In the Silks
Authors: Lisa Wilde
Table of Contents
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright 2015 by Lisa Wilde. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Author:
Lisa Wilde
DEDICATION
~To Elaine, who never, for a year and a half, gave up on this story, these boys or me!~
~To Susan, Ginny, Rhianna, and Toni for being brave enough to beta read for me and being so supportive!~
~And to the other Lee, thank you for everything…
I put a finish on it!!
~
Meg thank you for going above and beyond!
http://megedits.com/
“Surrender to what is. Let go of what was. Have faith in what will be.”
―Sonia Ricotti
H
ENRY walked down the narrow walkway to the front porch of his friend Nate’s triple-decker apartment building. It looked like every other one of the triple-deckers that overran Massachusetts, but this one had college kids and liquor bottles littering the front stoop and yard.
Hands in his pockets and breath visible in front of him, Henry navigated past the party-goers. It was too damn cold to be out tonight, but the marathon three day study session he had just finished had him ready to crack. He needed some mindless activity to regroup, some college shenanigans ought to do the trick.
His time at Northeastern University would be over in a few months and he would be off to law school, that would be the really hard part. So he wasn’t going to worry too much about taking some time out to be a typical college student. A few drinks, some socializing and then home to catch up on all the lost sleep.
As soon as he got up the first couple of steps, he saw a girl bent over the side railing throwing up. Despite the February bitter cold, she was wearing a short skirt and her position left little to the imagination. Henry shook his head feeling bad for her and continued on. He stepped through the door and into the hallway. The party was clearly on all three floors. There was the distinctive skunky smell of marijuana wafting through the hallway. Plastic cups and beer bottles rested on the landings and the stairs, some with cigarette butts floating in their remnants. He could hear bass but not decipher any exact song or where it was coming from, the voices of the party-goers drowned it out.
Henry knew the tenants of the second-floor apartment. Nate, a friend since freshman year, lived there. He was a criminal justice major like Henry.
He headed up the stairs, nodding to someone coming down that he recognized. When he reached the second landing, he just walked through the open door. The keg in the middle of the living room caught his eye immediately, and without first looking for the hosts of the party, he went to get a drink.
After filling a cup, he walked through to the kitchen where he found Nate sitting at the table, cards in hand, girlfriend in his lap. Several other people were at the table with him and the game seemed quite intense at this point. Nate was so focused; he simply gave Henry a quick nod and turned his attention back to his cards. Henry stood and watched for a few minutes, sipping his beer before deciding to move on. He went back to the living room and saw some people come in that he knew and went to talk to them.
“Henry, what up my man?” A basketball player from his school came up to Henry and lifted a hand to slap Henry on the shoulder. His name was DeSean, he was the team point guard. He towered over Henry; he had to crane his neck back to talk to him. The guy had to be pushing seven-feet easy.
DeSean was there with several other guys from the team. They seemed to travel in a pack. Whenever Henry saw them they were always together. Right now they were all standing in a semi-circle; beers in hand, shooting the shit. Henry had never really had that kind of relationship with his friends or his baseball team growing up. He knew most of them on a first name basis and said hello to them all. He loved the game and was a loyal fan, even played pickup games with some of these guys whenever he had a chance but anything beyond that was not in the cards. He had a plan, part of which was to help take care of his family. No time for sports in any serious capacity.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Shit man, just looking for some fun and a pretty girl.” He winked at Henry.
“True.” Henry laughed and nodded.
While he said the word, true, it wasn’t a genuine response. He had been with a handful of girls and done some other stuff, but he was too focused on the promise he’d made to his father. Anything that got in the way of that was not an option, so he kept it simple. Nothing long term or serious, but he was never disrespectful or misleading. For the most part, it worked out nicely though a few girls in high school didn’t take it that well.
Henry talked to the basketball players for a few minutes. They discussed who would be graduating, potential NBA prospects. How this season had been going. A few of the guys went to refill their beers and by that time Henry was ready for a refill himself, so he followed suit. As soon as he went to sit down on one of the sofas, he heard a mildly shrill laugh come from the front room and immediately tensed. Cassie.
Uh-oh.
He needed to get the hell out of Dodge.
Cassie was a friend of a friend’s girlfriend, so running into her happened a bit too often. She was a sweet enough girl, pretty and interested, but Henry was not. Not this close to graduation. Even though he could use the release, he didn’t want to lead her on. Fortunately, she didn’t get him so hot and bothered that he could not control himself.
Henry excused himself and headed back toward the kitchen. The guys at the table were still engrossed in the poker game. He walked past them and down the hallway to hit the head. When he knocked on the door, he heard laughter and shushing from the other side.
All righty then.
He moved further down the hallway to the back door, toward the closed in back porch. He would sit there for a few minutes and wait for the bathroom and hope Cassie didn’t come this way.
As soon as Henry had the back door open, the smell hit him. Someone was lighting up. Henry wasn’t a pothead, but he didn’t turn it down either.
Maybe they won’t mind sharing?
He stepped out onto the porch and walked to the far end, toward the stairs leading to the third floor. There was a guy sitting on the bottom step, cupping a joint in the palm of his hand.
“Hey, man,” Henry said as he approached.
It was hard to see in the dimly lit hallway, but Henry noticed that the guy was mid-inhale. Henry had to wait for him to exhale before he responded. “Hey,” was all he said, followed by a cough.
Henry bit back a laugh and reached out his hand. “Henry Hayes. I’m a friend of Nate’s.”
The guy hesitated for a second before extending his hand. “Ryan Mallory, friend of a friend who is occupied with a girl in the bathroom at the moment.”
Henry rolled his head back and then nodded. “Ah yes, I was waiting to get in there.”
“You may be waiting awhile. He has been chasing that one for a long time.”
Henry laughed. “Mind if I chill here for a few? I’m kinda trying to avoid someone.”
Ryan shrugged and scooted over. Henry walked past him up the steps and sat two above him and to his left. Henry took a moment after sitting down to look the other man over. He had dark, somewhat shaggy hair. He was handsome, but he was pretty too. Looking at his profile from this angle Henry could see his long eye lashes in the little bit of light coming in to the dim hallway. Henry tried not to stare, but it was a challenge; the kid, he was so easy on the eyes.
Ryan turned a bit so now he was sort of facing Henry. Without a word, he put the joint to his lips and lit it up again. He took a puff then offered it to Henry.
“Careful, man. This is some strong shit.”
Henry looked up, grateful for the offer.
“Thanks.”
He inhaled, coughing at the sharp tickle of the smoke as it expanded in his throat and lungs. It didn’t take long for him to start feeling lightheaded.
“So Henry, are you a NU student?” Ryan asked as he retrieved the joint from Henry’s fingers.
“Yep, fourth year, criminal justice. You?”
“Fourth year, drama major.”
“Drama, cool.”
They passed the joint back and forth a few more times in silence. Henry didn’t want to get up and leave yet, though he wasn’t sure why that was. He tried to figure out what else they could talk about.
“Sooo, drama…” Henry said “Do you want to act?”
Ryan snickered. “Nah, that’s not my thing. I really wish NU would change the name of the program to Performing Arts, they would probably get more new recruits that way.”
Henry furrowed his brow.
Ryan took the cue and elaborated.
“Drama implies acting. In fact, it’s actors, singers, dancers, musicians. You get what I’m saying?”
Henry nodded.
“I’m an aerial contortionist.”
“Say what now?”
“I perform with the aerial silks. Have you ever seen them?”
Henry shook his head.
“Basically, I perform while hanging from silk.”
“Perform what?” Henry was truly confused.
“Have you ever been to the circus, man?”
“Yes. So you want to be in the circus?”
“No, I was just trying to give you a visual. I would love to be a performer with Cirque De Soleil, though. Have you ever heard of that?”
Henry shook his head.
Ryan explained further. “The short version is…I use silks that are hanging from the ceiling to wrap my arms and legs in. I can swing and spiral into and out of all kinds of crazy positions.”
“Shit. For real?” Henry responded while getting a visual of Ryan climbing up a piece of silk and swinging like Tarzan. Loin cloth and all. He would have laughed at the idea if the loin cloth image wasn’t so damn intriguing.
Don’t go there, Henry.
“For real.”
“Do you have safety nets?”
“Nope, no safety nets.”
That made Henry’s eyebrows rise. He didn’t know what else to say after that.
“What about you? Going to law school local?”
“Yep. Then start practicing criminal law.”
“Intense.”
“Yeah, my father was a cop here in Boston. I couldn’t go down his road, but this is the next best thing I guess.” Henry rubbed his hand down his face.
Why was he telling a stranger this?
“I guess.”
Silence.
They sat quietly for a few minutes finishing the joint. When it was all but gone, Ryan leaned over and ground the stub against the step below him. Clinching it for good measure and pulling a cigarette box out of his pocket to drop it in and pull out a cigarette at the same time. He tapped it against his knee before flipping it over and bringing it to his parted lips. Henry watched as if he had never seen someone smoke a cigarette before. Ryan lit it up and took a drag before turning and offering it to Henry. He shook his head.
“No, thanks.”
“You want your own?”
“No, I’m okay. I don’t smoke cigarettes.”
“Okay.”
Henry’s bladder was screaming. He was about to go find out if the bathroom was free, albeit reluctantly because he really didn’t want to leave this guy’s company yet.
“Damn, I need to take a piss,” Ryan said before Henry had the chance to excuse himself for that very same reason.
Henry started to laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Ryan asked looking back at him.
“I was just thinking the same thing.”
“Oh yeah, you were trying to get in there. Come on.” Ryan stood up and put the cigarette out on the bottom of his shoe and tossed the butt in a can that was sitting on the windowsill. He turned to Henry.
“Where?” Henry asked with a smirk.
“Backyard to piss.”
Henry hesitated a beat before getting up to follow.
They headed down the back stairs and off a small porch leading to the backyard. While the yard was fenced in, it was chain link, so nothing was hidden from view. Anyone could see what they were doing, especially since the building was surrounded on all sides by other triple-deckers, some with their lights still on.
Ryan didn’t hesitate. He walked over to the corner of the yard that appeared to be the darkest and started to unbutton his pants. Before he went any further, he cocked his head to the side and spoke to Henry.
“I don’t need you to stand watch, man. Do your business.”
Henry turned, looking for another spot, but none was better than the one Ryan had chosen. He let out a sigh and headed toward him. Ryan was midstream before Henry got going. He looked straight ahead with concerted effort. Ryan finished and bent his body forward a bit when zipping back up. Henry watched from the corner of his eye. Ryan rubbed his hands together and blew into them while he waited for Henry to finish. When Henry turned to face him, he had a small smile on his face, like he knew something that he wasn’t sharing. He had the corner of his bottom lip pulled in by his top teeth; his grin was lop-sided and so beautiful.
Stop it, Henry
.
“Hey, you want to get out of here and get some food? We can take it back to my place. I don’t know anyone else here, and I think it’s safe to say Matt’s forgotten that I was waiting.”
Ryan’s words surprised Henry out of his thoughts.
“Sure, why not,” he said.
What the hell?
Henry surprised himself, but clearly not enough to say no.
“Do you need to tell anyone that you’re leaving?” Ryan asked.
“Nope, no one.” Henry was shocked that he agreed to go with this stranger. Ryan Mallory. He had spent all of maybe thirty minutes with him, smoking a joint and talking about contortion something. Henry tried to convince himself it was just because he was looking for someone cool to hang out with, and the idea of one person versus a houseful appealed to the introvert in him. Not for any other reason.