Chapter 3

 

Tam trudged into the cabin nervously, to find Casen missing and Mack laughing with Cormag as he introduced Levi as his new boyfriend. New being the operative word. With the relationship only a week old, Tam was still in that apprehensive stage of waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Even as he greeted Grayson with a hug and followed his directions to his new room for the week, he had to admit to himself that he didn't see good things in the future. Levi and Mack had readily admitted that they didn't do well in relationships. Maybe he was just being judgemental and trying to validate his fears any way he could. That was probably something Lachlan would tell him and, knowing that guy, he was probably right.

“He is.”

He lifted his head to find Casen standing in the middle of the room, arms folded across his chest. “Sorry? Who is what?”

With a smile, he nodded towards the living room. “Mack is happy. Levi is happy. Giovanni is dealing okay and Darren is terrified. So is Lachlan, I think,” he explained, putting a whole lot of meaning onto two small words. “And let's not forget that Konnor most definitely is not okay, Grayson is second guessing himself and Cormag is just trying to take it all in, before making a judgement about what might happen,” he continued.

“You got all that from two seconds?” Tam chuckled and dumped their bags onto the end of the bed.

“More like two minutes. And one minute can be an hour when you see the truth in someone's eyes.” Casen's eyes twinkled with mischief, as he walked over and planted a kiss on his cheek. He had that knowing look that usually got Tam into trouble.

Passing it off, he replied with, “If you say so.”

“I do.” He got the last word in, as usual, before there was a knock on their bedroom door.

When Casen went to answer it, he grinned to see Darren standing on the other side, phone in hand.

“Jaime just sent me a message and I need your advice,” he said, without looking up. “I would ask Lachlan, to let you two get unpacked, but he's taken Konnor for a walk. Something about getting air. I think he's overloading,” he explained, stepping inside once Casen stepped back to admit him to the room.

Tam watched his husband give him a passing smile over his shoulder, before shutting the door behind Darren. The kid wasn't someone he'd gotten to know well, since Casen was the one who had that unfathomable way of making friends with everyone, but he liked Darren. There was something sweet and vulnerable about him, despite the firecracker mask he adopted when in public.

“What was his message?” Casen asked, climbing onto the head of the bed, where he sat with his legs crossed in the lotus position.

Darren sank on beside him, leaning on the headboard. “He knows that we saw them snogging, because he'd accidentally left his Skype open for our chat, but forgot it was on when he and Jean kissed,” he began, with a whole lot of worry in his voice. “He sent me a text saying he's nuts about Jean, but scared, because he's the same build as an old boyfriend who didn't treat him right. Jaime said he was physically and emotionally controlling; that he even hit him a few times. With Jean being well built, he's worried about trusting the wrong person again and getting hurt,” he explained, in a gush of words that spoke of his real emotions.

Tam unpacked slowly, thinking over everything Darren had said. It sounded like Jaime was just another in the long list of their friends and acquaintances that had a dark secret in his past. He wondered if they had gravitated towards each other because of their pain or if it was their shared past of bad shit happening to them that made them connect after already meeting.

Shaking it off, he listened to Casen hum thoughtfully. “What did you tell him?” he wondered, sure that he'd given some kind of advice.

“Just to build trust and see how it went.” Darren shrugged, sounding unsure and a little nervous.

Tam could understand why. Having been hurt by an older, bigger man before, he knew how hard it was to encourage anyone else into a similar relationship, if they risked getting hurt. And, worse still, he knew that Darren had an idea of what it felt like when someone older and bigger took advantage of that difference, though he didn't know all the details. Casen had simply said 'You have more in common than you think'. And that was enough to tell him Darren had good reason to be nervous.

“Do you want me to have a word with Jean? To warn him why Jaime keeps backing off?” Casen offered, with that tone that said he was ready to lay some ground rules for Jean, if he had to.

But if he had that idea, he should really let Giovanni handle it. He wouldn't want his best friend doing the wrong thing, by accident, only for it to push Jaime away. Not if he could see how much Jean liked him, as Tam was sure he could. So a little warning might do some good.

“Why don't you ask Giovanni?” he suggested, butting in where he hadn't been invited, only because it was important. When Tam glanced over at the pair of innocent, sweet boys, they were staring at him with matching expressions of curiosity.

Darren sighed, then nodded. “That's a great idea,” he agreed, with a small smile. “Jaime said I could tell Gio, so I think he might have known that the best plan was to give Jean a word of warning. It might make it easier for him if Jean already knows why he's so hesitant,” he admitted.

Casen grinned at Tam, letting him know that his interference had been appreciated and well worth it. Then he turned to Darren and gave him a shoulder nudge; they never shared anything physical beyond the occasional hug or nudge, which let Tam know Darren's demons were more terrifying than his own. “We have all week. We'll work this out together; all ten of us. I know this is important to you.”

“Thanks.” Darren flushed just enough to be visible, then put his phone down and took a deep breath. “So, need a hand unpacking?”