The Empty Spaces Between Us - 11. Chapter 11

As he was making his way through town towards Jacob’s house, Tyler was filled with a mixture of confusion and annoyance. All week long, he’d been hinting at his upcoming birthday to his friends but none of them had reacted much or caught on. Drake had said something about him being busy that day. Andy had given him a weird look and mentioned something about, “growing out of birthdays” at a certain age. Jacob had texted, “hope you have a great one this year!”

The worst blow had come from his own mother. When he asked her about any plans for the upcoming Saturday, she had casually mentioned with a smile, “oh, Stan and I are gonna be out of town that day. I think he’s got something special planned.”

Tyler had just given her a blank stare for a moment as she looked at him with such a bright, happy smile. Ever since she moved out at the beginning of July, he couldn’t remember her being this happy. He could tell she was in love with this guy and things were moving fast for them. But fast enough that she would forget her only child’s birthday?

Today when he woke up, he got breakfast, watched some TV and took a shower before figuring out what he wanted to do. Since it was a Saturday, he reasoned there wasn’t much of a limit. He’d texted Alex earlier who said he was going to be done with work around six in the evening and after that he would be free. That at least gave him something to look forward too. Their relationship had started as an unlikely one, but a month later, they were getting along great.

It wasn’t just weekend trips to the bar either. They’d meet up for dinner two or three times a week depending on their schedules and the last couple weeks they spent Friday nights shooting pool and just generally having fun. Alex was just an all-around fun guy to be with. He had a charisma about him that made it impossible to not like him when they were together. He was a little rough around the edges in some ways. He tended to be rather blunt in his opinions and wasn’t afraid of sharing them with Tyler. There remained an under current of unspoken attraction between them, but Tyler didn’t want to make the first move just in case he was wrong. Alex seemed to be like any other redneck guy in town and he knew it may be possible he was seeing something that wasn’t really there. Maybe tonight, he’d invite Alex back to his place and see what happens.

They had repeat moments of that fateful kiss from weeks ago. Tyler had been a little uncertain the second time but Alex’s smirk as he leaned towards Tyler in the parking lot spurred him to reach up and kiss him with a similar intensity from the first time. Alex seemed to enjoy it but made very little mention of it whenever they were out having dinner or in the bar. He always went out of his way to follow Tyler out to his truck at the end of the night, but he never went home with Tyler afterwards.

Just after noon, Tyler got a text message from Jacob. He got a little excited, thinking it was something about his birthday. As he read the text message, he was struck with a feeling of incredulity. “Hey, would you wanna help me make a delivery today? Shouldn’t take more than three or four hours.” On his twenty-second birthday, the highlight of his day was going to be going to some place out of town for hours only to just turn around and come back. With a frown, he texted Jacob back and told him it would be no problem. Maybe he had outgrown birthdays?

He parked his truck at the top of the driveway and got out. It looked like a typical day out in the orchard. Looking out over the expanse of trees gave him a peaceful feeling. Every time he came here, he felt like he had to take a moment to appreciate the trees that lay before him. After a moment spent looking over the expanse of trees, he headed up to the back door. He knew better than to knock after having been repeatedly told by Mr. Howard and Jacob that it wasn’t necessary. That was one of the reasons he liked coming back. He always felt welcome here no matter what else may be going on, once he got over his initial discomfort.

As he stepped inside, he noticed the kitchen was empty but there were indications of food being prepared. He frowned slightly, wondering about that. Usually, if Jacob was expecting him, he or David would be in the kitchen waiting for him. “Jacob?” he called out as he made his way through the kitchen and into the hallway.

“I’m in here,” came the response. Jacob’s voice sounded a little odd. Like he was subduing a laugh.

Tyler went down the hall, as a casual pace. He thought he could hear something else, like a rustling noise in the living room. “I’m ready to go when you are.”

As Tyler stepped into the doorway to the living room, he was stopped by the sudden shout of, “surprise!” Gathered together in the room were his friends. Jacob, Andy, Troy and Drake along with Liz, Mr. Howard, his mother and four young boys all beaming smiles at him.

“What the...?” Tyler was stunned. Somehow, he never saw it coming and yet now, he could see what had been so obvious. Everyone so “busy” on his birthday and unavailable.

“Happy birthday, sweetheart,” Colleen said as she stepped up to her son and kissed his cheek.

The others offered their own well wishes before Drake walked up to him and gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek. “Hope you didn’t think we really forgot about you,” he said with his usual smirk.

His eyes glanced to the others in the room, checking for their reaction to Drake’s kiss, but no one seemed to be phased. “Maybe a little.”

There were a few chuckles in the room before David spoke up. “Well, I better get back in the kitchen and finish up this lunch for everyone so we can get to the cake business.” He stepped out of the room with a small smile still on his lips. Tyler noticed as he left, David seemed to be moving slower than usual.

Jacob stepped up to him and patted him on the back. Tyler felt odd having Drake and Jacob both standing right next to him for some reason. “Hope you weren’t too pissed with us, thinking we’d forgotten about you.”

“I wasn’t sure what to think, to be honest,” he replied. “But this is the last thing I expected. Whose idea was it?”

“Mine,” Drake volunteered. “I got the idea awhile back. Talked to Jacob about it and we both thought it would be fun.”

“Everyone else was on board the moment I mentioned it to them,” Jacob explained. “Then Troy recruited your mom and here we are.”

Tyler’s smile widened at hearing about the efforts they went through for him. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone had gone out of their way for him like this. “Well, thanks. It sounds like it’ll be a pretty fun day then.”

“Let’s eat,” Troy said as he slapped Tyler on the back affectionately. “We got some good food to celebrate the birthday boy.”

Tyler let himself be led into the dining room with the others. Tanner and the other children were escorted into the kitchen by Liz. She had a slight baby-bump showing as she set about getting food for the four small children sitting at the table waiting. Colleen put a hand on her son’s shoulder and got him settled into a seat at one end of the table. He hadn’t been in this room often but was always impressed with the warm atmosphere in it. As he sat down, dishes of fried chicken, country-fried pork chops, mashed potatoes, corn and an unknown dish with the scent of apples and cinnamon were set at the center of the table. David produced plates for everyone at the table while Troy supplied the silverware.

Once everyone was seated, the expansive lunch began with everyone passing around the aromatic food. Tyler couldn’t remember the last time he’d had any meal like this one. With it being just him and his mother year after year, they’d learned to live with less. Holidays had been with his mom’s parents when he was little. But once his grandmother died, his grandfather moved to Florida, so his mother’s family had drifted apart with her siblings focusing on their own families and in-laws. This felt more like a home than any other place he had been, and he felt lucky to know them and be accepted.

The food was delicious, and the conversation was as warm as everything else. All around the table, everyone was sharing a friendly and peaceful moment together. “Sweetie, eat your food before it gets cold,” Colleen said to her son sitting to his left.

Tyler smirked. “Sorry. Just still getting over the shock, I guess.”

She grinned. “You have some good friends,” she said in a low voice. “Just enjoy the day. Any plans for tonight?”

He thought about it for a moment before he said, “I think I’m gonna invite someone over later.”

She looked over his face. “Sounds like you’re expecting something special.”

“Maybe, if I’m lucky.”

“Is it that one guy from the bar,” Drake asked curiously.

“Yeah,” Tyler replied as his smirk widened. “He’s a nice guy. And I think there’s something there. Maybe if we can get some time alone, he might be a little more… receptive.”

Drake smiled. “Sounds like a great birthday present then. Hope it works out.”

“What about you? What’s been going on with you and the mystery guy?”

Drake shrugged. “Not sure. I mean, we have fun and all, but I think that’s all he’s interested in. And he’s not a mystery guy. His name’s Brad. His schedule is weird though, so I’m not sure what all will come of it.”

“Well, I hope he’s as good to you as Max was.” Tyler gave him a kind smile as he patted his hand.

“Thanks.” Drake’s face looked on the edge of blushing as he turned his eyes to his meal.

After all the food was eaten, Tyler enjoyed the afternoon with his friends, sitting back and relaxing while they all watched the baseball game on David’s television. There were no presents and he didn’t expect any with the exception of the sudden impromptu picture drawn and colored by Blake who handed it to him with the sweetest little smile that it nearly brought tears to his eyes as the small boy presented it to him. He told Blake it was the best birthday present he ever got, and it wasn’t far from the truth.

Further into the afternoon there was a multi-layered chocolate cake Jacob claimed to have baked himself, but Tyler was a little suspicious because he couldn’t imagine Jacob baking a cake that tasted that good. When he asked Jacob why he went to all the trouble, Jacob replied with a shrug. “I screwed up your last birthday. I had a chance to make it right, so I did it. When you get a second chance at something, you do what you knew you should’ve done the first time.”

“It wasn’t you fault. I told you that,” Tyler insisted.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t try and make it better.”

Tyler smiled. “Well, thank you.”

Despite the fun he had with his friends, as afternoon turned into early evening, he knew he should get home and get in touch with Alex to confirm their plans for the night. The party slowly broke up once Colleen was given a ride by David back to her car.

“Where did everyone park anyway,” Tyler suddenly wondered.

“Over at the visitor’s lot,” Troy said with a grin. “We didn’t want our cars giving the surprise away.” He reached over and gave Tyler a hug as he got ready to leave. “Happy birthday.”

It was an odd moment for him, getting hugged by his boss, but it just made the day a memorable one even more than before. “Thanks. I’ll see you Monday.”

Troy nodded and then headed out to walk to the other side of the orchard to retrieve his van for his family.

A little while after Troy and the others were gone, Andy looked at Jacob and tapped him on his shoulder. “Hey, I got something I need to ask you. You wanna walk with me and the boys?”

“Sure.” Jacob fell into step with Andy and took Blake’s little hand in his as the four of them started off on the long walk across the orchard. He figured by the time they got to the parking lot he’d be carrying Blake in his arms.

Andy said nothing for the first few minutes until they were out of sight from the house. With a careful breath and keeping his eyes on the path ahead of them he asked Jacob, “if I had something going on and I needed a weekend to myself, would you be able to take care of the boys for me?”

Jacob frowned slightly at the idea that Andy would even need to ask. “Well, yeah. Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”

“I’m just wondering,” Andy replied in a casual tone. “What if it was for a week? You’d be able to get Tanner to school and help him with homework? Make sure they got their baths at night and everything else?”

“What’s this all about?” Jacob felt an odd twinge inside him. It hadn’t been often that he left the kids in David’s care for more than a day. Now, after two years of sobriety, he’d been more than capable of caring for Troy or Andy’s children when called on. “Why not ask Troy?”

“Troy’s already got two kids and one more on the way. His house is nice and all, but it would get pretty cramped with Tanner and Blake there too.”

Jacob looked over at Andy and saw the blank stare in his eyes as he kept his sights on the trail. “Is everything okay? I mean, with the divorce and everything?”

Andy sighed. “If it’s too much to ask—”

“That’s not what I said. Of course, if the boys needed me, I’d do whatever I needed to for them. Or for you. You’re my friend. All you ever need to do is ask.” Jacob didn’t get a response, so he imagined Andy was satisfied with his answer. There was another long stretch of silence before Jacob asked, “you planning on taking a trip somewhere?”

“No.”

Jacob blinked in confusion. “Then why did you ask?”

“I was just curious, is all.” Andy sounded more serious than he wanted. One side of his mouth lifted up in his usual smirk. “Gotta keep you on your toes… Jake.”

Jacob’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked over a him. “Whatever, Drew.”

That brought out a chuckle between them. Jacob lifted little Blake up in his arms and the rest of the walk was spent in a more companionable silence.

****

When Tyler returned home, he was feeling full in his stomach but also happier than he’d ever been in a long time. He’d never felt like this after a birthday before. Beyond the financial side of things, getting that job last year was the best thing that ever happened to him. And tonight, he was hoping to find out just how much Alex likes him. He had a good idea and he was really hoping that the night would work out the way he hoped. He texted Alex one more time to make sure they were set for the night. Normally, he goes home first and gets cleaned up before they meet anywhere. With how much he ate earlier at his birthday party, he doubted he’d be up for dinner.

His cellphone rang as he waited for his reply from Alex. Without thinking or looking first, he answered it with a chipper, “yeah?”

There was a beat of silence before he heard a hauntingly familiar voice respond. “Tyler?”

He blinked as his body stiffened. He had been having such a good day, it never occurred to him that this could happen. “Dad. Hi.”

“Happy birthday, son.” The voice sounded almost the same as he remembered when they last spoke a couple years ago. He could almost picture the face. “I tried to call a couple times in the last few months. I guess our connection wasn’t very good.”

“Well…” Tyler had no idea what to say or if he should just hang up and pretend this didn’t happen. Unbidden, Jacob’s words from earlier in the day came back to him. Maybe his dad deserved a second chance. “…I’ve been working a lot and that took up a lot of my time.”

“Your mom told me you had a good job out there,” his dad replied. “I’m really happy for you.”

“Thanks.” Tyler was surprised at how hearing him say that shifted his attitude slightly. “Ma said you were sick.”

Phillip Brewer sighed. “Yeah. The doctor caught it early back in February. It’s still not that big and hasn’t spread, yet. It’s been a tough fight, but they seem to think I can beat this.”

“Well, that’s good news then, I guess,” Tyler offered in muted sympathy.

There was another silence on the line before his father cleared his throat. “Son… I know that I’ve screwed up a lot in my life. And the worst things I did was to you. I can’t tell you how sorry I am for not being there for you.”

Tyler frowned, remembering how neglected he felt as a kid growing up. “So, why did you? Why didn’t you want me around?”

“It’s not that I didn’t want you around, Tyler,” he said sadly. “You were just so far away. And… Andrea and you kind of clashed in the beginning.”

“What do you mean? I barely remember her.” Andrea was his second wife who he could only vaguely recall what she looked like.

His dad sighed, trying to explain. “When you were eight, I had you for a month over the summer. It was part of the divorce agreement. Andrea wasn’t into little kids and kind of resented you being here. And you felt lonely without your mother and it just turned into a bad situation. I did the best I could but after that month, I never had you back because I didn’t want you being miserable when I wasn’t around.”

Tyler couldn’t stop the venom in his voice to ring clear. “So, you dumped me to help me. That’s an interesting excuse.”

“That’s not what I mean, Tyler.”

“Doesn’t matter what you meant,” he stated flatly. A sudden gush of words came out of his mouth without him thinking. “I grew up thinking my dad wasn’t interested in me and that I was a burden. The second I turned eighteen, all help from you was cut off. You never once tried to talk to me beyond a simple five minute phone call every year around my birthday or Christmas. I spent two years desperately trying to do what I could to live and my dad didn’t seem to care one way or the other what was going on with me. He never once asked me about college or give me any kind of advice about anything that was important.

“I know you’re sick and I know how serious it is. And, believe me, a part of me does feel sorry for you. That’s the part of me that’s kept me on the phone with you as long as I have now. But hearing you try to explain that you cut me out of your life for my own good makes me madder than hell. I had a great birthday today with my friends who’ve shown they care more about than you ever have and most of them didn’t know me a year ago.”

“Tyler… I’m sorry.” His voice sounded subdued and a little strained, but Tyler wasn’t moved by it.

“I’m sorry too,” he said quietly. “I would’ve liked to have had a dad growing up. But that’s not something I got, and I had to live with that. You were the parent. If me not being around you was something you weren’t happy about, it was your job to do something about it. You didn’t. So, here we are.”

There was another long silence before his father responded. Tyler could tell what he said had hurt him, but he didn’t much care. “You’re right, son. I failed you and, for however long it is, I’m going to have to live with that, I guess. I want to try and make it up to you. If I can, I’d like to come see you. But, if you’d rather I don’t, I’ll have to respect that.”

Tyler was quiet for a moment. “I’ll have to think about that. I wouldn’t want you getting sicker travelling all the way here.”

“Okay,” his dad replied. “If you change your mind, this is my number. You can call whenever you want, and I’ll pick up. Even if you wanna just yell at me. I just… I just want to see you. Even if it’s only one more time.”

Tyler sighed. His emotional fortitude was starting to wear so he knew he had to finish this call up soon. “Okay.”

“Okay. I love you, Tyler.”

Tyler squeezed his eyes shut and nearly doubled over from the strain of his feelings. “Thanks. I gotta go. I have a dinner I need to get too.” He ended the call and laid down on the couch to stare up at the ceiling, wondering what he was going to do about this.

His thoughts and emotions felt like they were bouncing around and smashing into each other at random. Memories started to come into his head the longer he lay there. Slowly, his mind started to reconstruct a mental image of his dad. What he looked like when he was smiling. Was he riding on his dad’s shoulders on his fifth birthday? He could vaguely recall what it felt like to kiss his scratchy cheek when he hadn’t shaved in a day. A memory of his dad teaching him how to hit a baseball entered into his mind along with a memory of doing something that made his dad laugh so hard he’d fallen to the ground. Tyler could remember how happy that had made him at the time. That he could make his father laugh like that.

Then he could remember his confusion and sadness as a little boy when his dad hadn’t answered his questions about when he would be back. The night when he last asked his dad to come get him and was told he couldn’t. Was he ten? Eleven? He couldn’t remember how old he’d been, but he could remember the tears and asking his mom why his dad didn’t love him anymore. The vacant years with all the little league and high school baseball games his dad never came to see. He never did admit it then or ever that there were days when he would look over the crowd, hoping he was there. Sometimes, he would even just pretend his father was out there somewhere in the crowd watching him.

It wasn’t until his Junior year that he abandoned the notion that his father would ever want to see him play. The gulf of time between them had gotten so wide by that point, he never even bothered to tell his dad that he had made the varsity team. There was no point in it by then for him. It wasn’t something he was ever going to see so why bother telling him?

Tyler shook his head and sat up. He had to ignore it all if he was going to enjoy his night with Alex. He got up and headed into the back to clean up and get ready. He received a text from Alex moments later, letting him know what time to meet for the night. Before the night was over, Tyler was going to know for sure if Alex was going to just be another friend or something more.

****

Jacob shut the door to his workshop and walked across the dark driveway with only the dim light over the back door to guide him. It had been a good day with Tyler’s birthday party and then the rest of the day spent going around the orchard with David to look over the trees for any problems and make sure the newer trees were meeting their expectations. David seemed to be taking his time more than usual. When Jacob pointed it out to him, David just shrugged it off and made an excuse about his food from Tyler’s birthday still digesting.

After that, he spent the late afternoon and evening working on a new bed frame he’d been commissioned. He was still just getting the ideas from the client about what they wanted and what size, so he’d spent most of the time drawing at his desk and then grabbing his other sketchbook for some alone time to relax. When he finally looked up from the sketch of Tyler and his mom from this afternoon, he realized how late it had become. He set the work aside for tomorrow and headed inside to make sure David wasn’t still in his office in the back of the house going over his notes. As much as he respected his surrogate father, he always found it amusing how David could get caught up in his orchard for hours on end even at night when he’s supposed to be relaxing.

When he stepped into the house, he could hear the television and he smiled to himself, hearing the start of the local newscast. He made his way to the living room and plopped down on the sofa near where David was sitting in his recliner. “All done for the day finally,” he asked David with an easy smile.

David didn’t take his eyes off the screen, but he returned Jacob’s smirk with one of his own. “Yeah, because you weren’t working for hours and hours in that workshop of yours all night.”

“Only a couple hours,” he replied. “I spent the last hour or so working on something for Tyler for his birthday.”

“Oh yeah? What?”

Jacob shrugged. “Nothing big. Just a portrait of him and his mom.”

David nodded in approval. “I’m sure he’ll appreciate that.”

“News tonight from the state capitol: The trial for the accused college student, Mark Simpkins, is set to begin in two months. Yesterday, the District Attorney’s office announced that they were proceeding with a charge of second degree murder against the defendant in the death of Jeremy Alberra despite reports of an attempt by the lead attorney in the case, Kyle Howard, to get the defendant to enter into a plea agreement for second degree manslaughter.”

Jacob felt his face go pale as he blinked and turned his full attention to the screen. He was sure he misheard the words and the name. He hazarded a glance over at David only to see the older man’s face confirm the stunning news they just heard. As he looked back, he could feel his heart stop as the image of his past was there waiting for him.

“We are still in negotiations with the defendant at this time. However, our office is continuing to do its best to prosecute this case to the fullest. Make no mistake. Mark Simpkins created the conditions that lead to the death of Mr. Alberra and we are fully prepared to prove that to a jury. Our case is a strong one and we are confident we can secure a guilty verdict when we go to trial.”

“Oh my God.”

Jacob flinched when he heard David’s voice crack. It was like hearing something inside himself break. He pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of the screen before sending it in a text to Troy, adding the words, “Kyle is on TV!” He sent it before looking back up at the screen, but Kyle’s image was already gone replaced by the sight of the local reporters they see every night.

“Oh, God. My…” Jacob looked over at the most important person in his life for the last decade as his eyes misted up and he stared at the floor, overcome by the sudden swell of emotions.

“Dad? It’s okay.” He wanted to slap himself for saying something so stupid. No, it wasn’t okay! Nothing has been okay for nine years. Not since one drunken night of one mistake after another and another altered his life so badly, none of them truly recovered. Both of them had an empty void inside them and to see that missing piece so close, yet so far away at the same time, only reminded them both of a loss so strong, the only cure for it was to ignore it as best as they could.

Before they could say anything else, Jacob’s phone rang. He picked up, already knowing who it was. “Where is he,” came Troy’s tight voice over his phone.

“In Harrisburg,” Jacob replied in a muted tone as the shock of this sudden revelation only just now fully impacted him. All these years, none of them knew where to look for him or where he went only to find out he hadn’t really gone anywhere.

“What’s he doing there?”

“He’s a lawyer,” Jacob said with a little irritation. “Works for the DA’s office, from what we saw.”

“How’s Dad,” Troy asked with obvious concern.

Jacob glance back over at David and saw the he was in his own world as he stared at nothing. “Been better.”

“So, what do we do,” Troy asked.

Old feelings of grief, shame and unidentifiable anger that had been buried away long ago began to rise up inside him unbidden. “I… I don’t know.”

****

Tyler unlocked the door to his house and ushered Alex inside. “Make yourself at home,” he said with a smile.

Alex stepped inside and took a look around. “Looks nice,” he said with a nod. Their evening had started a couple hours ago. They’d met for dinner at The Steel Door, but Tyler had only eaten a few chicken strips while Alex gobbled down an entire meal. Together with the beer and a couple games of pool, they’d laughed and joked through the early evening.

After his third beer, Tyler finally worked up the courage to invite Alex over to his house. Alex had given him a curious look before a slow smirk lifted one side of his mouth. There was a certain gleam in his eyes that sent a thrill through Tyler’s body. He had a feeling this was going to be a very good end to his birthday.

Alex moved over to the couch as Tyler shut and locked the door, turning the lights on and watching as Alex moved, seemingly looking over the only furniture in the room. “It’s not much, I know.” Tyler moved across the room, keeping his eyes on Alex. “Most of Ma’s furniture left with her when she moved out. I got most of this used.”

Alex waved his hand dismissively as he sat down. “No biggie. Looks better than what I got.”

Tyler smiled. “Want a beer? I got a few left in the fridge. Been a little busy today so I didn’t have a chance to stop at the store.”

“Whatever you got is fine,” he said without any concern.

Tyler went into the kitchen to grab two beers and headed back to the front room and handing one off to Alex before joining him on the couch. “It shouldn’t be long before I can get some better stuff in here. Wouldn’t mind a new TV.”

Alex took a drink from his beer but said nothing for a few moments. “You haven’t been here on your own for long now, have you?”

“A little over two weeks now,” he replied. “Ma’s really into Stan. And he’s a pretty cool guy.”

“So, you haven’t had any parties here yet, is what you’re sayin’.” Alex turned to look at Tyler, smirking slightly.

Tyler chuckled and blushed a little. “I’m not much of a party guy, really. Today was nice with my friends out at the orchard. But I prefer things a little more quiet at home.”

“That’s cool.” Alex took another, longer drink before commenting, “you know, if I drink much more, I’m not sure I’ll be good to drive home.”

Tyler chose his next words carefully. “Well, worse comes to worst, you could just stay here.”

“I wouldn’t mind that,” Alex replied. “It would be a first for me.”

“What do you mean?”

The tall man shrugged. “Just that most of the time, I’m with someone for an hour or two and then I go home. They’ve never asked me to stay all night.”

Tyler’s eyes narrowed as he digested his words. “So, you’ve… done stuff with guys before?”

Alex gave him an odd look that turned into a charming smile. “Well, yeah. How come you think I was asking you about your friend? I thought you two were dating.”

“Oh!” Now it all made sense. Why he’d been standoffish and cold in the beginning. Alex was thinking he was already taken. “Well, we’re just friends. I mean, we used to fuck around, but he found someone, I think, and we haven’t done anything in months.”

Alex’s smirk returned as he leaned closer to him. “So, what is it you’re wanting, exactly?”

Tyler blushed before grinning slightly. “Well, it is my birthday…”

“Have you gotten a birthday kiss yet?” His smirk widened as he leaned in closer.

“Not yet.” Tyler tilted his head a little, letting Alex’s face nearer.

“Well, we should fix that.” Alex leaned in and gave Tyler a soft, almost shy, kiss but there was an obvious feel to it that he was holding back.

Tyler leaned his head back a little to look into Alex’s eyes. “That was pretty nice.”

“Pretty nice isn’t what I was aiming for.”

“Maybe you should try harder then,” he replied with a widening smile.

Alex seemed to take that as his cue and leaned in again to give Tyler a stronger kiss. This was one held nothing back as his tongue invaded Tyler’s mouth and sent them both to moaning softly. “I think maybe we should take this somewhere else.”

“Like where?” He knew exactly where Alex was thinking but he felt a little playful even as he recovered his breath. That wasn’t the kind of kiss Drake had ever given him. This one seemed just for him. It had been powerful and emotional. He felt swept up by the moment and he didn’t want it to stop.

“How about some more of that and a happy birthday fuck too?” Alex seemed released now that his attentions had been accepted by Tyler. He had a hungry, almost primal look in his eyes.

“Sounds like a good idea.” He set his barely touched beer onto the small table in front of the couch and stood up.

Alex stood to join him. Grabbing him in a rough grasp for another long, passionate kiss. “I don’t have to stay the night if you don’t want.”

Tyler pulled back and took Alex’s hands. “I’d really like it if you did.”

“Good,” Alex replied. “Because I really like you.”

With nothing left to say, Tyler lead him into his bedroom. “I really like you too.” He leaned up and kissed Alex again and felt those slim but strong arms surround him. Life was definitely looking up.