Echoes of the Past

Chapter 6

They sat in their usual corner of T.G.I. Fridays, only this time a gloomy silence reigned over them while they sipped at their beers and picked at their plates, each knowing the other was feeling the tension.

“What’s eating you today?” David asked as he peered around his burger at a glowering Eric.

The dark-haired man just shook his head and dug into his chicken wings. He knew he had to tell David what was going on … okay, not all of what’s going on, but the weirder parts that concerned him, he should know. Keeping it from him wouldn’t be fair, and the only other alternative was to go back to that psychic nutcase. Then she’d tell David about the dreams and he’d really have some explaining to do.

“I know something’s bugging you, the redhead sighed. “It’s me isn’t it?” He looked down. “You said it didn’t matter to you, but it does, huh?”

“What?”

“Don’t try to put me off,” David waved his napkin at him. “You’ve been giving off this … vibe … ever since I told you.”

“It’s not that!” Eric speared him with a sharp gaze and leaned in to hiss softly. “Trust me when I say that. I have absolutely no problem with you’re being gay.”

David’s eyes went wide and he studied him for a long moment before he broke eye contact and picked up his glass for a long swig of beer. “Well, what the hell was I supposed to think when things got all awkward?” he griped. “You haven’t been very communicative.”

“I know.” Eric raked a thick hand through his dark mop of hair and sulked. “And that’s why I wanted to talk today.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I just don’t know where to begin, you know?”

David nodded then popped a few fries into his mouth. They ate for a another few minutes in silence while Eric tried to come up with a way to bring the subject up without looking like he’d gone crazy himself. It was actually nerve-wracking for him, as he was usually a natural with the words and never at a loss with his best friend. Things had been fine until they’d visited Madam Bad Luck back there. He hoped again that Gwendolyn suffered and eternity of dysentery for the trouble she’d stirred up for them. At the very least, he wished her a hellish night of asses of fire. Nothing like a good case of the runs to bring you back down to Earth when you’re too high on yourself. Then he contemplated sending her a gift certificate to that new hot wings place anonymously to help Fate along.

“We going to talk, or what?” David finally asked.

“Yeah, yeah.” He wiped his hands on his napkin and sat back in his seat, not knowing how David was going to react to what was coming. Finally he sighed and just dove right in, like he usually did in these circumstances. “You remember Madam Crazy, the wacko we saw a few weeks ago?”

“Uh … Gwendolyn, right?”

“Yeah, that was her.” He took a sip of beer and belched. “How much of her schtick did you buy into?”

“Huh?” David looked really confused now. “I, uh …” Now his face turned from a pale pink to a deep red and he looked away guiltily. “No-none.”

But he didn’t sound convinced and now Eric was sitting on the edge of his seat watching him. Was David hiding something from him? Like, maybe some dreams, perhaps? Son of a … His thoughts swirled through his head at an alarming speed as he considered the possibility that he wasn’t the only one suffering in silence. But he couldn’t talk about the dreams now … No, no, no! He wasn’t even sure he was ready to admit the attraction to himself yet. Admitting it to David would make it all so … final. He needed more time to dissect them … to study them. Hell, he needed more time to have them! They were his guilty pleasure right now and he wasn’t sharing until he had his fill. Or more at least, anyway. Still, he needed to get David back on point.

“Well, I’m not so sure everything she said is hokey,” he conceded.

“Huh?”

“It’s just – I don’t know how to say this but – I get the feeling that something strange is going on and it started right after we went to see her.”

David sat back against the back of the bench on which he sat and crossed his thin arms. He gave Eric that probing look that made him feel like he was being analyzed for clues. It had always been like that since they were kids, so Eric didn’t take it too personally. It was just David’s way of figuring things out when he was confused. As his best friend, Eric had come to understand this little quirk and accept it.

“Like what?”

“Like Charlene,” he replied flatly.

“That was ages ago.”

“Still.”

“And I haven’t seen her since.”

“Not yet, but I have a feeling you will,” Eric sighed.

“What?!” David cried. “Why?!”

“Because she asked Annie to set you up with her again, and I had to put her off.”

“So?” David might be protesting right now but he looked distinctly uncomfortable with the possibility that he’d come across the woman again. “Maybe she just wanted … to hang out with her friend.”

“Did you get the same feeling I did that night?” Eric asked casually.

“Uh … I don’t think so.”

“Really? Because I think Charlene made it pretty clear that she’s in charge of that relationship. Kind of gave me the creeps, actually.”

David’s expressive eyes betrayed his true unease with the situation then and he nodded his head. “Yeah. She did seem pretty … aggressive that night.”

“Aggressive? Yeah, that’s a mild way to put it.” Eric drained his beer glass before continuing. “And I get the distinct feeling that Annie’s only dating me to help Charlene get to you?”

Now the redhead really looked shocked. “What? Why do you think that?”

“Last weekend she tried to get me to call you so the four of us could go out … and this was after she and I hadn’t … seen each other in a hell of a long time.” He gravely looked at David now. “Now, I’m not saying I’m the world’s greatest in the sack, but she’d been all over me the previous date and was really put off when I got that migraine.”

“Oh, yeah,” David rolled his eyes. “The infamous migraine. Because you get them so often.”

“Look, I just wasn’t in the mood for her that night.”

“Bet you … rose to the occasion just fine over the weekend.”

“I rose but I wouldn’t call it fine,” Eric scowled. “And the only way I could put her off the idea of calling you was to agree to a whole night in with her.”

“How horrible for you,” David remarked dryly.

“It was,” Eric growled. “You don’t even know the half of it.”

David studied him again but this time the shocked expression in his eyes told Eric he was far from unaffected by what went unsaid between them. Does he know? Eric thought. Does he even suspect? He hoped not. He wasn’t ready for that confrontation yet. And he knew it would be one. David would be confused and angry probably thinking Eric was only trying to make him feel better about himself. He’s always been kind of a hothead about those things, Eric though with a smirk. Time stood still while he waited for David to say something … anything to break the silence.

“What do you think she wants from me?” the redhead finally asked. “It’s not like I gave her any encouragement.”

“I don’t know. And I have this really huge sense that we shouldn’t wait to find out.”

“How do we make sure though?”

Eric shook his head and looked down at his plate of chicken bones. He honestly didn’t know what to do. Charlene seemed determined to follow them. She’d even called Eric herself that morning to ask if he and David wanted to go to the movies with her and Annie. Now THAT had been awkward. He could picture her sour face on the other end of the line, and it made him sick to his stomach. He’d told her they already had plans with some of their high school buddies, but he didn’t know how long he could keep putting her off. He’d try breaking up with Annie, but he wasn’t entirely sure if that wouldn’t just exacerbate the situation. Actually, David was the brain here. Shouldn’t he be able to come up with something?

“You got any ideas?” he asked.

David shrugged, shook his head and sighed.

Damn! I really don’t want to go back to her. But Eric knew that was exactly what he was going to have to do.