Choices - 24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

“Just a sec,” Liam called out as he pulled a shirt over his head and headed for the entrance. Opening the door, he grinned when he saw Bryce standing there, looking like he’d taken great care in choosing his outfit this morning. The dark, slim-fit chinos and form fitting button-up shirt highlighted his toned physique, and his hair had that casually mussed look Liam knew was anything but casual… he had seen Bryce’s hair care collection, after all.

“I feel underdressed,” he teased as he opened the door wider and invited his friend in.

“Bite me,” Bryce retorted with a roll of his eyes.

“You wish, sweet cheeks.”

“Jesus. You weren’t kidding when you said that eye looked like shit.”

“Thanks. Way to make a guy feel good about himself,” Liam responded with a chuckle.

“You know you’re gorgeous, so stop fishing for compliments.” Bryce leaned in to examine the damage. “It’s a good thing you pressed charges against that asshat or I’d have to hunt him down and exact my own personal revenge.”

“By bitch-slapping the guy?”

Bryce gave an exaggerated gasp and pressed his hand against his chest, as if hurt. “Oh ye of little faith. I’m crushed. So, how was the epic ‘do-over’ date?”

“Why don’t I wait until we get to the restaurant to tell you, and that way I won’t have to repeat myself for Nathan?”

“What time are we expected to be there?”

“In about an hour. That will give you enough time to tell me what’s been going on with you.”

“What do you mean?” Bryce asked, clearly evading Liam’s gaze.

“You can’t make some cryptic comment about not wanting to go out on a Friday night and not expect me to grill you.”

Bryce huffed a breath and stalked towards the kitchen. “Fine,” he called over his shoulder, “but you’re making me coffee. The good stuff you buy for Marty too—not that instant crap you tried to poison me with last time.”

Liam laughed and followed behind the smaller man. “Hey, it was all I had, and you’re scary when you’re decaffeinated.”

After quickly preparing the coffee, and setting a cup in front of his friend, Liam joined the man at the small table and waited quietly. He knew Bryce well enough to know hounding the man would only make him withdraw. For someone as flamboyant as he was, Bryce was incredibly private where his personal life was concerned. Liam often wondered if the flamboyance was a defence mechanism to prevent his one night stands from getting too close.

“So, the short version is I had a bad hook-up a couple of weeks ago, and need some time away from the scene for a while,” Bryce said, sounding flippant, but Liam could hear a thread of unease his voice.

The tone, combined with Bryce’s apparent reluctance to talk put Liam on alert. “What happened?”

Bryce stirred the dark liquid as he stared at the mug, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings.

“Bry?”

“I was at Flash. I hadn’t been there in months, and didn’t really want to go, but friends of mine made plans and bugged me until I relented and said I would meet them there.”

“I remember you telling me you didn’t like that place,” Liam replied, moving his chair slightly closer to his friend, hoping his proximity would lend him some comfort.

“I still don’t,” Bryce retorted with a bitter sounding laugh. “I showed up around eleven, and my group were up on the floor. I waved, but didn’t join them. It’d been a long drive and I had a bitch of a time getting a cab from my cousin Cole’s place.

“I was tired and thirsty so I decided to hit the bar first. There was this pretty hot guy there, and I sidled up beside him. He bought my drink and we chatted for a bit. He seemed nice enough, and I didn’t care much. I was just looking for someone for a couple of hours… maybe even a quick blow-job in the bathrooms. I promised Cole I’d go with him to take the kids to the aquarium in the morning, so I wasn’t about to waste money getting a room.”

Liam suppressed the urge to chastise his friend about why he would trust someone he’d only just met. He was never one for meaningless bar pick-ups, so Bryce’s stories were often out of his realm of experience. Alek was the first man he’d ever allowed to pick him with the intent of just one night, and even then, they’d known each other for months before ever getting together.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Bryce said, interrupting Liam’s thoughts. “I’ve never had any problems before. I’m safe, I insist on protection, and I get tested regularly.”

Liam patted his friend’s knee, and smiled guiltily. “Sorry,” he replied. “I know I shouldn’t judge what I don’t understand.”

“It’s okay.” Bryce leaned into his shoulder. “Casual sex and club pick-ups aren’t for everyone, and I know I probably give my mom grey hairs if she thinks about it too much. Sometimes I wonder how we ever became friends. You’re too good for me.”

“Hey,” Liam said softly, pulling Bryce’s smaller body into a tight hug. “Don’t say that. You’re a wonderful person and a great friend. Who you choose to sleep with doesn’t make you any better or worse than me. Hell, at least you didn’t fling yourself into the closet for a man like I did.”

The comment had the desired effect as Bryce chuckled. “That’s true,” he retorted as he sat up again.

“So you met a guy at the bar…,” Liam prodded when Bryce didn’t immediately continue his story.

The other man cleared his throat and took a sip of his coffee before peering sideways at Liam. “His name was Greg, and he told me he was from out of town. Windsor or something. I thought he was perfect for a quickie… no messy morning afters or running into each other again if the sex sucked. We flirted for a while, until I had to pee, so I excused myself to use the bathroom. When I got back, he’d already ordered another round for the two of us.”

“Bry… you didn’t drink it.” It was the cardinal rule of clubbing, you never, ever drink something you didn’t watch being made with your own eyes. The flush creeping up Bryce’s cheeks told Liam his friend had done just that.

“I was an idiot,” Bryce replied, rubbing his face with the palms of his hands. “I think he slipped me Ecstasy or something, because I was happy as fuck and feeling no pain in no time. Hell, I think I even started to give him a lap dance at one point.”

“What did he do to you?”

Bryce bit his lower lip and cradled his cup in slightly shaking hands. “He convinced me to go to the alley with him… for a little fun. When we got there, he pushed me against the wall and we started to practically maul each other. Believe me, I was really on board with what was happening.

“We were out and grinding like horny teenagers when I felt someone standing beside us. I tried to look, but Greg held my head still and told me not to worry about anything. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw this big guy watching us. I couldn’t see his hands, but judging by the movement, I think he was jacking himself or something. I was starting to get freaked out and pushed Greg away from me. I must have I caught him by surprise, because he stumbled back a step.

“I told him I didn’t do exhibitionism and tried to storm off to the front of the building, but Greg pulled me back and slammed me against the wall. He told me to stop being such a drama queen, and that he and his buddy just wanted to have a little fun with me. I was really starting to panic by then. Both of these guys were a lot bigger than me, and could do some serious damage if they wanted to.”

“Did they…?” Liam felt tears sting his eyes as his voice cracked. He couldn’t even finish his sentence, much less the awful thought that was forming.

“No,” Bryce replied quietly. “A group of guys came stumbling down the alley and Greg had to let me go when I started to struggle, or he would have called attention to us. The second I was free, I bee-lined it for the nearest cab and got the hell out of there.” Bryce let out a noise that was a cross between a laugh and a sob. “My asshole friends didn’t even notice I’d left. They assumed I’d found someone for the night, and didn’t give me another thought.”

Liam pulled his friend into his arms again. “I can’t imagine how scared you must have been.”

Bryce leaned into his chest and tucked his head under Liam’s chin. “I’m always careful, Li. Always. You know I am. I slip up one god-damned time and look what happens. Why do I put myself into these types of situations? How many other times have I barely avoided this happening before?”

“I do know how careful you are… hell, I’ve had you lecture me when we go out together. I can understand why you might be gun shy now, but are you really going to let this one experience stop you from ever going out again?”

“No,” Bryce answered, looking Liam in the eye. “To be honest, the whole club scene has been getting stale for a while. This was just the final straw. I can’t do it anymore. I tried to go out the next week, and left after twenty minutes. I wasn’t having any fun, and I was suspicious of every guy who approached me.”

“Did you report what happened?”

“No,” Bryce replied, raising a hand when Liam started to interrupt. “I know you want to lecture me about this, but please don’t. I don’t even know Greg’s last name, and he never mentioned the name of his buddy.”

“You could have given the police a description, though.”

Bryce sighed and shook his head. “Not really. You know what those places are like. It was dark and the only real light was from the strobes. Greg had a beard. If he was smart, it would have been shaved off the second he had a chance… and I didn’t get a good look at the other guy. I don’t think he lied about being from out of town, so what would be the point?”

“They might have been able to catch them, Bry. You didn’t deserve what happened to you.”

“Have you ever had to report a sexual assault before?”

Liam was surprised to hear his friend’s voice turn hard and bitter. He shook his head.

“I have. I was eighteen, and snuck into a bar. This hot older guy started hitting on me, and bought me drinks. It felt like love at first sight. It wasn’t. We drove out to a local park, which I found out later was a hotspot for cruising, and he tried to convince me to have sex with him. When I refused, he forced me to give him head before he kicked me out of the car and took off, leaving me alone in the dark. I tried to report it, but the asshole cop who took my statement made it sound like I was some fucking prostitute who got stiffed by a trick. It was mortifying. I won’t put myself through that again.”

“Not all cops are like that,” Liam protested, thinking of Officer Tate. “There are good ones out there.”

“Yeah well, it’s too late now. Any evidence would have been long washed away, and those two assholes are probably long gone.”

Liam felt his chest ache with concern for his friend. “I won’t lecture you, but if you ever do decide you want to report this, I’ll be happy to go with you. Sometimes having a person there for support helps.”

“Thank you,” Bryce replied with a watery smile. “Now, when are we supposed to leave? I haven’t eaten a thing today, and I’m starved.” Standing, he looked at himself in the reflection from the microwave. “But first, I need to clean up. I can’t let Nathan see my looking all blotchy.”

Liam watched him leave the room with a typical Bryce flourish, and took a moment to ponder the sadness his friend tried so hard to hide. “I hope him and Nathan find a way to get together,” he said quietly to himself. “They both deserve some happiness in their lives.”

 
A very big thank you goes out to my rockstar editor and friend, Gary for all of his tireless efforts and great advice.   Thank you to all of you who read and support this story.   
 
I know this chapter strayed from the main story, but I wanted to give a little more depth to Bryce, and his friendship with Liam.  This is also laying some groundwork for some things in the future