Runner-Up - 3. Chapter 3

The twenty minute drive home felt like an eternity for Kyle. When he finally got in, the only thing he was feeling to do was to sit down and do nothing in the dark.

A little after nine, Ryan texted him to tell him that he was on his way and that he'd be home in thirty minutes or so. He took that cue to start his reading for the next day. When he realized just how many pages he was supposed to go through, he mentally kicked himself for having wasted time since he got home.

When Ryan got home, he was a little surprised to see his boyfriend still working in their office. He was expecting him to be done by now. He managed to creak behind Kyle until he was close enough to give him a big hug and kiss him on the cheek and neck.

"How was your day?" Ryan asked.

Kyle turned around so he could see his boyfriend better. It also allowed him to give his partner a better hug and a real kiss.

"It was alright, work was good and went kinda fast. My class was good too, even if it was a little boring in the end."

"How come are you still doing readings at this time?!?"

"Bah! I was lazy, didn't start them until like an hour or so ago. It's alright, I shouldn't be much longer, I’ve done more than half."

"What did you do tonight then?"

"Not much, ate out before coming back home, then really did nothing."

Kyle really wasn't sure why he didn't mention about hanging out with David. Thinking back he wouldn't have been able to give the start of a valid answer if he was to be asked.

"So, you missed me then!" Ryan said with a devil smile.

Kyle kissed him again. "Yeah, I did. How about you, how was your day?"

"It was good, I had two no shows tonight, so it gave me some time to do some more training in the back."

"Aww, well that's nice."

"Oh, and I have a store meeting Sunday night."

"This Sunday? But it's your day off!" Kyle couldn't hide his deception about the news.

"I know! But it comes with the job, I don't have much choice about it."

At least once every quarter, Ryan would have a mandatory store meeting. Since they have to schedule those meeting outside of the regular stores hours, more often than none, they fall on Sunday nights.

Neither of them were happy about it. Ryan because, as much as it meant overtime for him, those meeting were usually quite boring. Kyle didn't like them either since they simply meant he would lose his boyfriend for an extra night.

"I'll let you finish your readings, come and see me when you are be done, alright?" Ryan asked.

"Deal"

****

Kyle really didn't see the week go by, the first thing he knew, it was already Thursday afternoon and he was sitting in his last class of the week.

He had specifically made his schedule so that he wouldn't get any classes on Fridays. It was convenient for him that way, as he knew he could work every other week without missing classes and, for the rest of the time, he could get an extra day to really get some work done.

Sitting alone in the back of the auditorium, he made it halfway through his accounting class when he received some much needed distraction when he heard his phone beep.

He hurried up to find his cell from his coat pocket and switched it to vibration mode before anyone made any comments.

He smiled as he read what Ryan had just sent him 'I'll be outside when you'll be done with your class'.

Kyle didn't expect, nor did he need, for his boyfriend to wait for him. However, he was certainly happy for that little surprise.

As he was about to close his cell, he noticed there was a text notification. He realized that he had missed a text from David.

'How's your day going?'

He responded 'It will be better in 30 minutes. My accounting class will be over and the week will be over.'

Kyle's class was about finishing and he still hadn't received any answer back. However, he didn't worry about it, simply figuring that his friend couldn't be disturbed at that time. He just knew that the answer would come soon enough.

As Kyle was gathering his book and things to leave the classroom, he sent a text to Ryan.

'Where would you be?'

Not expecting an answer to come up immediately, he got out of the auditorium and walked toward the staircases.

He was about to open the door when he felt a very familiar touch on his lower back. As he looked to his left to get his confirmation, he saw, as expected, Ryan standing there.

"Hey hun!"

Without wasting any second, he jumped in his boyfriend's arms to get a big hug and a kiss.

After Kyle let go of his partner, he noticed Ryan's eyes looking behind him. Figuring that they were blocking the way for others to pass, Kyle was about to get out of the way when he finally noticed who it was, his eyes immediately brightened.

Without any questions, he gave David a big hug.

At that moment, there was just so many thing going in his mind, so many things he wanted to say that he didn't know where to start.

"David, what are you doing here?" Kyle said.

"He was lost and found his way to the Apple Store, so I thought I'd bring him with me." Ryan said.

Kyle knew very well that he was being teased, so he dropped the question.

"Well, I'm happily surprised that you are both here." It then come to mind that David, a McGill student was actually in enemy territories. "David, I never thought I'd see you inside a Concordia building!"

"Ya well, I'm trying not to think about it. Hoping that no one else will notice."

"You'll survive!"

"Let's get going!" Ryan made the decision and, without waiting for approval, made his way downstairs. The two others followed him.

"You didn't answer me!"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, my phone died as I was writing you back." David gently run his hand on Kyle's lower back as he explained.

"Oh well, you're here, so that's even better." He raised his voice a little so that he was sure Ryan, who was already a couple stairs ahead of them could hear. "So, where are we going?"

"Home, where else?"

Kyle was a little disappointed by the answer. Having David with them, he thought they could at least hang out a little more with him before going their separate ways.

As they got out of the Hall building, Ryan started to walk in the opposite direction to the closest metro station.

Kyle didn't say anything, thinking that they were at least walking David back to his dorm and then continuing to Berri's station.

"I didn't ask, how was your day?"

Ryan answered first. "It was hard to start at seven thirty after finishing at eight yesterday!"

Kyle remembered that his boyfriend had left late that morning.

"Did you get there on time, you left later than usual this morning?"

"Ya, I know! I actually did make it on time, barely, but on time."

"And for the rest of your day? Had time to do more training?"

"It was quite busy, I was booked non-stop the whole day."

"Oh well. How about you, day wasn't too long?"

It took a few moments for David to realize that the question was directed to him, he was lost in his thoughts .

"Oh, sorry! Yeah, it was good, but they're already talking about midterms and I don't like that because it makes me remember that I'm behind in some classes."

Kyle could easily connect to that situation. None of his lecturer’s had mentioned midterms yet, however he had noticed how they were coming sooner than he'd hope.

"You're good and serious with your studies. I'm not worried about you." Ryan reassured their friend before Kyle could.

"It doesn't come easy. I need to work hard for those grades."

"At least you do get the good grades. For me, it seems that, no matter how much work I put in, I can't get better than a 'B'."

"You don't do well on exams?" David asked.

"It seems that I always make some kind of stupid mistakes here and there."

"That's why you need to review before handing your paper in!" Ryan commented."

"Oh, but I do. It just feels that the more I review my answers, the more uncertain I get, even of the questions I was sure of to start with."

Ryan laughed "Yeah, that's not good."

As they kept talking, Kyle noticed that Ryan had lead them pass University Street without turning, as they should have, to get to the McGill residences.

"Umm, we passed University. Where are we going?"

"I already said it, we're going home." Seeing that his boyfriend still had question marks all over his face, he clarified. "I just thought we could walk, at least to Berri."

Kyle was growing impatient as it didn't explain what he was the most curious about. "David, what about you, you're coming with us?"

"That's the plan. That is, of course, unless you don't want me to."

Kyle couldn't help but to grin. He then realized that Ryan has to work the next day at nine and that David had classes all morning on Fridays. That effectively meant that neither of them would be able to stay up late. He was even a little surprised that David would even accept to go out on a school night.

"But you have classes tomorrow morning! Is it alright?"

"My class at eight got cancelled, so, that's no problem. However, I still got a class at eleven and I already have my books with me."

As they got to a red light, Ryan was able to finally stop and look Kyle in the eyes.

"We knew that you were a little disappointed that we wouldn't be able to really have him over this weekend since you'll be working, so, when the possibility came up, we arranged it."

Kyle was really happy that his boyfriend had taken the time to have everything organized. He showed it by giving him a kiss, right there on the side of the street.

"And I don't get anything here?" David teased.

"Sorry!" Not minding the fact that that the light had turned green and that they were walking, Kyle went and gave David a big hug.

"You'll also get the two of us to yourself all night long." Ryan added.

"You'll be staying with me tomorrow morning until your class, or you'll be leaving with Ryan?"

"I haven't decided yet, I'll see tomorrow."

Kyle pouted. "Fair enough."

Arriving at Berri, they got to the metro and got on the platform right in time to see the train close its door and leave the station. That effectively meant that they would have to wait ten minutes for the next train.

"What will you guys want to eat?" Ryan asked

"Can we just get home first?" Kyle answered first.

"Since we have to wait, might as well be productive, no?"

"Don't look at me, I'll be fine with just about anything that the two of you decide."

"You can decide, it will be fine by me"

"You guys aren't really helpful!” Ryan commented.

"Alright, if you thought about ordering in, I'd say a chicken fried rice."

"Good, Chinese it is. David, that's fine with you, I guess?"

"Yeah, that's good."

Less than twenty minutes later, they finally arrived at the condo.

"I need to use the bathroom." David said after having taken off his coat and shoes.

David knew that he didn't really need approval and went to the bathroom right away.

Kyle took that opportunity of alone time to get Ryan back in his arms as soon as he was done taking off his shoes.

"Thank you!" He whispered softly in Ryan's ear.

"You're alright with the fact that I invited him over for the night!"

"For sure!"

When David got back, he knew that he had cut short a moment between the two lovers, however, he didn't say anything.

When Ryan looked at the time, it was getting close to five o'clock.

"Are you guys getting hungry?"

Ryan was really asking the question to David. Kyle and he always ate much later than this normally, so he didn't expect him to be hungry just yet.

"Not really, no. Maybe we can order in thirty minutes, by the time it will take to get here, it will be time." David suggested.

Kyle already knew what he wanted, fried rice with chicken, however it wasn't as clear for neither Ryan nor David. They actually took the better part of the next half hour deciding where they would order from and what they would actually order. When their choice was made, Ryan ended up ordering right away.

"Wanna watch some TV until it gets here?"

"Yeah, why not!" David positively answered.

They flipped the TV to the news. It actually was the first time since David got in town that he was watching some local TV. He was used to watching videos on his laptop on the Internet, comfortably under the covers in his bed, or simply go to his friends shared apart and watch movies with them.

David really didn't care much about the newscast, he was barely looking at it. He was instead observing Ryan and Kyle just being themselves. They looked so carefree, sitting in each other’s arms, enjoying every moment spent together. It was making him realize that he really was longing for something like that for himself.

He was thinking at that moment that maybe his best friends are right, maybe he should be taking more chances, and try and go for it. On the other hand, David knew all the conflict in him, which he wasn't sure of what he actually really wanted. As long as that wasn't clear to him, he wouldn't be ready to find anyone.

"You're lost in your head! Thinking way too much."

Kyle's voice made him abruptly come back to reality.

"Maybe, sorry."

"Don't worry! We can change the channel if you want to." Ryan realized that the local news might not be the ideal show.

"Nah! It's alright, food should arrive in not too long anyway."

It was the case, not that long after the delivery guy was at their door with their order.

They prepared a movie, one of those light hearted romantic comedy, and they installed themselves and ate while watching the movie.

At one point, after a little hesitation, David repositioned himself closer to Kyle, wanting to be held. Kyle didn't miss the sign and put his arm around him. As he looked on the other side, he noticed Ryan looking back at him, smiling.

Ryan wasn't jealous, not for one moment. He saw how happy his boyfriend was, which in turn was making him even happier. He knew fully well that he had nothing to worry about from David. He could just as easily sit closer to Kyle from the other side if he really wanted.

The downside of weekday nights was that by eleven that night, they had to start getting ready for bed. Kyle would have rather stayed up much later, keep watching TV and talking about anything and everything for hours, but it wasn't a possibility. However, he couldn't complain. Going to bed, sleeping while holding each other tightly was as appealing.

The night seemed really short for Ryan, the next morning as he woke up. He had slept very well, and as he looked at the way David and his boyfriend were installed, he could bet they were sleeping alright too. However, he wouldn't have said no to stay in bed a while longer.

As he was getting ready to leave, Ryan went back to the bedroom. He first went on his boyfriend's side, kissed him, hugged him and whispered to his ear to have a good day. He then went on the other side of the bed, crawled next to David, gave him a hug and whispered to his ear to enjoy his morning.

As opposed to Kyle, David opened his eyes, barely waking up.

"What time is it?" He mumbled.

"It's almost seven." Remembering that the possibility of him leaving at the same time as him was raised, Ryan didn't really give him a choice. "You should stay in bed and leave in time for your class. Kyle would be happy."