Decadent (14 page)

Lachlan sat at the breakfast counter in the kitchen, playing with a bowl of Frosties rather than eating them. He was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open, but it was eleven o'clock and the boys were supposed to be swinging round to pick him up so they could all go to the game together. Then he'd get to come home with Cormag, hopefully. So no matter how tired he was he had to stay awake.

He couldn't stop thinking about how quickly things were moving along for them. He found it nearly impossible to believe that he'd only met Cormag for the first time two days ago. Overnight his whole life had changed and yet, he was okay with that. He was okay with everything actually.

He didn't care about Orion anymore or that she'd cheated on him. He didn't care that his sexual orientation had suddenly gone from straight to pansexual. Hell, he wouldn't have cared had he gone from straight to gay. He was so damned euphoric. It was unbelievable, but it was true.

Somehow, in the space of a few hours Lachlan had found a connection with Cormag, as if it was a tangible thing and it had always been there, going unnoticed until they met. He wasn't even surprised that his logical brain suddenly jumped to the completely illogical conclusion that they were soul mates. That they were meant to be together, because together they completed and complimented each other. He never thought that way, normally, but it seemed to be the only sensible and rational explanation for the connection they had. He certainly didn't believe in coincidences.

“Lachlan, open up!”

Snapping out of his thoughts, Lachlan realised that he was slowly falling asleep. His head was drooping down to his chest and his spoon was luckily still in his bowl of cereal
, but tipping dangerously close to the counter. If he'd spent another few minutes in his doze he would have flicked his Frosties halfway across the room. He quickly dropped his spoon and got out of his seat, hoping that movement would at least wake him up.

“I'm coming,” h
e shouted, as someone banged the letterbox continually. When he opened the door he was surprised to find Coly smiling at him, with a sulky Konnor standing beside him. A quick glance behind them let him see that everyone else was already in the seven seater estate car Coly had borrowed off his uncle.

“You two can come in. I'm not ready yet.” Lachlan fought back a yawn as he made his way through to the kitchen. He sat down in his seat and went back to eating his milk sodden Frosties. He noticed that Konnor, having entered the house first, stalled outside the closed bedroom door, glaring at the piece of wood as if it
was see-through. “He's not here,” Lachlan explained shortly, unsurprised to see that his words spurred Konnor into movement. He took the seat across the counter and refused to look directly at him.

“So…did you sleep in or something?” Coly asked, gesturing to the half eaten breakfast, bare feet and his hair. Lachlan frowned, confused, until he reached up and felt the state his hair was in. Coly laughed at him and pulled out a comb from his back jean pocket, which he used to straighten out his bed hair.

“Not exactly,” he tried to answer, only to be stopped by an insistent yawn. “I didn't get much sleep last night. Too much on my mind.” He shrugged.

Konnor finally looked at him and scowled, disbelievingly. “Is that all? Because you were fine when I dropped you off yesterday. Maybe that
boyfriend
of yours did something to wear you out?” he asked, with clear malice in his voice. The way he'd said 'boyfriend' sounded positively evil.

Lachlan flipped him off, refused to rise to the bait. He gave him that one warning and got up out of his seat, surprising Coly, who was st
ill standing behind him. “Sorry,” he apologised as his friend quickly stepped back from his moving chair. He ditched the last of his breakfast in the bin and rinsed his plate in the sink. He left it there, not saying a word as he left the room.

By the time he was
ready to leave; jacket on, hat pulled down and keys in his hand; he found Coly and Konnor waiting at the front door for him. It was a bit of a surprise, since he half expected to find Konnor snooping through the house and the bedroom trying to find out what he and Cormag had been up to.

“I'm ready,” h
e told them, opening the front door to let everyone file out.

“Okay then,
” Coly said, as if he wasn't going to argue. He went straight for the car, while Lachlan lingered to lock the door.

Konnor stood on the doorstep with him, as if he didn't trust him by himself, and followed him to the car like a puppy. He chose to take the available back seat, which left Konnor the front passenger seat; he wanted some distance between them during the drive. But, as he was heading for the door, he caught the wary glances everyone inside were shooting him. He let out a sigh and climbed into his seat, realising this wasn't going to be an enjoyable day at all. He hoped that none of the boys were as hostile towards Cormag as Konnor was.

“Everyone ready?” Coly asked cheerfully. There was a vague sound of agreement that sounded more like grumbling, but he took it to mean yes and started the car. They had five minutes of bliss, before Hayes spoke up.

“So
, Lachlan, what position does Cormag play?” he asked, curiously.

“He's the hooker,” h
e answered, from behind the safety of his baseball cap. He didn't want to talk the whole way to the stadium, but he couldn't exactly ignore them either. He wanted them to get to know him and give him a chance, so he knew he would have to answer a few questions. But he'd rather do it somewhere he had a chance to walk away.

“That's a good spot,
” Hayes chirped. It sounded suspiciously like he approved of Cormag, or at least of his getting over Orion.

“Whatever,
” Konnor grumbled from the front seat.

Lachlan ignored his little tantrum and decided to run with Hayes' comment. “He's a talented player. He e-mailed me the v
ideo of his game from last year,” he explained, trying not to smile when his friends took a collective breath of relief.

“Cool,
” Coly chipped in.

“So he has your e-mail address now?” Konnor asked, glaring at him through the rear-view mirror.

“Yes, Konnor. He has my e-mail address, my home address, my Facebook page, my phone number…oh and me,” he replied with a bite to his voice. His friends looked away, with surprised looks that said they had never heard him be so bitchy before, but he couldn't help it. Konnor deserved it. He was being a monumental ass.

“Ouch,
” Jax acknowledged the burn while no-one was paying attention to him.

***

Konnor sank down into his seat, trying not to acknowledge that dig. It hurt more than Lachlan would ever know, but he wouldn't give him the satisfaction of telling him that. Coly was already glaring at him and he gave his knee a hard push, as if that was supposed to hurt more than what Lachlan had said.

“Calm down. I came to watch a rugby
game, not be a fucking referee,” Coly snapped from the front seat. Konnor couldn't help but curl his hands into fists on his lap. His patience was wearing thin; they hadn't even got as far as the stadium yet and he was ready to beat the living crap out of the next person who even spoke Cormag's name.

“Stop the car and let me out,
” Lachlan demanded suddenly.

“What?” Konnor and Coly spoke at the same time, while everyone else tried to pretend they didn't exist. It might be easier to get out of the train wreck of a car journey alive if no-one noticed they were there. Lachlan let out a sigh and leaned far back in his seat to pull his wallet out of his front pocket. He counted out a few notes before putting them back.

“I'll get a taxi to the stadium. It's the only way you guys are going to get any peace on the drive,” he explained.

Konnor didn't even have to ask if he was serious; he knew that tone well. But how did he tell him that it wasn't helping the situation?

“You only got in the car. If the two of you can keep your traps shut long enough we can be there in forty minutes, maybe fifty at the most with traffic,” Coly objected, tightening his grip on the steering wheel.

“That's the thing; Konnor can't keep his trap shut. I've asked him a few dozen times over the past two da
ys. So pull over and let me out,” Lachlan asked with a weary sigh.

Konnor looked out his window, trying to ignore the continual jibes. It wasn't like him to be so cruel, but he figured that he deserved it. He was taking this whole thing with Cormag personally and Lachlan didn't understand why.

Coly reluctantly pulled over to the curb and turned to face his friend. Lachlan didn't waste any time in opening the door and getting out the car, standing there as he pulled out his iPod and inserted the headphones into his ear. “Call me when you get there,” He shouted to him, through the closed door. Lachlan turned and nodded to him, before taking off for the bus stop a few feet away. He sat down inside and pulled out his phone to call a taxi.

Konnor swore to himself silently, as Coly pulled the car back into traffic. He was so mad he couldn't find the words to explain it.

“See what you did?” Coly asked angrily, glaring at him as he stared out the window. He watched Lachlan through the side mirror, hating that it only showed him what he already knew. Lachlan was getting further away from him the more seconds ticked by. Eventually he would be so far away that he couldn't get him back. “What is your problem anyway?”

“You saw him in there, Coly. He was shagged out of his senses. He's
known the guy two fucking days,” Konnor bit back, hating the fact that it was true. He had never seen Lachlan look so tied and confused before.

“He said he was tired and I believe him. He said he couldn't sleep because he had too much on his mind, which now that I see ho
w you're behaving I can believe,” Coly argued. “It's no wonder he can't get any sleep, worrying about how you're taking this. It's none of your business,” he warned Konnor to keep out of it from then on.

But he wasn't listening. How could he when he knew that Lachlan was being used? He had to get him away from Cormag…once there was enough distance between them everything would settle down. He could talk sense into Lachlan and make him see what was happening.

Lachlan woke to a gentle push on his shoulder. When he opened his eyes the taxi driver was leaning in the back door with an understanding smile. “Thanks, Gamble. Was there much traffic?” he asked, as he glanced over at the display to see how much he owed. He added in an extra ten pound note, in gratitude for Gamble agreeing to wake him when they arrived rather than letting the meter run up his bill.

“Not too much
. Only took about forty minutes,” he said, helping Lachlan out as he was a little unsteady from being asleep. Once he nodded that he was okay, Gamble let him go. “Here, kid that's too much,” he objected to the extra money.

“Shut up and take it. I appreciate you taking care of me. Buy your kids someth
ing if it makes you feel better,” he suggested. Gamble was an old friend of his father's, with two kids under fifteen so he hoped he would accept it as extra pocket money.

“All right. You be careful. And p
hone me if you need a lift home,” he insisted.

Lachlan waved goodbye and took off for the front gates where he perched on the low wall at the side to wait for his friends. He sent a quick voice mail to Coly's phone to let him know he'd arrived and waited. He felt so much better after his kip in the taxi; invigorated, energised, ready for anything. Particularly if that anything had something to do with spending the next few hours watching Cormag run around a rugby pitch in shorts, flexing his muscles.

Even better would be the privacy they had when he went back to his house after dinner. Unfortunately, he did have to go home and sleep in his own bed tonight so that he could get organised for his week of school. But that was a small inconvenience.

“Lachlan!”

He turned to the shout of his name as Hayes walked over, waving hello. He waved back and was stunned when Konnor turned from getting out the car and smiled at him. It was the first time he'd seen him even remotely happy since he had started seeing Cormag. He couldn't understand what he was so chuffed about, unless it was because he was alone and not with Cormag.

“Hey. We weren't sure
if you were still coming or not,” Justice confessed as they reached his spot.

“I'm here for Cormag. I'm not giving Konnor the satisfaction of keeping us apart. Besides, I'm meeting his brother.” Lachlan was okay about meeting Harper. He wanted to give him the reassurance of having his questions answered. What he didn't expect was to see Konnor approaching behind Hayes and for his smile to fade suddenly, on hearing his last few words.

“You are?”

“Yes. He says he wants to have a chat with me. See if my intenti
ons are honourable and all that,” he joked about it because he didn't want to get into the whole complicated business of why Harper needed to talk to him and how important it really was.

“Oh yeah? I didn't
think you could be disreputable,” Coly joined in, laughing with him as he patted his shoulder.

Lachlan appreciated the deviance from the argument Konnor would no doubt want to make. He didn't want to have to deal with that right now; he was feeling too cheerful for that. To cut out the possibility of arguments he explained a little of what he could as to why Harper deserved to see him and why he didn't mind at all. He was prepared to be brutally honest.

“It's not about me. It's about me not hurting Cormag. He's been pretty much treated like shit by every guy he's ever been with, so Harper wants to check for himself that I won't be the same.” Lachlan shrugged as he talked, glad to see that Coly and Jax seemed thoroughly convinced that it was a good idea. He had the strange feeling that they had been formulating a plan to deal with Harper, if he expressed even the slightest doubt over going through with it.

“Did he ever think people treat him like shit because of something he's doing wrong?” Konnor asked, staring at his shoes and keeping his voice loud enough to be heard without shouting about it.

Lachlan wasn't even surprised. He took a deep breath, counted to ten and went for it. “No, Konnor. Because the only thing Cormag did wrong was trust the wrong person and refuse to fight back when they were beating the crap out of him.” He filled him in on the real reason Harper wanted to see him. He was trying to give them a chance to understand what he'd been through. Konnor didn't even seem to care; he kept avoiding him and shuffling his feet. Lachlan turned and walked inside the gates and up to the front desk to collect their tickets, hoping to escape the chaos.

***

Lachlan insisted on paying for everything, since he was the reason everyone was there. While they all took their seats, Coly went with him to buy the snacks and drinks that would tide them over until dinner after the game. When they got back to their seats and dished everything out, they were quick to focus on the team from their front row seats. Lachlan pointed out the team Cormag was on and watched as they all stretched and moved around at the side of the pitch, before the game started.

“There, Brody. That's him.
” He pointed Cormag out to Coly and Jax.

“Not bad,
” Jax commented with an arched eyebrow. Lachlan and Coly laughed at the same time, while he gave him a shove.

“Get your eyes off,” h
e teased, bringing a flush of red to Jax's neck. They all knew he hadn't meant it to come out the way it did, with even Hayes laughing at his best bud. But it was fun to tease him for it all the same. Lachlan was confident that his girlfriend Lucille would have been in on it too had she been there. But she was off camping as some sort of 'girl bonding' with Coly's girlfriend Wendy and they didn't get back until nightfall, in time for school the next day.

“I'm just saying. If you're going over to bat for the other team you may as well
do it for a decent looking dude,” Jax tried to explain himself, but it only made it worse. Everyone but Konnor laughed at him.

“Wow, do you have a filter for your mouth?” Coly teased, giving him a playful shove. Which soon turned into a shoving match between them until they knocked Konnor's mysterious rucksack over. He had insisted on bringing it, even though he wouldn't say what was inside.

Only, he was rummaging through it when it fell it over and the secret was revealed. He had a few snacks inside and the big secret: a journal. By fluke Lachlan was sitting right next to him, with Hayes on the other side, so he was first to spot the items that fell out of the bag. He kept quiet, shoved the journal back into the bag and began helping pick up the snacks while Jax and Coly continued their fake fight.

“Thank you,
” Konnor whispered to him, when he thought no-one else was listening. Lachlan knew he didn't want anyone else knowing he kept a journal and he certainly didn't want anyone seeing what it said inside. But a part of him felt bad for never knowing that he even kept one; shouldn't that be something a best friend knew?

“No problem. As far as I'm concerned
we're still the best of friends,” Lachlan confessed, as he passed him the last packet of crisps and resumed his seat.

Konnor didn't say anything in reaction to his statement, but he did, strangely, shuffle to sit a little closer to him. He had no idea what it meant, but he was glad that there were some, few and far between, shines of friendship from him throughout the day. Maybe there was hope after all?

***

The game was fast paced, exciting and full of things for them all to shout about. Lachlan was particularly angry about a forward pass made by the opposing team. The fact that one of the Briarwood Fire Fighters was injured with a bloody nose, which he presumed would be broken from the angle it sat at, didn't help either. Not when the elbow to the face seemed deliberate.

Funnily enough, he enjoyed talking to Konnor throughout the game, questioning passes, debating over whether a try was a try or not and shouting at the referee, who didn't seem to be paying attention. It felt as if their friendship had never been in trouble before. They shouted at the players on the opposing team for having a shoddy line up at the side line and continually pulling the ruck down when they didn't like their position on the field. The opposing team were dirty players as far as Lachlan was concerned, fighting to create as many delays as possible. In the end, it was 44-20 in favour of the Briarwood Fire Fighters.

They all stayed in their seats, talking about the game and the position their tickets had given them as the rest of the crowd filed out and the players returned to the changing rooms. About five minutes later Lachlan got a text from Cormag. With most of the seats empty they had a clear path to the stairs leading inside.

“Cormag says that he and Harper will meet us at the restaurant. We're to go ahead and get a table and some drinks,” he explained as he got up and folded his baseball cap, shoving it into the back pocket of his jeans. The sun had gone down long ago and it looked like it might rain; he figured he wouldn't be needing it until they left in a few hours.

Konnor walked with Lachlan as they all made their way inside and over to the restaurant, talking animatedly about the game. He was being civil and more like his normal self. Until they reached the maitre 'd desk and he asked for the name the table was booked under.

“Brody,” Lachlan answered automatically, practically able to feel the icy chill sweeping over Konnor as he stepped away. It was disappointing, but he wasn't going to dwell on it. He hoped that all he needed was time; to process, to get to know Cormag, to trust him. Just like Harper needed with him. Only, in his mind, Harper had reason and Konnor didn't.

But that didn't change the fact that Konnor was struggling to accept his relationship. When they were shown to a table for ten, his immediate reaction was to hover until Lachlan chose a seat at the end closest to the bar and waiting staff. Konnor then headed for the opposite end of the table; no-one said a word, afraid to antagonise the already delicate situation.

They all ordered drinks, with Lachlan ordering a beer and a diet coke for their missing party members, while everyone kept talking about the game. He could hear a few mutterings when Konnor was busy talking to someone, about how he was acting, but other than that everything was going smoothly.

Until Cormag arrived.

They heard the laughing first; real belly-aching laughter and a quiet voice talking behind them. Lachlan recognised the quiet voice immediately, so he wasn't surprised to see Cormag walking around the corner, one arm around his big brother's neck while Harper laughed the most infectious laugh. “You guys sound like you're having fun.” He noticed.

“We are. Cormag here was telling me what you
were like drunk,” Harper confessed as he moved over to the end of the table. There were two empty seats, right across from each other and Lachlan couldn't help but smile at the moment of deliberation Harper gave his choice of seat. He took the one across the table, giving him a wink of understanding as he left the one beside him free.

“Yeah, w
ell it won't be happening again,” Lachlan promised, trying not to acknowledge that wink as Cormag sat down beside him and went straight into drinking his diet coke. He didn't say anything about his refusal to drink again because he already knew. He wasn't averse to alcohol; he had kissed Cormag plenty of times after he'd been drinking, but he didn't like the sensation of being drunk.

“Oh?” Harper questioned his claim.

“Hmm. I think I can safely venture into the odd glass of wine or bottle of beer without killing all my brain cells, but I'm staying off the hard stuff. It's disgusting.” He just about gagged thinking about that ridiculous concoction Cormag had got him drinking. If he'd been trying to turn him off alcohol forever he'd done a good job of it. As it was he quite liked beer or at least he liked the lingering taste on Cormag's tongue after he'd been drinking beer.

“So I was told,
” Harper said, enigmatically. Lachlan had no clue what it meant, but he decided to leave that for later, as he did the introductions.

“This is the gang. Coly, Jax, Justice, Hayes and Konnor. Guys, this is Cormag and his big brother Harper.” Lachlan pointed everyone out as he gave their name, letting them nod, wave or say hello as they liked. Harper nodded to each of them and gazed long and hard when he was told which one was Konnor. He could only guess that Cormag had told him how difficult he was being.

While the boys got to talking with Harper, Cormag settled in his seat and leaned in to whisper in his ear. Lachlan knew he was in trouble because he'd missed him all morning, which was silly; they'd only been apart a few hours. But still, being so close to him after that separation was giving him ideas.

“I've got a surp
rise for you, when you get home,” he whispered.

Lachlan realised that Cormag was talking as if his house was his home as well. That was nice; it would be a perfect home for his future.

“Yeah?” He turned until their faces were an inch apart, longing to kiss him, but slightly more interested in finding out what his surprised was going to be.

“Hmm. You're going to love it,” h
e claimed mischievously.

Before Lachlan could complain about the teasing
, Cormag kissed him long enough to feel some satisfaction, without making a scene in front of the whole table. He settled down to lay his head on his shoulder; if he wasn't mistaken, that kiss said he had missed him just as much. “I meant to ask, why isn't Monroe here?” he asked, waiting for a lull in the conversation to speak.