Page 24 of Heart

“But I am not getting back in that car with you. We’ll take the Metro.”

“Darling,” Chaz said, placing his hand on Mikey’s. “The Metro is forpoor people. We’ll take a cab.”

Chapter 7

Why in gay-hell did I let her talk me into this?

George was holding starched shirts on hangers in front of his mirror, alternating them in front of two sets of shoes and belts on the dresser, seeing how they paired... something he hadn’t bothered with in years. It was like revisiting a foreign country.

May had taken a picture of him, set up a GayDate.com profile, and sent Trevor a message.

“It’s like fly-fishing with my Dad back in Colorado,”George had said, thinking it unlikely the man would respond.

But Trevor was a hungry trout. Not even an hour had gone by before he had replied.Why, yes, he would be very interested in meeting George. How about Friday?

So, they had made a date and here he was... sweating for no apparent reason, nervous as hell, and quietly cursing May the entire time.

Oh, yeah. He thought.You’re going to go out with Rachel and you’re going to have a damn good time, goddamn it.

* * *

Before leaving the restaurant and heading home to Cherrydale to get ready, Mikey had popped in with a small package for the POS system.

“Just put it on the bar, Mikey. Thanks.”

“Sure. You OK?” he said. “You sound... stressed.”

He took a deep breath. Mikey was only concerned. He didn’t deserveFear and Self-Doubt part II: The Wrath of George.No. He would save that for the lady next door.

“Sorry if I was curt. May talked me into a blind date. I had a weak moment.”

“Blind dates are tough. I speak from experience. But I’m sure she has your best interests at heart.”

“Yeah, I guess. Whatever. I’ll just be glad when it’s over.”

“Where are you going?”

“Art and Soul.”

“Fancy. Well, you have a good time. Don’t let someone you don’t know spoil it.”

George smiled at the subtle wisdom. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was something about Mikey that calmed him. It was like he’d known him for a long time, longer than he actually had.

“Hey, Mikey, I almost forgot. I’ve got something for you.” He went behind the hostess stand and pulled out a book. “This was David’s. He enjoyed astrology too. It’s old and may not be valid anymore, but I thought you might like it.”

The book was entitledGay Astrology:for homosexual men and their amorous adventures.

“Oh, wow,” said Mikey, taking the book and holding it reverently. “Thanks, George. I’ll take care of it like it’s my own.”

“It is yours. I want you to have it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I don’t have any sentimental attachment to it. It was his before we met.”

“I’m readingTrueright now, by Alec Collier, the writer fromThe Post. Did you readTales of the Circle?”

“The column? Yeah, occasionally. Funny stuff.” He pointed at the book in Mikey’s hand. “I think you can read that daily, like horoscopes in the paper.”