Ice Fairy; The Friends - 2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Ryan’s POV

“Holy crap, what a bitch of a day.” Ryan complained as he got in the door and had to take in several deep breaths just to keep his temper from firing up.

Luckily, Caleb was fixing dinner for them before he would be off to his own job for the night. He appeared from the kitchen with his arms open wide.

“Come here.”

That’s all that needed to be said for Ryan to willingly collapse into his man’s embrace and hold onto him tight. He was so thrilled he could fit his arms all the way around his fiancé now; making several things easier.

Before his beleaguered mind could get too lustful though; he had to forget about the work day he’d just had.

“Bad day?” Caleb asked.

Ryan simply nodded and kept holding on. “Very bad.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

After weighing the options for a second, Ryan decided he needed to get it off his chest. But after one important item first. He leaned his head back and rose up on the balls of his feet to kiss his man hello properly.

The exchange was sweet, and not long enough. But he had to talk or else. After getting his mind back on what happened, he finally spoke up.

“Jake came to the worksite today all fired up. He was yelling at everybody, and I do mean everybody!” he felt his stomach tighten. “Even me.”

Caleb shook his head. “Holy shit. Does he usually do that?”

Ryan shrugged. “Sometimes. He usually yells at the crew or some sub that’s there; but not at me. He’s always given me high praise for my work. Not today.”

“Did you do something wrong?” Caleb guided them to the sofa where he sat down first and pulled Ryan onto his lap.

“I….don’t think so. I was doing some assembly on some cabinets they’d ordered, right? So I took ‘em out and put ‘em all together. Then he comes barreling in while I’m hanging them and chews me out for not having it done yet!” he snarled under his breath.

“You’re on time with that house, right?”

“Yeah, thought so. But somebody put a burr up his ass or something. Now he wants to shorted the timeline so we get it done ahead of schedule. Are you shittin’ me? I’m getting’ married in 5 days! I’ll be off for a week after that. I’m not gonna bust my ass working 12 hours a day right before the wedding!”

Caleb sighed. “Sounds like he’s pissed about something and he’s taking it out on all of you. I talked to Sam today, he said there was some serious tension between Jake and Colby at their party last night.”

Ryan cocked a brow, reached for a bottle of water on the table and guzzled some of it down. “Really? Hmm. Well maybe that makes sense then. If Colby’s pissing him off or whatever then we need to kick country boy’s ass. I’m not gonna be broken and exhausted at our wedding.”

“I’d hope not, baby.” Caleb hugged him from behind. “I want us both to be bright-eyed and awake that awesome day.”

The mere thought of the wedding slowed Ryan’s pulse and he pictured standing before their family and friends taking the vows. They’d be all dressed up and looking so grown up. Marriage was huge and Ryan was as committed to Caleb as he ever thought he could be to anyone.

“I can’t wait to marry you.” He turned slightly to face his lover and they shared a deep, smoldering kiss.

“Same here, Ryebread.” Caleb replied, a sweet smile on his lips. “I’m sorry you had a terrible day, baby. Maybe keep out of his way and not fire back when he starts yelling again.” He advised.

Ryan moaned. “Then we need to find out what the fuck his problem is. I betcha it’s Colby and if he’s that thorn in his side then we need to talk to him.”

Caleb nodded. “I agree. Normally I’d say leave it alone and let them work it out, but I know how that kid is. He’s clammed up tighter than I’ve ever seen him. Ever since that witch of a girlfriend of his went away; he’s been odder than ever.”

“That ain’t the word for him, baby. He’s just being an ass to Jake and he’s taking it because he loves him so much. Hell, even Brett and Sam know it; it’s damn obvious. Colby’s being an idiot and letting who could be the real love of his life slip away and he won’t do a damn thing.”

He crossed his arms and huffed, he was very angry at Colby for putting Jake through this. He seemed like such a standup guy; older, yes, but who cares. He was a damn good boss usually and knew his stuff. He was nice too, and they’d had several good chats. But all that had stopped now.

“Shit. If he’s gonna bust my ass for something his man ain’t doing, then I’m talking to his man.” Ryan stood up off of Caleb’s lap and tromped down towards the bathroom.

*

Colby’s POV

The ringing phone irritated Colby so much he nearly pitched it aside; but after ignoring three calls in a row, he started getting the texts. They were all from Ryan and the last one was a downright threat. ‘Get your ass on the phone now or I’ll come over there to ring your neck in person.’

Sighing and collecting whatever his thoughts were on his friends butting into his personal life, he finally picked up the phone and called Ryan back.

“What?” he said with more than a little angst in his voice.

“Don’t get pissy with me, boy.” Ryan shot back. “I wanna know what the fuck you’ve done to Jake.”

The accusation made him even angrier. “What the hell business is it of yours? Ain’t you got a wedding to plan?” was his weak comeback.

Ryan snarled. “You didn’t answer my question, you… you… moldy piece of cheese! That man was on a fucking rampage today and he took a bite out of all of our hides, including mine! He never ever picks on me unless he’s in such a horrible mood that he wants to chop off everyone’s heads. So you tell me what the hell could possibly put him in such a fucked up mood?”

Colby shut his eyes for a moment and thought over what to say next. “Well how do you know it’s me? Maybe it’s his damn family or something eatin’ at him. I ain’t with him all the time.” His voice creaked and he hated yelling at Ryan to boot.

“Well maybe that’s part of the problem! Ya think? Holy shit, Colby. You need to stop stringing him along. If you can’t get over that stupid santicmonious bitch…”

He knew of course that was Amber. The name still struck a chord with him. He seriously thought she was the one and they’d be married now. But for all the good it’d done getting her out of his life; he still felt empty without her.

“Fuck off, Ryan! Don’t you talk about her like that!”

“I’ll talk about her how I like! She fucked you over, Colby. She did it to Sam too but you were her man. I get that, okay? I get that you’re hurt but you’re putting Jake through hell and if you don’t get over it soon he’ll dump you so fast and you’ll miss out on a great guy!”

Colby was breathless and he knew it was the truth. But something stopped him everytime. He felt his heart race and his eyes start to water. The loss of Amber was huge and he knew he was being a pain to Jake. They hadn’t even had sex yet because of Colby’s reluctance. He was sure was bi-sexual and attracted, but he couldn’t make that final step.

“Ryan stop….please.” he begged, feeling his stomach tighten and his eyes moisten. A few tears left and ran down his pale cheeks. “You don’t know everything.”

After a long moment, Ryan’s voice had slowed and he sounded calmer. “Listen, buddy. You have a good man waiting for you. Don’t let him go! I nearly lost Caleb once and it nearly killed me. Jake loves you so much; you need to step away from the past and the hurt and pour your love into him. You do feel something for him, don’t you?”

Did he? Yes, he did. He liked Jake very much. But was it enough? He was sexually attracted; but he still felt like he was betraying Amber in some way.

“Yeah, I do.” He admitted.

“Then give it to him, Colby. Look, I don’t know what you guys have done, but take him away with you, go somewhere romantic where you two can talk and have incredible sex. He needs it, Colby, hell you need it. Do it for both of you.”

Colby was losing his grip on his anger and felt a strong urge to bawl. “I gotta go, Ryan. Please just leave me alone.” He hung up the phone and balled himself up and laid his head on his knees and sobbed.