Chapter 33
Dima
had just gotten home from work when Misha called him, asking if he
could come over. It was Friday afternoon, Linda was away for the
weekend with
her friends and Dima had planned to go to his brothers’ house
at
Saturday. So that
Misha wanted to see him now felt little strange but of course he had no
objections either.
Dima
opened the door for Misha and smiled. “Hi, would you like
some
coffee?” he asked.
“Nah,
just a juice or something if you have?” Misha said and kicked
his
shoes off.
“Sure.”
Dima nodded and walked to the kitchen with his brother following.
“So, what brings you here?” he asked while opening
the
fridge. “Ah and seems
we’re out of juice but is diet cola okay?”
“Yeah.”
Misha nodded and sat down watching his brother taking some ice
from the freezer, placing a few pieces in two glasses before pouring
the drink
into them. “Joni’s birthday is next
week,” Misha
started. Dima glanced at him,
raised his brow and nodded. “So… I want to do
something
nice for him,“ Misha
continued and Dima got curious, walked to the table, handed Misha a
glass and
sat down.
“You
have planned something?” Dima asked.
“It’s…
nothing big…” Misha said and sipped at his drink.
“What’s Joni’s
favourite food?”
“Hm…
He likes a good steak just as much as the rest of us.” Dima
grinned. “Medium, hm with fresh salad and garlic potatoes.
That
or pizza, with
some meat on it, ham or pepperoni.” Dima shrugged.
“Misha,
what are you
planning?”
“What
food doesn’t he like? Is he allergic to anything?”
Misha
asked
instead of replying.
Dima
was silent for a moment, trying to think. “If you cook meat
make
sure it does not have lumps of fat,” he started.
“He
doesn’t like cabbage,
mushrooms, blue cheese… I don’t know if there are
more
than those and no
allergies.”
“No
mushrooms, huh? What do so many have against mushrooms?”
Misha
pondered.
“Oh
and be careful with herrings or other bony fishes. Joni has some
issues with them.”
Misha
frowned. “Perhaps he’s just had a lousy cook to
prepare
them for him?”
He wondered. “Spices?”
“Yeah
he likes spicy food, not too hot though.”
“And
deserts?”
“You
can’t go too wrong with chocolate; he doesn’t like
anything
too
sweet though. Strawberries and fruits are a good choice, too, perhaps
ice
cream. Misha, can’t you tell me what is really going
on?”
Dima asked. “Are you
making a birthday dinner for Joni? Are Ivo and I invited?” He
was
unable to
keep the amusement from his voice.
Misha
was silent for a moment and took a sip of his drink. Finally he
sighed. “No, you are not invited,” he admitted.
“I
was rather hoping that you
could invite Ivo here for next week’s Saturday.”
Dima’s
smile grew. “Sure, I think we can keep Ivo away…
Oh my,
this is
cute.” He chuckled, causing Misha to groan.
“It’s
not cute,” he tried to argue.
“Yes
it is, you two have a date and it’s about time!”
Dima
nodded and
Misha rolled his eyes.
“Yeah
whatever… So what could I get Joni as a birthday
present?”
Dima
was still grinning at his brother. “To that I can’t
really
offer
much help since I have troubles on thinking out something myself. I
think this
dinner will be quite a good present though, I am sure he’ll
appreciate it.”
Misha
nodded, but still wanted to buy Joni something. “Okay,
thanks,” he
said and finished his drink, getting up. “I see you tomorrow
and
don’t say
anything to Joni. I want to surprise him.”
“I
won’t,” Dima promised, his smile never fading.
“See
you tomorrow,
Misha.”
**^^**^^**
Misha
cared for him, Misha wanted to be with him and it was what Joni
had dreamt about for so long. If only the situation would be different,
if only
he had never met Chris, if only this misery and pain could be erased.
Joni felt
confused; he wanted to be with Misha, wanted to be his boyfriend and at
the
same time it made him feel nervous and afraid. What if Chris would find
out? Of
course Chris was already angry, but… What if they would let
Chris go? They
couldn’t do that, could they? On the other hand it made
himself
feel angry. Was
he still going to let Chris control him? Even when he was behind prison
bars?
What did he owe to Chris? – Nothing, nothing after all the
pain
he had been
through.
Joni
stared at his face through the mirror; the bruises were fading, though
those on his body seemed to take a little longer to heal. But soon
he’d be able
to see his siblings and move back home. After all he couldn’t
stay with Ivo and
Misha forever, right? Perhaps if he lived at his home it would make the
relationship with Misha easier, slow it down at least, which,
considering the
situation, would be better, wouldn’t it?
The
recovery and the fear to face the public were stressful. The young
man felt anxious and bored, wasn’t used to this idleness. He
was
tired of being
the victim, tired of being nervous and afraid and just wanted back what
had
been lost, his old self and his confidence. Joni knew the rumours had
started
to spread around the modelling circles and it might be just a matter of
time
until some cheesy tabloid would mention it. Well, he could blame
himself for it
really, after kind of admitting what had happened on Facebook. So the
public
would learn that he was abused. His agent already knew of course
because Joni
needed much time before he’d be ready to return to modelling.
Of
course he
could quit it all together, but when he had thought about it, he
didn’t want to
quit. First of all he didn’t want to give Chris the
satisfaction
of being able
to destroy the life he had wanted, the satisfaction of being able to
break his
confidence completely.
Though
Joni had to admit that the mere idea of returning scared him, he
could only hope that the nude, pornographic pictures of him would not
make it
to public knowledge. He also hoped that the fact that he had been raped
would
remain as a secret; being an abuse victim was enough to deal with, but
still
easier than the two combined. After Joni would have healed, he would
show that
he was strong enough to continue the life he had led before, that he
wasn’t
just another broken victim. This he also wanted to prove to Misha,
which might
be easier said than done since the man had taken it upon himself to act
very
protective towards him. It was both sweet and annoying at the same
time, but
perhaps Misha would calm down once he would see that he was in fact
doing a lot
better?
Joni
wished he could live a simpler life, with ordinary every day
problems. Would he ever see such a day again? – The youngster
wondered and
sighed when he ran his fingers through his over grown hair. He usually
was so
obsessed with his hair and couldn’t remember the last time
when
he would have
allowed it to get this long. It started to annoy him; it was almost
falling into
his eyes and it was driving him nuts! Joni groaned and tried to fix it
with
some hair gel, only to get more annoyed in the process. Soon he found
himself
growling at his own image. “Damn you!” he cursed.
Ivo,
who happened to walk past the bathroom, raised his brow. The door
was slightly open so he looked inside. “Something the
matter?” he asked with a concerned
voice and Joni turned and gave him a miserable look.
“My
hair… “ he whined. “Just look at it!
It’s
driving me insane!”
At
first Ivo gave him a confused look and then he couldn’t help
but
to
find it amusing and smiled. So, Joni was doing better, wasn’t
he?
The Russian
walked closer, looking at the boy. His hair was little longer than how
he
usually kept it but Ivo didn’t think it looked bad.
“I
think your hair looks
just fine,” he tried to assure.
“No
it doesn’t!” Joni argued and turned back to face
the
mirror. “I look
horrible.” He sighed and brought his hands on each side of
his
face. “I don’t
want to turn 20…”
Ivo
again raised his brow and gave the younger man an amused look.
“Now
why is that? And trust me you look anything but horrible,” he
said, walked
behind Joni and lowered his hands on the boys shoulder. The top of
Joni’s head
reached little below his chin.
Joni
gave him a look through the mirror. “Birthdays just
suck,”
he said.
Joni couldn’t think back at his 18thbirthday
party
with warmth
anymore because of the pictures and last year he had spend it in the
army. The
following weekend Chris had arranged what he had liked to call
‘an intimate
party’ - thinking back made Joni only feel nauseous.
“No
they don’t,” Ivo said. “We’ll
think of
something nice for you and… Well,
would you like me to take you to get your haircut?” he asked.
Joni
was silent for awhile and then shook his head. “I
don’t
want to go
out yet, I don’t want to see anyone…
There’s the
danger of having to explain… I
suppose I have to suffer… Wear a stupid pin or
something…” He sighed in an
overly dramatic way.
Ivo
smiled looking at him, he got an idea but wasn’t sure if it
could
be
arranged and didn’t want to mention it to Joni until he was.
The
idea he had
would not only beneficial for Joni, but, if he was honest, it might
also serve him.
“Okay
come on, lunch is waiting,” Ivo said then and lead the boy to
the
kitchen.
They
sat in front of the table and Joni moved his fork over the plate
lost in his thoughts. Ivo watched him with curiosity; he knew Joni and
Misha
had confessed liking each other but still wasn’t sure if it
had
caused more
progress than that.
“Ivo,
do you think I look too thin?” Joni asked suddenly and Ivo
swallowed his food down, looking surprised. “Misha thinks I
do,” Joni added and
Ivo smiled slightly.
“No,
I don’t think he thinks that. Well, maybe he might. You see,
you
aren’t exactly eating normally, are you? Look, I am almost
done
with lunch
while you have only taken few bites. You look like you’ve
lost
weight. You
still look good but you could start eating better. Misha is only
worried.” Ivo
tried to be as diplomatic as one could to a person who was feeling
quite
sensitive towards their looks.
Joni
sighed heavily, stared at his plate for a moment before he brought
another fork in his mouth. “There, that’s
better.”
Ivo smiled.
“I’m
bored…” Joni whined after lunch.
“Do
you want to watch some movie?”
“No!
I want to do something, I’m sick of lying around.”
Joni
groaned and
stood up, trying to think of something to entertain himself.
“Can
I see what
kind of clothes you have?”
“If
that pleases you.” Ivo smiled surprised.
“It
would.” Joni nodded and walked towards Ivo’s
bedroom, the
tall
Russian following behind him. Ivo sat on his bed watching as Joni
started to
open up his closets. “These are a mess.” The boy
sighed.
“I
confess it might be some time since I last arranged them.”
“I
could do that!” Joni smiled and glanced at him.
“Can
I?”
“You
want to clean my wardrobe? Knock yourself out,” Ivo answered
amusedly
and the youth smiled brightly, starting to take the clothes out and
arranging
them on the bed next to him. “So is there anything that can
be
rescued? Do I
have any hope?” Ivo asked with a slight grin.
Joni
turned his face and smiled while folding his shirts neatly.
“This
pile here,” he said taking the said pile and handing them to
Ivo,
“go and iron
them.”
“I?”
Ivo asked. “I usually have Misha do it for me.” He
grinned.
“That’s
what little brothers are for?”
Joni
raised his brow and watched the man silently for awhile, slightly
amused. “No, I am pretty sure that they
aren’t.” Then
he pointed to the door.
“Go, iron, learn. You are 34.”
Ivo
sighed. “But I hate ironing,” he complained but
still kept
the
boyish grin on his face. “And so what if I’m
34?”
“Ivo,
Misha won’t be around forever to iron your shirts.”
Joni
smiled at
him.
“Won’t
he? You plan to take my house slave away from me? How cruel!”
Ivo
grinned and Joni rolled his eyes.
“I
will tell Misha that you called him that.” He smiled.
“Uh,
please don’t! I can’t stand him when he’s
all
moody,” Ivo said and
sighed. “I’ll go and iron,” he decided
and Joni
watched the man walking out of
the room, feeling amused. He continued arranging the clothes neatly by
what he
considered to be formal and casual wear.
“Hey
Joni!” Ivo suddenly called.
“Yeah?”
“Can
you come over here for a moment?”
Joni
left the clothes and then followed Ivo’s voice to the utility
room.
“So, is there a problem?” he asked smiling and Ivo
turned
showing him the flat
iron.
“How
does this work? I don’t want to burn my clothes and there are
all
these pictures here, see.”
Joni
walked closer, looked at Ivo’s serious face and blinked.
“Are you
serious?”
Ivo
looked back at him and then the flattening iron and again back at
him. “Yes,” he said and looked at Joni expectantly.
“You
seriously have never ironed before, huh?” Joni chuckled
shaking
his
head. “First you need to put water in this little hole
here,” Joni advised.
“And then turn it to this position and then you can start
ironing.” He smiled.
“You
seem to be good at this, don’t you want to do it?”
Ivo
asked and
Joni chuckled again.
“Oh
no! It is high time you learn it, I can watch here for a moment to
see that you do it right.” He grinned. Ivo sighed muttering
something in
Russian before he got to work.
“There,
good boy,” Joni teased him smiling and Ivo gave him a
friendly
glare back.
When
Misha got home little earlier that day, he was quite surprised to
find his brother ironing in the utility room that was next to the
kitchen. “Oh
my God, who are you and what did you do to Ivo?” Misha asked
and
Ivo turned to
him and grinned.
“Joni
is arranging my wardrobe!” he announced brightly as if his
ironing
was totally natural thing for him to do and then he turned back to his
task,
humming to himself. It was beyond weird!
And
then Joni walked next to him carrying clothes. “Hi
Misha,”
the boy
greeted smiling and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before walking
to Ivo.
”More ironing,” he told the older man and took in
exchange
the clothes that Ivo
had already ironed.
“More?”
Ivo sighed.
“Yes,
it will teach you to take better care of your clothes.” Joni
nodded and all Misha could do was to watch this peculiar scene in
confusion and
awe. His cheek still tingled from the spot that Joni had kissed; such a
brief,
innocent kiss but still… It was quite nice coming home to
that.
He smiled when
Joni walked by him towards Ivo’s bedroom and Misha decided to
follow him.
“What
did you do to Ivo?” Misha asked once they entered the room.
Joni
simply smiled placing the ironed clothes carefully into Ivo’s
closet. “Can you believe your brother didn’t even
know how
flattening iron
works?” Joni asked and chuckled.
“Yes,
I can. I’ve had to suffer from it since I moved
here,”
Misha said,
walked closer and sat on the bed edge watching carefully at Joni who
was still
busy with arranging the clothes. Joni arranging and cleaning was
something he
wouldn’t have expected to see. “And you really iron
your
own clothes?” Misha
questioned.
“Of
course!” Joni said and glanced at him raising his brow.
“Any man who
wears dress shirts or such should know how to iron.” He
nodded.
“I
figured someone like you has his parents or someone else to do such
things for you.”
“Someone
like me?” Joni asked,
glaring at Misha and Russian realised he had moved to dangerous waters.
“Well,
eh… someone who…”
“Someone
who is a spoiled brat?” Joni asked turning to him and folding
his arms. Misha gave him a sheepish look.
“I
didn’t say that.”
“But
you think that,” Joni said. “I know you
do.” He shook
his head and
turned back to his task.
“Joni…
Please don’t be upset with me. I didn’t mean
anything
bad,” Misha
said watching him closely. Joni didn’t reply,
didn’t even
turn to look at him
just kept folding Ivo’s clothes. “You know, Ivo got
used to
our mom ironing for
him and when he moved here, he used laundry services. When I moved in
with
Dima, he thought it was perfect pass time for us
and…” He
paused trying to
think before speaking. “Well, I just
thought…”
“That
I cannot do any house work at all, right? That I just assume
people do everything for me, from cooking to cleaning,” Joni
glanced at him. “I
do have three younger siblings, for your information. I had to take
care of
them many times and that needed more than just sitting on the couch,
hoping
that things will arrange themselves. Your problem is to assume things
simply by
looks and appearance but nothing is that black and white.”
Misha
couldn’t help it, the corners of his lips twitched slightly
upwards; he couldn’t keep a serious face. “You
know,
you’re cute when you get
like this…”
“Cute?”
Joni snorted.
“Yes,”
the older man replied frowning slightly. “You should be
resting
though,” he said then watching the other carefully. It was
true
that Joni was
doing better but his moving was still a little awkward than it was
normally.
“I
feel fine,” Joni argued continuing what he was doing.
“You
know your doctor said you should rest,” Misha reminded.
“And I say so
as well, you’re still hurt.”
Joni
glanced at the man sighed. Misha proved to be very concerned of his
health, almost as if afraid that he could break at any given moment.
“I’m sick
of lying around, I’m fine really. I need to do something
before I
lose my
mind.”
Misha
sighed and got up walking closer to Joni. “I understand, I
do,
but
I don’t want you to exhaust yourself,” he said,
leaning
against the closet door
next to Joni, who turned his face to him.
“I’m
almost done here; if it makes you feel better I’ll go and
rest
after this.”
“Good,”
Misha smiled. “Have you eaten?”
“We
ate lunch yes.”
“But
now its dinner time, what would you like to have?” Misha
asked
following his movements carefully.
“Anything
is fine,” Joni replied and Misha thought he sounded and
looked
quite tired.
The
blond frowned at this discovery. “Alright, you’re
going to
rest now,
you are tired!” Misha said and took the pile of clothes from
Joni’s hands. “Let
me take you upstairs to rest and then I will cook you something and
bring it to
you.”
Joni
stepped back when it seemed that Misha attempted to carry him.
“For
god’s sake, I can walk!” Joni snapped, which made
Misha
frown and Joni then
regret such harsh response. “Misha, I’m fine, my
legs are
not broken, alright?”
Joni smiled slightly and hesitantly reached his hand to touch
Misha’s face.
“It’s sweet that you worry, but it’s also
a bit
creepy,” he tried to joke,
lowering his hand.
“I
just want you to get well,” Misha said keeping his eyes on
Joni
before gently, almost hesitantly touching his arm.
“I
understand and I am getting better. Don’t I look better
already?”
Joni asked.
“You
do.” Misha nodded smiling slightly. “But now you do
look
tired and
you’re still not completely well either. You’re
still
hurting, so please Joni,
listen to my advice and let me take you to rest. You can read or watch
TV, but the
more you rest the faster you heal.” The look on
Misha’s
face was serious and
almost pleading.
Joni
sighed; the worrying was sweet after all. “Alright, alright,
I’ll
go and rest in the living room, but I will walk myself,
okay?” He
smiled and
Misha smiled back nodding.
Once
Joni settled on the couch, Misha turned the TV on for him and made
sure his pillows were nice and fluffy. The tall man kept asking if Joni
was
sure that he felt comfortable enough and persisted until Joni finally
gave a
wish on what he would like for dinner.
When
Misha finally disappeared into the kitchen Joni couldn’t help
but
wonder how peculiar all of this was. Three years ago he would have
never
imagined that Misha would one day treat him in such protective, careful
way.
Ivo
seemed also amused by his younger brothers behaviour and he grinned
at Joni while walking into the living room carrying the last of his
ironed
clothes.
“Misha;
the mother hen,” Ivo whispered and winked before continuing
towards his own room and Joni had a difficult time to keep a straight
face when
Misha returned with his dinner, which apparently required Misha feeding
it to
him like a baby. Well, this nourishing seemed to make Misha happy so
Joni
decided that for now he could humour him.
**^^**^^**^^**
It
was Wednesday when Ivo had managed to arrange his surprise for Joni
which worked perfectly since the boy’s, or rather the young
man’s birthday
landed on the following day. The whole day Ivo felt excited and was
hardly able
to keep him from telling Joni, who was quite suspicious over his
strange
behaviour. Ivo had to admit that it was not only for Joni’s
surprise that he
felt excited, but for his own reasons as well. As the hour upon the
arrival
approached, he began to feel nervous – not in bad way but
just… Well, perhaps
it was the feeling of what people called butterflies in ones stomach?
It
was
Joni
straightened up on his seat, looking after the man who went to open
the door. He began to feel nervous. Of course surprises could be fun
but after
what he had been through he felt wary towards them. Yet, Ivo would know
that
and he wouldn’t arrange anything he wouldn’t like,
right?
Ivo
took a deep breath before opening the door and smiling brightly at
the person standing behind it.
“Hi,
Jami, welcome. Found here alright?” he asked the young man
who
stood behind the door. The youth’s hair was light brown with
blond highlights
in it, he had blue-green eyes and a smile lingered on full pink lips.
“I
did, I had my navigator, and it’s real helpful otherwise
I’d get lost
constantly,” the younger and shorter man replied, stepping in
and
lowering his
silver work case on the floor to take his jacket and shoes off. Ivo
smiled
goofily while looking at him. The Russian had a crush on his
hairdresser for
quite some time, but he hadn’t had the guts to ask him out
since
he wasn’t
exactly sure if the other man was even gay. His profession spoke for it
but of
course there were straight male hairdressers as well, so who knew?
However
since Ivo had once been directed to be Jami’s customer, when
his
former hairdresser
had gone to maternity leave, he always requested Jami, even after his
previous
one returned. And Ivo had also asked the youth to recommend him
products bought
insane amount of them, just so he could prolong the visits.
Ivo
found himself chuckling at the answer and Jami gave him a curious
look which made Ivo clear his throat. “Yes well, come in.
Would
you like some
coffee?”
“Sure
thanks,” the shorter man replied and picked his case up,
following
Ivo to the living room where Joni was.
“Jami,
this is Joni, Joni this is Jami, my hairdresser.” Ivo made
the
brief introduction. Joni looked surprised but curious at Ivo before
looking at
the other male who smiled at him and approached to shake his hand.
“Hi,
nice to meet you. Ivo said you needed a barber?” The man said
and
Joni shook his hand, smiling back at him slightly hesitant. He wondered
how
much Ivo had told Jami about the situation.
“Nice
to meet you too,” he said and let go of the hand, again
glancing
at Ivo. “Hm, well, I sort of do, yes.”
“No
worries Joni, Jami is a trustworthy guy and I told him you’re
on
a
sick leave from an injury,” Ivo said hoping he
didn’t make
a mistake.
Joni
looked back at Jami; he was lean, not very tall, perhaps 170cm or a
little above, somewhere in his mid 20’s. Then he glanced at
Ivo
again, getting
a clearer picture which made him smile.
“Bad
relationship,” Joni decided to tell the other man, the
bruises on
his face were quite faint, but still visible and he figured Jami would
guess it
because of that anyway.
“Ah,
yes I’ve had few myself.” Jami smiled with
sympathy.
“So how about
I cut your hair?” he asked and then tilted his head.
“Perhaps some colour,
too?”
Joni
frowned. “I’m not sure.”
“About
the colour?” Jami smiled. “Well, your natural
colour is
great; I
was just thinking about some highlights? Lighter brown, nothing too
visible?”
Again
Joni glanced at Ivo who was staring at Jami. “Well, I have to
warn
you, I’m kind of a hair nazi. You know I’ve been
known to
make quite a few
hairdressers cry,” he said, looking back to see the reaction.
The
man laughed. “Oh indeed?” He grinned.
“Well, rest
assured I’ve never
made a customer cry.”
“Jami
is really great at what he does. He’s the best hairdresser
I’ve
ever had!” Ivo praised and Joni couldn’t help but
grin,
thinking how thrilled
Misha might have been to see this. Ivo was completely smitten with this
guy!
“Aw,
thanks, you’re making me blush,” Jami said glancing
at the
man and
grinned.
“It’s
the truth!”
“Well,
you’ve been the best customer I’ve had,”
Jami said
and then
looked back at Joni. “Always leaves me with a huge tip, which
is
rare for Finnish
people to do plus he buys lots of products.” The hairdresser
grinned and Joni
couldn’t help but wonder if the two even realised that they
both
seemed to have
a crush on each other.
“So,
how would you like your hair to be cut?” Jami asked once Joni
had
agreed to let him do the cut and even dye the highlights.
“Not
too short, don’t use the machine! But the ears may show, my
hair
grows so fast anyway and you can use knife to… you
know…
My hair is so thick so
it agrees better if you thin it slightly. I want to be able to slightly
get it
up with gel, sort of messy…” Joni ran his fingers
in his
hair lifting it
slightly. “You can cut this much from the top.” He
showed
with his fingers.
“And! Be careful when you cut from the behind where there is
this
swirl! If it
is too short the hair will jump up and it will drive me nuts! I had to
use so
much gel when I grew it back from the army length.” Joni took
a
deep breath and
glanced at the man to see if he understood.
Jami
chuckled. “Oh my, I think I am glad you won’t be
able to
see the
mirror while I cut. I have the feeling you are one of those who would
stare at
my every movement or worse suddenly take the comb from my hands to show
me how
you want it!” The man grinned seeing Joni’s
expression.
“Admit it; you’ve done
that before, haven’t you?”
Joni
shrugged, looking away slightly embarrassed.
“Well… Hair
is
important to me…” he admitted.
Jami
patted his shoulder. “Okay, just relax, I promise that
you’re in
good hands,” he assured and then got his equipment.
“Let’s start with the
stripes,” he decided and Joni nodded.
“Alright…
But no blond! Okay? I would look ridiculous,” Joni said and
looked at the man who shook his head amused and nodded.
“No
blond, I promise,” he replied, glancing at Ivo who grinned
and
Jami
grinned back.
“Thanks
again Jami, for coming here on your free day,” Ivo said
watching
as the smaller man started to work.
“Anything
for my favourite customer,” Jami smiled back at him and Joni
couldn’t help but to notice the dreamy look in
Ivo’s eyes.
“How
long have you known Ivo?” Joni decided to ask.
“Hmm…
About a year. He used to go to Anni, who works at the same salon,
but when she went to maternity leave Ivo switched to me. Well, Anni is
back and
she said she’s forever bitter with me for stealing her best
client.” Jami
chuckled. “Oh well…”
“I
like you better,” Ivo said. “Her talks of her
children were
getting
quite boring, but don’t tell her that.”
“I
won’t,” Jami assured.
“Oh,
I almost forgot that coffee!” Ivo noticed.
“No
worries, we can have it after I’ve finished spreading this
colour.”
“How
old are you?” Joni asked then.
“I’m
25,” Jami answered. “Oh and I heard you have a
birthday
tomorrow
congratulations!”
“Thanks…
Though, you know, some think it brings bad luck to congratulate
in advance and quite frankly I’ve had enough bad luck as it
is.” Joni couldn’t
help himself, but as soon as he had said it, he regretted because there
really
was no need to be rude to the man, who Ivo seemed to fancy.
“Um,
okay sorry, I-” Jami started unsure how to correct himself.
“Nah,
don’t be. I’m just in a weird mood, don’t
mind me
okay? I tend to
speak before thinking,” Joni tried to correct himself and
glanced
at the man
who smiled and nodded.
“It’s
okay, no harm done,” Jami replied and there was a moment of
awkward silence before he continued. “So how does it feel to
turn
20?”
Joni
shrugged. “I don’t know, I haven’t really
thought of
it much,” he
answered.
“The
reason I asked is because I remember being horrified of turning 20.
I felt so old.” Jami laughed. “It seems so amusing
now,
when looking back, I
really was just a kid. Well I had my crisis then, turning 25 was
easier, yet
many of my friends have their crisis now.”
“Oh
wait till you turn 30.” Ivo grinned and Jami glanced at him.
“A
big crisis for you, huh?” he asked.
“Yes
and no.” Ivo smiled. “Just remembering how at
Joni’s
age one thinks
everyone over 30 is so freaking old. You think you have so much time to
do all the
things you want to do till you turn 30. Then you wake up and see the
years
sneaked up on you and realise that time just seems to go faster and
faster with
each year. Well now I’m 34 and you might think I’m
an old
fart, but I know I am
not. I’m comfortable with my age.”
“I
don’t think of you as an old fart.” Jami smiled.
“34
is still young.”
“Ah
and now you try to flatter me, huh? To earn more tips,
right?”
Ivo
teased and winked at the younger man. “Well, you
succeeded.” He laughed then.
Joni
smiled, listening to the two talking. Ivo was interested in this
guy, he was sure! “And since Joni is so quiet I have to think
that he believes
I am an old fart,” Ivo joked and Joni glanced at him smiling.
“I
don’t think that,” Joni denied.
“Liar.”
Ivo grinned softly.
“How
do you plan to celebrate your birthday?” Jami asked.
“I
don’t know, I don’t really feel like
celebrating,”
Joni answered and
hesitated a moment before he continued. “My relationship just
ended badly as
you can see,” he gestured towards his face, “and my
ex is
arrested and … Yeah,
not much to celebrate. I’ll be relieved when this is all
over,
trials and
such…”
“I
understand. I’m sorry to hear that you’re going
through a
rough
time.”
“Thanks,
but I rather not discuss this more.”
“Sure,”
Jami nodded. “Now, 30 minutes, then shower for you and then
we
cut your hair.” He smiled.
Ivo
got up. “And now the coffee!” the older man
announced and
went to
prepare it.
During
coffee break with cookies, Joni observed the other two who were
clearly flirting with each other. Yet it was also clear that neither
would make
the first move to actually ask the other for a date. Jami seemed nice,
he was
cute looking and… Well, perhaps it was time that Ivo would
get
some.
“Are
you gay?” Joni asked suddenly, while they still sat at the
kitchen
table. “I mean you are hairdresser and a guy,
so…”
Jami
chuckled. “Being a hairdresser doesn’t
automatically mean
that I am
gay,” he answered smiling. “But in my case, yep, I
am. Huge
disappointment to
my parents, a gay hairdresser as a son! Luckily I have a twin brother,
not
identical in any way, who is a success in their view. He’s
engaged to a woman
and studies to be a doctor. Our family name is saved,” he
joked.
“Are
you single?” Joni asked then, looking at Ivo’s
expression;
it
almost seemed that he was blushing which was strange and cute at the
same time
– where was his usual confidence?
“Yeah,
I’m single… I seem to have this jerk magnet in me,
so…”
“Well,
Ivo is no jerk, he is single and he’s bi and it’s
pretty
obvious
he likes you so, I think you two should go out,” Joni said
and
now Ivo did
blush! Joni grinned.
“Oh…”
Jami started, blushing as well. Ivo chuckled nervously; Jami bit
his lip and grinned. They looked at one another.
“Well…
um… He would have to
ask me himself…” he answered, looking at the older
man.
Ivo
cleared his throat. “Well, are you doing anything this
Saturday?” he
asked, trying not to grin so madly, which was difficult. He knew
Saturday would
be good since Misha wanted him out of the house to spend time alone
with Joni,
which Joni didn’t know yet.
“I
was invited to a friend’s party, but I could always skip
going,
if
better offers emerge…” Jami grinned sipping his
coffee,
feeling giddy inside.
“Have
dinner with me?” Ivo asked. “And then, who knows?
Few
drinks
perhaps?”
“Sure,
sounds fun,” Jami answered unable to stop from grinning.
“Great!”
Joni said and got up. “And now I will take a
shower.” He
smiled
and left the room, wondering what would happen now that the two
blushing and
grinning man were left alone. Joni was sure that Misha would enjoy
seeing this
situation and couldn’t wait to tell him.
Joni
was pleased at Jami’s work. He gazed at himself in the
mirror,
feeling
better with his reflection, slowly building back his confidence. He
wouldn’t
have to be so shy in front of Misha now. When Jami left, Joni saw Ivo
hugging
the smaller man at the door - it seemed quite promising.
“You
really like him, huh?” Joni asked, walking to the hall. The
look
on
the man’s face spoke for itself. “Why on earth
didn’t
you ask him out before?”
“I
was sure that he would have someone, or that maybe he would be
straight and would freak out completely and he really is a great
hairdresser,
right? So I guess I didn’t want to risk it.”
“Straight?”
Joni grinned and rolled his eyes. “Come on Ivo.”
“What?”
“Honestly,
he’s a hairdresser! And a guy! And wears tight
clothes!”
Joni
grinned.
Ivo
cocked his eyebrow. “And only gays wear tight
clothes?” the
man
asked, watching the boy with amusement; he seemed a lot more cheerful
than
before.
“No,”
Joni admitted. “But I knew he was gay the minute I saw
him.”
“Did
you now?” Ivo grinned.
“Well,
at least I was 95% sure.” Joni nodded. “And then
the way he
looked at you confirmed it.”
“Oh?
What way was that?” Ivo asked with curiosity while walking to
the
living room, Joni following.
“Dreamy
way, like he totally wants you,” Joni said. Ivo sat on the
couch
and tapped the spot next to him smiling.
“Time
for a foot massage?” Ivo said taking the lotion. Joni smiled,
took
his socks off and then sat down placing his feet on Ivo’s
lap.
The man had
given him a foot massage almost every day and Joni quite enjoyed it.
“He is
nice, isn’t he?” Ivo asked rubbing the lotion over
Joni’s feet.
“He
is,” Joni agreed and smiled, resting his head against the
backrest.
“So where will you take him on Saturday?”
Ivo
shrugged at first. “I am not sure, perhaps to the Russian
restaurant.”
“Make
him accustomed straight away, huh?” Joni asked.
“Seems like
a good
idea.”
“I
remember he said once that he hasn’t really eaten a Russian
meal
before.” Ivo smiled, watching Joni’s feet as he
massaged
them.
“And
perhaps you’ll give him a nice big Russian dessert
after,”
Joni
grinned, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively.
The
blond shot a somewhat shocked and amused expression at the youth.
“Joni!“
“Just
make sure you use a condom,” Joni added and Ivo still watched
him
with his lips slightly parted in shock over the fact that Joni was so
openly
hinting towards sex. It made him lost with words, he thought about what
Chris
had done to Joni and felt awkward not wanting to talk about the subject
of sex.
He wanted to change topics quick but his mind was blank with ideas.
Joni
frowned seeing the odd expression on Ivo’s face. He looked
away,
feeling somewhat upset, his stomach tightened. He knew what Ivo was
thinking,
guessed it at least - it was about the rape. Was this how it would be?
Would
this awkwardness always emerge when he would talk or even hint towards
sex?
“I
guess Misha will be home soon,” Joni said, letting the older
man
off
the hook. “I would like to cook for him.”
“Oh?
You know how to cook?” Ivo asked and Joni frowned, lifting
his
feet
back on the floor.
“It
would be nice to have some faith here! I can cook; for god’s
sake,
it’s not rocket science after all!”
“Calm
down Joni.” Ivo sighed and smiled. “Of course you
can cook
if you
like.”
“Good,”
Joni muttered and walked towards the kitchen. Ivo sighed and put
the lotion away, then followed Joni. In the kitchen Ivo walked to the
sink and
washed his hands. Joni seemed upset, he stood in front of the windows,
arms
crossed in front of his chest. Ivo sighed.
“Joni?”
he started. “What’s wrong?”
The
boy took a deep breath, before turning and shaking his head.
“Nothing,
I’m sorry. I must seem terribly ungrateful,” Joni
said and
looked at Ivo.
“Thank you Ivo, for asking Jami here, I needed this
and… I
don’t know, I’m
still… It’s difficult to explain but I am sorry
for my
moodiness.”
Ivo
smiled softly at him. “I understand, don’t worry.
And I
really
should thank you as well. I don’t know how long it would have
taken me to ask
Jami out if you hadn’t done it for me.” He grinned
and then
walked closer to
the youth, hugging him. “You are going through a rough time;
it’s alright to be
moody.”
Joni
smiled up at him carefully and slowly Ivo released him from the
hug. “Thank you Ivo,” Joni whispered.
“No
problem.” Ivo smiled and patted his shoulder, suppressing the
urge
to mess Joni’s hair that Jami had styled so nicely.
“So
what would you like to
cook for Misha?” he asked.
“I
know he thinks I can’t cook. Perhaps nothing too fancy,
but… I can
cook spaghetti and Bolognese sauce. I saw you have minced beef in the
fridge?”
“Yes,
sure you can cook that. Want me to help you?”
“No
thanks, I think I want to do this on my own. Do you trust
me?”
Joni
asked sweetly and Ivo laughed.
“Sure,
I trust you, go right ahead. You know where to find
everything?”
Ivo asked and Joni nodded.
“Yes,
you can go watch TV or… dream of Jami, whatever floats your
boat.”
Joni grinned and again Ivo chuckled.
“Alright,
alright, call me if you need anything.”
“I
will,” Joni promised and started to look for the ingredients.
Ivo
watched him for a while, smiling gently before returning to the living
room. It
was sweet that Joni wanted to cook for Misha, now he only waited to see
his
younger brother’s expression when he’d arrive home.
**^^**^^**
It
had been another long day for Misha and he arrived home later than
usual
after spending a few hours trying to buy the perfect gift for Joni. The
perfect
gift he had been trying to find for days now. Why did it have to be so
god damn
difficult? Perhaps there was no such thing like a perfect gift? Perhaps
he was
just trying too damn hard to please Joni? Misha could honestly say that
he had
never in his life went through so much trouble for someone’s
birthday and he
felt lousy that the result didn’t really show it. Or maybe it
would? He could
just pray.
“I’m
home,” Misha called, once he entered the hall. He kicked his
shoes
off and then walked to the living room, surprised to find his brother
relaxing
in front of the TV and hearing noises coming from the kitchen.
“Oh
hi, rough day?” Ivo asked, smiling.
Misha
cocked his eyebrow and glanced at the kitchen then back at Ivo.
“Where’s
Joni?”
“Where
do you think? In the kitchen of course, he’s cooking
dinner.”
“Joni
is cooking dinner?” Misha blinked and Ivo grinned nodding.
Misha
sighed; Joni should be resting and not trying to cook! And whether he
liked to
admit it or not, he still didn’t have much trust in the
brunet’s cooking skills
either.
Joni
was cutting onions, his eyes watering from their heavy scent, when
Misha stepped in. “Joni, what are you doing?” the
man asked
and walked closer.
Joni
turned his face to him. “Hi, what does it look
like?” Joni
smiled
and wiped the tears away with the back of his hand.
Misha
sighed. “Well, it was a very sweet thought, but you
don’t
have to
do that.” Misha smiled and gently took the knife out of
Joni’s hold before
placing his hand on the other’s shoulders.
“I’ll
continue from here, you go and
rest.” He nodded and started guiding the younger man out of
the
kitchen.
“I
wanted to do that!” Joni protested.
“I
know, I know, but you don’t have to. Ivo and I appreciate
your
attempts to help, but you are still recovering and we agreed to help
you heal,
so…” Misha smiled and gently pushed Joni down to
sit on
the sofa, ignoring
Ivo’s look, being blind to how annoyed the youth felt.
“I
wanted to help!” Joni again pointed out a bit tightly and
growled
when Misha lifted his feet up on the couch. “For fucks sake I
am
not a baby!”
Joni snapped and Misha’s eyebrows shot up in surprise as the
boy
stood up.
He
didn’t understand why Joni was behaving like this when all he
tried
to do was to be gentle and caring… boyfriend?
“Joni, sit
down, calm down, no
need to get worked up like this. I am sure it’s not good for
you.” Misha
pointed at the couch “Rest!”
“I
am sick of resting, can’t you fucking get the clue
already!” Joni
snapped again and then quickly marched upstairs. When he reached his
room Misha
heard the door slam shut and blinked before getting annoyed as well.
“He’s
such an ungrateful brat!” Misha huffed and crossed his arms
over
his chest staring towards the stairs and Ivo had to grit his teeth in
order not
to laugh. He tried to remind himself that there really wasn’t
anything funny
about this whole ordeal. “I mean what does he want?! Here I
am,
trying to be
nice to him, taking care of him, doing everything for him and still he
complains!”
“Misha,”
Ivo said as evenly as he could after calming himself down.
“He’s just very stressed out, surely you understand
that?
And he’s also bored;
anyone would be after days of being locked indoors. He wants to help,
do things
and you should let him. I’m sure that when he is tired he
will
say so and
rest.”
Misha
was silent for awhile contemplating Ivo’s words.
“I’m
just worried
that he’ll exhaust himself.” He sighed.
“I
know, but you should talk with him. And I think he has a good reason
to be difficult; think of how much stress he’s
under.”
Misha
was quiet for awhile and nodded. “I’ll go and talk
with
him,” he
decided and headed upstairs. He knocked on the door and waited silently
for a
moment.
“It’s
open,” Joni’s voice finally answered and Misha
peeked in.
The
brunet lay on the bed on his side, hands close to his chest, slightly
curled up
position. “See, I am resting now, happy?” he
muttered and
Misha sighed hearing
that the others voice was slightly hoarse. Was he crying? “Go
away...” Joni
added after a while, but Misha approached.
“I
didn’t mean to make you upset,” the blond started.
“I
did and I’m
sorry, my aim was the complete opposite,” he added and
carefully
sat down on
the end of the bed. “Joni?”
Joni
took a deep breath and wiped the tears from his face, avoiding
Misha’s gaze. “I’m not a child, even
though… I
know right now I am behaving
like one.” Carefully the younger man turned his gaze to
Misha.
“I just wanted
to cook for you… I’m just… I
want…”
“It’s
alright, I understand… I think.” Misha nodded and
hesitantly
brought his hand to rub Joni’s shin. “I’m
just
worried and I want you to get
better, that’s why I’m so pushy to get you to
rest.”
Joni
sat up slowly to face him. “I am doing a lot better, feeling
much
better;
don’t I look better to you?” he asked and again
brushed his
face with his hand
just encase there were still tear stains left. Misha smiled looking at
him more
carefully now, noticing that the youth’s hair was different.
“You didn’t even
say anything about my new hair,” Joni pointed out then and
made
Misha chuckle
and gently the man reached to hug him.
“I
did notice and you look gorgeous,” he assured and touched the
dark
strands softly with his fingers. “Highlights?” he
asked,
looking at Joni’s face
noticing how short their distance was. “Did you go out
today?” Misha wondered
why Ivo hadn’t said anything if they were out. He continued
to
play with Joni’s
hair, his eyes taking notice of the others full lips that were really
tempting
him to kiss them. They hadn’t kissed yet, not
since…
“Ivo’s
boyfriend was here, well, his soon to be boyfriend I’m
sure.”
Joni snickered, his hand moving over the blond’s muscular
arm,
his heart
beating fast. It was almost difficult to breathe normally. Misha was so
close
and his scent was so intoxicating, alluring and…
“Ivo’s
what?” Misha asked, his brain seemed fuzzy and he
wouldn’t
have
been surprised if he had heard wrong, his thoughts were filled with
other
things, mainly revolving around Joni’s lips.
“Ivo
has a date on Saturday, with his hairdresser,” Joni
whispered.
Misha’s forehead rested against his own, his blue eyes - now
much
darker shade -
observed him and Joni felt himself shivering, his skin feeling warm all
over,
hot even.
“Interesting…”
Misha said after a moment of silence, Joni’s lips still
stole most his attention.
Finally
it was Joni who slowly moved his face forward, softly brushing
his lips against Misha’s, who couldn’t stop the
quiet moan
that escaped his mouth.
Misha’s hand cupped Joni’s cheek and the other
moved to
rest on his shoulder as
slowly the kiss deepened but remained slow and gentle. Misha refused to
allow his
lust for Joni take over, it would be too early and Joni still felt
somehow
fragile in his hold, like someone who needed to be treated softly and
with care
in order not to break him.
Still,
Misha couldn’t really stop his body from responding to the
kiss.
He
felt the heat spreading in his groin and knew that if they continued he
wouldn’t be able to hide his excitement and he just
didn’t
want to freak Joni
out with it. So, though reluctant, Misha pulled away, smiled and kissed
the tip
of Joni’s nose. “I love how soft your lips
feel,” he
whispered which made the
younger man grin.
“Right
back to you,” Joni said and received another kiss on his
cheek.
Misha
looked at him for a moment, thinking. “Okay,” he
sighed.
“If you
feel well enough, you want to come down and help me with
cooking?”
“Oh,
may I? Boss?” Joni teased and Misha raised his brow amused
while
standing up and offering his hand to him.
“Yes,
but only if you promise to tell me, if you start feeling unwell or
tired,” Misha said and Joni nodded standing up.
“I
will, I promise.” He smiled.
“Good.”
Misha nodded thinking that perhaps he could teach his little
brat to cook - it might be fun!
TBC.
Web published: June 19th, 2010.
My Secret Shore
© KOLGRIM