The Cockney Canuck - 72. Chapter 72 Better than the Best Thing Ever

There were two small windows either side of my bed that faced the back garden and in the mornings if the blinds were open, the sun would shine directly onto my face. I usually made sure that they were closed at night before going to bed, but that day someone had obviously come in and opened them. It was enough to wake me, but not enough to force me out of bed, so I pulled the sheet over my head and rolled onto my side.

“Robbie.”

When I heard my name I opened my eyes, squinting into the sunlight. “Nathan?”

He was right in front of me; his smiling face no more than six-inches away. Then he leant forward and kissed me. “Morning baby.”

“Nathan!” I lifted my head, surprised but still groggy. “What…why are you doing here? Whose time is it?” I rubbed my eyes and sat upright as he laughed. “I was asleep,” I said.

“I know, I woke you.”

“Why?”

“Ohhh, I’m sorry baby. I didn’t want to wake you up, you looked so cute asleep, but Sue asked me to, it’s ten o’clock.” I looked towards my alarm clock as he leant forward to kiss me again, this time slower and longer. I smiled at him as he pulled away. It was the nicest wake-up call that I had ever had.

“Why are you here?”

“You ask me to come over today, remember?”

I think I did, but it didn’t matter anyway, I always wanted to see him.

“You’re here early,” I said.

“No, you’re up late.”

I looked across the room to Daniel’s bed which looked as if it hadn’t been slept in. “Where’s Daniel?”

“He’s not here yet.”

“Oh.” Then I remembered what had happened yesterday. Talking to Sue, Nicola, Jimmy and everything that I had done with Nathan. They were warming thoughts and I smiled at him.

“Well?” he said.

“Well, what?”

“Well, are you getting up?”

I grabbed his wrist and guided his hand under the single sheet to rest it on my morning glory. “I’m already up,” I said. He gave it a gentle squeeze and a couple of slow, teasing rubs, over my cotton briefs before pulling his hand back. “You don’t have to stop, you know?”

“I can’t,” he said. “Sue will never trust me on my own with you again.” I was surprised that she trusted him in my bedroom at all, especially if Daniel wasn’t there.

He was kneeling beside the bed and I rested my head back down on the pillow and pulled him towards me so that we were sharing it. Then I kissed him properly.

“Thank you,” I said.

“For waking you up?”

“No, for yesterday, that was really cool.”

“Which part?”

“All of it of course,” I said. “Every minute that you were here with me was perfect.” I made him blush and he pushed my hair from my eyes and kissed me on the nose.

“It was fun, wasn’t it?”

“It was better than that; it was better than the best thing ever. The best day that I’ve ever had!”

“I’m honoured,” he said. “Better than the best thing ever is quite a compliment.”

“No, it was even better than better than the best thing ever,” I said and he laughed as I tripped over my words, but it was true. Since turning up at my door the day before we had barely been apart, but I had loved every minute, and I wanted every day to be the same. If this was life on the outside, then I wanted to be out to everyone and straight away. I would announce it on Facebook, take out a full-page advert in the New York Times, even run a thirty-second commercial during the Superbowl.

He laughed when I put these suggestions to him, but as far as I was concerned, yesterday had been a turning point in my life and I was never going back. Being honest to myself had paid off, even Sue had lectured me about not being sorry for who I was. Nicola, of all people—my arch-enemy for months—had apologised for being horrible to me, and even told me that Nathan and I suited each other. She watched me kissing him and thought it was cool. Any of these scenarios, just a month ago would have seemed totally ridiculous. Even those weird dreams from my coma would have been more believable.

“Where is everyone?” I said.

“Sue and Nicola are upstairs in the kitchen, Amy’s in the garden with her friend, Daniel’s still at Doug’s house, I don’t know where Don is, but you’re still in bed and I’m here.”

“No, you’re not,” I said. “You’re in bed with me.” I grabbed his wrists and pulled him onto the bed and then on top of me. He didn’t put up that much of a struggle and other than a few half-hearted attempts to pull away, he seemed quite happy to play along.

“What are you doing?” he said, but he was laughing.

“I love you, Nathan,” I said. “I can’t help myself.”

“I love you too, but you have to let me go.” I thought about it for a split second but decided instead to roll him over until we reversed positions and he was below me. We nearly fell off the narrow bed and we were both laughing—probably loud enough for the whole house to hear—but when I managed to pin him down and start humping him, he stopped and his eyes opened wide.

Stoppit!” he said. “You’ll get us in trouble.”

“I thought you liked this.”

“I do, but not now.”

It was inevitable that our antics would attract attention from upstairs and I rolled off him the second that I heard someone coming down. He jumped up and straightened his t-shirt as I pulled the sheet back up to my neck. We couldn’t have looked any guiltier if we had tried, and I was relieved to see Nicola’s face in the doorway and not Sue’s.

She wasn’t too impressed as she stood to survey the scene with her arms crossed. “Whatever you’re doing, you need to stop it now, and Robbie, mom wants you out of bed.”

“We were only mucking about,” I said. “It was just a bit of fun.”

She smiled at me; a simple facial expression that still seemed so out of place on her and once again, it took me by surprise. “Just get yourself dressed and mom will be happy, okay?”

“I’m getting up now,” I said and then waved her away. “Do you mind giving me some privacy please?”

I waited for her usual terse reply—she always had to have the last word, even if she was being nice—but she turned and left without a peep. Nathan and I exchanged worried glances.

“She’s up to something; she’s being too nice,” I said. “Can you shut the door?”

He thought it was funny. “I think Jimmy’s a good influence on her.”

“Probably. I like him, he’s a nice bloke.”

“Yes, he is a nice bloke,” he said mimicking me. “I think he’s a proper geezer.”

“Don’t laugh at my accent,” I said grabbing his arm again and pulling him onto the bed. “It’s not nice you know, you hurt my feelings.”

He pushed me away and then moved his hand sideways to the visible lump beneath the sheet and grabbed my dick. “I’ll hurt more than your feelings if you don’t leave me alone.” He had a menacing glint in his eyes that I found strangely erotic.

“Go on then, I haven’t got all day.”

“You’d like that wouldn’t you?” he said.

“Yes.”

“There’s nothing that I can do to you that wouldn’t turn you on is there?”

“I can’t think of anything, but don’t let that stop you.” I directed his hand—this time under the sheet—towards the stiffy in my briefs.

He rolled his eyes and pulled his hand away. “Don’t.”

“I thought you were here to look after me,” I said.

“Not in the way you want.”

“Why not?”

“Because we’ll get caught, it’s too risky.”

“Not if you’re quick.”

“I don’t believe you. Can’t you do it yourself in the shower or something?”

“It’s not as much fun though.”

“It’s safer.”

“It’s boring,” I said as I dropped the sheet and placed his hand back on top of my dick. I smiled at him as he shook his head and looked towards the door.

“She’s gone upstairs,” I said. “I’ll listen out for anyone, don’t worry.”

“But Sue wants you upstairs.”

“Yeah, she can wait a while, no big deal.”

“If we get caught, it’s down to you.”

“We won't, but if we do then I’ll hold my hands up.”

“It’s my hands that’ll be the problem,” he said before looking towards the door again.

I had started as a joke; I wasn’t expecting him to actually do anything. The longer our banter lasted though, the more it looked as if he was prepared to concede, and the more persuasive I became. There was a noise at the top of the stairs and Nathan pulled his hand back like lightning.

“It’s okay, nobody’s coming…yet!”

He bit his lip and shook his head at me. “Pull your undies down then.”

‘I don’t believe he’s actually gonna do it’.

I did as I was told and lowered my briefs down to my knees and he smiled at me before reaching under the sheet with his left hand and making contact, pulling me hard.

“You’d better be quick,” he said.

“I promise,” I said watching him as he went to work in brisk fashion.

“What?” he said.

“Can you look as if you’re enjoying it?”

“But I’m not enjoying it; I’m only doing it for you.”

“But can you pretend to be enjoying it.”

“I’ll try,” he said.

“Thank you.”

He speeded up. “Is that better?” I nodded. “Do you want me to go faster?”

“No, this is good,” I said.

“Hurry up then.”

“Stop keep saying that. I can’t just do it to order. It has to be right.”

“You’re not even trying.”

“Yes, I am.”

“I’ve got an idea,” he said and removed his hand and spat into his palm before going back to work slightly more lubricated. “Is that better.”

“A little…I suppose.”

“You’re not even trying are you?”

“It’s you,” I said. “You need to be more…you know…why don’t you talk dirty to me?”

“No, I need to listen out in case someone comes.” I laughed and he slapped me with his free hand. “See, you’re not taking this seriously, are you? We could be here all day at this rate.”

“Why don’t you try something else?” I grinned at him.

“No way!” This is bad enough, I’m not getting caught doing that.”

“Just saying…it would be quicker.”

“No, now stop it.”

“Just a little.”

“Stop! NO! Why are you so horny all the time?”

“It’s your fault,” I said. “You insisted on coming down here and waking me up and getting me all worked and stuff. You know what I’m like first thing in the morning.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Well, you do now.”

“Is it worth me carrying on?”

“Absolutely.”

“You said that you’d be quick.”

“Stop talking then…I can’t do anything with you talking.”

“My arm’s starting to ache.”

“Keep going.”

“Can I change hands?”

“Go on then.”

“Just for a bit.”

“Can you go a bit quicker?”

“No, I’m using the wrong hand.”

“Well, what hand do you usually use?”

“Both!”

“Both?”

“Yes.”

“Wow, at the same time?”

He stopped and stood up. “You’re not in the right mood for this are you?”

“Maybe if you could get some maple syrup from upstairs then….”

“Maybe we should go upstairs before Sue comes down to see what we’re up to?” he said and I agreed to postpone our little adventure.

“I’ll sort it myself in the shower,” I said, as I threw back the sheet and scrambled out of bed.

“I like this bed,” he said as he took my place, lying sideways across it to watch me get dressed. “And it’s nice and warm where you’ve been lying.”

“I’ve got a hot body,” I said as pulled my briefs over my ass and gave it a quick slap.

He laughed. “I’ve slept in it a few times,” he said. “It’s so comfortable.”

“Yeah, I know but I wasn’t in it at the time,” I said. “It really turned me on that day when you told me that. I had to cover myself so you didn’t see my boner. Do you think that’s weird?”

“Really?” he asked. “Yeah, that’s kinda weird.” He was giggling. “I also have a confession to make, but it’s really bad.”

“Go on.”

“Well, I kinda like…jerked off in your bed once. I mean before it was your bed. You know when it was just the spare bed.”

“No way,” I said. “That is so bloody cool. I was hoping that you would have done something like that. But how, with Daniel here?”

“It was on a Sunday morning, Daniel was in the shower and after being around him all night and with him hardly wearing any clothes and stuff, I was feeling really horny. Anyway, I jerked off while I had the room to myself.”

“Wow, maybe you can do it again for me one day?” He looked perplexed. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, it’s just that most people would be kinda pissed if I told them that I had jerked off in their bed. But you’re really happy about it.”

“Oh, yeah,” I said. “Did you make a mess?”

“No, of course not. Well, naturally I made some mess, but I cleaned it up. I didn’t get anything on the bed.”

“Oh.”

“You’re disappointed about that aren’t you?”

“Gutted,” I said.

He laughed. “Well if it makes you feel any better, next time I’ll make sure that I shoot my load all over your pillow.”

“That is so cool, can you do it for me now?”

“And there I was thinking that I was the weird one.”

* * * * *

It was nearly eleven when I strolled into the kitchen with Nathan on my shirttails. Nicola was at the counter making coffee and Sue was sitting at the table in the dining room. She looked up at me and smiled.

“I was tired,” I said. “I couldn’t sleep last night.” It was the truth and the reason why I didn’t wake up until Nathan ventured downstairs.

“Well, I suppose you had a lot on your mind,” she said as I approached Nicola.

“Is there enough for me?” I pointed to the coffee pot and she nodded and filled a cup, but before I could pick it up, she moved it out of my reach. “Please?”

“What about Nathan?” she asked.

“Err, Nathan can get his own.”

“No, he can’t. He’s your boyfriend, you’re supposed to look after him, or at least ask him if he wants something. He’s a guest in this house. You’ve got a lot to learn about being in a relationship, Robbie. Didn’t you learn anything from Fran?”

I learned a few things from Fran, but manners weren’t one of them.

“Fran was different,” I said, grabbing the coffee.

“You don’t say.”

I took the coffee over to the dining room where Nathan was sitting with Sue and put it in front of him on the table. “I made you a coffee,” I said and he took a hold of my hand for just a second before letting go. I could see Sue watching and she smiled nervously at our brief show of affection. Like the rest of us, she was still getting used to this new era of openness.

“Robbie,” she said before I could walk away. “I had a phone call this morning from the police; they want an officer to come over here this afternoon to take a statement from you.”

“But I don’t remember anything; what am I supposed to say?”

“I don’t know dear; just tell them what you can remember and be honest, maybe it would help if Nathan is here with you…it might help them to understand your position.”

Nathan agreed; I knew he would do anything to make it easier for me. “Did you talk to Don yet?”

“Not yet, honey, he’s got a lot on his plate at the moment. He’s had to go to work today and I doubt if he will be back until late.” I knew that he had been putting in a lot of hours recently, trying to win a contract for a new restaurant chain, but I wasn’t disappointed to hear that he hadn’t been told yet.

I sat down next to Nathan and rested my head on my arms but the proximity was too much for him to bear, and I smiled when I felt his hand gently rubbing my back and drawing circles.

“That tickles,” I said.

“Do you want me to stop?”

“No,” I said and then laughed as he speeded up. “Wait, let me do it to you.”

“Oh my God,” said Nicola. “I think I preferred it when he was in the closet.”

“Yes, dear,” said Sue. “We may have to throw some cold water over them soon.” That just made us laugh even more.

* * * * *

Day two of my rest and rehabilitation was proving to be a bit of a drag, but I suppose the previous day was always going to be a tough act to follow. Nathan did his best to keep me entertained, but Sue was becoming ever more resourceful with her spoiling tactics, aimed at keeping our overactive teenage hormones in check. She had a secret weapon, which came in the form of an annoying little sister and Amy played the role to perfection, following her mom’s instructions and shadowing us around the house.

I found it difficult to be annoyed by her cheeky enthusiasm and I loved the way that she would stare into my boyfriend’s eyes whenever he talked. At times she seemed completely in awe of him and I knew exactly what it was like. With Amy around, we tried to limit ourselves to very subtle touches and smiles, conscious of confusing her and having to attempt to explain something, which she didn’t quite understand yet.

Sue had asked us both to be careful and not to talk about anything in front of her, which was a relief. It allowed me to focus all my attention on the next hurdle. Daniel had spent the night at Doug’s house and was expected home at lunchtime, but once again, he had called Sue to tell her that he would be late. I was beginning to think that he was purposely avoiding me.

‘Maybe he already knows’.

Our relationship had changed a little over the past month, although it was hard to determine exactly how or what started it. I thought that maybe this was a natural progression. In the beginning, we had been almost like friends and although I knew that was unusual for brothers sharing a room, it was a totally new situation for both of us. It was possible that the honeymoon period had come to an end and having a brother around wasn’t a novelty anymore for either of us. That day, I was sure, would provide the biggest test of all.

* * * * *

At four o’clock, I was sitting in the garden with Nathan and Amy, when I was called inside by Sue and ushered into the dining room, where a police officer was waiting to meet me. I recognised him straight away, which was a surprise for Sue and Nicola.

“Hello Robbie,” he said shaking my hand. “We meet again.” He was smiling broadly at me, trying to put at ease, and I nodded back at him before glancing over at Sue.

“You know him?” she asked.

“Yes ma’am,” replied the officer. “I gave your son a ride home not so long ago, he was walking on his own late at night.”

“You remember?” I said accusingly. “That was when you grounded me.”

“Yes dear,” she said. “I remember, but we grounded you for being rude and for drinking, not just for coming home late.”

I stared at the officer and he nodded. I had told him that night that I hadn’t been drinking, but if he remembered, he chose not to mention it.

“Well, I’ve seen him around town a few times since,” he said. “He’s quite noticeable with that accent.”

He introduced himself as Constable Governs of the Cobourg Police Service and began by asking me about my injury and how my recovery was going. He had already talked to the doctor and with the school principle Mr Andrews, who had supplied the police with CCTV footage of the incident.

He started taking a statement from me aided by a number of enlarged still photographs taken from the video which he hoped would jog my memory. I studied each one carefully with Nathan looking over my shoulder. They weren’t very flattering and in the last one, I was clearly in a lot of trouble, with people huddled around me. I couldn’t see my face but there was a lot of blood and it sent a chill up my spine knowing that I was the one on the floor. I no longer had any memory at all of the actual incident or the immediate aftermath. The furthest that I could accurately go back was the waking up process in the hospital and even that was very sketchy.

I wasn’t expecting to have to look at photographs and certainly not in such detail. It shook me up a little, which must have been noticeable to Nathan, who reached over and put his arm around me. It was a little more than what you would usually expect from a friend and it wasn’t lost on Constable Governs who looked on with interest. He had previously been trying to draw my attention to the guy who had run into me from the side and in one of the photographs, it clearly showed him grabbing a hold of my backpack and pushing me forward into the handrails. It looked as if I hit the rails before landing on my wrist, head, and back, in what was a quite disturbing series of pictures. Even Sue seemed a little distressed by the images.

If Constable Governs had been hoping for a breakthrough, then he wasn’t going to get this way, because as hard as I tried, I was unable to recognise the guy at all from the angle of the pictures. At no point was his face visible and judging by his build, it definitely wasn’t Jake.

I pushed them gingerly across the table with my fingertips as if they were contaminated as Sue gently rubbed the top of my head. “It’s okay honey,” she said before speaking to the officer. “I’ve been talking to Robbie and there’s something that you should know that may help with your investigation.” Then she looked down at me.

“What is it Robbie?” he asked.

“Err, it’s nothing really important and it probably won't help you at all,” I said.

“Well why don’t you tell me anyway?” he said softly. “Just to be sure.”

“Robbie, would you prefer me to tell him?” said Sue.

I looked around the room for signs of Amy, but she had gone, and I suspected that Nicola had taken her downstairs. Then I looked up at Nathan for help. He still had his arm around me and squeezed me hard in an attempt to reassure me.

“I believe that my son’s sexuality may have been a motive for the assault,” said Sue, sounding very official. “Robbie’s gay.”

‘Why couldn’t I say something like that’?

I watched for his reaction, but Constable Governs didn’t seem at all shocked or surprised by this revelation and it didn’t turn him against me either.

“I see,” he said. “Thanks for telling me, we needed to know this. It may prove to be important. I can’t say for certain that this was the motive behind the attack but judging by past experiences, there is a good chance that this will be the case.” He smiled at me and I looked up from the table to give him a slightly embarrassed smile back.

“It’s been a difficult time for him lately,” said Sue. “For us all actually.”

The constable nodded. “I understand,” he said. “I appreciate you sharing this with us Robbie, and it will be useful in our investigation, but at the same time, we’re not about to go broadcasting it all over town. So you shouldn’t worry too much.”

I took his reassurance with a pinch of salt, aware that if they were to ever prosecute somebody then it would definitely be common knowledge.

He seemed satisfied with the information that I had given him but had one final question for me. “Do you know Craig Sullivan?” I shook my head. “He’s a grade eleven student at Stephenson, do you recognise that name at all?”

“No.”

“Here’s a photograph,” he said and he handed me a picture from what looked like the student yearbook. I had seen him before, but I could have said the same about any of the students at school and I handed it back.

“I don’t know him,” I said and then turned my head towards the hallway as I heard the front door opening. It was Daniel and Nathan reacted by letting go of me and putting a little distance between us.

“Mom, there’s a police cruiser out front,” he said, walking through the living room, before noticing us at the table. “Oh…!”

“It’s okay honey, you’re not disturbing us,” said Sue. “Nathan’s here.”

Daniel seemed a little surprised to see his friend sitting with us, but he acknowledged him anyway and walked over as Sue introduced him to Constable Govern. “This is my son Daniel.”

“Hello,” said Daniel.

“Your brother?” said the officer and I nodded as he looked towards Nathan. “I thought that this young man was your brother.”

“No,” said Nathan. “I’m just a friend.”

This seemed, however, to spike the officer’s interest. “Robbie,” he said. “Is there any other information that you can tell me that may help?”

“No!” I said firmly.

“It doesn’t have to go any further.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” I said. “Can I go now?”

My anxiety though only seemed to spur him on and he refused to let it go. “I’m sorry that I have to ask you this Robbie. But do you have a boyfriend?” I looked across at Sue in panic and then at Nathan. “I don’t mean to pry, but it is important after what you just told me.”

“Officer, can I talk to you alone please?” said Sue.

“Certainly ma'am,” he said and he stood up to follow her into the kitchen.

“Yes,” I said.

He stopped and turned around, waiting for me to finish. I saw Sue do the same thing behind him. She looked worried as I searched her eyes for some instruction.

I spun my head quickly to Nathan and then back again to Daniel who looked confused.

I just wanted it over with. I had had enough.

“Yes,” I repeated, “I do have a boyfriend.” My voice was croaking as I spoke and laced with unexpected emotion, as I felt Nathan’s hand resting on my shoulder.

I stared at Daniel who met my eyes only briefly before looking behind me towards Nathan. He didn’t look shocked or surprised, but he wasn’t smiling or happy either. If anything he looked disheartened by this news as if it had confirmed something that he had long suspected but refused to believe.

“Thank you,” said the officer. “I was sure that I had seen you two together before today, but I didn’t want to say anything. What’s your name?”

“Nathan Elliott,” he replied.

“And you go to the same school?”

“Yes.”

“Same grade?”

“I’m a year younger than him.”

“How long have you two been together?”

“A couple of months.”

I glanced at Daniel and our eyes met again, but only briefly before he looked to his mom who had walked over to stand next to him.

“Nathan,” said the officer. “Have you been the victim of any homophobic attacks or bullying?”

“Not recently,” he said.

“And in school, how many people know about you guys, I mean is it common knowledge.”

“No,” I said. “Hardly anybody knows.” I saw Daniel watching me as I said this, but when I turned my head, he looked away again. Then I breathed out a long and loud sigh of relief as Nathan put his arm around me and gave me a firm but loving squeeze followed by a kiss on the cheek.

“You okay?” he whispered and I smiled back at him.

After writing down a few notes, the officer shook our hands. “Nice meeting you again Robbie. I’m not gonna find you walking the streets at night again anytime soon, am I?”

“He has to stay indoors while he’s recovering,” said Sue as she put her arm around Daniel to hug him, and unlike me, he didn’t protest.

“I can’t promise you that we’ll ever be able to find the kid responsible because there really isn’t much to go on at the moment, but if we hear anything or somebody comes forward with some information then, of course, we’ll let you know.”

Sue walked him to the door leaving the three of us standing in silence. When I dared to glance over, Daniel refused to look at me, his stare fixed on the wall in front of him. I fidgeted nervously and turned to Nathan for help.

“Daniel,” he said softly. “Do you wanna talk?”

The moment that Nathan spoke, Daniel’s face seemed to cave in and he screwed up his eyes as if it really hurt him to hear his friend’s voice.

‘Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut or chosen a better time’.

“No,” said Daniel. “I don’t wanna talk…I don’t care what you’re doing with him. I don’t wanna know about it, okay?”

I felt bad for Daniel; almost as if I had betrayed him and it hurt, but there was nothing that I could have said that would have made him feel any better, and to a certain extent, it felt as if my job was done. There were others there to help who probably had a better chance getting through to him than I did, and as Daniel marched towards the stairs he was followed by Sue and Nathan.

As I stood at the living room window to watch Constable Governs pull out of the driveway, I heard someone walk up and stand beside me. It was Nicola, and for once she didn’t say a word, instead, she put her arm around me and rested her hand on my shoulder. I flinched at first and glanced nervously towards her—if it had happened a few weeks before, then I would have been sure that she was about to try to strangle me.