Book of Love

by David Horne

  "Thanks," Matt said in the end as Alfred looked him in the eyes and smiled again.

  "Pizza should be here soon. There are some razors and shaving cream you can use in the medicine cabinet."

  Nodding, Matt stepped deeper into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Matt decided to shave first before looking at the bundle in his hands. He saw a black t-shirt, some light gray sweatpants and a closed package of what must be newly bought underwear.

  Shrugging at the oddness of having packaged underwear ready, Matt got dressed and stepped out of the bathroom. The smell of pizza was what lured him into the living room. Alfred seemed to have had a change in clothes as well, very much the same as what he wore. Only the shirt he wore was a deep maroon color and his sweats were black.

  He was sitting on an old yet comfy looking leather couch, with his legs curled under him as he leaned on the high armrest. He looked comfortable. It was then that Matt saw that his hair was let down, it all fell to the left side of his head.

  Alfred looked up and smiled.

  His heart clenched with guilt again.

  "I really am sorry,." Matt blurted out. Alfred's smile turned into a rather adorable confused look as he tilted his head to the side much like a dog would. Matt had to bite his cheek again.

  "What are you apologizing for?" Alfred asked, and he patted the other side of the couch. Matt swallowed and sat down. He leaned elbows on his thighs as he looked down at his clasped hands.

  "I should have said something. Anything to get my friends to stop what they were doing. I knew it was wrong, but I just stood there and watched as they bullied you mercilessly." His hands shook as he squeezed them as tightly as he could. He wanted to say these words to every victim his once “friends” have ever harmed.

  Gentle hands covered his own. Matt’s gaze snapped up to meet green eyes that held only a look of understanding. "You would have been shunned by your own teammates. You would have left the team. Even I went to the games and could see how much you loved football. I was even there when you got injured. It was like seeing a fine bred stallion get injured. You were always so agile and full of life when you were on the field. That is the Matthew Ward I remember from high school. I was merely overwhelmed when I saw you that I spoke in haste and buried anger. Anger, by the way, that was never really aimed at you. So, I should be apologizing for my own harsh words."

  Matt scoffed with a small smile on his lips. "You of all people have nothing to apologize for. Let's just say that the past is now buried. We can start a new chapter," Matt suggested and gave an open hand in an offer of a handshake.

  Alfred smiled and clasped Matt’s hand and gave it a hearty shake.

  "That sounds like a fine idea. Now, let’s eat. Then you can tell me what happened in the last six years," Alfred said and leaned over to grab a piece of pizza. Matt followed suit and bit into the slice of pepperoni pizza. He had to bite back a moan of pure ecstasy. He hadn't had food that good in a while. He planned on savoring it for as long as possible before he spilled his guts out to one of the sweetest people he knew.

  Alfred watched, slightly startled at the speed with which Matt devoured pretty much an entire pizza. It was a good thing he ordered two. It did show Alfred that whatever Matt had been through had left a mark on the man.

  Leaning back, Matt groaned and looked at Alfred, who was still taking smaller, more normal-sized bites of his pizza. Alfred still somehow managed to remain poised while sitting curled up on a worn-out leather couch. Matt was looking at him while he ate and took an occasional sip of his soda that Alfie had gotten for them both.

  "I'm… How much of my father do you know?" Matt asked when he saw that Alfred had finished his slice of pizza and wasn't reaching for another slice.

  Alfred tilted his head again to the side, only this time in thought. "Well, from what I heard, he can be a tough man to get along with. I've also heard that he seemed like a rather money-driven man." Alfred looked at Matt with an expectant eyebrow raise.

  Matt huffed and shook his head. "That’s putting it lightly." Rubbing the back of his head, Matt looked out of the window. It was nearing winter, and the cold weather would soon start to show itself.

  "My dad is a real bastard. He’s not only money hungry but power-hungry. He has this vision of what he wants his business to be, and it involves me marrying this bimbo of a woman who’s the daughter of a rich friend of his.” Matt pulled a face, and Alfred frowned.

  "I'm sure she can't be that bad—" he tried saying, but Matt's snort cut him short.

  "She's a pampered little daddy's girl who only wants the designer things in life, doesn't want to work a day in her life, and just be a diva and socialite." Matt's disgust for the woman was rather apparent.

  The next mumbled words shocked Alfred more than anything else, though.

  "Besides, I'm gay," Matt said.

  "Wait, you're gay? Since when?" Alfred asked a bit bewildered.

  Matt rubbed his neck again and scrunched his nose. "Since puberty. I just never came out as a lot of the guys on the football team didn't like gay people That was one of the reasons they picked on you so much." Looking at Alfred again, he saw the look of understanding reappear.

  "Helping me would have been as good as telling them that you're gay, wouldn't it?" Alfred asked. Matt sighed and nodded his head.

  "Back to my story. I told my dad that I was gay when he continued to spew his stupid plan. I honestly thought he was going to throw me out of the house." Alfred looked confused again, no doubt thinking that Matt being gay was why he was out on the streets.

  "He left my room without saying a word and came back a few days later with an even more idiotic idea. Marry the girl and have a lover on the side." Matt's face warped into a mangled display of disgust.

  Alfred had a similar look on his face. "Isn't your father a married man himself?"

  At the words, Matt's shoulders slumped. "My mom divorced my father when he started to get a bit too money and power-hungry for her. She has her own house and all, but she can't support us both. So, I haven't told her about my predicament. I was close to finally just calling her when I bumped into you."

  Nodding, Alfred sighed and scratched the side of his nose. "And your friends?" Matt snorted at the thought of his so-called friends. "My dad got his claws into them, spilling my secret. They all pretty much turned their backs on me for either being gay or because my dad said so. Bastard also froze my accounts." Matt slumped again, being reminded of his predicament.

  "Well then, I suppose it's a good thing that I need help at the store. And, this apartment needs a tenant," Alfred said as if he were talking about the weather and not Matt's saving grace.

  "I'm studying to become a physical therapist," Matt said, somewhat shyly. Alfred looked at him with that damn open smile again. "That's more than all right. You can do your homework while you're at work. Do you have a scholarship?"

  Matt couldn't believe his ears. He answered half in a daze. "Uh, yeah, a partial scholarship."

  Alfred nods. "Well, an education is important. We’ll just work your hours around your classes," Alfred said with a smile.

  It became too much for Matt to ignore the bubbling feeling that had been growing in his heart. He stood from the couch and walked in front of Alfred. Matt then sank to his knees in front of Alfred, who had tilted his head at him. It was then that he saw Sam out of the corner of his eye. The small pup had the exact same head tilt as Alfred. Matt smiled before his eyes returned to Alfred.

  Before Alfred could say anything, he was enveloped in two strong arms that began to gently squeeze him. The hug felt good, Alfred couldn't lie that the arms that were surrounding him felt deliciously solid and warm. Without knowing what else to do, Alfred wrapped his arms around Matt's neck, returning the hug.

  "Thank you. Alfred, I mean it, thank you. I didn’t have anywhere else to go. I was close to just giving up," Matt said after he leaned back, breaking the hug, a hug that felt so good. It felt good to have human contact
again.

  Alfred smiled at him again.

  "Work hard on your studies, help me at the store and keep this place clean, and we'll call it even."

  Matt nods and stands up when Alfred gently pushed him back, Alfred stood and with a small bounce before looking around. "Right, let me show you around." With that said, Alfred took Matt by the wrist and led him deeper into the apartment.

  The apartment was large with two rooms, two bathrooms, a large understated yet classy kitchen, and a room that appeared to be a study of some sort. "This is the room I use when I work a bit too late and don't want to track my way home. The other room is yours to do with as you please. The bathroom you used is yours as well. I don't use the study all that often so you can use that to study in." Alfred moved around the apartment as he spoke.

  Dark wood seemed to be a thing with the apartment and the bookstore, clean and not too cluttered, it looked lived in and homey, just like the bookstore.

  "So, um, what would I be doing exactly?" Matt asked when they returned to the living room to find Sam had fallen asleep.

  Alfred flopped onto the couch and looked at Sam for a bit. "Stocktaking and register mostly. I work more on the background things such as ordering books and admin work."

  It sounded easy enough.

  "Oh, I forgot, there is a laundry nook in the kitchen if you want to wash your clothes. You don't seem to have much. Feel free to borrow mine. Some of my clothes might not fit you right though," Alfred said as he gave Matt's taller and broader body a once over.

  "It's a miracle I bought those pants a size too big by accident, isn't it?" Alfred asked with an amused look on his face. "Funny how the world seems to work," he muttered mostly to himself, so Matt didn't answer.

  The two men enjoyed the calm moment between them before Sam woke up, seeming to want dinner himself. Alfred rose from his seat and entered the kitchen. Matt decided to follow and see where some things were in case he had to feed the puppy.

  It was cute to watch the puppy eat his food with relish. The little guy had a big appetite. Alfred was watching Matt. He looked a lot less lost, and it made him happy. Men like Matthew should never have a broken look like Matt had earlier.

  Once the puppy had cleaned his bowl, Alfred gave it a rinse and placed it in the sink to be washed later.

  "Let me show you where some things are, Then we can write up a contact for you to sign for the job as well as the apartment," Alfred said as he led both man and puppy back down to the store where there was another door on the other side of the bookstore's layout that would have matched the upstairs apartment where the study. . This office looked more used. There were filing cabinets, more bookshelves and a desk with a computer and printer and scanner near the back of the room. The desk also had a chair for someone to sit in front of it.

  The writing up of the contracts comes with some hiccups. At first, Matt is adamant that Alfred is offering too much money for his salary. Alfred simply says that he doesn't understand how busy they can get as a lot of people order books through them and that they can get swamped on weekends too as the bookstore is located in the well-off uptown area.

  They argued back and forth before Alfred said that he was the boss and what he said goes. Matt seeing that it was a fight he was never going to win, gave in.

  Agreeing on the rent was a bit easier as Alfred said he was more like a roommate, so he only had to pay half more times than not. Alfred would be crashing in his room when he didn’t go home.

  It left Matt with enough money to pay for his studies and have a little leftover for when he wanted to buy something. It made him feel good about his future once again. He no longer had toxic people in his life. Now he could call his mother and tell her about what happened.

  Right after he charged his phone. It died two days ago, and he had been unable to charge it again.

  He winched when it became clear that his mother would no doubt be wondering where he was. Alfred saw it and tilted his head. Matt rubbed his neck as he glanced to the side. "My mom is probably wondering where I am. I'm gonna head up and charge my phone and then hit the hay. I have some learning to do tomorrow. Good thing it's the holidays," Matt said as he stood from his seat.

  Alfred smiled up at him. "Sounds good. I'll file these and as you said, hit the hay as well." They both laughed at the awful joke. Matt smiled at Alfred before he patted Sam's head. "I've been meaning to ask you what kind of dog is Sam?"

  Looking at Sam, Alfred smiled as the dog leaned into the head pats. "He's a Welsh Corgi, the kind of dogs the queen of England has."

  Matt snored and gave Alfred a highly amused look. "Keeping it British, I see."

  Alfred gave a sheepish grin, it made Alfred close his eyes as he tilted his head.

  "Actually, he's a rescue."

  Matt looked at Alfred in wonder.

  "Two rescues. You're a real hero." It was said with no sarcasm . It caused Alfred to blush a pretty pink. The man cleared his throat before shooing Matt out the door with an order to call his mom and tell her that she was more than welcome to visit.

  It warmed Matt's heart that he would be able to see his mother. He missed her something fierce.

  Once he got to his room, he removed everything in his duffle bag, he was lucky the thing was so damn large. No one had tried to mug him. He placed his laptop bag on the bed, leaving it there for now. He also removed all his dirty clothes and put them in the hamper.

  At the bottom of the bag was his charger.

  His phone took a while to charge up before he could turn it on. The moment the phone had signal, it blew up with messages and missed calls. All from his mother.

  She answered at the first ring.

  "Matthew! Where on earth have you been? Your father called, asking if I had seen you. Of course, the man would not tell me what's going on! Please tell me you are all right?" His mother spoke in quick succession. It brought a smile to his face.

  "I'm fine now. Are you busy tomorrow?" he asked, thinking it would be better to explain everything in person than over the phone, and that way, she could also meet Alfred.

  "I have the day off," his mother said sounding suspicious.

  "I need you to meet me at this bookstore tomorrow afternoon. I'll explain everything, but I really am a good mom. I'm perfectly safe, and I have a roof over my head and food in my stomach. So call down, please."

  That seemed to do the trick as he heard a sigh of relief.

  "Okay, honey, I'll see you tomorrow."

  Chapter Three

  The next morning was surreal for Matt. The bed was soft, and the area quiet. He had the best sleep of his life. His back had thanked him profusely, and his mind was at ease.

  He smiled when he remembered that his mother would be dropping by. The smile faded a bit when he remembered that he would also tell her everything.

  She knew that he was gay. She was the first person he told. He knew deep in his heart that she would not condemn him since his mom had many gay friends. Taking a deep breath, Matt rose from the comfy bed and stumbled his way into the bathroom to start his morning routine.

  He made his bed before looking into the closet where more spare clothing rested for him. Alfred had told him that he had a habit of spilling coffee and food on himself. So, he thought it best to have extra clothing. Luckily, he could wash his jeans in the laundry room. Alfred himself commented, Matt also doubted that, but for a few shirts bought a size too large on purpose, nothing would actually fit him.

  He got dressed in his own jeans and a pure white t-shirt and some sneakers. His phone vibrated where it was resting on the nightstand.

  It was his mother just confirming the time she would come.

  Matt left his room for the kitchen. The smell of bacon was the first thing to reach his nose as he entered the room. He saw Alfred standing in front of the stove with an apron on. Underneath he wore skinny black jeans, a black t-shirt and his clunky combat boots from the day before. The all-black look just showed the man's natural lanky fig
ure.

  "Good morning," Matt muttered as he ambled his way to the coffee machine. Alfred looked over his shoulder and smiled. "Good morning, did you sleep well?" Alfred had turned back to the stove to flip the bacon and what appeared to be pancakes.

  Pouring a cup of liquid gold and adding milk before taking a hearty sip. Matt looked back at Alfred, who was still focusing on the food. "I slept amazing. That bed was amazing."

  Alfred just smiled at him before he placed the last pancake on a plate. He walked over to the kitchen table, which was set for two. Sam was already munching away on his own breakfast.

  They ate in silence, but Matt thanked Alfred for the food.

  "I want you to call me Alfie from now on." Matt looked up from his empty plate. "Huh?"

  Alfred snorted and shook his head. "I don't really like being called Alfred. So, please call me Alfie from now on." Alfie rose and gathered the dishes but, before he could walk them to the sink, Matt was on his feet and taking them from him. "I can wash the dishes, and I'll call you Alfie if you call me Matt."

  Alfie looked at him for a few seconds without saying anything before his smile appeared again. "All right."

  Matt watched as Alfie left the room with Sam hot on his heels, making adorable yapping noises and trying to nip at his feet. Alfie moved too fast for his short puppy legs. It was cute as Alfie kept making small steps then longer strides to keep the puppy entertained while chuckling softly as they went down the hallway to where his room was.

  After cleaning the dishes and putting them on the drying rack, Matt made his way back into his room to gather his wallet and phone.

  When he entered the living room, he saw the other two waiting for him at the door. "Well, off we go to your first day. It’s not that complicated. So, there isn't much to show you. We should be done when your mother stops by. I'm afraid I have a meeting to attend to so I will sadly miss her visit, but please send her my regards," Alfie said as he wrapped a light scarf around his neck. The color was a deep plum purple, and it brought out the green of Alfie's eyes. Matt was momentarily entranced by the vivid green irises of his new boss. Matt snapped out of it rather quickly and shrugged. "I'm sure she'll visit again soon. Then you can meet her then."