Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2008 11:51:36 -0700 (PDT)
From: justinr_88@yahoo.com
Subject: Love is All that Matters chapter 10

Do not read further if you are not of legal age to do so.
All the usual disclaimers and copyright laws apply.

LOVE IS ALL THAT MATTERS
~ Chapter 10 ~


From the Narrative of Joshua Spencer:

The doorbell rang just as I put down the phone after talking
to Liz at the cafe.

"Who could that be?" I wondered aloud. I walked over to the
front door and pulled it open. Harry was standing on the
steps, looking as gorgeous as ever although I could only see
the top of his bowed head. The sunlight was glinting on the
blond streaks in his brown hair and it was all I could do to
stop myself from running my fingers through it.

"Hi, didn't expect you here so early. So what brings you
here? A repeat of yesterday's session?" I joked.

"Um," He didn't look up. I suddenly felt worried.

"Harry, is something wrong?"

He reluctantly looked at me. "My Dad knows. He knows that
I'm gay."

It was then that I noticed the dried blood on his lower lip.
I felt rage course through me.

"Did he do that?" I asked angrily.

"Huh? What? Oh, this." He touched his lip gingerly. "He
didn't take the news very well."

Didn't take the news very well? That was a mild way of
putting it.

"He hurt you! That bastard actually hit you."

"No, no. It's not his fault. I -"

I couldn't believe he was still defending his father at this
point.

"Harry, how did he find out?"

"I guess he must have hired a PI to follow me around," he
sniffed. "He had these surveillance photos of me, of us
kissing outside the cafe."

"Oh shit." I realized I was the cause of all this. "I made
you do that. You didn't want to but I convinced you there
wasn't any harm and now . . . I'm sorry."

"No, I'm kind of glad it's out in the open now. I feel
lighter now . . . you know, like I don't need to hide. And
at least Mom didn't take it badly."

"Your Mom? How is she?"

"Well . . . she left Dad after he hit me."

"Wait, your Mom left him?" I was stunned by this abrupt
change in Marcia, whom I'd always adored but would never
have pegged as the kind to leave her husband.

"Yeah, I was amazed too. She's in the car."

"Then why didn't you bring her in?"

"No, it's okay. We're going to find a nice motel to stay in
and -"

"Hold on, a motel?"

"Yeah, I guess we're going to have to rough it out. I
daren't go to my sister's place. I don't want Dad to be mad
at her. And Mom insists on staying with me." He ran his
hands through his hair, looking a bit bewildered by the
suddenness of everything. "I'm guessing it won't be easy. I
mean, we just left - didn't even bring any stuff with us."

I had an idea. "Harry, you don't have to go to a motel. You
can stay here."

He stared at me. "What? No, I couldn't possibly impose on
you. And I told you, Mom won't leave me so I -"

I interrupted. "Your Mom can stay here too. There's my
parents' old bedroom."

"It's really nice of you, Josh, but we can't -"

"Oh come on, are you my boyfriend or not?" I asked him.

He smiled uncertainly. "I'm really your boyfriend? `Cause I
wasn't sure about -"

I rolled my eyes - he could be so naive at times. "Of course
you're my boyfriend, you idiot."

"Oh," was all he said.

"Do you need further convincing?" I leaned down to give him
a kiss.


His smile widened into a full grin. "Can we really stay?
It's only for a few days, I promise, till we get everything
sorted out." He looked like he was warming to the idea.

"Come on, we'll tell your Mom." I started to go down the
steps, when I felt a hand slip into mine. Harry smiled at me
and whispered, "Thanks, Josh."

"This is small compared to what I'd be willing to do for
you, Harry."

Harry's Mom had been watching us through the window. As we
approached, she lowered the window.

"Hi, Mrs. Ridgeway," I told her.

She smiled at me. I noticed her eyes flicked over our
entwined hands, but her gaze didn't linger there.

"Joshua, I thought I told you to call me Aunt Marcia.
Especially now -" I couldn't help blushing.

"Oh yeah, sure, Mrs - I mean, Aunt Marcia. I was just
telling Harry here, you can both stay here for the time
being."

She looked doubtful. "Joshua, that's very kind of you but I
don't that would be a good plan. I mean, Harrison's father
will find out and then -"

"I'm not afraid of him, Aunt Marcia."

She smiled at me sadly. "Alistair is a congressman, Joshua.
He has connections. And I know well enough how he can make
life unpleasant for those who defy him. It's just that I
haven't been poised at the receiving end before."

"Aunt Marcia, you'll be okay here for a few days. After
that, if you want to find somewhere else, you can go ahead.
But Harry . . . I think it's best for him to be here with
me."

Marcia laughed. "You sound so protective of him. Are you
sure this has been only a recent development?" Harry
blushed.

Then she looked at me seriously. "Joshua, it's not only a
matter of Harrison's father. I know your parents didn't
leave you well off when they died. And for you to have two
more mouths to feed . . . you can't possibly earn much from
that hardware store."

I shook my head. "I don't run the hardware store anymore.
I've got a cafe now. Well, not me alone. Reid - that's . . .
um . . ." My voice trailed off. How was I going to describe
Reid to Marcia? I noticed Harry was watching me closely.

"Reid's a friend. He lives with me and he co-owns the cafe.
But there's still more than enough room for both of you.
It'll mean a lot to me if you stay here."

Marcia looked at Harry's glowing face and then back at me.

She said softly, "I've never seen Harrison this happy
before." She smiled slightly. "Alright, if it means so much
to you, we'll stay . . . just for a couple of days. And
we'll pay you back once we find something to do."

"There's no need for all that -" I started to protest.

Marcia looked at me firmly. "No, I insist."

I realized she wasn't going to agree unless I let her have
her way. "Okay. Do you have any luggage?"

Marcia sighed. "I'm afraid not. I suppose I got carried away
with the whole storming out of the house part. It wouldn't
have been half as dramatic to stop in the driveway and
return for your clothes." Her eyes twinkled, but then she
looked stern. "But I wasn't going to let my husband hit
Harrison."

"No, of course not." I wondered if she knew. From the way
Harry was looking down at the floor, I guessed he hadn't
told her.

"Don't worry about clothes. There are some of my mother's
clothes . they might fit you. I should think you're around
the same size. But for Harry . . . well, my clothes will be
a bit big on him, but that can't be helped. We'll talk about
that later. First let's get you settled in."

Harry tapped my shoulder as I started to lead the way back
to the house. "Aren't you going to ask Reid about this whole
arrangement first?"

I was about to say, "What for?" when I realized he was
right. This was my house, but Reid had stayed with me for
almost a year now. It was sweet of Harry to remember to ask
Reid's permission. I loved him even more for it.

"I'll ask him later," I whispered. "He'll be okay with it.
Let me just show your Mom to her room first, okay?"

Harry nodded, but he didn't look very comfortable.

"Okay, if it makes you feel better, I'll ask him first,
okay? You show your Mom to her room; you know which one it
is, right? My parent's old bedroom?"

"Yeah, I know." He turned towards his mother. I went ahead
of them and into Reid's bedroom. He was evidently still
suffering from his hangover.

"Who was that?" he asked immediately.

"It's Harry. He's, um, coming to stay here for a while . . .
if that's okay with you."

Reid raised his eyebrows. "Wow, that was quick. To think it
was only yesterday I left you two alone."

"Reid, be serious. His father found out that he's gay and
freaked out. So he has nowhere else to go. His Mom's here as
well. And he was the one who told me to ask your permission
first."

Reid sighed heavily. "You forgot, didn't you? Even the guy I
thought was my sworn enemy thought of asking me when you
didn't."

I felt very guilty when he said that. I knew he was right.
I'd told him I was still there for him, but somehow
everything else seemed to fade away when I saw Harry.

"Don't mind me . . . your guests are waiting." Reid managed
to sound sarcastic but sad at the same time.

"Reid! I can't deal with this right now."

"No, really, go and look after them."

I looked at him hesitantly. "You're - you're sure?"

"I know what he must be feeling right now, Josh. You'd
better go to him. I'll be fine . . . I always am . . ."

I looked at him, but he'd closed his eyes again. I let out a
sigh and went in search of Harry and his Mom.

                            * * *

 "Oh good, you've found the room. Well, Mom's clothes are in
  the wardrobe over there." I felt a lump in my throat. "I
           didn't touch them after the accident."

  Marcia patted my hand. "It's okay, Joshua. I don't really
                           need -"

  "No, I want you to have it. They'd be wasted otherwise."


She looked at me doubtfully. "Okay. But first I need to use
the bathroom." I nodded and pointed out the door.

After she'd closed the door behind her, Harry turned to me.

"Where's Reid?"

"Um, he's ... well, he's having a hangover. He didn't come
home last night."

Harry looked troubled. "That's not something he usually
does, is it? It's because of me and you."

I wasn't sure how I should respond to that. "No, it - I just
don't know what to say to him. He's really depressed."

"Do you want me to talk to him?"

"That's nice of you, Harry, but I don't think you can help."

"I might . Reid and I share the same problem - we're both in
love with the same guy. I feel really guilty about stealing
you away from him."

"You didn't steal me away. But yeah, I feel guilty, too." I
suppose there was no harm in him trying to talk to Reid.
"Okay, go ahead. But I'm not sure he'll be awake."

"I'll go and check on him. You stay here with Mom, okay?"

I nodded.


From the Narrative of Harrison Ridgeway IV:

"Reid?" I called out as I entered his room. He was lying on
the bed, apparently asleep. I sat down on the bed next to
him anyway.

"Reid, are you awake?"

His eyes flew open - they were pale blue like the morning
sky.

"Oh, it's you." He didn't sound pleased to see me. What did
I expect - for him to welcome me with open arms? Maybe I
wasn't the right person to talk to him.

"So you're moving in, huh?"

"No! I mean ... well, yeah. But I didn't expect it to happen
this way."

"Not everything happens the way we expect it to," Reid
observed. I could tell he was trying hard to pretend he was
emotionally detached.

I agreed. "That's true, I guess."

He was silent.

I had to try again. "Look, Reid, I wanted to talk to you
about Josh -"

He interrupted me. "Do you know how I first met him?"

I shook my head.

"It was in the gay bar where I usually spent my evenings. I
noticed this guy sit down opposite me at the bar. I wouldn't
have said he was my type. I mean, he was attractive and all
that, but he looked like really out of place in there, like
a lost lamb. Then he turned around and I found myself
staring into these beautiful gray eyes."

Reid was silent for a moment, doubtless lost in the
recollection of that night. Then he continued, "And then he
gave this cautious sort of smile and introduced himself. I
waited for him to give the usual pickup lines, but he
didn't. After the introduction, he just kept quiet. I grew
tired of waiting and asked him whether he wasn't going to
buy me a drink."

"He looked at me in a funny way and asked whether that was
how it was usually done?"

"I laughed at him and he turned red. Then he said, I
wouldn't have offered anyway because I'd have thought you've
already drunk enough."

"It was cute, you know, the way he was so self-righteous. I
asked him if he'd ever been to a gay bar before. He shook
his head. I told him that it showed. I asked him if he
wanted to go elsewhere. He wasn't sure at first, but somehow
I got him to agree to come to my apartment. We started off
kissing, and then we got into the heavier stuff. That was
when he stopped me and told me it was his first time. I was
a bit astounded that a good-looking guy like him could reach
the age of 20 without having done it before."

"He said he'd been waiting for his dream guy, but he'd given
up hope. He didn't tell me the details then, but he meant
you. I asked him whether I'd make up for the dream guy, and
he said maybe."

"So I promised I'd be gentle, and we did it. He was so
quiet, you know, no resistance or fear at all. He didn't
even let out a single cry of pain. And when it was over, he
kissed me and thanked me, ever so sweetly, for his first
time. He actually thanked me! And I knew then that I'd lost
my heart to him."

Reid grew quiet again.

I cleared my throat. "I'm sorry, Reid."

"There's nothing you have to be sorry about, Harrison. At
least I found out sooner rather than later - I'm doomed to
spend the rest of my life alone."

And here I thought I was pessimistic! I always saw the glass
half-empty, but Reid seemed to find it completely empty.

"Reid, I'll be frank with you, okay? I find you one hell of
a hot guy. I mean I've seen you . . . a bit more fully." I
managed not to embarrass myself further by blurting out that
Reid's killer abs were drool-inducing.

I continued. "The thing is - I know you're a sensitive guy
under the whole tough-guy act. There's no reason why someone
shouldn't love that part of you."

He didn't reply. I thought he might be asleep, but his eyes
were still open.

"It's your first relationship, Reid. If it doesn't work out,
you can move on."

"It's not as easy as you make it seem. Have you tried it
yourself? Have you tried not to be in love with Josh?"

"No," I admitted. "But you just told me earlier, Josh wasn't
your type. You can find other guys who are more your type.
I'm sure you won't have any problem finding them."

"It wouldn't be the same as with Josh."

"I know it won't. It's hard to let go of Josh. But you need
to, for your own good. If not, you're just going to destroy
yourself like this. And Josh doesn't want that to happen to
you."

Reid laughed bitterly. "I doubt that he even cares."

"That isn't fair, Reid. You know how he's hung up over me.
If you want to blame anyone, it should be me. Every time I
show up, it's as if he forgets everything else. Tell me
this, Reid: If he didn't care about you, do you think he'd
have spent a year in a relationship with you? Do you think
he'd start a cafe with you? Josh might not be in love with
you, as you hoped, but he does care about you, Reid."


He looked like he was contemplating what I'd said. Then he
said, in a voice devoid of emotion, "You'd better go and see
to your Mom."

"Did you hear what I said?"

He looked like he didn't want to reply, but finally he
nodded. "I'll think about it, okay?"

I guess that was a start. "Okay."

He turned over and snuggled up with his pillow. I stared at
his back - tanned and rippling with muscles. If I wasn't in
love with Josh, I would easily fall in love with Reid. I
don't mean just for his body. From what he'd told me about
his first encounter with Josh, I knew he was just as
vulnerable as I'd been. He'd fallen in love with Josh from
the very start. Who could blame him? But it wasn't
impossible for him to move on. If he just knew that, he
could overcome this. At least he'd said he'll think about
what I'd said. It was a step towards healing his broken
heart.

                    To be continued . . .


I'd love to hear what you think of this story. You can email
me at justinr_88@yahoo.com. All feedback is appreciated!

Next part to follow soon.