Charms
Charms 2/3
Laughter
After being the sole survivor of a horrific car accident, Jesse meets the man his father thought of as a second son.
Charms
Chapter 2
Kevin and Jesse sat on the floor, their backs resting against half packed boxes. They'd ordered a pizza and were taking a break from packing Jesse's father's things.
"I don't want any part of it, Kevin. It's all yours." Jesse mumbled the words around a slice of hot pizza.
Kevin just shook his head. He put his pizza down and swallowed before talking. "He left it to both of us. How can you just give it away like that?"
"I've received more than enough from my father. You know more about that business than anyone else. You deserve it."
"Don't give up on it yet, okay? Just give it a few months. You could come in tomorrow, maybe take a tour or something. I just can't let you give it away."
"I'm not going to change my mind." Kevin was about to interrupt but Jesse stopped him, "But if it'll make you happy, I'll stop by tomorrow."
"Good."
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Kevin greeted Jesse by the front receptionist's desk the next day, and Jesse looked...good, like he'd actually slept through the night. His dark hair was styled to look like he'd just rolled out of bed. He was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a light blue button down shirt. The clothes were form-fitting and showed off Jesse's athletic build. If his appearance wasn't enough to make Kevin look twice, the smile was. Kevin couldn't remember ever seeing Jesse smile. It was a nice smile, wide and bright, and Kevin was hoping it'd be making an appearance a lot more often.
He gave Jesse a grand tour of the firm. Jesse found the whole thing kind of boring, but Kevin was excited, talking about new conference rooms and high profile cases they were working. It only made Jesse more sure of his decision. Kevin loved this place. Jesse wanted him to have it. As they walked around, Kevin introduced him to all the employees as Mr. Greene's son. After the third person spent twenty minutes giving Jesse her condolences, Kevin switched tactics, introducing Jesse as a good friend instead.
For the rest of the tour, Jesse couldn't help but notice people giving him strange looks. When he left a room, he swore he heard people talking about "the cute guy." He tried to put it out of his mind though, sure that he was just being paranoid.
Within an hour they had finished the tour and were standing in front of the receptionist's desk once again. Jesse didn't want to leave. He was having a good time talking with Kevin. He was about to ask the older man to lunch when Kevin beat him to it. "There's a small deli across the street. You want to grab some lunch?" Jesse gave him one of those wide smiles before answering.
"Sure, I'd like that."
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They were seated in the outdoor section of the deli. They'd both finished their sandwiches, and Jesse was just picking at his potato chips while Kevin watched. "Back at the firm...was it just me, or were people talking behind our backs?" Jesse was surprised to see Kevin's face turn a little red.
"Uhm...yeah, about that...I don't give a lot of personal tours, and they were probably just jumping to conclusions. I'm gay, Jesse. I was introducing you as a friend, and..." Kevin looked completely embarrassed, and Jesse laughed for the first time in a week.
"Oh my God, I wish I had known. We could have given them a show. It would've been hilarious." Jesse's laughter died down, and he popped a potato chip in his mouth.
Kevin couldn't stop himself from commenting. "Wow, the Ice Man actually laughs. I don't believe it."
"Ouch." Jesse grimaced. "The Ice Man? I'm not that bad, am I?"
Kevin smiled to take a little of the sting from his words. "Yeah, you are."
Jesse just nodded. He looked down at the table before looking back to Kevin. "This past year's been pretty bad, and this week...well, I haven't had a whole lot to laugh about."
Kevin looked Jesse in the eye and spoke seriously. "I get that, but maybe you'll let me do something about it? You have a nice laugh. It'd be nice if I got to hear it more often."
And Jesse did exactly what he was about to accuse Kevin of by throwing a coy smile Kevin's way. "Are you flirting with me?"
"Maybe." Kevin leaned over the table, closer to Jesse, and gave his own smile. "Would you be receptive to that?"
Jesse leaned back and plucked the last potato chip from his plate and popped it into his mouth. But it didn't stop the smile spreading across his fast. "Maybe."
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Jesse debated making the phone call. There wasn't a doubt that he enjoyed spending time with Kevin. And he knew Kevin liked spending time with him. They'd developed a friendship of sorts over the last few days, and Jesse kept telling himself that was all it was and ever would be...a friendship. Yeah, they flirted a little bit, but the last thing Jesse needed was another relationship. It took him 10 seconds to dial the number he'd already memorized.
"Kevin Litchfield."
"Hey, Kevin. It's me...Jesse."
"I know. I recognized your voice. How're you doing?"
"Good, good. Yeah, uhm, Kevin. I'm not doing anything tonight. And I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to do something...with me...tonight?"
"Do you have an idea for this something?"
"Well, yeah. I was thinking maybe watching a movie or eating or uhm...whatever you want to do. Or if you're busy, you're probably busy right? You have other plans. But...uh...maybe another time or..." Jesse knew he was rambling but he just couldn't stop the words from falling out of his mouth.
"Jesse."
He took a deep breath before answering. "Yeah?"
"I'd love to hang out with you. I'm not busy. And even if I were I'd change my plans."
"Oh. Okay." Kevin could probably hear the relief in Jesse's voice.
"I'm still at work. Why don't you come over to my place tonight? We'll order in and watch some movies, your pick."
That didn't sound like a date at all. Jesse tried to keep himself from being a little disappointed. "That sounds good." He listened as Kevin gave him directions to his place and told him to come over around seven.
"I'll see you at tonight, Jesse." The deep voice sent a shiver up Jesse's spine.
"Bye, Kevin." He hung up and sat down on the couch, trying to figure out how he'd keep himself occupied for the next three hours.
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Author's Notes: The very awesome vanna12 did her beta thing for me.