Jealousy (26 page)

“
We grew up next door to each other.  We’ve been best friends our whole lives.  You don’t have anything to worry about.  We’re just friends.  I meant what I said.  I’ll never lie to you.  He’s like a brother to me – and that’s it.”

She took him by the arm and brought him over to a shelf that held an assortment of framed photos.  She handed them to him in succession. 
“This is from our high school graduation.”  She took another off the shelf.  “We were 12 years old here.”  She handed him another.  “This is when we were six.”  It was the same photo from the beach that Kenny picked up the first time she saw him after she came home from the hospital.  “And this is my all time favorite.”  She laughed a little and held the photo against her chest, so he couldn’t see it yet.  She waited for him to put down the pictures in his hands, before she presented him with the small square framed photo.  “We were six months old.”  Heather and Justin were in matching baby swings, both flashing toothless grins at the camera.

Nick took the photo and laughed. 
“This is really cute!”

He examined some of the other photos on the shelf and picked up one of Justin and Kenny. 
“Who’s this other guy?”

“
That’s Kenny, Justin’s boyfriend.  They’ve been together a long time.  He’s also one of my best friends.”

The photo was from last New Year
’s Eve.  Justin was sitting on a bar stool, while Kenny stood between his legs and leaned against him.  They each had an arm slung around the other’s neck, with celebratory drinks in their free hands.

Nick turned the photo toward her. 
“OK.  I can tell he’s gay in this one,” he said, with a laugh.  He put it back on the shelf and studied it.  “They’re a good looking couple.”

“
Do you have a problem with them being gay?”  She was nervous about his answer.  It could mean the end of their relationship, before it really started.

Nick shook his head. 
“No.  It doesn’t bother me.”

“
Are you sure?  Because it’s an issue that I’m very sensitive about.  I need to know how you feel.  The truth.”

“
I’m fine with it.  Really.  It’s not a problem.”

Relieved, she let
out a deep breath.  “Thank you.”

“
Why are you thanking me?”

“
Because,” she tried to find the words to make Nick understand, “he’s my best friend.”  That’s the only way she knew how to explain it.

“
Well, if he means that much to you,” Nick said, “I’m looking forward to meeting him.”

Chapter Fifty-Six:

Justin liked Nick right away.  There was so much Justin wanted to say, but he was afraid he wouldn
’t be able to control his enthusiasm and end up sounding like a babbling idiot. And as hard as he tried, he couldn’t tone down the joker-sized grin on his face.

Kenny seemed downright infatuated with Nick.
Kenny’s bright eyes radiated at Nick and Kenny kept commenting on Nick’s good looks.  Nick seemed flattered and returned the compliment, which sent Kenny into a bout of giddy laughter.

Justin found it amusing.
Terrific, he said to himself with a laugh, now my normally shy boy is flirting with Heather’s boyfriend.

When the flurry of int
roductions died down and they finally headed out for dinner, Nick was spellbound by Kenny’s new Mustang.  He ran to the car and ran his hand over the bright orange paint.  “This car is gorgeous!” Nick exclaimed.

“
Thanks,” Kenny broke out in a dazzling smile.  “Do you like the racing stripes?”

“
I think they’re great,” Nick said.  “Original.  No one else around here has them.”

“
Thank you.”  Kenny shot a smug look in Justin’s direction.

Justin hated the racing stripes and didn
’t want Kenny to get them.  They even had a small argument about it.  Justin thought an orange Mustang with black racing stripes would be too flashy, but there was no talking Kenny out of something once his mind was made up.  Now that Kenny had the car for a few weeks, it seemed to suit him well, although Justin would never admit it.

As they piled into the car, Justin caught Heather
’s eye.  She was positively beaming.

#

While Heather and Justin savored over the dessert case in the front of the restaurant, Kenny watched Nick, watching them, from the table.  Nick’s eyes never left Heather, and the corners of his mouth remained curled into an affectionate smile.

Justin pointed to a chocolate layer cake while Heather pointed to a lemon meringue pie.  They smiled at each other briefly, and then returned their attention back to the display case
.

“
They’re really close, huh?” Nick asked.

“
Close?”  Kenny raised his brow.  “They practically share the same DNA.  They’re inseparable.  It’s really very sweet.”

Nick shifted his focus back to Heather and Justin. 
“She seems very protective of him.  At least that’s what I get by the way she talks about him.”

“
She is.  But he’s the same way.  He’s always so worried about her.”  Kenny paused. “Sometimes I get a little jealous.  I wish Justin and I were as close as they are, but we’ve only been together a few years.  They’ve been together their whole lives.”  He placed his hand on his chest.  “Don’t get me wrong, I love Heather dearly.  I’d do anything for her.  If it wasn’t for her, Justin and I would’ve never met.  I saw the way she clung to him in the hospital and the way he took care of her . . . how he stayed by her side night and day and how upset he was, how much he loved her.  It made me see what a kind, caring person he is. Plus,” he smiled in Justin’s direction, with a twinkle in his eye, “the fact that he’s drop-dead gorgeous helped a little.”

“
Hospital?” Nick tilted his head to the side.  “What do you mean?  What happened?”

“
Oh, shit.”  Kenny realized he over-spoke and bit his lower lip.  “She didn’t tell you about the accident?”

“
What accident?”

“
Shit.”  Kenny flustered and shifted in his seat.  He assumed that Nick saw the faint scars still visible on Heather’s body and had inquired about them.  “I’m sorry.  I. . . I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Nick stared back at him with a furr
owed brow, obviously confused.

Now Kenny had no choice now but to explain. 
“She was hit by a car.” He let out a deep breath.  “I’m an R.N.  She was my patient at the hospital.  That’s how I met Justin.”  Kenny regretted telling Nick about the accident.  It wasn’t his place.  He said way more than he should have.  He betrayed Heather’s trust.  He should have told Nick to ask Heather about it – let her explain. Kenny’s cheeks flushed, and he rolled his eyes.  “She’s gonna fuckin’ kill me.  Me and my big mouth.”

“
Don’t worry about it.  I’ll tell her that I brought it up.  I’ll say that I asked you where you met Justin.”  Nick winked and smiled.  “So, Kenny, where did you meet Justin?”

“
I met him at the hospital,” Kenny quickly replied, “when Heather got hit by a car.”  He threw his head back and bellowed with laughter.  “I like you, Nick!”

#

The evening went well and Heather couldn’t be happier.  She kicked off her heels and snuggled next to Nick on the couch.

“
I really like your friends,” he said, before she had the chance to ask.

“
Really?  You do?” She had a big smile on her face.

“
Yeah.  Justin’s great, and Kenny . . .”  Nick laughed softly.

“
What?”

He laughed again. 
“Nothing.  He’s funny, that’s all.”

She noticed
that Nick and Kenny hit it off at dinner and they both shared the same affection for sports cars.  She rested her head on Nick’s shoulder, relieved that he got along so well with Justin and Kenny.  But so did Peter in the beginning, and look how that turned out.  She was a gullible fool at times. She pushed the thought from her head.  She wasn’t going to let Peter’s trickery spoil her evening, or make her doubt Nick’s sincerity.

“
It’s not easy for me sometimes,” she said, in a low voice.  “A lot of guys have a problem hanging out with gay men, and that puts me in a very difficult situation.”

“
I don’t see why.”  Nick shrugged.  “I never had any gay friends before, but I’m comfortable with my masculinity.  I’m not threatened by the fact that they’re gay.”

She looked into Nick
’s soft, kind eyes and knew that he was telling the truth.  A small smile formed on her lips.  He couldn’t have given a better answer.

Chapter Fifty-Seven:

Kenny bleeped the alarm to his car and headed into the mini
-mart.  Someone called his name and he turned to see who it was.  “Nick.”  His eyes brightened with recognition.  “Hi.  What are you doing here?”

“
I’m having a drink with my buddies after work.”  Nick pointed to the bar adjacent to the convenience store.  “I saw your car and recognized it right away.  Join me for a quick beer.”

Before Kenny had a chance to reply, Nick
’s arm was around his neck, and he dragged Kenny into the sports bar.  Kenny took a seat at the bar next to Nick’s longtime friends, who also worked for him at his construction company.  Kenny tried to contain his smile at the good looking construction workers. One was blond, the other dark-haired.  They both wore low slung tool belts that hung off of their hips, and their hard hats sat on the bar next to them.  Kenny started to imagine them, nix the shirts, when a Guinness magically appeared in front of him.

“
What’s this?” he asked.

“
Your beer,” the blond construction worker answered.

“
Beer?”  Kenny peered into the creamy white froth, and then held the glass up to the light.  “Why is it black?”

“
It’s Guinness.  Try it.”

Kenny hated beer.  A dirty martini was his drink of choice, but he figured, what the hell?  He was in a sports bar with a bunch of burly construction workers.  He sipped the dark ale and grimaced at its bitter taste. 
“It’s piss warm.”

“
You don’t have to drink it if you don’t like it,” Nick said.

“
No, I’ll drink it.  I just need something to wash it down with.”  He ordered a shot of Absolut Citron.

Kenny tossed back his shot and placed the glass down on the bar.  He noticed a homemade bandage on Nick
’s friend’s finger.  It was the dark-haired one.  He was a bit more rugged looking than Nick’s other friend, but he was more handsome.  The homemade bandage consisted of a paper towel neatly folded into a rectangle and secured with black electrical tape.  A deep red blood spot soaked through the center.  “What the hell happened to you?” Kenny asked.

The cute, dark-haired man held up his finger and examined it. 
“I sliced it with a sheetrock knife.”

“
He almost took his fuckin’ finger off,” Nick said.  “I told him to go to the hospital.”

“
Can I see it?” Kenny asked.

“
Why?” the construction worker asked.  “Do you have a penchant for blood?”

“
I’m a registered nurse.  That looks like it could use some attention.”

He unwrapped his homemade bandage and a flap of skin gaped open on his finger.

“Jesus Christ!  That needs stitches!  Did you put anything on it?  It’s gonna get infected.”

He poured beer into the open wound, and Nick and the other construction worker chided
him for wasting good alcohol.

“
You guys are fuckin’ crazy!”  Kenny retrieved his first aid kit from the car, cleaned the wound with antiseptic and dressed it with a professional looking butterfly bandage.  “There.  Now just try to keep it clean and dry.”

Nick
’s friend inspected his finger.  He nodded and slapped Kenny on the back.  “That looks pretty good.  Thanks, doc.”

The testosterone-filled camaraderie of Nick and his friends, with their ritual of warm beer, greasy finger food and roughhousing, intrigued Kenny.  It had a very different ambiance from the gay bars he frequented, a
nd he enjoyed their company.

Kenny ended up following Nick back to Heather
’s apartment.  When they arrived, Justin was already there.

“
Wait a minute,” Justin said.  “You mean you were at a
straight
bar, with a bunch of construction workers?”

“
Would you rather I went to a
gay
bar with a bunch of construction workers?” Kenny teased Justin with a naughty smile.

“
You’re a bitch!” Justin laughed and gave Kenny a playful kiss.  He paused to sniff Kenny’s breath.  “What’s that smell?  What were you drinking?”