Chapter Thirteen

 

A day after being dragged down the mountain by Keith and his friends, I had my suitcase on the bed and I was packing. Each movement hurt, especially my ribs that must have been bruised when Keith landed punches in my sides to get me to leave with him. He had thought I would have given in to him but only one thing had stopped me from leaving the condo yesterday evening when I’d arrived. I’d been in too much pain. He’d made sure they were mostly superficial wounds that would heal with time but they didn’t hurt any less.

My right eye was bruised where he had punched me in the face. I’d tried defending myself, of course, throwing in a couple punches too but, I was no match for Keith. With his friends there, they had easily gotten me down the mountain. And all the time, I could only think that Tate was going to believe I’d left him to go back to Keith.

I’d tried my best to mark the spot where the log cabin was but, I didn’t even know if I could find it on my own. I’d try though because Tate had lost so much already. The last thing I wanted him to think was that he had lost me too.

I was almost finished packing when I heard the front door open. This time, there was no mistake who had entered the house. I glanced at the clock in the bedroom. He was home already and it wasn’t even noon yet. Although he couldn’t get me to change my mind, not even with another beating, I had hoped to get out before he returned home.

I was zipping up the last of the two suitcases standing on the floor when he walked into the bedroom. Dressed as he as in a charcoal jacket suit, his black shoes shiny and his face freshly shaved from this morning, very little about him could relate to the monster he had been yesterday. Except for the angry look in his eyes.

“You still trying to leave me, Bryan?” he demanded, taking in the suitcases.

“There’s nothing left between us,” I responded. “Even if there was a little, you killed it all yesterday.”

He ran his fingers through his hair. “Would it help if I say I’m sorry?” he asked. “I was angry and didn’t want to lose you so I lashed out at you.”

“Whether I leave you or stay with you, was never a choice for you to make, Keith,” I told him. “It was always mine and what you did is unforgivable. Nobody deserves to be treated like that and it certainly wasn’t done out of love.”

“You were going to throw your friggin’ life away for a man who lives in the mountain!” he shouted at me. “You think he can give you anything?”

“I know he’s given me a lot in those days than I’ve ever received from you,” I remarked plainly. “It’s simple, Keith. I’m leaving and whether you want to beat me to a bloody pulp or not, I’ll always want to leave, and I’ll do so the first chance I get. You fucked up, okay? I gave you a chance and you blew it. Now leave me alone so I can give another man the same chance, a man who deserves it.”

“We’re not done yet,” Keith said stubbornly. “We can have another chance. See, my friends all know now that I am gay and that you’re the man I want.”

Before I could respond, the doorbell rang. “You should get that,” I told him as I reached for the two suitcases and tried to wheel them by him. He placed a hand in my chest and tried to push me back into the bedroom.

“Don’t do this, Keith,” I warned him, frustrated at his attempt to keep me here.

“You stay there!” he barked at me and stormed from the bedroom to get the door. I didn’t stay as he ordered but wheeled the cases alongside me down the stairs. I was halfway down when I saw him open the front door.

“Where the fuck is he?”

My heart skipped a beat at the unexpected sight of Tate, pushing past a protesting Keith into the house.

“Tate!” I cried in relief. “What are you doing here?”

“I want to know why the hell you left with him?” he demanded, just as I knew he would be thinking.

“You’re not welcome in my house,” Keith argued, trying to block Tate from entering further. Both of us ignored him. I wheeled the suitcase down to the first floor and left them to stand, while I approached Tate. Seeing him here was making me emotional but I was trying my damn hardest not to show it.

“I didn’t leave with him of my own free will,” I explained to him. “They forced me down the mountain then covered up their trail.”

Tate stalked over to me and cupped my face in his hands, frowning at my black eye. “He did this?”

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” I assured him. “I was just leaving.”

“It sure as hell does matter!” Tate disagreed and turned to Keith, his body taut with anger. “You wanna pick on someone your own size?” he snapped at Keith, collaring the other man and shoving him up hard against the wall.

“Tate, don’t!” I hurried over to him and placed a hand on his arm. “You’re better than this. We both are. We don’t need this violence. Let’s just go already.”

“You should be glad he’s a better man than both of us combined,” Tate growled at Keith. “Or you’d be flat out by now.”

I sighed with relief when he let go of Keith and took one of the suitcases. His hand on my back protectively, he guided me out of the condo. It was in the elevator that he hauled me up against him, squeezing me tightly.

“I thought you’d left me,” he murmured against my lips. “I thought the whole living in the woods thing was too much for you. And I want you to know you’re right. It’s about time I stop grieving for my family especially when I’m looking forward to us being one.”

I smiled tentatively at him. Although I had been about to run to him, I’d done a lot of thinking last night. I couldn’t let him win me over this easily. Plus, I needed to figure out my life. I had some money saved up, so I could rent my own apartment. I didn’t want to live with anyone but myself for a while. I didn’t intend for it to ruin our relationship, but I needed to rely on myself a little.

He grinned at me, then sobered. “You should have let me lay out that fucker, Bry. It would have made me feel a whole lot better about what he did to you.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and licked his bottom lip. “I know another way to make you feel even better.”

His grin disappeared into our kiss as our lips melted. We parted when the elevator dinged and he winked at me.

“Say, Tate, I think I should be getting my own apartment,” I told him. When he frowned, I realized he had taken it the wrong way and hurried to set him straight. “What I meant is that I want us to date properly but not living together like we did in the cabin.”

He frowned at me. “Why not? You having second thoughts about him?”

“Of course not! Whatever I had with Keith is history.” I took his hands in mine and hoped he would understand. “It’s just that I miss having my own apartment and being the boss of me. For the past six months, I let Keith dictate my life and I want to get back that sense of my independence. I need to get a job, find an apartment to stay and get back on my feet.”

“I can help you with all that,” he volunteered.

I shook my head. “Having someone take charge and get me out of messes placed me into this mess with Keith. I’m doing things different between us, Tate. I want to know that our relationship is centered around us, rather than what we have. Do you understand?”

“Will I have to like it?” he asked.

I chuckled. “You don’t have to like it but you’ll have to grin and bear it.”

“You’ll need some time to find an apartment,” he pointed out. “Although I could get you one in no time if you say the word.”

“No uh.” I slipped my arms around his waist. “I can’t accept that but I can accept staying at your place for one night. I’ll go apartment hunting tomorrow.”

He smiled. “Okay. I can live with that.”

He took my hand and we walked from the apartment building. “There’ll also be no hanky-panky between us. I slept with you way too fast the last time.”

“Can’t blame you. You’ve suddenly grown good taste in men.”

I tried glaring at him, but it didn’t work. I smiled at him, with a slanted gaze. “Don’t worry. I’ll have you falling in love with this Mr. Corporate in no time.”

I thought he would have shied away from those words, but he returned my slanted gaze. “Bring it on.”

As I walked beside him, I ignored the second glances we attracted outside the busy parking lot of the apartment building. The only person I had eyes for was Tate. My attempt to do things over differently wouldn’t be easy. I could tell he was already anticipating getting me back to his apartment building, but he would see how serious I was.

This time, I intended to do things the right way.

 

The End

 

If you enjoyed reading this prequel, Bryan and Tate’s story continues in a 65k word novel, My Dear Mr. Corporate. For a limited time, this book will be available for only $0.99 on pre-order and on release day July, 31, 2018. You can get your copy on Amazon Don’t forget to leave a review if you’re looking forward to more books in the Corporate Pride series. Scroll down to read an excerpt from My Dear Mr. Corporate