Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2004 19:49:09 -0800 (PST) From: Evan Bradely Subject: Chapter 17 of "The Crew" The following fictional story deals with sex among males. If you are offended by such material, are too young, or reside in a location where it is not allowed, please depart. Though not observed in this story, care enough about yourself and humankind to practice safe sex. The author retains all rights. EvanBradley33@Yahoo.com Chapter 17 Continued Fallout Construction Sites Hal and Brett didn't show up at the worksites the next day because it was Hal's real birthday. It soured the day for the crew since Hal wasn't celebrating it with Drew. They went quietly about their work. Except for the foremen Max and Ted, no one said more than 50 words the entire day. Not having processed the previous evening's shocking events individually, they were unprepared to process them together. Breaking their usual pattern, at lunch they ate apart from each other. As the day wore on, Angie was having a hard time, shedding tears now and again. She hadn't wept since the previous evening's shock in Hal's bedroom. Even the heart-to-heart about Bobby's sexual experiences with Gerald and Nate in the army didn't cause her to cry. "I don't know what's wrong with me," Angie complained to Kenji when he dropped by for his daily check in with her as she dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. Kenji placed an arm around her shoulder. "You're back in Hal and Brett's realm, and you're pregnant," he said. "It isn't a time for being in full command of your emotions, particularly if you've had a shock. How are you feeling physically?" "Not well. And that irritates me so much. I've dealt with a lot in life - my brother's running off to Spain, a hostile ex-boyfriend, his threats against our relatives, worrying about all of them, worrying about Bobby and me. Still, I've never reacted this way before." "We're all feeling that way," Kenji said, rubbing his hand in a circle on her back. "You're not alone." "No, but Drew is. He isn't answering his phone. He's hurting. Even Bobby understands that. I want so much to help Drew. But you know him: he'll never ask for help if he needs it. Drew, the Loner. " "We all want to help him," Kenji said. "We just have to allow the dust to settle for Drew. He has to move to some initial accommodation to last night's events before we can help him. Anything we say to him now will go in one ear and out the other." "What do you think we ought to do when he reaches that point? "Get him out of the fox holes he's dug for refuge. Especially get him out of the house, take him out to dinner, Renegades games, things like that. It will help balance the state he's occupying now." "Kenji, why did you call the construction sites Hal and Brett's realm? Isn't it all our realm?" "Look at how you're feeling: you were upset last night when you left Hal's. Were you upset at home? "No." "When did you start feeling ill?" "When I awoke . . . and thought of work," she said, sudden understanding evident in her countenance. "If we anger Hal or Brett, what could happen to us?" "Hal could get rid of us - but I don't think he'd do that, do you?" she asked. "How much does Hal love Brett?" "I can't imagine that he loves him at all." She sighed in defeat. "He loves Richie a ton and for ages, and he thinks Brett is Richie, so he'll defend him to the death." "Right. All your answers point to the fact that these building sites are actually their realm. If Brett wants one of us gone, do you think Hal will cross him? Brett wanted Drew gone. He succeeded exceptionally well. And he fooled us all. We played right into his hands. It steams me that he made us into his tools for removing Drew. By rejecting Drew in front of all of us, he made us complicit in that rejection, whether we like it or not. Every time Drew remembers what happened, he'll see all of us, standing there watching all that ugliness fall on him, as though we were agreeing with Brett and Hal. I just hope he remembers that we were as shocked as he. And we all need to remember that we must never turn our backs on Brett." Angie thought for a while. "Do you think Hal would allow himself to become Brett's stooge like that against the rest of us?" "Did you think Hal would ever betray Drew as you saw last night or treat Drew so cruelly?" "No." "When the right elements are mixed sufficiently so that they can go volatile, you have to be wary of fires, no matter what safety features you thought were in place before. Even though nobody is saying it, we all feel it. Hal has done so much for all of us. We don't want to betray him, and we especially don't want to betray him in a mean spirit as he did Drew last night. But he could axe anyone of us in a heartbeat if he wished. I think he'd do it because he'd believe he was protecting Richie again just as he did in the orphanage. And his Richie - in this case Brett - would egg him on to doing it if he wanted one of us gone. Just think about it for a moment. I repeat: Brett wanted Drew gone. He is. He got Hal to do it, and he used us as stagehands. Did you sense anything going on that day that would lead Hal to drink until he was drunk?" Kenji asked. "No, nothing." "And that doesn't suggest anything to you?" "You mean Brett used some ploy or . . . substance to make Hal drunk?" "He needed Hal drunk for him to confront Drew and throw him out. Right?" "Yes. But it makes me even angrier at Brett! . . . And suddenly aware of what he's capable of doing if he wants something badly enough." "I think you have a better grasp of the whole picture now. You're stomach was sending you that message. You just weren't taking delivery on it." Kenji returned to his work not long after that, knowing he'd really not been able to ameliorate Angie's bad feelings over the previous evening's events anymore than they could Drew's, but he'd set out fairly accurately the present state of tension for all the members of the crew. He realized that no one was going to be able to make anyone else feel better for a while. By the end of the day, Angie was feeling nauseous. She knew there was no way she'd be able to eat that evening. Offering her apologies, she asked Bobby to go to a nearby diner for his evening meal, for she knew she'd be ill if she had to cook. Even the smell of food cooking in the house would absolutely do her in. The next day, Hal and Brett showed up together - in Hal's pickup. That meant that Brett had probably spent Hal's birthday night with him. "Hal is so eager to play the role of protector and provider now," Max observed to Bobby. "He usually moves folks into his home - the way he did with you and Angie. He's done it with a lot of the guys," Max said softly as though someone needed to defend Hal. Hal didn't look at the crew at all as he entered the office. He couldn't. He still didn't have a clear picture about what had happened two nights previous. The pit of his stomach was hinting at something big - like maybe he'd treated Drew and the crew badly. He felt horrible about that. Drew was innocent. There was no reason to make him hurt more than he would upon learning that Hal and Brett were going to be a couple. However, he knew he'd inflicted just that kind of hurt. He wished he could remember how he'd amplified Drew's hurting, but that part with Drew was too foggy. He wondered if Drew would feel justified knowing that Hal was feeling incredibly smarmy. Hal didn't know if he was disappointed or relieved that Angie hadn't arrived at work yet. He'd wanted to ask her what had happened that night in his bedroom. But he needed to re-acclimate to the site and his office before attempting to do so with the crew. He was feeling so weird! He'd had Brett's version of it, which didn't seem to match the jumbled images and broken patterns of words that comprised his memories of the scene. He was ashamed that the crew had seen him drunk, seen him making love to Richie - Brett, that is. He still didn't know how he'd ended up drunk. Brett had brought a six-pack, but somewhere in there Hal had at least one stiff drink in his hand. He couldn't even remember where he was when he saw himself holding that drink. It took more than a stiff drink for him to become drunk. Maybe he was tired or tense? He knew that at dinner he'd told Brett much more about Richie. Back home he'd remembered clutching Brett to him, Brett asking him to allow him to show Hal what Richie would do if he were back with Hal. Next thing, he was in bed with Brett, sliding his hard cock deep into Richie. Richie was moaning his passion for Hal, reminding him how good they were together in the orphanage. Richie. It had felt so good as though a dam inside him had burst. He poured out a lot of love into and onto Richie. It was so sweet and caring of Brett to understand and give him that gift. Suddenly he felt a pain deep in his intestines: he hadn't thought of Drew at all. It wasn't until the next day when he found the envelope with the gift certificate on the floor that Brett had told him that the crew had decided to drop in on Hal unannounced to give him his birthday present. At that point, Hal felt the growing burden of dark memories and ugly images. He felt really down. 'So it was true,' he thought. 'It's as bad as my gut is telling me. How did this go so wrong? How am I ever going to get back in the good graces of the crew.' His thought stopped there. He couldn't even ask how he could make it up to Drew. There was no way he could ever do that. He kept steering his mind away from asking himself how Drew had reacted. That's why he was hoping to have Angie fill him in on the details. Maybe it wasn't as bad as he feared. As he sat in his office, running the past two days through his mind, he heard the door to the office trailer open. He breathed a sigh of relief. Angie had arrived. Now he'd get this all sorted out. He was startled when a sober-sided Bobby Cooper stuck his head in the door, telling him that Angie was ill, so she wouldn't be in that day. "I hope there's nothing wrong with the baby," Hal inquired. "No," was Bobby's only reply, looking as though he wanted to leave. "Tell her I hope she's feeling better soon," Hal said sincerely. "Will do," was Bobby's reply. He turned away. "Bobby, wait a minute, would you?" Bobby returned to the door of Hal's office. "Would you ask Ted to come over here for a minute?" "Sure," Bobby said, his relief over not having to talk about Hal and Brett evident. About three minutes later, the outer door opened and shut as Ted walked across the outer office to Hal's door. "You wanted me?" Ted asked a little abruptly without his characteristic smile. "Yes. Please sit down." Ted did so, a little reluctantly, Hal thought. Hal sighed. "How bad is it?" "Bad for who?" "The crew." "Bad." "What do you mean?" "We aren't talking. We don't have lunch together. We leave as soon as the workday is over." He paused for a moment. "I don't know about the other guys, but Levi and I have only been physical once since that night in your bedroom. Neither one of us could get off." 'Damn,' Hal thought, 'How could that night affective them so much?' "Tell me exactly what happened." So Ted recounted the planning, what Brett had told them to do, what had transpired once they entered Hal's bedroom. "How did Drew take it?" Ted looked at Hal in disbelief. "You've go to be kidding! After you trashed him? Humiliated him in front of his friends? Totally rejected him. Broke him in front of Brett? How did you expect him to behave?" Tremors of anger distorted his voice. Hal squirmed in his seat. "Please, Ted, I don't remember much about it. Tell me. I know you'll tell me the truth." So Ted did just that. "You told Drew that Brett was Richie. That he was hot and beautiful. He was what you've always wanted, and Drew couldn't offer you as much if he had 50 years." Hal winced when Ted repeated his rejection of Drew. "Then Drew swallowed his pride, telling you that he'd never wanted, needed, or loved anyone as much as you - or something to that effect. He said it a lot better than I've told you. You know what power he has with language. Then you slammed him with the comment that Brett brought more to your bed than Drew ever could." Upon hearing Ted's last statement, Hal's jaw muscles flexed as though he'd bitten down on somethin painful. "What did Drew do?" "Damn, Hal! What did you expect him to do?" Hal just stared at Ted, not answering. With some heat, Ted answered: "Drew turned and walked out. Just so you're completely satisfied, you should know that he doesn't answer his phone or his door. He hasn't been to his job since then. We checked - because we care about him!" Ted said with attitude, implying that Hal cared nothing about Drew. Hal sat up straight as though he were ready to sally forth against Ted. Then his shoulders drooped and he looked down at his hands as though they were stained by some evil act. "You ought to be proud," Ted continued. "You did a real number on him," Ted concluded, his voice replete with disapproval. He started to speak, then swallowed his words. "Say it," Hal commanded softly. "I won't have a job if I do." "If I asked you to say it, I won't fire you for doing so. I have a feeling it'll be personal, not work related." Ted collected his thoughts. "I owe you a lot, Hal. I've respected and even loved you. I like having you in my life and being in yours. Since the night before last, I've lost a lot of respect for you. I just can't square your destroying Drew like that after what he'd meant to you. Especially for someone like Brett." At the last words, Hal straightened up in a defensive posture. Ted realized that he'd better not pursue that line of their conversation. "The man I've loved and respected couldn't do that so casually or mean-spiritedly," Ted continued. "I've thought about this a lot. . . I'd think that being a victim of all the hurt, loss, and disappointment in your life, you'd never want to pass that on to anyone else. But that's just what you did with Drew." With those words, Hal again looked down at the palms of his hands. "The journey you set out on when your orphanage director told you about Richie's death is the same journey you kicked Drew's ass into night before last." Hal's brow wrinkled in displeasure, coloring profusely but not defensively, for he knew Ted was correct. Until he'd heard Ted's words, he hadn't had time to grasp yet the import of what he'd done to Drew - kicked him into one of the worst journeys through the Valley of the Shadow one could walk. He wouldn't wish it on anyone. But here he'd pushed Drew - innocent Drew - into it. Hal now had Richie. But Drew had no one. The worst was that he'd pretty much locked Drew into loneliness, the paralyzing, lethal loneliness that he'd known much of his life. All his attempts to end it through others now seemed desperate floundering on his part. Was that the fate to which he had condemned Drew? His thoughts moved like a whirlwind. He knew it didn't make much difference that he didn't really intend to condemn Drew to what he himself frantically tried to escape. Ted continued: "I just hope Drew won't have to travel down that road as long as you have. And I hope at the end of that journey, he doesn't create another victim as you did." Hal slowly lifted his head, his expression grim. "Believe me, Ted. It was the alcohol. I'd never ever say those things if I weren't drunk, and I never intended to visit any such curse on Drew. I'd have found a better way to tell him about Richie and me. . . I mean Brett." Ted's face contorted in disbelief. "You think that lets you off the hook? Where'd that language come from that you threw in Drew's face? It didn't come out of a bottle. You had to have been thinking it, or you wouldn't have said it so quickly. It was right there on the tip of your tongue." Hal tossed his head a little impatiently. "I might have had a little help with the language." Ted stared somberly at Hal. "Doesn't explain all of it. It was your voice that Drew heard. It doesn't make any difference what you intended or didn't. All that's important is that you hurt Drew deeply and, from my perspective, shamefully. I just hope not forever. What did he do to deserve such humiliation, especially in front of all of us? "Nothing." "You know, the crew helped you land Drew. Remember? We were invested in your relationship with him too. Now we've lost that." Well, you can invest yourself in my relationship with Richie - Brett, I mean. I'm really happy, Ted. I can't explain it, I guess, so that all of you can understand it, but, except for what happened to Drew, I feel really good, really whole again. It's almost like a drug. I've been waiting for years to feel this way. . . Drew never made me feel this way!" Hal noted the immediate frown of disapproval his last words evoked on Ted's face. "What are you going to do about Drew?" Hal thought and thought. He honestly had no answers. They sat there as the silence lengthened. Snorting in contempt, Ted arose and stalked out of the office and the trailer. Hal didn't move for 20 minutes. Finally, he reached for the phone, dialing Drew's number. The phone rang several times before, as Hal had expected, the answering machine kicked in. Hal sat there in silence as the tape wound down. Although the volition was there, he was totally at a loss for words. He couldn't believe what had happened, couldn't believe the words and cruelty he'd inflicted on Drew - and the others, for he knew Ted was correct, spoke for the entire crew - they were tied to Drew. He worried whether it was a one-time occurrence or the first of a pattern of similar events. He himself found it difficult to believe that he had hurt that gentle, kind, loving soul so deeply. That he couldn't remember anything so ugly. So how could he find the words to tell Drew how he felt? How sorry he was? Hal was trying to think of something he could do to make amends to Drew. Drew was such a challenge because of his integrity. After what Drew had experienced, Hal couldn't imagine standing in the face of that integrity, if the face of those eyes that could see right into a person's inner universe. Besides, there was no way he could restore the self-respect that he'd stripped from Drew. He realized that there was no gesture that could now substitute for the words that needed to come from him to balance the words that he'd thrown in Drew's face. He just didn't have them. Somewhere deep down, Hal realized that as long as he and Brett were together, he would never find those words to explain what had occurred. He intuited that speaking such words could be taken to mean that he didn't value Richie. No matter what, he wasn't giving up Richie! He'd suffered and waited too long. He knew in his heart that he had to have Richie. He was like a drug. Brett, that is. What he had with Brett is what he would have had with Richie. It made Hal squirm to realize that Drew had to pay the price Brett and Hal had exacted two nights ago just so Hal could bring an old fantasy to life. He'd prided himself on being fair. But what had happened to Drew was anything but fair. It was dirty; he knew it. Why did such a price have to be exacted so that he could bring a life dream to reality? It reminded him of rituals where a human had to be sacrificed so that some greater good - like making the soil fertile or appeasing some angry god - could be achieved. He'd always hated those plots - mostly because he had felt himself just such a sacrificial victim so many times. No wonder Angie had been too ill to come to work! Nevertheless, the feelings he enjoyed when he and Brett were together were bigger than anything in Hal's life since the time he spent with Richie in the orphanage. When Brett and he were together, it was as though he was drugged. At the Thomas construction site, the guys felt lucky that they weren't around Hal and Brett. By the end of the work week, not much had changed. Brett was sublimely happy, chatting up everyone. No one responded to him more than was necessary. They'd given up trying to call Drew. They'd driven by his home several times, but he never answered the doorbell. Calls to the corporation where Drew worked had established that he was either ill or out of the office, depending on which secretary answered the call. The nicer secretary, when she knew one of Drew's buddies was asking, would whisper a few details about Drew's being really ill. No one quite knew with what, she reported. His boss knew, of course, but he wasn't talking to the staff about it. During one call, she related that, when the boss learned that Drew's concerned coworkers were taking up a collection to send Drew get-well flowers, he nixed it with no explanation, leaving everyone confused about what was really happening with Drew. Hal felt the tension even more than anyone else, especially when Angie returned to the office the next day, withdrawn, jumpy, pale. All the reassurance accomplished with Angie when he and Drew had taken the Coopers out to dinner was wiped out. He knew he had thrown all of them into a quandary. He knew they were suffering. He was surprised that he wasn't. Then Brett would walk by, revealing why Hal was actually happy - he had Richie back again. Hal himself wasn't always conscious of the double identity Bret enjoyed in Hal's perceptual system. Hal slid happily in his thoughts back and forth between Brett and Richie. Bret was ecstatic at the turn of events. Hal was such a hot lover that Brett was in fairly constant residence in Hal's home. He'd moved quickly to ratchet up the sexual satisfaction that Hal associated with Richie. Hal was constantly horny. Once he even drove Brett home at noon to fuck him. They were late getting back to the Haynes construction site, which resulted in sour looks and cold shoulders from the rest of the crew. Hal noted the behavior as a warning to him about what the crew would stomach. More than one crew member stumbled upon Hal and Brett mid-kiss or mid-grope. The visible disapproval such discoveries prompted among the crew warned Hal further that Brett and he had to cool it at the construction sites or he might have a mutiny on his hands. Brett didn't care about losing anymore of the crew. He assured Hal that he could find several buddies who could come work, 'especially when I become your business partner,' Brett thought to himself. Keeping Hal sexually satiated was giving Brett time to formulate the next part of his plan. He was less successful in inducing Hal to share information about his company. So Brett poured on more sexual heat, becoming increasingly lewd and raunchy. Brett grinned, contemplating how easy it was to manipulate Hal. Just let Hal get a glimpse of Brett's bod or let him hear some whispered come-on from Richie, and he was a goner. Brett wondered if merely whispering Richie's name wouldn't be sufficient to make Hal cave. Hal couldn't seem to get enough of Brett. The crew wasn't very talkative around Brett, but he knew that with every passing day, they would accommodate a little more to him and Hal. When he'd overheard Tonio complaining about his old pickup, Brett told him he'd talk to Hal about providing a down payment on a new pickup. Hearing that Rich and Wes were on the outs, he assured Rich at Murphy's Gym that he could find him some young male pussy or a strapping top, whichever he preferred. He'd told Bobby that he'd get Hal to give him a raise since the baby's due date was nearly at hand. During crew workouts at the gym, Hal and Brett never spent a second apart. Now when Hal was victorious over someone in a competition, he and Brett were all over each other. Crew members were increasingly disgruntled. Gradually, there ceased to be a full complement of them at the gym. The same was true for the Renegades' games or visits to Jack's Sports Bar & Grill. Hal and Brett were so wrapped up in each other that they never noticed the crew fragmenting. These circumstances could have persisted were it not for two incidents. Brett precipitated the first event. The closer Hal and Brett became, the more Brett began to drop slighting remarks about Drew and to make jokes at his expense. The crew resented it. Brett had gotten what he wanted by pushing Drew out. It was as though he expected the crew to show their loyalty to Hal and him by trashing Drew too. The second event was precipitated by a cell phone conversation Brett had with a college buddy, overheard by Jamal, who was working just outside the open window of the room where Brett was talking. Brett was boasting that Hal was head over heels in love with Brett, and that Brett thought that in a couple of months he'd work himself into being Hal's business partner. The crew's mounting anger over Brett's bad-mouthing Drew and Jamal's disclosure of Brett's secret agenda prompted them to hold an evening summit at Max and Kenji's home. Drew, Rich, and Wes were not present because they didn't know about the meeting. Max and Ted had decided that the guys had reached their own accommodation to that disastrous night, so it was time to pull back together as a group. Being the foremen, Max and Ted led the discussion. "Guys, I don't know that there's much positive we can do to change anything, but maybe it will help us just to talk about how we're feeling," Ted explained. Max directed each crew member to explain his reaction to Hal and Brett and Drew. Actually, they were edified to discover that all were feeling pretty much the same. They barely tolerated Brett. They were hurt by and angry at Hal. A few had expressed a lack of trust of Hal any longer. If he could treat Drew so shabbily after what they had been to each other, they couldn't escape a feeling that Hal could do the same to them if the occasion were right. Especially if Brett wanted it. "So what do we do?" Tonio asked. "We've got to connect with Drew, Levi answered. "I'm going to call that nice secretary at his corporation. Ask her to call me when he returns to work. Then if my boss allows it," Levi said, his eyes twinkling at Ted, "I'll go over there and invite Drew to dinner with Ted and me. We can't mob him all at once. But that will open the door to you guys to connect with Drew in some way. We won't let Brett rob us of Drew. We won't let Drew drop out. " Unanimous agreement was voiced around the room. "I can't think of a better plan at this point." Max said. "What do we do when Hal or Brett find out?" Jamal asked. "What we do on our own time is none of Hal's or Brett's business," Ted stated with some heat. "If necessary, I'll explain that to them." Looking at Max, he added, "Don't know how you feel about that big guy. Maybe you'll join me. I don't think Hal can easily ignore his two foremen. Brett won't stretch THAT far." Max nodded his head in assent. "I don't think Hal will make a fuss. It'll more likely be Brett who does. I'll say the same thing to him." With their course of action set, they disbanded, feeling a little better about themselves. Drew's Office True to his vow, Levi called Drew's corporation. He had to try twice before he reached the nice secretary. She immediately disclosed that Drew was back in the office that very day, but that he would be in meetings all day, catching up with what he'd missed during his absence. She suggested that he come by to see Drew early the next morning. In response to a query from Levi, she revealed that Drew wasn't himself. He didn't look healthy. He was closed off, uncommunicative though not rude. Everyone wondered what could be going on with him. She promised that she would not alert Drew to Levi's planned visit. The next morning, Levi followed the nice secretary to Drew's suite of offices. She showed him to Drew's office door, which she opened. Drew was leaning toward the screen of his PC reading e-mails. When he looked over at Levi, he was clearly surprised - and embarrassed, for he started blushing. "Hey, Drew," Levi greeted him, hustling around the desk and pulling Drew up into a tight hug, planting his hand on Drew's ass and pulling him up against his body. He wanted Drew to know that he was still physically attractive without stating the point. "We've missed you, fella," he spoke softly into Drew's ear, enjoying the faint scent of cologne and the man in his arms. "How are you doing?" he asked, pulling back but not releasing Drew. "Uh . . . well . . . ," Drew stammered. The lights glistening in his eyes told Levi that tears were welling up. Drew stepped back, "Excuse me, Levi, I need to get a tissue," which he retrieved from a lower drawer in his desk. "Would you like some coffee?" "I'd almost kill for a cup of coffee," Levi joked. Drew stepped to the door, asking his secretary if she could bring a cup for Levi and him. They waited for her to enter and leave before they began talking. Levi could tell that she was scoping them out, noting Drew's wadding up the tissue he had used on his eyes and throwing it in the wastebasket. She smiled warmly at Levi. "This is a rare day. Drew never asks me to bring him coffee. He always gets it himself." "He never asks anyone to do much of anything for him ever," Levi added, his eyes sparkling with mischief. Drew nodded his head back and forth to signal he really didn't want to listen to such talk. "Maybe you will fix that for him," she said. "I aim to," Levi added, chuckling with her. "Okay, folks," Drew said, "enough with the Drew talk, please." The secretary left. "You didn't answer my question," Levi nudged gently. "How are you?" Drew paused, thinking. "Empty. Embarrassed. Ashamed. Lonely. Afraid." Drew choked on the last word. "You don't have to be that way with the crew, Drew. We've already had a meeting about how to get you back with us." Drew's head raised in surprise. "Thank you for telling me that. I thought that, being the joke of the hour, I was out for good. I was certain that I was when I recalled what Hal means to each of you and how much he's done for all of you. However, I'm going nowhere near Hal again," he said softly but with much determination. "We don't expect that, Drew. We wouldn't ask that of you. But we don't want to give you up either. Remember, we don't much have Hal anymore. He's Brett's now." "He's your boss and buddy. You have him a lot." "No, we don't." And Levi started filling Drew in on the sad state of affairs at the construction sites and the gym. "So you see, Drew, it's as though we've lost both of you. Hal really has no time for us unless we include Brett, which we are increasingly reluctant to do. So reluctant that guys are tuning out, not showing up at the gym or Jack's Sports Bar. And they go to Renegades games by themselves. We're splintering. Please help us." "Help you?" Drew asked, his face a study in confusion. "I'm not going to talk to Hal if that's what you mean. That's over. I'm not going back there." "You can help us," Levi began, putting gentle emphasis on "help," "by not cutting yourself off from us. You're one of us, no matter what may have happened between you and Hal. Although you were quiet, you were one of the strongest among us - at least strong in brains and emotions. And you have a razor sharp wit. We aren't ready to give you up. There isn't a one of us you haven't helped in your quiet, wise way. WE know it. We may not ever say it to you, but we want your presence. We love it. We need it. You could help stabilize the group if you'd start doing things with us again." "I can't go to Jack's or Murphy's," Drew said. "I couldn't be there when Hal and Brett were, and there's no way of knowing when they'd show up." "Come have dinner with Ted and me tomorrow night. Just the three of us. It'll be good. We'll go someplace other than Jack's Sports Bar. We can go to the Renegades game after that. Maybe we can snag Rich to join us. It would be good for him." "What if Hal and Brett also attend the game?" "So what? We won't be sitting with them. I think we can all occupy the same stadium without any contamination," he grinned. "You ass," Drew said softly, smiling at Levi. "You can't not go someplace very public just because Hal or Brett might show up." "Won't Hal be steamed that I am in your company?" "We don't care whether Hal is or not. He doesn't ask us how we feel about his being with Brett. No! What we do is our business. You know Hal. He isn't that way with us. Besides, he had a talk with Ted the day after the blow-up. Wanted the straight dope on what went down that night, and Ted gave it to him, no holds barred. Hal only had Brett's version, which needed some cleaning up and correction. Hal really didn't remember much because he was so drunk. He feels bad for us and especially bad for you. If there were something he could do to make it up to you, he would, but he knows that there's no way to make up for what happened. So what do you say? Do we have a date for tomorrow night?" A little smile was born on Drew's lips. "Okay. What time for dinner?" "Let's say 6:30. We'll pick you up. Say, we're all going out to the mall after work this afternoon to scout out a baby gift for Bobby and Angie. If you happened to be there, I know the guys would like to see you. No sweat. No pressure. You just bump into us." Drew just shrugged his shoulders. As they parted, Levi gave Drew another tight hug and a warm, wet kiss on the cheek. Drew hugged back and returned the kiss on Levi's cheek. The Mall Levi was grumpy. Ted was nudging him with his elbow, trying to jolly him up a little. All the guys except Drew, Bobby, Rich and Wes were ambling down one of the wings of the mall anchored by a huge department store. When Brett had overheard the crew's plan to purchase a "crew" baby gift for Bobby and Angie's unborn son, he insisted that Hal and he be included in the group. Levi hoped Drew didn't show up, for he would think that Levi had set him up - just one more dirty, cruel joke. They had entered one of the big open entrances of the department store. One could see an opposite entrance into a mall concourse way across the huge first floor. As the guys were sauntering along toward the escalator that would take them up to the upper floors to the baby department, Brett was chattering away to Tonio on his right. Hal was silent, looking ahead, glad that they guys had included them. Maybe that meant that they at least were healing after his explosion over Drew. All of a sudden, Drew stepped into the main aisle. Looking up, he spied the crew, his face lighting with a smile and the blush Levi had observed later. Suddenly, Tonio grabbed Brett and pulled him over to a display so that their backs were to Drew. At about the same time, Drew saw Hal, causing him to jerk to a stop. His smile melted on his face, replaced with fear. About the same time, Hal stopped, sighting Drew. His heart registered a sharp pain at the sight of fear in Drew's face. He knew his presence caused that look. Drew shot a hot look at Levi and wheeled about, flying down the aisle and out into a concourse on his side of the mall. Hal started to follow him, his face a study in concern, but Brett turned, calling Hal to join him and Tonio in looking at something. Ted stepped over to Levi. "Damn!" Levi whispered. "Drew thinks I set him up. He won't come near us now." They both looked at Hal, who was listening to Brett rattle on about something in a display, but Hal looked up to check Drew's exit, a pained look on his face. (To be continued.)