Free Hard Sell by Kendall Morgan Page B

into Jesse. That was clear, but Jason did manage to do a good job of monopolizing Jesse. It wasn’t until Wes was leaving the party that he got a chance to talk to Jesse again.
    “Where’s Jason?” Wes asked as Jesse walked with him to his car.
    “In the bathroom, I think,” Jesse said. “Look, it was nice meeting you.”
    Wes stopped next to his car and leaned against the driver’s side door. “Same here.”
    He imagined what he would have done had he met Jesse under the same circumstances ten or twenty years ago. He would have placed his hand on the front of Jesse’s pants, very close to the bulge he could see forming there now. Jesse was standing close enough to him to do it. He didn’t think Jesse would mind. He’d never met a man who had minded, but he didn’t do it. It was too late. He pushed the button on his keychain to unlock the driver’s side door and opened the door, and then he realized that Jesse was still standing there. He was saying various numbers.
    “What?” said Wes.
    Jesse looked away. He may have blushed. The darkness made it hard for Wes to see.
    “It’s my phone number. Just my number. If you want to give me a call,” Jesse said.
    “Your number. Okay. Say it again, slower this time.”
    So Jesse gave him his number. Wes thanked him and got into his car. Maybe it wasn’t too late, he thought. As he started his car, he saw Jason coming around the house from the backyard.
    “Your minder is looking for you,” Wes said out the car window.
    “Yeah. I’ll see you around.” Jesse turned and walked away, meeting Jason halfway across the front yard.

Chapter Two
    When Wes had introduced himself to Jesse, he had called himself Wes Mitchell, and that was technically correct. His birth certificate said Wesley Charles Mitchell, and he had spent most of his life being called “Wes.” Years ago he had used another name, and he didn’t want anyone to know what that was. If anyone knew, he was pretty sure that his list of regular real estate clients would find someone else with whom to work. Gary and Jeff already knew. His other friends would probably be supportive, but he had the feeling that his mother would be heartbroken. And who knew what other crap the denizens of Urlack could come up with.
    Wes hadn’t just left Los Angeles. He had left West Hollywood and the porn industry. He had been a porn star, not one of the biggest, but he was pretty high up there. He came home to Urlack fifteen years ago for two reasons. The first reason was that he was burned out on drugs and sex. Hell, when he left his porn career behind, he couldn’t even get his dick hard anymore. He needed to stop fucking, snorting, licking, injecting and inhaling. Making porn sounded like fun to most people. It was at times, but making porn turned sex into work and really sucked all the fun out of it, no pun intended. And a lot of porn stars died of unnatural causes. He didn’t want to be a headline with a needle in his arm or a gun in his hand or anyone else’s. He didn’t want to die of AIDS. He also came home to take care of his mother. She had just had a stroke, and she needed him. Wes believed that they had saved each other’s lives.
    His mother had recovered to the point where she could live alone for the most part but needed some help with heavy lifting and building maintenance. They lived together in a two-flat. Wes had the upper apartment, and his mother had the lower level. Just after her stroke, she needed him to do everything. Wes had initially grumbled, but caring for his mother had allowed him to get to know her and relate to her as an adult. He grew to like her for who she was. She wasn’t at all surprised when he came out to her a year after his return. He couldn’t live with her and keep the fact that he was gay from her. He didn’t tell her about his porn career. He thought she’d find it shocking and be disappointed in him, although he wondered from time to time if he underestimated her.
    When