Friends First - 2. Part II: Facing Facts

Keith took a deep breath before turning the knob and stepping into the apartment he shared with Will. His plan to just get a bag of clothes together and go find a place to stay had been shot when he’d pulled in and seen Will’s car in its regular spot. He had wanted to put off the confrontation as long as he could, but maybe this way was better off. He could get it done and over with and then hopefully he could start putting the whole damn fiasco behind him.

“Keith? That you?” He heard footsteps coming down the hallway and steeled himself to face his soon to be ex. “Where’d you go in such a hurry?”

Keith took a step back when Will stopped in front of him and leaned in to kiss him. The hurt look that crossed Will’s face just brought his anger back to the forefront of his mind. Will had no right to feel hurt, not after the apparently continuous betrayal.

“We need to talk.” Keith brushed past him and headed into the bedroom they had shared. He heard Will following him, but kept going. He stepped into the room and headed straight for the closet. He pulled the doors open and grabbed his suitcase from where it was tucked in the back corner.

“Everything okay?”

He carried the suitcase to the bed and set it down on the opposite side of the bed from where Will perched watching him as returned to the closet and pulled a handful of shirts off their hangers. He dropped them in the suitcase and moved to the dresser and started pulling out drawers.

“Keith? What’s going on?”

Keith could hear the uncertainty and worry in Will’s voice and finally turned to face him. Will looked at the open drawers and looked back at him, a crease marring his forehead. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the photo that Braeden had sent him. He fingered the edges before he tossed it on the bed and resumed packing, grabbing handfuls of clothes out of the open drawers as he waited for Will’s response.

“Where the fuck did you get this? It was Braeden, wasn’t it?”

Out of everything he had expected, Keith hadn’t expected anger from Will. The cheating bastard didn’t have any right to be angry. Rather than saying anything, Keith turned and just cocked one eyebrow, waiting for Will to elaborate. He wasn’t about to confirm or deny the allegation. He’d let Will make his own assumptions; see how far he was willing to go with it.

“I should have known he’d do something like this. That bastard has always wanted you for himself.”

Keith shook his head and turned away. He should have known that Will wouldn’t take responsibility for what he had done. He didn’t know why he hadn’t seen it before, but looking back on their relationship, Will never took responsibility. It was always about what someone else had done, never the part he played in whatever went wrong.

“You’re going to just take his word for it?”

Keith whirled around and took a step forward before forcing himself to stop. He didn’t have to just take Braeden’s word for it, with the exception of how long it had been going on, the proof was in that damning photo that Will still clutched in his fingers.

“Are you fucking serious? I don’t have to take his word for it, the proof is right there in your hands.” Keith dumped the armful of clothes into the suitcase and zipped it shut.

“That doesn’t prove shit. He’s more than capable of using Photoshop to make it look like I’m cheating on you.” Will’s eyes refused to meet his. “He’s just jealous that I have you.”

“Had.” Keith hefted the suitcase and walked out of the bedroom. He would get the rest of his stuff later on, when Will wasn’t around. Thank god he hadn’t gotten rid of all of his furniture and stuff. Instead of selling it he had elected to get a storage unit. His thought at the time had been that they could use some of it if and when they bought a house.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Will had followed him from the bedroom and Keith stopped with his hand on the doorknob.

“You had me. Past tense.”

“You’re going to let him come between us, just like that?” Will’s injured party act was getting really old and Keith needed to leave before he did something that he might regret later.

“No, he didn’t come between us. Quit trying to play the blame game and take responsibility for once.” Keith pulled open the door and walked away. He didn’t know where he was going, but definitely not Braeden’s. He needed some space. Needed to think. Needed to decide what he was going to do with the cluster fuck his life had become.

***

After almost a week spent holed up in his hotel room, Keith was about to go out of his mind. He’d called in and taken some vacation time from work and other than going to get the rest of his stuff from Will’s and to get food, he hadn’t left the room. Not that it had done him any good; he still wasn’t any closer to a decision on what to do than he was when he’d checked in. He needed to figure it out soon though, staying in a hotel was starting to get expensive.

His phone trilled on the nightstand and he sighed. That was Braeden’s ringtone, again. Braeden had made a point of calling every day but Keith hadn’t answered. He wasn’t ready to talk to his best friend and while he knew it was petty, he couldn’t help it. If Braeden had been honest in his feelings before Will came into the picture, then Keith wouldn’t be going through this crap. After a half dozen rings, his phone went silent again. He waited to see if Braeden had left a message and after a long minute, his phone beeped. He called into his voicemail and entered his code. A few seconds later Braeden’s voice was playing in his ear.

“Damn it Keith, enough is enough. I know you’re pissed at me, but is it too much to fucking ask that you let me know you’re alive?” He went quiet and Keith went to hang up only to pause when he heard Braeden exhale and start again, worry evident in his voice. “If you won’t come stay here, that’s fine, but at least call. We’ve always been friends first and if that’s all we can be I’ll live with that. Just call and let me know you’re okay.”

Guilt was a sucky emotion but Keith was certainly feeling it. He wasn’t even so much pissed at Braeden anymore as he was hurt, and not just because Braeden had kept secret how he felt. Braeden had known that Will was cheating on him. Keith wondered when Braeden had first found out. Was it before he’d moved in with Will? If so, why didn’t Braeden tell him before he’d turned his life upside down? Keith sighed and stared at the phone in his hand. So many questions and the only way he’d get any answers would be actually talking to Braeden. Before he could change his mind he hit the speed dial and waited for Braeden to pick up. It started to ring and in seconds he was connected.

“Keith! Thank god, where are you?”

Keith closed his eyes and relished the sound of Braeden’s voice washing over him. This was why he hadn’t answered when his best friend had called multiple times over the last week. Just hearing Braeden’s voice was enough to demolish any resolve he had to stay away.

“Keith? You there?”

“Relax, I’m fine.” Keith smiled even though Braeden couldn’t see him. “I was wondering if you might want to meet me for coffee.”

“Sure, where and when?”

“The café? In an hour?” That should give him time to shower and gather his resolve.

“I’ll be there.”

***

Keith cradled his coffee cup in his hands and stared down into the dark liquid. His leg was bouncing up and down and he shook his head at himself. Why he was nervous he didn’t know, but he was. He still didn’t know exactly what he was planning to say to Braeden, but he hoped he’d figure it out by the time the other man showed up. He felt a hand clasp his shoulder and tilted his head back to meet Braeden’s concerned gaze.

“Hey.” Braeden smiled but the expression didn’t reach his eyes, instead, his best friend looked wary.

“Hey.” Keith motioned towards the other side of the booth and his eyes followed Braeden’s movement as the other man released his shoulder and slid onto the bench seat across from him.

“I’m glad you called.” Braeden made no move to pick up the menu in front of him. “I was worried.”

“I know.” Keith sighed and reached down to pluck at the edge of his menu. “I just needed time to think.”

The waitress chose that moment to come up to their table. Braeden ordered coffee and as soon as the waitress walked away, he once more focused on Keith.

“Where’ve you been staying?”

“At a hotel. I know there were a few friends I could bunk with,” Braeden being one of them, “but I needed the time alone. No distractions.” Staying with Braeden would have been quite the distraction, considering part of what Keith had needed to decide was what, if anything, to do about his best friend’s revelation.

“And? What did you come up with?”

“I really wish you had told me about Will, but more than that, I wish you had told me how you felt back when I first kissed you.” Keith held up his hand to stop him when Braeden opened his mouth. “I understand why you did it, but it doesn’t change the fact that I wish I had known you were as interested in me as I was in you.”

“Was?”

“Was, are…” Keith sighed again and stared down into his coffee cup. “I think about all the time that we wasted…” He shook his head and tried again, “No, not wasted, nothing involving you would ever be a waste, but—” He knew he wasn’t explaining this right, but just couldn’t seem to find the words.

“What you mean is that we spent our time together as just friends when we could have been so much more.” Keith could only nod. “I know it’s my fault, but it’s also not too late. I thought it was when you met Will, but we’ve been given a second chance.”

“And what if it didn’t work out?” That was Keith’s biggest worry. He knew he still cared deeply about Braeden, but if they tried and failed, he wasn’t sure he could handle losing his best friend.

“I don’t know. I want to say that we’d stay friends, but there’s never any guarantee. Even if we didn’t get together and just stayed friends, there’s no guarantee that something wouldn’t come between us.” Keith looked up as Braeden paused and took a deep breath. “I think it’s worth the risk. Hell, I’m lucky that you’re even willing to talk to me after keeping quiet about Will. I don’t plan to do anything else that would make me risk losing you. No more secrets.”

“I don’t know…” This was exactly why Keith had needed to stay away. He knew that a few words from Braeden would weaken his resolve. He wanted what Braeden was offering him, but he didn’t know if he’d survive losing his best friend if it didn’t work out.

“Come home with me, Keith.”

Keith started to shake his head, but stopped when Braeden started talking again.

“Not like that. You can have the spare room. No expectations, no pushing. I hate that you’re staying in a hotel when I’ve got a room available.” Braeden sighed and dropped his gaze. “I won’t deny that I want us to be together, but if you need more time, I’m willing to wait for as long as it takes.”

Keith slowly nodded, but realized Braeden hadn’t seen it since he still hadn’t looked up.

“Okay.”

***

Two weeks of living with Braeden and Keith was nearly going out of his mind. He’d forgotten about Braeden’s tendency to walk around the house without a shirt on. If his friend was trying to tease him, it was working. Keith let himself into the apartment as thoughts churned in his head. He didn’t know how much more of it he could take. The question no longer remained as to whether or not he wanted a relationship with his best friend. The only question he kept asking himself was when he was going to actually act on his desires.

It wasn’t just the parading around half naked that had worn down his resolve. There was so much more to it than that. It was the eating dinner together, talking about their days, only to settle on the couch and watch a movie together afterwards. It was Braeden stocking the fridge with all the things that Keith liked to eat, even though Keith knew that some of it was stuff that Braeden detested. Above all, they’d talked, about everything; nothing was off limits between them. All the little things had added up and now Keith was just waiting for the right time to actually give in to what he knew both him and Braeden wanted.

For now, he needed to find out if there was anything particular that Braeden wanted for dinner. He knew Braeden was home; his car was parked in its regular spot. He walked down the hall and knocked on Braeden’s partially closed door.

“Hey, Brae?”

“Yeah?”

Keith took that as an invitation and pushed the door open the rest of the way.

“What…”

The words died on his lips and he froze at the sight that greeted him. His mouth went dry as Braeden hurriedly pulled up his boxer briefs, hiding his ass from view. Keith’s breath caught in his chest as Braeden turned to face him, a worried expression on his face.

“Keith? You okay?”

The sight of all that bare skin was too much. Keith shook himself out of his trance and moved further into the room. His eyes locked on Braeden’s as he closed the distance between them and reached out and grasped the back of Braeden’s neck. Braeden’s eyes showed him the desire was mutual and without any more words between them Keith pressed forward and took Braeden’s mouth with his. Braeden gasped against his lips once before returning the kiss, his lips parting and allowing Keith inside as strong fingers gripped Keith’s hips and pulled him closer.

Keith tongue slipped inside and he moaned at the flavor that was all Braeden. Needing more, he moved Braeden backwards until his legs hit the edge of the bed. Never breaking their kiss, Keith lowered his soon to be lover onto the bed, stretching out on top of him while he devoured Braeden’s mouth.

The need to breathe finally made him pull back and he braced himself on one hand and stroked the other one down the heated skin of Braeden’s side. Keith studied Braeden’s face and smiled at the desire he could read in the other man’s eyes. Braeden hadn’t pushed him to take this step, but he hadn’t had to. Keith had gotten there all on his own.

“Are you sure?”

The desire had been replaced by doubt and rather than answer, Keith leaned down and pressed his lips once more against Braeden’s in a fleeting kiss. He wasn’t sure about much else, but he was sure about this. He wanted to be with Braeden and while he knew that there were no guarantees, he wanted whatever time he could have with the other man.

“I love you.” Keith whispered the words against Braeden’s lips. Just speaking the words aloud made him feel freer than he could ever remember being. “Never stopped.”

“Love you too. Always have.” Braeden reached up and framed Keith’s face with his hands. “Need you.”

Keith nodded and gave Braeden what they both wanted. No matter what the future threw at them, he was sure they could make it. After all, it had all started with friendship.