He had never been more relieved to see a Chinese restaurant in his life!
His legs felt bowed and his thighs were sore as he clicked his knees and popped the helmet off his head. His ears were ringing. Lucas took them helmet from him, slicking his own hair into its usual style. Cavan felt a little envious. Lucas took the helmets and beckoned for Cavan to follow him inside. It was right then that the nerves hit him threefold; he was nervous about meetings Lucas’s friends … again. Now that they had more time to focus on him, he suddenly felt terrified!
The warmth of the restaurant hit him in a wave of rice, alcohol and peanut sauce! His gut growled in appreciation. Lucas hung their helmets up on the coat hooks by the door and took his and Cavan’s jackets off.
“Come on, they should be at a booth, according to Bonnie.”
Cavan nodded mutely, following Lucas as the older man wove his way between the tables. He spotted Bonnie’s red hair first.
“Cavan! Lucas! You made it!”
Other faces turned towards them. They were all grinning up at them. Lucas was the first to speak. “Are you gonna move up for us or what?” he grunted.
Cavan bit back his amusement as he watched them shuffle up the large booth to make more space. He slipped in on the end with Lucas trapped between him and Eleanor. “How did you guys get here?” Fletcher asked as they slipped two menus over the table. Cavan scanned his but Lucas didn’t even pick his up off the table. Cavan wouldn’t be surprised if the man had the entire thing memorised.
“We took the bike.”
“Really?” Eleanor grinned wickedly over at Cavan. “Did he fire your engines up?”
Cavan felt his cheeks burn up. Lucas jabbed Eleanor sharply in the ribs. “Shut your mouth, frizz-face! If you must know, he did well for his first time.”
Eleanor pouted as she rubbed her chest, but her win was back within moments. Cavan watched the exchange with raised eyebrows. Bonnie smiled at him and leaned over the table, “Don’t take much notice. These two fight all the time.”
“It’s just weird seeing my teacher get beat up by someone.”
Bonnie grinned, “I don’t envy you there!”
A waitress came by and took their drink orders and swiped all the menus off the table. Within five minutes the were served their drinks; the men had beers, Eleanor had some fancy orange cocktail and Cavan decided just to have a vodka and coke. Bonnie opted to have green tea as she was the designated driver. It was another ten minutes before they ordered their food and by then Cavan was easing into casual conversation, mostly with Fletcher and Bonbon, but the others chimed in as well. Eleanor kept reaching over and ruffling his hair and cackling. It was a nice, friendly atmosphere. He liked the mature company; if it had been him and his friends at least one of them would already be drunk and it would digress into immature discussions about the latest reality TV, instagram wars and relationship drama.
The clinking of a glass drew all heads to Rodrick.
Cavan held his breath and felt Lucas tense up beside him.
He was a hulking man with a blonde buzz cut and cold blue eyes that sent a chill deep into Cavan’s cut. This man was definitely a leader; he oozed authority. It was no wonder he was the head of Lucas’s school. As he raised his glass, Cavan couldn’t help but feel puny in comparison.
“I’d like to make my announcement now so we can get it over with and try to enjoy the rest of the night,” he started. His deep voice did not dispel the sinking feeling in Cavan’s chest. “As you may all know, Lucas here has been under investigation and, even though as of yesterday afternoon the statements were retracted, the police still needed to complete their enquiry on ‘the off chance’.”
‘Oh God … is this it?’ Cavan bit down hard on his lip.
“Now I am pleased to announce that Lucas has been cleared of all charges as of this morning, and since the allegation was false, they have assured me that it will not go on his record. Thank God, Lucas, we all need you back. You’re the only one who keeps the brats in line.”
“That’s fantastic!” Eleanor shrieked, grabbing Lucas, and hugging him tight. Cavan laughed with relief as Lucas’s head was getting crushed.
“A bloody good thing too!” Bonnie snapped angrily. “You’re the last person this should have happened to!”
“I’m just –GET OFF ME FRIZZ-FACE! –Just glad that it’s over and buried.”
He pushed Eleanor away from him –as much as he could –and smoothed his hair back. His expression was grumpy, but Cavan could see the relief in his grey eyes. Under the table he took Lucas’s hand in his own and entwined their fingers. Lucas squeezed his in return. It was then that their food arrived, cluttering the table. Rodrick looked a lot more relaxed and Lucas shot the older man a grateful smile for keeping his speech as short as possible. He didn’t want a huge fuss made of the ordeal. He could go back to work first thing on Monday, that was the main thing. As far as he was concerned, that was all that mattered.
Another squeeze of his hand made him smile.
And Cavan. Cavan mattered.
The food came soon after, with another round of drinks, and Cavan couldn’t hide his surprise at how his boyfriend deftly picked up the pair of chopsticks and began using them with practised ease, while everyone else reached for their forks and spoons. He felt a flutter of excitement in his chest; would there ever be a day when he stopped learning new things about Lucas? He sincerely hoped not.
“Stop staring at me, brat,” Lucas mumbled, his lips barely moving as he caught a lump of noodles between his chopsticks. The grey eyes cut to the younger man next to him, and he almost smirked when Cavan blushed and returned to his own food.
Eleanor adjusted her glasses and leaned over the table. “So, Cavan, did you like Lucas’ cottage?”
“Uh … Yes, it was very cosy in there.”
“What’s it like?”
“Well -”
“Don’t say another word, Cavan,” Lucas cut in.
“Lucas! You can’t lock me out of your life forever!” Eleanor whined.
“I can and I will.”
“Mean!”
Cavan pressed his lips together, not really sure why the two always seemed like they were fighting. Was it seriously just the way they were with one another? He shrugged the matter aside. “I had a great time in Lincoln, I’d never been before and it’s really nice. Calmer than London, definitely.”
“Everywhere is calmer than London,” Bonnie grinned.
“So, what do you guys do?”
“I just work in one of the hotels in town as their day manager and Fletcher works in the London stock exchange HQ.”
Cavan suddenly felt so small and miniscule sitting at that table with all these accomplished people. “Uh … Jeez, wow that’s … impressive.”
Bonnie and Eleanor laughed. “Don’t be daunted!” Bonnie exclaimed, reaching across the table, and squeezing Cavan’s forearm. “As soon as Friday night hits, I’m just a normal red-headed maniac, nothing to worry about.”
“I feel so relieved,” he deadpanned, unable to keep the smile from his lips.
Bonnie quirked an eyebrow before smirking at Lucas. “Oh, you have taught him well. He’s almost as sarcastic as you.”
Lucas huffed and popped a spring-roll into his mouth. He really wasn’t up for talking much this evening. Cavan squeezed his thigh under the table, and the man tried his hardest to fight the urge to shrug Cavan’s hand off.
“How do you parents feel about your being here?” Fletcher asked, his light brows knitting together.
Cavan tensed. He gingerly picked at his rice and chicken. “They uh … Weren’t too happy about my upping and leaving. Again. My mum knew I came here, but thankfully my dad doesn’t know exactly where Lucas lives so that’s good.”
“You don’t think he’d come and try anything physical, do you?”
“Despite recent events, no, he’s not a physically violent man.”
Bonnie frowned. “Where is your accent from? I can�
��t place it.”
“Germany; my grandparents still live over there but both my parents moved to England shortly after they married.”
“So, you still have some of your accent, but Lucas has basically lost his? How does that work?”
“Because I adapted to my civilised surroundings,” Lucas grunted, “Even I hate the French accent. I’ll only use it for torturing you lot.”
“Speaking of making loud noises with your mouth, did you know that Eleanor played guitar in their band?”
Cavan turned to look between Eleanor and Lucas, his eyes going wide. “You were in his band? Seriously?”
“Why is that hard to believe?” Eleanor pouted. “You surely saw some of the videos online? I was amazing!”
“Yeah you were …” Cavan said. “I just … Didn’t connect the dots that it was you.”
Eleanor snorted. “Ah, college. Such a fun time! Fletcher was on the drums, and now he’s a boring old suit working in an office!” she pulled a face, sticking out her tongue at the blonde man.
Fletcher rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah, I grew up. You should try it some time, Ellie.”
Eleanor cackled. “Nope! My way’s more fun.”
Rodrick stood up from the table, “I’m going to get another round of drinks. Cavan, you want to come and help me?”
Looking up at the hulking figure, Cavan felt that it would be both rude and unwise to decline. “S-sure, let me just …” he trailed off, focusing more on wriggling his way out of the bench and trying not to jostle the table.
As he followed the man to the bar, he could feel Lucas’s eyes burning through the back of his skull.
Rodrick placed the drink orders, more soft drinks this time around seeing as Lucas had the bike and Fletcher, Eleanor and himself had to drive. Not that Cavan minded; beer and Chinese never really mixed well in his stomach. As he leaned on the bar counter, he tried to appear casual even though his brain was running at a million miles a minute, and he was absently drumming a rhythm on the fake marbled top.
“So, Cavan, how long have you been seeing Lucas now?” the deep, sonorous voice felt like a fog-horn in the quiet chattering of the restaurant.
Peering up at the man Cavan stammered, “I -well you see -since C-Christmas I think -”
Rodrick nodded. “And how have things been between you two?”
“They’ve been good for the most part. It … uh … takes a while to get used to one another.”
“Have you learned a lot about him and vice versa?”
Cavan shrugged. “He keeps his cards c-close to his chest,” he admitted shyly. “We talk but … sometimes he puts w-walls up.”
Rodrick chuckled deeply. “Yes, that sounds like Lucas.”
“H-how do you two kn-know each other?”
“I’m the headteacher at his school. I actually helped get him the job he has now.”
“Really?”
“Of course. We had a vacancy, and I knew that Lucas was struggling a little, so I offered to help him out. Once he settled on a flat that met his standards, he was more than willing to accept.”
Cavan calmed down a little and nodded. “He does seem his happiest when he’s there.”
“Before we worked at the school together, I was his commanding officer in the army.”
Cavan bit down on his tongue, his leg awkwardly jiggling and knocking his knee against the front of the counter. “Um … so you know … you saw him when he w-was …”
“Shot?” Rodrick supplied. Cavan nodded; his eyes downcast. “I was. It was dreadful. I had to have my hip and knee replaced after getting injured there. Lucas was lucky just to get away with being shot.”
Cavan grimaced, wishing he could block out the imagery that flashed behind his eyelids. Damn his overactive imagination. “I … um …”
“Sorry, where are my manners?” Rodrick shook his head and placed a hand on Cavan’s shoulder. It was heavy and hot. “Not the sort of light-hearted chatter you were expecting for a Friday night, I’m sure.”
He offered Rodrick a sheepish smile.
“For what it’s worth, you’ve definitely made Lucas happier. Even at work, he doesn’t dish-out detentions and punishments like he used to.”
“He did that?” Cavan asked, intrigued. “What sort of punishments?”
Rodrick laughed, “Well it was rarely the young ones that got into serious trouble with him. Year 11’s, however, are Hell, no matter how long you’ve been in the job. I think I did a patrol around the school and there were these two boys outside Lucas’ classroom; they were standing facing the wall with an Oxford Dictionary balanced on each of their heads.”
“Really?! What for?”
“I’m amazed he hasn’t told you,” Rodrick chuckled. “According to the students, they were told they were clearly too stupid to read and should try absorbing the words directly into their skulls. Whenever Lucas heard them drop the book on the floor, he added an extra five minutes to their punishment.”
Cavan burst out laughing. “Oh wow! What did the parents say?”
“Well, they tried to say that they paid Lucas’ salary and for him to do his job etc. Lucas turned around and told them he was doing his job, and if they did a better job of raising their son to be a functioning human being, they wouldn’t feel as though they were wasting their money on sending him to Lucas’ lessons in the first place.”
“Holy shit! My dad would have gotten any teacher who spoke to him like that, fired.”
Rodrick snorted, “Oh, I’d never fire Lucas. I’ve been to Hell and back with that man when he was younger than you. He’s like a very moody son to me, even now. The only reason he needed to take a week off during this investigation is because I had to, not because I wanted to.”
The words made Cavan feel a little better about the last week. He hadn’t thought about it until that moment, but he was glad that Lucas had such a tight-knit group of friends around him to help him whenever an issue arose. The bartender placed all their drinks on a large tray and Rodrick paid the bill before gathering everything up in his hands. Cavan couldn’t help but stare, they were as large as his own head.
“I’m glad that Lucas has someone looking out for him at work,” Cavan offered, feeling lame and childish as the words tumbled out of his mouth.
Rodrick grinned down at him. “I’m glad he’s found someone he cares about. It’s been a while. Come on, let’s get back to them.”
Cavan slid along the bench and into his vacated seat next to Lucas. Rodrick handed everyone their drinks before taking the tray back to the bar. Lucas cocked an eyebrow at him as he resumed eating.
“So, what did Rodrick want with you?” he asked.
“Just to suss me out, I think,” Cavan shrugged. “I made him laugh so … I think I passed the test.”
“Hm.”
“Does anyone have any summer plans?” Eleanor piped up, reaching across the table with her chopsticks to pluck the last gyoza from the plate.
Cavan shrugged, “My sister’s coming back from her exchange program in July. That’s as far as I’ve planned.” He turned to Lucas. “What about you, Lucas? What do you usually do for the summer holidays?”
“I read, drive, eat, try not to get sunburnt, and … that’s it.”
“How adventurous of you,” Bonnie scoffed, rolling her eyes. “I think I want to go away to one of those resorts, or a villa in Spain. Anyway, that’s hot with a pool.”
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