrong kind of person for a long time, and that's what I think you've been doing. The guys you dated—the ones that didn't work out—all had that bad-boy vibe. Remember Vasquez, with that crappy bike that he used to ride all over town making as much noise as possible? I busted him two weeks ago for drug possession, and he's sitting his ass in jail. And since he was using that bike when I busted him, it's going into the sheriff's sale." He headed to his car. "Just think about what it is that you really want, let go of the load of crap you're carrying, and be honest with yourself about your feelings. It's quite liberating, and for the record… you do have the hots for Wayne." Davis got into his car, and Riley went back inside, wondering what the hell had happened.

Riley found Wayne on the sofa, Buster on his lap, and Frosty with her head on the sofa next to him, both dogs getting pets. "You okay?"

"I don't know," Wayne answered, his eyes wide. "Someone was in here, and if it was Mike, then he has a way to get in."

"He might have given you the key back, but he probably had more than one." Riley nudged Frosty away and sat down next to Wayne, giving Frosty a little attention as he took Wayne's hand. "You really need to get the locks changed. Maybe talk to your landlord about having that done."

"Yeah. I probably should have done that long before now, but it never occurred to me."

Riley could understand that. "Another question. Why now? You have been broken up with him for months. Why come after Buster now?" It didn't make sense.

"I saw Mike on Sunday when I was walking Buster. He seemed to remember him and moved around to my far side. Mike seemed happy to see him, but Buster was having none of it. I tried to talk to Mike, but all he did was try to pet Buster and move on, like he was the aggrieved party and I had somehow turned the dog against him. I wasn't the one who cheated."

"So seeing Buster might have triggered something?" Riley said, mostly to himself.

"I don't know. Mike and I dated for over a year, and Mike… well, I found out that he could nurse a grudge more than anyone I ever met. While he petted Buster, Mike kept scowling up at me like I was the devil himself."

"Okay, so he saw Buster. But why let him out? I mean, if it was him, he could have taken Buster and it would have been hard to find him."

"And where was he going to keep him? If Buster had been taken, I would have known it was Mike and called the police. They'd have searched and found him. No. This is classic Mike. Let Buster out and then try to use it to say I wasn't taking good enough care of him, or some such crap. I left Mike because he was manipulative as hell." Wayne's hand shook, and Riley squeezed it gently.

"I believe you," he said softly. He understood manipulative boyfriends. He'd dealt with one of those. They sucked, and not in a good way. "I really do. What we need to do is make sure that you and Buster are safe. So why don't you pack a few things for you and Buster? You can stay at my house for a few days until we can get to the bottom of this and have the locks changed here." Riley figured Wayne wouldn't be comfortable staying here, and he wanted to give him an easy out.

"Are you sure?" Wayne asked.

"Yeah. It's no problem." He patted Frosty and stood. "Go on and get things for the night. We can figure out the rest in the morning." He got Frosty's leash while Wayne packed a bag and got a few things for Buster. Then they got the dogs into Riley's car and he drove them to his place. He led them all inside.

He let Frosty off her lead, and she went back to the kitchen to her dish, with Buster staying by Wayne as though he knew Wayne needed him. Riley took care of the coats and then got them settled in the living room.

"How about something to drink?"

"Yes, please," Wayne said formally. "It's been quite a day."

"It has." Who knew their date would end with such excitement? It wasn't the kind Riley might have wished for, but at least Buster was safe and back with Wayne. That was what mattered.

"Thank you for this. I know I'd be up all night wondering if Mike or whoever let Buster out was going to return."

"We'll see about getting the locks changed and then we can go from there." Riley brought in some tea and set the mugs on the table. Wayne picked up his, and they settled in the warmth.

"I still can't get over you not having a tree or anything."

Riley stood and went to the office, then pulled down a box from the top of the closet. He returned to the living room. "I don't have much, but this is part of it. Maybe there's something in here that you'll like." He pulled out his phone and put on some Christmas music. If adding some holiday cheer would make Wayne feel better, then he was more than up for it.

Wayne opened the box. "Do you even know what's in here?"

"Not really. I haven't bothered decorating since I've been spending Christmas with Davis and his family." He sat down as Wayne began pulling things out of the box, including an old Santa figure that had been his grandmother's. He smiled when Wayne handed it to him, and Riley placed it on the mantel out of dog reach.

Wayne pulled out more goodies Riley hadn't seen in years and had forgotten all about. Even though there was no tree, the room had taken on a more festive air already with the tables and shelves decked out with holiday memories. "I like it."

"Me too." It was funny how long-past holidays came flooding back when he saw these things. They weren't all that special or valuable, just things from his childhood that had made a reappearance. "I hadn't remembered any of this."

"See, that's the fun of this. For me, Christmas isn't so much about the presents or the eating, but the memories of the magical Christmases as a kid. Like the year I got my first bike. I was six years old, and my dad put it together and it was waiting under the tree for me. And then there was the year that all I wanted was a telescope. Mom saved up and got one for me. I had more fun with that. We used to look at the moon or at the planets. It took some getting used to, but I got pretty good at zeroing in on things. It's all about getting the viewfinder set up correctly."

Riley grinned and jumped up, startling the dogs. Then he hurried to his bedroom and carefully pulled a long box out from under the bed. He carried it to the living room and set it on the floor, both dogs coming over to sniff. "I got this for my fifteenth birthday. I was interested in science, and Mom thought I'd like it. The thing was, we were living outside Chicago at the time, and the lights of the city cast so much glare that there wasn't much to see." He lifted the lid, and Wayne gasped.

"Wow, that's pretty amazing." He slid off the sofa to join him on the floor. "Oh my God. It's beautiful." The telescope was still shiny blue, and Riley had all the lenses and pieces.

"Dad and I took it into the country once. We set it up and he fiddled with it for a while but couldn't seem to get it right. He humphed, put it all back in the box, and drove us home. It's been packed up ever since. Mom said that she thought he and I could have used it together, but typical of Dad, he gave up after an hour, and I had no idea what to do with it. I took it into the backyard a few times, but the one thing my father managed to do was lose the instruction manual, so…."

"This is a Zeiss—like, one of the best. I bet if you went online, you could get a copy of the manual and we could put it back together. On a clear night, we could see what there is to see." Wayne grinned, and Riley found himself smiling. It was like getting the telescope as a Christmas present all over again. "Maybe we could take the dogs out with us too. It gets dark early enough, and we'd only need to go a few miles out of town." Wayne slowly ran his hand down the telescope.

"That would be great."

Wayne checked over the box and then went on his phone, grinning as he worked. Then Riley's phone dinged with a message from him along with an attached PDF. "There it is. All you need to do is print it."

"Thank you," Riley said with a grin, hugging Wayne tightly without thinking. He was about to pull away when Wayne returned the embrace.

Riley pulled back slightly, their eyes locking, and slowly Wayne drew closer. Riley stilled for just a moment before their lips met.

Wayne's lips were soft, and the kiss stayed gentle for a moment. Riley pulled back, his gaze not leaving Wayne's. He got to his knees to get a better angle, and Wayne did as well. Before Riley could stop himself, he cupped Wayne's lightly stubbled cheeks in his hands and drew him close, kissing the hell out of him. It was exciting, especially as Wayne gave as good as he got.

"Riley," Wayne whispered when they finally surfaced for air. "I've wanted to do that since I met you."

Riley giggled and stifled it because he didn't want to sound stupid. "Me too." Then they both began to laugh, but Riley cut it off with another kiss that left him warm and sweating a little. Wayne sure as heck knew how to kiss, and it sent ripples of excitement running down his spine.

Buster barked, and Frosty woofed softly. Riley pulled back to see what was going on and found both dogs looking at them. "It's okay. We're just kissing." He turned to a pair of big eyes. "Neither of us is hurting the other." He smiled, and both dogs spread out on the floor. "They are both real goofs."

Wayne snickered softly. "Buster has always been protective. He tolerated Mike some of the time, but Buster was always my dog."

"Well, I'm not going to hurt you," he said quietly. "So Buster—and, for that matter, Frosty—can stand down." He couldn't help chuckling. "Come on. The room that should be for guests is full of stuff at the moment, so I'll make up the sofa for you." He stood and went to his bedroom, then returned with a sheet and some blankets. He figured it would be best if the two of them took things slow. In the past, it was always too easy to go from a first kiss to jumping into bed. And he didn't want that—not with Wayne. There was the old adage that if you wanted a different result, you needed to act differently. And Riley wanted something more than the messes his previous attempts at relationships had turned out to be. He made up the couch, and Buster jumped right on and made himself comfortable at one end. Then Riley showed Wayne the bathroom so he could clean up and get ready for the night.

"Come on, Frosty, it's time for you to go to bed too. It's getting late, and we've all had plenty of excitement." He leaned down and kissed Wayne good night. "I'll see you in the morning." He turned off most of the lights and then went to his room, where Frosty lay on her bed. Riley got cleaned up and then climbed under the covers. He wasn't sure how well he was going to sleep with his mind replaying those amazing kisses, but that was his problem. This was one time he wasn't going to jump into things.

Riley turned out the lights and stared up at the ceiling. He heard Frosty get up from her bed. Once he rolled over, Riley found himself nose to nose with his dog. "You need to go back to bed." He resisted the urge to let the dog stay in bed with him, and eventually she turned around and went to curl up in her own bed. Damn, he had come so close to giving in. Sleeping alone was really coming to suck, and more than once he thought about checking on Wayne, but he resisted that too and eventually fell into a restless sleep.