Double Header (Hardball 2)

Javier took a seat on the floor and leaned against the end of the bed. The plasma screen television on the wall flipped from west coast baseball to the nightly entertainment news program. The host, a blond guy with impossibly white teeth, looked more cheerful than usual as the intro music played. “Out!” he shouted over the last fading notes. “Who’s out? We’re going to tell you all about it. Also, Angelina’s brood has a day at the zoo, Obama plays eighteen rounds for charity, and a reality star gets up close and personal with some unlikely fans.”

Javier shifted uncomfortably on the floor. He really, really hoped Zach and Domenic were big reality television fans.

“Thanks for joining us on a lovely Thursday night,” the host smarmed into the camera. “Shocker out of Hollywood, blockbuster director Domenic G has come out, telling gossip blog The West Hollywood Reporter, quote, ‘I’m happy with my life, I’m happy to be a gay man. I’ve been blessed with a wonderful partner and a nurturing, supportive family. I can’t feel ashamed of that; all I feel is gratitude.’”

“Oh shit,” Zach said, very quietly, and Javier looked up. Zach stood beside the bed, his eyes wide. Javier swore he could see Zach’s pulse in his pupils as fight-or-flight instinct gripped him. But there wasn’t anywhere he could go.

Javier briefly considered reaching up and turning off the television. But that wouldn’t stop the guy on television from talking. Either way, it seemed like with his next breath, he was going to out Zach to hundreds of thousands of viewers.

“And that partner?”

Javier braced himself. In a way, he was glad he was here. Zach shouldn’t have to go through it alone.

“None other than the star of G’s latest film, East of East, Ryan Tyler.”

Zach dropped on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands. On the television, Ryan Tyler, an action star, held hands with some douchey-looking guy in an ironically faded denim jacket and an Ed Hardy shirt. That must have been Domenic.

Millions of people across America just saw Zach’s boyfriend cheating on him, and Zach hadn’t seen it coming.

Javier got to his feet and turned off the television as the host rambled on about the movie the two were filming at a studio in L.A.. Where had Zach said Domenic was supposed to be? Myanmar?

Zach sat motionless on the edge of the bed, his head still in his hands. He wasn’t a comfortable crier, at least, he hadn’t been when they’d been going out, so Javier didn’t know exactly what to do.

So, he said the first thing that came to mind. “Do you want me to do anything?”

With a sharp laugh, Zach lifted his head. “Why, are you going to go beat him up?”

An inappropriate smile tugged at Javier’s mouth. “I couldn’t think of anything else to say.

Eyes shining with tears, Zach covered his mouth with one hand, scrubbing over the coppery stubble on his jaw. “Well, I’m pissed off, obviously. I know we had an open relationship. But I always thought that meant just sex. Not actively pursuing another boyfriend.”

“I’m sorry. This is a shitty way to break up with someone.”

Zach’s expression froze for a heartbeat. He wet his lips and swallowed, like he was physically sick. “Honestly? I was so shocked by seeing it on tv, I forgot he’d told me to watch it.”

It wasn’t hurt, but exhaustion that dominated Zach’s posture. Elbows on knees, head down, propped on hands clasped not in prayer, but as if holding a lifeline.

“You guys have been having problems for a while.” It wasn’t a question, and Javier knew Zach couldn’t lie to him. He’d never been able to.

“No, not problems. Not really.” Zach shrugged. “Except for infidelity, but what I didn’t know wasn’t hurting me. We just grew apart. Domenic is in the editing room or supervising rewrites, I’m out on the road from March to hopefully October, I’m sure as hell not in L.A.. We just had our different things. I would have appreciated it if he’d broken up with me without the showboating—”

“Yeah, that’s pretty drama queen.” Javier chuckled, hoping, selfishly, to lift the mood. He never could stand to see Zach in pain. While it helped that Javier hadn’t caused that pain, he still didn’t want to see it.

On instinct, he laid his arm over Zach’s shoulders. It was a stupid move, that much became obvious the moment their bare skin touched. Javier’s muscles tensed. If he pulled his arm away, was he acknowledging the spark of physical attraction that his body remembered? Zach hadn’t moved away. Didn’t he feel it? Should Javier want him to?

With a sudden intake of breath, Zach stood. “Hey, I know I said we could hang out, but… I just want to be alone.”

“I understand.” Javier didn’t want to overstep his boundaries, and he really didn’t want to be the nearest available mistake. “That was really unfair of him. You deserve better than that, Zach.”