“Good. Now, I’m going to get off here. You call the cops. This shit just got real.”
“I will,” he repeated as he pulled a dish towel from a drawer.
“Good. See you in the morning. If you need anything, call me.”
“Okay.”
She hung up as Aud returned to the living room. He dropped the phone on the coffee table and got on his knees to clean up the spilled wine. What is happening around me right now? Just as I find someone I really like, things get stranger than they’ve ever been before. I can’t believe someone’s stalking me, actually taking video of us. Are either of us even safe? He was thankful for a moment that the wine was white and didn’t stain the cream-colored carpet. I have to let Leo know about this. We can only hope this person doesn’t know where he lives. He glanced at the phone. He’s trying to help Felix right now. He doesn’t need this on top of that. I’ll get the cops to deal with it. Hopefully they can find the guy quickly and get it over with.
17
PACING SEEMED like the logical thing to do, but Leo’s apartment didn’t really have room for it.
“Would you sit down?” Julie hissed from the couch where she sat petting Sofi.
Leo shook his head. “I can’t.” He paused and stared at the brown cat curled up in Julie’s lap. He knew if he sat down, she’d come over to him to demand attention and her purrs would help him relax, but he didn’t feel like sitting.
Julie glanced over the back of the couch toward the closed bedroom door. “Do you think he’ll get any sleep?”
“I hope so.”
“I can’t believe we missed the signs this badly.” Julie had been as distraught as Leo when she reached the hospital. On the outside, Felix hadn’t been real happy to see her, but Leo could tell that her showing up helped him remember he had people who cared for him, and he wasn’t alone.
“I’ve been so wrapped up in Aud, I probably could’ve missed a bomb going off on Cheyenne Mountain.” Leo leaned on the back of his recliner. “But that shouldn’t be an excuse for nearly abandoning my best friend. If we’d been paying more attention, we would’ve probed him a bit before he left breakfast on Saturday.”
“Is that when it happened? Friday night?” She paused in petting Sofi and the cat head-butted her hand. “You guys never said for sure, just it was that guy, Axe, he met through that app. I know those things are all the rage in the gay community, but they feel kinda creepy to me.”
“Hey, straight folks have their anonymous dating apps too,” Leo objected.
Julie went back to petting Sofi. “I know. I get e-mails all the time about them. It’s just that a fair number of the single gay men I’ve known use them.”
Leo cocked an eyebrow at her. “You know more gay men than just me and Felix? ’Cause he’s the only one who uses them. I never have.”
“There’s a few guys at work. Plus, don’t forget you two have dragged me to every pride parade for the past few years. I’ve met other gay guys. But don’t worry about it. I’m not cheating on you guys. You’re my main gays.” She flashed him a weak smile.
“I’m not worried about it.” Leo wasn’t insecure about where his friends’ loyalties lay. If Julie and Felix had friends outside their small circle, he didn’t mind. He knew they cared about him and that was all that mattered.
“Good.”
Silence filled the room for several minutes, broken only by Sofi’s increased purring as Julie continued to pet her. Leo wanted some noise to break the oppressive atmosphere that settled around them. Unfortunately, Felix was a light sleeper even at the best of times. At the ER they hadn’t given him anything for sleep, just for pain and some cream to help with healing. They’d all been thankful nothing was damaged beyond repair, except maybe Felix himself. His body would heal over time. The doctor had advised no sex for several weeks, until the tearing and bruising were healed. He’d also advised Felix get tested for AIDS and all other venereal diseases since he couldn’t remember if Axe had used a condom or not.
Julie looked up from Sofi. “Are the windows in the bedroom closed?” Her voice was little more than a whisper.
“Yeah.” Leo kept his own voice soft.
Giving the cat a final pat, she stood. “It’s a pleasant night. Let’s go out into the yard.”
At the idea of getting out of the apartment for a few minutes, even just going on the other side of his apartment walls, Leo hurried to grab his jacket from the hook behind the door. It might have been a pleasant night, but it was fall in Colorado Springs, and that still meant chilly.
Outside, they moved to the wooden chairs around the cold fire pit that occupied the center of the small yard. Leo brushed the leaves off two chairs, then didn’t wait for Julie to sit down.