It’s Saturday and, with only one week until our inspection, my brothers, David, Dakota, Ryan, and I are finishing work on the gym. It’s nice of Ryan and Dakota to help us out. As well as Trey and David. To have such a supportive group of people makes me feel so lucky. All our equipment has arrived, and today we’re positioning them, putting them together, and cleaning up. Travis and I handed in our notice at Andy’s a week ago, so this week is our last. As we’re working full time, our goal is to do as much as we can today so we’ll only need to make the finishing touches during the week. The sight of Ryan, bent over and setting up a cross trainer, is most distracting. The hard work has caused us all to sweat. As he stands, Ryan grins at me. His flushed cheeks, vibrant chocolate eyes, and plump lips call to me.
Striding over to him, I take his face in my hands and kiss him enthusiastically. There’s a few wolf whistles and cheers as I focus on him. On his lips. On his tongue. I need to show him every day how much he means to me. Sure, not every day will be perfect; there will be ups and downs, but this man makes me happy every day. Every day I have with him will be a blessing. He makes me so fucking happy. Pulling his head back, I whisper against his lips. “I love you, Ryan.”
He gives me a pearly white smile. “I love you too, Henry.”
“What say tonight we go out for dinner? Maybe see a movie?”
“Mr Bromley,” he teases, leaning forward to kiss my cheek. “Are you asking me out on a date?”
I chuckle. “Yes, I am.”
“Well then, yes. I’d love to go out with you.” We kiss again, Ryan handing me the reins and letting me control it.
“All right, lovebirds!” Travis says loudly. “If you wanna go out on your date, we still have work to do.”
“Aw.” Dakota grins. “Leave them alone. They’re so cute.”
Trav smiles, shakes his head, and gets back to work.
“You know he’s right,” Ryan says.
“Yeah.” I sigh and Ryan laughs. Pecking him once more, I break away and get stuck back into it.
* * *
On Monday, I’m waiting at home. It’s a quarter past five, and Ryan is due from work any minute. I give the place a tidy up and start work on dinner. When I’ve put the pastry, vegetables, and cheese all together, I put the vegetarian lasagne in the oven. Checking the time and seeing its six o’clock, I pick up my phone to call Ryan. It usually only takes him fifteen to twenty minutes from work and I’m worried. Even more so when he doesn’t answer. Ten minutes later, he walks through the door.
I turn. “Hey, where were you?”
Ryan reaches his hand to the back of his neck and sighs. “I got a phone call after work.” He looks exhausted as he throws his bag on the couch. “It was Ashley.”
I step closer to him, a hand on his hip and the other his cheek. “The detective? What did she say?”
“She asked me to come in to the station tomorrow to speak to the prosecutor for Luke’s trial. Said I’m to be in court to testify on Wednesday.”
“Shit. Okay.” I give him a hug. “I’ll see if I can get someone to cover me for Wednesday, but I can’t get both days off. Not on my last week.” We move to sit at the table. “Will you be okay going tomorrow?”
He nods. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll be all right.”
“I wish I could go with you. What about David?” When he shakes his head, I grip onto his hand. “Baby, it might be good for you to tell him. Besides me, it might help you to have your best friend know. I can’t say I know how it feels. But if something serious happened to me, although I might not like it, I’d tell some close people. It helps sometimes to get it out. Like, the more you talk about it, the less control it has over you.”
Ryan nods slowly. “That’s how it felt when I told you. Like, I was setting free this dark secret that had clogged up my head so much. Like a weight fell from my shoulders.”
I kiss the back of his hand. “And you know how David will react. He’ll be angry, upset, and confused. And, he may be hurt and upset you didn’t tell him earlier, but you just tell him you weren’t ready. Because, darling, as your best friend, maybe it’ll be good for you to speak about it to him. To have someone other than me know. You two are close, and this knowledge will only bring you closer.”
He drops his head. “I’m embarrassed.”
“You have nothing to be embarrassed about. I know it’s hard, but switch it around. If David told you this about himself, should he feel embarrassed?”
“No.”
“Should he feel weak?”
“No.”
“Should you?”
Ryan sighs. “No, Sir.”
I hold his face and kiss his lips. “It’s completely up to you. But I’d feel better if you didn’t go alone. Or if not, we can meet up for lunch afterwards.”
He thinks for a moment, before saying, “I’m going to tell him. I feel like I should tell him face-to-face, but… if he’s going to come with me tomorrow, he needs to know why. And… although I want to ask him not to tell Trey, I feel like he’ll need someone to talk to about it as well.”
An idea forms inside my head. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. As long as it stops with the four of us, it’s okay.”
“How about you call him? See if they can both come over for dinner?” I check the time. “I have lasagne in the oven. Dinner would be ready in twenty.”
“Vegetarian?”
“Yes.”
“Yum.” Ryan stands and collects his phone. “Okay, I’ll call him.”
A few minutes later, he tells me they’re on their way. “They were just about to order in, because they couldn’t be bothered cooking.”
Pecking him on the cheek, I tell him to freshen up. “You’re sure?”
“Yes, Sir.” After hugging me close, he heads for the shower.
* * *
David groans as he sits back into his chair. “Wow, Henry that was delicious.”
Ryan places his hand on mine. “He’s right, baby. Was really good.”
“You’ve outdone yourself,” my brother agrees.
I tilt my beer bottle, finishing my drink with a sip. “Thanks, guys.”
“So,” Ryan speaks up. “There’s a reason we asked you two over.” I turn our hands and grasp his firmly. “When we spoke on the phone, you said you’re not working tomorrow?” he asks David.
Trey’s fiancé looks to my brother and myself before returning his focus to his best friend. “Yes.”
“Okay, so, I have somewhere I need to go tomorrow, and I’m hoping you can come with me… for support.”
Trey bites his lip. I can tell he wants to speak, but he holds himself back.
“Of course,” David says.
Ryan nods. “See, um… I don’t really know how to say this to you. And I’m telling the both of you, but no one else.”
“Of course,” Trey repeats his fiancé’s words. “Whatever it is you’re about to tell us, doesn’t leave this room.”
“Thank you.” Ryan lifts his head and meets David’s gaze. “The guy I was with, in Melbourne. Luke. He um… well. He… forced himself on me.” Trey gasps and David shakes his head. “See, I was… raped. But I didn’t know what to do. I had a friend over there though. I didn’t tell him everything but he knew some of it. He helped me out for a couple of weeks, and I’m thankful for that. But I was too scared to do anything else.” Ryan sighs. “He told me his name was Luke King. It turns out he’s done this to a few people.” He looks to David. “When I said we were seeing each other, we saw each other very rarely. Whenever he called, we’d meet up at a hotel room. I never heard from him again after the last time.”
Both Trey and David are speechless, and Ryan looks to me. I clear my throat. “This happened almost a year ago now, but after we bumped into him at Travis’s birthday, we went to the police and made a complaint.”
“It was that guy?” David asks. “The one you were talking to and he ran off?”
Ryan replies, “Yes. To Lisa, he was known as Lucas Prince. We spoke to her briefly on the phone as we had to explain our behaviour. But all she knows is that he and I have a history. It must’ve spooked him when he saw us, because he hasn’t been in touch with her since.”
“Wait.” David pushes his chair back and stands. We all watch silently as he paces. “He… he…” He stops to face Ryan. “Why didn’t you tell me before now?”
He lowers his head. “I wasn’t ready. I’m sorry.”
I’m about to speak up, when David curses. “Don’t apologise! I just… it’s just…. Fuck!” He strides over to Ryan, who stands. He starts to speak when David grabs him. He hugs my man close to him as my brother and I share a small smile over the table. “I’m sorry,” David murmurs just loud enough for us to hear. “I should’ve been there for you.”
With his head resting on David’s shoulder, I can see Ryan’s tears. “You’re here for me now.” After a few moments, they pull back. Trey stands and embraces Ryan afterwards, whispering into his ear. After Ryan nods, they return to their seats. Taking my pup’s hand once again, I turn to David. “Ryan’s wondering if you’ll take him to the police station tomorrow,” I say. “There’s a criminal trial, and he’s testifying against Luke on Wednesday.”
“They want to hash over what I’m going to say,” Ryan tells him. “The detective and the prosecutor.”
David nods. “Of course I’ll go with you.”
“Thanks. But, I just want you to be prepared. You might hear more than you want to. It might be… uncomfortable.”
He shakes his head and says he’s going.
As I stand to clear the table, I’m grateful for the connection Ryan has with David. “I’m hoping to get Wednesday off work in order to go with him to court. It sounds like an open and shut case. They have several witnesses who have made complaints, and another detective who’s been trying to track him down.”
Ryan helps me. “I’m only going to court on Wednesday. I’ve asked Detective Brown to let me know the outcome.”
“What time do you have to be at the station?” David asks.
“Eleven.” He meets my eyes. “I forgot to tell you; I’ve messaged work, and they know I’m not coming in the next couple days.”
“Good.” I want to add “pup,” but we have guests. Ryan smiles as though he hears it though. In the kitchen, I wrap my arms around him. “So proud of you, pup,” I whisper.
“Thank you. You make me strong, Sir.” The love shining through his eyes shows me the truth of his words.