“Save yourself some time. Go online and see what you can find. Might even be able to find some major discounts. We’re slow right now, so go into the office and get busy.” She shooed him off the gallery floor. “The longer you take, the higher the prices will be. If anything happens, I’ll holler for you.”
He stopped halfway there. “You sure?”
“Yes. Now get.”
“Thanks.” He smiled at her. As he walked toward the back, he tried to think of what Leo would like better. Cabin or condo? Now if we’re lucky, everything will go smoothly and we can have a relaxing weekend all to ourselves.
15
LEO WATCHED the clock on his phone and silently prayed he wouldn’t get a call in the last thirty seconds before he could log off and go home. His finger shook with his impatience as the seconds ticked down until it was time for him to punch the button and be free for fifteen hours, when he had to be back the next morning.
Felix waited for him in the breakroom as usual. His friend looked haggard. Since the weekend it had just gotten worse, and Felix was trying to withdraw from him and Julie both. It made him nervous about what was going on in Felix’s head. With a gesture, Felix walked past Leo and toward the door out to the parking lot.
After not saying anything on the way to the car or while getting in, Leo had enough. “Okay, Felix, what’s going on? Are you upset that Aud and I are hitting it off so well?”
“No.” Felix started the car.
“If it’s not that, then what is it?” Leo persisted. He’d known Felix for years and had so rarely had to press him about anything that he had no idea how his best friend was going to react.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Felix put the car into gear and drove out of the parking lot.
“I know you, Felix. Whatever it is, it’s eating you alive. You look like hell.”
“Thanks. But I really don’t want to talk about it.”
“You’re not getting off the hook that easy.” Leo squared his shoulders and continued to poke. I have to get this out of him. It’s consuming him. “Come on, Felix, we tell each other everything. When was the last time either one of us got laid and didn’t tell the other? Hell, you even told me about that time you went to get a tattoo and passed out before the guy could start.”
Felix gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles. “You’re not going to let up on this, are you?”
Leo put his hand on Felix’s leg and Felix jerked away. Felix never jerks away from casual contact. This is bad.
“No, I’m not going to give up on this. Something’s very wrong.”
Slamming on the brakes, Felix stopped the car in the middle of the road. Around them horns blared. He glared across the car at Leo. “While you were off having the best sex of your life with Aud, I got raped. Okay?”
Unsure what he should say back, Leo stared openmouthed as Felix moved away from him and took off down the road.
After the second stoplight that Felix nearly ran, Leo broke the heavy silence that filled the car. “How did it happen?”
Felix stared at him as they waited for the light to change. “What?”
“How did it happen?”
“I went on a date and the bastard didn’t take no for an answer.” Felix hit the gas when the stoplight flashed to green. He barely missed the car that crossed in front of them, trying to get through the intersection before the waiting traffic started.
Leo tried to touch Felix’s arm. “I’m so sorry.”
Felix jerked away and swerved, almost hitting the car just ahead of them in the lane to their left. “Don’t touch me!”
“Okay.” Leo yanked his hand back. “Did you go to the cops?”
“And tell them what? That I met a guy through a cruising app and he raped me?” Felix’s laugh had a sick, disturbed edge to it. “Come on, Leo, even you can’t be that na?ve about how things work in this town. We’re in Colorado Springs. If I went to the cops, I’d get laughed out of the building. They don’t care about gay men here. Hell, they barely believe women who go in claiming to be raped. The first thing they would ask is if I asked for it. Do you think anyone really asks for it?”
“But what if they actually cared? Maybe this guy could go to jail or something. Do you remember his name?”
“Oh, you mean Axe?” Tears started rolling down Felix’s cheeks. “I’ll never forget his name or what he did to me.”
Leo hugged himself, wanting to comfort his friend, but unsure of how to help. Probably the best way right now is to listen, but I want to do more.
“Why do some guys think the rest of us should worship them? Just because we might not be everything they are physically doesn’t mean we’re put here for their pleasure.” Felix hit the steering wheel, then slammed on the brakes before he drove past Leo’s street. Behind them a horn erupted before Felix completed the turn.