Wayward Love

by Rhys Everly

  Summer jumped for joy at the offer, and next thing I knew, she was hoisted up on the bar and Kyle gave her the stamp.

  “You’re in charge of stamping, can you do that?” Kyle asked, and Summer side-eyed him, which was all the answer he needed.

  I was pretty sure this wasn’t entirely legal, having a minor stamping coupons in a bar, but it made Summer—and Kyle—happy, and I didn’t have it in me to tell either of them off.

  Kyle worked in front of Summer, making sure that she was safe and out of harm’s way, and whenever someone waved a coupon at her, Kyle would snap it from their hands and give them a glower that even I was terrified of.

  My chest felt light and warm seeing both my daughter and Nathan’s friend so happy that I just drank it all in until Summer got tired and Yaya took her back home half an hour later.

  We stayed busy until midnight, even after everyone had used up all their coupons, and it took as an extra hour to clean up the mess our customers had left behind.

  I had to count the registers over and over again to make sure the money was right. I’d never seen the drawers so full of cash, and I didn’t want to fuck it up by counting it wrong.

  It was all thanks to Kyle. He’d made it all possible, even though I’d been an asshole to him this entire time. Now I really needed to apologize, or I’d be worse than an asshole. What’s worse than an asshole?

  It turned out I didn’t need to be concerned about inventory like I thought I should be because we’d made so much profit, it could easily offset any losses we’d had with the free drinks.

  It was crazy, and I don’t know why I’d never thought of doing anything like that before. So many places around town and, let’s be honest, all over the country, had a happy hour. Yet I was too scared to try it, and all it took was a little ray of sunshine to show me that my business, Andy’s Bar, my little baby, wasn’t done for.

  And that it could survive a little while longer.

  “Hey Andy,” Kyle said, opening the door to the office and making me jump.

  “You’re still here? Why are you still here?”

  “Well, I didn’t want to leave the guys in the mess, so I’ve been helping them clean. They’re all gone now,” he said.

  “The question still stands. Why are you still here? You’ve got a long drive back home,” I said, and he just shrugged.

  “I’ll head home in a minute. I’m trying to put a box up on a shelf, but my hands are dead, and it’s a bit too heavy for me. Would you mind giving me a hand?” he asked.

  I sprang out of my chair before he’d even finished his sentence, and I followed him to the storeroom.

  “I was trying to tidy up so you guys are fully stocked for tomorrow, but this box is way too heavy for me. What can I say? I’m a weakling.” Kyle laughed and pointed at the box of bottled beer that was on the floor.

  I didn’t say anything, fearing that opening my mouth would betray the messed up feelings inside me, so instead, I leaned down, picked up the box, and asked him where he wanted it.

  He pointed to the top shelf, and as I picked it up and tried to slot it in—looking at his emerald eyes that managed to glow even in the relative darkness of the storeroom—the box slipped from my hands.

  Kyle came to the rescue, catching the other end before the box smashed on the floor, and together we put it up on the shelf.

  I didn’t fail to notice how close we were. I could smell his citrusy perfume and feel his warmth against my skin. With our hands still holding onto the box, even though the box was safely stored, we looked at each other for a moment.

  The moment turned to two, and two turned into too long. Sweat decorated his forehead, and his pale lips, albeit cracked, called me in like a Siren to the depths of the sea.

  Before I knew what was happening, Kyle’s eyes closed, he licked his lips, and leaned into me, pinning me against the shelving unit.

  And he was kissing me.

  And I was kissing him back.

  His fingers lightly touched the back of my hands as if he was uncertain whether he should hold them. The beat of his heart pounded hard against my chest. His breaths inhaled more than just oxygen. They inhaled my breaths, too, and gave them back to me with more passion, more rigor.

  It felt right. Like pieces of a puzzle had locked together to create a clearer picture. Our tongues entered a battle for dominance. I was too drunk to care about winning. Too drunk on Kyle to put my head straight or commandeer my body away from him.

  Kissing Kyle was everything I didn’t know I needed. It was what I’d imagined and so much more.

  Not that I had allowed myself to imagine much.

  As quickly as it happened, as quickly as my world had exploded before my very eyes, Kyle pulled away and looked at me, out of breath.

  His face turned red and his voice wavered.

  “O-M-G. Uhm…I’m so sorry. I don’t-I don’t know what came over me,” he said and ran off.

  I wanted to go after him to tell him it was okay. That I had kissed him back, too, and that he’d done nothing wrong, but I couldn’t move.

  The effect of his kiss had immobilized me, and all I could do was think how good it felt to have been kissed by a ray of sunshine.

  “What the hell is wrong with you, Dad?” Nathan shouted behind me and made me jump.

  I switched the TV off and turned to face my son and his anger.

  “What are you talking about? And watch your tone with me, young man,” I said.

  “You promised me. And you couldn’t keep your promise. He relied on you to help him out, and you have been such an asshole with him. Couldn’t you stick with it for a little longer? No. You had to ruin it,” he started rumbling, but I had no clue what he was saying.

  It was obvious he was referring to Kyle, but all the other stuff? No idea.

  I hadn’t seen Kyle in a week since our fateful kiss in the storeroom, and Kyle never came back to work after that. Even though I’d messaged him a couple of days that I needed his help at the bar, he never showed up.

  Not that I could blame him. What we did was wrong. And, if I was being honest with myself, I didn’t think I’d know how to look him in the eye if he did show up.

  “First of all, calm down. Second of all, what are you talking about?” I asked.

  Nathan put his hands on his hips and took a deep breath before he answered, his attempt at composing himself.

  “Kyle told me he hasn’t come to work in a week? What have you done to him? You completely broke his spirit. Every time I try to talk about what happened, he changes the subject. What did you do to him? He needs to pass his class, Dad. This wasn’t a joke. This wasn’t a free side gig that he needed. It’s essential for his degree,” Nathan said.

  I’d broken his spirit? That was the last thing I ever wanted. Kyle was the most beautiful, gentle, and high-spirited person I’d ever met, and I’d broken him?

  “I didn’t do anything. He hasn’t shown up for work,” I said, conveniently avoiding the subject of our kiss.

  Nathan didn’t need to know about that mistake.

  “You must have done something to him,” he said. “He was so excited about working for you and now he’s sitting at home, moping this whole week. I told him I’ll talk to you and get him to come back, but he didn’t want to hear about it. Did you scare him off? Dad, he’s my best friend.”

  “I-I…Nathan, please stop. I’d love to have him back. But he doesn’t want to. I didn’t do anything to him. I swear.”

  “I don’t believe you. Whatever it is you did, fix it!” Nathan shouted.

  “I’ll try. Can you ask him to come by tomorrow evening? He might listen to you.“

  “Tell him yourself,” Nathan said and left the room.

  Nathan was right. I had to man up and face him.

  But it wasn’t all bad.

  It would give me a chance to apologize for being so rude to him. I’d love nothing more than to have him back in Andy’s Bar.

  And back into my life.
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  Twelve

  Kyle

  I still couldn’t wrap my head around what I’d done. How could I kiss him like that? What the hell was wrong with me?

  I kissed my best friend’s dad. If that wasn’t fucked up, then I didn’t know what was.

  Why? Why would I do such a stupid thing? I always screwed things up.

  Because I was an idiot. An idiot who couldn’t control himself. That couldn’t contain his excitement and his lust.

  In all fairness, my reflexes had taken over and did most of the damage. Andy looked so happy, smiley, and downright cheerful after working with me the whole evening.

  Seeing him like that filled my stomach with so many butterflies that it felt like it was going to explode.

  I let out a big breath I didn’t know I was holding and tried to stop myself from going down that rabbit hole again.

  Every time I thought about that moment, about the kiss and how good it felt, lust always beat the guilt I should be feeling.

  Because I should be feeling guilty. Shouldn’t I? Hell, the man wasn’t even gay. And I just attacked his mouth like there was no tomorrow.

  My phone flashed, and I looked at the screen.

  “Kyle ur a bastard. Why arent u answerin my txts? Why arent u pickin up?”

  Trent, I really don’t have time for you.

  After blowing him off to go work for Andy last week, I hadn’t had the energy to even type a simple fuck off and send it to him.

  He was right to be pissed off with me, of course. After all, I was always the guy that screwed things up.

  As if his text message wasn’t enough, he called me for the gazillionth time and I sent him straight to voicemail.

  Couldn’t he understand? I didn’t want him. I didn’t need him in my life. And he didn’t want me in his. I would only ruin everything, anyway, even if we were just fuck buddies.

  Mom walked into the kitchen with her tablet and looked down at my vibrating phone.

  “Aren’t you Mr. Popular?” she said. “Your phone hasn’t stopped ringing this week. It’d be nice if you answered it at some point.”

  I ignored her and instead just sighed, trying to focus my attention on my microwaveable lunch. She sat down on the table next to me and put her hand on top of mine.

  “What is it, sweetheart? What happened? I can tell something’s wrong, but…”

  I opened my mouth, ready to spill everything, but as much as I wanted to, as much I trusted my mom, it was too embarrassing. So I bit my lip to restrain myself.

  “I-I just screwed things up. That’s all. And I don’t know what to do,” I said when her stare persisted.

  My phone flashed again, and I picked it up thinking it was Trent sending another message.

  I don’t know why I still did that to myself, reading all his messages right as they arrived, but I was surprised to find Andy’s name written across the screen.

  Why was Andy calling me? Surely he hated me for what I’d done. What reason could he have for calling?

  My thumb hovered over the answer button, and I paused before pressing down on it.

  I don’t know why I did it. Why would I inflict that on myself?

  “Kyle? Is that you?” Andy said in my ear.

  It was because I wanted to hear his voice. Look at his eyes. Kiss his lips.

  Even after everything I’d done, after fucking it all up, I still wanted Andy more than anything.

  “Kyle, talk to me,” he said when I didn’t respond.

  This was bad. And wrong. And I couldn’t afford to screw things up anymore.

  I hung up and slid my phone across the table as far away from reach as possible.

  “See? That’s what I’m talking about. What’s going on sweetie? Is it Trent? Did he do something?”

  Of course Mom knew all about Trent. She hadn’t failed to notice the man climbing up the stairs every other day and spending the entire night in my bedroom, as much as I tried to keep things civil in her house.

  She knew my arrangement with him and she never passed any judgment. Not after all the men she’d brought in the house over the years.

  Not that anyone ever stuck around for too long.

  “No, Mom. It’s not Trent. It’s me. I made a big mistake and I risked everything. My degree, my friendship, my…” I avoided mentioning my feelings.

  As much as I tried to deny it, I had feelings for Andy. I might not know him very well, but he dominated my thoughts every single moment of every single day, and I didn’t know how to stop it.

  I’d felt like that before, and I had my heart broken. My fault, of course. I got too attached and was always too much.

  “What are you talking about? Why did you risk everything? What did you do?” she asked.

  “Nothing, Mom.” I shook my head.

  She’d find out eventually. I’d tell her one day. I’d have no option but to. When Nathan found out and he stopped coming over, she’d ask. And I’d tell her.

  But today wasn’t the day.

  “Honey, you know you can talk to me about anything. Whenever you’re ready, you know where to find me,” she said and stood up. “I’m going to the grocery store. Do you want anything?”

  “No,” I said, and my phone vibrated again.

  Mom looked at it. I looked at it. The more it buzzed, the more I wondered. Was it Trent? Or was it Andy?

  I needed to know. I reached across the table and lifted the phone to my ear.

  “Kyle? I want you to come back to work. I don’t want you to fail your class because of what happened,” Andy said.

  How could he be so nonchalant about it? I went and did the unspeakable and he wanted me back to work for him? What was wrong with him?

  Was he a closeted gay who wanted to take advantage of me when all the staff was gone and the lights were out? It’s not like I hadn’t met my fair share of closeted married guys over the years.

  No, that wasn’t Andy. He wasn’t like that. He probably felt sorry for me. Nathan had probably talked to him and told him to call me or something.

  He’d also been harassing me the entire week to tell him what had happened, but I didn’t want to completely destroy my relationship with him. He’d find out eventually, right? He’d find out I kissed his dad, and then only God knew what he’d do.

  He did kiss me back.

  I still wasn’t sure if the last part was true. I didn’t know if my memory was playing tricks with me to alleviate some of the guilt, or if it had actually happened.

  God, it felt so good. A week might have passed, but I could still feel the trace of his lips on mine, the stubble scratching me, his breath on me.

  Every time I let myself remember, my dick reacted instantly.

  I hung up and decided to do myself a favor and switch my phone off.

  It was the only way I could focus on my studies and take my mind off everything I’d done.

  Half an hour later, Mom went out to the grocery store, and I stayed home trying my best to read an article about the stock market.

  Who cares about stocks when my life was in pieces?

  Forty minutes later, the doorbell rang.

  I wasn’t expecting anyone. Mom had her keys and Nathan should be with one of his students. She was a scatterbrain, especially when on a deadline, so it was probably her.

  I got up and walked to the front door, ready to make fun of her for being so forgetful. Instead, I was met by a rock-solid tall man. The same man I couldn’t keep my mind off.

  “Mr. Karagiannis? What are you doing here?” I asked when I managed to find my words.

  Andy stared at me for a little while longer without answering me. What on earth was he doing here?

  “I thought I told you to call me Andy,” he said.

  “I…uhm, sure. I just thought—”

  “I’ve been trying to call you. Why aren’t you answering your phone?” he said and stepped in.

  I pulled back to avoid him colliding with me. I didn’t know what I’d do if he came clos
e to me again.

  “I switched it off. What are you doing here?”

  “I came to check in on you. You haven’t come to the bar in a week. And Nathan is saying you don’t look like yourself.”

  “How…How could I? After what I did?” I said.

  “Last time I checked, there were two people in that storeroom,” he said, and I looked up to him with some hesitation.

  “I shouldn’t have done what I did. I don’t know what came over me. I won’t say anything to Nathan. I promise,” I said.

  “Kyle, I—” he started, but I didn’t let him finish.

  “Let’s pretend it never happened. I really don’t want Nathan or you to be mad at me. That’s of course if you-if you’ll forgive me,” I said.

  “Forgive you?” he said in a hushed voice that gave me goosebumps.

  “I know. What I did was—”

  “I don’t know what’s happening...with me. I haven’t managed to get you. Out. Of. My. Head. I don’t need to forgive you. I just…” he said, and before I could react, he leaned down and locked lips with mine, pressing his body against me, using his hands to keep me there.

  Was this really happening? Was Andy kissing me?

  I managed to pull my mouth away from him long enough to ask him, “What are you doing?”

  He looked flustered and his skin red.

  “I-I have no fucking clue,” he replied and pinned me against the wall, closing my front door, and returning his lips to my mouth.

  He was kissing me. Nathan’s dad was kissing me. And I was weak, too weak, to do anything about it.

  Oh, who was I kidding? I wanted him so bad, I wouldn’t stop myself even if I could.

  Andy’s hands hooked around either side of my neck as his tongue gained access to my mouth while my hands were hanging limp by my sides.

  I was too scared to touch him. Too scared that it was all a dream, a fantasy, and if I touched him, it would crumble in pieces and I’d wake up.

  “Do you…do you like me? Really?” he whispered in my ear when he pulled away.

  He licked my earlobe waiting for my answer.

  “I-I…do,” I said.