Page 37 of Two for Charging

“Oh, um, I have one in tan—”

“Terrifically hideous,” Luca cut in. “It doesn’t fit him at all, and it doesn’t travel well either.”

“Tan.” Leonora shook her head in consternation. “Absolutely not. You’re a winter, dear. You need richer tones. Let’s try an easier question. Do you run hot or cold?”

“Hot,” Breezy said.

Luca would have guessed as much. He’d been warm before, when he hugged Luca. If he did it more often, maybe Luca wouldn’t need to wear sweaters all the time in their apartment. If Luca were his sex coach, he could keep Breezy in his bed as a human space heater— No. He viciously booted the train of thought from his mind.

“Mhm.” Leonora rifled through fabric samples. “I think we should keep it classic for the suits. Maybe one in black and one in charcoal to start, yes?”

Luca nodded.

“And we’ll use jewel tones for the shirts. They will make you shine.” She gestured for Breezy to get up onto the stand. “Now, materials. Your hockey season lasts until spring, yes?”

Again, Luca nodded. Breezy seemed to have accepted his input was no longer necessary. He was very coachable, always went with the flow during practice, and he seemed to have adopted the same stance here. Luca wondered how coachable he would be in other areas. If he—

Luca took a deep breath and imagined a pool of acid in which he could drown his inappropriate thoughts.

“Hm, so lighter fabrics are not such a good idea, but you need something that breathes. I think we’ll go with merino for the black suit and worsted wool for the charcoal. If you have weddings to go to in the summer, you come see me again, and we work out something in linen, yes?”

“Sure,” Breezy said weakly.

“And we say, hm, six shirts to start?” Leonora consulted a book of orders. “Yes, that should do. I’ll add it to your tab, Luca?”

“Of course.”

“What?” Breezy’s head snapped up. “Luca, no—”

“You can always charge me rent.” Luca smiled at him, showing a few more teeth than necessary.

Breezy pursed his lips and said nothing.

Leonora looked between them, but she didn’t ask. Instead, she took her measuring tape and a clipboard and pencil from the top drawer of her desk, put on her glasses, and began working.

This put Luca at the very sudden and stark disadvantage of having nothing to do except look at Breezy, standing obediently still and naked apart from his underwear. He did his best not to look at him in the locker room, since it was terrible manners, but here, with Breezy standing quite literally on a pedestal, he couldn’t avoid the sight. Dark hair sprinkled Breezy’s broad chest, his pecs a soft-looking swell, though Luca knew they were extremely muscular. He’d watched Breezy use the butterfly press before, and manfully, he hadn’t salivated all over the floor. If he could just rest his head there— No. Into the pool of acid with that concept as well.

Breezy’s arms hung at his sides as if he didn’t know what to do with them. The swell of muscle was unmistakable all the same, and Luca wanted to count the moles dotting his forearms. He’d long ago catalogued the one at the left side of Breezy’s jaw, which matched the deep brown of his eyes, as well as the one by his thumb joint.

The only soft part of Breezy was the layer of fat covering his abdomen, a testament to his summer weight. He would lose it soon enough when the season really kicked off, and Luca would mourn its absence.

Maybe Luca had it wrong when he tried to suppress his more lustful thoughts. Breezy didn’t have much interest in sex anyway by his own admission. Maybe it was his own uncharacteristic desire for soft touches and romance that kept Luca tripping down the same well-worn mental path over and over. When Breezy was all hard muscle, Luca could return to wanting him carnally instead of fantasizing about cuddling. It wouldn’t be an improvement, but it would be more normal.

“Now, young man, do you always wear this type of underwear?” Leonora sank to her knees in one smooth motion to measure around Breezy’s hips. She then made a note on her pad.

This time, the blush didn’t start on Breezy’s cheeks. First his chest flushed pink, then his neck, and finally, the rosy heat reached his face, highlighting the sweet roundness of his cheeks.

“Um, I…” he stammered. “Yeah, I… They’re, um, comfortable.”

“Perfectly fine,” Leonora said, running her tape measure up the inside of Breezy’s leg. “When my father taught me his trade, we used to ask men if they dressed left or right, but these days, most do neither. Much cleaner lines on the suit pants if you ask me.”

She made another note on her pad, set it aside, then stood and took her glasses off again. “I don’t mean to be indelicate, but I am familiar with the brand. Is it right to plan for a little, ah, breathing room in that area?”

Growing redder by the second, Breezy stuttered out an agreement.

Luca wondered if he would be as bashful completely naked and aroused.

Did Leonora have a spray bottle somewhere on the premises so he could train himself out of these thoughts?