by Mel Ryle
“You said you needed me, so here I am. Andrew is busy at work,” he replied after taking in a few deep breaths. “So…” he initiated after a short silence.
“Right,” I looked away from him and stared at the half empty park grounds in front of me. “I had a fight with someone today,” I admitted, my voice low and soft.
“You’re always at it with someone,” Terry snorted in agreement.
“It’s not that kind of brawl.” I turned towards him with a slight smirk. “Could you let me finish first?” I cut him off as he opened his mouth to speak again.
“Okay. Continue,” he agreed with a nod and gestured for me to continue.
I told him what had happen half an hour ago in my father’s hospital room. I told him my encounter with William and the incident that morning. But I didn’t tell him about the kiss that William and I shared.
“Wow… Okay… You slapped William Maxwell,” he marveled after he stared at me for a few moments.
“Of all the things I just said…” I huffed as my lips twitched upward.
“I’m sorry. I heard every word you said… But you still slapped William Maxwell. Plus, you had him run out of the room with his tail between his legs!” he quipped while he looked at me in awe.
I rolled my eyes at his exaggerated expression before I got serious again. “Terry. What am I going to do? I don’t want to be in conflict with my dad. But William is making things complicated,” I whined in defeat. I was shocked because I never whine.
Terry eyed me in suspicion. “Is there more to this story than you are telling me?”
“What?” I turned towards him with wide eyes. “No!” I defended swiftly.
“Something happened between you and William that you are not telling me,” he accused as he continued to stare at me.
I turned away from his gaze and let out a frustrated sigh. How can this man know so much about me?
“Okay. Fine. We kissed!” I admitted in defeat as I let out a huge breath.
“You… He… Really?” he asked in surprise. A small smile slowly formed in his lips as his eyes gleamed in amusement. “Oh. This is golden,” he articulated with a chuckle.
“Shut up,” I hissed at him in annoyance but a small smile had escaped my guarded lips.
“I knew you had a thing for him,” Terry stated proudly, like he had known about it before I did.
“I did not… I mean I do not,” I uttered in defense but I slipped up as I rephrased my words in the same breath.
“Oh. Just admit it! You like William Ma…” Terry shouted aloud. I quickly placed my hand on his mouth.
“Okay. I get it. Can you not announce it to the world?” I spouted in a whisper, warning him.
Terry winked at me since my hand was still covering his mouth, stopping him from replying. “I will let go if you stop being loud,” I instructed as I looked him straight in the eyes. He nodded in reply, then I let my hand uncover his mouth.
“So why did you act that way?” he asked after a short pause.
I looked away again and turned towards the open field in front of me. “I have issues,” I confessed, my voice still a whisper.
“Wait… So, Billy wasn’t kidding?” he asked outright. His voice was loud enough to make me glare at him in warning. He made a sign with his other hand, looking like he was zipping an invisible zipper in his mouth.
“What do you mean by Billy?” I asked after he remained silent.
“Yeah. He might have told me about your commitment issues when he was at my place. I was getting curious why you aren’t with anyone. I mean… Andy… you’re awesome,” Terry replied softly as he looked at me sheepishly.
I felt my gaze harden at his words. I can’t believe Billy told Terry about my past relationship especially on the last relationship I had three years ago. I lost confidence in any kind of romantic relationship when it ended.
“Billy told me that you are afraid of letting people in your life because you are afraid of losing them. You started shutting people out after what happened three years ago,” Terry continued, his voice soft and filled with sadness.
I flinched at his last word. I always feel uncomfortable and irked whenever my personal life is brought up. But I knew it was inevitable with him. I sighed in defeat, knowing that it would be hard to hide anything from a man who is a part of my life now. He had some right to be this frank with me.
Being in this situation and having to think about the past, I felt a pang in my heart while reminiscing about my ex-lover. I’ve given so much yet only to be treated like trash once he no longer needed me. Why am I attracted to men who had a bit of power? How they could easily cheat and crawl back in my life because they think I had no choice? At first, I didn’t. His family was powerful just like William. And I was blindly in love with him. But I got out. I’m glad that he left me and finally saw some sense.
“Andy. What do you think of my relationship with you?” he asked.
I looked at him with wide eyes, my irritation gone and forgotten as I was caught off guard by his question. “What… What do you mean?”
“Do you think of me as a friend, family, or a stranger you just met?” he asked, all humor gone.
“You’re my friend. You’ve been kind to me and you’ve always been there when I need you. You are the only friend I have,” I acknowledged breathlessly in admission.
“Thank you for thinking of me as your valued friend. I’m very flattered,” he said as he flirtatiously batted his eyelashes at me.
I laughed at his words, happy to see the old Terry back. “I’m so sorry for the deep topic. I just need some… you know… I never had a girlfriend to confide in,” I disclosed with a coy smile.
“I’m glad that I’m gay enough for the part,” he agreed with a smirk and a wink.
His statement pulled me out of my gloomy state, making me laugh hard at his words as he chuckled beside me. I’ll never admit it out loud, but part of me was glad all of this was happening. I would’ve never met someone as amazing as Terry.
For another half an hour, we talked about that morning when I stayed in William’s apartment. The one thing I thought I wouldn’t share to the world. Terry was grinning while I narrated everything to him. His smile got even bigger when I told him in detail about the kiss but he pursed his lips when I told him of the things I said to William that morning.
“Andy, you need to straighten this out and apologize. Tell the man why you don’t want things to be romantic, because I don’t doubt that you want to sleep with him.” Terry stared at me knowingly as he raised his eyebrow at the last words.
I flushed at his words and shook my head at his forward comment. “I don’t know how I can face him again. I think I made it clear after I asked him to get out,” I argued back with a sigh.
“Then, you have to man up – or in your case, you have to woman up. It’s your turn to lower your pride and say that you are freaking sorry,” Terry countered with a suggestive smile.
“I think I need a drink before that happens,” I stated with a laugh.
“Andy Peterson. I’d never thought this day would come,” Terry jeered in shock. I rolled my eyes playfully as I pushed him out of his seat before I stood up.
I wrapped my arms around him in a surprise hug while I smiled gleefully. He was startled by the action but returned the gesture. After a short chat, we decided to go back to the hospital so that I can apologize to my father. Terry came with me for moral support, which made me love him even more.
After my very short apology, which consisted of me fumbling with words, my father had warmed up. He wasn’t a man who held grudges that long, unlike me. We avoided talking about what had happened and settled on a light topic. Terry had graciously offered a topic as he talked about his work and the many douchebags he had encountered after I quit.
Terry and I said our goodbyes to my dad then we made our way to the nearest bar since the club won’t be open until later. Terry was shocked that I drank beer. In reply, I sarcastica
lly pointed out the two men in my life. Terry knew Billy loved to drink alcoholic beverages. And my dad had his fair share of drinks before he was diagnosed.
I was glad Terry had taken a day off today of all days when I needed him. We were about to take it up a notch and order another round of drinks when I saw Terry tense up as his eyes zoned in to someone behind me.
“If I tell you something important, would you promise me that you wouldn’t react badly?” he asked softly after a second of recovery, his eyes fell on my confused expression.
“That depends…” I trailed off as I raised my eyebrow at him in question. “What is it?” I asked as I slowly turned to look for whatever was bothering him.
Before I could completely turn, Terry stopped me midway and spun me back to him. “Don’t,” he mumbled in warning as his eyes slightly hardened.
Before I replied, I looked at Terry’s eyes following his gaze until it landed on someone beside me. The first thing I noticed was his familiar cologne. Then, as I glanced sideways, I met his familiar blue eyes that were already on me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked in surprise.
William turned towards the bar as he held out his hand to get the bartender’s attention. When the bartender saw him, he walked up towards us. “I’ll have a scotch on the rocks, please,” he called out with his deep, business-like manner.
The sound of his voice sent tingles down my back that made me shiver. Why am I reacting to his voice now? I’ve heard it all the time at work. Is it because I finally admitted about my feelings for him?
“Are you going to ignore me?” I asked in annoyance, getting out of my trance as I continued to stare at him.
“Andy… Maybe we should…” Terry interrupted as his voice held some warning. He held my shoulder and gave it a little squeeze like he was telling me to keep my cool.
I turned towards Terry and gave him a small reassuring smile, which he replied with a tight lip one. I ignored his reaction and turned my attention to William, who was now taking his drink from the bartender. He took a small sip of his drink before turning his gaze on me.
“I thought you’re not talking to me,” he finally replied, his tone dead.
I eyed him for a second before letting out a defeated sigh. “I’ve got to admit. I overreacted a few hours ago.”
“Overreacted is an understatement,” he snorted and took another sip on his drink.
Before I could say another word, I turned back to Terry who had tightened his grip on my shoulder again. I grabbed his wrist and pulled it away as I returned it on his side with a small apologetic smile.
“Can you leave us for a moment?” I asked softly.
“Okay,” he replied with a brief nod after assessing my expression.
I watched Terry walk towards an empty booth on the far side corner of the room. When I was confident enough that he wouldn’t come back, I turned back to William. I took another deep breath before I started my apology.
“Okay. First thing, I’m sorry,” my voice quivered anxiously. “It was very childish of me to react that way. You had caught me off guard. I told you to leave me alone for a while. And then, you had to sneak up on me and…” I continued, my voice slowly rising in anger.
“I thought you’re apologizing,” he insinuated, stopping me mid-rant.
“I’m so sorry.”
There was a short pause before he started laughing. I looked at him with confusion at his sudden amusement.
“Why are you laughing?” I asked earnestly.
“I never thought that you would lower yourself. You’re too full of surprises sometimes, Andy. That’s why I can’t help but like you more,” he avowed as the corner of his lips tugged upward.
“Did you forget what I just did? You should be fuming right now or telling me that you’re going to fire my ass or something…” I stated in disbelief as I continued to watch him in confusion.
“Well, it gets tiresome to be high and mighty all the time,” he replied with a grin before he took another sip of his whiskey.
I eyed his drink and then back to him. “How many glasses did you already drink?” I asked sternly, willing him to take the situation seriously.
“That really depends. And don’t forget that I’m not feeling all that well, too…” he emphasized as he took another sip like he was taunting me.
I grabbed the glass of whiskey before he could drink and placed it further away from him. I put one hand on his forehead and the other on his neck to check his temperature. I let out a hiss when my hand came in contact with his heated skin.
“Goodness, William! You’re still sick.” I directly stood up from my stool and wrapped my hand around his waist as he slightly staggered towards me.
“I’m fine. I’m glad that I saw you here. I thought you’d never talk to me again after that…” he raved as he weakly tried to get out of my hold.
“Terry!” I called aloud as I scanned my eyes towards the booth where I last saw him.
Within seconds, Terry got up and jogged towards me. “What’s wrong?” he asked as he studied William and me. “Is he alright?” he asked as his gaze landed on William worriedly.
“No. This idiot is drinking when he still has a freaking fever,” I replied in annoyance as I tried to tighten my hold on him.
“I’m fine. Damn it. Don’t talk like I’m not here,” William interjected intently as he tried to push me away again.
“Do you see any guys in black suit around here?” I asked Terry while I scanned the bar for any signs of his driver, Mark.
“No. I don’t think so…” Terry replied with uncertainty as he kept his eyes on William.
“Please check outside!” I instructed aloud, making a few people turn and look at us.
I scanned the slightly empty bar, feeling relieved that no one had noticed the man beside me. I studied William’s current condition and grimaced at his lack of response. He looked like he was struggling. His breathing was slightly ragged, but he was able to stand straight without swaying.
“How long have you been drinking, William?” I asked, grabbing his attention again.
He looked down at me with a small frown before he replied. “I think it was after you asked me to get out of the hospital. If you’re looking for Mark, he is not here. I drove myself today,” he replied dully, his eyes slightly squinting.
I mentally fumed at his words. I can’t believe that he was capable of being incompetent for someone who looked so dignified.
“We’re going to my place. I don’t want people seeing you like this,” I chided softly as I lightly nudged him to walk while I kept my arm around his waist.
William chuckled and patted my back roughly. “If I’ve known it would take me being drunk to get you to take me anywhere, I should have done it before.”
I rolled my eyes at his comment and paid for our drinks. After that, I ushered him towards the door. And for a brief moment, I enjoyed a drunk and sick William. This was another side of him I’ve never seen. And it’s side of him that I find really cute in a weird way.
Twenty-Seven
“I think he’s dead,” Terry alleged softly as we lightly placed William’s body down on top of my bed.
I rolled my eyes and sat on the edge of my bed. “Can you help me take his clothes off?” I asked inaudibly as I quickly removed one of William’s shoes.
“I thought you’d never ask,” Terry replied with a huge grin as he rubbed his hands in excitement.
I turned towards him with my eyebrow raised and my hand held up, telling him to stop. “Wait. I change my mind. Can you please order some Chinese take-out, preferably some soup? William would need it when he wakes up.”
He stopped mid-stride and eyed me in defeat. I kept my expression serious until he let out a defeated sigh. “Fine. Call me when he starts assaulting you. Wait… I don’t care if he does. The man looks dead anyway,” he grumbled in reply as he walked out of my room, slamming the door shut in a childish manner.
I chuckled a
nd continued to remove his other shoe and socks. After trying to remove his shirt, I stopped stripping him and pulled the blanket over his body. When I was done, I sat back down on the edge of the bed for a moment and looked at his peaceful, sleeping face.
“Thank you,” William suddenly mumbled as his closed eyes fluttered twice.
“For what?” I asked softly, keeping my face blank.
“Thank you for taking care of me,” he replied weakly, his eyes fluttering again and closed. He let out a small yawn. “I’m going to stay here for a while,” he stated dreamily.
“Sure. I’ll leave you,” I chuckled at his words and slowly stood up.
“Wait! Can you stay here with me?” he asked aloud, his eyes wide as he sat up in my bed, making me turn around.
I gaped at him for a moment as I stared at his pleading eyes. So, he was awake all this time? “I… I’m…” I stuttered as I tried to come up with an excuse.
“Please,” he begged, his voice deep with need. Then, swiftly, he moved out of the bed and grabbed my hand. He tugged me back to where I sat and went back under the covers.
“Okay,” I replied softly as I watched his every movement.
He leaned towards me and pushed the blanket aside as he patted down his hand in invitation. “Come on. I know you’re tired as well,” he noted.
I gapped at him in shock. “I’m not sleeping with you.”
“Technically, in an intimate way, that would be impossible. But if you’re up for it when I’m better…” he countered with a grin.
I slapped his leg playfully as a smile crept on my face. “Jerk,” I mumbled as I shook my head in disbelief. Without thinking too much of it, I crawled on the space William had offered.
With a victorious grin, William pulled the blanket over both of us. I quickly grabbed one of the pillows under me and place it between us like a barrier.
“Don’t think I’ll let you cuddle me,” I stated resolutely, though I couldn’t help hide my smile.
“You’ll give in one of these days, Andy,” William retorted with a chuckle. Then, I felt a slight movement in the bed and gasped as the pillow between us suddenly vanished. “Don’t flatter yourself. I don’t like cuddling either,” he said sarcastically he placed the pillow by our feet.