The boss' youngest brother

.:5:.

I didn’t sleep much, that night. I woke up early, and after a few cups of coffee and some breakfast, I went out on my bicycle to go to the office I used to work at. I hid myself behind a few bushes, and waited.

I saw people arrive, one by one or in small groups. I recognized some old colleagues, but most were unknown. When I saw the familiar car arrive, I felt a cold sting of hate, but I stayed put. Melle stepped out and was followed by Timmy.

My lover. He was still so stunningly beautiful, with his blond hair and blue eyes. He was dressed differently, more sophisticated, and I suspected he had a more important job nowadays. His pants were less accessible than the low, wide hip pants he used to wear when we were together.
I remembered the time he crawled under my desk and forced me to take him. I sighed as I thought back at the time when I fingered him, stroked him, and gave him a great orgasm no one was allowed to hear.

Damn, I missed him. If only Melle allowed him to be with me… If only Timmy had the guts to stand up against him.
If only I had the balls to go up to Mel, and simply take Tim away from his restrictive protection and care.

One day…
Because that’s why I came back.

Eventually, I went home. No, I didn’t go inside. How would I be able to go inside and confront those two, without knowing if Tim still wanted me? Maybe he’d forgotten all about me. Maybe he would laugh in my face when I came up to him, and told him I loved him. I couldn’t take the risk.

I went home, and I took my old cellphone. It had been switched off for months, but I believe the bills were still paid so it had to be in working order.
I typed a brief message, but I didn’t send it yet. Thoughts were running through my mind.
Tim could have a new lover. He could’ve moved on, without me, with someone Melle approved. He could’ve forgotten me, fallen out of love with me, and never wanted to see me again.
It was all possible. But I had to know for sure.
I sent the message.

I am back.

I don’t know what I expected. I know what I hoped, of course… I hoped Tim would phone me, cry out my name, and run back to me.

My phone rang alright. And it was Tim’s cell calling me. My heart skipped a beat when I answered it. My hand trembled, as well as my voice.

“Tim…”

‘Who the fuck are you, and what do you mean, you’re back?’

I was stunned. I stared at the phone, seeing Tim’s name on the screen but hearing the unknown male voice. It said ‘hello?’ a few times, cursed, and disconnected.
It was my turn to curse. Damn. Damn! Tim had another lover.

I couldn’t believe I just sent an unknown guy a message, so it had to be what I dreaded all this time; Timmy was no longer mine. I’d lost him. Somehow, I wasn’t even sad.

For the days to follow, I felt remarkably calm. It seemed as if a part of my emotions had been abruptly shut down by that squeaky voice. The words kept running through my head; who are you, and what do you mean, you’re back?

After a few days, in which I settled and got acquaintance with the new water police, I found visitors on my jetty. My coffee almost went down the wrong way.
They were young, the both of them. I didn’t know the dark-haired one, the one standing in quite a stubborn pose. But I sure recognized the blonde…

Timmy waved shyly at me. He was wearing those neat clothes, looking the way Mel would probably like to see him. I wondered if that other guy had Mel’s seal of approval as well.
They climbed on board, and Tim looked me in the eyes.
“Hi… When did you come back?”

First word: passionate. The question: businesslike. Yes, he had another lover, and that one wasn’t supposed to know about us.

“Hey Tim,” I answered with a cool smile. “I came back last week.” I nodded at the other guy stepping on my deck. “Welcome aboard.”

“This is Gilbert,” said Tim with a gesture of his head. His blue eyes were still fixed on mine. “How are you, Jake?”

“Nice to meet you, Gilbert,” I said, ignoring Tim and the question. “I take it you were the one screaming at me when I told Tim I was back?”

The guy –handsome in a plain way– grinned sheepishly. “Yeah. That was me. Sorry and all that.” We shook hands.

“That’s alright,” I shrugged. “I guess I could’ve said more but I was tired from the trip. I came all the way from France. Well,” I added, gesturing to the door. “Let’s go inside. I’ll make fresh coffee.”

I stepped aside and waited. Tim turned to Gilbert and made a movement with his hand so he would go first, before following him. He looked at me with pleading eyes, which I ignored. He had another lover. I wasn’t going to ruin anything.

We went into the kitchen and I made fresh coffee. Gilbert walked through my ship, looking around. “Nice place,” he said from the lounge.

“Thanks,” I replied from the kitchen. Tim joined me. He still had those pleading eyes, but before he could speak, his boyfriend came back. My coffeepot came down on the table just a tad to loud when he kissed Tim in his neck. To my pleasure, I saw Tim turn away from him. Gilbert didn’t seem to notice.

“So,” he said as he sat down at the table. “France, eh? How long have you been there?”

“One year exactly,” I answered as I filled the mugs. My hand trembled, I noticed. I tried not to look at Tim.

“Why did you go there?” asked Gilbert.

Tim looked down in his cup, and stayed out of the conversation. I shrugged. “Because I felt like it,” I said.

“Cool,” nodded Gilbert. “And why did you come back?”

I gave him cream and sugar. “Because I missed this spot.”

“Really?” Gilbert grinned at that. “Why? What’s so special about this place, to come back to it?”

Tim looked deeper down. For a moment, I was tempted to betray him, but I didn’t. “The view is great,” I answered.

Gilbert laughed. It appeared to me that he wasn’t bad. So far, he’d done nothing wrong. “Why is the view here better than in France?” he chuckled.

I shrugged, smiling. “I don’t know, really. I guess there were memories calling me back. The red sky in the evenings, the clouds, the reeds and the trees and the riverbanks. But it has all changed, in the past year. Maybe I’ll leave again soon.”

Tim jerked his head up. “The view hasn’t changed,” he said sharply. “Only the trees have grown a bit. All is the same as when you left.”

“No, it has changed for me.” I only wanted to glance at him, but our gazes locked. “This place doesn’t need me anymore,” I continued softer. “It has moved on without me, and I might as well leave it be.”

“This place does need you,” said Tim urgently. “It’s nothing without you. It’s unhappy and lonely. You should stay and reclaim it. It needs you.”

Gilbert had looked from Tim at me and back, and blinked a bit confused. “Are we still talking about the view?” he asked.

“Yes!” said Tim and I in one voice. We focused on our coffee.

The other guy blinked, as the conversation seemed to sink in. He was slow. And suddenly, he wasn’t pleasant anymore. “Waitaminutt…” He said it like that, as a word. “You’re that guy Jake! Mel warned me about you… You are that man who molested Tim, and who broke up with him so nastily!”

“What?” It was my turn to blink, and Tim said the same as he stared at his boyfriend.

Gilbert frowned and glared at me. He pushed his coffee away from him as if I’d planned to poison him –I have to admit, it did cross my mind– and pushed his chair back. “Come on, Tim. Let’s go. We shouldn’t be here, Mel wouldn’t approve. And we have to go to the pharmacy, to buy condoms.”

Oh, that was nasty. I didn’t respond. We didn’t use condoms, I thought. It felt good to know Tim didn’t have unprotected sex with Gilbert. He was still mine.
I stood up as well, and followed the two outside. “I still love this spot,” I said softly, as Gilbert tugged Tim to the plank.

“And this spot loves you,” said Tim just as soft. He followed his boyfriend, and stepped on the shore. As he turned to face me, his eye fell on the new carving at the side of my shed. He froze, blinked, and jerked away to step into the car.

I stared after them as they left. I should go away, I thought. If Timmy didn’t love me anymore, I would have gone. But he just said he loved me…

I would give it a bit longer.