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Abbey Kypner
His Best Man
His Best Man
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It's hard for Ian to be in love with a straight boy. It's even harder when the love of his life is getting married. On top of it all, Chris has asked Ian to be his best man. But when Chris gets cold feet he runs to Ian for comfort, and things get a little heated when old feelings flare up once more...
~~~~~ EXCERPT:
I don't have to look at my cell to know it's about three in the morning. For one, I've got a pretty good internal clock. For another, three A.M. would be what they used to call The Witching Hour, the time of night where freaky things happen. It's just about the most appropriate time of day for an emergency to come up, or for bad news to arrive.
By the time I grab my cell phone, I've decided that it must be both.
The trill of my cell cuts off, and I murmur a sleepy, “Hey Chris.”
“Hey Ian I'm... God I'm so sorry to call you so late.” Thankfully we've known each other long enough that he doesn't grovel too much about apologizing. Still sounds like he feels awful about it, though.
“It's no problem,” I mumble, “I think I know what this is about.”
“It's like, I've been waking up in the middle of the night and thinking to myself that it's over, y'know?” Chris rambles, “I just- I'm not ready for this.”
“You were ready six months ago, man.”
“I'm starting to think I was an idiot six months ago.”
I take a nice deep breath, drawing the cold night air into my lungs. It's crisp and refreshing, and helps wake me up a little more to think clearly. “Dude, don't say that. You two are great together.”
“We've been arguing.”
“Every couple argues.”
“And it fucking scares me! What if it doesn't work out?”
“That's why you learn to compromise before you get to that point, man.”
“Dude, can I... can I talk to you in person? Come over to your place?” There's a little tremor in his voice, and it's only partly from the tension. No doubt Chris is standing outside in his pajama pants so he won't wake up Mels with this conversation.
“Sure, I'll put on some coffee.”
He sighs, “Thanks, Ian. I feel so much better already. You're the best.”
Hey, it's why he chose me.
~~~~~
I've known Chris since high school, and for years we've been the best of friends. We played video games together and wrestled outside during the summer, the cool blades of grass tickling our bare legs. Sometimes we even slept together on the couch, or shared a bed for little naps. There were no secrets between us. At that point it was never anything romantic, and it was certainly far from dirty.
Problem was that over the years I found that I'd really started to crave those little buddy-touches when he wasn't around. I'd also started to like the way he smelled, sneaking a few whiffs of his blond hair while he was sleeping. At first I'd chalked it up to bromance, but it quickly came to the point where I couldn't deny it any longer.
It'd caught him by surprise when I first kissed him a few years back. On the lips this time, not those brotherly forehead-kisses I'd give him while we napped together. It wasn't just that I loved him. I just couldn't stand the fact that he'd give his first kiss, his first everything, to a girl.
I remember him tensing under me: his lips were trembling, and he was too freaked out to even breathe. Blond guys always seem so waifish, even if they've got that toned swimmer's build that Chris has. So I'd tried my best to be gentle for his first kiss, giving him something he'd never forget. With luck, even if I wasn't able to turn him, he'd think of me every time he kissed a girl from that point on.
Yes, I realize how fucked up that sounds.
Even though it hurt I didn't blame him when he didn't return the twenty or so texts I sent, or the dozen calls. Eventually I came to my senses, cooled off, and reassessed how I was handling the whole thing. Chris finally gave me a shy message a couple weeks later. We'd met, talked it out, and he'd even apologized for giving me the cold shoulder. Not that it wasn't well-deserved.
Still, the guy had his reasons for freaking out the way he did. Conservative families tend to churn out guys like him. Even though he was more open-minded than his parents it'd taken him by surprise when he learned that his best friend was gay, and in love with him to top it all off.
~~~~~ EXCERPT:
I don't have to look at my cell to know it's about three in the morning. For one, I've got a pretty good internal clock. For another, three A.M. would be what they used to call The Witching Hour, the time of night where freaky things happen. It's just about the most appropriate time of day for an emergency to come up, or for bad news to arrive.
By the time I grab my cell phone, I've decided that it must be both.
The trill of my cell cuts off, and I murmur a sleepy, “Hey Chris.”
“Hey Ian I'm... God I'm so sorry to call you so late.” Thankfully we've known each other long enough that he doesn't grovel too much about apologizing. Still sounds like he feels awful about it, though.
“It's no problem,” I mumble, “I think I know what this is about.”
“It's like, I've been waking up in the middle of the night and thinking to myself that it's over, y'know?” Chris rambles, “I just- I'm not ready for this.”
“You were ready six months ago, man.”
“I'm starting to think I was an idiot six months ago.”
I take a nice deep breath, drawing the cold night air into my lungs. It's crisp and refreshing, and helps wake me up a little more to think clearly. “Dude, don't say that. You two are great together.”
“We've been arguing.”
“Every couple argues.”
“And it fucking scares me! What if it doesn't work out?”
“That's why you learn to compromise before you get to that point, man.”
“Dude, can I... can I talk to you in person? Come over to your place?” There's a little tremor in his voice, and it's only partly from the tension. No doubt Chris is standing outside in his pajama pants so he won't wake up Mels with this conversation.
“Sure, I'll put on some coffee.”
He sighs, “Thanks, Ian. I feel so much better already. You're the best.”
Hey, it's why he chose me.
~~~~~
I've known Chris since high school, and for years we've been the best of friends. We played video games together and wrestled outside during the summer, the cool blades of grass tickling our bare legs. Sometimes we even slept together on the couch, or shared a bed for little naps. There were no secrets between us. At that point it was never anything romantic, and it was certainly far from dirty.
Problem was that over the years I found that I'd really started to crave those little buddy-touches when he wasn't around. I'd also started to like the way he smelled, sneaking a few whiffs of his blond hair while he was sleeping. At first I'd chalked it up to bromance, but it quickly came to the point where I couldn't deny it any longer.
It'd caught him by surprise when I first kissed him a few years back. On the lips this time, not those brotherly forehead-kisses I'd give him while we napped together. It wasn't just that I loved him. I just couldn't stand the fact that he'd give his first kiss, his first everything, to a girl.
I remember him tensing under me: his lips were trembling, and he was too freaked out to even breathe. Blond guys always seem so waifish, even if they've got that toned swimmer's build that Chris has. So I'd tried my best to be gentle for his first kiss, giving him something he'd never forget. With luck, even if I wasn't able to turn him, he'd think of me every time he kissed a girl from that point on.
Yes, I realize how fucked up that sounds.
Even though it hurt I didn't blame him when he didn't return the twenty or so texts I sent, or the dozen calls. Eventually I came to my senses, cooled off, and reassessed how I was handling the whole thing. Chris finally gave me a shy message a couple weeks later. We'd met, talked it out, and he'd even apologized for giving me the cold shoulder. Not that it wasn't well-deserved.
Still, the guy had his reasons for freaking out the way he did. Conservative families tend to churn out guys like him. Even though he was more open-minded than his parents it'd taken him by surprise when he learned that his best friend was gay, and in love with him to top it all off.
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