frogs_of_war (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
frogs_of_war) wrote2013-06-02 12:38 pm
frogs_of_war) wrote2013-06-02 12:38 pm
Bluebeard's Closet, a fluffy fairytale
Title: Bluebeard's Closet
Status: Complete
Genre: Fairytale, modern day, m/m, family
Rating: R
Length: about 5,300 words
Summary: Klin's brother's think his boyfriend is a modern day Bluebeard. They can't be right, but why does West have a locked room full of women's clothes?
Dedication: For all those who also hated this story as a kid.
Klin opened the French door with a flourish. “And this is the conservatory. Who would have thought I’d live in a place with a conservatory?”
Jack frowned. “It looks like a greenhouse to me.”
Harry slapped Jack’s back. “That’s what a conservatory is.”
“Then why not call it a greenhouse?”
Klin sighed. He should have known his brothers wouldn’t be impressed.“It’s part of the house, not a separate building. And West calls it a conservatory.”
“But plants, why plants?”
The conservatory was Klin’s favorite room. He brought in books from the library and read them beneath the palm frond. “Let’s go to the pool.”
Jack’s eyes widened. “You have a pool?”
Harry rolled his eyes. “If he’s got a conservatory, he has to have a pool.”
His brothers ran back to their rooms and then Klin led them to the pool house. He opened several of the French doors to let the breeze in. He wasn’t a pool person himself, but his brothers whooped and splashed and generally made fools of themselves. But they also used up a lot of energy. Maybe he wouldn’t have to entertain them all evening.
Three more days until West got home. They couldn’t pass by soon enough.
—
“You’ll never guess.”
Klin looked up from his book. Jack was dripping water all over the hardwood floor. The hallway must be even worse. Harry, at least, had a towel.
“Guess what?” Klin slipped a bookmark into place and set his book aside. Where was the closest bathroom? The one off the library would at least have hand towels. Klin didn’t want to leave too much of a mess for the housekeeper.
Harry rubbed his towel through his hair. “How well do you know West?”
“Well, enough to live with him.” Klin hadn’t been looking for a relationship the night he’d met West, but West’s gorgeous blue eyes, hair so black that it looked deep blue, and tall strong body broke though his defenses. And being romanced as if Klin was the most gorgeous person in the room, when he knew for a fact he was the homeliest of his handsome friends, had crumbled the last of his resistance.
He never would have thought he’d move in with a boyfriend, especially so early in their relationship, but both he and West worked odd days and hours and in order to spend as much time together as they could, Klin had moved into West’s big, beautiful home.
“But how well?”
“Do you know,” Jack took the offered towel, but didn’t attempt to stop the drips, “that women have gone missing?”
“In the neighborhood?” Klin hadn’t heard anything about that. But then he hadn’t spent much time out of the house. He was between jobs at the moment and resting up before his next series of sixty to eighty hour weeks.
“No.” Harry balled up his towel. “In this house.”
Klin hadn’t seen any sign of feminine things in any of the rooms he’s been in. “What does Mrs. Vasquez say?”
Jack sat down on an upholstered chair without even pretending to dry his swim shorts. “She’s says the neighbors are jealous of West’s success.”
“She would know.” Lots of people were probably jealous. West had started with a tiny nest egg at eighteen and a dozen years later he lived better than anyone Klin knew. He gave away more every year than Klin made.
“She could be protecting him.” Harry tossed his towel at Jack. “She’s been his housekeeper for a long time. She’d lose her little house at the back of the property if he went to jail.”
“He hasn’t done anything worth going to jail.”
Jack dried his hair. “How do you know?”
Klin trusted West with his body and with his heart. West wasn’t a bad guy. Why couldn’t Klin’s brothers just trust his judgment? “Ok, what are their names?”
“Whose names?” Jack finally stood up. The chair would never be the same.
Klin rolled his eyes. “The missing women.”
“No one knows.” Harry shrugged.
“Then how does anyone know women are missing?”
“They see them drive in and never see them drive out.”
“That means nothing.” Klin had only been out of the gates once since his last job ended and that was to welcome his brothers yesterday. “Do people watch the gate in shifts?”
Jack bounced. “But they see West driving the women’s cars.”
“Maybe they saw the women driving his cars. If the women exist at all.” If only West was here he could put this crazy story to rest. “Let’s visit the garage. After you change your clothes.”
Maybe Harry and Jack would be distracted by the cars. Klin wasn’t a car man himself, but he was pretty sure most the ones in the garage were older than his parents.
“A model T!” Jack slid into the driver’s seat and pretended to drive, complete with motor noise. Harry chose a long convertible and riffled through the glove box. Klin closed his eyes. His brothers were so embarrassing.
They each messed with all of the cars on both floors of the garage. Jack bounced to Klin. “I’ve got to try one of them. Please.”
“They are not my cars. Ask West when he gets home the day after tomorrow.”
“Please. Just around the drive way.”
“No.”
Jack frowned. “Come on.”
Harry crossed his arms. “These are all registered to Weston Avery Simms.”
“Why wouldn’t they be? They all belong to West.”
“But the neighbors said—”
“The cars belong to West. The women are figments of someone overactive imagination.”
West had dated women in the past, but not since coming out six years ago. The house was only five years old. Maybe an ex or two had come by, but that didn’t give people leave to start rumors.
“Nine. Nine women disappeared in this house. Nine cars in the garage.”
“Ten cars.” Jack grinned. “If you count Klin’s clunker.”
“Hey, my car works just fine.” A car’s job was to take him where he needed to go when he needed to. Everything else was just frosting and Klin preferred his cakes plain.
“Did you find the keys?” Jack nudged Harry’s arm. “Can we take a spin? Or nine?”
Maybe having them wear off a little of their weirdness before West arrived home was a good thing.
—
Jack stepped in front of the TV. “Guess what.”
Klin hit pause and sighed. Jack and Harry had entertained themselves quietly for almost an hour. Mom would have said they were getting into trouble. She was almost always right.
“What?”
“You know that room West doesn’t want you in?”
Klin stood up and hurried to the stairs. “You two didn’t force the door or anything? Idiots.”
West had one room in the whole of his giant mansion he didn’t want Klin inside. Klin respected that. He’d given Klin a room for the same purpose, one West wouldn’t enter. Klin rarely used it. During the short hours Klin and West were together, Kin wanted to spend them together. And since West didn’t hole himself up in his room while Klin was home, Klin had nothing to complain about. They slept together and ate together and the bathroom was big enough to take bubble baths together. Klin definitely could have used a bit of space growing up that his brothers never intruded on.
Klin took the last set of steps two at a time, but when he got to the door it was still locked. He breathed a sigh of relief.
Harry leaned on the door down the hall. “Did you know this room has a dormer window that lets out onto the roof? You can walk across to that room’s window.” He pointed at West’s door. “It doesn’t seem to be latched.”
Jack laughed, but the noise was coming through West’s door. “It isn’t latched.”
Klin covered his face. Would West believe he had nothing to do with his brother’s trespassing on West’s sacred space? Klin should have never invited them over.
The knob moved and the door opened. “Voilà.” Jack grinned. “It was unlocked on the inside.”
“Of course it was.” Klin’s brothers were idiots.
“And look.” Harry pointed in the doorway. “Nine wardrobes.”
“That means nothing!”
“No,” said Harry. “That means we were right.”
“No it doesn’t.” Klin rushed into the room and threw his weight against the wardrobe door Jack was opening.
Jack sidestepped him and opened the wardrobe next door. “See. Women’s clothes.”
His brother’s had been in this room for that last quiet hour. The drawer Harry yanked open was ransacked. West always kept his clothes neatly folded.
Jack took a sequined dress out and held it against him. “This could almost fit me.”
Whoever the woman was, she hadn’t been some sweet little thing.
“And look.” Harry held up a pair of pumps like their mother wore, only in a larger size. “These clothes don’t match the ones in that wardrobe. Each wardrobe has its own style of clothing.”
“No pants though. Lots of dresses. And dainty underthings.” Jack held up a garter belt.
Klin took a deep breath. Harry and Jack had destroyed the room. Even if he spent every moment until West came back cleaning up, he could never erase their presence and the longer they stayed in here the worse mess they made. “Out!”
He yanked the silk stocking from Jack’s hands, tossed it onto the floor, and pushed Jack toward the door. “Out!”
Harry held up his hands and sauntered from the room. Jack required one more push. Klin locked the door and pulled it shut behind him. Then he did the same to the other room’s door. He had betrayed West’s trust in him.
Harry crossed his arms. “See, we were right.”
“I see nothing.”
“What reason could West possibly have for women’s clothes unless they were some kind of souvenirs?” Harry glanced at the door on the opposite side of the [stair balcony]. Klin hurried around the [stair balcony] and locked the room facing the back of the house.
This whole thing had probably been Harry’s idea. He’s talked Jack into it. Klin hated both of them right now. “Go downstairs.”
“We were right.” Jack leaned on the rail. “He’s Bluebeard.”
“He is not!” Klin loved West’s beautiful dark beard.
“He is. He got rid of the bodies, but he kept all the clothes.”
Klin pointed to the stairs. “Get out of my sight!”
“We were right.” Jack hopped down the stairs as if he hadn’t just ripped out Klin’s heart.
Harry followed him down in a more solemn manner. “Someday you’ll thank us.”
Klin would never thank them even if West really had murdered nine women. Klin had been so happy. Ignorance really was bliss.
—
The shower hadn’t cleaned any of the dirty feeling from his skin. He refused to believe that West would hurt anyone, but he still found himself surfing the internet for news of missing women. He hated himself for that.
Jack bounced in the room. “Sorry.”
“You aren’t.”
“I shouldn’t have gone into the room.”
“You shouldn’t have.”
“But now that you know, you should come home with us.”
Klin leaned toward Jack. He wasn’t going to forgive Jack, no matter how big Jack’s puppy dog eyes were. “I know nothing. West just has some women’s clothes in his room. Maybe he is keeping them for someone.”
Harry stuck his head in the doorway. “He had makeup too and perfume. They belong to some women and he spends his spare time [going] through it all.”
Maybe he just got off on women’s things. Maybe he was bisexual or something and he didn’t want to say so. Maybe the clothes and stuff belonged to his mother and he sat in the room and remembered her. Only then where were his father’s things? Both his parents had died when he was seventeen. Maybe he just liked his mother more. Or his father’s stuff could be in another room and Klin just hadn’t noticed.
“West didn’t hurt anyone. There has to be some mistake.” Klin pushed away from the desk. “Anyway, the only missing women in the area were girls. None big enough to wear those shoes.”
Harry grinned. “So you looked.”
“To prove you were wrong.”
“Which you can’t because we are right.”
Klin wiped his face. “Why do you hate West so much? You haven’t even met him.”
“We don’t hate him.” Jack pouted. “We are just trying to protect you.”
“From a figment of your imagination? Just go away, will you.”
Harry sighed. “We are leaving tomorrow.”
“Good.” What was Klin going to say when West got home? He owed him an explanation, but every excuse he came up with sounded flimsy. Klin should have done more to corral his brothers.
“You’re coming with us.” Jack nodded.
“No. I’m not.”
“Come on.” Harry patted Jack’s arm.
“But we can’t leave him.”
“He’ll change his mind tomorrow.” The rest of what Harry said didn’t echo back into the library.
Klin wasn’t going to change his mind. But he might need a place to stay until West forgave him. If he ever did.
—
Klin rubbed the sleep from his eyes, but his body refused to wake up properly. He’d woken from nightmares three times last night, so he must have slept a bit. The middle dream was Klin walking into a room of horror like in the old tale, but the first and last were much more real and terrifying. Klin and West were over. West could never trust him again. He didn’t deserve to be trusted.
He tried to wash away the tears, but they stayed obstinately below the surface. He had one day to get his brothers out and come up with some kind of apology. Maybe he should write one. And he had to confess before West found the mess in the room for himself.
Jack and Harry were bright eyed and energetic. They had probably slept like the angels they were pretending to be. Klin picked up the box of his favorite cereal. It was empty. He took a deep breath and counted to ten. “Go home and I’ll just go back to bed and pretend that I was alone in the womb.”
Jack pouted. “Don’t be that way.”
“Why not? You two have ruined my life.” Yet again.
Harry picked up his bowl. “Franklin’s always grumpy when he’s tired.”
Klin rolled his eyes. Harry knew he hated his full name. At least he hadn’t called him Frank. “I have every right to be grumpy. I invited you for a visit and you trash my house.”
“It isn’t your house. And the sooner you move on the better.”
“You haven’t even met him yet. How can you be so judgmental?”
“We aren’t going to met him. You’re kicking us out, remember? What have you got to hide?”
“You.” Klin shoved a handful of cereal he didn’t like into his mouth and chewed the dry stuff slowly. It was gross, but his mouth was too busy to yell. His brothers wouldn’t have listened to him anyway. They never did.
Jack and Harry compared notes and planned out the rest of the day. They hadn’t seen all the local sights.
They invited him along. He declined. Once they were safely on their way, he went back to bed. Maybe he could dream that yesterday hadn’t happened.
—
Klin felt much better when he woke the next time. He wandered into the kitchen. Mrs. Vasquez was frying ham. Klin looked over her shoulder. “Making enough to share?”
Mrs. Vaquez grinned. “Of course. I saw your bowl this morning. Or your lack of a bowl. You will need all the energy you can get now that Mr. Simms is home.”
West was finally home. Oh, no West was home!
“Where are my brothers?”
“They are still gallivanting. I don’t know how you turned out to be such a lovely young man in such a family.”
Klin kissed her cheek. “Thank you. I’m going to find West.”
“He was letting you sleep. I think he went to his room.”
“Thanks.” Klin raced up the stairs. How long had West been home? Had he seen the tremendous mess? He had to have by now.
Klin skidded to a stop outside West’s room. The door was open. West stood among the wreckage looking like an angry Zeus.
He turned to the door. Klin swallowed hard. All the words of his apology evaporated. “I am so sorry. I never wanted to… I told them not to…” Nothing he could say would take them back to being the happy couple they were last week. “I tried…”
“You tried what?” West’s voice had lost its joy. Klin’s heart was dead. He was in love with West. He knew that now. That was why he couldn’t believe horrible things about him. And now that no longer mattered.
“I…” Klin wiped his eyes. “They said you were a monster. But you are the loveliest man I’ve ever known.”
“And this?” West threw out his hands.
“I tried to stop them. Your window wasn’t latched. My brothers…” Klin’s nose was running now. He wiped it on his shoulder. “They… I should never have invited them. I just…”
“Just what?”
“I wanted them to love you as much as I do.” Klin lifted his shirt hem and wiped his eyes.
“You love me? After you saw this?”
Klin lowered the shirt, but his vision was still blurry. “I’ll always love you. I knew there had to be a misunderstanding. My brothers have wild imaginations.”
“What kind of misunderstanding?”
Klin wiped his eyes again. Why wasn’t West happier that Klin believe in him?
“They said…” Klin didn’t want to repeat it. “They said you were Bluebeard and these clothes belong to the women you’d killed.”
“Bluebeard?” West’s laughter rose, bouncing off the corners of the room.
“Because of your beautiful black goatee.”
West laughed again and then he stopped. “But you don’t take me for a murderer?”
“No! They want me to leave with them. But I want to stay with you.” Klin looked at the giant mess. “For as long as you’ll have me.”
He wanted West’s arms around him so badly, but West hadn’t taken a step in his direction.
“Do you want to learn my secret? Then you can decide whether to go with them.”
“I don’t want to go with them.”
“You might.”
Klin wouldn’t.
“Come in and close the door.”
Klin did. He locked it behind him. His brothers were still around somewhere.
West led him to a half bath he hadn’t noticed on his first trip into the room. There West shaved off his beautiful beard. Klin couldn’t help the little whimpers as the hair disappeared.
West’s eyes met his several times in the mirror, but they didn’t show mirth like normal. Klin had ruined everything. He’d never forgive his brothers.
“Which wardrobe?”
Klin looked around. The ones by the door and opposite it had been ransacked and four more had been opened, but one in the corner looked unmolested. Klin stepped up to the door.
West smiled. “Thank you for not picking clothes that had been manhandled.”
West opened the wardrobe and took out a floral print dress and several hat boxes. “Pick one.”
Inside where the kind of hats Klin had only seen in movies set in the South. He took out a big white one with giant flowers that matched the dress. West was sitting at the vanity with makeup spread in front of him and a headband holding his hair back. “Now pick a wig and shoes.”
Klin looked at the wardrobes and then at West. How could he have been so stupid? These were West’s clothes. Klin was as idiotic as his brothers. He picked a dark, long-haired wig and white high heeled sandals. Then he sat down on the floor by West’s vanity and watched him transform. “You are very lovely.”
West grinned with his eyes.
“And I’m not just saying that because I’m in love with you.”
West set down the makeup brush. “That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.”
“Then I’ll say it again. Can the lipstick wait until you’re dressed?”
West eyed him, which was very effective with the eye makeup. “Why?”
“Because I very much want to kiss you, but I’m not partial to the waxy taste.”
“Ever been kissed a man in lipstick?”
“No. But are you sure you want me to smudge you?”
West grinned. “You plan on mussing up my face?”
“I will try to be careful, but I haven’t got much practice with self-control when it comes to you.”
West flashed him a wicked grin over his shoulder. Klin adjusted himself and made sure West noticed. West rolled his eyes, but Klin’s point had been made.
After the makeup was complete, West put on pretty underthings. So this was why West waxed everywhere but his face. The silk stockings slipped on like a dream and Klin planned to see if they slipped off just as easily.
Klin got to fasten the one little pearl button at the back of West’s neck. Then West cinched up his belt. He really did have a nice figure.
The wig, hat, and shoes came last.
West made a massively tall woman, but a beautiful one. “I need the lipstick, honey, to complete my face.”
Klin wrapped his arms around West’s higher than normal shoulders and tried not to mess up her face too much. It wasn’t as satisfying as it could have been, but that could wait until tonight. “Is there a name I should call you when you’re dressed like this?”
“This?” West applied lipstick with a brush. “This is Vanessa. Mrs. Vasquez names all my ladies.”
“She knows?”
Vanessa nodded. “So do several of the men I’ve dated. They always find other places to be after I tell them.”
“But have they seen you? You’re beautiful.”
Vanessa laid her hand on Klin’s. “You are so sweet.”
“Just speaking the truth, ma’am.”
Vanessa laughed. “Did you just ma’am me?”
“I couldn’t help it. I’m taking a beautiful woman to dinner and I’m nervous.”
“And why is that?” Vanessa arched an eyebrow.
“Because I want to go out with her again. It’s the third date, isn’t it, before I can spend the night?”
Vanessa ran her tongue inside her lower lip. “I think you’ll find that I don’t let tradition hold me back.”
Klin adjusted himself again. “You better not keep that up or I’ll never make it through lunch.”
Vanessa laughed again and took Klin’s offered arm. Food awaited and after that, maybe a lazy afternoon in bed.
—
The food was delicious and took the edge off Klin’s hunger, but sitting across the table from Vanessa wasn’t helping his other need. Her flirting only made things worse. He gave as good as he got, but a man could only take so much. He picked up his glass and ran his finger around the top edge. “And do we have plans for this afternoon?”
“We. Do.” Vanessa did that lip licking thing again. Klin might just tolerate lipstick for a taste of that tongue.
“That involves our bedroom?”
Vanessa grinned. “I was thinking more the conservatory under those palms by the widow. I can give you other memories of your favorite spot.”
Klin adjusted himself. His clothes were getting mighty uncomfortable.
“We’ll make it to the bedroom. Eventually.”
Klin stood up. The sooner they got to the conservatory, the sooner West’s big hands would ease his suffering.
Mrs. Vasquez stepped in the door. “Did you want to wait on dessert? The pudding isn’t quite set, but it will be ready in an hour.”
“What terrific timing.” Vanessa looked Klin up. “I think I have something to keep me busy for the next hour or so.”
Klin swallowed hard. Vanessa’s sexy glances were going to be the death of him.
“And Klin dear, I made enough for you brothers although they don’t deserve it.”
Klin’s brothers. Klin better not have to wait until they left to have a few quiet moments with West.
Mrs. Vasquez smiled at him. “I have locked the doors. They will have to ring the bell to get in. Go have fun.”
Vanessa laughed. “If you insist.”
“I do. Shoo, shoo.”
Vanessa took Klin’s arm.
He looked over at his beautiful lover. How would the sex be different? Would West want to change before Klin touched him? Would he still be willing to top sometimes? Maybe when wearing the dress?
Klin hadn’t been living with West very long, but all their loving time had happened in their bedroom or the den. “Do we have supplies?”
Vanessa grinned. “I stowed some in the conservatory bathroom after I saw how much you enjoyed reading there. My entire trip home, I hoped you had fallen asleep under those palms, so I could wake you up.”
She ran her hand down Klin’s ass. Klin froze. His brain no longer worked correctly. “Please.”
Vanessa laughed like West. “Yes, thank you.”
—
The conservatory was warm and humid and he couldn’t lose his clothes fast enough. Making love while West was Vanessa was different, but never for one second did he forget the hands and mouth and cock belonged to West.
After they caught their breaths, West pulled on his dress and went upstairs. Klin stayed where he was. Maybe if he looked needy enough, West would give him another round under the palms. He had been too impatient the first time to strip West bare.
Something bumped the glass. Klin sat up. The something was loud. What could it be? He stood up. Harry held a deck chair and Jack swung another at the glass wall.
Klin yanked on his shorts and raced to the door. He opened it. “What are you idiots trying to do!”
“Klin,” Jack dropped the chair. His puppy dog eyes were full of tears. “Klin, we are in time.”
“In time for what?”
Jack was making even less sense than normal. He bounced to the door like the idiot he was. “We came to save you.”
No sense at all. “Harry, care to explain?”
“We couldn’t get in.”
“Yeah, because the doors were locked.”
“The gate was locked too.” Jack nodded. “We had to climb the fence.”
Klin covered his face. “If you buzzed the gate, Mrs. Vasquez would have let you in.”
“Oh.”
Klin understood Jack not knowing, but Harry was supposedly the evil genius in the family. “Harry.”
“And then the front door was locked.” Jack bounced in place. “And the back door and the one on the side and the other one. Only the pool house was open. I want to swim.”
“Then go swim. Harry and I have something to talk about.”
“No,” Jack said. “We have to save you.”
“From what?”
“From West.” Harry crossed his arms. “He is a very dangerous man.”
A warm hand touched Klin’s back. West. He garter belt showed over his shorts and the top of his thigh high showed below them. He was carrying the dress in his hand. Klin leaned against West. “Darling, these are my two brothers, Harrison and Jackson. Jack is the puppy and Harry has the mullet.”
“It is not a mullet.”
It was a mullet.
West looked them over and turned to Klin. “Triplets?”
“Sadly, yes. But I was born a full thirty-eight hours before Harry, so my birthday is two days before theirs. I celebrate mine on my half-birthday.”
Jack pouted. “He doesn’t like to share.”
“Identical?”
“Thankfully, no. We just look a lot alike.”
Jack pointed at himself then at Harry. “Harry and I are.”
Harry rolled his eyes. “Klin is too. He just doesn’t want to acknowledge it.”
Klin swallowed the ‘am not’ that threatened to burst from his throat. “They think you’re Bluebeard.”
“Don’t tell him that.” Jack stomped a foot. “Now we won’t be able to escape.”
“Escape what?” West leaned out the door. “Did you just use my deck chair as a Frisbee?”
“They are being idiots. Look at West. Take a good look. How can he be Bluebeard?”
Jack frowned. “He doesn’t have a beard.”
Harry sighed. “He doesn’t need a beard to be Bluebeard.”
“Yes, he does. The name isn’t Bluelocks or anything. Klin could be Goldibeard.”
Klin put his hand up to his chin. He was not shaving off his beard for anything.
Harry blew out a breath. “He doesn’t need a beard to act like Bluebeard.”
“How does one act like Bluebeard?” West was taking this very well.
“Bluebeard kept his wives bodies in a room in his house.” Jack nodded.
“And you’ve been to every room in my home. Have you seen any bodies hanging anywhere?”
Harry frowned. “Not bodies per say.”
Jack grinned. “Imagine the smell.”
“But you do have all those dresses.”
West lifted his dress. “If you wanted to borrow one all you had to do was ask.”
Jack put out his hand. West passed the dress over. Jack held it against him chest. “Do you think it’s my size?”
West shrugged. “It fits me.”
Jack pulled it over his head and looked down. “I don’t think this is my color.”
No. While West had been sexy in the dress, Jack looked like he had dug through one of their aunts closets.
“I have others.”
Jack bounced. “The blue sequin one. Please. I promise I won’t snag it on anything or climb a tree in it.”
West laughed. “Sure.”
Jack lunged into the house. Klin backed away quickly. Jack stopped mid bound and pointed at West’s garter belt. “Can I try one of those?”
“You won’t be able to fit in the blue sequin dress without the proper underthings.”
“Yippey!” Jack raced into the rest of the house.
“You don’t have to, you know.” Klin’s brothers were idiots, but they could be idiots elsewhere.
“Someone might as well wear them. I plan on cleaning everything before I wear any of it again.”
“Sorry.”
West brushed his fingers down Klin’s palm. Klin stole a kiss. “You better follow him before he makes even more of a mess.”
West smirked. “Is that possible?”
Klin sighed. “I’m afraid it is.”
He turned to Harry. “And what do you say for yourself?”
Harry shrugged. “I didn’t do anything.”
“Really?”
He had goaded Jack into climbing out onto the roof and opening West’s room. Jack wasn’t smart enough to have thought it up on his own.
“I think maybe you two shouldn’t spend so much time together.”
Harry scowled. “You’re just jealous.”
Of what? He had everything he could ever want right here, right now.
—
Klin went into the kitchen. “Mrs. Vasquez, I think we are going out tonight, so you don’t need to make supper for us.”
Mrs. Vasquez smiled. “All of you together.”
“West is helping Jack dress up and all that work deserves to be shown off.”
She smiled wider. “How cute. I want a picture.”
Klin’s parents wanted one too, especially after they heard that Jack didn’t act half so stupid when dressed up as Marilyn. Maybe all he’d wanted is undivided attention and he made a pretty impressive woman, with West’s help. He spent most of the evening on the dance floor, much to Harry’s annoyance, and was the life of the party at the table.
But West’s Genevieve was the loveliest woman Klin had ever seen. And he proved it that night in bed.
Status: Complete
Genre: Fairytale, modern day, m/m, family
Rating: R
Length: about 5,300 words
Summary: Klin's brother's think his boyfriend is a modern day Bluebeard. They can't be right, but why does West have a locked room full of women's clothes?
Dedication: For all those who also hated this story as a kid.
Klin opened the French door with a flourish. “And this is the conservatory. Who would have thought I’d live in a place with a conservatory?”
Jack frowned. “It looks like a greenhouse to me.”
Harry slapped Jack’s back. “That’s what a conservatory is.”
“Then why not call it a greenhouse?”
Klin sighed. He should have known his brothers wouldn’t be impressed.“It’s part of the house, not a separate building. And West calls it a conservatory.”
“But plants, why plants?”
The conservatory was Klin’s favorite room. He brought in books from the library and read them beneath the palm frond. “Let’s go to the pool.”
Jack’s eyes widened. “You have a pool?”
Harry rolled his eyes. “If he’s got a conservatory, he has to have a pool.”
His brothers ran back to their rooms and then Klin led them to the pool house. He opened several of the French doors to let the breeze in. He wasn’t a pool person himself, but his brothers whooped and splashed and generally made fools of themselves. But they also used up a lot of energy. Maybe he wouldn’t have to entertain them all evening.
Three more days until West got home. They couldn’t pass by soon enough.
—
“You’ll never guess.”
Klin looked up from his book. Jack was dripping water all over the hardwood floor. The hallway must be even worse. Harry, at least, had a towel.
“Guess what?” Klin slipped a bookmark into place and set his book aside. Where was the closest bathroom? The one off the library would at least have hand towels. Klin didn’t want to leave too much of a mess for the housekeeper.
Harry rubbed his towel through his hair. “How well do you know West?”
“Well, enough to live with him.” Klin hadn’t been looking for a relationship the night he’d met West, but West’s gorgeous blue eyes, hair so black that it looked deep blue, and tall strong body broke though his defenses. And being romanced as if Klin was the most gorgeous person in the room, when he knew for a fact he was the homeliest of his handsome friends, had crumbled the last of his resistance.
He never would have thought he’d move in with a boyfriend, especially so early in their relationship, but both he and West worked odd days and hours and in order to spend as much time together as they could, Klin had moved into West’s big, beautiful home.
“But how well?”
“Do you know,” Jack took the offered towel, but didn’t attempt to stop the drips, “that women have gone missing?”
“In the neighborhood?” Klin hadn’t heard anything about that. But then he hadn’t spent much time out of the house. He was between jobs at the moment and resting up before his next series of sixty to eighty hour weeks.
“No.” Harry balled up his towel. “In this house.”
Klin hadn’t seen any sign of feminine things in any of the rooms he’s been in. “What does Mrs. Vasquez say?”
Jack sat down on an upholstered chair without even pretending to dry his swim shorts. “She’s says the neighbors are jealous of West’s success.”
“She would know.” Lots of people were probably jealous. West had started with a tiny nest egg at eighteen and a dozen years later he lived better than anyone Klin knew. He gave away more every year than Klin made.
“She could be protecting him.” Harry tossed his towel at Jack. “She’s been his housekeeper for a long time. She’d lose her little house at the back of the property if he went to jail.”
“He hasn’t done anything worth going to jail.”
Jack dried his hair. “How do you know?”
Klin trusted West with his body and with his heart. West wasn’t a bad guy. Why couldn’t Klin’s brothers just trust his judgment? “Ok, what are their names?”
“Whose names?” Jack finally stood up. The chair would never be the same.
Klin rolled his eyes. “The missing women.”
“No one knows.” Harry shrugged.
“Then how does anyone know women are missing?”
“They see them drive in and never see them drive out.”
“That means nothing.” Klin had only been out of the gates once since his last job ended and that was to welcome his brothers yesterday. “Do people watch the gate in shifts?”
Jack bounced. “But they see West driving the women’s cars.”
“Maybe they saw the women driving his cars. If the women exist at all.” If only West was here he could put this crazy story to rest. “Let’s visit the garage. After you change your clothes.”
Maybe Harry and Jack would be distracted by the cars. Klin wasn’t a car man himself, but he was pretty sure most the ones in the garage were older than his parents.
“A model T!” Jack slid into the driver’s seat and pretended to drive, complete with motor noise. Harry chose a long convertible and riffled through the glove box. Klin closed his eyes. His brothers were so embarrassing.
They each messed with all of the cars on both floors of the garage. Jack bounced to Klin. “I’ve got to try one of them. Please.”
“They are not my cars. Ask West when he gets home the day after tomorrow.”
“Please. Just around the drive way.”
“No.”
Jack frowned. “Come on.”
Harry crossed his arms. “These are all registered to Weston Avery Simms.”
“Why wouldn’t they be? They all belong to West.”
“But the neighbors said—”
“The cars belong to West. The women are figments of someone overactive imagination.”
West had dated women in the past, but not since coming out six years ago. The house was only five years old. Maybe an ex or two had come by, but that didn’t give people leave to start rumors.
“Nine. Nine women disappeared in this house. Nine cars in the garage.”
“Ten cars.” Jack grinned. “If you count Klin’s clunker.”
“Hey, my car works just fine.” A car’s job was to take him where he needed to go when he needed to. Everything else was just frosting and Klin preferred his cakes plain.
“Did you find the keys?” Jack nudged Harry’s arm. “Can we take a spin? Or nine?”
Maybe having them wear off a little of their weirdness before West arrived home was a good thing.
—
Jack stepped in front of the TV. “Guess what.”
Klin hit pause and sighed. Jack and Harry had entertained themselves quietly for almost an hour. Mom would have said they were getting into trouble. She was almost always right.
“What?”
“You know that room West doesn’t want you in?”
Klin stood up and hurried to the stairs. “You two didn’t force the door or anything? Idiots.”
West had one room in the whole of his giant mansion he didn’t want Klin inside. Klin respected that. He’d given Klin a room for the same purpose, one West wouldn’t enter. Klin rarely used it. During the short hours Klin and West were together, Kin wanted to spend them together. And since West didn’t hole himself up in his room while Klin was home, Klin had nothing to complain about. They slept together and ate together and the bathroom was big enough to take bubble baths together. Klin definitely could have used a bit of space growing up that his brothers never intruded on.
Klin took the last set of steps two at a time, but when he got to the door it was still locked. He breathed a sigh of relief.
Harry leaned on the door down the hall. “Did you know this room has a dormer window that lets out onto the roof? You can walk across to that room’s window.” He pointed at West’s door. “It doesn’t seem to be latched.”
Jack laughed, but the noise was coming through West’s door. “It isn’t latched.”
Klin covered his face. Would West believe he had nothing to do with his brother’s trespassing on West’s sacred space? Klin should have never invited them over.
The knob moved and the door opened. “Voilà.” Jack grinned. “It was unlocked on the inside.”
“Of course it was.” Klin’s brothers were idiots.
“And look.” Harry pointed in the doorway. “Nine wardrobes.”
“That means nothing!”
“No,” said Harry. “That means we were right.”
“No it doesn’t.” Klin rushed into the room and threw his weight against the wardrobe door Jack was opening.
Jack sidestepped him and opened the wardrobe next door. “See. Women’s clothes.”
His brother’s had been in this room for that last quiet hour. The drawer Harry yanked open was ransacked. West always kept his clothes neatly folded.
Jack took a sequined dress out and held it against him. “This could almost fit me.”
Whoever the woman was, she hadn’t been some sweet little thing.
“And look.” Harry held up a pair of pumps like their mother wore, only in a larger size. “These clothes don’t match the ones in that wardrobe. Each wardrobe has its own style of clothing.”
“No pants though. Lots of dresses. And dainty underthings.” Jack held up a garter belt.
Klin took a deep breath. Harry and Jack had destroyed the room. Even if he spent every moment until West came back cleaning up, he could never erase their presence and the longer they stayed in here the worse mess they made. “Out!”
He yanked the silk stocking from Jack’s hands, tossed it onto the floor, and pushed Jack toward the door. “Out!”
Harry held up his hands and sauntered from the room. Jack required one more push. Klin locked the door and pulled it shut behind him. Then he did the same to the other room’s door. He had betrayed West’s trust in him.
Harry crossed his arms. “See, we were right.”
“I see nothing.”
“What reason could West possibly have for women’s clothes unless they were some kind of souvenirs?” Harry glanced at the door on the opposite side of the [stair balcony]. Klin hurried around the [stair balcony] and locked the room facing the back of the house.
This whole thing had probably been Harry’s idea. He’s talked Jack into it. Klin hated both of them right now. “Go downstairs.”
“We were right.” Jack leaned on the rail. “He’s Bluebeard.”
“He is not!” Klin loved West’s beautiful dark beard.
“He is. He got rid of the bodies, but he kept all the clothes.”
Klin pointed to the stairs. “Get out of my sight!”
“We were right.” Jack hopped down the stairs as if he hadn’t just ripped out Klin’s heart.
Harry followed him down in a more solemn manner. “Someday you’ll thank us.”
Klin would never thank them even if West really had murdered nine women. Klin had been so happy. Ignorance really was bliss.
—
The shower hadn’t cleaned any of the dirty feeling from his skin. He refused to believe that West would hurt anyone, but he still found himself surfing the internet for news of missing women. He hated himself for that.
Jack bounced in the room. “Sorry.”
“You aren’t.”
“I shouldn’t have gone into the room.”
“You shouldn’t have.”
“But now that you know, you should come home with us.”
Klin leaned toward Jack. He wasn’t going to forgive Jack, no matter how big Jack’s puppy dog eyes were. “I know nothing. West just has some women’s clothes in his room. Maybe he is keeping them for someone.”
Harry stuck his head in the doorway. “He had makeup too and perfume. They belong to some women and he spends his spare time [going] through it all.”
Maybe he just got off on women’s things. Maybe he was bisexual or something and he didn’t want to say so. Maybe the clothes and stuff belonged to his mother and he sat in the room and remembered her. Only then where were his father’s things? Both his parents had died when he was seventeen. Maybe he just liked his mother more. Or his father’s stuff could be in another room and Klin just hadn’t noticed.
“West didn’t hurt anyone. There has to be some mistake.” Klin pushed away from the desk. “Anyway, the only missing women in the area were girls. None big enough to wear those shoes.”
Harry grinned. “So you looked.”
“To prove you were wrong.”
“Which you can’t because we are right.”
Klin wiped his face. “Why do you hate West so much? You haven’t even met him.”
“We don’t hate him.” Jack pouted. “We are just trying to protect you.”
“From a figment of your imagination? Just go away, will you.”
Harry sighed. “We are leaving tomorrow.”
“Good.” What was Klin going to say when West got home? He owed him an explanation, but every excuse he came up with sounded flimsy. Klin should have done more to corral his brothers.
“You’re coming with us.” Jack nodded.
“No. I’m not.”
“Come on.” Harry patted Jack’s arm.
“But we can’t leave him.”
“He’ll change his mind tomorrow.” The rest of what Harry said didn’t echo back into the library.
Klin wasn’t going to change his mind. But he might need a place to stay until West forgave him. If he ever did.
—
Klin rubbed the sleep from his eyes, but his body refused to wake up properly. He’d woken from nightmares three times last night, so he must have slept a bit. The middle dream was Klin walking into a room of horror like in the old tale, but the first and last were much more real and terrifying. Klin and West were over. West could never trust him again. He didn’t deserve to be trusted.
He tried to wash away the tears, but they stayed obstinately below the surface. He had one day to get his brothers out and come up with some kind of apology. Maybe he should write one. And he had to confess before West found the mess in the room for himself.
Jack and Harry were bright eyed and energetic. They had probably slept like the angels they were pretending to be. Klin picked up the box of his favorite cereal. It was empty. He took a deep breath and counted to ten. “Go home and I’ll just go back to bed and pretend that I was alone in the womb.”
Jack pouted. “Don’t be that way.”
“Why not? You two have ruined my life.” Yet again.
Harry picked up his bowl. “Franklin’s always grumpy when he’s tired.”
Klin rolled his eyes. Harry knew he hated his full name. At least he hadn’t called him Frank. “I have every right to be grumpy. I invited you for a visit and you trash my house.”
“It isn’t your house. And the sooner you move on the better.”
“You haven’t even met him yet. How can you be so judgmental?”
“We aren’t going to met him. You’re kicking us out, remember? What have you got to hide?”
“You.” Klin shoved a handful of cereal he didn’t like into his mouth and chewed the dry stuff slowly. It was gross, but his mouth was too busy to yell. His brothers wouldn’t have listened to him anyway. They never did.
Jack and Harry compared notes and planned out the rest of the day. They hadn’t seen all the local sights.
They invited him along. He declined. Once they were safely on their way, he went back to bed. Maybe he could dream that yesterday hadn’t happened.
—
Klin felt much better when he woke the next time. He wandered into the kitchen. Mrs. Vasquez was frying ham. Klin looked over her shoulder. “Making enough to share?”
Mrs. Vaquez grinned. “Of course. I saw your bowl this morning. Or your lack of a bowl. You will need all the energy you can get now that Mr. Simms is home.”
West was finally home. Oh, no West was home!
“Where are my brothers?”
“They are still gallivanting. I don’t know how you turned out to be such a lovely young man in such a family.”
Klin kissed her cheek. “Thank you. I’m going to find West.”
“He was letting you sleep. I think he went to his room.”
“Thanks.” Klin raced up the stairs. How long had West been home? Had he seen the tremendous mess? He had to have by now.
Klin skidded to a stop outside West’s room. The door was open. West stood among the wreckage looking like an angry Zeus.
He turned to the door. Klin swallowed hard. All the words of his apology evaporated. “I am so sorry. I never wanted to… I told them not to…” Nothing he could say would take them back to being the happy couple they were last week. “I tried…”
“You tried what?” West’s voice had lost its joy. Klin’s heart was dead. He was in love with West. He knew that now. That was why he couldn’t believe horrible things about him. And now that no longer mattered.
“I…” Klin wiped his eyes. “They said you were a monster. But you are the loveliest man I’ve ever known.”
“And this?” West threw out his hands.
“I tried to stop them. Your window wasn’t latched. My brothers…” Klin’s nose was running now. He wiped it on his shoulder. “They… I should never have invited them. I just…”
“Just what?”
“I wanted them to love you as much as I do.” Klin lifted his shirt hem and wiped his eyes.
“You love me? After you saw this?”
Klin lowered the shirt, but his vision was still blurry. “I’ll always love you. I knew there had to be a misunderstanding. My brothers have wild imaginations.”
“What kind of misunderstanding?”
Klin wiped his eyes again. Why wasn’t West happier that Klin believe in him?
“They said…” Klin didn’t want to repeat it. “They said you were Bluebeard and these clothes belong to the women you’d killed.”
“Bluebeard?” West’s laughter rose, bouncing off the corners of the room.
“Because of your beautiful black goatee.”
West laughed again and then he stopped. “But you don’t take me for a murderer?”
“No! They want me to leave with them. But I want to stay with you.” Klin looked at the giant mess. “For as long as you’ll have me.”
He wanted West’s arms around him so badly, but West hadn’t taken a step in his direction.
“Do you want to learn my secret? Then you can decide whether to go with them.”
“I don’t want to go with them.”
“You might.”
Klin wouldn’t.
“Come in and close the door.”
Klin did. He locked it behind him. His brothers were still around somewhere.
West led him to a half bath he hadn’t noticed on his first trip into the room. There West shaved off his beautiful beard. Klin couldn’t help the little whimpers as the hair disappeared.
West’s eyes met his several times in the mirror, but they didn’t show mirth like normal. Klin had ruined everything. He’d never forgive his brothers.
“Which wardrobe?”
Klin looked around. The ones by the door and opposite it had been ransacked and four more had been opened, but one in the corner looked unmolested. Klin stepped up to the door.
West smiled. “Thank you for not picking clothes that had been manhandled.”
West opened the wardrobe and took out a floral print dress and several hat boxes. “Pick one.”
Inside where the kind of hats Klin had only seen in movies set in the South. He took out a big white one with giant flowers that matched the dress. West was sitting at the vanity with makeup spread in front of him and a headband holding his hair back. “Now pick a wig and shoes.”
Klin looked at the wardrobes and then at West. How could he have been so stupid? These were West’s clothes. Klin was as idiotic as his brothers. He picked a dark, long-haired wig and white high heeled sandals. Then he sat down on the floor by West’s vanity and watched him transform. “You are very lovely.”
West grinned with his eyes.
“And I’m not just saying that because I’m in love with you.”
West set down the makeup brush. “That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.”
“Then I’ll say it again. Can the lipstick wait until you’re dressed?”
West eyed him, which was very effective with the eye makeup. “Why?”
“Because I very much want to kiss you, but I’m not partial to the waxy taste.”
“Ever been kissed a man in lipstick?”
“No. But are you sure you want me to smudge you?”
West grinned. “You plan on mussing up my face?”
“I will try to be careful, but I haven’t got much practice with self-control when it comes to you.”
West flashed him a wicked grin over his shoulder. Klin adjusted himself and made sure West noticed. West rolled his eyes, but Klin’s point had been made.
After the makeup was complete, West put on pretty underthings. So this was why West waxed everywhere but his face. The silk stockings slipped on like a dream and Klin planned to see if they slipped off just as easily.
Klin got to fasten the one little pearl button at the back of West’s neck. Then West cinched up his belt. He really did have a nice figure.
The wig, hat, and shoes came last.
West made a massively tall woman, but a beautiful one. “I need the lipstick, honey, to complete my face.”
Klin wrapped his arms around West’s higher than normal shoulders and tried not to mess up her face too much. It wasn’t as satisfying as it could have been, but that could wait until tonight. “Is there a name I should call you when you’re dressed like this?”
“This?” West applied lipstick with a brush. “This is Vanessa. Mrs. Vasquez names all my ladies.”
“She knows?”
Vanessa nodded. “So do several of the men I’ve dated. They always find other places to be after I tell them.”
“But have they seen you? You’re beautiful.”
Vanessa laid her hand on Klin’s. “You are so sweet.”
“Just speaking the truth, ma’am.”
Vanessa laughed. “Did you just ma’am me?”
“I couldn’t help it. I’m taking a beautiful woman to dinner and I’m nervous.”
“And why is that?” Vanessa arched an eyebrow.
“Because I want to go out with her again. It’s the third date, isn’t it, before I can spend the night?”
Vanessa ran her tongue inside her lower lip. “I think you’ll find that I don’t let tradition hold me back.”
Klin adjusted himself again. “You better not keep that up or I’ll never make it through lunch.”
Vanessa laughed again and took Klin’s offered arm. Food awaited and after that, maybe a lazy afternoon in bed.
—
The food was delicious and took the edge off Klin’s hunger, but sitting across the table from Vanessa wasn’t helping his other need. Her flirting only made things worse. He gave as good as he got, but a man could only take so much. He picked up his glass and ran his finger around the top edge. “And do we have plans for this afternoon?”
“We. Do.” Vanessa did that lip licking thing again. Klin might just tolerate lipstick for a taste of that tongue.
“That involves our bedroom?”
Vanessa grinned. “I was thinking more the conservatory under those palms by the widow. I can give you other memories of your favorite spot.”
Klin adjusted himself. His clothes were getting mighty uncomfortable.
“We’ll make it to the bedroom. Eventually.”
Klin stood up. The sooner they got to the conservatory, the sooner West’s big hands would ease his suffering.
Mrs. Vasquez stepped in the door. “Did you want to wait on dessert? The pudding isn’t quite set, but it will be ready in an hour.”
“What terrific timing.” Vanessa looked Klin up. “I think I have something to keep me busy for the next hour or so.”
Klin swallowed hard. Vanessa’s sexy glances were going to be the death of him.
“And Klin dear, I made enough for you brothers although they don’t deserve it.”
Klin’s brothers. Klin better not have to wait until they left to have a few quiet moments with West.
Mrs. Vasquez smiled at him. “I have locked the doors. They will have to ring the bell to get in. Go have fun.”
Vanessa laughed. “If you insist.”
“I do. Shoo, shoo.”
Vanessa took Klin’s arm.
He looked over at his beautiful lover. How would the sex be different? Would West want to change before Klin touched him? Would he still be willing to top sometimes? Maybe when wearing the dress?
Klin hadn’t been living with West very long, but all their loving time had happened in their bedroom or the den. “Do we have supplies?”
Vanessa grinned. “I stowed some in the conservatory bathroom after I saw how much you enjoyed reading there. My entire trip home, I hoped you had fallen asleep under those palms, so I could wake you up.”
She ran her hand down Klin’s ass. Klin froze. His brain no longer worked correctly. “Please.”
Vanessa laughed like West. “Yes, thank you.”
—
The conservatory was warm and humid and he couldn’t lose his clothes fast enough. Making love while West was Vanessa was different, but never for one second did he forget the hands and mouth and cock belonged to West.
After they caught their breaths, West pulled on his dress and went upstairs. Klin stayed where he was. Maybe if he looked needy enough, West would give him another round under the palms. He had been too impatient the first time to strip West bare.
Something bumped the glass. Klin sat up. The something was loud. What could it be? He stood up. Harry held a deck chair and Jack swung another at the glass wall.
Klin yanked on his shorts and raced to the door. He opened it. “What are you idiots trying to do!”
“Klin,” Jack dropped the chair. His puppy dog eyes were full of tears. “Klin, we are in time.”
“In time for what?”
Jack was making even less sense than normal. He bounced to the door like the idiot he was. “We came to save you.”
No sense at all. “Harry, care to explain?”
“We couldn’t get in.”
“Yeah, because the doors were locked.”
“The gate was locked too.” Jack nodded. “We had to climb the fence.”
Klin covered his face. “If you buzzed the gate, Mrs. Vasquez would have let you in.”
“Oh.”
Klin understood Jack not knowing, but Harry was supposedly the evil genius in the family. “Harry.”
“And then the front door was locked.” Jack bounced in place. “And the back door and the one on the side and the other one. Only the pool house was open. I want to swim.”
“Then go swim. Harry and I have something to talk about.”
“No,” Jack said. “We have to save you.”
“From what?”
“From West.” Harry crossed his arms. “He is a very dangerous man.”
A warm hand touched Klin’s back. West. He garter belt showed over his shorts and the top of his thigh high showed below them. He was carrying the dress in his hand. Klin leaned against West. “Darling, these are my two brothers, Harrison and Jackson. Jack is the puppy and Harry has the mullet.”
“It is not a mullet.”
It was a mullet.
West looked them over and turned to Klin. “Triplets?”
“Sadly, yes. But I was born a full thirty-eight hours before Harry, so my birthday is two days before theirs. I celebrate mine on my half-birthday.”
Jack pouted. “He doesn’t like to share.”
“Identical?”
“Thankfully, no. We just look a lot alike.”
Jack pointed at himself then at Harry. “Harry and I are.”
Harry rolled his eyes. “Klin is too. He just doesn’t want to acknowledge it.”
Klin swallowed the ‘am not’ that threatened to burst from his throat. “They think you’re Bluebeard.”
“Don’t tell him that.” Jack stomped a foot. “Now we won’t be able to escape.”
“Escape what?” West leaned out the door. “Did you just use my deck chair as a Frisbee?”
“They are being idiots. Look at West. Take a good look. How can he be Bluebeard?”
Jack frowned. “He doesn’t have a beard.”
Harry sighed. “He doesn’t need a beard to be Bluebeard.”
“Yes, he does. The name isn’t Bluelocks or anything. Klin could be Goldibeard.”
Klin put his hand up to his chin. He was not shaving off his beard for anything.
Harry blew out a breath. “He doesn’t need a beard to act like Bluebeard.”
“How does one act like Bluebeard?” West was taking this very well.
“Bluebeard kept his wives bodies in a room in his house.” Jack nodded.
“And you’ve been to every room in my home. Have you seen any bodies hanging anywhere?”
Harry frowned. “Not bodies per say.”
Jack grinned. “Imagine the smell.”
“But you do have all those dresses.”
West lifted his dress. “If you wanted to borrow one all you had to do was ask.”
Jack put out his hand. West passed the dress over. Jack held it against him chest. “Do you think it’s my size?”
West shrugged. “It fits me.”
Jack pulled it over his head and looked down. “I don’t think this is my color.”
No. While West had been sexy in the dress, Jack looked like he had dug through one of their aunts closets.
“I have others.”
Jack bounced. “The blue sequin one. Please. I promise I won’t snag it on anything or climb a tree in it.”
West laughed. “Sure.”
Jack lunged into the house. Klin backed away quickly. Jack stopped mid bound and pointed at West’s garter belt. “Can I try one of those?”
“You won’t be able to fit in the blue sequin dress without the proper underthings.”
“Yippey!” Jack raced into the rest of the house.
“You don’t have to, you know.” Klin’s brothers were idiots, but they could be idiots elsewhere.
“Someone might as well wear them. I plan on cleaning everything before I wear any of it again.”
“Sorry.”
West brushed his fingers down Klin’s palm. Klin stole a kiss. “You better follow him before he makes even more of a mess.”
West smirked. “Is that possible?”
Klin sighed. “I’m afraid it is.”
He turned to Harry. “And what do you say for yourself?”
Harry shrugged. “I didn’t do anything.”
“Really?”
He had goaded Jack into climbing out onto the roof and opening West’s room. Jack wasn’t smart enough to have thought it up on his own.
“I think maybe you two shouldn’t spend so much time together.”
Harry scowled. “You’re just jealous.”
Of what? He had everything he could ever want right here, right now.
—
Klin went into the kitchen. “Mrs. Vasquez, I think we are going out tonight, so you don’t need to make supper for us.”
Mrs. Vasquez smiled. “All of you together.”
“West is helping Jack dress up and all that work deserves to be shown off.”
She smiled wider. “How cute. I want a picture.”
Klin’s parents wanted one too, especially after they heard that Jack didn’t act half so stupid when dressed up as Marilyn. Maybe all he’d wanted is undivided attention and he made a pretty impressive woman, with West’s help. He spent most of the evening on the dance floor, much to Harry’s annoyance, and was the life of the party at the table.
But West’s Genevieve was the loveliest woman Klin had ever seen. And he proved it that night in bed.