Cody — 3
I hastily wrapped the towel around my waist and all but ran for the door. Someone was pounding on it, and I wasn’t sure what was going on. I pulled it open, only to be faced with Hawke’s smirking face.
“Well, that explains why you weren’t answering your phone,” Hawke said as he pushed past me and into the cabin.
“Do come in. I thought we said six? It’s only five thirty.”
“I know. I had an idea though.”
“And that couldn’t wait?”
“Not really. What do you say we snatch Tris, go to Five Guys, and then head to the Blue Diamond? I haven’t been in a while, and if you’re up for hanging out in a gay club, I’d like to dance.”
“You know I have no problems going to a gay club. I never have. But what about Trace? I mean, is he okay with you dancing with other guys? Are you?” I walked back to the only bathroom in the cabin, and after closing the door, I quickly dried off. It was then that I realized I didn’t have any clothes with me. Why would I? I lived alone and hadn’t expected company for another half hour. So, after rewrapping my now damp towel around my waist, I opened the door to Hawke’s annoyed face.
“Fine. You’re right. I messaged Trace and he said no way. Okay, so just dinner, then?”
“Dinner sounds good. Let me get dressed. Give me five and I’ll be ready to go.” Hawke nodded and looked back down at his phone. Besides, if Tris had just recently gotten his cast off, would he want to go to the club and dance? Probably not. I shook my head at the thought as I closed my bedroom door behind me.
“Dude. Did you start lifting weights again?”
I glanced down at myself and shrugged. “Not really. But I’ve been helping out around the ranch some. And I cleaned up this place, so there’s that.”
“Yeah, sure. If you say so. Who is she?”
“What? No. There’s no she.”
“All right. Who is he?”
I almost tripped over my own feet on the way to the door. “What?”
“What, what?” Hawke did his best to give me an innocent look, but I knew him too well. There wasn’t much about Hawke that was innocent. Especially with the way he and Trace had been looking at each other.
“Hawke. Why would you ask who he is?”
“Well, if it’s not a she, then my next guess would be he. So, you interested in some guy? You know it’s okay if you are. And besides, I mean, you played football in high school. You going to say you didn’t check out the other guys on the team in the locker room?”
“I didn’t check out the other guys in the locker room. Ask Tris. The two of us were usually rushing to get out of there as fast as we could so we could meet up with you.”
“Okay. I’ll let it slide for now. But seriously, you really need to—” Hawke stopped midthought when his phone chimed. He unlocked the screen with ease and read the message before looking at me with a smile on his face. “Tris is ready. Walker says he thinks he’s taking him out for dinner, so he’s all set.”
“Yeah, but won’t he be upset when we show up to take him to dinner? I mean, he’s expecting Walker to take him out, not us.”
“I’m sure Walker will make it up to him later. But for now, our third is ready.” I nodded and climbed into the passenger seat of Hawke’s truck. It took a while to make it to Walker’s place because the guy lived almost as far as Crooked Bend. Hawke pulled into the drive and bumped along the rutted path before parking in front of the house that Tristan and Walker lived in. I hoped to have a place similar to it one day, but I knew that day was still a ways away.
“Come on. I might need your help dragging him away from Walker. Although, Walker said he would help push him out the door if needed.”
“I feel bad, now that we’re here.”
“Don’t. Walker and Trace are meeting up with a few more of the guys from the firehouse. He’ll be fine.”
I nodded and got out of the truck to follow Hawke to the door. When he rang the doorbell, I heard barking inside and had to smile at Tristan yelling at the dog. Rusty was amazing, and I’d love to have a dog some day as well. But honestly, I needed to figure things out, like being an adult and shit first.
“Hey, you two. What are you doing here? We were just getting ready to go out.” Tristan looked over his shoulder at Walker, who had walked up behind him.
“Actually, the three of you are going out. I have a plan with the guys at the firehouse for dinner. You and I have plans for later since Julia is keeping Hannah and Livie.”
“Whaaaa—”
“Come on. We have plans, and you’re included,” Hawke said as he grabbed Tristan’s wrist. I wrapped my arm around his other elbow and helped Hawke carefully tug Tristan out the door and to the truck. He climbed in easily enough, but he did look a little troubled once we were on our way.
“Really, guys. What gives?”
“We haven’t been out together in how long? I mean, we’ve hung out with you at Walker’s place, but when was the last time we went out together?” Hawke asked as he drove back toward Sulfur Springs. It was the closest Five Guys, and now that the thought had been put in my head, I really wanted their fries.
“I’m not sure. I guess before the fire. Wow. Has it really been that long?” Tristan asked, looking first at Hawke, then me.
“I think so. We wanted to come and see you when you were released from the hospital, but your mom wasn’t having it.”
“Yeah, she went a little crazy. She saw the extra money she’d been giving the church, and with it her good standing, flying out the door when I left and removed her from my account. Then when I was released, she kept hiding my phone and crutches. I was basically a prisoner in the home I grew up in.”
“Damn, Tris. Why didn’t you tell us?” I was shocked. I knew things were bad with his parents, but I didn’t realize just how bad.
“I’m not sure. You seemed to have your own stuff to worry about, so I figured I’d just go on as always.” Tristan shrugged and looked out the windshield. What the actual fuck?
“Dude, no. You can’t say shit like that and then just say you’re not sure. You know you can always come to us with anything. I’ve known you two since kindergarten. And yeah, we’re busier now that you and I are in relationships, but still, we’re friends. Always will be.” Hawke sent a glare at Tristan before turning back to look through the windshield. He was right though.
“Tris, Hawke has a point. What’s changed all of a sudden? I thought we used to tell each other everything.” I quickly discovered that was the wrong thing to say to those two when they both turned and gave me identical “you have got to be kidding us” looks.
“What?” I asked.
“Don’t what us, Cody. You have absolutely no room to talk about keeping secrets,” Tris said while Hawke nodded.
“Care to elaborate? Because I honestly don’t know what you two are talking about. I’ve never kept it a secret that my parents only wanted me around for free childcare. And it’s not like Wyatt or Conrad need a babysitter anyway.” There was no way. And why the fuck did I have an issue telling my two best friends, that happened to be gay, that I was bi?
“You’re honestly going to continue to play dumb? Really?” Tristan asked.
“Give me a hint, because I’m not sure what you’re getting at.”
“Tris…” Hawke said quietly from the driver’s seat.
“No, Hawke. It’s been how many years? Two? You’d think he’d be able to tell us by now. Hell, I’ve known for even longer.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the fact that I know you and Max Woods used to fool around our senior year. Or how about the real reason you lost your job out at Muddy Creek Ranch. We’re your best friends, and we’re both gay but you can’t or won’t come out to us? Why? And then you ask why I didn’t tell you about how fucked up it had gotten with my parents? Really?” Tristan was pissed, and you could tell simply by looking at him. Add in the tone he’d used, and yeah, he was upset, and rightly so.
I sat there, completely shocked. They knew? Of course they did. We knew almost everything about each other. I glanced at Hawke, but he looked shocked, irritated, and something else I couldn’t quite figure out from where I was sitting. This definitely wasn’t how I’d envisioned the evening going. Thankfully, Hawke was pulling into Sulfur Springs, which meant our destination was only minutes away. I turned to look out the side window. I wasn’t quite ready to have this conversation.
When Hawke pulled into the parking lot, I quickly opened my door and escaped. I needed some fresh air. I…how did I…what did I even say to them? I’m sorry, guys, but I like both men and women? I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you?
“Cody? Hey, man, I’m sorry. I know coming out is difficult for everyone, and I had no right to push this. It should have been your choice, and I screwed up. I hope you’ll forgive me.”
I turned and looked at one of my best friends. Tristan had a look of complete devastation on his face, and I felt about two inches tall because that was my fault. “No, it’s okay. I should have said something in high school when I realized I liked both guys and girls. Actually, I’ve been attracted to both since junior high, but that’s not the point.”
“I’m still sorry. It really was a shitty thing for me to do.” Tristan put his hand on my shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“Not really. I mean, yeah but no. I understand what you’re saying, but I should have been honest with you two.” I looked over Tristan’s shoulder at a smiling Hawke. But he was almost always smiling, so that was nothing new.
“I knew, too, Cody. But it was your decision to tell us when you wanted to.” Hawke gave Tris a gentle shove, but Tris exaggerated it and flung himself into me, which caused both of us to laugh. Before long, all three of us were pushing each other and laughing so hard our faces were red. To anyone watching us, we probably looked like loons. The three of us had been thick as thieves for so long that this was simply who we were and we didn’t care.
“Hey, you two?” I started, sobering a bit from our antics.
“Yeah?” Hawke asked from under Tristan’s arm.
“I’m bi, guys. Or…maybe I’m gay, I’m not sure. My sexual experiences have only been with guys. First Max in high school and then Eric out at Muddy Creek.”
“Who’s Eric and should we kick his ass?”
“No. He’s not worth it. He was one of the ranch hands I worked with. We fooled around a lot, but when we got caught, he threw me to the wolves.” I held up a hand to stop Tristan’s protest. I knew what was coming but needed to finish what I had to say. “He’s so not worth it. I mean, yeah, he was a good fuck, but that’s it. But, subject change. I’m hungry. Can we go order our food?”
“Yes. I’m starving! I was actually looking forward to going out with Walker but only because he mentioned a steak house.”
“Oh, did you want to go there instead?” Hawke asked as we turned to walk toward the restaurant.
“No. He’ll take me when we get off shift next. That’s the thing about him. He doesn’t mind Taco Bell, but he prefers to go to nicer places. I guess it’s good to be dating an older guy.” Tristan shrugged but continued to walk to the door. He made a valid point though. He and Hawke were both dating older guys and seemed really happy. Neither ever appeared to want for anything in their relationship, and that was a good thing. Wasn’t it?
We entered the restaurant and were immediately assaulted with the smells of bacon, frying beef, and french fries. Yep, all the important things. We walked up to the counter, all three of us already knowing what we were going to order because we always got the same thing.
“Hey, Cody?” When I looked at Hawke, he appeared shocked. What now?
“Yeah?”
“Isn’t that the guy from the club? The one that followed you around?”
I turned my head in the direction Hawke was looking, and it was my turn to be shocked because he was right. That was the guy that had followed me around. But before that, he’d openly stared at me for the better part of an hour before he’d gotten up and approached our group. He was so much larger than either of the guys I’d ever been with, and that was intimidating as fuck. I wasn’t tiny like Hawke, but I wasn’t as big as that guy either.
“Hey, who’s he with?”
“Dunno. Don’t really care. Come on, let’s order.” I tried to tell myself that the man I’d started dreaming about—the man that made me wake up hard with my hand on my cock—being out with someone else didn’t bother me. But on some level, it did, even though I knew it shouldn’t.