Broken Silence Read online

  “It wasn't that bad,” Rich said, feeling the need to defend his boys from Etienne's words. Etienne was a good little French boy, and cheered happily for Montreal. Sick fuck.

  “You know how I know you're gay? Because you cheer for the Maple Leafs.”

  Rich turned to his friend. “You know how I know you’re gay? Because you arrange flowers and read poetry on Tuesdays.”

  “Seriously, why Tuesday?”

  “I don’t know. It just came to me.” He laughed.

  “Umm, hi.”

  Rich glanced up at the voice beside him. Matthew. Shit, what was he doing here? Rich almost didn't know what to say to him. Damn, he looked good, though. “Hey.”

  Matthew shuffled in place for a moment.

  “Hey, dude, there’re tables open,” Doobie said.

  “Fuck off, Doob. There’s a seat right here. Cop a squat.” Rich pushed out the seat beside him.

  He was aware of Doobie, Etienne and Marcus staring at him, but he ignored them. He wasn’t sure what had gotten into him, but Matthew was finally here.

  Matthew stood beside him for another moment before sitting down in the chair. He pulled off his jacket and let it fall over the back of his chair.

  Rich leaned on the table and sipped from Marcus’ beer. “You missed out on the Friday night party. The nurses were in fine form.”

  Matthew fidgeted. “Yeah, I was down in Toronto. I went to the theatre with some of my friends. I just got home, actually. About ten minutes ago. I left my cell phone charger at Aunt Addy’s by accident so when my phone died I couldn’t turn it back on.”

  Rich froze. So, Matthew hadn’t ignored his call? He must have just checked his messages and busted his ass getting over here. He grinned at Matthew, unable to help himself. Well, that was clear, wasn't it? Matthew comes home, finds out that Rich phoned him and immediately comes to the bar.

  Matthew ducked his head and grinned back.

  “Hey, hold on. Get your own beer, mooch.” Marcus elbowed him and grabbed his pint back.

  Rich was reminded of his friends again. He wasn’t sure what to say to Matthew. He figured he couldn’t exactly kick everyone out of the bar right now so he could drag the little guy upstairs. His cock twitched at the thought of what they could do upstairs.

  He turned back to Matthew. “How do you manage to find a parking spot in Toronto? I can never do that.”

  Matthew shrugged. “My friend has an assigned slot.”

  “I bet he does,” Etienne deadpanned. “So, does he let just anyone into his assigned slot?”

  Rich snickered.

  “Well, he doesn’t use it very much. Only when he has visitors over. Mostly friends, I guess.”

  Etienne leaned around Rich, staring at Matthew with interest. “Hmm. Maybe we should send Doobie down to make friends with your friend then. He likes a nice, tight space to park Herbie.”

  “Oh, do you have a bug? I love the old version way better than the new one.” Matthew grinned at Doobie.

  Etienne and Rich both lost it at that.

  “Man, Matthew. He’s not talking about the same thing you are.”

  It took a minute but Matthew finally blushed.

  Now Doobie and Marcus were laughing too.

  Matthew sniffed. He crossed his arms and lifted his brow in Etienne’s direction. “You might want to be nice to me. I get paid to stab people with sharp objects.”

  “How do you know he won’t like that?” Rich asked.

  “Well, whatever. Just remember if you ever have to come into the hospital that catheters and needles come in sizes that I choose.”

  “Oooh!” They all crowed at once.

  “Furthermore, how I take your temperature is directly related to how nice you are to me.”

  “Nice one, Matthew.” Rich nodded in pride.

  “Your friends are juvenile. So are you.”

  “That we are.” Rich laughed. He didn’t take offense considering Matthew was still smiling. “Speaking of juvenile. If you’ve been away you probably haven’t heard the latest from the hospital then.”

  “Huh?”

  “Seems old Rock was in again. Twice in one weekend, isn’t it? I think that’s a record.”

  “What?” Matthew looked startled. “How would you know about that?”

  “Mark Perkins was in getting stitched up. Overhead the nurses talking about it.”

  Matthew shook his head. He looked like he was conflicted for a moment before he obviously decided to give in to his curiosity. “What did they find?”

  “A bottle,” Etienne said with a grimace.

  “What kind?” Matthew leaned forward, his eyes lit up like fireworks were going off.

  Rich hadn’t taken him for a big gossip, but he didn’t really know the guy after all. “Beer bottle.”

  “Full or empty?”

  Christ. Did it really make a difference? “I heard it was full.”

  “Yes!” Matthew jumped up and threw both hands into the air like he’d just scored a touchdown at the Super Bowl.

  “Man, that’s cruel,” Doobie said with a shake of his head.

  Etienne held his hands about a foot apart. “Here’s the line, and here you are. Way over the top.”

  Rich grinned before nodding in agreement. “Totally didn’t think you had it in you. I'm disappointed, man.”

  Matthew had the grace to blush and duck his head. “Oh, wow. I can’t believe I did that.”

  They started to roar with laughter at his reaction.

  “I like this one. You’re cute. You can stay,” Doobie said.

  Etienne reached over and patted Matthew on the shoulder. “Yeah, I needed a new play toy. Come on, you’ll be fun to rib.”

  “Can we keep him?” Marcus asked.

  Rich punched Marcus before turning back to Matthew. “Hit him. What the hell was that about?”

  Matthew blushed again, the red tint blooming on his cheeks. “I won the bet. I said a full beer bottle and I can’t believe I won. That’s awesome. Dinner this weekend. I never win anything.”

  “Not exactly something I’d want to win,” Rich said. His ass hurt just thinking about what Rock put up his. “Seems like the kind of situation where there’s really just losers. I mean, seriously. Having to take it out all the time? Someone should start up a fund for the poor nurses who have to put up with him.”

  Matthew smirked. “Last time he came in I wanted to give him the website address of a nice toy store, but I don't think it'll help.”

  Rich grinned, not even bothering to hide it. “Hell, half his joy is having a pretty thing helping him out. It wouldn't be as much fun for him if he didn't have to come into the hospital.”

  “Christ,” Doobie groused. “Can you blame him? I’d stick something up my ass if it would get me a date with Edna.”

  “Gross!” They all shouted together.

  Edna had been at the hospital for nearly forty years. She’d delivered most of them.

  Rich shook his head in disgust. “You know how I know you’re gay, Doob? Because you say shit like that.”

  “Hey, I’m not the one who sucked back my friend’s baby batter.”

  “Fuck off,” Rich said. He punched Marcus in the arm.

  “What the hell? I didn’t say anything. It was Doobie.” Marcus rubbed his arm.

  “Yeah, but he’s too far away. Why don’t you punch him then?”

  “Fuck if I won't.” Marcus put paid to his words and threw a punch at Doobie, starting a mini-war between the two men.

  Rich was pretty sure he was blushing, but he turned to Matthew anyway. “Ignore them.”

  “I don’t even know what they’re talking about.”

  Doobie started to laugh like a lunatic. “Rich and I hooked up with these chicks once. Rich is over doing the one girl and I’m getting a beej from the other one. When she was finished with me she went over and kissed Rich. Fucking sick, eh?”

  “Well, how the fuck was I supposed to know she’d blown you? It wasn’t my fuc
king fault.”

  “Yeah, but then she comes back and we have sex and she goes back and fucks Rich after. Rich got my sloppy seconds.”

  Rich shrugged. “I wondered why she was so fucking wet.”

  “Yeah, that was my baby juice, Big Dick. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t going to kill her with your machine there.”

  Etienne laughed. “Yeah, you know woman have been ruined by Big Dick all over Northern Ontario. We should call him Horse.”

  “Nah, you should just stop checking me out. It’s okay, Doobie. I know how much you want my meat.” Rich reached down and hefted his dick for emphasis.

  Matthew made a noise beside him. Rich looked over and wasn’t sure what the look on Matthew’s face meant. Shit, he hoped he hadn’t just ruined his chances of getting some tonight.

  Chapter Four

  Rich wasn’t sure what Matthew's problem was, but he’d been pretty quiet the rest of the night. The boys had finally left and Rich was currently closing up. Matthew was sitting at their table, nursing a beer.

  Done locking the door, Rich walked back and sat beside Matthew. The other man didn’t look at him.

  “Look, if this is about the women—”

  “It’s not about the women. I don’t care if you’re attracted to women. My friend, Amanda, is bisexual. She’s got a girlfriend right now, but her last relationship was with a guy. That doesn’t bother me.”

  “So, what’s bothering you, then?”

  “It’s the unprotected sex with women. Do you do that often?”

  Rich shook his head. “I haven’t in a while. This was all years ago.”

  “So, you’ve been tested since then?” Matthew turned an earnest expression on him.

  “Hell, no. But, I’m fine.”

  “How can you say that? You’ve had unprotected sex and you’ve never been checked for STD’s?”

  “What’s the big deal?”

  Matthew nearly dropped his beer. He put the glass on the table with exaggerated care. “What’s the big deal? Are you joking? How do you know you don’t have something?”

  “Fine. Okay, I’ll get tested if it’s such a big deal to you. Geez.” Rich rolled his eyes. He wasn’t sure why Matthew cared so much.

  “Great. So, you’ll come to the hospital tomorrow?”

  “Oh, hell no! Are you crazy? Do you want the entire town to know I’m getting checked for that shit?” What the hell? Was he crazy? The entire town would most certainly find out about it. Did Matthew not just hear them talking about Rock? That shit hadn't taken more than a half hour to spread to the bar.

  “What?”

  “Oh, come on. You heard us talking about Rock earlier. How the hell do you think that stuff gets passed around? You say anything in the Emergency Room and the entire town will find out about it in a half hour. I’m not going to the hospital.”

  “Okay, fine. You’ll see your family doctor, then?”

  “And have it passed around to my parents? No thanks.”

  “Jesus Christ, Rich! You’re going to get tested and that’s final.” Matthew slapped his hand down on the table.

  “Yeah? And how are you going to make me?”

  “I’m not having sex with you until you get a test and an all clear.”

  That brought him up short. “Seriously?”

  Matthew looked pretty adamant. “I’m serious. This is important to me. My nursing training is screaming at me that you need to get tested. I’m going to overlook the bad decisions in the past, as long as they’re in the past, but I’m serious about this. You need to get tested.”

  “You gave me a blowjob last weekend.”

  Matthew had the grace to look slightly ashamed. “I know. It was stupid, but it was a calculated risk. I don’t always do the smartest thing.”

  “So, what the hell are you doing here tonight then?”

  “I... I got your phone call.”

  Well, shit. This was going downhill. He wanted so bad that his balls were practically climbing inside his body and Matthew wanted them to wait? “I can wear a condom.”

  “You will, but I’m not budging until I see a test. It’s the principle of the thing, now. This is important, Rich. You need to get tested.”

  “Do you do this with everyone you fuck?”

  Matthew shrugged. “I haven’t fucked anyone in close to a year.”

  “Seriously?”

  Matthew looked down with a blush. “I’m not saying I haven’t had opportunities. My friend was trying to hook me up this weekend, but—”

  “Did you?” He wasn’t sure why it was so important.

  “No. I just spent the time with my friends. I didn’t sleep with anyone. Or do anything sexual with anyone. The opportunity really wasn’t there anyway.”

  They sat staring at each other for a moment. Great. He’d been looking forward to this so badly. Now what?

  Matthew must have thought the same thing. “I should go, then.”

  “There’s no rush, is there? I mean, we can play video games. First-person shooter style. Or I’m sure my sis left something of hers over here. That might be more your style.” What was wrong with him? He didn’t want Matthew to just leave, but he couldn’t figure out why it was so important.

  “It might not be a good idea to make fun of me right now,” Matthew deadpanned.

  Rich chortled. He loved poking at Matthew. He had a good sense of humor.

  “I should have brought that one you dance to,” Matthew teased. “My friend, Andrew, and I were playing it yesterday.”

  Rich shook his head. “Yeah, I can’t play those kinds of games.”

  “Why not?”

  “I think I’d leave my balls on the floor when I finished. Those are for chicks.”

  “Shut up, it is not.”

  “You want to go upstairs? We can just hang out. Nothing sexual.” He wasn’t sure why he was offering, but he wanted to spend more time with Matthew. He’d had fun with him earlier, with his friends. Rich full understood that his guys weren’t the brightest or the most PC, but he loved them. It was nice to see Matthew having fun with them, too. He wasn’t sure why it mattered, but he was just going to go with it.

  “Yeah, we can do that. It’s going to be pretty crazy this week with Christmas, so I could use the break.”

  Rich led the way upstairs, directing Matthew to his couch when they reached the main area. He realized he wasn’t the best decorator or anything, but his place was almost embarrassingly sparse. He had a couch and a big ass recliner across from his big screen TV. His computer desk sat kiddie corner to the couch, and there was a few crates that he’d set up beside the couch as a side table. His kitchen was straight ahead but since he didn’t use it much it was pretty much filled with beer and snacks. He ate free downstairs, so why bother making his own shit?

  He’d hung up a few posters to try and give the place some character. Old, classic movie posters never went out of style.

  “You want a beer?” he stood awkwardly in the middle of the living room.

  “No, I’m fine. Well, water would be good.”

  “Yeah, I got the tap.” He moved forward and grabbed a glass to fill it up. “No ice. Is that okay?”

  “Yeah, that’s fine. I’m pretty easy.”

  “Not really,” Rich said under his breath. That was the whole problem. If Matthew was really easy, they’d be fucking right now and he wouldn’t feel so awkward.

  “So...” Matthew tapered off with a hum.

  Rich grabbed a beer from the fridge and brought both into the living room. He gestured to the sofa. “Sit.”

  Matthew accepted the water with a grin before seating himself on one end of the couch. Rich sat down beside him, picking at the label on his beer.

  “So, I realized that we really don't know much about each other,” Rich said.

  “Yeah.” Matthew turned in his seat and brought one leg up before resting his back against the arm of the couch. He leaned down to put his water glass on the floor.

 
“Wanna play twenty questions?” Rich took a sip of beer, savoring the cool liquid courage.

  Matthew chuckled. “Yeah, we can do that. You first.”

  “Any siblings?”

  “I'm an only child. So are both of my parents so I don’t even have any cousins. You?”

  “Man, I can't imagine not having cousins. Where do I start? I have one sister. Lora. She's ten years younger than me.”

  “How old are you? That’s not one of the questions, but I’m curious.”

  “32. You?”

  “Old man! I’m 24.”

  Rich snorted. “Ha, funny kid. Anyway, one sister but a shitload of cousins. Mom has five brothers and sisters and dad has ten.”

  “Ten? Holy crap.” Matthew goggled at him.

  “Yeah, Irish Catholic. We take the whole go forth and multiply thing seriously. Anyway, between all of them I have a few dozen first cousins and even more second cousins. There's well over a hundred Matheson’s when everyone is counted. You've probably informally met a handful of them already. My one uncle runs the kitchen and I've got a bunch of the cousins working the bar. We're a true family business.”

  He loved his family, even when they drove him crazy. They were all going to be here for the holidays, or at least as many as could get the time off. Not all of his family lived in the Tri-Towns, but most of the older generation did. A great number of his cousins had left when they graduated. They’d all gone south to university and only some had come back. He was one of a handful who hadn’t gone on anywhere after high school.

  “That's great. I can't even imagine having that many relatives. How do you keep track of them all? Do you guys have to wear nametags or something?” Matthew grinned.

  “We have this reunion every few years, where we bring in all the relatives and rent out a camp. Play games and BBQ and such. And funny on the nametags. We did that one year. It was my mom’s idea, since there were so many in-laws that had married into the family. Half the time I can’t tell whose kids are whose, but other than that I’ve never had a problem. I feel for all the ones who marry into our family, though. There’s a few like you, who don’t have much family. They nearly go nuts.”