Chapter 37
The news was on the TV and I looked down, 6:25, time to head to the lobby. Jason was there checking his phone and still in his suit. I wondered if I should have stayed dressed from the hearing. He looked up and saw me. “Good, John, I’m glad you had a chance to change. I just ran in from another meeting, so I have not. But no matter, we should be off.” I followed him out of the hotel and into a cab. We traveled through DC with the summer sunlight fading into sunset, and the buildings all reflected a warm hue. It was both awe inspiring and spooky, like the world was shutting down. The taxi stopped in a commercial district with a string of restaurants on the street and Jason headed toward a plain unassuming sign on the door. We entered and he spoke to the maitre-d who showed us to our table.
“This is one of my favorite places to go in DC. I was a regulator here myself in my younger days. That’s how I met Alvaro, I was going up against him, like that young one this afternoon was going up against us.” I nodded, and flashed to Eddie’s smile. My cock stretched in my boxers thinking about him again. “Anyway, he said something to the effect of, if you want to make real money, let me know. That was twelve years ago, and now, I’m senior partner, and Todd is partner, and it’s a pretty good life. Certainly better than the GS system of salaries and rules. We get to eat here, and wear nice clothes.” He looked over at me. Yes, this was one of Terrance’s outfits. I was enjoying the experience of being a real adult. “The hard thing about this job is the pace and the demands. My wife had enough of this about five years ago, and I haven’t been able to really make a relationship work since. Fortunately we didn’t have children, but I had wondered if we had, how that might have changed things.” He seemed wistful about it all. “Anyway, Todd has managed to keep a wife and two small children with him, but I can tell the pressure is getting to him. He made partner last year and is still trying to have it all.”
“So what about you, what are your plans after this summer?” I cleared my throat, I hadn’t expected this to be a conversation. They rarely are with Jason. “Well sir, I guess I’m trying to figure that out. Back to school soon, and finishing up law school. Then a job, and maybe some type of settling down. I have been a loner through most of law school, so that is either a feature or a bug in the system already. Maybe I am destined for ‘firm life’? I love the tax world, the intricacies of the filings and problem solving. And the hearing this afternoon was amazing. Better than the UK one which was merely validating the forms and preserving the filings. We actually got into the law of it all today, which I really enjoyed.” I stopped for a moment, as he was checking his phone again. I could see why the wife got tired of it. He was easily distracted. She ended up being the one who said, ‘that is all.’ We sat in silence for a minute and the soup course arrived.
“You were saying,” he returned to the table conversation. “Yes, I enjoyed today’s hearing. That was fun I thought.” He nodded. “Yes, that was unusual for a first hearing. I think that young one was trying to make a name for himself. But you showed him, didn’t you?” He smiled at me, the first in a long while. I smiled back. “Yes, it was a good exchange I thought.” He nodded, “you have the killer instinct. That will serve you well in legal practice. We are hired guns after all. Only we shoot words, not bullets.” I laughed at his comment. “I think that is why Alvaro is so taken with you.” He said sort of offhandedly. I looked at him puzzled. “Well you must have noticed his leers your way. He is attracted to you.” I shrugged my shoulders, as if to imply ‘who me’? I then flashed back to his cock in the steam room and my cock stirred again. “He and Barty have this weird rivalry about men. Trying to bed them. He never did me though. I was always a little reserved for him. You have exuberance. He likes the energy and the taming of it I think. Todd was also too reserved. You seem open, like you’d be willing to entertain his advances.” He looked at me.
I was sort of dumbfounded. I said, “well, I’m not sure that he had advanced upon me,” I said. “Barty was quirky in London, and there was an odd exchange after a couple of beers that I attributed to a lonely guy who was trying to find some moment of joy. I don’t think Alvaro would be suitable for me either,” I finally surmised. He nodded, “yes, I agree. I was surprised when he took Todd and Jason off of this case, so he could spend more time with you though. I thought that there might have been something going on. That’s why I pulled back and let him run with the preparations.” I nodded. “I figured you had rebuffed him which is why I was being called to DC.” It finally hit me that he was probing for answers. “I don’t know sir,” I finally replied, “it was such a hectic time between filing paperwork and scheduling hearings, that I didn’t really notice, all I knew was that you and Todd were busy with a case, which felt a little bit abandoning, but then I thought this was all part of the training.” He nodded, “yes, there can be fast paced decisions, but this was unusual, because most of the time, lawyers finish the cases they start.” I nodded, “which is why I was a little annoyed that I didn’t have the full throughline of your research and issue tracking,” he finished. I nodded.
“Well, sir, I think it worked out in the end.” He shrugged, “maybe, but there is more to go. You have Tokyo next week. Both Barty and Alvaro will be there. A bit of a tag team I think.” I took a deep breath. Great, both of them after my ass. The bet was still on. “What about Todd?” I asked. He shook his head no, and said, “Todd will be with me. At least it is Los Angeles. We get to look at pretty people, even if we can’t have them.” He sighed a bit. I was actually sad for him. He was trapped in a world from which he couldn’t escape. He was also somewhat astute, but not completely. I wondered if he needed a hug. Or a blowjob. I was still very horny. And he was about to fade out of my world again. He was handsome enough. I remembered the slight curve of an ass in his slacks. I wondered about his cock. Was it big or small, cut or uncut, thick or thin, hairy or not? I could blow him I guess. He’d be on his phone the whole time. As I looked over he was already back on the phone again. We finished up dinner and he paid the check. He stood up and I followed. “Back to the hotel I suppose,” he said. “Do you want to stay or maybe get a drink somewhere,” I asked. He shook his head no, “those days are behind me. I want a nice bath and a good night’s sleep.” I nodded, “sure thing, I can appreciate that.” He smirked and said, “you have many late nights in front of you before you get to this level of resignation.”
I shrugged and we headed out to the street. A cab back to the hotel and then a handshake in the lobby. “Thank you for a pleasant evening, John.” I smiled, “thank you for dinner sir. It was great to get to know you a bit more.” He smiled and nodded, then turned to the elevator. I looked at the elevator and then the door and decided to give the bar down the street one last shot. I headed back the three blocks to the gay bar I had found the evening before. I entered into the same din from the night before, and the music and conversation flowed out from the door. I entered again, more confidently, as I had been there before. I ordered a tonic water, and looked around. The reality is that I was looking for Eddie. I didn’t know if this was a wild goose chase, but I wanted that wild goose! I found a place near the opposing wall to scan the room. I didn’t recognize anyone else, just the same sorts of gays from the night before, the drag queens, the leather guys, the fashionistas.
I didn’t know what to do with myself, as I was just waiting and looking around. I enjoyed the music, but didn't really want to dance. I looked around and there wasn’t anyone to really strike up a conversation with. I was getting antsy, and thought that I should just leave. And then, as before, the smile appeared before me, out of nowhere, and illuminated the whole bar. “Hi again,” he said, “I was hoping I’d see you tonight.” I smiled as much as my face would allow. “Hi Eddie, I decided to come back on a lark, just to see if lightning could strike twice,” I replied. He smiled and leaned over to me. His lips met mine for a second, and the electricity returned, like a light being plugged back in. Then he backed away. “How was that,” he teased. I nodded, “not bad, not bad, I might need another test case just to make sure.” He obliged, leaning in and putting an arm around me as he pulled me into a longer kiss, his mouth opening, and his tongue just touching mine. I put my hand around his back and pressed my thumb into his muscles. He pulled away again, and I just made a sound “mmmm.”
“So you were a very bad boy,” he said to me after a second. “I was,” I asked. “Well, yes, how dare you outdo me at work.” I laughed. “I was pretty shocked to see you in the suit as a part of the panel, Edward,” I leaned into his formal name. He said, “well, Jonathan, I was also surprised to see you in your suit as a part of my docket as well.” He grinned at me. I leaned in and put my head on his chest as he rubbed my shoulders. “So this is why you were in town,” he surmised. I shrugged and said, “I didn’t really want to say anything, because I didn’t know what the rules were about all of this. I had been lectured to keep my private stuff private.” He said, “do you keep all your private stuff, private there?” he teased, looking down at my crotch, which was definitely starting to show my interest in him. “I have been known to give a private viewing of my privates,” I replied, leaning in and giving him a little peck on the mouth. “In fact I was ready to give you such a show the other night,” I explained. He laughed, “I know you were. It was very hard for me to resist.” I looked down at his crotch and said, “oh really, how hard was it?” He put my hand on his crotch and I felt a mass of thickness in his jeans. “That must have been very hard then as well,” I responded. I let my hands find his waist, and then kissed him again, slower, and gentle, seductively perhaps.
I pulled away this time. “So, could I have your phone number now?” I asked. He exhaled and explained, “I really shouldn’t. You are working for the other team.” I nodded, and explained, “well, only for the summer, and as a 508. I go back to law school in a couple of weeks.” He said, “well, that’s worse, really for me. How could I possibly tear myself away from DC to visit you all the time, with you studying?” He grinned, and I grinned back. “Well, I would make time for you,” I replied. “And besides, I could study at the Library of Congress!” He laughed, “that beats the law library at school I suspect.” I nodded earnestly, “it’s amazing,” I cooed. He smiled, “yes, it is. You know as a Fed, I get expanded access.” I was amazed at him. “Really, that would be so cool.” My nerd flag was flying and I did not care. “You are a quirky man, John Richmond,” Eddie said to me in a matter of fact way. I shrugged, and snuggled into his chest.
We flirted for a while longer in the din of the conversation and music around us. It was nearly 10 and he finally said, “I hate to break up this party, but this guy has to be in bed. I have other criminals to interrogate,” as he looked devilishly at me. I looked back and said, “well, I could move the party to your bed,” with a bit of side eye and smile. He chuckled, “I bet you could. And I need to sleep more than the latter. When are you leaving town?” I exhaled, and mumbled, “tomorrow.” He pouted. “I figured. Let’s walk out together.” I nodded and put my hand in his. We walked out of the door to the bar and back down the street before where we had the magical goodbye kiss from the other night. He kissed me under a streetlamp, I wasn’t sure if it was the same one from the other night or a new one. It didn’t matter, it was charming nonetheless. “I do need to go. But, you do have my work email address, and when you are back at school feel free to reach out. You won’t be so adversarial then, and maybe we can figure something out.” I nodded. I was hit with a wave of sadness all of a sudden. This was it, the time where our little fling ended. I gave him one last kiss, to say goodbye. I started to tear up. When I pulled away, I saw that he had as well. He rubbed my face with his thumb. “Don’t be sad there, young lad, this is not the end.” I nodded, and said, “it is for now,” and I started to tear up a little more. He smiled in his own tears and said, “it’s not a forever goodbye, just merely a see you later.” He kissed me on the cheek and then turned and started walking away.
I nodded and turned away as well. I had to leave at that point, there wasn’t anything else to say. It was definitely more than a ‘see you later’ to me. And I didn’t know whether I could believe that it wouldn’t be a ‘forever goodbye’ or not. I moped as I walked back to the hotel alone. I was sad, but I was really glad that I went out again and got to at least see Eddie one more time. He was the kind of guy I wanted to be with, to date, to marry. In my crazy game of fuck marry kill I had finally found a potential husband in the mix. And he lived in DC. And I didn’t. Maybe one day. Maybe. But for now, I would head back to the firm, and then back to school. I would email him from there, but long distance never works, and I had been warned that dating lawyers never works out either. It seemed a bit star crossed to me on that street heading back to the hotel alone. A little weepy, and perhaps feeling sorry for myself. I’d give myself tonight to feel sad, but then I would have to move on. I didn’t feel like fucking anyone else tonight, and I was ready for bed. Sadly alone. And yes, to Carlos’s point, a little lonely.
