Chapter 14 Wholeheartedly and Undeniably #3
“Thanks for the ride. I’ve never been carried like that. I do kind of remember you carrying me into my room that one time, but that was different.”
I hold the door to the pub open, and Vincent steps inside first. I see the two men that walked in a few moments ago.
They definitely look out of place here. They’re both dressed in casual suits—one is wearing gray, and the other is wearing dark blue—they appear around the same age as us, probably in their twenties.
There are only two seats at the bar, and of course, they’re right beside those two.
Most of the people inside are staring over while we walk toward the empty seats.
When we sit down, I angle my body so that I’m half-facing Vincent. “Do you know these two next to me?” I whisper.
Vincent leans his head around me. “Nope. Never seen them before.” He waves to Muffy who is dropping off a drink at the opposite end of the bar.
“Ah, the two future captains!” he calls out, walking toward us. “Only a few days left! Two beers, right?”
The man in the gray suit is craning his neck to look at me and Vincent. Normally I’d offer a smart-ass type of greeting with the way he’s staring over, but something about these two is telling me I shouldn’t say anything.
Muffy places two beer bottles in front of us and pops the caps off.
“Thanks,” Vincent says. The guy in the gray suit isn’t even trying to hide the fact that he’s staring over at this point. Vincent looks over and gives him a nod. “You guys aren’t from around here. I don’t recognize you.”
The man in the navy suit swivels his chair toward us but doesn’t say anything.
“We are from around here actually,” the man in the gray says. “I’m—”
The man in the blue shakes his head. “Don’t. There’s no reason to introduce yourself right now.”
“Oh, Michael, it’s fine,” he says. “I’m Brody and this is Michael. We’re here for work stuff. You’re Vincent and he’s Sivan, right?” he says to Vincent.
“Yeah,” Vincent replies. “But it’s strange that you’re from around here and I’ve never seen you.”
“Anyway,” I say, cutting in. “You guys enjoy your afternoon. We’re just here for a drink or two.” I lift my beer toward them in salute and turn slightly toward Vincent.
“Sorry about earlier,” Vincent says, looking at me. “I don’t know what came over me. I was just really upset over Matteo. Makes me feel stupid that I even cried about it.”
I can’t talk to him about Matteo with these two over my shoulder like this. “It’s okay. You don’t need to apologize for having feelings. He’s your brother and he’s acting really shitty. Are you worried about him? Or are your feelings hurt because of his reaction to everything?”
He takes a long drink of his beer, nearly downing half of it.
“Both, plus I’m just confused as to why he lied to me the entire time we were apart.
He repeatedly told me that you never asked to see me while I was sick.
And what was his whole angle with trying to make me hate the idea of joining crews?
The only reason we can’t is because of our fathers and stupid tradition, it’s all so fucking dumb.
The treaty is dumb, Captain Slicer is dumb, this bullshit about the captain tattoo is dumb, getting slapped by that monkey was really dumb.
This day is dumb.” He takes another drink, finishing off his beer.
Brody nearly spits his drink out; I assume he was listening to Vincent.
Before I say what I’m thinking about Matteo, I really need to gauge what these two beside us are doing here, because my gut tells me they aren’t here just for drinks.
“Yeah, that monkey was crazy,” I say. “Did you notice anything strange about it? Our fathers definitely did.”
He waves a hand over to Muffy, flagging him down for another beer. “Why does everyone notice stuff that I don’t? I have no idea. It was a slap-happy monkey who ran around smacking everyone, which, like I said yesterday, made me feel better. I thought he just hated me.”
I can see Brody stifling a laugh in the mirror behind the bar. Yeah, these guys are definitely listening to our conversation, which is probably why they aren’t talking to each other at all.
Leaning in close toward Vincent, I tuck his hair behind his ear and whisper, “Hey, those guys are listening to us. Look in the mirror and see if they’re watching.”
The other people behind Vincent are definitely looking over, since I’m so close to him. His cheeks turn a light shade of red as he nods his head. “You’re blushing, Vincent. I’m finding it very hard not to kiss you right now.”
I look to the left in the mirror and see the two men watching us. I pull back from Vincent and swivel my chair to face them. “So, what kind of work are you guys here for? The kind of work that pays you to watch the two of us?”
Michael cups his face in his hands, rubbing his temples.
Brody leans forward, giving me a smile. “No, we’re not here for you guys right now. We’re just having a drink. But since we’re talking, how long have you two been sleeping together?”
Vincent spits his drink out at the question. I pick my beer up before answering and take a quick sip. “Excuse me? What did you just ask us?”
Michael shakes his head and gives Brody a disapproving look.
Brody shrugs at Michael then turns to me. “I asked how long you two have been sleeping together.”
I don’t know how to respond because I really feel like I shouldn’t engage with these two. At the same time, who in the hell would ask someone they just met that kind of a question? I was leaning in toward him, but it’s not like I kissed him.
“Are you gonna answer him? Or should I?” Vincent asks me.
I take another sip of my beer. “Who said we’re sleeping together?” I ask, looking at Brody.
“Oh, you’re definitely sleeping together. It doesn’t take a genius to figure that out. It may take another gay man, but not a genius.”
“Holy shit. Brody, be quiet,” Michael says. “I told you not to talk to them. We’re here for work, not to socialize.”
“Excuse me,” Brody says. “I am working, same as you, but I can talk. I’m just curious how long they’ve been sleeping together, because I’m pretty sure no one else knows.”
Vincent leans forward, looking down the bar at Brody. “What did we do that makes you think we’re sleeping together? Because we…that’s not important. Just tell me why you think that.”
Michael shakes his head and takes a sip of his drink. “Don’t answer him,” he says to Brody.
“What? Why not?” Brody asks. “He’s asking me what I noticed.
It would be rude not to answer.” He waves Michael off.
“Well, we saw Sivan carrying you, which, unless you were hurt, drunk, or maybe if he lost a bet, wouldn’t happen unless you were sleeping together.
Toxic masculinity dictates that you’d be worried girls might get the wrong idea if another guy was carrying you.
I also saw you kiss his cheek. A kiss on the cheek is nothing, but that coupled with the piggyback ride, paints a pretty clear picture.
I’m pretty sure both of your faces lit up at the kiss, but I was trying not to be obvious when I saw it.
After that, Sivan did not sit down until you did, which is pretty cute.
” He clears his throat and starts again.
“Therefore, he’s treating you subconsciously like something he treasures, he wanted to make sure you were comfortable before he got comfortable.
To top it off, Sivan here tucked your hair behind your ear and whispered to you, but made sure that the bartender was at the other end of the bar when he did so.
He also caught on to us watching you two and asked if you noticed it.
All those things, combined with a few others, are enough for me to come to the conclusion that you two are definitely sleeping together. ”
“You also haven’t denied it,” Michael adds. “That’s not an invitation to talk about it, I just wanted to point that out.”
I shrug. “None of that means we’re sleeping together.”
“As my husband here pointed out, you haven’t denied it,” Brody says.
I drop an eyebrow and look at their hands for wedding bands, which I don’t see.
Michael seems to notice my expression and sticks his hand in his pocket, then slides a black band onto his ring finger. Brody then does the same. “We don’t wear them when we’re working,” Michael says.
“You guys are actually married?” Vincent asks.
“Five years this year,” Brody says with a smile.
“I’m only asking how long you’ve been sleeping together because the bond between you is obviously strong, you’re very comfortable with each other, but the shifty eyes and the body language toward the outside world, tells me that no one else knows.
It’s like you’ve been sleeping together a short time but have known each other forever. That’s what it seems like.”
Michael is shaking his head at him. He seems not to approve of anything Brody says or does.
“Yeah, everyone knows we’ve known each other our whole lives, though. Doesn’t really prove anything, but it’s cool you guys are married,” Vincent says.
Brody rolls his eyes. “It is cool. But there was a time that we weren’t sure if we’d get married because Michael was a bit afraid of what people would think.
More specifically, he was worried about my father—he’s kind of a big deal in the community, so coming out as gay might not be a huge deal to some people, but in my family, I was expected to marry a girl, have kids and follow in my dad’s footsteps.
I didn’t really care about what anyone else wanted for me though, because I knew I wanted this grumpy, well-hung bastard once he put it on me—well, in me.
” Brody laughs, and for once, Michael does, too.
“You’ll never change,” Michael says. “The stuff you say to people.”
Brody smiles and kisses him on the cheek. “You love me. Besides, I said you were well hung before calling you a bastard.”
“We’re working!” Michael says, leaning away from him.