Blind Date and Beginnings - 6. Blind Date - Part 6

“What the hell do you think you are doing?” I shouted at Alex grabbing his arm and pulling him back. The way he looked I was seriously worried that he might try slugging Ryan while he was down. I knew he was going to be touchy about me dating someone new but I never dreamed he would descend into blind rage.

“I’m keeping this prick from hurting you again,” Alex snarled. To say I was baffled by his response was an understatement. As far as I knew Alex didn’t even know Ryan. And Ryan had certainly never hurt me. Getting the stitches wasn’t fun but that was hardly Ryan’s fault and there was no way Alex could know about them.

I positioned myself between them knowing Alex would never take a swing with a chance of hitting me. Also it would make him focus on me which would begin to deflate his anger. “What are you talking about?” I asked Alex trying to keep my voice calm. I glanced over at Ryan to make sure he was ok and saw him getting to his feet. I was thankful he only looked irritated and didn’t seem to be angry.

“Zach, I’m not letting that ass worm his way back into your life,” Alex answered me not really succeeding in keeping the rage from his voice. “Keith hurt you once and I’ll be damned if I’ll let him hurt you again.”

“Keith?” I asked incredulously, beginning to understand what had set him off. “Alex! Look at him. That’s not Keith!”

Alex glanced at Ryan and his eyes widened in surprise as he began to realize he had made a mistake. My overprotective goon wasn’t quite ready to back down though. “Well, he looked like Keith from the back,” Alex grumbled his excuse. “It could have been Keith. I never trusted that he wouldn’t start stalking you or something.” Alex paused, drawing breath and glared at Ryan. “And what the hell was he doing pawing at you anyway?”

“Shut up and get your ass in the house,” I growled, truly irritated now. I’m sure my face showed just how angry I was becoming since Alex’s eyes widened slightly and he stepped back. I have rarely used that tone of voice with Alex and it got his immediate attention. He looked at me for a few seconds, clearing debating with himself, and then took the better part of discretion and retreated into the house.

“Are you alright?” I asked turning to Ryan, trying to modulate my voice. Ryan seemed to have regained his composure but I noticed even he was looking at me a little warily. I suppose my face was a bit stormy looking and he was having trouble reconciling the raging beast in front of him with the shy awkward idiot I normally am.

“I’m fine Zach,” Ryan answered, flashing me a nervous grin. “So I take it that was Alex and he really likes me?” he asked sardonically making me laugh. I was still irritated, but Ryan was doing his damnedest to break my mood. I could have kissed him except I knew Alex was probably watching and that would just start another battle.

“Yeah, that lunatic was Alex,” I answered smiling. “I’m really sorry. I never dreamed he’d do anything like this. Are you sure he didn’t hurt you?”

“Honest Zach,” Ryan assured, “I’m fine. He just surprised me. I’ve gotten worse trying to give kids their shots. The little rug rats always seem to aim right for the jewels!”

The man was a treasure! He had just gotten shoved around by my jealous ex and he was trying to make me feel better by making me laugh. I definitely needed to hold on to this one. “Well c’mon then,” I answered him smiling. “Let me go slap my puppy’s nose and explain a few things to him.”

Ryan flashed me his dimples again but hesitated. “Are you sure you want me in there with you two?” he asked. “I can wait here if you want a little privacy to talk to him.” Ryan hesitated again and I could see he was trying to figure out how to phrase something. “Although if you think he might get, uh, physical I want to be in there with you.”

That actually did make me laugh although it made my heart melt even more. The thought of Alex ever hurting me was ludicrous, but Ryan had no way of knowing that and wanted to protect me. “Alex doesn’t have it in him to ever get physical with me,” I tried explaining to Ryan. “The man would practically cry when he stepped on my toes when dancing thinking he had hurt me. Fortunately for him I’m a lousy dancer so I was usually stepping on his toes instead.”

Ryan laughed at my explanation but I could see he was still worried over my safety. I couldn’t help being touched by his concern, although I was also a little irritated by it. I never could figure out why every guy in my life thinks they have to protect me. It was sweet but baffling at the same time.

“Remind me to wear boots when I take you dancing,” Ryan joked as he followed me into the house. I flashed on a mental image of him dressed as a cowboy and that made me smile.

As soon as we entered the house I saw Alex pacing in my living room. It was obvious he was still angry and feeling protective since he glared daggers at Ryan. “So who is this asshole anyway?” Alex grumbled and I felt Ryan stiffen as he started to heat up.

“You sit down,” I said to Ryan firmly before he could reply and make things even worse. Ryan glanced at me startled at my tone and took a seat. “You follow me,” I commanded turning towards Alex and glaring at him. Apparently the expression on my face didn’t invite discussion since Alex followed me towards the kitchen without even so much as muttering. I knew that wouldn’t last long as worked up as he was and I wanted to get him out of Ryan’s vicinity as fast as I could.

Predictably, we no sooner reached the kitchen when Alex exploded again. “So who the hell is he?” Alex shouted. “And why the hell were you letting him paw at you?”

“His name is Ryan,” I answered rolling my eyes at him. “And he wasn’t pawing at me. What the hell is your problem Alex? Why on earth are you trying to start a fight?”

“I thought I was protecting you from Keith!” Alex growled back waving his arms in frustration. “I figured he was stalking you or something.”

“Alex,” I said sighing. “You have to let that go. I haven’t even seen Keith in a couple of years. He has absolutely no reason to stalk me. He never cared enough about me to ever go to the trouble of stalking me.” That was a little humiliating to admit but it was true and I needed to drive my point across to Alex.

“Well, he should have,” Alex mumbled still not willing to give up. “He could be stalking you,” he said doggedly.

I rolled my eyes again. Why do I draw the stubborn ones? “Alex, Keith got what he was after from me long ago. He didn’t care about me; it was the conquest he was after.” I could see Alex heating up again and knew I had to head that off. “I used him too you know,” I admitted getting a shocked look from Alex. “He didn’t mean anything to me either. I was just trying to prove to the world that I had moved on after you. It was a lousy reason to start a relationship, not that it ever was a real relationship. The only reason it lasted as long as it did is because neither of us knew a graceful way to end it. In a way I was grateful I caught him cheating. It gave us a good excuse to end it.”

Alex was still grumbling but the fire seemed to have died down quite a bit. I could tell he was starting to feel guilty and ashamed too since he wouldn’t look me in the eye. All he needed to complete the look of abashed schoolboy would be to shuffle his feet and kick at imaginary pebbles. That thought got me grinning which I quickly hid.

“I guess I over reacted,” Alex mumbled still looking at his feet. “That guy does resemble Keith from the back though.” Alex hesitantly looked up at me. “What did you say his name is?” he asked, a peace treaty in his voice.

“Ryan,” I answered smiling at him. “He’s really nice and I think you’d like him if you can keep from slugging him.”

Alex flashed me an embarrassed grin. “Well, it’s pretty obvious you like him,” he said making me blush. “Let’s go get my apology out of the way and then you can introduce me. I’ll try to be good.” Alex gave me a look that brought a lump to my throat. “It’s just hard to see you with another guy Zach.”

“I know Alex,” I answered him softly. I got right next to him looking him straight in the eye. “It was hard for me too when you got together with Doug. I hated him at first. But after a while I came to really like him. Doug’s a really good guy and you two are good for each other.”

Alex smiled as I admitted I hadn’t cared much for his guy in the beginning. I had tried very hard to keep that hidden but Alex knew me too well to have been fooled. Thankfully he didn’t say anything about it and instead just followed me into the living room.

Ryan looked at me questioningly as soon as we entered and I could see him visibly relax upon seeing me ok. He was still tense but a lot of the anxiety seemed to melt out of him when I gave him a smile. Alex was still doing the head hanging, shuffling feet thing and I had to quickly suppress a laugh.

“I’m sorry man,” Alex mumbled glancing up at Ryan. “I thought you were someone else and I jumped to the wrong conclusion. I shouldn’t have pushed you down.”

“Hey, you thought you were helping Zach,” Ryan answered forgiving him. “I can respect that. In your place I can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same thing.”

I sighed and rolled my eyes getting a sheepish grin out of both of them. Just what I needed. Another goon thinking he had to protect me. One of these days I’m going to get one of them to explain why they all feel I need a protector.

“So how long have you two been dating?” Alex asked curiously taking a seat. His voice still had a slight edge but you would only recognize it if you knew him really well. It was obvious to me he was trying to make an effort to suppress his dislike towards Ryan for me. At least he wasn’t still shooting daggers at him with his eyes.

“Actually we just met yesterday,” Ryan answered grinning at me. “He came into my ER with some nasty cuts and I had to patch him up. I got to rescue him from a nasty date too. Between the two I think he thought the date was worse.”

“You were hurt?” Alex asked, immediately going into protector mode again and making me groan. “How bad?” he asked quickly. “Why didn’t you tell me,” he demanded barely taking a breath.

“It wasn’t bad Alex,” I reassured him. “I got a couple cuts from a dropped bottle that shattered. Ryan gave me a couple of stitches. It was no big deal.” I could see Alex was still overly worried and figured I’d try and use some humor to calm him down. “Truthfully I was glad I got cut. It ended the worst blind date from hell I’ve ever been on.”

Alex gave me a slight grin but thankfully he allowed himself to be diverted. I had half expected him to demand I strip on the spot so he could see my cuts for himself and make sure I was ok. Ryan helped out by launching into an embellished description of Janet and her antics which got Alex laughing. It was a smooth enough diversion that I wondered if Ryan had done it on purpose to lend me some support or if he was just succumbing to his natural humorous tendencies. Either way I figured I owed him a kiss or two as a reward.

Alex and Ryan continued to exchange small talk, slowly sizing each other up as the afternoon progressed and I was beginning to wonder if I could make a profit by bottling all the testosterone in the air. They weren’t openly belligerent with each other but it was a little tense at times. I was gratified they were both making an effort, and there was even some genuine laughter at each other’s jokes, but I knew it was going to be quite a while before they could truthfully call each other friends.

As evening approached I heard Alex’s stomach growl and I looked over at him laughing. “I take it you’re hungry and you want me to feed you,” I teased him. Actually I was surprised he had gone this long without raiding my kitchen.

“Have you ever known me not to be hungry or not wanting you to feed me?” Alex answered smiling ruefully. He glanced over at Ryan and actually turned a little pink with embarrassment.

“All right,” I laughed getting up. “You two follow me to the kitchen while I wrestle up some grub. You can keep me company,” I said trying to give a plausible excuse. I didn’t mind having the company but really I wanted to keep an eye on them. They were playing nice right now but I wanted to be there if the sparks started to fly again.

“You shouldn’t bother cooking for us Zach,” Ryan protested. “We can order some take out or something and get it delivered.”

“Buddy,” Alex said throwing his arm around Ryan’s shoulder. “One thing you gotta know is you never turn down an offer from Zach for a home cooked meal. Even his sandwiches are to die for!” Alex paused giving us both a mischievous grin. “You might want to think about starting an intense exercise program. It’s hard to resist what Zach cooks up.” Alex’s grin became positively devilish. “That’s true in the kitchen and in the bedroom.”

“Alex!” I yelled at him turning red as Ryan busted out laughing. “Stop that!” Alex and Ryan both grinned at me and I began to wonder what the hell I had been thinking ever letting the two of them meet. If the two of them joined forces against me I didn’t stand a chance.

Alex continued extolling the virtues of my cooking which I only half paid attention to while I started fixing dinner. I’ll admit I’m not a bad cook, but Alex is hopeless in the kitchen so he was always impressed with anything I put in front of him. With all the praise he was heaping on me though, I figured I should at least try and make something a little special for Ryan. And deep down in the mushy part of me I admitted I wanted to impress him too, but I wasn’t going to let either of them know that.

I decided to make chicken marsala since it was fairly quick and I had all the ingredients readily available. I also knew Alex liked it and figured Ryan would too. I threw together a quick lettuce salad, steamed some rice and cooked some herbed sugar snap peas to round it out. Besides, it all looked fairly impressive together and I’m not above going for a compliment or two from the guy I’m trying to date.

When I put the plates in front of them I was gratified to get an appreciative smile from Ryan. Alex complimented me by immediately trying to inhale his food. I have known him for years but it still amuses me to no end to watch him eat. I never have been able to figure out how he manages to put it all away so fast.

“This is really good,” Ryan said between mouthfuls making me turn a little pink. I had been trying to impress him, but it still embarrassed me to get the actual compliment. Alex caught my blush and just grinned knowingly at me. He had been with me too long not to know what I was feeling.

“I told you,” Alex said to Ryan giving me a wink. “You always let Zach cook if you can.” Alex gave me another devilish grin and turned back to Ryan. “Stick with me and I’ll tell you all of his secrets. Like if you managed to get him mad you just rub his tummy and he’ll start purring like a kitten.”

“Alex!” I said blushing even more. The innocent look he gave me was priceless and I busted out laughing. “Stop that!” I admonished him knowing it was pointless.

Ryan grinned and looked at Alex. “So if I buy you a beer how many secrets can I get?” he teased me. “How many have you got? Maybe I should be writing all of this down.”

“No fair ganging up on me,” I said ruefully making them both laugh. I was very happy they had managed to get past their tension, but I could foresee a lot of blushing in my future.

We finished our meal with Alex entertaining Ryan with assorted stories from our past. Thankfully he was keeping most of my more embarrassing moments to himself but he still managed to get a blush or two out of me. I interjected a few of his mishaps too, but Alex never embarrasses easy and seemed to enjoy hearing them repeated.

After a couple of hours Alex glanced at his watch and sighed. “I suppose I should hit the road so I can make it back to Dad’s at a decent hour,” he said regretfully. His comment took me by surprise since his father’s home was about an hour and half away even at the breakneck speeds Alex typically drove at. Besides that, I knew that his dad was still in London so I was more than a little puzzled by Alex wanting to leave.

“You’re leaving?” I asked surprised. When Alex visited he almost always spent the night at my place so I was a little confused. “Why aren’t you staying here?”

Alex gave Ryan and me a look that was a little baffling and he hesitated for a few seconds before making his reply. “Well, I kind of figured you two might like a little privacy,” he answered hesitantly.

“You’re not invading our privacy,” Ryan replied surprising me a bit. “You should just stay here with us.” Ryan stopped suddenly and gave me a quick, sheepish look. “Uh, I mean, well, at least I’m guessing…” he trailed off his face flushing. “Crap!” he finally muttered. “I guess I shouldn’t just assume I’m staying too,” he finished giving me a hopeful look that made me grin. Alex was practically rolling on the floor laughing at him which just made him blush even more.

“Yes, you are staying tonight too,” I said to him getting a happy, dimple filled smile from him. I decided that I rather liked when he was befuddled. He was very cute like that.

“Good!” Ryan answered grinning at me again and then turned back to Alex. “You should spend the night with us too Alex.”

Alex’s grin became very devilish and I braced myself for one of his zingers. “Well, ok, but I usually like to know a guy longer than a day before I have a threesome with him. I guess Zach’s bed will be big enough for all of us!”

Ryan busted out laughing and I just shook my head at both of them. “Alex!” I admonished him knowing it was pointless. I sighed and looked over at Ryan. “Don’t encourage him by laughing at him Ryan. God knows what he’ll actually do if you get him on a roll. Let’s go watch some TV before he comes up with something else,” I suggested getting up and walking towards the living room with both of them following me still laughing.

We continued chatting for a couple of hours mostly ignoring the TV and I was very happy they were starting to get along so well. They were both still asking some probing questions but now it was more to get to know each other instead of sizing each other up. It was still tentative, but they were laying some groundwork for a friendship. I knew part of that was because they both knew how important they both were to me but that didn’t diminish their accomplishment.

Around midnight the conversation was starting to lag and we were all starting to yawn. “I think I need to go to bed,” Alex announced getting up and stretching. “It was a long drive and I’m bushed. Do you think you can loan me some shorts to sleep in Zach?”

I looked at Alex curiously since he always just slept in his boxers. “Yes, but you’ll be swimming in them,” I answered with a puzzled look. “Since when do you sleep in anything but your underwear?”

“Well, I figured since you have company you wouldn’t want me running around half naked,” Alex answered grinning.

“Hell, I don’t care,” Ryan said laughing. “Run around naked if you want. I’m a doctor remember. I’ve seen it all before. And if you do have something I haven’t seen I’ll just want to study it for professional reasons.”

“With Alex that would be a lengthy study,” I promptly said grinning and getting a laugh from Alex. “One look and I think you’d agree his parts are a little unusual,” I continued to tease and got a questioning look from Ryan. “Let’s just say God was very kind to all the males in Alex’s family,” I explained making Ryan laugh.

“Well, in that case definitely run around naked,” Ryan joked grinning at Alex. “I’m all for scientific discovery!” We all laughed at that, although I secretly had to admit I wouldn’t mind doing some scientific research myself on Ryan.

Alex gave me a hug and a kiss as he wished us good night and then stumbled towards my spare bedroom. Ryan followed me towards my bedroom and I felt some of those usual butterflies beginning to flutter but I ignored them.

“We forgot your pain pill,” Ryan said as soon as we entered and I wrinkled my nose in irritation at him. I really hate taking any kind of medicine and I had been hoping he would forget about it. I should have known better.

Ryan gave me a half amused, half stern look and I figured I was in for a lecture. He crossed his arms and looked me right in the eye. “All right,” he said to me. “If you can manage to pull your shirt off without wincing I won’t mention it again.”

Damn! I glared at him for a second in irritation and then sighed giving up. My cuts weren’t really hurting all the time but they definitely reminded me they were there if I moved wrong. Ryan knew I wouldn’t be able to pull my shirt over my head without feeling it. “All right,” I gave in not so gracefully. Then I smiled at him impishly. “But I think you’re secretly just hoping they’ll make me horny!”

Ryan laughed at me and helped me pull my shirt off. “And what’s wrong with that?” he asked giving me a quick kiss as soon as my head was free. “Finish getting ready for bed and I’ll go get you a pill and some water.”

I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth and was just finishing up when Ryan came in with my pill. I dutifully swallowed the silly thing but still managed to convey my feelings by wrinkling my nose at him and sticking out my tongue. Ryan laughed at my childishness and I got to see those sexy dimples of his again.

“Can I borrow a toothbrush?” Ryan asked as he casually pulled off his shirt. I gave him one and decided to stay for a few seconds to watch him. The subtle movements of his muscles as he started brushing his teeth were mesmerizing and besides, I really liked the way he looked. I wasn’t going to miss a chance of watching him.

After a few seconds staring at him I realized I was probably going to start drooling and decided I better make an exit before he noticed and I made a complete fool of myself. I had a brief inner debate on what I should wear to sleep in and decided on my underwear again to try and keep from seeming like an uptight freak. I quickly pulled off my pants and jumped into bed sighing in bliss as I lay down. Ryan’s bed had been comfortable but there is nothing like the comfort of your own.

Ryan finished up and I got to watch him as he came walking into the bedroom stripping off his pants. He grinned at me when he caught me watching him and gave me a wink making me blush. Not that I stopped staring at him. I wasn’t going to let a little thing like my blushes stop me from catching some eye candy.

“Damn!” I said with mock regret trying to tease him as he started to get into bed. “I was hoping you’d take it all off! All that talk to Alex about running around naked got me hopeful.”

Ryan paused and gave me a look with his eyebrows arched playfully. “I can do that,” he said in a husky voice and his eyes smoldering. He slowly peeled off his underwear making sure I got more than a good look at every inch of him all the while staring me straight in the eye grinning that sexy grin of his. He crawled into bed next to me and brought his mouth close to my ear and I shivered at his warm breath. “Don’t blame me if you get poked periodically thru the night though,” he murmured into my ear playfully. He still hadn’t bothered to pull the covers over himself and I couldn’t help staring at him. I had said it before, but this man was simply beautiful.

Ryan took my hand in his and brought it to his chest. “You know I said it was ok for you to look Zach,” he said to me, his voice still husky. “It’s ok for you to touch too.” Slowly he started to draw my hand down over his chest and over his stomach, inching slowly down his body.

I gulped as my hand reached his waist and I began to wonder just how far down he was going to draw my hand over his body. More importantly I wondered just what I was going to do when we got there.