Tyler
TYLER
After getting their drinks, Nate elected to walk instead of sitting in the cafe. Since there was a park not too far from there, led, and the two walked side by side.
“This is quite delightful,” Nate said, taking another drink as they reached the park gates.
grinned. “Told you. That stuff is ambrosia.”
Nate chuckled. “I can imagine a few of the fussier gods might have appreciated this.”
As Nate took another drink, allowed himself to steal another glance at him. Nate’s height over him when they were younger had been a draw for , and now he was taller than him and always would be. It didn’t detract from Nate’s good looks, but he filled out the black, pressed dress shirt he wore pretty well.
wouldn’t have admitted it under torture, but he was quickly becoming aware that his old attraction to Nate was coming back. He had lost what little baby fat he’d had in his face, creating a sharp jawline that itched to trace with his fingers. His hair was, as always, carefully coiffed, but remembered how it had looked right before they’d been interrupted, mussed from ’s fingers curled in his locks. And he couldn’t help but wonder if it would still look as good messed up by his hand.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Nate asked.
was glad he wasn’t the blushing type. “In this economy? Better make it a quarter.”
Nate chuckled. “Fair enough, but I tend to get slightly concerned when you grow quiet.”
scowled. “It’s not that big a deal.”
“It certainly can be.”
“I just have a lot on my mind, is all.”
“Would it be right for me to ask what?”
stopped, turning to squint at Nate. “Of course, you can ask, why couldn’t you?”
Nate looked down at his cup. “Well, I imagine after...everything, you wouldn’t exactly see me as a good friend to confide in. Not that I would blame you.”
“What? No, Nate, I…” he stopped. “Is this because of what I said when we last saw each other?”
Nate took a moment to respond. “I don’t blame you for it.”
sighed, fingering the edge of his cup nervously. The last time they’d seen one another was when Nathaniel told him he was being shipped across the country on his father’s orders. The Carter patriarch wasn’t going to risk anyone hearing about his son being with another man, and he was taking steps to make sure nothing of the sort happened again.
had been heartbroken, and not just because he and Nate had barely had the chance to find out if there was more between them. More than just teenage hormones running high. It meant losing his best friend, one of the few people in his life that could have counted as his. He and Nate had been practically inseparable since they’d formed their friendship, and it was being ripped out from under him.
That heartbreak had turned to anger, and that anger needed a target. regretted that it had been Nate who had borne the brunt of his frustration. Instead of telling his friend it would be okay, that they could meet again one day, and he would always count him as a friend, he’d told him that Nate should have tried harder and that their friendship must not have counted for much if Nate was willing to roll over so easily.
It hadn’t been fair on ’s part. It hadn’t been right. And he could still see the look on Nate’s face when ’s words had left his mouth. He never wanted to see that kind of heartbreak on someone he cared about, especially put there by him.
“Look,” he said, reaching out to take hold of Nate’s elbow. “I don’t want you...what I said wasn’t fair, okay? I shouldn’t have told you.”
“You were angry, and you had every right to be,” Nate said, still averting his eyes.
shook his head. “I was, but I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. We were seventeen, Nate and it was your dad making it happen, not you.”
A complex series of difficult to read emotions flit over Nate’s face before slipping behind the mask of neutrality. sighed, wishing he knew how to help Nate and suddenly realizing the man was as trapped as he’d always been.
Nate’s father had always been a controlling bastard and one who thought of his reputation before anything else. That meant Nate had to abide by his strict rules and think of his father before himself. It wasn’t a healthy way to live, and had known that even back then.
“Hey,” said, shaking his arm. “Look at me, okay?”
Nate finally did, though his expression was still stony.
smiled. “You don’t have to feel guilty about that, okay? It wasn’t your choice. And really, I’m sorry about what I said. I didn’t mean it.”
“Maybe you should have,” Nate said slowly.
shook his head. “Naw, because it wasn’t the truth. I was just pissed off that you were being taken away from me. That wasn’t your fault, it was your dad’s, and I should have told you we would be okay or something.”
“How would that have been any more the truth than what you said?”
gave him a pained smile. “I guess your dad hasn’t exactly got off your ass since you grew up, huh?”
Nate sighed. “That is certainly one way to put it.”
“So why come back here?” asked, begrudgingly pulling his hand away from Nate’s elbow.
Nate grimaced. “I can’t say I had much choice in the matter. My grades have been slipping in the past semester, and my father isn’t very happy with me. Rather than see me go down in flames and risk an...incident, he pulled me back here for the summer. It’s his keen hope that he can get me back into shape before throwing me back out again.”
grunted, finally leading them down a narrow path. “And do you think that’s possible?”
“Can he straighten me out?” Nate asked with a tinge of bitterness in his voice.
wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be a comment about Nate’s father’s reaction to the whole gay thing or if it was just annoyance that his father was constantly in his life, controlling him. Either way, he couldn’t help his sneer.
“I’m asking if you think you need to be straightened out,” clarified.
“Well, I am certainly making a botch of things. Perhaps I could do with some straightening,” Nate said with a heavy sigh.
snorted. “I tried that recently, didn’t go too well.”
Nate’s head jerked toward him, eyes widening. “What?”
snorted. “I was, uh, seeing this girl up in Greenford. Her name was Jessica.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that you…” Nate began, hesitating as though trying to find the words.
knew what he was thinking, and it made him laugh. “Yes, I date women or tried to date that one. Didn’t work out. Not because I’m not into women, but because it didn’t work with her.”
“I see,” Nate said slowly.
winked. “Still into guys, though, bisexuality is a thing.”
Nate scowled. “I’m fully aware of the existence of bisexuality, , thank you very much.”
laughed again, knowing he was starting to get under Nate’s skin. It was no different than when they’d been younger. Nate would puff up like an indignant bird and get a tone of indignation in his voice, almost haughty in its manner. Some people thought it made Nate sound snooty. had always found it endearing.
Nate cleared his throat, looking away. “So, it didn’t work with this girl, Jessica?”
looked away briefly, feeling the familiar stab of betrayal in his chest. He took a moment to respond, watching the park around them. There weren’t many people around, a couple of joggers on one of the far paths, the sounds of kids from the nearby playground, and a couple of overly dressed guys on the path far behind them.
“No. Turns out that being faithful has different definitions for different people,” said.
Nate hummed thoughtfully. “So, single, you decided to return to Port Dale.”
“For the summer.”
“I see.”
He almost asked what was going on in Nate’s head but stopped as he saw some color creeping into the man’s cheeks. For a moment, he completely forgot his annoyance and the faint stab of pain at the reminder of Jessica.
Was Nate glad he was single?
“I think Clay wants me to sow my wild oats while I’m here,” said, watching Nate carefully.
Nate glanced at him, raising a brow. “You have wild oats to sow?”
snorted. “No. I’m not very good at the whole party and casual sex thing. I was getting ready to leave the club when I ran into you.”
“Literally, I might point out,” Nate said evenly.
“I apologized for that.”
“Repeatedly.”
“Exactly.”
“Unceasingly.”
“Is this where you just say the same thing in a different way until I dump coffee on you?”
“It was a great deal of apologizing.”
raised his coffee cup in an obvious threat. “Quit.”
Nate watched him with an unimpressed expression, taking a slow drink from his cup. “You won’t dump that.”
glanced at his cup, thinking of the heavenly liquid of sweet chocolate, bitter coffee, and tart berries. “No, no, I won’t.”
“I know neither of us are back due to circumstances we would have chosen, but I am glad to have reconnected with you,” Nate said as they continued walking.
beamed, knocking his shoulder against Nate’s. “Me too. I missed having you in my life, Nate.”
“Nate. Do you know how long it’s been since someone called me that?”
“Uh, I’m not supposed to answer that, am I?”
“The last time was when you called it me it three years ago while yelling at me.”
wrinkled his nose. “Not the best last memory to have.”
“Maybe not, but it’s...nice to hear again. Even Sonia calls me Nathan, but you were the only one to call me Nate.”
“Ah, I liked her. She still in your life?”
“She is now I’m back in Port Dale. My father reassigned her from the kitchens to keep an eye on me. Why? I don’t know. I assume he thinks she’ll report to him, which she won’t.”
frowned. “Report to him?”
“Oh, my father has been keeping a very close eye on me ever since…” Nate cleared his throat. “Well, for the past few years. Now I’m back in Port Dale, he’s making sure he has eyes and ears on me at all times. He’s even added extra security to follow me around and lurk outside my quarters. He says, due to the fact it’s nearing re-election time, he needs to make sure the family is safe, but I don’t buy it.”
glanced over his shoulder, then back at Nate. “Security, huh?”
“I don’t know why he would think I’d buy his version of events. It’s not as if he had extra security on the family at any other election time. I think he just wants someone to report every little thing I do. Sonia managed to distract the pair assigned to me at the house so I could get out without a pair of overpaid babysitters,” Nate said, frustration lacing his words.
“Paid to follow you around,” repeated.
“Yes,” Nate glanced at him, frowning. “Why, what’s wrong?”
“Would they, by chance, notice you were gone, out from under their noses, and come looking for you?” asked carefully.
“They might,” Nate said slowly, looking over his shoulder.
“Don’t look,” warned him. “We’ve had a couple of guys behind us for the past half mile. They’re keeping a distance and sometimes hang back, but they’re definitely watching us.”
“Damn it all,” Nate swore softly.
grinned. “Want to get away from them?”
“Where could we go without them on our heels?” Nate asked.
chuckled, pulling some bills and change out of his pocket. When they rounded the next corner, the trees hiding them from view, he slipped them into Nate’s hand.
“ You are going to get away. And next time we make plans, we can find somewhere they won’t stalk us,” explained. “But we’re coming up to another curve. If you cut straight across and go to the nearest exit, you’ll find the metro. Remember how to use it?”
He could see Nate torn between scowling and trying to restrain himself. “Yes, I remember.”
“Then use the money I gave you and get yourself somewhere else. Then head home, and we can do this again,” told him.
“Understood, but why not let them catch up or keep following us? This seems like a lot of work just to delay the inevitable,” Nate said.
snorted. “Inevitable nothing. And just because there doesn’t seem to be a good reason doesn’t mean there isn’t.”
“That makes no sense, .”
“It means you can either play their game or your own. What do you want, Nate, to stick to the leash or have a little fun?”
And maybe, just maybe, he could get Nate to understand that he didn’t need the leash. didn’t know if that was best for Nate, but so far, Nate had never had a choice. Better to let him at least see there were other options, even if those attempts to educate him came in the form of stupid little games played at his bodyguards’ expense.
“Plus, I don’t like people following us around. It’s creepy,” added for good measure.
Nate snorted. “Fine, fine, just tell me when.”
waited until they rounded the next corner and were out of sight again. “Okay, now.”
“I’ll message you to tell you how well your plan worked,” Nate said before stepping off the path and into the trees.
grinned, waving him off, and kept walking, though he picked up the pace. He’d jogged through the park enough times to know the right paths. He had an idea that although they were there to keep an eye on Nate, they were using as the target to follow. His bright pink tank top would be easy to spot among the foliage, and he was the taller and larger of the two. If that were the case, he could keep the two men occupied, trying to follow what they thought was both of them while giving Nate time to get away.
It was a bit of trickery he’d learned from Clay and Elliot. The evasion tactics had been mostly Clay’s, though Elliot had piped in with helpful tidbits. had never had to use the skills before, and he was pleased to see they were working. The two men continued to trail him for the next twenty minutes, trying to keep up.
When he determined he’d gone long enough leading them around by their noses, he finally stopped and sank onto a park bench. A few minutes later, the well-dressed duo turned the corner in full view. noted the slightest hesitation in one of them, but they kept walking. caught their gazes, nodding politely, then continued staring into space.
When they walked on, he leaned forward, watching them as they stopped several yards from him. One of them made a call, talking in a low voice so couldn’t hear what was being said. The other stood at his partner’s side, looking downright pissed as he glared ahead. The man on the phone didn’t look much happier, and wondered just how bad a temper the security people in charge of someone’s safety was.
“Suckers,” he muttered, chuckling to himself.
He pulled out his phone and texted a picture of himself grinning, with the men in the background to Nate.
Got them off your back. Good luck .
A moment later, his phone buzzed.
I’ll thank you when I get home. Just saw a drunk man urinate on a trash can.
chuckled. Yeah, that sounded like the metro, alright.
It was good to see you, Nate. Maybe next time we can get some privacy.
I missed you too.
smiled fondly down at his phone. Whether or not he had been reading more into Nate’s words during their conversation than he should have, he was truly glad to have Nate back in his life. In what capacity and for how long remained to be seen, it was still better than where they’d been before running into one another.