Sex in the Sky

Two days later, Scott was at home, watching TV when the phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Scott, is Coop there yet?” Rusty asked from the other end of the connection.

“Nope.”

“Good because I’m running late. He should be there soon, so tell him I’ll be there in about an hour.”

“No prob. Are you guys going out?” Scott asked.

“I dont know what we are going to do. What about you?”

“I’m chillin’ here, watching baseball on TV.”

“Oh, well, I’ll be there as soon as I can. Laters.”

“Later.” Scott said and hung up the phone. It was then there was a knock on the door. That must be Coop, Scott thought to himself. He walked to the front door, unlocked the dead bolt and opened the door.

“Hi, Son.”

Scott was shocked to see his Dad standing just outside the door. He froze for a split second and then tried, quickly, to shut the door. Randall Barber caught the door with his arm just before it closed completely. He forced it open and pushed himself inside as Scott backed away from him.

“You…you…you can’t be here!” Scott stammered. He was shaking all over, with fear and anger, but mostly, fear. All the old feelings he used to have when he was around his Dad came flooding back. “I don’t want you here!”

“Is that so?” Mr. Barber asked. “I’m surprised at you, Son. No hug for your Dad?”

“Get the fuck out of here! NOW!”

He ignored Scott. “This is a nice place,” Mr. Barber said, looking around but not really seeing anything. He had business to finish, oh yes indeed, unfinished business.

“I’m going to call the police. I have a restraining order on you. You can’t be here.”

“Now, Scottie. Don’t get all pissy. You’re just like your mother. She used to get pissy, too. I just want to talk to you. Besides, I haven’t seen you in what, fifteen years? You remember, you sent me to PRISON! Remember!” Mr. Barber slowly approached Scott who backed away from him until he was against a wall. Scott looked at the cordless phone lying nearby. He went for it. Mr. Barber quickly jumped in front of Scott, blocking his path. “Wait, Son….”

“Don’t call me that! I’m not your son! Not anymore!”

Mr. Barber snapped his fingers as if remembering something. “That’s right. You went to live with THOSE PEOPLE!” He yelled the last two words. “Don’t worry Scottie, I’m going to pay those nice people a visit and thank them. Thank them in my own way for taking my son AWAY FROM ME! No one takes my son away without me letting them know how much I want to fucking KILL them!”

“Dad, please, just go! Just go and I won’t call the police.”

“And I want to thank, what’s his name? The faggot you live with. Yeah, I’m going to thank him, TOO!”

“Please, Dad, please, just go.”

“Which reminds me, I want to ask you something, Scottie, are you a faggot, too? You live with a faggot, so you must BE a faggot!”

“Don’t call me Scottie. I ALWAYS HATED when you called me that! And don’t call Rusty a faggot!”

“Rusty! Rusty is the faggot’s name? Sure sounds like a faggot name to me.”

“Dad….” Tears welled up in Scott’s eyes. He didn’t want to cry, not in front of his Dad. However, he felt like he was twelve years old again and about to get beaten for no reason. It was exactly the same.

Mr. Barber walked directly up to Scott who again backed into the wall. He stood inches away from Scott. Scott could smell alcohol on his breath. “What? Are you crying?” Mr. Barber said the word sarcastically. “MEN ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO CRY!” He pulled his arm back and rammed his fist into the wall, an inche from Scott’s face. He stared into Scott’s eyes. “It looks like I failed turning you into a man. I tried so hard to make you into a man! Instead, you turned out to be a fucking PUSSY! I’m soooo proud of you.” Mr. Barber turned around with disgust on his face.

Scott looked at the floor. Then, he felt his hands balling into fists. His breathing became faster and deeper. “GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE!” Scott yelled and lunged for his Dad, throwing all his weight against him. The two men went down to the floor. Scott began punching his Dad in the back, in the ribs, in the kidneys. Mr. Barber turned over, throwing Scott off of him. He dove for Scott, trying to pin him under his body. Scott, adrenaline and fury fueling his hate, was able to scramble out from under his Dad and then punched him in the gut. Mr. Barber doubled over momentarily and then responded by punching Scott in the knee. As Scott reached down, Mr. Barber hit him again, just over his left eye. Blood spurted from the separated flesh.

They stood apart, breathing hard and staring at each other. Then Scott saw movement behind his Dad and it distracted him. Another punch from his Dad, this time, in the jaw; Scott saw stars as he fell to the floor.

“What the fuck!” Cooper exclaimed from behind them.

Mr. Barber turned around and looked at Cooper. Then he looked to Scott who was getting up from the floor, shaking his head to get the blood out of his eyes.

“Who is that? Your faggot lover?” He jumped at Scott who grabbed his Dad and used his own momentum to toss him into a wall. He crashed and fell but quickly turned over and stared at Scott again.

Scott quickly looked at the door. Coop was gone. Where the fuck did he go? His Dad came for him then, and the two men grappled. They fell to the floor, knocking over a table. They traded punches about the face and stomach. Scott could not believe this was actually happening. Mr. Barber pummeled Scott about his stomach and chest. Scott reacted by trying to protect his body. Then he lunged at his Dad, taking him down underneath him. They rolled on the floor, punching each other.

“Seems there’s some man in you after all, Scottie!” Mr. Barber said to Scott.

“I fucking HATE you! I hate you for killing Mom!” Then Scott spat in his Dad’s face.

Mr. Barber grabbed onto Scott’s shirt and pulled him within inches of his own face. “Did that bitch tell you she was fucking around on me? Did she tell you that? DID SHE!?”

Scott yelled into his Dad’s face. “Mom would never do that!”

“She was fucking around on me!”

“YOU LIE!”

“NO! NO! No. I swear. She was going to leave me, Scottie. She was going to leave you, too!”

Scott looked at his Dad. “You’re a fucking LIAR!” Scott screamed at him. “Mom would never have left me! Never!”

“She was, Scottie! She was!”

“NO!” Scott yelled. “NO! NO! She told me she was going to leave you. And she promised to take me with her!”

“You knew she was going to leave?” Mr. Barber asked. This seemed like a revelation to him.

“Fuck yes I knew! She was going to take me with her! She promised me!”

“She was going to leave us, Scottie.”

“NO! She was going to leave YOU, because you beat her!”

“I beat her because she was fucking another man.”

“NO!” Scott shook his head from side to side.

“YES!”

“Mom wouldn’t do that. If she was fucking around its because you beat the fuck out of her and ME all the time! Why did you have to kill her?” Tears ran down Scott’s face.

“I didn’t mean to kill her, Scottie.”

“BULLSHIT! You’re a lying sack of shit! I know you lie. Mom would not have left me. She promised!” Scott eased off his dad and sat next to him on the floor. “She was going to take me with her,” Scott said between breaths. “She promised.”

“There was no way I would EVER let her take you.” Randall Barber replied.

“So, you killed her?” Scott’s anger returned. He grabbed his Dad by his shirt. He tightened his hand into a fist and reared back his arm. A split second before the release, there was a loud thunderclap. Scott’s arm froze in mid-air, cocked. They both turned in unison to look where the noise came from.

Cooper stood just inside the house. He was standing with his feet planted a foot and a half apart, his arms were raised over his head and had a pistol clasped in both hands. With a determined look on his face, Coop lowered the gun until it was aimed at Mr. Barber.

“Get away from him, NOW! Or I’ll put one between your fucking eyes! And believe me, I can DO it!”

Mr. Barber held up a hand. “Now just hold on just one fucking minute…”

Cooper shook his head once, “SHUT UP! I said to get away from him and I meant DO IT NOW!” Mr. Barber, panting loudly and bleeding from various cuts on his face, slowly climbed to his feet.

“You didn’t have to kill her,” Scott said, sadly.

“Scottie…” Mr. Barber began.

“Scott, get over here, behind me, NOW!” Cooper demanded. Scott slowly crept to his feet and went to Coop while wiping blood from his face. From the opened door, they heard police sirens down the street. Cooper kept the gun aimed at Scott’s Dad. Squad cars screeched to a stop in front of the house. Officers crotched behind opened car doors.

“I’ll get them,” Scott told Cooper. Cooper glanced at Scott and Mr. Barber took the opportunity to head for the back door. He bolted for the patio door and Cooper almost fired the pistol but he knew he’d miss anyway. Instead he relaxed his finger off of the trigger and lowered the gun as Mr. Barber flung the door open and fled.

From just outside the house, Cooper heard, “THIS IS THE POLICE! PUT THE GUN DOWN! DO IT! PUT THE GUN DOWN AND COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR! NOW!”

Cooper slowly lowered his pistol and clicked the safety on before stepping outside the house. “He went out the patio door!” Cooper yelled to the officers, “He’s in the backyard!” He approached two officers with both hands high in the air. “He’s getting away!”

*****

Scott sat in the back of an ambulance and a paramedic attended to his injuries. Rusty was with Scott as Cooper talked to the police. Soon, an officer approached them. “Mr. Barber, we caught your Dad. They are going to bring him here in a squad car so you can identify him, just so we know we have the right guy. Ok?” Scott nodded to him.

Rusty asked the paramedic, “Is he going to need stitches?”

“Yes,” the paramedic said. Then to Scott, “You have a deep cut over your left eye. A few stitches will close it. The other cuts are minor, they won’t need stitches. I don’t think you have any broken ribs or anything but we’ll take you to the hospital and have them check you out.”

“No,” Scott said, shaking his head slowly. “No hospitals.”

“Mr. Barber, you really should,” the paramedic told him.

Rusty nodded to Scott, “You ARE going to the hospital so shut up about it.”

“Fine,” Scott whispered, too depressed to argue.

Then an officer said, “Mr. Barber, the squad car is here.” The officer looked questionably at the paramedic who nodded. They helped Scott out of the ambulance and escorted him to a squad car. His dad was in the back seat. “Is that the man who attacked you?” the officer asked.

Scott looked at his dad. He raised his right fist with the middle finger extended. “FUCK YOU, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!” Then to the officer, “Get him out of my sight!”

*****

Hours later, the three men returned to the house. They walked in and Rusty sighed to himself. There was blood everywhere.

“I guess I should clean this,” Scott said. Rusty stopped him. He looked at Scott’s bandaged left eyebrow. Eight stitches it took to close the wound. Like the paramedic said, Scott did not have any broken ribs but his stomach was badly bruised in several places.

“No, Scott. I’ll do it. You need some rest. You’re going to be sore in the morning. Go lie down.”

“I’m sorry for the mess, Rusty.”

“Its not your fault, Scott. No need to apologize. Go get some rest, Bro.”

Scott turned to Cooper. “Coop, I haven’t thanked you for what you did.” He held out his right hand. Cooper shook it. “You probably saved my life. Thank you.” Scott approached Cooper and hugged him. Coop hugged Scott gently so as not to hurt him.

“No need to thank me, Scott. Besides,” Coop continued, “it gave me a chance to use my pistol for the first time since I got it last Christmas. I took lessons and shot it on the shooting range and now I keep it in my car, just in case. But I never thought I’d really have an opportunity like this to use it. I have to admit, it felt kind of cool.”

Scott turned to Rusty, “You should have seen him. He looked like fuckin’ Dirty Harry! ‘I’ll put one between your fucking eyes!’ It was great!” Scott chuckled but then winced as his ribs reminded him of the bruises. Rusty laughed and so did Cooper. “One question, Coop?” Scott asked.

“What’s that, man?”

“Could you really have hit him right between the eyes, like, can you really shoot that well?”

Cooper blushed. “Truthfully? No. But he didn’t know that.” The three of them chuckled.

Then Rusty said to Cooper, “Remind me never to piss you off!”

“Oh, Rusty, I have a *special* gun just for you.” Cooper grabbed his crotch.

Rusty’s raised his eyebrows and grinned, “Mmmmmm, yeah!” Rusty went to Cooper and put his arms over Coop’s shoulders. They kissed.

Then Scott, looking sad and depressed, thanked Cooper and Rusty once more before heading to his room. The door closed. Cooper turned to Rusty, “Tonight really did a head job on him, huh?”

Rusty sighed. “Yes. I guess its kinda like finding out your dad is Darth Vader.” Coop nodded in agreement. “But he’ll get over it. Deep down inside, Scott’s strong. It’ll take some time, but he’ll get over it. Just like before.” Then Rusty pulled from Cooper. “Help me clean this shit up? I dont want Scott to see any of this when he gets up later. Then you can use your special gun on me.”

Cooper grinned a sly grin and quoted from the movie, “Do you feel lucky? Well do ya, punk?”

“Yeah, I feel lucky!” Rusty said and kissed Cooper passionately.

After they cleaned the blood, Rusty led Cooper to his bedroom. He stopped at Scott’s door. Quietly, Rusty opened Scott’s bedroom door and they peeked in the room. Scott was in bed, laying on his side facing away from them. He seemed asleep.

“Everything ok?” Cooper whispered.

“Yes, I think so.” Rusty started to close the door then Scott rolled over to face him.

“Rusty?”

“Yeah?” Rusty looked back at Scott who had sat up on his bed.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Scott asked.

“Sure.” Rusty turned to Cooper. “Go ahead. I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Ok,” Cooper said. Then he went into Rusty’s room.

Rusty entered Scott’s room. “Close the door.” Scott said.

Rusty closed the door and then walked to Scott who was now sitting on the edge of his bed, naked, except for a pair of boxer shorts. Rusty sat down next to him. He put his arm around Scott. Scott looked at Rusty with big, sad eyes.

“Rusty…..” Scott leaned to Rusty who pulled Scott to him.

“Its ok Scott. Its ok, man. Its over now.”

“Fuck! Oh fuck, Rusty!” Scott began to sob against Rusty’s chest. Rusty held Scott tightly. While wiping tears from his face, Scott looked at Rusty. “Tonight, Dad told me Mom had been fooling around on him and he knew she was going to leave him. That’s why he killed her. He told me Mom was going to leave me, too. Do you think she was? Do you think she’d leave me with him?”

“Oh Jesus, Scott!” Rusty looked surprised. “I doubt she would have left you.”

“Me, too.” Scott sniffled. “I can’t imagine her taking off and leaving me to deal with him.”

“He had to have been lying, Scott.” Rusty put a hand on Scott’s broad shoulder.

“Rusty, I don’t know why but I’ve never told you this. The night before it all happened, Mom came into my bedroom. Dad was out drinking, of course. Mom told me she was going to leave Dad and she promised to take me. She had me sit up on my bed. She looked right in my eyes and told me we would be leaving soon. She said she had it all planned out and for me to not to worry.”

“Do you think she WAS fooling around with another man?” Rusty asked.

“I don’t know, Rusty. I don’t remember anything about another man, but I guess it could be true.” Scott shrugged. “All I know is, she told me we would be leaving and that I was going with her. I asked where we were going and she said she couldn’t tell me but that it would be ok and that we would be free of him.” Scott looked at Rusty with red, swollen eyes.

“Scott, I only met your Mom a few times but I remember she was very nice to me. I liked her. Remember that one time, we’d just came home from school and she had baked chocolate chip cookies? Remember how they were warm and gooey and we gobbled them up and your Mom gave us cold milk to wash ‘em down?”

“I remember that! Those were good chocolate chip cookies, Rusty!” Scott, with tears in his eyes, smiled at the memory.

“Oh man, those were the best! I don’t think a mom who bakes chocolate cookies for her son would just up and leave him, right?”

“No, Rusty. She wouldn’t. I sure miss Mom’s cookies, Rusty! I wish she could be here to bake some for me now.” Scott’s broad, muscular shoulders heaved up and down as he began to cry, again. Rusty held Scott to his chest. He ran his hands over Scott’s back and consoled him.

“He was lying to you, Scott. He was lying to try to get you on his side. He was trying to get you to emphasize with him. He’s a lying sack of shit, and you know it.”

“You’re right, Bro. You’re so right.”

Rusty lay back on the bed, pulling Scott with him who continued to cry. “Its ok, Scott,” Rusty said. “Its ok. Its all over, now.” Scott’s sobs continued for a few minutes then began to diminish. He rolled from Rusty’s embrace and sat up with his legs over the side of the bed. Rusty sat up next to him. Scott took in a deep breath and sighed heavily.

“That’s just it, Rusty. Its not over. He’ll be back. Someday, he’ll get out again and he’ll be back.” Scott looked at Rusty with his eyes shrink wrapped in tears.

“Yeah you’re probably right, Scott,” Rusty said.

“So what do I do then? What do WE do then?” Scott asked.

“Well, we’ll have to be prepared,” Rusty said. “I’ve been thinking about this. We can take self-defense classes and we can do like Coop did. We can buy some pistols and take shooting lessons. Just to be prepared, for the next time. However, and I know its a cliché, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

Scott looked away and sighed again. “Fuck.” Scott’s broad shoulders slumped. Then he looked at Rusty. “I didn’t know what I was gonna do? If Coop….” His voice began to waver. “….if Coop hadn’t had been there. If he’d gotten here just a few minutes later….I might…”

Rusty interrupted him, “Scott, don’t! You can’t keep thinking if..if..if! You’ll go nuts.”

Scott sighed again. “You’re right, Rusty.” He looked away, again.

Rusty sat up and hugged Scott to him. “Look, man, get some sleep. I’ll call in sick tomorrow and we’ll spend the day together. We’ll do something fun and you’ll feel better. OK?”

“Ok.” Scott rolled into his bed, wincing at the pain from his bruises. He pulled the blankets over himself. “Tell Dirty Harry I said thanks, again.” Scott hugged the blankets next to his chin.

Rusty chuckled once. “I will. Good night, Bro. Get some sleep.” Rusty went toward the bedroom door.

“Good night, Bro.” Scott said.

Rusty gently closed the door behind him. Scott rolled over and tried to sleep. It was hours before he did.

Rusty went to his room and found Coop in the bathroon. He stood next to the toilet, pissing.

“Hey,” Rusty said.

“Is he ok?” Cooper asked as he shook the remaining drops from his dick and then flushed the toilet. Rusty put his arm around Cooper as they walked to the bed.

“Yeah, he’s ok. Just worried about next time,” Rusty replied.

“Ah, yeah. This isn’t the end, is it?”

“Nope,” Rusty said, shaking his head.

Cooper sighed.

“By the way, Scott says thanks again, Dirty Harry.” Rusty was grinning as he said this.

Cooper grinned also and then put his hands together with the forefingers mimicking a gun barrel. He blew imaginary smoke from the “barrel”. “All in a days work for Sheriff Coop in Rustyville! Them darn varmits doan know who they be messin’ wit!” Cooper said with a comical western drawl. “I be the law ’round ‘ere!”

Andy smiled half-heartedly but wanted to change the subject. ‘So what is it you do, Bill?’ Andy asked as Bill re-entered the room.

‘I was a cop for 12 years, but quit the force after I met Jake. Now I am the proud owner of a small bagel shop down on Fifth and Seventh. I haven’t been involved much in the day to day of things, but I intend to change that pretty soon.’

‘I know that place! You have the best bagels I’ve ever tasted, Bill,’ Andy said enthusiastically.

‘Well thanks, Andy, I’ll let Rosetta know her efforts are appreciated,’ Bill laughed.

‘Why did you leave the force?’ Andy asked curiously.

Bill looked thoughtful as Jake answered Andy.

‘The day Bill and I got married, we started a family. The thought of anything happening to either of us that would split up our family, well…’

After a moment Andy asked, ‘Have you ever regretted leaving the force, Bill?’

Bill looked over at Jake and said, ‘Not for one day.’

‘Aw baby, you’re my baby, you hear?’ Jake said sweetly.

‘And you’re mine,’ Bill said. Bill sighed theatrically before saying, ‘He’s so protective of me, even though out of the two of us, I’m more likely to come out of a scuffle standing.’

‘Says who?!’ Jake wanted to know. ‘I’ll let you know I was two time champion of my junior boxing club when I was younger, knocked those ignorant homophobes on their virgin asses!’

‘I love it when you talk dirty,’ Bill purred.

Andy laughed as they were once again cooing at each other.

‘I think dinner’s almost done,’ Bill said as he shot off the couch leaving a moaning Jake behind. While Bill dished up Jake refilled their wine glasses but he only took half a glass.

‘I’m driving tonight, remember?’ Jake answered Andy’s unspoken question.

After they sat down and said grace Jake asked Andy what his plans are for the future.

‘Well I don’t think the boy wants to make a career out of working at a video shop,’ commented Bill.

‘Who’s to say?’ Andy asked. Andy left Bill sweating for another two seconds before he burst out laughing. They saw the joke and joined in.

‘No desert for the Joker.’ Bill pretended to feel hurt. Andy quickly feigned remorse and they all broke out laughing again.

‘Seriously, though. At the moment I’m quite happy where I am in my life. I’m so glad I like it here and have a fun job,’ Andy paused and took a sip of whine, ‘but I think I might en roll in a part time paralegal course in the fall. I’ve always been interested in law.’

‘Well that’s good to know. At least you have some sort of plan going. Have you got any brothers or sisters?’ Bill asked.

‘No siblings. That I know of, anyway. See I was adopted when I was real small and always drifted from home to home until about four years ago when Mrs. Anderson took me in. It was only meant to be a temporary thing, but we hit it off from the start. The best four years of my life.’ The wistful tone in Andy’s voice wasn’t lost on anybody.

‘Where’s this Mrs. Anderson now?’ Jake asked gently.

‘With her husband,’ Andy answered. ‘She died about three months ago of a heart attack. She was only 61.’ Andy’s eyes misted over. ‘She didn’t have much,’ he continued, ‘but she left it all to me. Just a few grand in the bank and her house, but it’s the biggest gift anybody’s ever given me.’

Jake reached over and squeezed Andy’s hand.

‘Oh, no wait, I lie. The second biggest, her love and acceptance were the biggest,’ Andy clarified. ‘Anyway I sold the house and kept a few personal effects. I just couldn’t stay on living there, see?’

Jake and Bill both nodded, and Andy continued, ‘The money from the sale I want to use to buy myself a flat or something, eventually.’

‘Smart boy,’ Bill said. Andy smiled.

‘You said she’s with her husband? Didn’t they have any kids?’

Andy looked at Jake. ‘They had tried for years then she got pregnant with twins. Three months later her husband tripped and fell from a ladder he was standing on fixing the porch light and cracked his skull. It was two hours before she stumbled on him.’ Andy swallowed. ‘Two days later she had a miscarriage. She never married again. After some years she opened her home as lodging for kids that that needed temporary shelter while they were being moved or waiting for court rulings and so on. I was taken from my foster home because the man that was supposed to look after us took special interest in the girls, if you know what I mean.’

Bill swallowed and Jake nodded. Andy continued with his story. ‘There weren’t any beds open at the orphanage so they took me over to Mrs. Anderson’s, it was love at first sight, as she’d put it.’

‘So she found a son and you a mother.’

Andy nodded at Bill.

‘But now I’m back at square one, no family, no friends.’

‘Hey,’ Jake interrupted, ‘who are we, then?’

Andy laughed before saying, ‘My mistake. But Mrs. A gave me enough love in those four years to last me a life time anyway. Anything else is just a bonus.’

‘You sound like a wise man,’ this from Bill.

They looked so sad Andy started to feel guilty.

‘Hey, sorry guys. I didn’t mean to put a damper on the whole evening. Leave it to me, eh?’

‘It’s fine Andy. We’re here to listen any time and we can, you know that, right?’ Jake asked.

Andy nodded and thanked them. Dessert was lemon meringue pie with whipped cream. After they had finished their dessert both Jake and Andy paid their compliments to the chef. Bill shrugged it off and said cooking was the fun part, it’s the cleaning up that’s the bitch and since he’s the husband and Jake the wife, cleaning up was Jake’s job anyway.

‘If I wasn’t so stuffed right now, I’d tackle you for that remark, “husband”,’ Jake said with a mock menacing tone to his voice.

‘Me too,’ Andy said and they broke out laughing. Jake then said that it was fine and that he’d do the dishes, it only meant Bill would have less time with him in the kip tonight and Bill sprang up and made for the kitchen, thanking his grandmother for her dishwasher wedding present.

Andy and Jake followed Bill to the kitchen and Andy said goodnight to him, thanking him again for the dinner. Jake and Andy went to the car then. The drive back went quickly for Andy, and the evening felt like it was over too soon as Bill walked Andy to the door of his building. They hugged and said their goodbyes, making promises to get together soon.

The Friday afternoon rush had just started as Alan and two of his friends walked in to the shop. Those solid black eyes sought Andy out and when he made contact with them Andy felt that strangeness creep up on him again. It’s not that Alan was creepy, Andy assured himself. It’s just that Andy got nervous when Alan was around.

‘Whassup, little man?’ Alan greeted Andy warmly.

‘The sky,’ Andy grinned. Andy shook himself mentally. No, Alan’s cool, he thought to himself. Alan’s two friends laughed, and Alan grinned at him.

‘A joke, I was beginning to think you didn’t like me. Guess I was wrong.’

Andy still couldn’t meet his gaze.

‘Aw, Al, I bet he’s just shy, is all.’ This from friend number two to Alan’s right.

‘You gonna introduce us Al or are you waiting for us to do the honours?’

‘Andy, this here on my left is Brewster, and this guy is Brian. They are two of my buddies.’

Andy shook Brewster’s hand and when he turned to Brian-wow. Now those eyes he could stare in to all night long, Andy thought. It’s not that Brian had particularly beautiful eyes; it’s more the story they told. There was warmth and sincerity in them that Andy didn’t see in either Alan or Brewster’s, or maybe he was just imagining things, he thought. But either way Andy found he liked this Brian. The rest of him wasn’t half bad either. His ocean blue eyes complimented his dark blonde hair perfectly, and his swimmer’s frame flowed naturally to make for one hot look.

‘Yo, buddy, you there?’

Andy blinked.

‘You totally spaced out there for a second,’ said Alan.

God, had he been staring? Andy thought.

‘Uh, sorry guys, I was just think-’

‘Can I help you boys with something?’ Julie’s voice would have been a welcome relief had it not been for the edge Andy detected in it.

Alan was all smiles as he said, ‘No, ma’am. We were just “talking” with Andrew here.’

Andy heard the same tone in Alan’s voice.

‘Well if you boys aren’t going to be buying or renting anything, I request that you leave my building, please.’

Alan looked at Julie as he said, ‘C’mon, guys,’ then looked straight at Andy and smiled, ‘Later, little man.’

The other guys waved and Andy yelled after them, ‘Later,’ and shot them an apologetic look. Andy rarely lost his temper, but when he did it was a phenomenal event. At that moment Andy was trying hard to keep it under control with very little success. He looked at Julie and said, ‘Jules, what was that?’

Julie stood stone faced, her mouth set in a grim line.

Andy pushed further, ‘I mean I know I’m on the clock, but I was just having a word. It’s never bothered you before, me chatting with customers. So what just happened?’

‘Yea well the thing is they weren’t customers, were they?’ She saw the confusion in Andy’s eyes and her face softened. ‘Look sorry about that, alright? I just don’t want their kind in my shop. And if you had any sense at all you’d keep your distance, too.’

‘What do you mean, “Their kind?”‘ Andy asked, an edge creeping into his voice now.

Julie’s face hardened again.

‘Listen, I’m still the boss here, aren’t I? And what I say goes. I don’t want them in here again. This is a family business. Now end of. The customers are waiting.’

Andy was being dismissed and he knew it. That was fine by him as he didn’t trust himself to say another word, unless he wanted to kiss this job goodbye.

It took Andy a while but he finally calmed down enough to feel like he could be civil to Julie again. He didn’t know how the waters laid so he approached her office cautiously. They had already closed for the night. Andy coughed nervously in the doorway.

‘Spit it out,’ Julie said without looking up from money she was preparing for the safe drop, ‘just get it off your chest and move on.’

‘I…I guess I just wanted to say I’m sorry.’

Julie looked up then, staring at Andy quizzically.

‘I mean, you’re right. This is your business, and you have the right to decide who should be allowed in here and who not.’ There, he’d said it. He was expecting to hear how sorry and unreasonable was. Not this what she would say, instead.

‘Listen, kid, I know you think I was in the wrong there, and I know you’re desperate for friends. But listen to what I’m gonna tell you now. Move on. They’re not worth your time. They’re not a good crowd. Trust me on this.’

Not what he was expecting, but Andy had already had one run in with Julie and didn’t relish the thought of another. He waited for her to finish so they could lock up and like every other night declined her offer for a lift home. He liked the walk home, got him in the mood for sleep. He still couldn’t understand Julie’s reaction to Alan and his friends as he laid in bed that night. He knew there had to be a good reason for the way she felt, but couldn’t think of what. Andy held the picture of Brian’s ocean blue eyes looking at him in his mind as he drifted.

The next few days were uneventful and as time passed Andy was longing for his off day more and more. It was Tuesday morning and he only had that Thursday off, so it was still a while. It had become like a little ritual for Andy to stop at the Deli and start his day with a bagel and tea. Andy was just stepping out of the shop when he nearly bumped into Bill.

‘You’re having that bagel on the go ’cause you’re in a rush?’ Bill asked. Andy said he wasn’t and accepted Bill’s invite to join him for breakfast.

‘What you doing in this part of town this early in the morning?’ Andy asked conversationally.

‘I told you the other night I’ll be taking more of a hands-on approach with the Deli. I wanted to experience the breakfast rush and get to know our regulars,’ Bill finished with a grin.

Andy and Bill talked about all sorts until it was time for Andy to leave. As Andy was leaving he asked Bill to say hi to Jake and that they had to do something again soon. Bill jokingly said he’d pass along the message to the wife and waved a laughing Andy off. Andy couldn’t picture either Bill or Jake in a ‘wifely’ role. Probably because they both exuded so much masculinity. Andy found himself wondering who bottoms and who tops between Bill and Jake, and blushed to the roots picturing Jake and Bill like that.

Later that afternoon as Andy arrived back from work he noticed that the elevator was on the fourth floor. He thought it quicker to take the stairs than to wait. Just as he was about to take to the stairs two at a time Andy saw a flash of dark black hair come round the corner. It was Alan…and Brad-Lee. Jeez, Andy thought, is this guy ever alone? They were so deep in conversation Alan and Brad-Lee didn’t seem to notice Andy standing there. Andy turned facing them and cleared his throat nervously. Both of them looked up and Andy experienced the usual nervous sensation at having Alan smile at him.

‘You stalking me, Andrew?’ Alan said good-naturedly.

‘We’ve gotto stop meeting like this.’ Andy grinned.

Without skipping a beat, Alan added, ‘Or people will start talking.’

They laughed, Alan seemingly unaware of Andy’s nervousness.

‘About the other night,’ Andy began uneasily.

‘Yea, tough crowd you hang with.’

‘I don’t know why she was acting like that. Julie’s usually dead nice. I can’t understand it.’

‘I know why she’s acting like that, Andrew. In fact I don’t blame her.’

Andy was confused.

‘You know why she was bitchy to you guys?’

Alan nodded.

‘Care to share?’ Andy asked after a moment.

‘Her sister and I had a thing once. Didn’t work out, she blames me. Simple, really. No big drama.’

‘It’s a bit petty of her, though. Chucking you out like that for something that happened a while back.’

Alan looked bored as he said, ‘She’s just being a sister.’

Andy saw Alan shift gears as heard him say:

‘So a few of the guys are having a bit of a get together this week. Nothing big, just some guys hanging out around pizza and some beer. Would be sweet if you could make it.’

Andy looked at him then. Alan’s naturally tanned skin was beautifully contrasted by a red V neck and black pants. Andy had almost forgotten Brad-Lee was even there. He was hanging in the background as if…keeping watch? Brad-Lee saw Andy watching him then said,

‘Yea man, it would be cool to have you.’

‘Um, when is it?’

‘Thursday evening,’ said Alan.

Andy didn’t know what made him decide not to go. Perhaps it was the conversation he’d had with Julie, or maybe it was the way he had caught Brad-Lee staring around, but said, ‘Sorry guys, I’m doing the late shift on Thursday.’ Andy wondered if Alan’s face actually dropped then. ‘The roster’s made up two weeks in advance and I can’t drop Julie now.’ Now he knew Alan’s face had dropped. ‘Rain check, though,’ Andy said to make himself feel better over lying more than anything else.

‘Sure,’ Alan said. They stood there for a moment longer before Andy finally said, ‘So I’ll see you guys around.’

‘Yea, see you around,’ said Brad-Lee.

‘Later,’ Alan said. Andy took the stairs two at a time. He didn’t notice the look on Alan’s face as he made his way up the stairs.

Wednesday afternoon as Andy was eating his lunch Julie asked him what he had planned for his off day the next day.

‘I dunno. I haven’t really explored yet, and I’ve never been in to the clubbing scene. I think I’ll have a lie in and then maybe catch a movie or something.’ Andy thought a moment then said, ‘I’ll probably fit my laundry in too.’

‘God, and I thought I had a sad life,’ Julie laughed.

Andy pinched her arm.

‘Ouch! What I mean is why don’t you do something that’s exciting to you? Live a little, have a life! Before you know it you’ll be 29 and spending your whole weekend breaking up fights between toddlers over the Pac Man machine and dealing with pissed off customers over late fines. Believe me, not something you want happening.’

They laughed and talked some more before the school rush began.

The next morning Andy slept in ’till eleven and didn’t even feel bad about it. He had a long bath and threw all his laundry in a black bin bag and headed for the laundry mat. After loading his loads and setting the cycles Andy went for a leisurely brunch at the Deli. By the time he made it back to his flat it was past three o’ clock. He settled in front of the TV and watched a DVD he’d brought from work. When the movie finished Andy started getting ready for his night out. Andy’d heard about a mall nearby that was pretty gay-friendly and that had several ‘gay-interest’ shops and were frequented by lots of gay people, so he got on a bus and decided to spend his evening there.

Andy felt excited as he got off the bus. He felt good in new jeans and a favourite shirt. Maybe you’ll get lucky tonight, he thought to himself and started laughing. Though Andy knew that he wasn’t ready for a purely physical relationship yet. He wanted his first time to go perfectly, and be with someone who really cared about him. God knows he’d fantasized about it enough. But Andy was a realist and realised the real thing would never live up to his fantasies. But that didn’t mean Andy had to stop dreaming. Andy wasn’t vain, but knew he was good-looking, or at least above average. He also knew that his smallish frame gave the impression that he needed to be protected, and when the time came he realised he would probably be the submissive. He knew he could never be the aggressor. That suited him fine. If he was honest, he kind of liked the idea of submitting to a man. He’d been looking out for himself for so long, it “would” be kind of nice to have someone else look out and care for him. He had accepted that because of the way his body looked, all boyish and ‘compact’, that it would bring out the aggressor, or ‘top’ out of many gay men. And he was actually really ok with it. Even slightly turned on by it. But he also knew that when the time came, it would be a mutual decision. And both he and his partner would be totally comfortable with the situation. That’s how he imagined it, anyway.

Stepping up to the booth at the cinema, Andy said, ‘Single for the 7 pm show, please.’

‘One ticket?’ the French man behind the glass yelled through the intercom in a thick accent, loud enough for the other people nearby to turn and stare.

‘That’s what I said,’ Andy grumbled quietly. Now everyone would know how sad and pathetic he was, he thought. Andy paid for his ticket and went in search of a restaurant. He found a nice looking Chinese restaurant with a lesbian couple dining in the window and decided on that one.

The rest of the evening didn’t go down too badly. The food was great and the movie wasn’t half bad either. It was past 9:30 and after browsing through a few shops and doing some window shopping Andy was ready to head home. Walking out of the building in the general direction of the bus stop a movement in the corner of his eye caught Andy’s attention. Turning his head he saw Alan and his friends emerging from a dark corner. He pretended like he hadn’t noticed them and carried on walking. Andy felt the presence behind him before he felt the pressure on his shoulder. He spun around and feigned surprise at seeing Alan and his friends. A grim feeling settled at the pit of Andy’s stomach as he stared into Alan’s eyes. That sort of glazed over look in Alan’s eyes was heavier that night. Up until then Andy had convinced himself he was imagining it, but he wasn’t so sure anymore.

‘Hey Alan, what you guys doing here? I thought you were having your guys’ night in?’ Andy hoped he didn’t sound as nervous as he felt. He felt Alan’s gaze on him for a few seconds before he said too calmly, ‘We wanted ice-cream, so we decided to head out.’