Unforgivable - 6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Jason dropped Drew and his new sister-in-law off at the airport to catch their flight for their honeymoon. He gave each of them a hug, and waved as the happy couple joined the crowd in line for security. As he watched his little brother take his wife’s hand and kiss her on her cheek, he smiled. It was still hard to believe his baby brother was actually married. The ceremony had been nice, and thankfully short. The reception… had been interesting.

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Jason rolled his eyes as Zach walked to the bar to get yet another drink… his third that hour. He was still trying to figure out what Corey saw in the man. Jason had even seen the assistant coach eyeing Pierre as the redhead danced, and judging by the clenching of his jaw, and scowl, Corey had also noticed. What happened to the fire his friend used to have? Where was the temper that had made Corey confront Jason last night? It made him sad to think that none of Corey’s protective instincts were used in defense of himself. With an inward sigh he turned back to his father, who was grumbling about Drew’s friend, Gerry, who seemed to be dancing a little too closely to Katrina.

Later that night, Jason was walking past entrance when he heard Zach accusing Drew and Corey of sleeping together. There was no way the guy could be serious. Yeah, the friends had always been very close, but anyone who knew Corey at all would know he would never be unfaithful. Deciding to investigate, he reached the group in time to hear Corey angrily deny any infidelity, and kick his boyfriend to the curb. Jason felt a surge of pride to finally see Corey stand up for himself, which was immediately replaced by anger as Zach shoved Corey against the wall. It caused Jason’s own protective instincts to kick into high gear. He wanted to rip the other man’s head off of his shoulders, but Corey's well timed punch beat him to it. It was a good hit, and sent the drunk bastard to the ground. Before Jason thought about what he was doing, his hands were on the brunette’s shoulders, needing to make sure Corey hadn’t been hurt. When Corey shrugged him off and left the building, he turned to follow, but a hand on his arm stopped him.

“I should be the one to go,” Drew said with a grim look. “I don't know how he'll react to you right now.”

It pained him to admit it, but Jason knew his brother was right. Although he might still consider Corey a friend, Corey hadn't felt the same for years… and Jason knew it was his own damned fault. Turning his attention to Zach, he saw the guard helping him up off of the floor, and overheard the concierge confirm a cab was on its way. It sounded like the big man hadn’t even unpacked, and only needed to retrieve an overnight bag from the room. He’d agreed to be shuttled off to another hotel.

Knowing there was nothing else he could do, Jason looked at the lobby doors one more time, before reluctantly returning to the party. Luckily, most of the guests didn't seem to realize anything out of the ordinary had happened. Spotting Liz chatting with her maid of honor, he gave her a smile, before tracking down his sister for their promised dance. As he twirled Kat around the floor, the sight of Drew and Corey walking back into the room, laughing, and nudging each other playfully, made Jason’s worry ease. For a moment amused green eyes met his, and Jason was inordinately pleased when the brunette’s grin didn’t falter before he nodded and turned away. Maybe there was hope for a civil relationship yet.

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After spending several days in the constant company of friends and family, the drive back to Kingston was blessedly quiet. It allowed him time to think about everything that had happened. His conversation with Pierre might not have been comfortable for either of them, but it was long overdue. There was no doubt in Jason’s mind his behaviour had been awful, but in the end Pierre had forgiven him… even introducing him to his boyfriend, David. The big guy was kind to Jason in a way only someone who believes they’d won a foolishly discarded treasure could be. While observing the happy pair, he realized he’d never felt cherished like that with Luc. He was beginning to wonder if Luc hadn’t felt valued by him either… would it have made a difference?

Corey had been hostile to him in the beginning, but seemed to have mellowed out at the reception, and had even approached his parents while Jason stood with them. Given his previous attitude, it was an improvement. Now maybe if they met on the street in Kingston it wouldn’t be so awkward. Pulling into the driveway of his new home, Jason breathed in deeply and grinned. Life was looking up.

The next few days passed quickly. The last of his unpacking was finally done, and he was starting to get into a comfortable groove with his clerk and receptionist. The name of his firm brought with it automatic recognition, so their client base was already expanding. If things kept up this way he was going to need another assistant by the end of the year.

Thursday morning found Jason pulling into the parking lot of a small strip mall. There was gym on one end that came highly recommended by his receptionist’s son. He’d always worked out regularly, but with the move and getting the office running, he hadn’t had time to explore the facilities. Getting out of the car, he grabbed his bag and headed towards the large glass doors. Reaching for the handle, a reflection caught his eye. Lowering his hand, he turned to see Corey walking towards the gym with his head down… no, not the gym… the brunette’s target appeared to be a door to the left… a physiotherapy clinic. When Corey spotted him, he stiffened momentarily, looking surprised and uncertain. Jason smiled and nodded his chin in greeting, but didn’t speak, allowing the other man to decide if he wanted to ignore him or not.

The younger man took a deep breath and appeared to calm himself before approaching. “Jason, I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

Jason waved vaguely at the glass wall behind him. “The gym came highly recommended so I thought I’d drop in before work to check it out.”

Corey looked towards the workout facility. “Its a great place,” he said, clearing his throat. “Grant’s a great trainer. We work together with some of my patients when they’re ready to get back to their regular routines.”

The big blonde looked back at the sign over the clinic door. “This is your place?”

“Yeah.” Corey’s pride was evident in the tone of his voice. “I took it over a year ago.”

“Wow, that’s great. Last time we talked, you’d been to a couple of schools.”

“I ended up going to Queens.” The man’s smile was less forced now. “I loved the area, so I never left.” The sound of the door opening behind him drew Jason’s attention back to the building. Corey shifted from one foot to the other. “I should….” The smaller brunette’s gaze turned to his clinic. “I should go… I have a patient arriving soon.”

Seeing the other man’s unease saddened Jason, but at least they were talking. “No problem. I should get inside anyways. I have to be at the office for a 9 o’clock appointment.”

“That’s right… I heard you were working out of Kingston now.” Corey discomfort seemed to increase.

“My firm opened an office here. I’m getting it up and running.”

Corey nodded, and flicked his gaze back to the building.

“I’ll let you go though.” Jason said, trying to alleviate some of Corey’s tension before the man bolted. After watching Corey unlock his door, and shut it behind him, the blonde breathed out a heavy sigh. That meeting went much better than he could have hoped for.

Following that first interaction it seemed to Jason that something was conspiring to have the two men run into each other everywhere… the coffee shop, a café close to his office, and even the grocery store. A few times Corey didn’t seem to realize Jason was there, while other times he would say hello, but didn’t linger to chat. Although he wished things could be different, Jason understood Corey’s reluctance.

About a month after their first encounter Jason was running along one of the trails when something small darted out in front of him as he rounded a corner. Startled, he jumped to the side, to avoid stepping on the creature, and rolled his ankle over a tree root. Going down hard, he winced when he felt something crack.

“Jason!” a concerned voice called from the path. He looked up to see Corey jogging towards him, worry marring his features. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” the big blonde said, feeling a flush of embarrassment at having been taken down by a squirrel. “I think I hurt my pride more than anything.” Pulling himself up, he tried to take a step, only to have pain shoot from his ankle. “Fuck,” he muttered, grabbing a nearby tree as Corey reached for him.

“I think you hurt a little more than your pride,” Corey said with a frown, encouraging the big man to lean on him. “Come on, there’s a bench just around the corner. Let’s sit you down so I can take a look at it.”

Jason allowed the surprisingly strong smaller man to bear more of his weight, and hobbled to the bench. Huffing a breath, he watched warily as Corey maneuvered his foot onto the seat. Jason bit back a curse when his nimble fingers moved over the injury, feeling for any breaks. The younger man’s brow was furrowed in concentration as he conducted his examination.

“Can you move it?” the brunette asked, looking up from his crouched position.

Jason moved his foot up and down and back and forth. Although it hurt, the pain wasn’t excruciating.

“I don’t think you broke anything, but there is some swelling. It’ll likely blow up even more when you take off your shoe.”

“The pain is subsiding already.” Jason sighed, moving his foot to the ground. “I think I just twisted it. Thanks for stopping and checking on me though.” He gave Corey a tentative smile.

Corey chewed on his lip, as he sat on the bench. “No problem. I couldn’t just leave you there.”

“I wouldn’t have blamed you if you’d laughed as you ran by.” Jason chuckled.

Corey’s expression became pained, before he turned away to look down the trail. “I would…,” he said so quietly Jason could barely hear him.

“I’m sorry,” Jason said with a sigh. “It was a stupid joke. I didn’t mean to imply anything.” Not for the first time, Jason felt a pang of regret that he’d so badly damaged his friendship with Corey. He reached out and rested his hand on the other man’s arm for a moment. “I know you’re not like that.”

Corey grimaced. “Are you sure?” The man sounded conflicted. “If I saw you there a few months ago….”

“You should have more faith in yourself. You would never leave anyone lying injured… you’d have even stopped for Billy Carter,” Jason said, referring to the boy who’d tried to bully Corey and Drew in grade school.

Corey’s laugh was strained. “Well… maybe not Billy.” They sat quietly for a few moments, and Jason felt the tension and awkwardness between them like a physical being.

Clearing his throat, he started to stand. “I should get going….”

Corey stood with him. “Is your car parked nearby?”

“It’s in the lot at the park entrance.”

Nodding, Corey moved closer. “Well?” He raised a dark eyebrow, looking pointedly at his own shoulder. “Are we going?”

Jason was confused. “Weren’t you going in the opposite direction?”

“Yeah.” The man said with a shrug of his shoulder. “I want to make sure you can get back all right.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Jason said, as he took a limping step over the gravel surface.

“I know.” Corey’s smile was more genuine. “I want to… now grab on.”

Rolling his eyes at the bossy man, he allowed Corey to help him back to the parking lot. They travelled slowly, with Jason leaning heavily on the shorter man for support over the hillier sections. Jason could feel Corey’s muscles move and flex under his t-shirt, and was impressed with his lean muscle tone.

They were quiet at first, but tentatively started talking about the last eight years of their lives. Corey said he was happy Jason achieved his goal of becoming a lawyer and was now running his own office, and Jason reiterated how proud he was that Corey owned his own physiotherapy clinic. The conversation was a little strained in the beginning, but Jason felt a part of himself soothed from talking to his friend again.

“Maybe you can come up with a routine to help me with this stupid ankle.” The big man joked as he hobbled up to his car.

“Sure,” Corey said, stopping and reaching out his hand. “Put it up with some ice today and come see me tomorrow. I have an opening at 7:30. I’ll see how the swelling looks then.”

Jason gawked at the other man. “I was kidding,” he said, looking at the outstretched hand. “What?”

“Give me your keys.” Corey rolled his eyes. “You can’t drive with that ankle.”

“I can drive home,” Jason argued.

Corey quirked an eyebrow at him, his hand still out. “You hurt your right ankle, Jase. Do you really think you can drive with that foot?”

Jason held out for another second before relinquishing his key and allowing Corey to lead him to the passenger side. He slid into the seat and breathed a sigh of relief now that he was able to stop moving. Corey shut the door and walked around to the driver’s door, sliding in beside him.

“Where to?”

Jason gave his address and settled back for the drive. “Thank you for doing this.” He turned his head and watched as Corey maneuvered his Audi out of the lot.

Corey smiled at him before turning his attention back on the road. “No problem,” he said, tapping his fingers on the wheel.

“What about your car?” It suddenly occurred to Jason that Corey might have left a vehicle behind them.

“I ran over.” The younger man chuckled. “I only live a few kilometers away and the trail is part of my route. I got a bit of a late start this morning.”

“I was fortunate you happened by then.”

“I guess it was your lucky day.” Corey grinned at him. They were quiet for the rest of the drive, but the silence was more thoughtful, than strained. “Here we are.” Corey pulled into the driveway and put the vehicle into park. Running around the vehicle, he helped Jason stand. At the door he hesitated. “Do you need some help getting situated?”

Jason hopped over the threshold and turned back to the brunette. “I think I got it from here. Thank you for getting me this far.”

“You’re welcome,” Corey said, going into therapist mode. “Don’t forget to elevate and ice that ankle.”

“I won’t.” Jason felt warmed by the man’s concern. “Hey,” he called, before Corey made it to the driveway. “How are you getting home? How far away are you?”

“Oh,” Corey said, looking around the neighbourhood. “I’m a few kilometers away, but I’ll be fine.”

“No,” Jason said, holding out his key. “Take the car. I can’t have you walking home after rescuing me.”

Corey chuckled. “I hardly rescued you. Besides, what will you do without your car?”

“I’ll grab a cab to the clinic tomorrow.”

Corey looked unsure as he stared at the key dangling from Jason’s finger. “I can’t let you do that.”

“It’s either that, or I’m going to drive you home.” Jason crossed his arms across his broad chest.

Corey let out an exasperated sigh. “Still a stubborn bastard,” he muttered.

Jason barked out a laugh. “I could say the same.”

“Tell you what,” Corey said finally. “I’ll take the car home, and come and pick you up in the morning. You’re my first appointment.”

Jason nodded his agreement, satisfied he wasn’t taking the brunette out of his way just to help him. After saying goodbye and watching his car head back down the street, he shut the door and hopped to the freezer for ice. Settling on the couch with his leg supported on a couple of cushions, he winced as he put the cold compress on his ankle. The area around the injury was tender, and the skin was starting to discolor to a lovely shade of purple, but Jason couldn’t help smiling. It felt good having Corey talk to him again after all of these years.

Maybe, he thought as he leaned against the arm of the couch… Maybe there’s a chance for us to become friends again.