Kell

 

“When should we start your lessons? We have a deal,” Kell asked, sitting across from Ty at a two-top table. His rotisserie chicken salad was delicious. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten so well. He’d heard a lot about Paces & Vine restaurant, but he hadn’t had a chance to indulge. Simply wasn’t in the budget. The laid-back eatery had. a pretty decent crowd and he was relieved that Ty was giving him a little breathing room. Not that he didn’t like him being close, it was just Ty had a way of turning Kell into a ‘yes man’ whenever he was.

“There’s no need to rush. We have to be at Duke’s every day, so…” Ty ate a piece of his pan-seared Ahi. “Most likely after we finish training.”

“I don’t think so.” Kell reached over and gripped Ty’s wrist. He rotated it so he could see the face of his watch. “It’s only four. The dojo is empty on Tuesday evenings. I can show you a few things tonight unless you have other plans.”

Ty turned his hand over and grazed his fingers across Kell’s palm. “Okay. We’ll go there if you want. Tonight it is, then.”

They ate some more but there was something serious on Kell’s mind, had been since Ty had spoken about his father. Kell pushed his almost empty plate to the side. He stared at the man sitting across from him as strong feelings flowed through him, “Tyrell.”

Maybe it was the way Kell said his name, but Ty carefully put his fork down and gave him his full attention, “Yes.”

“At first I didn’t understand Duke’s training system. The partnering. He didn’t exactly give us a courting period, did he? He brought us together late on a Friday night and said, ‘meet your new partner’… we start at dawn. I thought he’d lost his mind. I wasn’t crazy about the idea of having a partner, training buddy, or whatever. Until I saw you… until you spoke.

We already have some trust between us.” Kell exhaled slowly. “To be an efficient team we have to keep learning each other and I’ve enjoyed getting to know you these past several days. But I don’t want to monopolize your time, Ty. You must have so much you want to talk about with Brian.”

A few wrinkles creased the center of Ty’s smooth forehead. He looked to contemplate what he wanted to say, first. Then he reached across the table and Kell met him half way. Their fingers weaved together, palms pressed firmly together. “Thank you. I appreciate you considering that. And I can see it’s weighing heavy on your mind.”

“It is. You said last night you stopped practicing your faith when your father didn’t return home.” Kell held Ty’s hand tighter. He was holding another man’s hand in a public restaurant where people were probably stealing glances at them. At the exceptional couple they made. Kell ignored it. Ty was his only focus. “I want to be honest with you like you asked. The first night Brian came for you, he told all of us that he was the only one who truly knew what happened to your dad. Did he confess this to you?”

Ty’s soulful eyes held his. “Yes. He told me.”

“He did?” Kell leaned forward in his seat. “Have you had a chance to sit down with him?”

“I’m not going to.” Ty signaled for the check.

“Ty, I—”

“I demanded Brian tell me right there in my apartment what happened to my father before I would go anywhere with him. We were damn near in a standoff.” Ty’s gorgeous face was transformed to a son in pain. “He told me my father died in his arms after being a prisoner of war for months. I don’t need to know any more. I can’t hear the details, Kellam.”

Kell wished he could put his arms around Ty’s strong shoulders and bury his face in the warm skin around his throat. “You don’t know if—”

“I know.” Ty groaned painfully. “Look at Brian’s face… look in his eyes. I can see everything that happened to my father with one look at him. I know enough.”

The waiter brought their check, giving them both a sympathetic smile. Ty placed several twenties into the billfold and slide it to the edge of the table. “You ready?”

“Yes.”

They left side by side.

“Where are we going?” Kell asked after walking down Northside Parkway, crossing over West Paces Ferry.

“Just walking,” Ty said, staring straight ahead. They were at the end of the block “If I talk to Brian it’s going to be about my father’s life, not his death. I did want to know the truth, I am his only son. I have that right. But, now I know, and it wasn’t anything like I was…” Ty sighed.

He could see how bad Ty was hurting. He could feel it. He wasn’t sure what to say to ease him, wished he knew his partner well enough to comfort him in the way he needed. Instead of mumbling a bunch of words that meant nothing, Kell reached up and clasped Ty’s elbow. His partner turned and looked down at him but didn’t speak, instead using that powerful silence he’d mastered. Maybe his throat was blocked by emotions that would choke him if he dared to speak. It had to be devastating for Ty to lose his father right at the start of his adulthood. He sounded very special to him, as if they had an inseparable bond. And something in Ty broke when his father was taken from him with absolutely no explanation… until almost ten years later. Kell closed his eyes.

Jesus. What do I say? Give me the words. How could Kell understand and provide words of comfort and condolence when his own father was the direct opposite of Ty’s father? One-hundred percent. He opened his eyes. Ty was watching him patiently, quietly.

“I’m so, so sorry about your dad, Tyrell. I really am.”

Ty squeezed his eyes shut and lowered his face until his forehead was almost resting on Kells’. God, Ty’s open display of heartache was killing him. He was completely unguarded as if his pain was safe, as if he knew Kell wouldn’t add to his hurt. And that was the truth. He would never hurt his partner if he could help it. He only wanted that smile back. Wanted Ty’s teasing, sweet-natured authority to hurry back. Wanted him to be okay.

Kell whispered reverently, “I never met your father, but I know he was a great man.”

Kell felt Ty’s gloved hand lightly touch his chin, then lift his face until he was forced to gaze in his eyes. They had stopped on the sidewalk, just a few feet from the bus stop. No one else was around, the cold ensuring that no one else would come, either.

“How do you know?” Ty’s question was full of hopeful curiosity.

Kell pushed his scarf below his chin and licked his suddenly dry lips. Ty’s eyes warmed to golden-brown as they locked on that movement.

“I know, because I’m getting to know his son. And so far, I’m liking what I’m learning.” Kell smiled and shook his head slightly, looking at Ty’s stylish boots, then slowly dragging his eyes up to the shiny, platinum dog tag resting in the center of his nice chest. He stood over six feet, with his hands tucked into the pockets of his heavy wool coat. He’s so ’freakin sexy. “And so far, I think you’re amazing. A man that’s a purer cut and a finer quality than any man I’ve ever met. A great man. A son I can only assume your father groomed in his image.”

When he chanced a glance upwards, he saw Ty’s smile. The warm, relaxed one that only seemed to show up for him. Ty’s mood appeared to transform right there in front of him. The corners of his full lips curved upward, and his eyes glistened in the coming of dusk.

“Thank you,” Ty rasped.

He took Kell’s hand, in that fingerless glove, and tucked it tighter in the bend of his elbow and locked it there. Turning, he led them back up the sidewalk, Kell falling in step a few inches behind Ty’s tall frame. Which also did a pretty good job of blocking most of the biting wind. 

“It’s not late. You still up for going to the dojo?” Kell asked, wanting to turn the evening in another direction.

“I don’t have my gym bag with me or a change of clothes.”

With Kell’s hand hooked in Ty’s arm they moved easily beside each other. “I can still show you some basic tosses with the blades. Then we… I can show you around the place. It’s my home away from home, I guess. I practically grew up there.”

“That’ll be dope, shorty. Yeah, let’s check it out.” Ty stopped by one of the benches at the bus stop and led Kell to sit down before settling close beside him. “I’ll send for a Lyft. I don’t wanna wait on the bus.”

After Kell gave him the address to the dojo, Ty arranged the ride. He tucked his phone into his coat pocket and leaned back, getting more comfortable on the cold steel bench. Kell shivered, inching closer to Ty’s masculine heat.

“You too cold? We can wait inside the store over there, if you want?” Ty asked, draping his heavy arm around Kell and nestling him deeper into his side.

I’m so damn perfect right now. “I’m good. We can wait here.” Just like this all night long. He was so close he could smell Ty’s deodorant. His cock twitched valiantly in the freezing temperature.

While they waited in the silence Kell’s thoughts drifted to their bust this afternoon. “I was just thinking about the jumper this morning. Smith, the golfer. I hope his wife, girlfriend or whatever didn’t leave him. He looked so dejected.”

“She probably did,” Ty said, with little feeling.

Kell sighed. “Darn, I hope not.”

Ty turned toward him, “And why shouldn’t she?”

“Well.” Kell frowned as if it was obvious. “Loyalty. And if she’s his wife, then she should be there no matter what. For better or for worse.”

“Smith messed up. Sometimes a man’s penance for his wrongdoings is his greatest treasure.”

Kell understood that. “I know, but…”

“There’s no buts,” Ty said. “He fucked up. At some point Smith lost sight of what it meant to be a man. What it meant to be a husband, a provider, a protector and a lover.”

“How do you know this?” Kell challenged.

“He’s in jail, ain’t he?” Ty said seriously. “And not for protecting his own, or mistaken identity, but for marijuana. I can’t get down with that kind of ignorance to justify it.”

Kell scoffed, “I hate drugs. God, Smith is a successful businessman. What was he thinking about?”

“’Gettin blazed,” Ty jibed.

Kell laughed then elbowed his partner in his side. “It’s all so black and white for you, isn’t it? He made a mistake… he pays the piper. No ifs, ands, or buts. No second chances.”

“There’s a woman home alone right now because her husband thought he couldn’t handle life without an illegal, mind-altering substance. She’s maybe eating dinner alone, right now. Will go to bed tonight unprotected and cold without her husband’s warmth. She’ll suffer, her mind will suffer, her body will suffer, because of his stupidity.” Ty stared deeply into Kell’s eyes. “Unacceptable. So, yes. It’s that clear to me.”

Kell didn’t chastise Ty for being a bit harsh and a tad judgmental. He didn’t want to. He was trying to understand Ty’s unique ways and interesting view of life. His intensity about relationships. When their Lyft pulled up to the curb, Ty got up and held the back door open for him. Kell slid into the seat, feeling like he may have hit the jackpot.